On its "Hot Stove" morning show, MLB Network has been pondering which players or members of each major league team can be considered the club's face of the franchise. Yes, they asked the question about the Orioles and I don't even remember how the results broke down, but I'm more interested in what the readers here think. Who do you consider the face of the Orioles franchise? Here are four strong candidates, listed in alphabetical order. Jim Johnson: Don't sell this guy short. He is...

I wondered aloud yesterday whether Orioles manager Buck Showalter would be willing to carry three left-handers in his bullpen. He began the 2012 season with one, Troy Patton, who beat out Zach Phillips. Showalter spent much of the summer wishing he had a second southpaw, which is why J.C. Romero eventually found his way to Baltimore. Brian Matusz solved that issue by converting to a lefty specialist. He's going to compete for a rotation spot in spring training, but the bullpen beckons if...

Entering spring training, every Nationals player - every player in the major leagues, for that matter - has the same goal for 2013. That goal is to be holding the World Series trophy at the end of the year. Pretty simple stuff, really. Nothing too groundbreaking. Beyond that, however, there are individual goals that many players set for themselves, goals that, if accomplished, will help their team get closer to the overarching goal of winning a World Series title. Ian Desmond goes into the...

He missed 58 games last season, but in the 104 in which he did play, Nick Markakis had a pretty good season with the bat. He hit .298 with 28 doubles, 13 homers and 54 RBIs in 420 at-bats, the fewest of his career. Markakis was on a pace for 83 RBIs, which would have been his most since driving in 101 in 2009. He posted an OPS last season of .834, his highest since a figure of .897 in 2008. But should Markakis remain in the leadoff spot in the batting order? He certainly thrived in that role...

Two more weeks and I'll be flying down to Sarasota for the start of spring training. Well, I'll actually be flying into Tampa, because Southwest still hasn't located Sarasota on a map. Keep searching, fellas. The most interesting decisions facing manager Buck Showalter, in my opinion, will center on the fifth starter and the last bullpen spot. We also need to know who's going to be the primary designated hitter if Chris Davis is penciled in as the regular first baseman. Will Showalter...

A day after NatsFest, an event which was so popular that some fans unfortunately were held back from entering for an extended period because the Walter E. Washington Convention Center was filled to capacity, there are still plenty of tidbits to pass along from conversations with a number of Nationals players. First, a few more injury notes. Jayson Werth says that his left wrist, which he broke early last May, is not completely healed, but feels good enough that he can play and still be...

I'm expecting a quiet Sunday, as executive vice president Dan Duquette and new director of minor league operations Kent Qualls fly to the Dominican Republic to check out some of their Latin players at the club's year-round developmental program. Qualls has strong ties to Duquette. He spent 16 years with the Expos and Red Sox, primarily working in scouting, player development and Latin American operations, and he was named director of the NIKE Dan Duquette Sport Academy when it opened in...

Drew Storen found out about the Nationals' surprise signing of closer Rafael Soriano just like many fans. He saw it on Twitter. Storen, who saved 43 games for the Nats in 2011 and then returned from elbow surgery last year to post a 2.37 ERA in 30 1/3 innings, then contacted his fellow reliever and in-season roommate Tyler Clippard and broke the news. "I just called (Clippard) and said, 'Did you see this?' And we were like, 'What?' It was kind of a random thing," Storen said. "I...

NatsFest is over. At least I'm pretty sure it is. The media work area in Salon D is windowless and removed from where all the action was earlier this afternoon. But a lot of the ushers and greeters and helpers have been parading through the adjacent room, and that's a sure sign the paying customers have departed with a bunch of new curly W merchandise and Nationals memories to tide them over until spring training starts in a few weeks. Before I head over to a happy hour at Bobby Van's...

Drew Storen's elbow feels fine, and his psyche shows no scars from a meltdown in Game 5 of the National League Division Series that the right-hander would probably prefer to permanently file away, never to be remembered. A London vacation after the premature end to his season helped Storen unwind and begin the process of moving on past extremely personal disappointment. "It's harder because you don't have that game the next day to fix it," he explained. "That's why you look at Game 6...