WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - These are strange times. Strange times with no real road maps to consult. Major League Baseball has dealt with work stoppages before, but those were strikes or lockouts or a one-week hiatus following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This is quite different. It's tempting right now to try to project what's going to happen in two weeks or two months. But the truth is, we have no idea what's going to happen in two days. Let's try to take a rational look at the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Though Major League Baseball officially announced the immediate suspension of all spring training operations this evening, many Nationals players intend to remain here and conduct informal workouts during baseball's coronavirus-induced hiatus. MLB and the MLB Players Association, after meeting earlier today, jointly informed clubs that players are being encouraged to travel to either the team's home city or their own hometowns, though anyone who wants to stay in their...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Players were told to stay yesterday and then encouraged to leave. Because spring training wasn't going to conclude without making another run at crazy. Teams aren't holding formal workouts, a stunning reversal from where we were led earlier in the day. The benefits of keeping everyone together seemed to crumble before our eyes. Getting ready for the season is a secondary concern in a pandemic. There's no way that opening day is happening on April 9, the earliest date...

SARASOTA, Fla. - So the Orioles' spring training schedule came to an end when Major League Baseball made its announcements on Thursday afternoon. They finished with a Grapefruit League record of 9-7-3. They got in 19 games and had 15 more remaining, including the now canceled game at the Naval Academy. The Orioles produced a winning spring training record for the third time in the last four years and fifth time in the past eight. In 2019, they were 12-17-3 in the spring. Here is a look back at...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are remaining at their spring training complexes through the weekend while executives wait for further guidance from public officials and Major League Baseball. Placed on a conference call with local media this afternoon, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias provided an update on the situation, including how players and staff were kept away from the facility while it underwent a second deep cleaning, and said that no one has been tested for the...

The Orioles tonight announced ticket holders who purchased tickets directly through the Baltimore Orioles will automatically be refunded for all canceled 2020 Spring Training games. Refund Policy for 2020 Spring Training Games at Ed Smith Stadium Season Plan Members will be automatically refunded for game tickets and parking purchased for remaining games at Ed Smith Stadium. Fans who purchased tickets through Ticketmaster, Orioles.com, StubHub, or at the Ed Smith Stadium box office will...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Well, we've officially entered uncharted waters here. Spring training has been suspended, the start of the regular season delayed at least two weeks (and quite possibly more) due to the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone who insists he or she knows how this is going to proceed does not know how this is going to proceed. Nobody does. For now, teams are staying in place at their camps around Florida and Arizona. Nationals players have today off but will return to the complex...

SARASOTA, Fla. - We wanted answers and we got them yesterday. But a whole new set is on the table. One step up and two steps back, as Bruce Springsteen sang on the "Tunnel of Love" album. And because I'm a sportswriter, I'm required to quote him. Spring training games won't be played. They're done. But spring training itself won't necessarily stop. The Orioles are going to hold a workout this morning. That's also concrete. But will they do so every day? Update: It wasn't concrete....

SARASOTA, Fla. - His spring training run of scoreless innings ended on an 0-2 changeup against a career minor leaguer with six big league at-bats in 2016. But Toronto's Andy Burns hit it good in the sixth inning Wednesday at Dunedin, and O's right-hander Eric Hanhold was finally scored on. He was an out away from six appearances and six scoreless innings when Burns hit one out to left. "I would have liked to bury that one. But it was one pitch. Get it out now (rather) than during the...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals took the field this afternoon knowing this almost certainly was going to be their last Grapefruit League game for a while. What they didn't know was how they were going to pass the time until their next game - whenever that takes place. Following their 6-3 loss to the Yankees before a sellout crowd of 8,043 at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the Nationals front office and coaching staff gathered and met for more than an hour to devise a plan. Here's...