When we talk about the area where the Orioles will need to make the biggest improvement from 2011 to 2012, we usually wind up talking about the pitching staff. The Orioles' team ERA of 4.89 last year was the worst in Major League Baseball. The ERA of the starting rotation was an awful 5.39 and the Orioles' 60 quality starts were the fewest in all of baseball. No other team had fewer than 71. In looking for those stats to get better, fans and reporters often discuss which pitchers could be...

Scottsdale catcher Derek Norris had a big game at the plate Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs in Mesa's 6-5 win over the Scorpions. Norris is now batting .286. He also scored a run, stole a base (his second of the Arizona Fall League season) and connected on a two-out RBI. Norris talked to me this week of how his swing had become "free and easy" in Arizona and he was less hesitant at the plate than he felt in Double-A Harrisburg at times this past season. Zach...

My favorite tweet from last night, courtesy of @TheBillWalton: Ron Washington/Cocaine, Tony La Russa/DWI, Mark McGwire/Steroids. The coaching staff at the World Series looks like a Lohan family reunion. Bodog posted odds on which team will sign first baseman Prince Fielder this winter. The Orioles made the list, which reads as follows: Chicago Cubs 3/1 Washington Nationals 5/1 Toronto Blue Jays 5/1 Baltimore Orioles ...

As the days grow shorter and the weather turns colder, a lot of people in the northeast are looking to escape the blunders of winter for more promising weather. It looks like Screech, the popular Nationals mascot, is no exception. As part of the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series, Screech was selected as the only major league mascot to accompany the team of Major League Baseball All-Stars on the journey. He'll join a group of players overseas for the five-day tournament to be held Nov....

If the Orioles stick to their plan, they won't announce their coaching staff until after hiring their president of baseball operations. Though they don't anticipate any objections, they'd still rather allow their new executive to give final approval on manager Buck Showalter's staff. The Orioles must make two hires, though the job descriptions aren't settled. John Russell will remain as bench coach, which leaves a vacancy at third base following Willie Randolph's departure. However,...

Aaron Baker will tell you now that, as the trade deadline approached last summer, he didn't expect to be leaving the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. They had drafted the first baseman in the 11th round in 2009 out of the University of Oklahoma and he made the mid-year All-Star teams in both his previous seasons in the short-season Single-A New-York Penn League in 2009 and the Single-A South Atlantic League in 2010. But on July 30, Baker was dealt to the Orioles as Derrek Lee went to...

The Nationals took a chance two years ago with a former Yankees pitcher coming off a major shoulder surgery. Chien-Ming Wang paid dividends for the Nationals' patience with a tremendous return to the big leagues, winning four of his last five decisions, and gaining his confidence and strength back. He had 16 strikeouts and no walks in his final four starts. Several times this summer with the Nats, Wang looked like the back-to-back 19-game winner from New York in 2006 and 2007. Once...

Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava is in town today to interview for the job vacated by Andy MacPhail. I doubt that the Orioles have whittled their list down to two candidates, but they couldn't go wrong with LaCava or Jerry Dipoto, the Diamondbacks' senior vice president of scouting and player development. Everyone I've talked to in baseball raves about them and thinks they would be smart hires. Dipoto also will interview for the Angels' GM job, according to various reports....

Orioles manager Buck Showalter and his wife Angela have teamed up with KidsPeace to host the second annual KidsPeace Trick-or-Trot 5K run/1M walk on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Canton. This family event is open to all ages and features Halloween activities in addition to the race. The entry fee for individuals participating in the run is $35, which includes an Under Armour t-shirt for the first 400 registered runners. Families who plan to walk the one mile together will pay just $20 and are...

The Nationals have returned right-handed pitcher Elvin Ramirez to the NY Mets (per Rule 5 Draft).