I hope everyone has recovered from yesterday's festivities and all the leftovers haven't been devoured for breakfast. Try to make them last. Yes, I know cold stuffing is quite the temptation. I can't walk past the refrigerator without grabbing a handful of it. And I only eat cranberry sauce over the holidays, so it qualifies as a real treat - as long as it jiggles out of the can. You can keep your homemade concoction. I'm not a yam guy, but I'd fill the bathtub full of mashed potatoes...

In 2011, right-hander Brad Peacock had one of the best overall seasons of any minor league pitcher in the Nationals' short history. Peacock went an incredible 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 23 starts in the minor leagues. In 146 2/3 innings, Peacock fanned 177 batters. Then in September, Peacock continued his dominance with the Nationals, going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in three games with two starts. He allowed a single run in 12 innings of work. Baseball America has watched Peacock steadily climb the...

I want to start my day by wishing all of you a very happy Thanksgiving. Let's agree to be thankful for everything we have, both big and small, for more than just one Thursday in November. The Orioles would like to give thanks to Chong Tae-Hyon for signing with them, but it hasn't happened. As I told you yesterday, executive vice president Dan Duquette said no deal would be announced before next week. Nothing's going to happen over the weekend. Duquette told me that he's hoping to...

A very happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and I'm sure many of you are like me in that you have a lot to be thankful for. That list always starts for me with my family and friends, and I am thankful for them every day, not just today. I'm thankful to get to cover my hometown team, the team I grew up loving as young kid in Baltimore. Even after 14 straight losing seasons, it's the only major league team I've ever wanted to report about. I am thankful I have this wonderful forum at...

I just taped a phone interview with Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette that will air later today on "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" on MASN, and he commented on Matt Klentak's decision to accept a job as assistant general manager with the Los Angeles Angels. I asked Duquette how big a loss it is for the front office, and he replied, "I don't know if I would term it a loss. It's certainly a transition, and Matt has done a good job from what people told me here. I enjoyed...

UPDATE: The Angels announced that they've hired Matt Klentak as assistant general manager. Klentak signed a multi-year deal and will focus on all aspects of baseball operations, as he did with the Orioles. He'll work with general manager Jerry Dipoto, who interviewed for the Orioles' job. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed this morning that Matt Klentak, director of baseball operations, interviewed for a front office position with the Los Angeles Angels. ESPN's...

The latest agreement between the owners and players, announced Tuesday, means baseball will have 21 consecutive seasons of labor peace, and that makes baseball look good compared to the NBA and, to a certain extent, the NFL. The key to this year's agreement was the workable personalities of Rob Manfred, the owners' top negotiator, and Michael Weiner, who heads the players' union. The two worked together much better than the Bud Selig-Donald Fehr battles that were part eight work stoppages...

Former Texas Christian pitcher Matt Purke was one of the bigger headlines coming out of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft and with good reason. The tall southpaw could bring the heat and had an impeccable college career with the Horned Frogs, leading them to their first College World Series. After looking very good in instructional league camp with the Nationals, Purke was sent to the Arizona Fall League to pitch for the Scottsdale Scorpions under the watchful eye of pitching coach Paul...

Things are looking up for the Orioles. They got closer to the playoffs yesterday without adding a single player. They did, really, but so did every other club in the game, too. When baseball adds a second wild card playoff team in each league for a total of five clubs, teams will obviously need fewer wins to make the playoffs. I went through the last 10 years of the American League standings. The wild card winner in the 10 seasons from 2002 through 2011 averaged 95.2 wins per year. The club...

As further proof that you can find odds and place bets on just about anything, I bring you the following from Bodog: What position will the first player who tests positive for HGH play? Pitcher 1/1 Outfielder 7/4 Infielder 7/2 Will a MLB player test positive for HGH before June1, 2012? Yes 1/1 No 5/7 Where will the first MLB player to test positive for HGH come from? American League 1/1 National...