It's been a rough week for baseball, unless you're of the opinion that bad publicity is better than no publicity. Regardless, the Astros' sign-stealing scandal - and the still-falling domino effects of it - has shown us some of the worst baseball has to offer. Which makes today a good day, because we're going to get to experience some of the very best baseball has to offer. (Plus some controversy, because this sport simply isn't allowed to just celebrate the good things without having a...

The Double-A Bowie Baysox had a pitching rotation that was fun to watch last year on the O's farm. On its way to the Eastern League championship series for just the second time, Bowie put up some very strong pitching numbers. The Baysox's team ERA of 3.18 led the league and set a record. So did the club's WHIP of 1.18, which was so strong, it was the best in the Eastern League since 2001. Bowie ranked second with 16 shutouts on its way to a 76-64 record. A record that looks much better when...

Before the Orioles could sign pitcher Kohl Stewart and give him a shot at their rotation in 2020, he had to choose which sport to play after high school and attempt to make it a career. Stewart was an Under Armour All-American quarterback in high school who earned a football scholarship to Texas A&M. The Twins made him the fourth overall selection in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft and gave him a $4.5 million bonus. Decision made. "When I was an 18-year-old kid, it was a tough call just...

The Nationals return all but one of the members of their World Series-winning coaching staff this season, with only assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon (who got the lead hitting coach's position in Philadelphia) departing. But there are some significant changes to the roles some of the returning coaches will hold in 2020. Manager Davey Martinez decided to rotate three key members of his staff - Chip Hale, Tim Bogar and Bob Henley - around the diamond and dugout, in an attempt to keep everyone...

It is an easy area to mark for improvement in the 2020 season: the Orioles bullpen. The 'pen pitchers posted a 5.63 ERA to rank 15th in the American League last year. The year before that, their ERA ranked 14th, but it was much better at 4.78. The bullpen WHIP was almost equal going from 1.50 in 2018 to 1.51 in 2019. The OPS against went from .776 to .832. The team 'pen had a better strikeout rate last year going from 8.12 to 8.60. But the improvement moving forward could simply come from...

The days keep melting away until pitchers and catchers report to the spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla. The Orioles have filled some of their needs, but they aren't done. While the media keeps making predictions on the rotation, the guesswork aimed at the back end of it, the club has been negotiating with representatives for starting pitchers who remain on the market. I'm hearing that the Orioles are discussing major league deals and minor league contracts that would include...

The most newsworthy thing Nationals manager Davey Martinez said Friday following his taping of an hour-long special with "Meet the Press" host Chuck Todd at SiriusXM's local headquarters was that Carter Kieboom will have an opportunity to win the starting third baseman's job this spring. But it wasn't the only newsworthy thing Martinez said while talking to reporters for the first time since the Winter Meetings in early December. Here are some more highlights from the session ... *...

I don't know if it's back by popular demand - I hope so - but it is back. Today we present the latest edition of "10 questions for O's fans." So answer one or all 10, provide short answers or long, respond to other readers' answers. It's all good. This is the season-is-close edition to be followed in a few weeks by the early spring training edition. And the season is indeed close. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., on Feb. 11 and the first workout...

Who's going to replace Anthony Rendon at third base for the Nationals? Davey Martinez intends to give top prospect Carter Kieboom every opportunity to seize that all-important job this spring. Martinez, in his first public comments since Rendon signed a $245 million contract with the Angels on the final evening of last month's Winter Meetings, said Friday that Kieboom will come to camp as the club's preferred starting third baseman but will have to earn it. "He deserves a shot to make the...

It has been quite a week in Major League Baseball. The cheating scandal took down one general manager and three managers. Franchises are tarnished. Houston got hit hard and Boston could be next. But the players involved were not fined or suspended, and none got fired. I'm OK with that. It would be hard to know exactly which players took part and how often. Cheating once is too much, but were I handing out the discipline I would not treat every player equally. In a sense, all the players on the...