A five-item list is like air to a sportswriter. Not four, not six, not more. "Five things we learned" can't be altered or you'll be reassigned to the mailroom. And you don't get five warnings. We must have learned five things yesterday about the fall instructional league. I'll take a stab at it. * The plan to have all of the draft selections in Sarasota, Fla. was ruined. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad, the second overall pick from the University of Arkansas, can't make it to the Ed Smith...

Beyond discussing the setup for the Orioles fall instructional league camp that began Monday during a Zoom press conference yesterday, O's executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias briefly addressed the future minor league situation. It is one of much uncertainty and unanswered questions. The agreement between Minor League Baseball and Major League Baseball has expired. The sides continue to negotiate a new agreement, one that is expected to see MLB take over minor league...

A pitcher's win total isn't supposed to matter, though it usually does to the pitcher. But Alex Cobb must be wondering what it's going to take for him to get a victory at Camden Yards. Since joining the Orioles in March 2018, Cobb has gone 0-11 with a 5.29 ERA in 18 starts in Baltimore. He's allowed 57 earned runs in 97 innings. And he's lost all 11 of his decisions. Because the baseball gods don't care about your feelings and an ERA above 5.00 can be just as unforgiving. Cobb posted a...

The opening today of the Orioles' fall instructional league camp in Sarasota, Fla., brings 55 players to the complex for workouts and perhaps games versus other teams in the area. However, this year's first-round draft pick, outfielder Heston Kjerstad, didn't make the trip. Kjerstad is unavailable due to an undisclosed "medical non-sports related reason," according to executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. The other five draft selections are in camp. The reduction in activity...

The Baltimore Orioles will host the team's Fall Instructional League camp at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla. beginning on Monday, October 5. The Instructional League program focuses on specific individual development while providing additional playing time to accelerate a player's progress through the minor league system. The roster of players participating in this year's camp is listed below. The club's farm system ranks as the eighth-best in baseball and includes five...

The Orioles may have wrapped up the 2020 regular season and ended activities at the Bowie alternate site, where some young players got critical development time this summer. But today they are starting their fall instructional league. It's an opportunity for more young and developing players to get individual and team work in at the organization's Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla. "Our instructional league camp allows us to further develop and evaluate young players in our system,"...

One factor manager Davey Martinez pointed toward that the Nationals must get better at in 2021 is their defense. The Nats scuffled to a 26-34 record and fourth place in the National League East in 2020. Martinez believes one reason for their struggles was a lack consistent quality defense the club demonstrated during their championship season. As an example, the outfield defensive analytical numbers were down from 2019. Last season, center fielder Victor Robles led the league in Outs Above...

Let's start with an obvious point: Of all four Division Series, the most compelling matchup is the National League battle between the Dodgers and Padres. Storylines overflow: Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Wil Myers versus Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw and Cody Bellinger. And the series has drama for the Dodgers, who have won eight consecutive NL West titles without a World Series win. The Dodgers haven't won the World Series since 1988 and have lost two of the last three, one to the...

Baseball teams are measured with an endless numbers, from traditional statistics to a new-age analytics such as Wins Above Replacement. The Miami Marlins have another set of numbers unique to the season of the pandemic: As the season started, they had 18 players test positive for the coronavirus and were quarantined for a week in Philadelphia. They used 61 players for 60 games, including pitchers manager Don Mattingly met for the first time as he brought them into a game. Olympic speed skater...

The Houston Astros, with a 29-31 record under former Nationals manager Dusty Baker, could be the first team in baseball history to make the World Series with a losing record thanks to a pandemic-shortened 60-game season. But this is more important to the Astros: The team is trying to erase the cheating image they have after banging on garbage cans to steal signs and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2017 World Series. The Astros' general manager, Jeff Luhnow, and manager, A.J. Hinch,...