When the voting for Most Valuable Oriole was announced on Sept. 30, we learned that Adam Jones had won the award for the second consecutive season. Jim Johnson and Matt Wieters also received first-place votes to finish second and third, respectively. Wei-Yin Chen and Nick Markakis also were named on a few ballots. No mention of reliever Darren O'Day. You could make a strong case for O'Day, who won a career-high seven games in eight decisions, posted a 2.28 ERA in 69 appearances and allowed...

I just got off the phone with former Orioles pitcher Scott McGregor, who was on the cruise ship when Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver passed away early Saturday morning. The passengers were headed back to Fort Lauderdale from Haiti on the final leg of the trip. McGregor received a call around 1:30 a.m. that Weaver had collapsed on the floor of his cabin. McGregor stood in the hallway while a physician spent more than 30 minutes trying to revive Weaver. "Basically, for the most part, he had...

Last week, we drew back the curtain on some of the events that will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center as part of NatsFest on Saturday. We also hinted that you'd have the opportunity to get your picture snapped with some of your favorite Nationals and MASN personalities. Well, the lineup is now set. Check out the MASN booth in the middle of the NatsFest madness and you'll have a chance to say, "Cheese" with Nats old and new, and the club's TV broadcast voices....

Before I delve into some Nationals talk, indulge me as I drop a quick Ravens statistic for anyone who might have followed me over from that beat last year. Joe Flacco has thrown for 853 yards with eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in the postseason. He's outplayed Peyton Manning and Tom Brady the last two weeks, and this is the second season in a row in which he's gone into Gillette Stadium and played well enough to get his team to the Super Bowl. Pay the man. Sorry, had to get that...

Does anyone know what happened to Ronny Paulino? What about his car? Paulino was the Orioles' backup catcher on opening day, but they optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk on July 15 to make room for catcher Taylor Teagarden, who was coming off the 60-day disabled list. And the rest is history of sorts. The Orioles re-signed Teagarden this winter, and he's going to be their backup catcher if he stays healthy. Not much drama behind the plate. Teagarden began the season on the disabled list...

After dealing with concussion symptoms, undergoing surgery in August to repair a torn labrum in his hip and Dec. 20 sports hernia surgery, Brian Roberts is not surprised at all that some fans doubt he can return to play regularly for the Orioles. And he's completely OK with and understanding of that. "I don't hold anything against anyone that doesn't think I can do it anymore. That's fine," Roberts said Saturday at FanFest. "I had people 12 years ago that thought that, so it's not...

As spring training approaches, the Orioles' five-man starting rotation is not set. But pitchers like Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez seem close to locks to be in the opening day starting five, and Chris Tillman may be on that list, as well. At FanFest, O's pitching coach Rick Adair addressed his rotation's current state. "There are probably three or four guys we feel good about in the rotation and there are other guys that can be in the rotation," Adair said. "We hope...

Davey Johnson and Bryce Harper were in New York last night to receive some hardware. Back in the U.S. after a lengthy trip to Africa with his wife, Johnson was presented with his National League Manager of the Year award, and Harper was given his NL Rookie of the Year at the New York Baseball Writers' Association Dinner. Here are the dapper Harper making their acceptance speeches. Harper sure can rock a tux. I wrote a few weeks ago about how the Nationals will have to adjust to being the...

Continuing our updates on some of the pitching prospects who pitched for the Gulf Coast Nationals in 2012, we spotlight right-hander Blake Schwartz. The 6-foot-3, 200-lb., right-hander from Oklahoma City started five games for the GCL Nats before moving to Single-A Hagerstown and getting seven starts with the Suns. Schwartz went 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA for the GCL Nats. In 16 innings, Schwartz struck out 12 batters and allowed one walk. Tripp Keister,the new skipper in Hagerstown, had Schwartz...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo talked last week about one of the possible reasons why right-hander A.J. Cole struggled in his initiation to the Oakland A's organization last season. The high altitude and high-octane California League has gotten to many a great starting pitcher over the years. Rizzo scouted that league extensively while with the Arizona Diamondbacks and knows from experience. Potomac Nationals pitching coach Chris Michalak knows Cole very well and believes there might...