Let me start by repeating that I believe the Orioles need to add to their pitching staff, a point many made several weeks and months ago and still worth making. The Orioles didn't pitch well enough last year and to get better, and they probably need both current pitchers to improve plus a key addition or two. The time has come for the Orioles to do it. I don't expect to see them in the hunt for Matt Garza, but he's about as good as anyone out there in my opinion. By the way, Garza at $70...

After playing 13 seasons with the Orioles, Brian Roberts will be in Yankee pinstripes in 2014. Today, in his first interview since joining the Yankees, he made some comments sure to draw the ire of some O's fans. On a YES Network interview, Roberts was asked about the Yankees' sales pitch to get him. "As you know, I don't think they need a whole lot of sales pitch most of the time," Roberts said. "When you have the opportunity to play for such a storied franchise and an organization...

Individual tickets for all 15 of the Orioles' spring training games at Ed Smith Stadium will go on sale this Saturday, January 25 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...

Now that the Yankees have signed Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka to a reported seven-year, $155 million deal, the rest of the free agent market should open wide for business. Isn't that the theory? Or maybe we should stick to the domino analogy. As far as the Orioles are concerned, it doesn't suddenly increase their interest in Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, who would cost a first-round pick. It doesn't suddenly make Matt Garza more affordable. Or Bronson Arroyo more inclined to accept...

Camden Yards is a gem, a rare baseball cathedral that blends classic, retro style with today's version of the national pastime. But its lush outfield grass and manicured infield don't happen by accident. They're the result of a year-round effort by head groundskeeper Nicole McFadyen and her talented grounds crew. Each month during this offseason, Orioles Buzz will check in with McFadyen to see what's happening on the field at Camden Yards as the grounds crew prepares for the 2014...

Want to hear a cool fact about reliever Clay Hensley, who signed a minor league deal with the Nationals yesterday that includes an invitation to big league spring training? Hensley was the pitcher who served up Barry Bonds' 755th career home run, which tied Bonds with Hank Aaron for the most homers of all time. OK, so that fact might not be so "cool" to Hensley, especially since he was optioned to the minors the very next day. It's one thing to be on the wrong end up history. It's...

I wanted to make sure you got a chance to get your tickets for the Potomac Nationals 19th annual Hot Stove Banquet which takes place Sunday, January 26th at the Hyatt Fairfax at Fair Lakes in Fairfax, Virginia. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. and will include Washington Nationals Director of Player Development Mark Scialabba, new P-Nats manager Tripp Keister and 2013 P-Nats player of the year outfielder Michael Taylor. There will also be a silent auction which will include hallmark items such...

Hey, Masahiro Tanaka, could you please make a decision soon so the rest of the teams in baseball can get on with their lives? I'm sure he didn't intend to hold up the works, but since the new posting process began around Christmas for the 25-year-old Japanese right-hander, not much else has happened in baseball. Remember the flurry of activity with signings even before the Winter Meetings? This would be the opposite and it sure appears that players, agents and teams are waiting for Tanaka...

Figuring out the Orioles' bullpen in 2014 has been complicated by the apparent decision to make Tommy Hunter the closer and left-hander Troy Patton's 25-game suspension. Removing Hunter from a set-up role creates room for another reliever. Losing Patton creates room for another left-hander. And there are a variety of candidates for the long-relief spot that belonged last year to Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland. McFarland could return to that role. He could replace Patton for the first 25 games....

The Nationals have added more bullpen depth, agreeing today with right-handed reliever Clay Hensley on a minor league deal with an invitation to big league spring training. Hensley, 34, last pitched in the big leagues in 2012, when he posted a 4.62 ERA in 60 games spanning 50 2/3 innings. Last year, Hensley split his time on a mound between the independent Sugar Land Skeeters and two Triple-A affiliates (of the Reds and Brewers). He pitched to a 0.63 ERA in 14 1/3 innings for Sugar Land, and...