I've decided to begin the morning by addressing one rumor and squelching speculation about a former Oriole. I received a tweet about a Facebook status - yeah, so far it's rock solid - claiming that Nelson Cruz was buying a television in Baltimore for his mother because he received a new contract from the Orioles. Stop laughing. I have no idea whether Cruz purchased a TV, but I've been told by three people in the industry that he doesn't have a contract with the Orioles. He can become a free...

The Sporting News will announce its American League and National League Managers of the Year on Tuesday. It could be the first honor for Buck Showalter in 2014. And probably not the last. Showalter is the favorite to be named AL Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Keep in mind that ballots were submitted before the playoffs. Showalter isn't losing sleep over it. He actually seems uncomfortable with the attention. He talks about how the players allow him to...

The World Series opens Tuesday in Kansas City with two wild card teams, the Royals and Giants, playing for the title. Wasn't the new one-game wild card format supposed to make it tougher for a second-place team to make it to the World Series? The Royals, who have won eight consecutive games in this postseason, are playing in their first World Series since 1985, the year they beat the Cardinals. The Giants are in their third World Series in five seasons after beating the Rangers in 2010 and the...

Major League Baseball is looking into the length of games and studying to see if there is a way to speed up the contests without affecting the quality of play. This fall, MLB implemented pace of play rules in select Arizona Fall League games. There is a 20-second pitch clock and a time limit between innings of 125 seconds. There also are no-pitch intentional walks and only three meetings allowed at the mound. Mesa Solar Sox coach Patrick Anderson, who is the manager for the low Single-A...

Fall is in the air and Halloween is right around the corner. Also just around the corner is the fifth annual KidsPeace Trick-or-Trot 5K/1 Mile Walk presented by OneMain Financial, set to take place on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Camden Yards. KidsPeace, in partnership with the Baltimore Orioles and Angela and Buck Showalter, invites the Baltimore community to run or walk in support of kids in foster care. Enjoy a great course and finish on the field at Camden Yards joined by none other than the...

The last time I saw J. Frank Cashen, the longtime Orioles executive who was an architect of the team's powerhouse clubs from the 1960s and 1970s, was in August 2012 at the annual Orioles Hall of Fame luncheon. I rode an elevator with Cashen, then 86, who reveled in being surrounded by Baltimore baseball fans and Hall of Famers from the club. "Isn't this a fantastic day?" a smiling, ruddy-faced Cashen said when I shook his hand upon being introduced to a man who qualifies as Baltimore...

This weekend just felt weird. After baseball being so much of a focus of my daily life for the past eight-plus months, to go an entire weekend without watching any baseball whatsoever was a bit bizarre. Luckily, we only have to go one more day before the World Series kicks off between the Giants and Royals in what should be an entertaining battle between two red-hot teams. Over the next five days, I'm going to be highlighting five different players who I feel like made a very strong impression...

Steve Pearce's list of transactions on Baseball-Reference.com includes the following oddity at the bottom: April 27, 2014: Released by the Baltimore Orioles. April 29, 2014: Signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. Two days of free agency and he's back with the same team. It turned out to be one of the most important moves made by the Orioles this season. They never wanted to lose Pearce, but they needed to clear space for left-hander T.J. McFarland and temporarily go with a 13-man...

The best news for the Orioles and their fans over the last few weeks didn't take place on the field. But it will have a big impact on the field. It was the day before Game 1 of the American League Championship Series when the O's made a surprise announcement: They signed shortstop J.J. Hardy to a new three-year deal through 2017 with an option for the 2018 season. Just days away from being a free agent, and possibly having a team like the New York Yankees throw big money his way, Hardy...

Asdrubal Cabrera has said that he would like to return to the Nationals and that he would even be willing to play second base if he does re-sign in D.C., despite the fact that he would prefer to play shortstop. The Nats, given the right circumstances and contract terms, would surely like Cabrera back, as well. He played well during his two months with the team following the July 31 trade that sent him from Cleveland to the Nationals, was a solid clubhouse presence and well-liked teammate, and...