Sarasota

If this had been any other Opening Day for second baseman Delino DeShields, his family would have made the drive from Seaford, Del., to watch him play. That's the way he always envisioned it. But being on the disabled list changed those plans."I'm not playing so I'm not really here yet," he said. "I told them to stay away until I get on the field."Unless they're willing to follow him to Sarasota, Fla., they'll have to wait. DeShields flew there last night and will report to the minor-league camp, where he'll play three games as part of his rehabilitation from a fractured left thumb.

NEW YORK -- Orioles right-hander Scott Kamieniecki, who hasn't pitched since March 15 because of a strained left hamstring, threw off a mound in Baltimore for five minutes Monday, then took a flight to the club's minor-league complex in Sarasota, Fla., and repeated the session for 10 minutes yesterday morning.He's scheduled to throw for another 10 minutes today and continue doing some leg exercises before taking two days off and pitching in a simulated game later this month.Kamieniecki logged only six innings this spring, pushing back the timetable for his return.

Baltimore-based Bruning Paint Co. announced yesterday the acquisition of Scott Paint Corp. of Sarasota, Fla.Officials of the privately held Bruning company did not disclose the purchase price.Scott manufactures architectural paint products at an 85,000-square-foot facility in Sarasota and sells them through 19 company-owned stores on the west coast of Florida.Scott will become a division of the Baltimore company. Scott K. Wagman, Scott Paint's president, will be the division's president.Scott was an attractive purchase because it would allow Bruning to increase its manufacturing capability, said Kenneth M. Knudsen, Bruning's vice president of marketing.

ATLANTA -- Reliever Alan Mills hadn't even let go of his bags yesterday upon entering the visitors' clubhouse at Turner Field, and already he was being peppered with playful jabs from his Orioles teammates."

Joseph R. Snyder, 68, retired Sun editorJoseph R. Snyder, a former assistant sports editor, reporter, copy desk chief and makeup editor at The Sun, died of acute pulmonary failure Monday at Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital.He was 68 and had lived in Sarasota since 1991, when he retired from The Sun.Born in Hagerstown, he graduated from Hagerstown High School in 1947. That year, he began his journalism career at the Hagerstown Morning Herald as sports editor and columnist and later as assistant managing editor.

ATLANTA -- The Orioles wasted no time agreeing to terms yesterday with the first of their two first-round draft choices, signing high school catcher Jayson Werth to a deal worth $850,000 to $900,000.Werth, the 22nd overall pick of the draft, was not expected to be difficult to sign. The Orioles are still pursuing their second first-round pick, Colorado two-sport star Darnell McDonald, who already has rejected an opening bid of $2 million. Unlike McDonald, Werth had made no secret of wanting to join the Orioles though he had signed a scholarship to attend the University of Georgia.

Jayson Werth was eager to get his professional baseball career started after he was chosen by the Orioles in the first round of the June amateur draft. The catcher signed quickly, for a modest bonus in this age of extravagant high-round contracts, passed on a full college scholarship and reported on time to camp in Sarasota, Fla.A player who sets high goals for himself, Werth has hit an early -- albeit minor -- snag in the Gulf Coast League, however.Sidelined for 20 of Sarasota's first 40 games because of recurrent back spasms, Werth, 18, is playing through medical problems for the first time.

SEATTLE -- The Chicago White Sox announced yesterday that they will move their spring training home to Tucson, Ariz., in 1998, leaving open the very real possibility the Orioles will assume Chicago's former home in Sarasota, Fla.Orioles owner Peter Angelos said last night that the team is "very much interested" in exploring the possibility of a move to Sarasota. The Orioles will train in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., next year, but negotiations with that city have been hurt by the fact that the facility is not large enough to accommodate the club's minor-leaguers.

The Orioles will return to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for spring training next year, vice chairman of finance Joe Foss said yesterday, but club officials will continue trying to find a permanent site where the major- and minor-league players can train together."

Dallas Townsend, 76, a 44-year CBS News veteran who covered every presidential convention and campaign from 1948 through 1980, died Thursday at Montclair (N.J.) Community Hospital of injuries suffered in a fall last week. The resident of Sarasota, Fla., also covered every space launch from 1962 to 1980, the Vietnam peace talks in Paris in 1968, and numerous U.N. sessions.

John L. Coder Services will be at the Glen Ridge in Sarasota. National Cremation & Burial Society, 2990 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota, FL 34239, is handling arrangements.

