Happy Thanksgiving, Birdland! Today and every day I am so thankful I get to make my living in the great sport of baseball. Most of us here have a love affair with the game and we share that bond for sure. While I am thankful for that, I'm even more thankful that I get to work covering the team I fell in love with at age 6 and the team I've loved ever since. I've always felt my long history being an Orioles fan long before I became an O's reporter has been nothing but a real plus in...

It was really interesting reading everyone's thoughts on the Nationals' reported desire to put a roof over Nationals Park, and while it sure doesn't seem like anything that will be happening anytime soon, it led to a solid discussion. If we can manage to ignore the $300 million figure that's been tossed around (and it's tough to do that, especially when that amount would come from public funding), I'll say I can see aspects of the argument from both sides. Adding the roof would protect...

It has simply been too long. We haven't done this for weeks and weeks, and that is weak on my part. So today it's time for another edition of "10 questions for O's fans." It's not hard to figure out what we are doing here. I'll ask you 10 Orioles-related questions and you provide the answers. Per usual, answer one, two or all 10. Provide a one-word answer or provide a lengthy answer if the mood strikes. But please do participate. I look forward to reading all your answers. Now on to...

I really want to pass along news that the Orioles are on the verge of a big signing or trade, just to give you a lift before Thanksgiving, but I don't have any indication that it's true. Would you settle for a little white lie? Bad idea. The Orioles are still courting outfielder Carlos Beltran, according to this report in Primera Hora, a newspaper in Puerto Rico (translation needed). The Reds reportedly have joined the fray, but the Yankees remain the frontrunner. Meanwhile, the...

Mark Segraves of NBC4 has fired off an interesting tweet tonight, reporting that the Nationals are interested in installing a roof over Nats Park. In order to fund the roof, Segraves is reporting that the Nationals are asking taxpayers to put up around $300 million. The discussions are reportedly in the preliminary stages, but Segraves cites multiple sources who say that executives with the team approached several District officials, including Mayor Vincent Gray's office, to propose the...

Another Hall of Fame ballot, another smattering of former Nationals and Expos who will likely be on the outside looking in when results of balloting of Baseball Writers' Association of America members is announced Jan. 8. Among the 19 new candidates, there is only one ex-National: catcher Paul Lo Duca, who played 46 games in a Washington uniform in 2008 before being released. Lo Duca, a .286 hitter in 11 major league seasons, batted only .230 with 12 RBIs for the Nats. There are still some...

The latest ballot for baseball's Hall of Fame has been released, and it includes first-timers Mike Mussina, Armando Benitez and Mike Timlin. Other former Orioles include Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling and Lee Smith. Tim Raines appeared in four games with the Orioles in 2001, allowing him to play in the same outfield as son Tim Raines Jr. Eligible voters may choose up to 10 players, and 75 percent of the votes is the threshold necessary for induction in Cooperstown, N.Y. No...

One Direction announced today that the band will perform at Nationals Park - home of the Washington Nationals - on Monday, August 11, 2014 as part of the North American leg of their worldwide "Where We Are 2014" tour. Tickets and parking will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, December 7 at 10:00 a.m., online at www.tickets.com and by phone at 888.632.6287. Nationals Season Plan Holders will be able to participate in a special pre-sale to purchase tickets. An email notification...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, which is by far my favorite holiday of the year and is now just a couple days away, I figured I'd start off a string of blog entries listing what various people affiliated with the Nationals have to be thankful for during this holiday season. These few days tend to be fairly quiet ones on the baseball calendar, as the closer we get to Thanksgiving, the more front office execs start to table trade negotiations or talks with agents until after the holiday has...

Wait, Jhonny Peralta won't be playing left field next year for the Orioles, but Nolan Reimold might? Plenty of fans have written Reimold off, and after seeing him play just 56 games the last two years, he's become somewhat of a forgotten man around here. But for a projected $1.2 million, the O's are taking a low-risk gamble that Reimold may be able to stay healthy next year. Dan Duquette said yesterday that Reimold will be tendered a contract by the club for 2014. I might be the last one...