Neck Injury

ARLINGTON, Texas -- It was as if the season were starting anew for Glenn Davis, who had worked and waited nearly four months to return to the Baltimore Orioles starting lineup.He rejoined the club Sunday night and arrived at Arlington Stadium yesterday afternoon, hoping to get down to business as usual as quickly as possible after missing more than 100 games with a neck injury."I just want to get back in a routine," Davis said. "I think the most important thing is to get focused on the game.

The scene is always surrounded at first by a hush, then by silence.Down on the football field a player isn't moving. He's stretched out with doctors and trainers kneeling, talking to him. He's not moving. That's when the hush turns into silence because the spectators know that it's not just another torn knee or busted shoulder. They know it's football's most dreaded injury. They know it's a damaged neck.Move, you can almost hear people saying as if they were praying. Move your legs, move your arms.

Josh Asper is hungry; most wrestlers are. But Asper's appetite leans less toward pizza than perfection on the mat. The Maryland senior craves an NCAA title this week, and his drive to win has awed his teammates. During workouts, they shy away from pairing off with Asper, a Hereford alum who is ranked No. 2 in the country at 174 pounds. "Nobody likes to drill with him because he goes 110 percent," said the Terps ' Jimmy Sheptock, twice an Atlantic Coast Conference champ.

[ Down the stretch is a daily Orioles Insider blog that will set up the coming night for the O's and their American League competition as the push for the postseason continues. ] About last night Orioles pound Mariners, 10-4 Machado won't be a rookie next year Jim Thome could be back in a week Showalter optimistic Hammel can return Monday's full scoreboard AL East Standings NYY       83-63     -- BAL       83-64     0.5 TB        78-69     5.5 AL Wild-Card Standings OAK       84-62      -- BAL        83-64        -- LAA        80-67      3 TB          78-69     5 DET        77-69     5.5 Tonight's game Orioles at Mariners.

The past 12 months have been a bit of a whirlwind for new Ravens quarterback Curtis Painter. A year ago, he was expected to be the backup to Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts, but Manning sat out the season with a neck injury. Kerry Collins was ineffective early, pushing Painter into the starting lineup for Week 4. He made eight starts for the Colts, who ultimately finished 2-14, before giving way to Dan Orlovsky. Last month, Painter participated in a tryout for the Ravens, along with 2003 first-round pick Kyle Boller and former Pittsburgh Steelers scrambler Dennis Dixon.

An already banged-up Ravens defense won't be getting middle linebacker Ray Lewis back for Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos. The Ravens had until 4 p.m. today to take Lewis off of injured reserve with a designation to return, but they made the decision not to activate him, meaning that the 37-year-old won't be eligible to play Sunday against Peyton Manning and company. Lewis hasn't played since he tore his right triceps in the Ravens' 31-29 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 14. Tomorrow marked the first game he was eligible to return but the Ravens have decided to give him at least another week.

Jair Jurrjens was pretty bummed after he had to leave Wednesday's game in the second inning because he took a batted ball in the ribs. He looked at it as his last chance this spring to make an impression on the Orioles as they prepare for final roster cuts. And manager Buck Showalter said after the game that, “I would have liked to see him pitch deeper,” presumably to get one more read on the former All-Star. Pitching well never hurts, but the truth is how Jurrjens threw on Wednesday didn't matter.

SARASOTA, Fla. -  Orioles left fielder Nolan Reimold was removed from Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after just two innings with soreness in his right, throwing shoulder. Reimold's early exit was odd, especially considering Reimold had just hit his first homer of the spring, a towering two-run shot to left off James McDonald that gave the Orioles a three-run lead in the bottom of the second inning. “He said it feels fine,” manager Buck Showalter said after the Orioles' 6-5 win over Pittsburgh at Ed Smith Stadium.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- The cause of Nick Markakis' neck soreness is more severe than originally thought, but the Orioles hope that some rest will allow the team's starting right fielder to return to spring training games in the next week or two. A MRI on Monday revealed a small disk herniation - or slight tear - in the C4-C5 section (neck area) of Markakis' spine, manager Buck Showalter said. With this kind of minor tear, players are usually sidelined between seven to 14 days before they can resume baseball activities, Showalter said.

One of the many tough decisions the Orioles must make this offseason is whether they will make an effort to resign outfielder Nate McLouth, who was an instrumental part of the team's playoff push and arguably their best player in the postseason. McLouth might have been the best comeback story in baseball. He was released by the Pirates in May after hitting just .140 in 34 games in limited playing time. After signing a minor league deal and spending two months at Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles selected McLouth's contract when he could have exercised on out clause in early August.