The Orioles today unveiled the Birdland Passport program, which will reward fans who visit Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Orioles' local minor league affiliates. All five minor league affiliates - the Norfolk Tides, Bowie Baysox, Frederick Keys, Delmarva Shorebirds and Aberdeen IronBirds - are participating in the program. "The program is designed to encourage our fans to frequent not only Oriole Park at Camden Yards, but also all of our minor league affiliates' ballparks, which are...

Those wanting Tyler Moore to get a shot at more playing time, here you go. Moore will start in left field and hit seventh for the Nationals in tonight's game against the Pirates. It will be the rookie's second major league start, both of which will have been in left. With the Nats facing a left-hander in Erik Bedard, Davey Johnson is going with a lineup stacked with right-handed hitters. He'll put Moore in left and Xavier Nady in right field, with Bryce Harper moving over to center and...

Rule 5 pick Ryan Flaherty is leading off and starting in left field tonight. Mark Reynolds is at first base. For the Orioles: Ryan Flaherty LF J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Wilson Betemit 3B Chris Davis DH Mark Reynolds 1B Robert Andino 2B Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Rangers: Ian Kinsler 2B Elvis Andrus SS Josh Hamilton LF Adrian Beltre DH Michael Young 1B Nelson Cruz RF Yorvit Torrealba C Brandon Snyder 3B Craig Gentry CF Colby Lewis RHP Last night's game...

If you're one of those fans who enjoys seeing the Orioles of the future as much as you do heading to Camden Yards for the O's of the present, you'll be interested in the new Birdland Passport Program. The program, unveiled today, rewards fans who visit Camden Yards and the O's minor league affiliates - Triple-A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie, Single-A Frederick, Single-A Delmarva and short-season Single-A Aberdeen. "The program is designed to encourage our fans to frequent not only Oriole Park...

Think about the core group of players that helped the Orioles to four World Series between 1966-71, and you'll likely focus on the powerful bats and slick fielders that made the offense/defense combination of winning baseball in Baltimore - names like Andy Etchebarren, Boog Powell, Davey Johnson, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Paul Blair. However, there were Orioles pitchers who appeared in the 1966, 1969, 1970 and 1971 Fall Classics, too. Left-hander Dave McNally and right-hander Jim...

Left-hander Dontrelle Willis has dropped his grievance against the Orioles and will report to extended spring training tomorrow, according to agent Matt Sosnick. Willis left Triple-A Norfolk and returned home with the assumption that he would be granted his release. Executive vice president Dan Duquette said the Orioles never made that promise and that Willis left without permission, leading to the grievance and some hard feelings on the pitcher's side. In case you need a reminder, here's...

As managers go, Davey Johnson is a patient and trusting one. He believes in his players, giving them a chance to battle through slumps and hard times. It's one of the reasons why guys love playing for him so much. They feel that if they start scuffling, their skipper will have their back. He won't be quick to turn on them, won't worry about being put under the microscope for putting a guy in the lineup who isn't playing well. But talking to reporters last night, even Johnson had to admit...

If there's one thing the Internet loves, it's a list. So, what the hell, I'm game. I got to thinking, after the recent unveiling of the Frank Robinson statue at Camden Yards, about great Orioles of the past and how cool it is to be able to look back on their legacies and claim them for our city. That, naturally enough, led to thinking about the modern Orioles. History looks more kindly on success than on failure, which tends to obscure the achievements of players who toil on losing teams....

A four-homer game is pretty impressive. Josh Hamilton did that last night at Camden Yards. A six-homer game is not bad, either. That happened in the college ranks 13 years ago today and there are some similarities between the two players that hammered all those longballs. Josh Hamilton hit four homers on May 8, 2012 in Baltimore. Marshall McDougall hit six homers on May 9, 1999 in College Park, Md. In the same state where Hamilton hit four last night, McDougall of the Florida State...

Phillies fans aside, the atmosphere at Nationals Park over last weekend was vibrant and full of life. The fact is that Nationals Park feels different when the seats are filled. If it takes a division rivalry to pack the place, then so be it. But it's a whole other thing to sink to the level of the proposed enemy of the evening. Nationals fans tend to be well-behaved while a certain contingent of the rival fan base tends to get a bit more riled up than their counterparts. After sitting...