The family of former Orioles center fielder Paul Blair will greet his many friends and fans on Friday, Jan. 3, at Ruck's Funeral Home at 1050 York Road in Towson. The public is invited to attend from 2-8 p.m. Blair, a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame who spent 13 of his 17 seasons in Baltimore, died on Dec. 26 after collapsing at a bowling alley in Pikesville. He was 69. Memorial contributions may be sent in Blair's name to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis,...

Defense is the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball statistics, never garnering the respect it deserves. Chicks dig the longball, people oooh and ahhh over Web Gems on ESPN, but what about the workaholic day-to-day types who turn hard-hit ground balls and fly balls to the gaps into outs, the first baseman whose steady glovework saves his infielders from errors and the catcher whose ability to block pitches in the dirt prevents runners from advancing or scoring? The little things, unfortunately,...

Bobby Cox, Tony La Russa and Joe Torre will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July. Now, it is up to the Baseball Writers' Association of America to determine if any players will join the three managers at the Cooperstown, N.Y., ceremonies. The most dramatic story this year is pitcher Jack Morris, who is in his final year on the ballot. The most underrated candidates are Tim Raines and Alan Trammell, and it will be interesting to see how the voters evaluate former Orioles...

The Nationals' No. 5 prospect is left-hander Sammy Solis. Before we talk about the talented southpaw, I wanted to pass along where I am the next few days. I am here in Manhattan, Kan., to call the radio version of George Washington basketball against the Kansas State Wildcats. The game is Dec. 31 at 3 p.m. Eastern time on MASN2 and 1500AM in Washington, D.C., area. Manhattan is known as the "Little Apple" in reference to Manhattan in New York City. It is also about three hours northwest...

Stop me if you have heard this one before: In recent years the Orioles have been compiling a decent list of pitching prospects. Since young pitching is very coveted in the sport, the Orioles are simply trying to do what everyone is doing and develop young pitchers to help their major league roster. But most O's fans can tell you how difficult that job can be. They've seen many an O's pitching prospect either get hurt, not live up to the hype or not help the major league club to the extent...

I spent a large portion of the 2013 season fielding complaints about Adam Jones blowing bubbles in center field and chasing sliders in the dirt. I couldn't care less about the bubbles - they don't impact whether he catches a ball and they never will - but it would be nice if he could lay off that pitch, especially with two strikes. For what it's worth, he's not the only Oriole to have this issue. Sidney Ponson chased a lot of sliders in the dirt, though only when the bag tore from White...

Usually, sometime after the first of a new year, two things used to happen: The Nationals announce a list of players signed to minor league contracts who are getting invitations to spring training, and the postal carrier shoves a couple of tax forms in among the bills and junk mail. Well, looks like the Nats' list of non-roster invitees will go the way of the tax form booklets, which have all but disappeared now that most of the country files online. Oh, the Nats will still have some...

At one time, the Orioles were looking for a closer and it seemed to be a buyer's market. But now that is not the case, and after the failed Grant Balfour signing, it's getting late in the process. Following up on yesterday's blog when I expressed concern about Tommy Hunter in the closer's role considering his numbers against left-handed hitters, Fernando Rodney looks like the next best option available. Rodney has had an interesting last two years for Tampa Bay. In 2012, he went 2-2 with...

I'm driving back to Sykesville this morning, which again opens up the possibility that the Orioles will make a roster move while I'm in Easton or on the Bay Bridge. It's easier to pull over in Easton. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is traditionally slow in baseball, but I do have a track record. The Orioles could still sign a free agent or two before spring training, but they don't exactly hit the market with gusto every winter. Consider my projected lineup that I posted...

With first baseman Adam LaRoche's two-year deal set to expire after the 2014 season - pending the unlikely scenario where he has a monster year and both he and the Nationals agree to exercise a $15 million option for 2015 - there will soon be a new round of chatter about third baseman Ryan Zimmerman switching positions. It seems like an inevitability that Zimmerman will eventually move across the diamond to first base. He's locked into a six-year, $100 million deal that begins this season...