The Nationals likely won't make an announcement on who has been hired as their next manager until after the World Series has come to an end, but they've already made their selection. The Nats plan to hire Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams to replace Davey Johnson as their new skipper, a source familiar with the situation confirms. FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal was first to report the expected hire. In addition to hiring Williams, the Nats will try to keep Randy Knorr on as...

Have you watched the Red Sox and Cardinals duke it out in the first two games of the World Series? While you continue watching to see who emerges as World Series champs, let's catch you up on things you may have missed around the Nationals organization this week. The Nats are continuing managerial interviews, including one with DeMarlo Hale this week. In addition, they have met with Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams, Padres executive Brad Ausmus and Randy Knorr. An announcement...

The World Series is two games in, and the Cardinals and Red Sox have each taken a game. Who do you have as the 2013 world champs? Since your eyes may have been on postseason baseball this week, let's catch you up on all of the Orioles news that you may have missed. The Birds have continued to search for a new pitching coach to replace Rick Adair. With Jim Leyland retiring, skipper Buck Showalter moved up to third in the category of most wins by an active manager. In addition, three...

Let's start out today's blog entry with a reminder that baseball's award for defensive excellence is the Gold Glove. It's not the Golden Gloves, though former Orioles reliever Alan Mills should have been awarded one after decking Darryl Strawberry. The finalists for the 2013 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards will be announced today, and the winners will be revealed Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. Let's just hope the X Games don't run long. The Orioles were the only team to have three...

They are looking for their second World Series title in three years and their third since 2006. The St. Louis Cardinals are the envy of just about every organization in Major League Baseball. They consistently win and do it with more homegrown players than most. This week, Baseball America editor in chief John Manuel wrote this article about the World Series teams with an emphasis on what the Cardinals have done with some outstanding scouting, drafting and player development. St. Louis has...

Henry Urrutia hit his first home run today for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League, and it came with the bases loaded. It also traveled a long way. Urrutia drove a ball off the top of the batter's eye in center field, according to a tweet from the league (@MLBazFallLeague). Urrutia's grand slam is part of a 2-for-3 day that's raised his average to .440 with six RBIs. He's serving as the designated hitter this afternoon while recovering from elbow soreness, but could return...

Former first-round pick Chris Marrero, once viewed as the Nationals' first baseman of the future, was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse today. This removes Marrero from the Nationals' 40-man roster and means that he'll become a minor league free agent after the World Series is over. The 25-year-old Marrero's time with the Nats is almost certainly now over. Marrero was taken by the Nats with the 15th overall pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Monsignor Edward Pace High School in...

The Orioles currently have 11 players eligible for arbitration this winter, which could produce another hike in payroll despite a few contracts coming off the books. MLBTradeRumors.com provided salary projections in the latest installment in its series. It includes service times for each player: Jim Johnson (5.165): $10.8MM Chris Davis (4.061): $10MM Matt Wieters (4.129): $7.9MM Bud Norris (4.068): $5MM Tommy Hunter (4.066): $3.1MM Brian Matusz (3.156): $2.1MM Nolan Reimold (4.004):...

Last night's game was perhaps the sloppiest I've ever seen the St. Louis Cardinals look. And man, did they pick a bad time to kick the ball all over the place. The Cardinals committed three errors in Game 1 of the World Series last night, but that doesn't even fully tell the story of how poorly they played defensively. In total, four unearned runs were allowed by the Cardinals. Nationals-killer Pete Kozma dropped a throw in the first inning that should have started a 4-6-3 double play and...

So how did the Orioles' pitching fare in 2013? A factual answer is, not as good as 2012. The team ERA went up from 3.90 to 4.20. The O's went from sixth to 10th in the American League in team ERA. The starters' ERA increased from 4.42 to 4.57 to rank 12th in the league. The bullpen ERA increased from 3.02 to 3.52 to rank sixth. To say the least, the Orioles need to do a better job of keeping the ball in the park next year. They allowed 202 home runs this season, up from 184, and they gave...