Nationals prospect Brian Goodwin has been pleased with his progress in the Arizona Fall League, especially in bunting and increasing his aggressiveness on the basepaths. "I think it is coming along well," Goodwin said. "It is something that I always looked at it as a weapon, being a speed guy and a top-of-the-order guy. You have to take your time with it. You can't get frustrated. But with the practice you do it will pay off and take it to the game. I like it. I always try to work on it...

We've already had The Sporting News Rookie of the Year award and the Players Choice Award for Outstanding Rookie. Tonight, Major League Baseball's official Rookie of the Year award will be handed out. Awards week begins tonight at 6 p.m., with the announcement of the American League and National League's top rookies, kicking off four days of presentations recognizing the top performances put up this season. The Rookie of the Year awards will be followed by the announcement of Manager of...

The American League's Most Valuable Player race is between the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera and the Angels' Mike Trout. The subplot is about new-age statistics versus traditional MVP thinking. Of all the awards given out this week by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, the AL MVP should spark the most vigorous debate, much like when the Mariners' Felix Hernandez won the 2010 Al Cy Young Award over the Rays' David Price and the Yankees' CC Sabathia. That year, Hernandez had 13 wins,...

The Baseball Writers' Association of America will reveal its Rookies of the Year tonight, and the Orioles are merely spectators for this award. The Angels' Mike Trout will be the runaway winner in the American League, followed by the Athletics' Yoenis Cespedes and the Rangers' Yu Darvish. There's no drama. The National League finalists are the Reds' Todd Frazier, the Nationals' Bryce Harper and the Diamondbacks' Wade Miley. The guess here is Harper wins the award. The Orioles don't...

While the hot stove season is still in warm-up mode, let's take a look at three aspects of the 2012 Orioles and what they might look like next season. Are the O's set at second base?: The Orioles have a lot of candidates to play at second base, but no one jumps out as the regular right now unless you have confidence that Brian Roberts will return healthy and regain his old job. Clearly the club can't count on that, but rather can hope for it. Recent addition Alexi Casilla brings a good...

A few more leftovers from my notebook: The Orioles had seven players total 100 or more strikeouts in 2012: Chris Davis (169), Mark Reynolds (159), Adam Jones (126), Matt Wieters (112), J.J. Hardy (106), Wilson Betmit (103) and Robert Andino (100). That's a lot, right? Betemit's 103 strikeouts came in 341 at-bats. Hardy hit .238/.282/.389 with 30 doubles, 22 home runs and 68 RBIs in 663 at-bats. He was the Orioles' No. 2 hitter in 150 of his 158 games, batting .236/.281/.380 in 631...

Brian Goodwin scored two runs and Jason Martinson added two RBIs as Salt River dropped Phoenix, 11-5. Goodwin, leading off and playing center field, went 1-for-4, but had two walks, the two tuns and a double. He had a stolen base but was also picked off first base in the first inning after reaching on a fielding error. Goodwin's batting average is .239. Martinson, playing for only the second time in a week, went 1-for-3 with a two-run double to give the Rafters a 3-0 lead. He scored a run,...

The Nationals have officially announced that Davey Johnson will return as manager for 2013. Barring a change, however, this season will be Johnson's last as the Nationals' skipper. A release sent out by the team says that Johnson will move into a consulting role with the Nationals after this upcoming season. Johnson's consulting deal runs through the 2014 season. "I love managing this ballclub in this town, and for that, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Lerner Family and Mike Rizzo,"...

The Washington Nationals today announced that Davey Johnson will return in 2013 for his final managerial campaign before shifting to a consultant position with the Nationals in 2014. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. "I love managing this ballclub in this town, and for that, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Lerner Family and Mike Rizzo," said Johnson. "As everyone knows, we have some unfinished business to tend...

During the bulk of the 2012 season, the Nationals carried three left-handed relievers in their bullpen. For the final month of the season, they had four southpaws working in relief. As of today, the Nats don't have a single lefty reliever under contract for 2013. Sean Burnett, Michael Gonzalez and Zach Duke are all free agents this offseason, and will test the market before determining where they land for next year. Tom Gorzelanny is entering his final arbitration year, and while the...