While Orioles fans freeze in the Baltimore area, the sun and warmth of Sarasota is calling. Spring training begins this week. Almost time to play ball. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Ed Smith Stadium on Thursday with their first workout set for Friday. Position players join them for the first full-squad workout on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The first exhibition game is March 3 and the season opener is April 6 in St. Petersburg against the Tampa Bay Rays. So with the sound of the crack of the...

No question, Max Scherzer was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Nationals, but the second most important move came in January when general manager Mike Rizzo shipped reliever Tyler Clippard to Oakland for infielder Yunel Escobar. The Nationals have been searching for an answer at second base for a couple seasons. The plan last year for Anthony Rendon to play at second was scrapped early, once injury forced Ryan Zimmerman to the disabled list. Danny Espinosa stepped back in at second...

I was messing around with another projected Orioles lineup yesterday during "Wall to Wall Baseball" on MASN. We had two hours to kill. Manager Buck Showalter can go in many directions, depending on the opponent's starting pitcher. Here's one possibility: Alejandro De Aza LF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C Steve Pearce DH Travis Snider RF J.J. Hardy SS Jonathan Schoop 2B I'm fully aware of the free-agent losses this winter, but that's still a nice...

Under new commissioner Rob Manfred, it sure looks like Major League Baseball officials are going to take a long and thorough look at the sport with the decline in offense in recent years. The average big league team scored 4.07 runs per game last year, the lowest in a non-strike year since 1976, when it was 3.99. The Orioles averaged 4.35 runs per game last year, by the way. Average MLB runs per game through the years: 4.07 - 2014 4.81 - 2004 4.92 - 1994 4.26 - 1984 4.12 - 1974 Along with that,...

With new commissioner Rob Manfred taking over, the case of suspended all-time hits leader Pete Rose being reinstated and elected into the Hall of Fame has been in the news. Rose thinks Manfred should allow the Baseball Writers' Association of America to debate his case for the 10 years and decide whether he belongs in Cooperstown. Manfred is mum on the subject. Not so with former President Jimmy Carter. In an Oct. 30, 1995 opinion piece for USA Today, Carter wrote that baseball should...

Nothing can stir up an Orioles fan like a perceived slight about their team or their players. So it was this week when some fans reacted to me via Twitter, upset that Manny Machado did not make MLB Network's list of "The top 10 third basemen right now." The shredder, the formula used by the network, is not as big of a fan as last year when Machado was ranked No. 10. But coming off a season where Machado played just 82 games and then had a second knee surgery, this is probably fair. For now...

Whose glove do you love? The Nationals accomplished a lot in 2015, among them most wins in the National League and Silver Slugger Awards for Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon. But not one Nats player was awarded a Gold Glove last season. In fact, in the 10 seasons of Nationals baseball, only two Nationals - Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche - have received Gold Gloves. Ironically, Zimmerman is replacing the departed LaRoche this season, but is basically a novice at his new first base position having...

Major League Baseball has officially awarded the 2017 All-Star Game to the Miami Marlins. It's also convinced that the Orioles moved back to St. Louis. That's three straight National League cities, and Washington could make it four in a row in 2018. However, MLB is trying to be "fair" by alternating which league bats last, since these games determine home-field advantage in the World Series. Meanwhile, the scream you heard earlier this week was Ubaldo Jimenez reacting to MLB's interest in...

The Nationals are rolling out a slew of interesting promotional giveaways to mark their 10th anniversary season, including an array of historical mementos to celebrate their first decade in D.C. On the heels of last year's successful Jayson Werth garden gnome, the Nats will offer an Anthony Rendon garden gnome to the first 25,000 fans through the turnstiles on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Werth fans shouldn't be worried, as their favorite bearded player will be celebrated in a unique Chia Pet to be...

Following today's completion of the "10 Days of Teddy" and the reveal of the final promotional item, the Washington Nationals released the 2015 season promotional schedule. The 2015 season marks the 10-Year Anniversary of the Nationals arrival in Washington, D.C. and a number of special promotional items to commemorate this season will be distributed at select games. Initiatives include monthly 10-Year Tuesdays, six designated games that will feature special guests, pregame ceremonies and a...