Confidence

Navy ended a disappointing 2012 campaign with an invigorating 8-2 upset of Johns Hopkins to finish with a 6-6 record. With the Midshipmen at 3-9 before Saturday's season finale against the Blue Jays, could a similar outcome be in the cards? “We did it before, and hopefully that means we can do it again,” Navy coach Rick Sowell said Wednesday afternoon. “But it's obviously a different year, and we're playing at their place. So I'm not sure how much impact it's really going to have.

Lost in the Orioles' 3-0 shutout loss to the Yankees Sunday night at Yankee Stadium was the relief performance of Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland. Orioles manager Buck Showalter has said it regularly, that you can't hide a reliever in the AL East. Yet, McFarland hadn't pitched in eight days since making his major league debut against the Twins on two Saturday's ago. On Sunday night, McFarland entered a three-run game in the seventh inning and allowed just one hit over two scoreless innings, walking one and striking out three - including the final two batters he faced in the eighth, Kevin Youkilis and Ben Francisco.

Things did not look appealing for St. Mary's when the team opened March with three losses in four contests to fall to 2-4. Since then, however, the program has strung together seven consecutive wins - a run it hasn't enjoyed since 2006. The Seahawks are 9-4 overall and 4-0 in the Capital Athletic Conference, but coach Chris Hasbrouck did his best to downplay any fervor as they prepare for No. 6 Salisbury (12-3, 5-0) this Saturday and York (11-3, 3-1) next Saturday. “We've just been plugging away,” he said Thursday morning.

Reigning national champion Loyola boasts the 14th-most prolific offense in Division I despite not getting much production from its first midfield. Senior Chris Layne ranks fourth on the team in goals (12) and points (20), but senior Davis Butts is tied for sixth in points (12) and senior Sean O'Sullivan is eighth in points (11). Butts is on pace for just five goals, which would be the fewest of his career since his freshman year in 2010. Sullivan is on pace to finish the season with 14 points, which would his lowest since transferring from Army.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Manny Machado was as surprised as anyone. He figured he would open the 2013 season in pretty much the same place he was when the Orioles ended their unlikely playoff run last October. Playing third base every day. Batting deep in the order. Learning on the job. So, what was a 20-year-old semi-rookie supposed to think when manager Buck Showalter announced Monday that he will bat second against 2012 Cy Young Award winner David Price when the Orioles open the regular season Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field?

The message on the black T-shirts that Orioles players have often worn around the clubhouse during spring training speaks volumes. It highlights their belief that last year's sudden success -- in which the Orioles shocked baseball and returned to the postseason for the first time in 15 years -- wasn't a fluke, but just a beginning. "To Be Continued ... " the shirts, provided by center fielder Adam Jones, say in orange lettering. Some of the Orioles' achievements during last year's magical season will be nearly impossible to duplicate -- the 16 straight extra-inning wins and the 29-9 record in one-run games -- and that's why most baseball experts don't believe the club can keep winning.

Having been cleared to resume baseball activities Thursday, Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis said he's confident he will have enough time -- and at-bats -- to be ready for the regular season. Markakis hasn't played since March 1, when he was scratched from the starting lineup with neck stiffness. After an MRI, Markakis was diagnosed with a small disk herniation in his neck. On Friday, he will take swings off a tee and do some light throwing. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the progression, which is slated to take three to four days, will include soft-toss hitting, long-toss throwing and live batting practice thrown by coaches.

The economy is improving and so is employment, but workers' optimism about a comfortable retirement has fallen to a new low, according to the annual Retirement Confidence Survey released Tuesday. Just over half of workers say they are either very confident about their retirement prospects or somewhat so. But 28 percent - a record high - have no confidence while an additional 21 percent express pessimism about their retirement future. The survey by the Employment Benefit Research Institute gauged the outlook on retirement among 1,254 U.S. workers and retirees interviewed in January.

SARASOTA, Fla. - When outfielder Nate McLouth joined the Orioles from Triple-A last August, he was just another one of executive vice president Dan Duquette's attempted reclamation projects. His new teammates knew who he was, though. Heck, one even dabbled as McLouth a few years back. "I don't think I ever told Nate this, but I used to play video baseball games and I always had him as my center fielder," said Orioles first baseman Chris Davis. "Because he's all the things I am not. He is fast; he's got a six-pack [sculpted abdomen]

With three weeks left in the General Assembly session, Gov. Martin O'Malley and legislative leaders have begun the painstaking process of rounding up the votes to raise taxes on gasoline — a move so unpopular it hasn't been done here since 1992. The measure is what lawmakers call a "heavy lift," a vote that could come back to haunt them at the polls. O'Malley has been talking to senators and delegates one on one and in groups, trying to nail down support for a proposal that would add an estimated 9 cents to the price of a gallon of gas by 2014.