After playing the last two games with a painful ingrown finger nail on the middle finger of his throwing hand, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy had it removed after Wednesday's game. It got so bad that he admits he wasn't sure he could make accurate throws during that game with Toronto and he had to adjust how he fielded the ball. "It was tough," Hardy said. "I went in to see if I could throw in the batting cage (before that game) and I was throwing it in the top of the net and all over the...

As I wrote in my last blog entry, Matt Wieters is expected to rejoin the team for Saturday's game. He won't be here tonight, according to manager Buck Showalter. Wieters still hadn't gotten any sleep by 3 p.m. today. He's past the 24-hour mark, which is fine if you're hosting a telethon, but not if you're a major league catcher. "He's got his priorities where they need to be," said manager Buck Showalter, who has exchanged a few text messages with Wieters today. "He's still at the...

ST. LOUIS - Hello from good old Missouri, and more specifically, the press box at Busch Stadium. The Gateway Arch is currently staring me right in the face as I look out on this field for the first time in person. It's a nice park, and I'm looking forward to experiencing the St. Louis baseball atmosphere I've heard so much about. And I'm serious when I say I've heard a ton about how great the in-game environment is here. These St. Louis fans better step their game up tonight and make...

Taylor Teagarden will be behind the plate for tonight's game against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Matt Wieters became a father for the first time today at 5:11 a.m. The clubhouse isn't open to the media yet, so I don't know whether he's at the ballpark and sleeping on a couch. I'll pass along an update later. Wieters is 5-for-7 with four doubles lifetime against Red Sox starter Aaron Cook. For the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis RF Adam Jones CF Jim Thome DH Mark...

Can he get to 25 home runs? Of course, it is possible. The amazing rookie season of Bryce Harper continues into its final week of the regular season. With six games remaining before the postseason, Harper needs three homers to tie Tony Conigliaro's 1964 rookie home run record as a teenager. In that season, Conigliaro hit .290 in 111 games with 24 homers and 52 RBIs. This season, Harper has hit .264 with 21 homers, 17 stolen bases and 58 RBIs in 133 games. He has hit a home run in his last...

The Orioles will hold their annual Fan Appreciation Celebration during their final regular-season series that begins tonight against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. Here's the information: The three day celebration includes many opportunities for the Orioles to give back to their fans. Celebrations on Friday, Sept. 28 include randomly selecting a fan to throw out the first pitch, randomly selecting nine fans to take the field with Orioles starters for the National Anthem, and post-game...

Two years ago, with Buck Showalter new in town and leading a late-season Orioles resurgence that saw the team go 34-23 in its final 57 games, then-Baltimore Sun writer Kevin Van Valkenburg outlined what he termed "a Charm City fantasy" - two winning professional sports teams playing in Baltimore in September. "The Orioles' late-season stretch of stellar baseball has been such a welcome surprise that it has allowed fans to fantasize about a scenario that hasn't occurred in more than three...

Several interesting discussions about the National League Cy Young Award broke out Thursday among some Facebook friends, as Mets fans congratulated RA Dickey on winning his 20th game of the season. Posters and commenters began comparing Dickey and Gio Gonzalez, the only other 20-game winner in the majors this season, and speculating on which pitcher would win. So who does deserve to win the award as the league's top pitcher, Gonzalez or Dickey? Gonzalez won his 21st game Thursday night by...

The Orioles' rotation is a constant guessing game. Unlike the burger joint, you won't find Five Guys. Pitchers don't always work on normal rest. The MVO might be TBA. Chris Tillman gets the ball tonight against the Boston Red Sox in the first game of the final homestand of the regular season. Rookie Steve Johnson will start on Saturday before a sellout crowd. Sunday is undecided, with left-hander Joe Saunders a possibility. Tillman faced the Red Sox in his last start on Sunday and held...

PHILADELPHIA - Three down, three to go. The Nationals are half-way through their final road trip of the season, and after a few days in Philly, it's off to St. Louis for three games against a Cardinals team trying to lock up the NL's final Wild Card spot. The earliest the Nationals can now clinch the division is Saturday. You won't find anyone in the clubhouse looking past tonight's game, but after what the Nats accomplished in Philadelphia, they've set themselves up to close this thing...