Camp

Baltimore City may be five years into its Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness (aka "The Journey Home"), but the tragically prejudicial comments from city representatives regarding the individuals experiencing homelessness who were residing at "Camp 83" set back decades both the city's progress on the persistent issue of homelessness and their credibility on understanding homelessness ("City clears homeless camp; protesters push for permanent solution," March...

The Orioles have passed the halfway point in spring training and there is plenty that we still don't know about them, but you have to like what has happened at the Ed Smith Stadium facility so far. Almost nothing. The first four weeks have been surprisingly uneventful. There have been no major injuries and no big off-the-field problems, unless you count the fact that shortstop J.J. Hardy actually lost a game of ping pong the other day. The tone has been upbeat throughout, except the part where all the players in the Orioles clubhouse keep talking about the unfinished business to need to attend to in 2013.

Tracy Jones pounded a pair of sneakers against the wall of an Interstate 83 ramp, shaking off months of caked-on dirt. She tossed aside a long-sleeve shirt that had been chewed by a rat and packed up her few belongings Friday as a team of city workers razed the homeless encampment where she had lived with more than a dozen others. Jones and her husband, Charlie, finally were going home. "There's no feeling in the world like it," he said. The couple moved into a sparsely furnished rowhouse on Dumbarton Avenue, where they hope to rebuild their lives and be reunited with their four children, who were removed from their care.

As a 44 year resident of Baltimore City, I cannot think of a better use of my taxes than paying to temporarily house the homeless individuals who are about to be evicted by the city from their meager camp in motels while they wait for permanent housing ("Homeless eviction plan criticized," March 5). Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's comments that doing so is "not a responsible use of taxpayer money," and Councilwoman Rikki Spector's reference to the camp as "toxic," made this proud resident of Baltimore feel shame that publicly elected officials would so openly demonstrate their contempt and lack of compassion for our most vulnerable citizens.

The Orioles made their first cuts of the spring Thursday, sending five players to minor league camp, including two of the organization's most promising young pitchers. The club sent out left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and right-hander Mike Wright, who are widely considered the Orioles' top pitching prospects behind Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Also re-assigned to minor league camp were catcher Allan de San Miguel, who did not play in a Grapefruit League game for the Orioles because he was with the World Baseball Classic's Team Australia; catcher Luis Martinez, who didn't play in a game because of a left oblique strain; and left-hander Zach Braddock, who is recovering from shoulder surgery.

As a Friday deadline approaches, advocates are working to find housing for the homeless men and women living at a Baltimore encampment set to be cleared. Christina Flowers, president of Belvedere Homes, stopped by the site between Interstate 83 and the Fallsway on Wednesday with a promise to find housing for those who want it. She said her organization secured a three-bedroom house in the Harwood neighborhood to accommodate six of the roughly 18 men and women at the encampment. "At this point, it's just about being able to move forward," said Flowers, whose organization on North Charles Street provides housing for those who are homeless, suffer from disabilities or have a mental illness.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Michael Weiner, the executive director of the MLB Players Association, stopped by Orioles spring training camp to the annual MLBPA meeting with players. After Weiner met with the team, he spoke with reporters on a variety of issues. Here's what he said. On the investigation into South Florida anti-aging lab Biogenesis: “We have a process that we'll engage in. The Commissioner's office has a process, and the hope is, it's a joint program, so the hope is if there's anything that needs to be investigated coming out of that story we do it together.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Matt Wieters seemed like the perfect choice to catch for the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic, but the two-time All-Star made it clear early on that he wanted to spend as much time as possible in spring camp with the Orioles. “I'd love to be able to play for my country," Wieters said Tuesday, “but, at the same time, you have responsibilities to your team and responsibilities, for me, to the pitching staff - to be able to get to know them and go through spring training with them.” There are all sorts of reasons for him to stay in Sarasota.

SARASOTA, Fla. - On the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao, located just off the northern Venezuelan coast, baseball is the unofficial national sport. Kids growing up there have dreams of playing in the Little League World Series, following in the footsteps of a group that brought the world championship back to the island in 2004. Orioles infield prospect Jonathan Schoop played on that team. One of his teammates was Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar, now heralded at the top prospect in baseball.

Record-setting Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is scheduled to visit the Orioles' spring-training facility before Thursday's 1 p.m. intrasquad game at Ed Smith Stadium. Phelps is in town with renowned golf coach Hank Haney promoting their new show on The Golf Channel titled "The Haney Project. " The show focuses around Haney teaching the 22-time medalist the game of golf.   Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, followed the Ravens during their run to the Super Bowl.