Spring Training News & Notes, 3/9: Catching Up With Everyone

Blue Jays: Toronto, who holds a 5-1 record this spring, was off on Tuesday. The Blue Jays will play the Phillies on Wednesday. ... Jays pitcher Dustin McGowan pitched a simulated game on Tuesday. McGowan is expected to pitch in another simulated game if there is no soreness after shoulder surgery last year. ... SB Nation’s Bluebird Banter takes a look at division rivals, starting with the Boston Red Sox.

Orioles: The Orioles aren’t doing themselves any favors looking ahead to the 2010 regular season: today’s 8-3 loss to the Rays marks the team’s sixth-straight loss of the spring. The defense has been a huge concern for Baltimore, as the O’s committed five errors on the day. ... Is Matt Wieters the “perfect catch”? I think a guy named Joe would like to make an argument on that topic. ... Brian Roberts, one of the best second baseman in baseball, has a back injury and the team -- specifically Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations -- is questioning whether or not their All-Star will start the season on the 25-man roster.

Diamondbacks LF/1B Conor Jackson went 3-for-3 today, and is hitting .500 after the first week of spring. He struggled badly last season after catching a fungal lung disease which turned into pneumonia, but looks primed to rebound. “You take a lot of things for granted in your life, and one thing for me was the opportunity to play major-league baseball every single day. That was taken from me last year,” said Jackson.

Dodgers Former Dodgers outfielder, Willie Davis, who held the records for most hits and runs for the team since they moved to Los Angeles, was found dead in his Burbank home, the LA Times reports. His death appears to have been of natural causes, at the age of 69. Davis was a two-time All-Star and won the Gold Glove three consecutive years, from 1971-73.

This looks more like a medical report than a baseball report, so let’s get started:

Cubs: Good news! Ted Lilly says he wants to pitch in a Cactus League game, and Lou Piniella says he’ll do that. Lilly was originally not expected back till mid-April. And, Randy Wells threw three one-hit innings in his second spring start; he’s the first Cub starter to go three this spring.

Nationals: Strasburg. Strasburg. Strasburg. Stephen Strasburg, the first-overall pick in the 2009 draft and the consensus best pitching prospect in the world, made his highly-anticipated Nationals debut today. He pitched 2 innings, allowing 2 runs and no hits, while inducing 4 groundouts and 2 strikeouts. He reportedly hit 97-98 consistently on the radar gun with his 2-seam fastball and ended his work with a 3-2 strikeout looking on a curveball. Federal Baseball has a complete pitch-by-pitch breakdown of Strasburg’s work.

Phillies: Despite pitching a scoreless three innings against the Yankees yesterday, Kyle Kendrick still must earn the Phils’ 5th starter job from presumptive favorite Jamie Moyer…Lefty set-up man J.C. Romero doesn’t expect to be ready for opening day, while Brad Lidge probably will be.

Follow along with this stream as we check out what’s going on in every camp for every team in baseball. Updates will be provided on a division-by-division basis.