I'm hearing now that it's highly unlikely that the Orioles make an announcement tomorrow regarding president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. Something would have to change during the afternoon. Maybe on Friday. Center fielder Adam Jones beat out shortstop J.J. Hardy by one vote for Most Valuable Oriole. I expected a close count, but that's taking it to the extreme. "It's a tremendous honor," Jones said. "Played a hard season, a long season. There's a lot of deserving guys...

In what was a very close vote, Adam Jones edged out J.J. Hardy for this year's Most Valuable Oriole award. The Orioles don't release the voting results, but it appears that Jones won by one single vote over Hardy. The Orioles shortstop had not yet heard he had finished second and was informed by reporters when the clubhouse opened to the media today. "I haven't heard about it until now," Hardy said. "He's (Jones) very deserving. He's played, pretty much the whole year and I missed...

You can add corner infielder Chris Davis to the list of Orioles who will undergo sports hernia surgery after the season. Davis is in tonight's lineup at third base. He's batting .265 with five homers and 19 RBIs. "It's something he's had for a while," Showalter said. Second baseman Ryan Adams is scheduled to undergo a similar procedure on Oct. 4 in Philadelphia. Also, outfielder Matt Angle will work out at second base in the fall instructional league in Sarasota. "You've got Bordy...

Adam Jones has been named Most Valuable Oriole for the 2011 season. J.J. Hardy placed second and Matt Wieters was third. Both players received first-place votes. Mark Reynolds, Jim Johnson, Robert Andino and Nick Markakis also received votes from members of the media who cover the team. Jones has set career highs with 26 doubles, 25 home runs, 83 RBIs and 150 games played. He's tied for the team lead with 14 outfield assists, and leads all American League center fielders in...

The Orioles today announced that Adam Jones has been voted winner of the 2011 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments in an on-field ceremony prior to tonight's season finale against the Boston Red Sox. Entering tonight's game Jones, 26, had set new career-highs in home runs (25), RBI (83), doubles (26) and games played (150) this season. He is tied for the team lead with 14...

There were a multitude of notable achievements in Ron Hansen's career - a Rookie of the Year Award, two All-Star nods,15 seasons in the majors, the rarest of rare defensive feats - but perhaps his biggest accomplishment was proving that shortstops didn't have to be small or wiry guys who could only flash the leather. Think Cal Ripken Jr. redefined the position? Think again. A generation before Ripken was playing game after game after game, the 6-foot-3, 200-lb. Hansen was one of the first...

The Nationals' September call-ups of left-hander Tommy Milone and right-hander Brad Peacock signal a big step in the organization from a talent perspective. Since the Nationals arrived in D.C., never has the team been able to bring up a pair of starters at this point of the season who show they are ready to pitch right now at the major league level. Couple that with the resurgence of Ross Detwiler, the re-emergence of Chien-Ming Wang and steady pitching of veteran John Lannan, and general...

With a guaranteed September record of at least .500 (they're 14-12 going into today's game, despite being outscored by 13 runs in the month), the Orioles have managed to avoid losing 100 games. That that almost counts as a victory says a lot about how the 2011 season has gone for the Birds. Sure there have been some bright spot - J.J. Hardy, Matt Wieters, Zach Britton - but overall it's been a disappointing year (especially after how expectations for many were raised with the strong finish...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times and, now, the Nationals' 2011 season comes to a close. Moments of loss, like the end of Jim Riggleman's time as manager in Washington, made way for Davey Johnson to take the helm and lead the team to their most successful season in recent memory. The triumph of a 31-homer season for Michael Morse begs the question, "Is this a fluke, or is that guy as good as his 2011 numbers?" Drew Storen matured in both age and pitching prowess to earn...

While Tim Bascom and Jonathan Schoop picked up the top Orioles' minor league awards this week, it was great to see Single-A Frederick manager Orlando Gomez win the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award. Gomez has spent seven years in the O's organization and 47 years in pro baseball. Like Ripken, he is just a solid and unassuming baseball guy. He seemed to relate well to the kids on the Frederick team that recently won the Carolina League championship, beating Kinston, three games to one,...