The sun is shining. The days are longer. The grass is freshly cut. The smell of fresh leather and the sound of bats cracking fill the atmosphere in D.C. Baseball season is here. Fans' offseason dreams of strikeouts, home runs, stolen bases, refreshing drinks and steaming half-smokes will soon become realities with opening day just three days away and the Nationals' home opener on South Capitol St. a little over a week away. With the 2018 season about to begin, let's take a look at the...

NORFOLK, Va. - We've heard it before, but two managers that greatly like and respect each other are the Orioles' Buck Showalter and his Triple-A counterpart, Norfolk's Ron Johnson. Johnson is the winningest manager in Tides history with 422 victories in six seasons. Showalter has often praised Johnson and appreciates his opinions on players over the years as he and the club decide which players to call up from the Tides. "We speak a lot during the season and I value his opinion," Showalter...

There's a reason why the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is also called March Madness. Every year, the tournament is filled with crazy and unexpected upsets. Top seeds struggle to get through their own regions, No. 5 seeds dread their first-round matchups against the No. 12 seeds and national powerhouses get eliminated by mid-major schools. Some would argue it's the best sporting event there is, and if you've been paying attention the last few weeks, you'll know that this year's edition...

The Orioles announced today that they will honor the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Men's Basketball team in a special pregame ceremony on Friday, April 20 prior to the 7:05 p.m. ET game against the Cleveland Indians. The UMBC Retrievers captured the nation's attention, and made Baltimore proud, as they became the first ever 16-seed in men's basketball to defeat a 1-seed with their win over the University of Virginia in the first round of this year's NCAA Tournament. In...

NORFOLK, Va. - Orioles outfielder Trey Mancini is not expected to play in today's exhibition finale against the club's Triple-A Norfolk affiliate. It's precautionary. He tweaked his hamstring yesterday and will skip today's game in chilly Norfolk. He is expected to be ready for opening day. So is third baseman Tim Beckham, who will play in a simulated game tomorrow in Florida. Outfielder Austin Hays will bat third today in right field for Norfolk, but he is still expected to start the minor...

Chris Davis continues to lead off today as the Orioles close out their exhibition schedule with a game at Triple-A Norfolk. Danny Valencia remains at third base. Tim Beckham is on the travel roster, but not the lineup card, and the Orioles are supposed to arrange a simulated game for him on Tuesday. Anthony Santander is in left field and Pedro Álvarez is the designated hitter. Andrew Cashner gets the start and the bullpen includes Rule 5 pick Pedro Araujo, Andrew Faulkner, Luis Gonzalez and...

Right-hander Wil Crowe was able to pitch in nine games in 2017 for the first time at the pro level. The former South Carolina standout had Tommy John surgery in 2015, so after getting his feet wet with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals and short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays last season, Crowe is ready to take the next step in the rehab process. Crowe joined the Nationals after 14 regular season starts and 90-plus innings with the Gamecocks. Nationals pitching coordinator Paul...

Spend six weeks watching a ballclub prepare for the season and you can't help but make a big deal out of a few things. Maybe it's one particular job competition. Maybe it's somebody's injury. Maybe it's a position that looks like a problem area. Whatever the case, there are always a handful of topics that dominate spring training coverage. And, inevitably, sometime during the course of the season you look back and think to yourself: Why did I bother making such a big deal out of that? And...

NORFOLK, Va. - With a 25-man roster that is pretty much finalized, barring a last-minute injury or acquisition, the Orioles are set to play one more game that doesn't count today. Then it's back to Baltimore to open the 2018 season on Thursday against Minnesota. This afternoon, the Orioles play the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, their top minor league affiliate, in an exhibition game to wrap up a run of spring games that started Feb. 23 when Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 6-3. The Orioles' season...

Minor league signings in November tend to be forgotten as spring training nears its conclusion. They provide copy during the offseason's dead zone. Players given generous amounts of space on websites and in newspapers are footnotes later as camp cuts are announced. There are exceptions, of course, which brings us to left-handed relievers Joely Rodriguez and Josh Edgin. I've covered past spring trainings when the decision to take guys of this caliber north would be a no-brainer. The Orioles...