Major Youth Baseball tournament brings significant economic impact to Sarasota area Thousands of youth baseball players and their families will converge on the Sarasota region this weekend for the 2014 Prospect Wire Florida State Finals tournament, with approximately half of the games to be played at venues managed by the Orioles. Facilities at Ed Smith Stadium and the Buck O'Neill Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park will be buzzing with activity from Friday evening, June 6 through...

Determined as he was to produce over a full season what he did in the final two months of his first year in the nation's capital, Nationals center fielder Denard Span struggled to a .233/.295/.314 line in the first 96 plate appearances of 2014. Three weeks later, after a 5-for-5 game against the Cincinnati Reds on May 20, the Nats' 30-year-old leadoff man was up to a .263/.308/.363 line. A 17-game stretch in which he put up a .297/.325/.418 line in 77 plate appearances helped him start to...

SAN DIEGO - If it seems like the Nationals have taken a boatload of Scott Boras clients with first-round picks over the last handful of years, well, that's because they have. Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Alex Meyer and Brian Goodwin are all Boras clients who were made Nats first-round selections in the previous five drafts. If it seems like the Nats have used a few high draft picks in recent years on players with injury questions surrounding them, well, that's because...

It was strange last night seeing the first two rounds of the First-Year Player Draft unfold and not dealing with the drama and suspense of waiting to see which player the Orioles would pick. From 2006-12 the Orioles had a top 10 pick in the first round, and for six straight years starting in 2007, the Orioles had a top five pick. They selected in order, Matt Wieters, Brian Matusz, Matt Hobgood, Manny Machado, Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Last year they selected high school pitcher Hunter...

ARLINGTON, Texas - Orioles manager Buck Showalter has instructed his players to stay away from Camden Yards today until 4 p.m. No early report times unless they're receiving treatment for an injury. "If anybody walks into that locker room before 4 o'clock," he said, "there will be a problem." Showalter wants his players rested after they were forced to play a night game in Arlington while tonight's opponent, the Athletics, had a day game in the Bronx. Yeah, Showalter is just thrilled...

UNLV baseball coach Tim Chambers managed the Nationals' 2014 first round selection right-hander Erick Fedde for three seasons. He had nothing but the highest of praise for the No. 18 selection in Thursday's First-Year Player Draft. "The Nats couldn't have gotten a better kid and a better worker," Chambers said. "I've never had one like him. I want you to know that. He was with me for three years. I never told him to run, never told to throw his pen, never told him to do his bands, I...

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles may not be able to wait until Saturday to make a roster move. After using Brad Brach for 3 1/3 innings and calling upon five relievers tonight, manager Buck Showalter indicated that the club may need to bring up a pitcher for Friday night's series opener against the Athletics at Camden Yards. Showalter would prefer a right-handed long man to back up left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, and Brach isn't available. Kevin Gausman, a candidate to start on Saturday, would be...

It was a night where the Orioles fell behind by five runs after two innings but then caught up. They then fell behind again as Chris Tillman's early exit and J.J. Hardy's defense contributed to a loss. Strange night, indeed. Hardy's two errors in the bottom of the seventh - part of a career-worst, three-error night for the O's shortstop - opened the door for a three-run inning. Texas used that to break a 5-5 tie and beat the Orioles 8-6 at Globe Life Park. The Rangers avoided a...

Nationals President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo talked about what the team's first-round pick Erick Fedde brings to the table. "He is a plus-stuff guy," Rizzo said. "We scouted him intensely over the last three years. He has got two plus-plus pitches and his third pitch, changeup, is on the come. We think that is going to be an above average pitch. Big physical guy. We had him towards the top of our draft board. We felt the risk of him rehabbing and coming back to pre injury form was...

ARLINGTON, Texas - How strange is tonight's game? Gold Glove shortstop J.J. Hardy has committed three errors, including two in the seventh inning that enabled the Rangers to take a 6-5 lead. Hardy's never made more than two errors in a game. His only two-error night was back on June 6, 2007 with the Brewers. The Orioles' other three-error game this season came on April 20 in Boston, - one by Jonathan Schoop, one by David Lough and one by Ryan Flaherty on the since-abolished transfer...