The hitting voices in Trey Mancini's head are changing again. The Orioles didn't retain coach Don Long after three seasons. Long had replaced Scott Coolbaugh, who was hired in December 2014 and lasted four seasons. Assistant hitting coach José Hernández is moving into a new role on manager Brandon Hyde's staff. The shuffling has led to the Orioles hiring co-hitting coaches, bringing Ryan Fuller from Double-A Bowie and going outside the organization for Matt Borgschulte. Mancini has...

Within a span of about eight days in August, the Orioles farm system got some major recognition from the two top outlets that cover prospects and player development. Their farm system was rated No. 2 by Baseball America in mid-August. Then, in late August, the Orioles were ranked No. 1 in organizational rankings by MLBPipeline.com. In was part of a steady rise for the O's farm system. In the 2020 MLBPipeline.com preseason rankings, the O's were rated No. 13 and then they moved to No. 8 by...

The goal is always the same: Win the game. But in baseball, not every win looks or feels the same. Sometimes, pitchers dominate. Other times, the hitters take center stage. Games can be blowouts, decided long before the final out, or tense affiars that go down to the wire. This week's platter of "Nationals Classics" on MASN shows a variety of ways the Nats won games over the past handful of years. Enjoy! Friday, Dec. 10 - 5:30 p.m. - Newly minted American League Gold Glove winner Michael...

Because the baseball world was on the verge of shutting down when it happened, we didn't really get a lot of time to process Max Scherzer's decision to sign with the Mets and wonder what kind of reaction he'll get when he returns to Nationals Park to face his former team. But since we've now got nothing but time on our hands, let's return to the subject and contemplate the scene that ultimately awaits the three-time Cy Young Award winner when he emerges from the visitors' dugout next...

Looking forward to a day when we talk about baseball more than lockouts, the most anticipated date on the calendar for the 2022 Orioles figures to be the arrival day for catcher Adley Rutschman. The day that baseball's No. 1 prospect arrives in the majors. Unlike some players that go back and forth and take a while to establish themselves at the big league level, Rutschman's arrival will likely be permanent, and greatness is expected from the start. That is a lot of pressure, but it goes with...

The friendship began to evolve on the back fields at the spring training complex. Two first basemen taking ground balls during workouts, their careers in vastly different phases. One of them a mentor, acquired for his power at the plate and influence inside the clubhouse, the other an eager young prospect. Mark Trumbo had joined his fourth organization since his major league debut six years earlier, with the Orioles sending catcher Steve Clevenger to the Mariners in a Dec. 2, 2015 trade. Trumbo...

Watching college football the last two weekends, I couldn't help but keep asking myself: Why does that sport still only allow four teams into its top-level playoff? How much better would it be if every major conference winner automatically qualified, plus two at-large teams and the highest-ranked team from one of the other conferences, making up an eight-team bracket? Which also got me thinking how baseball really does have its postseason system right at the moment. Ten of the sport's 30...

When it was reported this week that the Orioles reached an agreement with right-handed starting pitcher Jordan Lyles for the 2022 season, the news was met with mixed reviews from the O's fan base. Some were pleased at least that the team invested a one-year deal for $7 million on a player, signing someone to a big league deal and for more than a player could earn on a minor league deal. Others noted that Lyles' ERA was only 5.15 last year and he led the majors by allowing 38 homers. But it...

My mailbag initiated negotiations with me this weekend and we reached an agreement that I'd respond to a few more questions rather than wait until it's overflowing. I need to find something else to do in my spare time. There's no editing for clarity, length, brevity, style or Harry Styles. We roll like the tide. Also, my small mailbag knocks down your giant mailbag with a slingshot. Why Jordan Lyles? I got this one a lot and tried to bounce some theories off you. I should have aimed a little...

In anticipating the negotiations between owners and players leading up to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, everyone assumed there would be two major areas of dispute: baseball's economic model and potential rule changes to the sport. Turns out the two sides really only discussed money before the CBA expired late Wednesday night and owners instituted a lockout. Commissioner Rob Manfred, during his Thursday news conference with reporters in Dallas, revealed the rule change...