The Orioles announced this evening that Manny Machado's knee surgery went "as expected" in Los Angeles. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic, estimated the recovery time at approximately six months, which would jeopardize Machado's availability for the March 31 season opener at Camden Yards. The 75-minute procedure included an arthroscopy and open reconstruction of the medial patellar femoral ligament. A hamstring tendon was used to graft a replacement...

The Baltimore Orioles will host "Arts in the Ballpark," a series of arts and entertainment events for the public at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota beginning this fall. With free and low-cost offerings featuring family-friendly concerts, hands-on activities, and even a holiday ice show, the series will appeal to a wide range of tastes and interests. "The Orioles are excited to present the 'Arts in the Ballpark' series to the Sarasota community as part of our 'Orioles in Sarasota 365'...

Yesterday, I wrote about Ryan Mattheus' turbulent 2013 season and how he dealt with a self-inflicted injury, a demotion to the minors and a mostly subpar string of performances when he was healthy and on the Nationals roster. That led some of you in the comment section to bring up another reliever who struggled at times during the 2013 campaign - Drew Storen. It'd be easy to look at Storen's stats line for 2013 - a 4.52 ERA and 1.362 WHIP in 68 games (61 2/3 innings) - and assume that the...

Manny Machado will undergo surgery today at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles to repair a torn medial patellofemoral ligament in his left knee. I'll beat the rush and pass along that it's going to be a "successful" surgery and the time frame of a four- to six-month recovery period will remain unchanged. Five months would put Machado in the middle of March, still enough time to get ready for opening day at Camden Yards. In the meantime, he can work on his upper-body strength. Going...

Despite a three-year decline in some of his offensive stats, I still see the best move for the Orioles with catcher Matt Wieters is to sign him to a long-term contract rather than to explore trade talks. While no one from the club has even hinted at the possibility of trading Wieters, it has become an increasingly popular topic with some fans who consider it a viable option for a player with two more years remaining of team control. From that standpoint, if the Orioles did pursue moving...

Hanging with some Nationals fans Saturday at Maryland's college football game versus Virginia (Terps won 27-26 in a very competitive battle), a lot of them asked me what left-handed relievers might be available next season to fire pitches at Nationals Park. Here is a quick list of available veteran free agent left-handed relievers, according to MLBTradeRumors.com: Scott Downs (38) Mike Gonzalez (36) Rich Hill (34) J.P. Howell (31) Boone Logan (29) Javier Lopez (36) Eric...

It would probably be fair to say that Ryan Mattheus had a turbulent 2013 season. After punching up a 2.85 ERA in 66 appearances in 2012, becoming the Nationals' reliable seventh-inning guy, Mattheus had the following happen to him in 2013: He broke his right hand punching a locker after a poor outing in mid-May, knocking him out of action for more than two months, posted a 9.00 ERA in nine games after his return, got demoted to Triple-A Syracuse for two weeks, and then pitched to a 6.57 ERA...

Catcher Chance Sisco, the Orioles' second-round pick out of a California high school in June, had an impressive first season. He hit for a high batting average in the Gulf Coast League, played in two games for short-season Single-A Aberdeen at the end of the year and continued to impress club officials with a strong performance in instructional league. It was a solid first season for this 18-year-old left-handed hitter from Corona, Calif. What is also impressive about Sisco is how...

During yesterday's "Wall to Wall Baseball" show on MASN, a viewer asked the expert panel - comprised of Tom Davis, Dave Johnson and yours truly - whether Nick Markakis should lead off next season. It's never easy to discuss the lineup without knowing the composition of the 25-man roster. If the Orioles re-sign Nate McLouth, he figures to bat first against right-handers. If they re-sign Brian Roberts, he immediately becomes a candidate to move atop the order. The Orioles were 60-48 with...

The Orioles are expected to release their spring training schedule next week. In the meantime, I've pieced together a few dates from the Grapefruit League's tentative master schedule. Yes, it's a slow news day. And let's keep it that way. No surprise surgeries, please. Maybe it's the crappy weather that's got me thinking about Sarasota. And you'll notice that I've conveniently skipped past the winter meetings, though they're being held in Orlando in December. Still the worst...