Cut Down Day and Back on the Bike...

Mama said there'd be days like this...

• Owww, the double slap-down. In the main bout at McKechnie Field yesterday, Boston rode some strong pitching to a 4-1 win. The traveling squad got squashed 9-2 by the O's. Edinson Valquez was banged around pretty hard again, while Cutch and Tony Sanchez homered. Sanchez took some of the blame, saying Valquez was uncomfortable tossing to him for the first time. And we thought vets were supposed to take the heat off the youngsters...
• Baltimore returns the favor and visits Bradenton today. The games starts at 1:05 and will be on 93.7 The Fan. The lineup: Michael Martinez 2B, Russ Martin C, Cutch CF, Chris Dickerson LF, Travis Snider RF, Travis Ishikawa 1B, Josh Harrison 3B, Chris McGuiness DH and Clint Barmes SS. Jay Jackson gets the starting nod.
• Tom Singer of MLB.com reports that Jeff Locke's oblique is still acting up on him and could hinder his shot at a rotation spot when camp breaks. He also ran a feature on Starling Marte, covering why he's a ball magnet, his take on Gregory Polanco and defense.
• So who knew? Rob Biertempfel of the Trib tells us that Chris Dickerson is a pretty fair soccer player and a huge fan. He also reported that Phil Irwin threw live BP and is on the road back from elbow soreness.
• Charlie Wilmoth, writing for MLB Trade Rumors, reviews the Pirates off season. 
• Steven Adler of Communities Digital News has the Pirates ranked fourteenth in his pre-season power ratings.
• It's time for the first cut-down. The Bucs announced that SS Alen Hanson and LHP Joely Rodriguez were optioned to Altoona, RHP Casey Sadler to Indy and 1B/3B Matt Hague, C Carlos Paulino and RHP Jameson Taillon (who has a blister issue) have been reassigned to minor league camp. There are now 53 players in MLB camp.
• The rest of the week: Wednesday at the Twins, Thursday at the Rays, Friday vs the Phils (all three will be on Pirates.com audio stream), Saturday vs the Rays (The Fan 93.7) and Sunday at the Phils (TV - MLB Network, The Fan 93.7).