When baseball pundits talk about the future of the Nationals rotation, Lucas Giolito, A.J. Cole and even right-hander Reynaldo Lopez get mentioned. At the beginning of last year, many would not have known who Lopez was. But the pitcher who just turned 21 on Jan. 4 made a big splash on the scene by pitching well for low Single-A Hagerstown. In nine starts for the Suns, the 6-foot, 185-lb. Lopez went 4-1 with a 1.33 ERA in 47 1/3 innings, striking out 39 and walking only 11 batters. If you add...

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms with 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer on a seven-year contract on Wednesday. President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Scherzer, 30, joins the Nationals after seven Major League seasons with the Detroit Tigers (2010-14) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2008-09), and on the heels of back-to-back All-Star campaigns. Scherzer is 91-50 with a 3.58 ERA in 207 career games (198...

Individual tickets for all 16 of the Orioles' spring training games at Ed Smith Stadium will go on sale this Saturday, January 24 at 10:00 a.m. It is recommended that fans purchase tickets online or by phone. Fans interested in season tickets, five-game flex-plans, or group tickets, or those wishing to receive additional spring training ticket information may call the Orioles spring training office at 941-893-6300. Spring training tickets for Orioles home games at Ed Smith Stadium may be...

What a banner year it's been for the NFL. Oh, wait. Did I say "banner year"? I meant disastrous year filled with public relations nightmare after public relations nightmare. The latest NFL issue deals with the ESPN report that came out late last night saying that 11 of the Patriots' 12 footballs used in the AFC championship game were significantly underinflated. I don't know about you guys, but I'm now a bit less pumped up about the Super Bowl two Sundays from now. This controversy has...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter flew into Baltimore yesterday, in case you're tracking his every move. Maybe he missed the snow. As I wrote earlier this week, Showalter is going to meet with managing partner Peter G. Angelos about a variety of topics. He's not making a special trip to discuss executive vice president Dan Duquette. However, the Blue Jays' continued interest in Duquette will come up. The word "compensation" figures to be used during their conversation. It would make a good...

Colby Rasmus, we hardly knew you. We sure talked about you a lot, though. Rasmus signed a one-year deal with Houston on Tuesday, reportedly for an $8 million guarantee. That was apparently more than the Orioles were willing to go, which was said to be in the $7 million range. When it came to Rasmus, it seemed some fans really wanted him and the pop he could bring to right field, while others wanted no part of him and saw a low batting average and high amount of strikeouts that came with that...

Free agent outfielder Colby Rasmus is taking a physical in Houston, according to multiple reports, and could be on the verge of signing with the Astros. Rasmus confirmed that he's in Houston, telling FOX 26 sports director Mark Berman (via Twitter), "Jeff (Luhnow) being the scouting director that drafted me, it's pretty enticing." The Orioles were believed to be the frontrunners for Rasmus, a career .246/.313/.438 hitter in six major league seasons. Manager Buck Showalter flew to Rasmus'...

Now that the Nationals have constructed the best rotation in baseball by adding Max Scherzer, the next set of questions surround Jordan Zimmermann. Zimmermann, 28, is eligible for free agency after the season. He and the Nationals have been negotiating, but there's no deal. Zimmermann is willing to stay in D.C., but wants fair market value. So, what is fair? Jon Lester signed for six years and $155 million with the Chicago Cubs. Zimmermann, who has won 57 games with a 3.24 ERA and a...

While I'm sure those on the Nationals roster are excited about the addition of Max Scherzer, with the right-hander joining an already-loaded rotation, Scherzer's reported seven-year, $210 million deal has a major impact on one National in 2015. That player is Tanner Roark. Roark won't publicly come out and complain about how his role will change if the Nats decide not to trade one of their starters after Scherzer's addition, but you have to imagine he isn't thrilled. Roark worked his way...

Pitching and defense are pretty important to most teams and very important to the one here in Baltimore. The Orioles used very solid starting pitching, excellent defense and the longball to win 96 games last year - doing so during a season when some of their key players got hurt and missed a lot of games. Their 2014 offense was decent, but unspectacular and certainly not very balanced. It featured much more pop, as they led the majors in homers, than it did speed or on-base capability. It...