New Potomac manager Matt LeCroy was introduced and Washington Nationals assistant general manager Bryan Minniti served as the keynote speaker at the 16th annual Potomac Nationals Hot Stove Banquet at the Hilton in Springfield, Va., on Sunday night. LeCroy was promoted in the offseason after guiding Single-A Hagerstown last year. A lot of those prospects will again be under his tutelage now at Single-A Potomac of the Carolina League. "It is a challenging league," LeCroy noted. "I...

If you took a fan vote and asked which O's starter is the best pitcher of the bunch, I bet Brian Matusz would win the vote. He sure ended last year doing a lot of winning on the field. After he picked up just three wins in his first 21 starts through the end of July, the 24-year-old lefty won seven of his final 11 starts of 2010. Matusz went 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA in his final 10 starts after Buck Showalter took over as manager and was 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his final eight starts. The...

Now that we've diverted our eyes from Vladimir Guerrero for a few minutes, we can focus on the Orioles' latest acquisition. They reached agreement late Sunday night with pitcher Justin Duchscherer on a one-year contract that could pay up to $4.5 million in salary and incentives based on number of starts. The Orioles had become the overwhelming favorites in a relatively short amount of time. They offered him a major league deal and a chance to start. He wanted a major league deal and a...

An Orioles source confirmed tonight that the club has offered free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer a major league deal for the 2011 season. The Orioles are one of the finalists for Duchscherer and could learn of his decision early this week. Duchscherer threw for an Orioles scout Friday in Arizona and obviously made a strong impression. If he signs, Duchscherer will compete for a spot at the back of the rotation. He's also been a reliever in his professional career, but the Orioles aren't...

I'm hoping to provide at least one Justin Duchscherer update every day, just so I can learn to spell his name without having to look it up. It's J-U-S-T-I-N. Seriously, I did the same thing with Scott Kamieniecki. Not sure why I kept calling him "Justin." Anyway, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal speculates in this tweet that the Orioles made a major league offer to Duchscherer. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Orioles and Nationals are among four finalists for Duchscherer. President of...

Good morning to everyone. I'm nursing my FanFest hangover this morning, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. That was quite a scene yesterday at the Baltimore Convention Center. The crowd exceeded 10,000, but fell short of the 12,000 that poured into the facility last year. Members of the media, and some Orioles officials, agreed that it seemed like more people were in attendance - probably because the venue was smaller. But I can vouch for the long line that wrapped around the building...

If FanFest is about a great day to talk Orioles baseball and get excited for a new baseball season in Baltimore, then mission accomplished. Once again, more than10,000 fans packed the Baltimore Convention Center and it seems many of us left the building wishing today were opening day. Fanfest was: * Seeing Buck Showalter walk to the main stage shortly after 10 a.m. to a standing ovation from season ticket holders. * Hearing Brandon Erbe talk about the steady progress he is making since his...

I should have just combined the Josh Bell and Jason Berken entries. I'm working on the same theme here. Berken said he's lost about 30 pounds this winter by increasing his training, running more and eliminating certain foods from his diet. Fellow reliever Jim Johnson provided the first dose of motivation after the season by advising Berken to cut out fried foods. Berken also stopped drinking sodas and pulling his car into fast-food lanes. "It was really important for me to utilize my...

Josh Bell looks noticeably thinner since he's been working out with former Oriole Brady Anderson. He can't tell you how much weight he's lost, but he brought a different body to FanFest. "I haven't jumped on a scale yet," Bell said. "I'm going to wait to surprise myself. I feel great. I'm running well. Everything's stronger." Bell started his winter in Arizona and has since relocated to Florida and California. He's spent the last two weeks with Anderson in California. Bell is...

Mark Connor has spent his winter getting acclimated to his new pitching staff. He's been watching videos that the Orioles supplied for him. No sense waiting until spring training. "I had the video coordinator (Michael Silverman) make up some DVDs of all these guys, as much as you can get - good outings, bad outings - just to kind of wrap my arms around these guys and see what they're all about from a physical standpoint," said Connor, who replaces Rick Kranitz as pitching coach. "You...