There was a time back in 2005 when I worked at a Major League Baseball team apparel store for extra money before leaving for college. This store specialized in Chicago Cubs gear, but it was that store that garnered my appreciation for team logos and memorabilia from the past. Numerous retailers attempt to recreate some of the most unique logos in baseball history on caps, t-shirts, jerseys, plaques, and just about anything you can think of - and the novelty to that is the fact that baseball is...

At the moment, all is not well in Birdland. Four straight losses, seven losses in 10, three straight dropped series. Starting pitching - the bedrock of early success - suddenly seems quite vulnerable. The great unmeasurable of clutch performance feels measurable in the wrong way. And yet, all is good. I promise it is. Cast your memory to the preseason and recall that most analysts predicted a dismal campaign. Some even went so far as to say that the Orioles would lose 100 games. Even the...

The Orioles are still tied for first place in the American League East. They lost last night, Tampa Bay lost last night and no ground was lost. That's the good news. There isn't much of it to pass along these days. I'll give Jake Arrieta credit for not blaming plate umpire Doug Eddings for last night's terrible outing. Interviewed on MASN after the Orioles' 8-6 loss, Arrieta credited Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero for adjusting to Eddings' lousy strike zone and not letting it...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Despite a rain-shortened game, Nationals outfielder Michael Morse was able to get two plate appearances in for high Single-A Potomac Nationals in their game against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Wednesday night at Pfitzner Stadium. Morse walked and struck out, finishing 0-for-1 in a pair of opportunities, before the rain arrived and suspended the game in the top of the fifth with two outs. Potomac was leading 3-0. Morse said he "felt great" and it was still a worthwhile...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, being interviewed by MASN play-by-play man Gary Thorne after tonight's 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays, indicated that right fielder Nick Markakis might have injured his wrist late in the game. Showalter mentioned a possible injury after Thorne asked whether the roster was set for at least the next few days. Pressed to identify the player, Showalter said Markakis "tweaked" his right wrist while taking a swing in his last at-bat. Markakis lined out to right fielder...

The Orioles lost another game tonight and they earned this one. They got poor starting pitching, left 11 runners on base and made three errors. Jake Arrieta lasted just 4 1/3 innings, as Toronto beat the Orioles 8-6 to take the first two games of the series at Rogers Centre. The Orioles have now lost a season-high four in a row to fall to 29-21 on the year. They are just 2-7 over their past nine games and are 14-11 against the American League East. Arrieta gave up seven runs (six earned) and...

The Orioles began tonight having lost six of their last eight games. And now there's this debacle. The Orioles have committed three errors, and we're only in the fifth inning. Jake Arrieta was charged with six earned runs (seven total) and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.

It might not be the sexiest way to drive in a run, but true baseball fans will love the way Corey Brown recorded his first major league RBI tonight. With Ian Desmond sprinting down the third-base line toward the plate with one out, Brown was called on to square around and convert a suicide squeeze. He got a 1-1 changeup from Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez and deadened it in front of the plate, forcing catcher John Buck to come out and make a play on the ball. Desmond scored easily, giving the...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Nationals left fielder Michael Morse, batting third, is the designated hitter for the Potomac Nationals in their contest against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. In the bottom of the first with two outs, against Pelicans' right-hander Roman Mendez, Morse walked on a 3-2 count. He swung and missed with the count 2-0 and then fouled back the fourth pitch to the screen. Morse was left on base when cleanup hitter David Freitas flied out to left to end the inning. Morse said...

Nationals pitching prospect Matt Purke will make his professional debut Wednesday for Hagerstown, according to a club source. Purke will start for the Suns, the Nationals' Single-A affiliate, as they finish up a three-game series Wednesday morning at Greensboro. Game time 10:45 a.m. No details on if Purke is on an innings limit or pitch count for this first start. For Purke, 2012 has been spent exclusively in extended spring training, where the left-hander has been working since April. The...