Roster

ATLANTA - The Orioles must submit their Opening Day roster to Major League Baseball by midnight tonight, and manager Mike Hargrove said the players won't know the final decisions until late this afternoon. The 25-man roster is mostly set, but a few battles still remain. Ryan McGuire and Luis Garcia are fighting for the fifth outfield spot, while Mike Moriarty and Brian Roberts are battling for the utility infield spot. The Orioles made some expected moves yesterday, placing reliever Rodrigo Lopez on the 40-man roster and placing Albert Belle on the 60-day disabled list.

Defensive back Jamaine Winborne has been on the bubble of NFL rosters before, but this time he's hoping for a different outcome. In both 2004 as a rookie with the New York Giants and in 2005 with the Ravens, Winborne was waived as each team made its final round of cuts. This season, he is competing with B.J. Ward and rookie Robb Butler for the final safety spot on the Ravens' 53-man roster. "I'm trying to do whatever I can do to stand out. I'm scratching and clawing right now," said Winborne, who had two solo tackles and a sack in the Ravens' first two preseason games.

ST. LOUIS - Even before playing extensively in tonight's preseason finale against the St. Louis Rams, Ravens' third-year linebacker Sergio Kindle hoped that he had already done enough to survive the final roster cuts. However, Kindle, who has been active for just two regular season games since he was selected in the second round of the 2010 draft, admitted that he'll still feel some anxiety Friday when the Ravens have to trim their roster from 75 to 53 by 9 p.m. Though coaches have lauded Kindle for the progress that he's made during training camp, they've stopped well short of saying that he is a lock to make the team, and Kindle knows that his performance tonight will certainly factor in that decision.

PHOENIX -- Before last season, Jeff Reboulet arrived at the Orioles' Fort Lauderdale spring training facility without a job and with no guarantees. Next February, he will return with a major-league contract and the prospect of serving as the American League East champion's man for all positions.Two days after the club lost utility infielder Aaron Ledesma to the expansion Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Orioles re-signed Reboulet to a one-year, $450,000 contract.Though Reboulet's return didn't hinge on Ledesma's departure, the loss only heightened the 33-year-old's significance to a team that struggled with infield depth for much of last season.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- An easy smile crosses Jack Cust's face when he thinks about it now: The stumble heard 'round the world. Twelfth inning, two outs, the Orioles trailing the New York Yankees by a run. Larry Bigbie doubles into the gap, and a sellout crowd at Camden Yards goes bonkers. Cust lumbers around the bases from first, and it's the longest 270 feet of his life. After rounding third, he falls -- not once, but twice. The Yankees botch the rundown play and leave home plate vacant.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - At 8:30 a.m. yesterday, the Orioles tentatively set their roster for Opening Day by placing John Valentin on waivers and retaining Jeff Reboulet and Jose Leon as their utility infielders. About seven hours later, it was much firmer - and missing Reboulet. The Orioles claimed shortstop Jose Morban off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and released Reboulet, who was running sprints in the outfield during the ninth inning when summoned into the manager's office. Reboulet was told in the morning that he was part of the 25-man roster, but circumstances might force a change.

BOSTON - Deliberations have begun over the number of players to be promoted when major-league rosters expand Sept. 1, with the Orioles apparently adopting a less-is-more approach. Vice president of baseball operations Syd Thrift and manager Mike Hargrove have only discussed "parameters" of the expanded clubhouse. Significant weight is being given to the amount of playing time prospects would receive. With so many younger players already on the roster - and so few position prospects having laudable seasons at Rochester or Bowie - current thinking holds that September opportunities should be reserved for those part of the club's immediate future.

With fewer than two weeks remaining before his pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove can make only certain projections and critiques regarding his 2003 roster. It's difficult to grade a work in progress. Club executives Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan continue to pursue another hitter for the lineup after the Orioles finished last in the American League in batting for the second consecutive season. Hargrove understands that a major trade, perhaps involving a third team, could provide some needed punch in the order.

JUPITER, Fla. - The lump is visible on David Segui's left wrist. Even as he expresses relief over how it has shrunk in size over the past few days, it's still impossible to miss. He accepts it almost as part of the uniform, one of the sacrifices necessary to continue playing. Segui appeared in his first game yesterday, starting at first base in the Orioles' 6-1 loss to the Florida Marlins. In six innings, he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout before Walter Young replaced him. Recovering from his second surgery on the wrist in two years, again to repair a damaged tendon and cartilage, Segui hit during the first day of workouts before the Orioles pulled him from the cage because of some stiffness that affected his swing.

At the recent tryouts for the Baltimore Charm of the Lingerie Football League in Frederick about 100 women showed up, a team spokesperson said. Tryouts tested female athletes in various football drills, including shuttles, 40-yard dash, read and recognition and various football challenges including tackling, receiving and passing. They also took a psychological interview. About 40 athletes from the tryout will be invited to compete at a minicamp in April. If they last beyond minicamp, they will be among 30 players invited to training camp to compete for the final roster of 20 players.