Brian Roberts

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Boston Red Sox, because they have another game at night in Fort Myers, brought no regulars here for Friday's contest against the Orioles. The Orioles sent starter Miguel Gonzalez to pitch against minor leaguers so he wouldn't face an American League East team. It's typical stuff for mid-March, but the gamesmanship handed lefty Zach Britton a start. And he took advantage of the opportunity in the Orioles' 3-3 tie against the Red Sox. Britton, who is fighting for the fifth starter spot, lasted 3 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and walking two, with both walks coming in his final frame.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Just before Wednesday's workout began at the Ed Smith Stadium Complex, Orioles manager Buck Showalter called for 10-year-old Johnny Oates II and his younger brother Jackson to hop the fence and join the team on the field. The siblings quickly sprinted to Showalter, who introduced them to the players circling around, most of them starters. That's when Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts spoke up. “Let's show them what we have in common,” Roberts said with a smile before both he and Johnny lifted their shirts to reveal large vertical scars along the middle of their chests.

Welcome to a spring training version of Connolly's Bar We're in Florida, so we'll put some boat drinks on special. I'm afraid to light the Tiki torch, though. I don't want to burn the whole place down. So we'll just concentrate on baseball instead. Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts held court Monday in Sarasota. He's 8-for-20 in seven Grapefruit League games so far. He has not played on the road yet. He has not dived headfirst into the bag on a steal attempt (though he did do it at first base on a pickoff attempt with no problems)

— In three weeks the Orioles will take the field against the Tampa Bay Rays on Opening Day in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Brian Roberts is expected to be starting at second base. Nothing new there. Roberts, the former All-Star and once the face of the franchise, had been the club's Opening Day second baseman from 2004 to 2011. Last year, though, Roberts' streak was broken. Due to complications from multiple concussions, Roberts was sidelined for the first two-plus months of the regular season, one in which he ultimately played just 17 games after suffering a hip injury that required surgery.

There aren't a whole lot of roster questions revolving around the Orioles' 25-man roster, but one of the more intriguing ones is whether Ryan Flaherty will go north for the second consecutive year. Flaherty, an infielder/outfielder who was selected from the Chicago Cubs' organization in the 2011 Rule 5 draft, had to stay in the majors all of last season to become Orioles property. He did, and he also ended up homering in the playoffs against the New York Yankees. Now Flaherty, 26, can be sent to the minors this year, but he is doing everything he can to stay in the big leagues.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Orioles. 178 -- Roster moves made by Buck Showalter and Dan Duquette during the 2012 season. Perhaps the most impressive thing about last season's magical run to the playoffs was that the Orioles did it with a revolving door to their clubhouse. According to ESPN, the Orioles made 178 roster moves, used 52 different players and trotted out 122 different lineups in 162 games.

Buck Showalter remembered sitting in the Orioles clubhouse as a driving rain delayed the first playoff game Baltimore had hosted in 15 years. "Do you think the fans will stay?" asked a relatively new Oriole. "Hell yes," replied closer Jim Johnson. The Orioles manager told the story to illustrate the connection between his team and Baltimore. And that bond, which Showalter helped restore, was a big reason why he received The Baltimore Sun's 2012 Marylander of the Year award on Monday.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The Orioles hit a spring-high four homers off Pittsburgh Pirates pitching Friday afternoon in a 6-5 win at Ed Smith Stadium. It was the Orioles' sixth victory in seven  Grapefruit League games this spring. Second baseman Brian Roberts led off the bottom of the first inning by taking a 0-1 offering from right-hander James McDonald over the right-field fence. Nolan Reimold and Wilson Betemit then hit back-to-back homers with two outs in the second inning off McDonald to put the Orioles up 4-0. Reimold's two-run shot, which came after Nate McLouth's two-out single, cleared the picnic area beyond the left-field fence For Roberts and Reimold, two starters whose 2012 campaigns were cut short by injury, it was a positive sign.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Second baseman Brian Roberts hit his first home run in a game in almost two years, and he also had a pair of singles in the Orioles' 6-5 victory over the Pirates on Friday. He pulled a ball over the right-field fence in the first inning and sprayed the two other hits to left field to finish 3-for-3. And he was very upbeat about it. “Every day is a fun day on the field," Roberts said. “I've spent too many days in the training room, so baseball is always fun when you can get out and play.