Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed today that the Orioles signed a six-year minor league free agent yesterday, so the Dan Duquette era already has started. That didn't take long. Showalter also is meeting later today with a candidate for his coaching staff, and could set up other meetings after flying home to Dallas. Here are some quotes from Showalter regarding Duquette: "It's very obvious when he came in that he was very up to speed on the Orioles, and it was fun to watch him...

After his press conference today, new Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette was asked about staffing and the makeup of his front office. "I staff my office or my team from strength. I try to put the people that are strong in one area, in that area. I try to pair up the person's passion with their strength. Once I decide what people are good at and passionate about, then I assign titles. It's not really about the titles to me. It's about pairing up skills with...

Dan Duquette wore an orange tie that manager Buck Showalter handed him shortly before today's press conference. He further tried to stamp out the perception that he's an outsider by relaying a story about how as a kid he'd pretend to be Brooks Robinson while playing Wiffle Ball with his brother in a lot behind his backyard. The teams would be divided between the '66 Orioles and '67 Red Sox. One of his childhood friends would play first base like Boog Powell. His father once told him that...

Nationals fans were able to finally see infielder Steve Lombardozzi play in the big leagues with 13 games in September. Lombardozzi batted .194 with six hits, one double and one RBI for the Nationals. But he also played in 134 games in the minors in 2011, hitting a stellar .309 with 25 doubles, nine triples, eight homers, 30 stolen bases and 52 RBIs. Baseball America continues to take notice of the 23-year old son of a former major leaguer, from Fulton, Md. Lombardozzi is rated the No.10...

This morning, the Orioles introduced their new executive vice president of baseball operations, former Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox GM Dan Duquette. It's fair to say the public's reaction, at least so far, has been mixed. In fact, after nearly a decade spent away from Major League Baseball, the question most people are asking is ... who is this guy? A more detailed timeline is below, but in its most basic terms, here's Duquette's history in the game of baseball: 1981-87: Scout,...

The Orioles today announced that they have named Dan Duquette as Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. A veteran of over two decades in baseball operations at the Major League level, including 10 of those seasons as General Manager with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, Duquette has a proven track record of utilizing strong scouting and player development to construct contending franchises. "I am pleased to welcome Dan Duquette to the Orioles organization ," said Orioles...

I'm wondering whether the Twins will take a similar beating to the one delivered to the Orioles after they waited until yesterday to fire general manager Bill Smith. At least the Twins acted quickly in naming a replacement, former GM Terry Ryan, but what's up with the timing of the change? I told you on Friday that the Twins denied the Orioles permission to interview vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff because of "internal reorganization and promotions that could be in the...

The holidays are less than two months away and, let's face it, nobody wants another itchy sweater or a deluxe meat and cheese platter. Looking for something special to put under the tree or for that sixth night of Hanukkah? How about a three- or five-game ticket plan for the Nationals? Right now, fans can purchase Nationals Holiday Gift Packs, complete with tickets to either three of the Nationals' 2012 games or, for a few bucks more, five games. One option is the Opening Day Pack. At...

Here are some current stats on players from the Orioles organization that are playing in winter ball leagues around the world: In the Dominican: * Pedro Florimon is batting .235/0/1 going 4-for-17 with seven strikeouts. * Pedro Viola is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 11 games. In 7 1/3 he has allowed four hits and one run. * Jose Diaz is 0-0 with an ERA of 0.00 over eight games. In 8 2/3 innings, he has allowed just one hit and no runs with a batting average against of just .038. Austrailian Baseball...

When the Georgetown University men's basketball team traveled to China this past summer, the Hoyas went with a videographer who documented the trip, from start to finish. The end product of that historic 11-day trip can now be seen by all as MASN will air "From the Baseline" on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. Produced by the Georgetown Athletics Department and Futureview, Inc., "From the Baseline" provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Hoyas trip. It documents the team from its departure...