It has been a long time since the Orioles played at Yankee Stadium. Three months, in fact. But the last trip there, unlike many others over the years, went quite well for the Orioles. On April 30 Baltimore lost the series opener in the Bronx 2-1, but they then beat New York 7-1 and 5-0 on back-to-back nights to improve to 16-9 on the year. The Orioles held the Yankees to three total runs in the series and it was the first time in 34 years that the Orioles held the Yankees to two runs or less...

NEW YORK - Designated hitter Jim Thome is returning to Baltimore and will undergo an MRI on his neck tomorrow to determine the cause of spasms that have kept him out of the lineup for the past three games. Thome is listed among the reserves tonight, but he won't be available to play. Thome tried to hit earlier today before giving up and meeting with manager Buck Showalter. "It's really not getting any better, to be honest," Thome said. "Maybe a little bit of improvement, but not much. I...

The Orioles have posted their lineup for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game against the Yankees, and it doesn't include designated hitter Jim Thome, who is still sidelined with neck spasms. Thome will miss his third straight start. Here's the lineup: Nick Markakis RF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Lew Ford LF Wilson Betemit 3B Mark Reynolds 1B Omar Quintanilla 2B Miguel Gonzalez RHP

Right-handed pitcher Josh Wilkie has been given his release by the Nationals. Director of player development Doug Harris confirmed today that Wilkie is no longer with the organization. Wilkie was suspended for 50 games June 2 for using a banned substance, which Wilkie described as Spice, a synthetic form of marijuana. He was eligible to return to the team last week after staying in shape pitching in Venezuela. Wilkie last pitched for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on May 29, and was 0-2 with...

The rumors continue to swirl throughout the day as the clock ticks down on tomorrow's trade deadline, which now sits a little less than 25 hours away. The new bit of news around the majors is that the Phillies are seriously entertaining trade offers for starter Cliff Lee, who has struggled this season and has just a single win and a 3.95 ERA. Lee hasn't been at his best this season and still has three additional years and $87.5 million left on his contract. Still, if you had told me before...

NEW YORK - Not much has changed this morning. The Orioles are still one of the teams expressing interest in Joe Blanton. They've been scouting him. They've held talks with the Phillies. They're in on him, as we like to say in the business. Whether they have the most interest depends on what measuring device you use to make that determination. Maybe it's number of phone calls or scouts. Maybe it's text messages. Maybe it's the tone in executive vice president Dan Duquette's voice. But...

The 2012 Nationals have moved beyond any centennial comparisons to Clark Griffith's inaugural year at the helm in D.C. Davey Johnson coming aboard in Washington 100 years after the Old Fox is a nice parallel. However, at this juncture, Johnson's ability to connect with his players and mold a winning club has put his team at a far more historic juncture. After Sunday's unbelievable comeback win against Milwaukee, the Nationals' 61-win record can be matched only by Cincinnati. The improbable...

For the record, let me say unequivocally that I'm not in favor of the Orioles trading Dylan Bundy or Manny Machado. I firmly believe that part of the reason the Orioles have lost for so many years in a row is due to mismanagement of prospects in the minor leagues. I'm not sure that in the past the O's wouldn't have been willing to move one of their top prospects for a rental, thus jeapordizing the future. Look no further than former Seattle Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi if you want...

Now that's the way you perform on a road trip. Over the last seven days, the Nationals played seven games away from home. They won six of the seven, including yesterday's dramatic comeback victory over the Brewers. The Braves played well over the weekend, sweeping the Phillies in a three-game set by a combined score of 14-4. But despite Atlanta's strong play of late, they still trail the Nats by four games in the National League East. The Phillies, on the other hand, now find themselves...

A lot of the talk Sunday was about Wei-Yin Chen picking up 12 strikeouts in the win over Oakland. But the bigger accomplishment for me was simply that Chen pitched the Orioles to a big win, strikeouts or no strikeouts. The Orioles needed to avoid getting swept and Chen gave up just one run (unearned) over 5 2/3 innings against an Oakland team that had scored 40 runs in its previous four games and was 18-3 in its last 21 games. It was a big game and Chen came through with a big effort. He has...