In the second half of the 2013 season, right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez went 6-5 with a 1.82 ERA and struck out 100 batters in 84 innings over 13 starts for the Cleveland Indians. That strong finish to his season helped Jimenez land a four-year, $50 million contract with the Orioles in February. But Jimenez had a rough first season with the Orioles, lost his rotation spot in mid-August and this year pitched to an ERA of 5.96 after the All-Star break. Owed $38.75 million over the next three seasons,...

All six managers, from the rookie-level Gulf Coast League up through Triple-A Norfolk, will return to manage Orioles affiliates next season. Three will return to their 2014 teams, while three will be with new clubs in 2015. The Orioles have not confirmed this or made any announcements yet about their 2015 minor league staff, but Ron Johnson is expected to return to manage at Triple-A Norfolk, Gary Kendall will return to Double-A Bowie and Ryan Minor is expected to return to Single-A...

The Orioles have hired Kristen Hudak, a former MASN and ESPN employee, as their new public relations director. Hudak, who spent the past 3 1/2 years at ESPN, will oversee the public relations department, including corporate communications, media relations, online communications, photography and team publications. She will begin her duties on Dec. 29, reporting directly to Greg Bader, the Orioles vice president of communications and marketing. As a senior publicist at ESPN, Hudak generated...

The Orioles today announced that Kristen Hudak has been named Director, Public Relations. Hudak, who returns to the Orioles' market after three and a half years at ESPN, will oversee the public relations department, including corporate communications, media relations, online communications, photography, and team publications. She will begin her duties on Monday, December 29, reporting directly to Greg Bader, Vice President, Communications & Marketing. As a Senior Publicist at ESPN, Hudak...

After a week filled with rumors at the Winter Meetings, the Nationals returned home to Washington, D.C. Two days later, your favorite Nationals players and coaches attended NatsFest, giving fans a taste of the upcoming baseball season. To hold you over until spring training, we will continue to air some of the greatest games in Nationals history on MASN HD. This week, we are airing two "Nationals Classics" from last season, including Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter and yet another Ryan...

The Nationals and outfielder Bryce Harper have reached a settlement on his 2015 salary and avoided a potentially contentious grievance hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday in New York. The two sides appeared headed for the grievance hearing, which Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo likened to an arbitration hearing, where teams take great pains to point out all of a player's shortcomings. But things took a curious turn over the weekend when Harper failed to appear as scheduled at NatsFest,...

So should I take a day, or even a few hours, away from the usual fare on this blog each day to try something different? "You'll hear crickets," I said to myself when I had this thought last night. "Going to do it anyway," I answered back. Don't worry, I don't have these conversations out loud and only I know I am talking with myself. No reason for concern. So on to today's topic ... How did you become an Orioles fan? Tell me about your first game and/or the start of your fandom....

The weekend is over and the Orioles lost another outfield candidate with Melky Cabrera agreeing to a three-year, $42 million deal with the White Sox. Where do they turn? Executive vice president Dan Duquette has made it clear that the Orioles are more likely to sign free agents than make trades. They still need outfielders who bat from the left and right side, but the list of appealing options is paper thin. Peter Gammons tweeted yesterday that the Orioles "are being pushed to take Colby...

Quantifying Adam LaRoche's importance to the Nationals over his four-year stint isn't difficult. Yes, there was the left-handed bat in the middle of the lineup that supplied necessary power. But LaRoche's prowess with the leather was something that came up over and over again at NatsFest as his now ex-teammates lamented his departure as a free agent. LaRoche was the kind of steady but stellar defender whose glovework often gets overlooked - not because it's not spectacular, but because...

The Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation held a star-studded fundraiser called "Beltway Baseball" Friday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C. Former Orioles great, Hall of Famer and foundation co-founder Cal Ripken Jr. brought along Nationals manager Matt Williams to speak to fans and help raise funds to help at-risk youth across the country. Williams said he was thrilled to be a part of the fundraiser. "When he calls, I say yes," Williams said. "The foundation is fantastic and they...