Looking back on the 2012 season, it's worth mentioning again that the Orioles had only one losing month, not counting their 1-2 record in October. They were 14-9 in April, 15-13 in May, 13-13 in June, 13-14 in July (but 10-7 on the road), 18-9 in August and 20-11 in September/October. The Orioles were above .500 on every day of the week except Mondays, when they were 7-13. That's a case of the Mondays. They were 17-8 on Tuesdays, 12-12 on Wednesdays, 10-6 on Thursdays, 15-11 on Fridays,...

To say the least, it has been a difficult and challenging last 14 months for 24-year-old Orioles pitching prospect Dan Klein. Drafted in round three out of UCLA in 2010, he put up very impressive stats pitching for Single-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie in the 2011 season and seemed to be on a fast track to Baltimore. But since that August, he has had two shoulder surgeries and one setback, and now he finds himself yet again on a long road back to the pitcher's mound. In 38 2/3 innings over...

Buck Showalter of the Baltimore Orioles has been named the American League's Manager of the Year within Sporting News 2012 MLB Awards, presented by Gillette Odor Shield. Showalter turned a 93-loss team from 2011 into a 93-win team in 2012, ending the franchise's streak of 14 consecutive losing seasons. And he did it with a third baseman playing first base, a first baseman playing right field and a 20-year-old rookie shortstop playing third base. "It's quite an honor coming from my...

Davey Johnson of the Washington Nationals has been named the National League's Manager of the Year within SN's 2012 MLB Awards, presented by Gillette Odor Shield. Johnson not only delivered the Nationals' first winning record since the team relocated to Washington, D.C., in 2005, he led the team to a major-league best 98 wins during the regular season. Johnson accomplished that thanks to a dominant rotation and bullpen, and a lineup that was able to overcome extended absences by...

Buck Showalter has been named the Sporting News American League Manager of the Year for 2012. The Nationals' Davey Johnson made it a clean beltway sweep by winning the National League honor. Showalter and Johnson were chosen by a panel of 17 major league managers. The Orioles improved from 69-93 in 2011 to 93-69 in 2012, winning the wild card game in Texas and pushing the Yankees to a fifth game in the American League Division Series. The Orioles hadn't posted a winning season or made the...

Finally, some postseason recognition for the Nationals. Davey Johnson has been named National League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News. While this isn't the official baseball-sanctioned award - which is voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and will be announced Nov. 13 - it's the first of what could be several nice honors following the team's best season since arriving in D.C. In his first full season at the Nationals' helm, Johnson guided them to a 98-64...

Justin Verlander, the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, is the best pitcher in baseball. On average, he throws his fastball at a higher speed in the eighth and ninth innings than he does in the early innings. He has a 0.74 ERA with 25 strikeouts in the postseason. So given that he's on proper rest, the Tigers ace should mow through the Giants in Game 1 of the World Series tonight in San Francisco. Not so fast. Ace pitchers don't always dominate and there's never a predictable...

Right-hander Cole Kimball is finally back to feeling completely healthy following shoulder surgery. He is making his second appearance in Arizona and is excited to be back on the bump. Even though he is one of the older guys in the Arizona Fall League, he said he excited to be pitching again, keeping quiet and working hard. Kimball had rotator cuff surgery in July 2011, and has rehabbed to the point where his shoulder feels strong. He said the injury was a "freak accident," something he...

The cutoff for Super Two status this offseason is two years and 139 days of service time, according to The Associated Press. The cutoff would have been two years and 144 days under the old collective bargaining agreement. Super Two status enables a player to obtain a fourth year of arbitration eligibility. Jim Johnson qualified in 2010, Brad Bergesen in 2011. None of the Orioles were impacted this year. Brian Matusz has two years, 155 days of service time. Again, here's the list in...

After two straight subpar outings to open his Arizona Fall League season, Nationals farmhand Ryan Perry pitched a gem yesterday. Perry threw four perfect innings for the Salt River Rafters, striking out four. The 6-foot-4 right-hander finished out the regular season on an absolute tear for Double-A Harrisburg after being converted to a starter, and could continue to creep his way back up the organizational depth chart with a strong AFL performance. Also impressing out in Arizona is center...