Bill Hall is back in the Orioles clubhouse. He hasn't been officially activated yet, but it appears there is a good chance he will be. Hall went 2-for-9 with the Orioles in May. He homered in his first game with the team on May 12 against Tampa Bay. Hall went home to Arizona after the Norfolk Tides' Triple-A season ended, but then flew to Sarasota, Fla., several days ago to work out during the Orioles' instructional league. "Not sure yet, but it's possible (I'll get activated)," Hall...

The Orioles could know by the end of the day whether pitcher Randy Wolf has decided to undergo surgery on his left elbow. Wolf talked to Dr. Lewis Yocum last night, and Yocum will consult with team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens later today. Wolf could go on the 60-day disabled list to create room for Bill Hall on the 40-man roster, though manager Buck Showalter said there are "three or four options there." "We'll see what Randy and the doctors want to do," Showalter added. "We'd like...

PHILADELPHIA - A day after Nationals manager Davey Johnson said that all hands would be on deck until the Nationals clinched the division, Danny Espinosa is out of the lineup. Espinosa got a cortisone shot in his aching shoulder last Monday and has played in all eight games (with seven starts) since then, batting .348 with two RBIs and three doubles. His production has returned, and Espinosa told me yesterday that his shoulder was feeling fine. That all makes it a bit surprising that he's...

Ryan Flaherty is starting at second base tonight, as manager Buck Showalter inserts an extra left-handed bat in the lineup against Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva. For the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Jim Thome DH Mark Reynolds 1B Ryan Flaherty 2B Manny Machado 3B Miguel Gonzalez RHP Hardy is 8-for-15 with four doubles and a home run against Villanueva. Davis is 5-for-8 with a double and two homers. Reynolds is 5-for-14...

The playoff picture in the National League is close to being set with four teams already assured of spots in the postseason. The Nationals, Reds, Giants and Braves have clinched berths, while the Cardinals are the second-closest wild card team with eight regular season games remaining. Manager Davey Johnson has said he is not going to speculate as to who his starters will be for the postseason, but you can bet at his desk he has penciled in his thoughts on how he wants to set up his top guns...

The first thing I wanted to do when I heard the Nationals had clinched their first playoff berth was call my dad. I was standing at a bus stop in Arlington with Twitter feeding me a constant live stream of updates from friends, media members and baseball fans. I'll even admit to getting a little misty-eyed. That's why I wanted to call my dad. He's the one who taught me how to love baseball. To my dad and me, baseball was a bonding experience. While I don't know exactly why we chose...

Today I come to raise a spectre. Not because I want to. Certainly not because anyone else wants me to (you surely don't). I do so, simply, because I must. To wit: What if the Orioles miss the playoffs? With seven games left the black and orange remain in a strong position. Despite two consecutive losses to the Blue Jays, they're still in this thing. The division title might be slipping away but the wild card is very much an option. The numbers, however, are not comfortable. A lot can and...

PHILADELPHIA - Things sure have gotten a bit more interesting within the last couple of weeks. Entering action Sept. 12, fresh off a three-game sweep of the Mets, the Nationals' lead over the Braves in the NL East was 8 1/2 games. Today, that lead is down to four games, the slimmest the division margin has been since Aug. 28. The Nationals have also now fallen into a tie with the Reds for the top seed in the National League. There are eight games left in the regular season. If the Nats...

Hey, Orioleland, don't panic over back-to-back losses. Yes, it's not a good thing, but when the Twins beat the Yankees after the Orioles had lost to Toronto last night, it kept the Birds within 1 1/2 games of the Yankees with seven to play. Yes, I'm saying there is still a chance. The O's lead for the top wild card spot was cut to a half-game over Oakland, but they remain 2 1/2 games ahead of the next closest team, the Angels, for a playoff berth. I think the large, large majority of...

The voting for Most Valuable Oriole ended yesterday at noon, with members of the media who cover the team pressured into remembering to e-mail their ballot and not treat it like their BGE bill. This could be the narrowest margin of victory since I've been on the beat, and my first full season was 1997. I announced my choice on Sunday's edition of "O's Xtra" on MASN while sitting in front of the visiting dugout at Fenway Park and feeling a light mist against my back. The grounds crew was...