He was the Orioles' first-round draft pick (taken No. 5 overall) in the 2007 draft. He has played 882 games in an Orioles uniform. But catcher Matt Wieters' time as an Oriole could be over now. The club has to decide whether it will make the pending free agent a qualifying offer and/or attempt to sign him to a new contract. Another option is to let Wieters leave via free agency and sign with another team. Wieters holds the cards now. He can accept and/or turn down any offer he...

It looked like just another routine out in a baseball game. But it wasn't. It was the top of the fifth inning of Monday night's game at Camden Yards. Kansas City was batting with one out and a man on first. The runner, Mike Aviles, broke for second. O's catcher Matt Wieters threw a strike to second to record the out as Cesar Izturis applied the tag. What made the play remarkable was how fast it happened. A veteran scout in the press box timed the play from the moment the ball hit...

When the Orioles drafted catcher Matt Wieters with the 5th overall pick in the 2007 draft, they knew they were getting a special player. He was the top rated position player in the draft; he's a switch hitter with power; and he understands what it takes to be a complete player. "You're not going to go four for four every day," Wieters said. "You're not going to get 2 or 3 hits or throw out 2 or 3 base runners every game. So every day you come to the ballpark you have to do something...

Each Thursday, MASN airs a new "Covering the Bases" segment with a different Oriole during that night's game. Throughout the game, fans get to peek inside the childhoods, early baseball days, and adolescent years of their favorite Birds courtesy of baby photos, stories from coaches and anecdotes from family members and friends. Tonight, MASN is Covering the Bases with still new Oriole catcher Matt Wieters. Before MASN really breaks it all down for you tonight during the O's broadcast,...

Matt Wieters caught Alfredo Simon's bullpen session yesterday. And like the rest of us, he's amazed that the right-hander is less than a year removed from ligament-reconstructive surgery. "I was really impressed with the life he had on his fastball, especially coming off Tommy John," Wieters said. "His fastball was very lively. It was a lot more lively than I was expecting it to be this early in spring training." Wieters also was impressed by Cla Meredith. "He really stuck out to...

If you haven't seen Matt Wieters on the cover of the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, make sure you don't miss it. Tom Verducci's feature makes Wieters the first Oriole to grace an SI cover since the IronMan himself, Cal Ripken Jr., who was certainly no stranger to the pages of Sports Illustrated. Cal's image made the cover nine times over the years, including four times in 1995 alone! (May, August, September and December) Billy Ripken and Cal Ripken Sr. also had covers all to...

I had a chance to speak with Nationals manager Jim Riggleman as spring training 2010 gets underway today. We went over several of the important issues the Nats have solved and that they face as they embark on Jim's first full year as the Nats skipper. On the signing of Adam Kennedy at second base: "At this point, Mike has really addressed every issue we talked about since August with Adam Kennedy being one of those guys. We felt we needed add another infielder. It's a perfect match, a...

Brian Roberts 2B Nolan Reimold LF Nick Markakis RF Miguel Tejada 3B Adam Jones CF Luke Scott DH Matt Wieters C Garrett Atkins 1B Cesar Izturis SS Jason Berken RHP Jon Lester is starting for the Red Sox.

Former Orioles pitching coach and manager RAY MILLER has been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame, the team announced today. Former O's manager and player JOHNNY OATES will also be enshrined posthumously as a selection of the Veteran's Committee, and longtime Baseball Operations employee LENNY JOHNSTON is this year's Herb Armstrong Award winner. A native of Suitland, Maryland, Ray Miller will be enshrined for his work as a pitching coach with the Orioles. He had three stints with the Birds...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today, I am very thankful I have such great family and friends. Also thankful that I get to cover my hometown team, the team I grew up rooting for in the Orioles. Also, thankful so many of you have found this blog, read it often and even take the time to offer comments. Thanks to all! Now some Turkey Day takes:

The Orioles clearly have their catcher of the present and future now solidly in place in Matt Wieters. But one key question concerning Wieters for the 2010 season is this one - how heavy of a load can he carry in terms of games played? If Wieters gets one day off per week, he would play in about 138 games. Last year, between Norfolk and Baltimore he played in 135 games, getting 495 at bats. He had 81 at bats as a DH. By my count, he made 114 starts at catcher during the 2009 season between...

I made it to Charlotte Sports Park, but not before detouring through half the state because of an accident or some really intrusive construction. Here's the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup: Gabe Kapler RF Carl Crawford LF Evan Longoria 3B Carlos Pena 1B Pat Burrell DH Sean Rodriguez SS Kelly Shoppach C Reid Brignac 2B Fernando Perez CF Jeff Niemann RHP

Adam Jones CF Cesar Izturis SS Matt Wieters C Miguel Tejada 3B Ty Wigginton 2B Michael Aubrey 1B Lou Montanez LF Scott Moore DH Jeff Salazar RF Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Cesar Izturis SS Adam Jones CF Nick Markakis RF Miguel Tejada 3B Garrett Atkins 1B Nolan Reimold LF Josh Bell DH Chad Moeller C Robert Andino 2B Brian Matusz LHP Also scheduled to pitch: Will Ohman, Wilfrido Perez, Jim Johnson, Koji Uehara and Kam Mickolio.

The entire press box was fixated on the end of the Maryland-Michigan State game. Way too many MSU grads sitting near me. Kevin Millwood was charged with one run and five hits in five innings, with three walks and six strikeouts. He threw 94 pitches, 59 for strikes. I don't even care. I'm still mourning the Terps loss. Will Ohman replaced Millwood and walked the leadoff batter. He struck out the next three. Again, I don't care.