February 14, Valentine’s Day, typically a day most men dread and most women love (pun intended).
This year, everyone can enjoy Valentine’s Day because it’s also the day full MLB squads report to Spring Training.
Some players, such as J.J. Hardy, reported before the Feb. 14 deadline.
Spotted in Sarasota: JJ Hardy gets in some swings in the cage: twitter.com/Orioles/status…
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) February 12, 2013
Dan Duquette on his 2013 Orioles in an interview with Orioles.com:
“We have some things we can build on, because we had a good year last year, but this is 2013,” Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette said. “This is a new group of players. This is a new season. We have new challenges. This is effectively a new team, but I can tell you this: The consistency of the leadership from the manager and the work ethic of the players instilled last year, that should carry over.”
Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles is April 2, just 47 days away. Over the course of the next 7 weeks the Orioles will attempt to answer two important questions, who will be playing second base and what the starting rotation will look like come April.
Manager Buck Showalter has a few players, such as Adam Jones in CF, J.J. Hardy at SS, Nick Markakis in RF, Matt Wieters behind the plate and Chris Davis either at 1B or DH, that are locked into positions in the everyday lineup. The other positions will likely be filled by committee or determined based on week-to-week performance.
My projected 2013 Orioles line-up:
- Nate McLouth – Left Field
- Nick Markakis – Right Field
- J.J. Hardy – Shortstop
- Adam Jones – Center Field
- Chris Davis – First Base
- Matt Wieters – Catcher
- Nolan Reimold – DH
- Manny Machado – Third Base
- Brian Roberts – Second Base
Bench players:
- Taylor Teagarden – Catcher
- Alexi Casilla – Middle Infield
- Danny Valencia – Left-side Infield
- Ryan Flaherty – Utility
- Xavier Avery – Outfield
How the Valencia situation plays out could affect whether he has a spot on the roster. That drama and more will unfold in the coming weeks.
The first Spring Training game for the O’s is on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m. against the Minnesota Twins. Let the competition begin!
I leave you with the Orioles’ tribute and thank you to the fans for their 2012 support.