Here's the deal, folks: You've got blood, lots of it, enough to spare, and the Nationals have tickets to come see them play. Basically, the Nats are looking for a straight up trade. You give your blood, they'll give you two tickets to a game. Sound fair? I've got a bag filling as I type (not really, that'd be kind of gross). But as someone who has given blood in the past, I'm proud to announce the Washington Nationals' second blood drive of the season to be held this Saturday, August...

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton turns 24 on Thursday, enjoying his fifth season in the major leagues. At age 19, Upton made his major league debut on Aug. 2, 2007 and played in 43 games during the Diamondbacks' pennant race, relying on veterans on the team to gain experience. Upton said he concentrated on his job in those first few weeks in the big leagues. He didn't let the moment get away from him and made sure to work hard in every at-bat and every fly ball that came his...

On June 9, 2009, the Nationals selected Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick in the First-Year Player Draft. Strasburg, a right-hander from San Diego State University, was one of the most highly touted draft picks in recent memory and from his first day in the Nationals' organization, caught the eye of baseball fans around the country. Nearly one year later, amid flashbulbs at a sold-out Nationals Park, Strasburg made his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates, going seven...

Adam Jones is batting third and playing center field tonight after leaving last night's game in the second inning and being transported to a local hospital with shortness of breath and mild chest pains. He was right. It wasn't as bad as it seemed. For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Robert Andino 3B Nolan Reimold LF Ryan Adams 2B Jeremy Guthrie RHP Andino is batting .333 (12-for-36) during a career-high...

What we saw the last two nights has been pretty rare for about two months now in terms of Orioles' starting pitching. Zach Britton and Alfredo Simon each gave up just one run and it's the first time in more than two months that O's starters gave up one earned run or less in back-to-back starts. If you remember the first four games of the season, O's starters were amazing in giving up just two earned run over 26 innings in the first four games. Since then, eight times between game five and...

Need another excuse to feel old?

When word went out during spring training before the 2009 season that Alfredo Simon was getting a look as an Orioles rotation option, I didn't know who he was and didn't have the highest hopes for the team if a pitcher with a career 5.10 ERA at Triple-A was going to be starting games. Seven earned runs in 6 1/3 innings pitched later, Simon was out for the year with Tommy John surgery. The following year, I more or less forgot that Simon ever existed, which made the ending of the O's April...

Tuesday was no average day in Washington, D.C. Residents, tourists, visitors and members of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Nationals felt a 5.9 jolt from the earth beneath their feet. The tremor was shallow, at just 6 kilometers underground, and was felt from the epicenter in Virginia to a widespread portion of the East Coast. While the earthquake has nothing to do with baseball itself, baseball as a game did play a role in getting D.C. back to its normal pace. The game between the Diamondbacks...

As a friend said yesterday afternoon, a day after Zach Britton and the Orioles beat Minnesota 4-1: "So that's what it looks like to get a well-pitched game." Now, O's fans can say that again this morning. The Orioles beat Minnesota 8-1 last night as Alfredo Simon allowed just three hits and one run in a career-high eight innings with a career-high eight strikeouts. This after Simon pitched to an ERA of 7.47 over his previous three starts. Of course, he had pitched to an ERA of 2.81 over...

Adam Jones was released from the hospital early this morning and tweeted the following: "Back from hospital. Wasn't as serious as it sounded. Glad everything is in order. Appreciate the support and well wishes. Back at it mañana." I'm just disappointed that he wasn't tweeting from the ambulance. We'll find out tomorrow whether Felix Pie cleared waivers and is willing to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. Pie can choose to become a free agent. The...