Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with some reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine.
Running it back:
The Orioles christened their spring training home with five homers in the first two innings of Tuesday's 12-6 win over the Rays, and starter Jeremy Guthrie pitched two perfect innings. ... O's manager Buck Showalter said that there is no timetable for Derrek Lee to get into a Grapefruit League game. ... Orioles owner Peter Angelos said that Andy MacPhail isn't going anywhere after this season. ... Ravens running back Ray Rice believes a new collective bargaining agreement will be reached before the scheduled start of the 2011 season.
Hitting the links:
1. Ken Rosenthal says the Orioles' farm system is lacking [FOX Sports]
2. Here's audio of Peter Angelos' interview during Tuesday's game [WBAL Radio]
3. Looking into the crystal ball at Jake Arrieta and Chris Tillman [Dempsey's Army]
4. An Orioles team health report for 2011 [SI]
5. Opening Day at the new Ed Smith Stadium was particularly special for O's fan Edna Mindte [Orioles Insider]
6. Here are some Orioles prospects to watch [Baltimore Sports and Life]
7. The Orioles seem ready to shake off years of mediocrity [Tampa Bay Online]
8. Here's an AFC North free agency preview [Pro Football Weekly]
9. The Ravens are searching for size at cornerback [Ravens.com]
10. The Terps are looking for momentum as the ACC tournament nears [Baltimore Sun]
11. GM George McPhee on Dmitri Orlov: "We're pretty high on this player" [Capitals Insider]
12. The Capitals got an A-minus for their deadline dealings [Puck Daddy]
You said it:
"Seems to me that the ones knocking him down were the ones who put him up in the first place. I never heard Matt say he was a superstar or anything near it. So if the mouths in the press are saying that he's a bust then what should we say about them when they were the ones who said he was a sure thing out of college." -- reader TGC3RD has some words for Baseball Prospectus, who said Matt Wieters is one of the biggest busts ever
Video of the morning:
The Caps beat the Islanders in OT on Tuesday, and this was Alex Ovechkin's highlight-reel game-winner
Send me your funny and/or interesting links, photos, YouTube videos, blogs, Tweets, comments, emails, ideas, leads, etc. If I deem them to be worthy for the blog, I’ll give you a plug. You can reach me at Matt.Vensel@baltsun.com and twitter.com/mattvensel.