As of 11 a.m., the Orioles had not come to terms with top draft pick Kevin Gausman, the right-handed pitcher from LSU. But Orioles officials remain hopeful that they will have an agreement by today's 5 p.m. deadline. "I'd be stunned if the O's didn't get a deal done with Gausman," Baseball America's Jim Callis said. Callis expects an agreement to come at around the allotted $4.2 million for that pick. Some national media outlets are reporting that the Orioles have made "significant...

Greetings, MASNsports.com readers! My name is Domenic Vadala, and I'll be blogging on behalf of Birds Watcher for the remainder of the 2012 season. As we're all aware, the Orioles have exceeded expectations thus far this year, although the first half was ultimately marred by three of the original five starting pitchers being optioned to Triple-A. How is it that the likes of Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz and Tommy Hunter could have looked so promising, only to fizzle out after so little time?...

By the time the clock hits 5 p.m. today, the Nationals' minor league system could be significantly stronger than it is right now. Today marks the last day that teams can sign their 2012 draft picks, and for the Nationals, there's really only one guy they have left to do business with: Lucas Giolito, the 16th overall pick in the June draft. Giolito is a hard-throwing high schooler out of Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) School who can hit 100 mph with his fastball, has a power curveball that...

Mike Cuellar, Pat Dobson, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer. They, of course, are the Orioles starters who each won 20 games in 1971, matching the 1920 Chicago White Sox as the only teams with four 20-game winners. But how good were those pitchers when it came to hitting home runs? That's the question that occurred to me this week as I researched a Roar from 34 post about Palmer's All-Star outings. The designated hitter wasn't created until 1973, so each of the Orioles' 20-game winners in 1971...

The Orioles tonight announced that they have optioned outfielder Xavier Avery to Triple-A Norfolk. Avery has batted .233/.317/.356 in 24 games over three stints with Baltimore.

As the Nationals embark on the start of the second half of the season, Washington enjoys a four game lead in the National League East and faces off against a team that has had their number for what seems like several seasons. The Nationals have won just one season series against the Marlins (10-8 in 2007) and are 64-88 all-time in Miami. Even this year, the Marlins are the only NL East team with a winning record so far this season against the Nats (3-2). The Nats are 6-2 against the Braves,...

The Orioles have until 5 p.m. today to sign LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman, the fourth overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft. They're on the clock again. Gausman let it be known that his heart is still at LSU. The Orioles are trying to get the rest of him. I'll be convinced that they sign him until they don't. It usually comes down to the final minutes. It's a silly tug of war. The slotted amount for the fourth pick is $4.2 million. Can you imagine saying, "No thanks," and going back...

The Orioles just announced that they've optioned outfielder Xavier Avery to Triple-A Norfolk. No corresponding move was included in the tweet and press release, but outfielder Endy Chavez is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list before tomorrow night's game against the Tigers at Camden Yards. Chavez has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Avery has batted .233/.317/.356 in 24 games over three stints with the Orioles. Chavez completed his injury-rehab assignment...

Nationals reliever Drew Storen continued his rehab assignment with Single-A Potomac by pitching two innings, allowing a solo homer and striking out five batters Thursday night. Storen allowed three hits in getting the six outs, spanning the seventh and eighth frames in an 8-3 loss at Wilmington. He faced nine batters, induced a ground out and threw one wild pitch in his fourth assignment for the P-Nats. Storen is recovering from having a bone chip removed from his right elbow that has caused...

There is no doubt the Orioles have some problems on defense. There is no doubt the Orioles are inconsistent on offense. But to me, the club could overcome much of that and still win a wild card playoff berth if it can get consistently solid starting pitching. Sometimes, the stats don't tell us what we need to know, but sometimes they do. The Orioles are 21-1 this year when their starter goes seven innings or more. The Orioles are 32-5 this year when their starter provides a quality start of...