Yesterday was a pretty big day across the Major League Baseball managerial landscape, with Tigers manager Jim Leyland announcing his retirement, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly publicly pressing for a multi-year contract and the Reds reportedly getting set to hire former pitching coach Bryan Price as their new skipper. Leyland's announcement was a bit of a surprise, but now opens up another managerial gig that arguably rivals the Nationals' in terms of attractiveness. The Tigers have loads of...

For a few wonderful days early last season, Zach Clark reached his major league goal. He was an Oriole for four days and even pitched in a May 1 game against Seattle. But a few days later, he was designated for assignment, and the right-hander's future was uncertain. His career then took a major turn when he agreed to begin throwing a knuckleball and to try to work his way back to the Orioles that way. What a 2013 season the UMBC product experienced. He started with Triple-A Norfolk and then...

The Orioles will crank up the interview process for finding a new pitching coach today by bringing in Rich Dubee, who spent the past nine seasons on the job with the Phillies. Dubee, who turned 56 on Saturday, already has a few points in his favor. He worked in the Expos farm system while executive vice president Dan Duquette was in the front office. He's a native of Brockton, Mass., not far from Duquette's hometown. He lives in Sarasota, where the Orioles hold spring training. The job...

Jim Leyland announced his retirement today as manager of the Detroit Tigers, leaving behind an impressive legacy and a lot of second-hand smoke. Leyland ranked first among active managers with 1,769 victories, placing him 15th on baseball's all-time list. The top three leaders among active managers no longer hold down jobs. The Reds fired Dusty Baker (1,671) after losing to the Pirates in the National League wild card game, and Davey Johnson (1,372) retired after the Nationals failed to make...

NatsTown is prepared for a new manager, and one should be named during the first week of November. But whether general manager Mike Rizzo decides to turn the managerial reins over to an in-house candidate or picks someone from outside the organization to succeed Davey Johnson, there will likely be a ripple effect that changes the makeup of the Nationals coaching staff. A new manager will want the latitude to assemble his own staff. Obviously, if either current third base coach Trent Jewett or...

For the first time since 1999, the year the Yankees swept the Braves, the teams with the best records will play in the World Series. This is the fourth World Series played by the Cardinals and Red Sox. The Cardinals beat the Red Sox in 1946 and 1967. Both went seven games. The Red Sox swept St. Louis in 2004 to end the famous "Curse of the Bambino,'' giving them that gave them a title for the first time since Babe Ruth played for them in 1918. The series opens in Boston. The last time the...

Mesa hung in its game Saturday night until the ninth inning, before surrendering seven runs in an 8-2 loss to Salt River in Arizona Fall League play. Leading 2-1 heading into the top of the ninth, Salt River tallied seven runs on R.J. Alvarez, who blew the save. It was not all of his fault as four of the runs were unearned. Nationals prospects Richie Mirowski and Robert Benincasa got in before the onslaught. Mirowski went one inning, allowing two hits, a run and struck out one batter....

Outside of finding a new manager, which clearly tops the Nationals' list of offseason priorities, general manager Mike Rizzo has said that one of his biggest goals this winter will be to bolster the bullpen. As a team this season, Nationals relievers pitched to a 3.56 ERA, 17th-best in the majors, and had a .252 batting average against, which ranked 24th in the bigs. Compare that to 2012, when the Nats bullpen posted a 3.23 ERA (seventh) and .231 batting average against (seventh), and you...

So how did the Orioles' offense fare in 2013? It was a mixed bag as the club was strong in some areas and not nearly strong enough in others. Since the bottom line is scoring runs, they get good marks there. The O's scored 745 runs last year to rank tied for fourth in the American League. Only Boston (853), Detroit (796) and Oakland (767) scored more. The O's scored 31 more runs in 2013 than they did in 2012. The O's ranked high in homers (first in the AL), slugging (third) and OPS...

While wondering if Orioles manager Buck Showalter can relate to the heat that John Harbaugh is catching from Ravens fans this season ... I'm heading back home this morning after a weekend filled with love, laughs and calories. Nothing beats family. The Orioles will begin interviewing candidates this week for the vacant pitching coach position. I'm not going to anoint a favorite because we don't have the complete list and there are so many factors in play, including the impression made...