On Black Friday, I appreciate that you chose to shop at this blog. It's still a bargain after all these years. A combination of tryptophan and NyQuil has me walking around in a fog this morning. Good turkey, bad cold. But I wanted to take a closer look at the gains made by the Orioles in 2012. Dan Duquette didn't receive a single vote for The Sporting News Executive of the Year award. That honor went to Oakland's Billy Beane, who garnered 31 of the 57 votes. 1. Billy Beane (Athletics): 31...

The Nationals announced this week that right-hander Erik Davis had been added to the 40-man roster. The move might have surprised a few baseball fans who have not heard that much about Davis, but it certainly was no surprise to those who saw him play or coached him, especially Double-A Harrisburg pitching coach Paul Menhart. "I was absolutely ecstatic," Menhart said. "This kid had an unreal turnaround in his career from last year to this year." The 6-foot-4, 200 lb. Davis struggled after...

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there from northern Virginia to D.C. to Baltimore and beyond. Hope you all enjoy food, football and family today. This is my favorite holiday of the year for all those reasons. Nationals fans have a lot to be thankful for today beyond the three F's above. They've got a team which is on the rise, a stable of young players who will be around for a while and an ownership group which doesn't plan on trading away every recognizable name on the roster....

Trayvon Robinson says he knew "something" was going to happen. He was out of minor league options. The Mariners figured to trade him if they could find a partner. He just didn't know when or where. Robinson assumed it would happen at the Winter Meetings or shortly before spring training, not earlier this week. "I've been kind of waiting," he said yesterday. The Orioles acquired Robinson, a switch-hitting outfielder, from the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday for infielder Robert...

On Thanksgiving Day, I'm thankful for baseball. No, it shouldn't outrank the importance of family and friends in our lives, our health and so forth, but it's pretty important to many of us. Some of us make our living in the game and we're glad and thankful there are great O's fans like you out there that make that possible. So keeping all that in perspective and taking time to relax and just have fun today and not get too deep, I'm thankful for these things among many others: * That...

After clinching their first playoff berth since 1997, the Orioles are looking to lock up the same coaching staff this offseason. Jim Presley agreed to a new contract Wednesday, leaving just third base coach DeMarlo Hale as the only coach whose return is uncertain. Hale interviewed for the Blue Jays' bench coach position this week. While Brian Roberts said he is doing well health-wise, he knows that he will not have to share any time at second base with Robert Andino, who was traded to the...

After watching his team pick up Manager of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards, Mike Rizzo got in on the action this week. He was voted Executive of the Year by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday. On the same day, the Nationals added right-handed pitchers Erik Davis and Nathan Karns to their 40-man roster. This move protects both prospects from the Rule 5 Draft, which will occur Dec. 6. Fellow prospects, of the Salt River Rafters, made it to the...

After re-signing as the manager of the Nationals for the 2013 season, Davey Johnson locked up the Manager of the Year award, a day after he saw his rookie phenom bring home the hardware. On Monday, Bryce Harper, who just turned 20 a month ago, won the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award after batting .270/.340/.477 with 22 home runs since his debut on April 28. After winning the award, Harper said, "This is a great award and I'm so excited and proud of it, but my biggest thing is I...

With the Orioles' annual FanFest date announced as Jan. 19, fans will have different trade and award news from this week to discuss. On Tuesday, Buck Showalter placed second in Manager of the Year voting, just eight points behind winner Bob Melvin of the A's. Showalter finished with 12 first-place votes to Melvin's 16. While Angels' Mike Trout was the runaway winner for the American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award, Wei Yin Chen received two third-place votes Monday after...

The Orioles now have five of their coaches under contract for 2013. Hitting coach Jim Presley has agreed to a new deal, leaving third base coach DeMarlo Hale as the only member of the staff who isn't assured of being back next season. Hale interviewed for the Toronto Blue Jays' bench coach position earlier this week. The Orioles have offered him a contract and are waiting for a response. Presley told me on Monday that he fully expected a deal to get done that would enable him to remain as...