Tony LaCava. De Jon Watson. John Stockstill. No more Jerry Dipoto. LaCava the likely hire at this point. Should know soon. There's your incremental non-update update on the Orioles' GM situation. The Pirates released their spring training schedule, which includes four games against the Orioles: March 5 and 14 in Sarasota, and March 25 (7:05 p.m.) and 31 (split-squad) in Bradenton. The Yankees exercised their $14 million option on Robinson Cano's contract, so you can remove his name from...

While wondering if there's a way to turn ignored calls and text messages into cash ... The Rangers failed last night to become the first road team to win Game 7 of the World Series since the Pirates in 1979. Sorry for the reminder. Also sorry to see Michael Gonzalez limp off the mound with an injury. He won't win many popularity contests in Baltimore, but he's a standup guy who truly feels bad that he didn't pitch better with the Orioles, and that fans didn't get to see him at his best...

Xavier Avery, the Orioles' 21-year-old outfield prospect, got off to a terrible start for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League, but now he is starting to hit and make up for lost time. After going just 2-for-26 (.077) in his first eight AFL games, Avery is batting .419 (13-for-31) in his last eight games. In that span he has three triples, seven RBIs, 10 runs scored and four multi-hit games. In 16 games overall, Avery is batting .263 with one double, four triples, no homers and nine...

Left-hander Sammy Solis bounced back from a pair of starts where he allowed a total of eight runs by pitching five innings with just two runs allowed in his last outing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. Tonight, the University of San Diego product makes his fifth start as the Scorpions entertain Salt River. Scorpions pitching coach Paul Menhart reports Solis has been hitting between 92 and 96 mph with his fastball and the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder looked back in a groove...

Well, he did - just not for the Orioles. The venerable MASN play-by-play man, whose home run calls pack so much unbridled joy and enthusiasm into mere seconds, is working for ESPN during the Fall Classic, calling games for ESPN International, which distributes the World Series games to a worldwide audience. Fans get the games in three languages - English, Spanish and Portugese - throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East and via ESPN America throughout Europe. Thorne...

The Orioles today announced that right-handed pitcher Chris Jakubauskas and catcher Jake Fox have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles also announced that catcher Craig Tatum has been claimed on waivers by the Houston Astros. Jakubauskas, 32, was 2-2 with a 5.72 ERA (72.1IP, 46ER) in 33 games (six starts) for the Orioles in 2011. Fox, 29, batted .246 (15-61) with two homers and six RBI in 27 games for the Orioles, while Tatum, 29, batted .195 (17-87) with...

The Orioles lost their backup catcher when the Houston Astros claimed Craig Tatum off waivers. Tatum began the season at Triple-A Norfolk and batted .195 in 31 games with the Orioles. He had three doubles and seven RBIs. Tatum beat out Chad Moeller for the backup job in 2010 and batted .281 in 43 games, with four doubles and nine RBIs, but the Orioles made Jake Fox the backup coming out of spring training this year. Tatum made it back to Baltimore during the summer because he was a defensive...

Since so many fans have been asking, I wanted to pass along news that the Orioles' caps for next season will include a variation of the cartoon bird, which will replace the "ornithologically correct" version presently worn. According to a source, the logo won't replicate the birds from the 1970 and 1983 caps, but it will be a variation of the two, taking certain qualities of both to create the new cartoon image. These caps will be worn as part of the regular uniform, rather than being an...

Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto reportedly will become the next general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully, his first order of business will be to shorten the team's name. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted the following a few minutes ago: "Sources: DiPoto to be named #Angels GM" SI.com's Jon Heyman followed that tweet with a confirmation of his own. Heyman also is hearing that Tony LaCava is "very likely" to be named the Orioles' president of baseball...

Let me start by saying I don't know if John Stockstill would be a good general manager or not for the Orioles. But I do know he has a strong resume in the game in a variety of roles and is well respected by a lot of people. Some of the comments I have read and reaction to this are just over the top. It is one man, with a solid resume in the game, getting a chance to interview for a top position. No Orioles fan needs to begin rooting for another team, no fan needs to move out of town and no...