Don't look now, but the Nationals' national profile - at least in the eyes of those people responsible for putting together nationally televised baseball schedules- is on the rise. ESPN released its preliminary 2012 "Sunday Night Baseball" schedule this morning and the slate includes two games involving the Nationals. The Phillies' visit to Nationals Park on Sunday, May 6 will air in prime time, as will the Nats' game at Turner Field in Atlanta on Sunday, May 27. It's possible the...

Clear some space on your bookcases, mantels and computer nooks. You're going to need room to accommodate some new hardware after the Orioles' announcement of their 2012 promotional schedule of giveaways and goodies. As part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Camden Yards, and to commemorate the dedication of statues honoring the club's six members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., the Orioles will distribute miniature replicas of the likenesses of Frank Robinson, Brooks...

Series to feature the unveiling of the 6 Hall of Fame sculptures, as well as giveaway of replica sculptures to all fans in attendance The Orioles have scheduled a variety of giveaways and promotions designed to appeal to fans of all ages during the upcoming season, the 20th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The highlight of this year's schedule includes giveaways of replicas of each of the sculptures of the six Hall of Famers who will be honored as part of the Orioles Legends...

Here are two questions worth pondering and discussing: Should the Orioles sign one player to handle most of the at-bats at the designated hitter spot this year? Should that player be Johnny Damon? The Orioles appear to have at least some interest in the former Red Sox, Ray, Yankee, Tiger, Royal and Athletic. We've been hearing rumblings that manager Buck Showalter would prefer to not have one player take up most of the DH at-bats like Vlad Guerrero did last year and Luke Scott the season...

The Nationals and their remaining two arbitration-eligible players - left-hander John Lannan and outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse - have exchanged salary figures in preparation for arbitration hearings which will be scheduled during February in St. Petersburg, Fla. This is the next step in the arbitration process and doesn't preclude the parties from reaching an amicable settlement right up until the third-party arbitrator rules for one side or the other. In any case, the Nationals...

Now that I've managed to slow my heart rate after the excitement of the Orioles exchanging salary figures with their four arbitration-eligible players - it can't be over-written enough - it's time to move onto another topic. Let's go back to former shortstop Mike Bordick, who will serve as a MASN analyst on 81 Orioles games this season. He accepted the job last Thursday, as first reported here. Bordick expressed some concerns over finding enough time to handle his on-field duties with the...

The Orioles and pitcher Jeremy Guthrie are $3 million apart after exchanging salary figures earlier today. Guthrie is requesting $10.25 million, and the Orioles countered at $7.25 million. He earned $5.75 million last season while going 9-17 with a 4.33 ERA in 34 games and 208 innings. Adam Jones submitted a figure of $7.4 million, and the Orioles countered at $5 million. Jones made $3.25 million last season and was named Most Valuable Oriole after batting .280/.319/.466 with 26 doubles, two...

Free-agent pitcher Joe Saunders has agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports. The Orioles were interested in Saunders, a native of Falls Church, Va., who was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks, and they had discussions with his agent. Shortstop J.J. Hardy works out with Saunders in Arizona, and he mentioned on Jan. 3 during a phone interview on "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" that Saunders confirmed how the Orioles made "recent"...

The Nationals have just announced that they've agreed to a one-year deal with right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard, leaving only two unsigned, arbitration-eligible players: outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse and left-hander John Lannan. Clippard appeared to be a candidate for a long-term extension after earning his first All-Star Game nod and going 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA and a franchise-record 38 holds in 72 games last season. He struck out 104, second-most in the National League behind...

The beauty of "What If?" Wednesdays is that we can either go deep into the past or delve into the not-so-distant, er, distance. Regardless of when the space/time continuum is disturbed - just recently or long-term - there are always potential ramifications to be pored over and pondered, discussed and dissected. Today, we set the way-back machine for just over a year ago, Dec. 5, 2010, to be exact, with a destination for Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (better known to casual observers as the site of...