The following rules and requirements (the "Official Rules") govern the MASN'S Mobile opt-out survey Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes"): NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED. OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL U.S. RESIDENTS PHYISCALLY...

The following rules and requirements (the "Official Rules") govern the MASN'S Mobile opt-out survey Sweepstakes (the "Sweepstakes"): NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED. OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL U.S. RESIDENTS PHYISCALLY...

The Baseball Writers' Association of America will begin announcing its 2012 award winners Nov. 12 with the American and National Leagues Rookies of the Year. The Angels' Mike Trout will run away with the honor, followed by the Athletics' Yoenis Cespedes and the Rangers' Yu Darvish. Not much drama attached to this one. The AL and NL Managers of the Year will be revealed Nov. 13, followed by the Cy Young Award winners on Nov. 14 and Most Valuable Players on Nov. 15. Ballots were submitted...

Has any of the sting worn off yet? Have the past two days done anything to help alleviate the pit in the bottom of your stomach, or will that still be there for a little while? I'll admit, it was a little strange watching Game 1 of the National League Championship Series from my couch yesterday instead of being in a cramped press box covering the action. You wouldn't have heard any complaints from Nationals beat writers if we ended up having to make a trip to San Francisco to cover the...

Get ready for this because it is surely coming. A theme for columns and stories about the 2013 Orioles is going to be how they can't possibly duplicate the 2012 squad in wins in close games. So how will the 2013 Birds overcome that? The Orioles went 29-9 in one-run games in the regular season. Their .763 win percentage is the highest in major league history. In the AL this year, Cleveland was second at .667 (24-12). Every other AL East team played under .500 ball in one-run games: .468 -...

I wasn't at M&T Bank Stadium yesterday, but I heard that Orioles manager Buck Showalter received a huge ovation while walking to midfield as the Ravens' honorary captain. He stood on their sideline for the anthem, though the FOX announcers didn't seem to notice. Showalter was positioned in plain view beside coach John Harbaugh. You couldn't miss him. Ravens and Orioles. It's always nice when birds collide. One of the unfortunate developments in the American League Division Series...

One of the moments from the postgame scene after Friday's loss that I won't forget for quite a while was catcher Kurt Suzuki, who had just finished talking to a group of reporters, slowly walking away from his locker. Suzuki seemed unsure of where to go or what exactly to do. He turned to infielder Chad Tracy and quietly said what everyone in the Nationals' clubhouse was probably thinking. "I'm not ready to be done playing," Suzuki said. The Nats will have a while to think about their...

Nolan Reimold began the 2012 season as the Orioles' left fielder and had a big month of April. Nate McLouth ended the 2012 season as the Orioles' left fielder and had a big month of September - and then went 7-for-22 in the American League Division Series. He had five RBIs in six postseason games. Reimold seemed to carry the Orioles at times early in the season. He played in just 16 games batting .313 with five homers, 10 RBIs and with an OPS of .960. It looked like he might be on his way to...

I checked the comments on this blog throughout the day and night, and I'm so appreciative of the many kind words. Please don't think for a minute that they went ignored. They meant a lot to me. I plan on watching football today and perhaps consuming a drink that includes an olive or two. There could be a cigar in my future. But I wanted to revisit a few of manager Buck Showalter's comments from yesterday. I spoke to Showalter toward the end of the season about his contract and whether...

Nine games. Nine wins. That is how close the Nationals were to a World Series title. Twice they were down to one strike from dethroning the current world champions. The St. Louis Cardinals celebrated. The Nationals headed home. The Cardinals were sweating the Nationals, a team that eight years ago deployed a pretty much decimated minor league system. A team that was pretty much orphaned by Major League Baseball. They had 59 wins in 2008, 59 wins in 2009 and 100 wins in 2012. In 2008 and...