With the Orioles only a week away from the start of the 2013 season, The D&L Window Tinting Morning Reaction puts together its 25-man roster in a collaborative effort.

You can hear the full explanation from Drew Forrester and Luke Jones HERE.

CATCHERS
Matt Wieters
Taylor Teagarden

INFIELD
Chris Davis
Brian Roberts
J.J. Hardy
Manny Machado
Alexi Casilla
Ryan Flaherty

OUTFIELD
Nick Markakis
Adam Jones
Nate McLouth
Nolan Reimold
Steve Pearce

STARTING ROTATION
RHP Jason Hammel
LHP Wei-Yin Chen
RHP Miguel Gonzalez
RHP Chris Tillman
RHP Jake Arrieta

BULLPEN
RHP Jim Johnson
RHP Darren O’Day
RHP Pedro Strop
RHP Tommy Hunter
LHP Brian Matusz
LHP Troy Patton
LHP T.J. McFarland

NOTES: Jones and Forrester predict Luis Ayala will be traded and Wilson Betemit will be placed on the disabled list to begin the season.

Before you say I have no facts, read this article from the Baltimore Business Journal

By now most of you know that Towson University decided to cut its men’s baseball and soccer teams on Friday.  I had been waiting to write this piece because I was waiting for President Loeschke and/or Mike Waddell to answer questions from the media but the chances of this are slim.

Anyways, it seems most of you are upset about this and I’m wondering why.  On Saturday morning, my “Weekend Warriors” (Saturday’s 9am-12pm) crew and I fielded a few calls from listeners expressing their frustration and anger at Towson for cutting their two programs.

These decisions have been in the works for months and I find it funny how so many people now care about what happened at Towson now that has actually happened.  It’s your classic “no one cares till it’s gone” scenario.

I am a student at Towson University.  In my first year at this school I saw a football program go an entire season with one win.  I saw the end of the Pat Kennedy era of the basketball team and the subsequent record breaking losing streak by the basketball program.  However, since those awful years, I have seen back to back CAA Championships from the football team and the greatest Division-1 turnaround of a basketball program ever.  Towson sports are on the rise.  I’ve been to every home game that football has had since I started including the games during the 1-9 season. I went to a number of games during basketball’s losing streak and went to every home game this season for their turnaround. The games I haven’t gone to are those of the soccer and baseball programs and I absolutely love both of these sports having played both of them my entire life.

What’s the point here?

Someone who has no ties (be it family, friend, or groupie) to either team will not attend games of a mediocre college soccer or baseball team.  They will however go to basketball and football games and will turn out in record numbers if they are good as you can see from Towson football’s attendance records from the past two years.  I mean, students even stormed the court after basketball’s final game this year.  You would never and will never see that at a baseball or soccer game.

I couldn’t care less that the administration cut baseball and soccer.  Neither program benefits me or any of my other fellow students at Towson and more importantly, to the administration, they didn’t benefit the university itself.  Football and basketball do however benefit the university and most college students would rather go to these games.

The reality is that college sports are a business and a big one at that.  Football and basketball can benefit a university in many ways.  Publicity is the biggest way.  The CAA’s deal with NBC Sports Network has undoubtedly improved Towson’s visibility and their performance in those televised games has increased their reputation and reach.  More people who know who you are means more people applying to your university.  It’s quite simple actually.  It’s an “arms race” for the most publicity and if Towson thought the best way to compete in it was to cut those two programs then more power to them.  I don’t want my school to lag behind because some people’s feelings will get hurt.

And I sure as hell don’t want my student fees to be raised just so some students can go to school for free and play on mediocre sports teams.

This brings me back to my original question.  Why do you care?  It’s my school and I don’t even care.  There’s absolutely no reason for you to get indignant about it if I’m not.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel for the players involved in these cuts.  They now have to transfer if they want to play their sport elsewhere.  However, what I don’t feel sorry about is that if they stay their scholarships will be honored.  So either way they are still getting a free education.  From someone who will be in debt from their college education expenses, here’s a sarcastic “boohoo”.

You can talk all you want about how the players and coaches were being treated.  They were being fired.  There is no “nice” way to do that.  Peoples’ feelings would have gotten hurt regardless.

So for all those who suddenly care about the cuts at my school: Where were you when no one attended baseball and soccer games?  Where were you when no one stepped up to the plate to donate money or raise funds?

