I woke up this morning and discovered that shortstop J.J. Hardy and catcher Matt Wieters still play for the Orioles. Let's see if anything changes by noon. If yesterday's reports on the duo confirmed anything beyond my hatred of the hot stove season, it's how badly the Orioles want to upgrade their rotation. They're not actively shopping Hardy and Wieters, but they're going to approach any team with a surplus of starters. That's how the Shelby Miller rumor started yesterday morning. The...

It's the offseason, and with the contracts ending, free agents pending and GMs spending, rumors are bound to arise. This week, J.J. Hardy's name has been involved in the rumor mill, leaving Orioles fans to debate whether a possible trade would be worth the price. As a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner, Hardy has definitely proven his value. Below is just one of the many spectacular plays where the shortstop has come up big for the Birds. Your browser does not support iframes.

The Fourth of July at Nationals Park is one of the best days of the season. I mean, what better way to celebrate our nation than watching the Nationals play the national pastime in our nation's capital? This year, in addition to the holiday, the Fourth was made even more special with the return of Wilson Ramos. After missing most of 2012 with a knee injury and sitting out the beginning of this season because of a hamstring injury, Ramos didn't waste any time before making an impact....

Fred Ferreira said it doesn't happen often. But there have been times in his long career of signing international baseball talent that he saw someone play and agreed to sign him that same day. It happened several weeks ago when he watched a 16-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic named Olelky Peralta pitch. It was part of a showcasing of players by the Arias & Goodman Sports Agency at their academy in San Pedro de Macoris. Ferreira, the Orioles' executive director of...

The Nationals had Gio Gonzalez finish third in the National League Cy Young voting last season. This year, Jordan Zimmermann was the top vote-getting Nats hurler, and he came in seventh. Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, to no one's surprise, took home his second Cy Young award in dominating fashion. Zimmermann received six third-place votes and three fifth-place votes. He finished the season with 19 wins, tied with Adam Wainwright (the Cy Young runner-up) for most in the National...

The GM meetings are supposed to wrap up tonight in Orlando, but Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette has another face-to-face scheduled for Thursday morning before he flies home. I just got off the phone with Duquette, who said he's met with a little more than half the teams. Special assistant Lee Thomas also has met with a few clubs. Here's a sampling of Duquette's quotes: On how he'd characterize the first three days: "We've been meeting with teams and agents and canvassing...

The Orioles have announced the hiring of former Rangers coach Dave Anderson as minor league infield coordinator. Anderson replaces Matt Martin, who held the job for one season and is no longer in the organization. I wrote about Anderson this morning. Quick recap: Anderson played on the Dodgers team that won the 1988 World Series over the Athletics. He's managed in the minors, and he served as Rangers third base coach for four seasons and first base coach in 2013. The Rangers fired him Oct....

Earlier today, I mentioned how David Stockstill signed the Orioles' first player from Guatemala, outfielder Manny Hernandez, back in 2009. Stockstill's contract ran out Oct. 31, and I've received confirmation that the Orioles chose not to renew it. Executive vice president Dan Duquette informed Stockstill of his decision. Stockstill previously served as the club's director of player development before switching roles with his brother, John, and becoming director of international...

News leaked yesterday that the Orioles signed 18-year-old outfielder Juan Diego Montes from Guatemala. Various photos of the kid in an Orioles jersey circulated through Twitter. That part was accurate. The mistake came in the math. Forget what you've read about Montes being the second player from Guatemala signed by the Orioles. A reader of this blog pointed out correctly that Montes is the third. Apparently, outfielder Manny Hernandez has become the forgotten man. Former Orioles farm...

The Manager of the Year awards were handed out last night, and they went to Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle and the Indians' Terry Francona, giving both men their first such honor. Hurdle received 25 of the 30 possible first-place votes for National League Manager of the Year after leading the Pirates to their first above-.500 record since 1992. Pittsburgh finished the regular season with 94 wins and then beat Cincinnati in the Wild Card play-in game before losing to the Cardinals in the...