ST. LOUIS - Each of the last two days, I'd brought a bag containing a change of clothes with me to Busch Stadium. If the Nationals happened to clinch the division and I ended up with champagne all over my button down and pants, I didn't want to then have to spend the next couple hours working while stinking like alcohol. My college friends can insert their own jokes here. The change of clothes never left the bag, however. Saturday night, a Braves win prevented the Nationals from popping...

Anyone that stuck with the Orioles for the last 14 years, and that is a long list of diehard and loyal fans I know, should take some time today to enjoy the fact that the Orioles are going back to the playoffs. It has truly been a season of Orioles Magic. The team got off to a fast start and stayed in the hunt the entire year. Not even injuries to key players like Nick Markakis and Jason Hammel could keep this team from moving on. Now the Orioles continue their No. 1 goal: try and win the AL...

It is with a bit more than just a little irony that the Nationals have three chances to clinch their first NL East title, at home, against the Phillies, and with none other than left-hander John Lannan getting the call. Lannan gets the start because it is his turn in the rotation in a season where he has made only five starts with the Nationals. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg? No, he reached his innings limit. Gio Gonzalez? He gets the chance Tuesday. Edwin Jackson, Jordan Zimmermann and...

A busy day for the Orioles has given way to a busy night - one including an unscheduled landing and a confirmed spot in the playoffs. Manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette spoke to reporters a few minutes ago in a conference call. Showalter was first asked about the team charter making an emergency landing in Jacksonville. "We were in good hands," Showalter said. "It was just a precautionary thing, just to be on the safe side. We had a little something heat up on...

It took 15 years and one really bizarre day, but the Orioles are heading back to the playoffs. The Angels lost to the Rangers tonight in Game 2 of their doubleheader 8-7, which thrust the Orioles into the postseason for the first time since 1997. Joe Nathan, who blew the save in Game 1, stranded the tying run on first base, allowing the Rangers and Yankees to also clinch playoff berths. Mike Napoli drove in six runs against his former team. He should receive a muffin basket from the...

The Orioles' team charter flight bound for Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. tonight had to make an emergency landing near Jacksonville due to a fire on board, sources say. Everyone is reportedly OK, but maybe a little shaken as the plane apparently had to make a rather rapid descent in landing. The fire was reportedly in the kitchen area, and it appears that no one with the club was injured. The incident was confirmed by Ned Rice, of the Orioles' baseball operations department who posted this...

ST. LOUIS - Toward the end of a lengthy session with reporters after today's 10-4 loss to the Cardinals, Ross Detwiler, who was hit hard in his 2 1/3 innings of work, was able to inject a little humor to lighten the mood in a quiet Nationals clubhouse. "This was for all the fans back in D.C.," Detwiler deadpanned. "(I) wanted them to see the team clinch." Don't take that quote the wrong way; by no means did Detwiler take his rough start lightly. He was frustrated with his inability to...

ST. LOUIS - The Champagne celebration won't take place on this road trip. The Nationals came into today needing only a win or a Braves loss to pop open the bubbly as NL East champions, but they fell behind 5-0 after two innings and 7-0 after three, and then let the Cardinals put up two big tack-on runs in the bottom of the fourth to turn a 7-4 game back into a comfortable five-run lead. Ross Detwiler gave up seven runs (three of which were earned) over 2 1/3 innings. He struggled in finding...

In the Orioles clubhouse, where the plastic covering was ready to be placed over the lockers today for a celebration that will have to wait, Adam Jones said it was not a big deal that the Orioles are still waiting to clinch a playoff berth. "That is cool. I'd rather our win had sealed our fate, but it didn't happen," Jones said. "We have to worry about ourselves. I don't care. Do it home, road. We can clinch on the plane. We're going to party somewhere." Jones said it was exciting to...

The Orioles have waited this long to celebrate a playoff berth, so what's a few more hours? Or another day? Or... Manager Buck Showalter took in the scene that unfolded following the Orioles' 6-3 victory over the Red Sox. Players stood together and watched the top of ninth inning of the Angels-Rangers game being shown on the JumboTron. Nobody wanted to go back inside the clubhouse. "It's sincere," Showalter said. "They want to watch it together. One thing I challenged them with since...