I’m not going to take a holier than though stance like some about this situation.  I won’t blame my school for trying to keep up with the cut throat capitalist mentality of college sports. I don’t want my school to be left behind.  My school has turned its most important athletic programs around in record and stunning fashion.  I’m proud of my Towson Tigers.

PRESS RELEASE

The Orioles announced Thursday that they have reassigned RHP MIKE WRIGHT, LHPs ZACH BRADDOCK and EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, and CAs ALLAN DE SAN MIGUEL and LUIS MARTINEZ to minor league camp.

With these reassignments, the Orioles now have 56 players at major league spring training, including 16 non-roster invitees.

With Major League Baseball investigating the Biogenesis clinic and operator Anthony Bosch, the Orioles have now been drawn into the story as third baseman Danny Valencia is listed in the records in a report from Yahoo! Sports.

According to the article, Valencia’s named is not linked to any specific performance enhancing drugs, but his mention will draw scrutiny along with the many others including Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Melky Cabrera.

Valencia released a statement Tuesday evening that was passed along by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:

“As any innocent person would be, I am shocked and troubled that my name is in any way connected to this story. I have never met or spoken to anyone connected with Biogenesis, in fact I had never even heard of this company prior to the New Times’ story. I take tremendous pride in the hard work and dedication I put into being a professional baseball player and have never taken PEDs or failed a drug test of any kind during my career. I look forward to fully cooperating in MLB’s investigation in any way that I can, and will explore taking legal action if this issue is not resolved in a timely fashion.”

The Orioles purchased his contract from the Boston Red Sox in late November.

Last season, Valencia hit .188 with three home runs and 21 runs batted in in 154 at-bats with the Minnesota Twins and Boston. He will be a candidate to platoon at the designated hitter spot with Wilson Betemit.

The Orioles announced Tuesday that they have claimed infielder Russ Canzler off waivers from the Yankees. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, catcher Luis Martinez has been designated for assignment.

Canzler, 26, is a career .278/.347/.472 hitter in nine minor league seasons with the Cubs, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. He has hit .271/.304/.396 in 29 major league games in 2011 (Tampa Bay) and 2012 (Cleveland). In 31 major league plate appearances against left-handed pitching, Canzler has hit .400/.419/.667.

Martinez, 27, is a career .272/.362/.364 hitter in six minor league seasons in the San Diego (2007-11) and Texas (2012) systems. In 2012, Martinez batted .270/.350/.386 in 65 games with Triple-A Round Rock and also appeared in 10 games for the Rangers, going 2-for-18. He was originally drafted by San Diego in the 12th round of the 2007 First Year Player Draft.

Former Orioles catcher Earl Williams died Monday night at the age of 64 after being diagnosed with acute leukemia last summer.

Known as a poor defensive player, Williams was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1971 as he hit 33 home runs and drove in 87 runs in his first full season. He followed that up with 28 homers a year later, prompting Baltimore manager Earl Weaver to covet the offensive catcher that offseason.

Prior to the 1973 season, Williams was traded with Taylor Duncan to the Orioles for second baseman Davey Johnson, pitchers Pat Dobson and Roric Harrison, and catcher Johnny Oates.

Williams was a flop in Baltimore, hitting .245 with 36 home runs in two seasons. Meanwhile, Johnson went on to have a career year in 1973 with 43 home runs and 99 runs batted in.

Major League Baseball will announce the Rawlings Gold Glove winners on Tuesday night with the Orioles having three finalists this season.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy, center fielder Adam Jones, and catcher Matt Wieters have been named finalists for the 2012 awards at their respective positions. Wieters — along with right fielder Nick Markakis — won his first Gold Glove last season and Jones nabbed his only fielding honor in 2009.

Hardy is competing with Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and Seattle’s Brendan Ryan at the position. The 30-year-old committed only six errors and posted a career-best .992 fielding percentage in 2012 as he was regarded as one of the finest defensive shortstops in the league.

Jones is up against Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson and the Angels’ Mike Trout. The 27-year-old outfielder committed eight errors and had a .982 fielding percentage in 2012.

Despite committing a career-high 10 errors and five passed balls in his third full season in the big leagues, Wieters is up for his second consecutive Gold Glove. He is competing with Detroit’s Alex Avila, Yankees catcher Russell Martin, and Chicago’s A.J. Pierzynski.

The awards will be announced at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night on ESPN2.