A few days ago, a high school student in Sarasota, Fla., failed history and another failed civics. As a result, the one wound up shot in the chest and the other jailed on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Here's the story, as reported by the Sarasota Herald Tribune: On the last Friday in April, an 18-year-old white kid named Daniel Azeff and a friend went riding downtown in a pickup truck, yelling racially disparaging remarks and waving a Confederate battle flag. Mr. Azeff's grandfather, Joseph Fischer, told the paper he has cautioned his grandson repeatedly about his fascination with that dirty banner.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen, who is on the disabled list with a sore left elbow, will report to the club's minor league complex in Sarasota, Fla., and start a throwing program in the next couple of days. Loewen's elbow, which was operated on in June, was examined yesterday by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., and no damage was found. Loewen is expected to stay in Sarasota for two to three weeks and could return to the Orioles late this month or in early June. "Encouraging, very encouraging," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Reliever Jim Hoey returned to Baltimore on Wednesday to have a magnetic resonance imaging of his right shoulder, an examination that revealed no structural damage but won't help his chances to make the team's Opening Day bullpen. "We got a good report on Jim," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "I don't know how long it's going to be, but the MRI didn't reveal anything of any structural concerns. I don't know whether it's a week, three weeks or what.

The Orioles hope to combine their major league and minor league operations soon, but the minor leaguers continue to train at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. The major leaguers trained there for a couple of springs in the early 1990s, and there was some talk about building a permanent facility there before the team moved back to the East Coast of Florida. Now, there's talk that the Cincinnati Reds will soon vacate the nearby Ed Smith Stadium complex and head for Arizona - which would make that facility available to another team - but the Orioles seem unlikely to head back in that direction, even if the tentative deal in Fort Lauderdale falls through.

April 5, 1920 to January 1, 2008. WILLIAM M. HARMATZ, 87, formerly of Baltimore, MD. Survivors include his wife of 26 years, Sylvia, his children, John Harmatz of Israel, Carol Harmatz of Pittsburgh, PA, Mira Riggin of Salem, MA and his stepchildren, Laurence Glasser of Danbury, CT, Lee Glasser of Baltimore, MD, Amy Handelman of Arnold, MD, Louis Glasser of Sarasota and seven grandchildren and six step-grandchildren. Services will be Friday, January 4, 2008 at 11 A.M. at Temple Sinai, 4631 S. Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota.

Flora L. Hollins, former co-owner of an Eastern Shore department store and retired executive secretary, died of complications from a stroke Sunday at Consulate Health Care Center in Sarasota, Fla. She was 92. The former Flora Lebowich was born in Baltimore and raised on Pennsylvania Avenue. After graduating from Western High School in 1930, she worked as a stenographer and secretary for United Telegraph. She was married in 1938 to Morton I. Hollins, and together they owned I. Hollins Department Store in Millington, Kent County.

If someone had bet you that Chris Ray would have more saves on July 17 than Mariano Rivera, would you have taken it? Outfielder Nolan Reimold remains in Sarasota, Fla., while recovering from a strained oblique. He has appeared in only 19 games at Bowie, batting .329 with three homers and 14 RBIs. He has played one game in Sarasota. There's no timetable for Reimold's return to Bowie. roch.kubatko@baltsun.com For more Roch Around the Clock, go to baltimoresun.com/roch

Siesta Key is for snobs. Sand snobs, that is. The sand of Siesta Beach is soft and smooth, like velvet beneath your toes, silk between your fingers. It stretches out in an expanse of white lapped by turquoise water, and even on warm days the sand is cool. In 2004, the Travel Channel named it Best Sand Beach, and it has appeared on the annual list of best U.S. beaches compiled by Stephen Leatherman, the Florida International University professor known as Dr. Beach. Leatherman, who has studied beaches around the globe, says Siesta Key boasts some of the "finest, whitest sand I've ever seen in the world."

JOSEPHINE CALA DOUGLAS GEDLING age 93 born February 15, 1914 passed May 7, 2007, of Sarasota, FL., formerly of Baltimore, MD., was born in Sicily, Italy and came to the United States at the age of 3. After 23 years of service she retired from Social Security of Baltimore, MD. Survivors include a son Daniel Douglas, daughter-in-law Carol both of Sarasota. Grandchildren Diana Comer and David Douglas and four great-grandchild Ren, Jennifer, Miranda, Dalton Comer and Ayden Douglas. Arrangements by Robarts Funeral Home, Sarasota, Florida.