Triple-A Syracuse shortstop Zach Walters has really gotten hot at the plate in the past nine games. Especially the most recent six games, where he has connected for 12 hits. Walters has done so well that the International League announced today that Walters has been named Batter of the Week for the period from June 10-16. Walters is the first member of the Chiefs to win a weekly award this season. The week has also demonstrated Walters' power - he hit three of his 14 homers since June...

I spoke last night with a friend of mine who's one of these people who takes and analyzes everything literally. I might also throw in that this guy is not in any way, shape or form, a baseball person. His opinion of baseball is that the pitcher throws, and the batter hits and runs. According to him it's that simple. Luckily we all know better. In fairness, when this person mentioned that he watched yesterday's series finale with Boston, he said that he was impressed with the Orioles. I...

Looks like things didn't change all that much while I was away for the last few days. The Nationals picked up a dramatic win over the Indians on Saturday, plating seven runs and getting a huge ninth-inning, game-winning homer from the red-hot Anthony Rendon. You think maybe things will start to turn for the Nats, that they'll be able to ride a little momentum and start stringing together a few games of strong offensive production. Then they're shut out by the Indians yesterday, going...

As the Nationals struggled again to bring runners home in their 2-0 loss in Cleveland on Sunday, their fans must have been fuming. With apologies to Casey Stengel, or whoever initiated the quote that became the title of Jimmy Breslin's book chronicling the 1962 Mets, the question, "Can't anybody here play this game?" comes to mind. Eleven times, Washington hitters came to bat with at least one runner in scoring position, and eleven times, they failed to get the runner home. Four of...

I didn't sense a whole lot of enthusiasm on this blog over manager Buck Showalter's announcement that Jake Arrieta would start tonight's series-opener in Detroit. Arrieta lasted only four starts this season before being optioned for the first time. His last two starts at Triple-A Norfolk were bad. But it makes sense to give him the ball. Jason Hammel isn't ready to pitch tonight after wrestling with a stomach virus the past few days. It weakened him. It made him wonder why his young son...

He pitched for the Orioles for nine seasons, including the 1996 and 1997 playoffs, and Alan Mills returned to the O's organization last year. For the second season in a row, he is the pitching coach at short-season Single-A Aberdeen and will lead his staff of young hurlers into a new season for the IronBirds that begins at 7:35 p.m. tonight against Hudson Valley at Ripken Stadium. "I always wanted to get back (with the Orioles)," Mills said. "I'd been interested in doing that for several...

It is not the most important goal of the minor league system, but when the Nationals get one team into the postseason, it is a good measure of the talent and ability of the players to come together as a unit. The Nationals did that one better - they had two teams clinch first-half crowns Sunday. Both Single-A squads, the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns and the high Single-A Potomac Nationals won their respective divisions in the first half of the season. This guarantees the Suns and P-Nats...

He is continuing to wait for the birth of his daughter, but while he was waiting, Miguel Gonzalez took some time today to pitch in a big league game. He pitched 6 1/3 innings to lead the Orioles past the Red Sox, improving to 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four career games against Boston. Has it been hard to pitch with matters at home on his mind? "It gets me pumped up. I'm excited," Gonzalez said. "I'm excited for her to come. She's taking a little longer than we thought, but just waiting...

Miguel Gonzalez picked up his fifth win today for the Orioles, but he's still waiting to hold his first child. "They have a baby as stubborn as Miguel when they told him he couldn't do this," manager Buck Showalter quipped after today's 6-3 win over the Red Sox. Here's a sampling from Showalter's postgame press conference: On significance of taking three of four in this series "It's early. Four-game series are really tough because it's obviously, you consider how good the...

He hasn't pitched in a game since April 21 for the Orioles but they need a starter for tomorrow's game in Detroit and it's going to be Jake Arrieta getting that start, Buck Showalter said after today's game. "Been waiting for an opportunity and I look forward to capitalizing on that and trying to help this team continue to win," Arrieta said after today's game. "If I go out there and do my job, we have a great chance to win that game. I feel like I've done everything I need to do to...