Veteran pitcher Randy Wolf will undergo Tommy John surgery for the second time and miss the 2013 season.

The left-hander appeared in five games and made two starts for the Orioles after being signed on Aug. 31, going 2-0 with a 5.28 ERA. Wolf, 36, plans to pitch in the 2014 season, but it’s unlikely to come in Baltimore as he was set to become a free agent this offseason.

The 14-year-veteran was released by the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 22 and was eligible for the Orioles’ postseason roster before tearing a ligament in his left elbow. His final appearance was a start in Boston on Sept. 22 before the injury was diagnosed a few days later.

Wolf is 132-117 with a 4.20 ERA in 376 career appearances in the big leagues.

When Mark Reynolds was plunked on the left hand by Rangers starter Yu Darvish in the second inning of Friday night’s game in Arlington, the Orioles feared the worst for their first baseman.

The club saw Nick Markakis break his thumb after being hit by a similar pitch nearly a month ago, but the news was better for Reynolds, who stayed in the game to finish an 0-for-3 night at the plate. He is expected to be in the lineup against the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

“This guy is a very tough, durable man, but that one had a little different look in his face,” manager Buck Showalter said. “I initially thought it might be broken. I haven’t heard anything yet, but I’d be surprised if he’s not a player [Sunday] night.”

Showalter officially named right-hander Jason Hammel as his Game 1 starter, but he wouldn’t go as far as naming the rest of his rotation. Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez will likely be the next two in line to pitch in the five-game series, but an uncertain weather forecast could alter plans.

Sunday is expected to be a very rainy day, which could put the series opener in danger of postponement. This would mean the Orioles and Yankees would play the entire series in five days without a day built in for travel. A postponement would alter the Orioles’ plans for the 25-man roster, which must be finalized by Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

“Right now, we’re probably looking at Chen and Gonzalez in [Games] 2 and 3, but that could change, depending on the rainout,” Showalter said. “If we have a rainout, then a lot of things change because we can resubmit a different roster provided we don’t exchange lineup cards.”

Showalter would presumably go with Chris Tillman in the fourth game of the series in the Bronx, but what the Orioles decide to do after that remains to be seen. With no postponements, Hammel would be on regular rest for a potential Game 5, but left-hander Joe Saunders made a pretty convincing argument for his spot in the rotation after pitching 5 2/3 strong innings against the Rangers on Friday night.

As for the rest of the roster, Showalter and executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette were to finalize plans after Saturday’s workout. The Orioles are monitoring the health of several players, including Wilson Betemit since the switch-hitter has seen his wrist improve dramatically since last playing on Sept. 13.

“There are a couple variables, like Betemit swung the bat and felt really good today,” Showalter said. “First time he took extended batting practice and he’s coming along quickly. We’re looking at a few injuries.”

The return of Betemit would give the Orioles a viable left-handed bat off the bench, regardless of whether Showalter would elect to use Thome or Betemit as the designated hitter in a given game. Betemit hit .302 against right-handed pitching this season, posting an .859 on-base plus slugging percentage. In contrast, Betemit is hitting only .140 from the right side of the plate against southpaws.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi revealed the rest of his starting rotation behind Game 1 starter CC Sabathia on Saturday. Veteran lefty Andy Pettitte will pitch Game 2 in Baltimore, Hiroki Kuroda in Game 3, and Phil Hughes in the fourth game of the series if necessary.

Sabathia would presumably return on regular rest for a potential Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, but those plans could change if Sunday’s game is rained out.

Tonight, we watch the Orioles compete in their first postseason game in 5,469 days.

In October 1997, I was a freshman in high school and sported a mouthful of braces. Earlier this week, I celebrated my 29th birthday.

Though very happy for the city of Baltimore and for all Orioles fans, I’ll think of four very special people in my life who are here in spirit but not in body tonight.

I’ll remember Grandmom’s amusing mix of optimism and fickleness with Grandpop hilariously needling her from across the room the entire time.

I’ll envision Pop sitting in his recliner, watching quietly but intently.

And I will picture Dad sitting on the couch next to me, hanging with every pitch as he screams and drops popcorn all over the floor.

They are the reason why I love baseball and why I’m in this business. And the thought of the four of them watching this one tonight brings a smile to my face.

Regardless of what happens over the next few hours in Arlington, enjoy this one for yourself and for those who loved the Orioles and are no longer with us.