News came out yesterday that Justin Duchscherer was suffering from hip soreness and was being shut down for 48 hours. He has received some treatment on it, and since has thrown from 90 feet and said that he feels alright. Assuming it was just some inflammation, and no real issues, he should be able to get back on track by the middle or end of this week. His slot pitching on Wednesday has been given to Chris Tillman (shifting the schedule around a little bit), and he will get into a game as soon as he can show he is healthy and ready to go. Here are some quotes from him about what’s going on.
Be sure to check out yesterday’s video interview with CF Adam Jones, as well as today’s video interview with LF/DH Luke Scott.
News and notes:
- Derrek Lee, who did not hit on Saturday after his first outdoor BP session of the spring on Friday, was able to hit again on Sunday successfully. He is on track with his recovery from thumb surgery and hopes to get into exhibition games by mid-March at the latest.
- Brian Roberts was back on the field yesterday as well after a few days off with neck soreness. Reports say that he looked pain-free, and he said that everything is feeling good. He, as always, is a guy to keep an eye on for the injury report.
- Cesar Izturis, making the transition to utility infielder to include 2B, has been making quite the easy move to 2B in fielding drills (only 3 games played at 2B since 2001).
- Non-roster invitee pitcher Mitch Atkins is having an MRI done on his strained left oblique. At this point, even if the results come out negative, he is most likely slated for AAA/FA without being able to showcase any talent in Sarasota.
- Nolan Reimold and Vladimir Guerrero (as usual) are the guys that have been noted lately for very strong BP showings.
An updated game schedule (with pitchers):
- 2/28 at Pirates (Paul Maholm): Brad Bergesen, Ryan Drese, Koji Uehara
- 3/1 vs. Rays (Andy Sonnanstine): Jeremy Guthrie, Rick VandenHurk
- 3/2 at Phillies: Chris Tillman, Zach Britton
- 3/3 vs. Twins: Brian Matusz, Adrian Rosario
- 3/4 at Tigers: Jake Arrieta, Ryan Drese
Note: These are only the scheduled pitchers to go, with each only going 1-3 innings. The rest of the game will be filled by various relievers.
Non-camp related items:
- Well, it’s happening in camp, but not baseball related. Nick Markakis, with Buck Showalter‘s approval, bought a ping pong table for the Orioles clubhouse. While he and Jake Arrieta seem to be two of the top players, J.J. Hardy supposedly has beaten all of his competition, including Markakis.
Links:
- An original video from The Sun showing fans outside of Ed Smith Stadium snagging homerun balls during Orioles BP.
- A look at the competition between Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold for the 4th outfield spot (though Pie believes he has a shot to beat Luke out for it).
- An extensive interview from Steve Melewski of Orioles top prospect Manny Machado. (Two parts; 2nd part here)
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at Buck Showalter’s impact on the Orioles.
There will be an update tonight with information about today’s intra-squad game, stats, and post-game comments. Here are the lineups for that game:
Team 1:
Matt Angle RF
Randy Winn DH
Felix Pie CF
Nolan Reimold LF
Josh Bell 3B
Joe Mahoney 1B
Ryan Adams 2B
Craig Tatum C
Pedro Florimon SS
Chorye Spoone RHP
Team 2:
Cesar Izturis 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Luke Scott LF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Mark Reynolds 3B
Adam Jones CF
J.J. Hardy SS
Matt Wieters C
Brandon Snyder 1B
Chris Jakubauskas RHP
Other pitchers scheduled to throw: Ryan Drese, Adrian Rosario, Wynn Pelzer, Mike Ballard, Raul Rivero, Nick Bierbrodt, Troy Patton, Armando Gabino, Pedro Viola, Chris George, Alberto Castillo and Mark Worrell.
