As this calender year comes to a close it is sad to think that we won't be seeing Mike Flanagan during the 2012 season. I've said it many times, but among all the Orioles I've been lucky to meet over many years, none loved being an Oriole any more than Flanny. It is still stunning to think about the events of last August. I saw where SBNation, reflecting on Jim Palmer's tearful tribute to Flanny that night, named that as the top sportscasting moment of 2011. I don't know that I would...

As the Orioles continue to pursue starting pitchers, with two of their targets being Taiwanese left-hander Chen Wei-Yin and free-agent lefty Joe Saunders, I wonder whether a trade is in the works. Otherwise, the Orioles might be going with a 10-man rotation. I can immediately rattle off five starters: Jeremy Guthrie, Tsuyoshi Wada, Tommy Hunter, Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton. Then I'm reminded that the Orioles traded for left-hander Dana Eveland at the Winter Meetings. He's supposed to be a...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette hasn't ended his search for starting pitching, and an industry source confirmed that the club remains interested in Taiwanese left-hander Chen Wei-Yin. Chen, 26, was 8-10 with a 2.68 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) this year for the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. The Orioles have scouted Chen multiple times. Unlike Yu Darvish, he doesn't require a posting fee. Duqette already has signed Japanese left-hander Tsuyoshi...

I have focused many of my recent blogs on the impact of losing four top prospects in the trade with the Oakland A's for Gio Gonzalez and a minor league player. Brad Peacock, A.J. Cole, Tom Milone and Derek Norris are all close, or already have major league experience. They can help Oakland now. But the importance of what an experienced left-handed starter can mean to a still young Nationals pitching staff cannot be overstated. The 5-foot-11, 185-lb. southpaw Gonzalez has credentials that...

We live in an era of television where today's great moment is tomorrow's distant memory. There's just too frequent a cycling of information and pictures for most broadcasts to burn a place in our consciousness. But according to SBNation, the most compelling television moment in sports during 2011 appeared on MASN's airwaves, where Orioles color commentator Jim Palmer didn't hide his emotions while discussing the shocking suicide death of former teammate Mike Flanagan, a fellow MASN...

With the trade of four top prospects, the Nationals still have Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon at the top of their list of the best offensive talent in the organization. Harper proved he could hit and hold his own defensively in his debut season with Single-A Hagerstown, Double-A Harrisburg and a second consecutive stint in the Arizona Fall League. Rendon, the team's first-round pick in the June draft, comes to the Nationals with impressive credentials and was considered for a long period of...

If the Nationals are intent on going into 2012 with Jayson Werth as their primary center fielder - as general manager Mike Rizzo told a national radio audience Wednesday - the move creates an opening in right field. Rizzo's proclamation has also stirred up a lot of discussion in NatsTown in the past 24 hours, with curious fans wondering who will be manning the patch of green to Werth's left (for you directionally challenged folks, right field is to Werth's left). Yes, there's a lot of...

The next wave of prospects from the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays, including several late round picks, will begin to fill the rosters of Single-A Hagerstown and advanced Single-A Potomac when the 2012 season draws closer. One of those players we will hear from is former Georgia Tech third baseman Matt Skole, who had a very promising start to his career with Auburn. Skole hit .290 with five homers and 48 RBIs in 72 games. He smacked 23 doubles and one triple, while stealing two...

New Orioles amateur scouting director Gary Rajsich continues to set up his staff and department now with about six months remaining before the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. He recently hired Danny Haas from the Red Sox organization to serve as a national crosschecker. Haas was a player in the Boston farm system when Rajsich worked for the Red Sox. Haas and Ron Hopkins will be the Orioles' two national crosscheckers. Jim Thrift, who was the Orioles' major league advance scout last year, will...

As 2011 draws to a close, we're wading in a steady stream of "favorite moment" stories and blog entries. Be sure to roll up your pant legs. I'm not a huge fan of the format because it's cliched and formula. Every newspaper in the country falls into this trap. Reporters submit their amusing or touching anecdotes from the year in sports. Whatever happened on their respective beats that will somehow stay with them until they die - or until they're given another assignment by their...