The Nationals are closer to pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in Viera, Fla., as the team sizes up what they could have in a talented and deep relief corps for 2012. New Nationals bench coach Randy Knorr, the former Syracuse Chiefs manager, was pleased with the staff he worked with in Triple-A last season. He sees some of those pitchers, either already with the Nationals or close to it, possibly becoming permanent fixtures in the bullpen this upcoming campaign. So who jumped...

Even if the Orioles didn't make a lot of moves, the group from MASNsports.com had an eventful run at the Winter Meetings in Dallas. We set records for readership, so thanks for that, and we had fun covering and blogging about anything and everything. Before we left Big D, we finally saw the sun come out, and Roch and I had time for one last video to discuss what did happen, what didn't and what still could. Check it out here.

It may be chilly in the mid-Atlantic, but there are warm thoughts ahead. Like Florida-warm. Specifically, the planned community of Viera, home to Space Coast Stadium and spring training headquarters of the Nationals. The Nationals have announced their reporting dates for the 2012 edition of spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 19, position players are due in Feb. 23 and the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Feb. 23. Now, if the club will just announce its Grapefruit...

Even with the Orioles not making many moves and not generating many rumors, somehow the Winter Meetings still seemed very busy for those of us on the MASN team covering the Orioles and Nationals in Dallas the last few days. It's nice to be home. I hope the readers here enjoyed the coverage and videos that we featured in this blog the last few days. I was sitting in the press room between Roch Kubatko and the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck. Yes the barbs were flying fast and furious with a...

It's nice to begin a blog entry without typing in a dateline. There's no place like home. I won't lie. I feel a little dumb clicking my heels together. I didn't shop for souvenirs in Dallas - I worried that the bottle of barbecue sauce would shatter in my luggage - but I returned to Sykesville with dirty clothes and a reminder that executive vice president Dan Duquette really does have his work cut out for him. He doesn't have much to offer in trades if he isn't going to part with...

The Nationals came back from the Winter Meetings empty-handed, shut out in their quest to find a starting pitcher, a center fielder who can hit leadoff and some punch off the bench. Not that Ryan Zimmerman is happy that he doesn't have someone a few spots ahead in the batting order to drive in on a regular basis, but general manager Mike Rizzo's inability to cross anything off his shopping list in Dallas could pay some dividends for the third baseman. Rizzo hopes to re-sign Zimmerman to an...

DALLAS - This will be my final blog entry from the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, where the sun has finally come out as I prepare to climb into a cab for my ride to the airport. I was told that it's snowing back home, but my daughter shot down that rumor via a text message. I should have brought her here. She could have saved me a lot of work. I made one last stroll through the hotel lobby and ran into agent Scott Boras. Not literally. But I did stop him, shake hands and immediately bring up

DALLAS - The Orioles today added two players in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, getting lefty pitcher Andrew Loomis of the Phillies organization in the Triple-A portion of the draft and infielder Matt Sweeney of the Rays organization in the Double-A portion of the draft. The 26-year-old Loomis is 10-10 with a 3.34 ERA in 133 career games in four minor league seasons. A 16th-round selection by the Florida Marlins in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Purdue, Loomis went 1-2...

DALLAS - Executive vice president Dan Duquette doesn't anticipate making any more trades before he boards a flight for Boston this afternoon. He'll return to Baltimore over the weekend and hopes to complete a few more deals that were advanced at the Winter Meetings. Duquette didn't make a big splash at the Hilton Anatole, unless you count the number of times he dumped cold water on speculation that he'd pursue a big-ticket item in free agency. The Orioles were busy today, if not dynamic....

DALLAS - In our last one on one video interview of the Winter Meetings with Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette, I asked him about several topics, including the club's acquisition of lefty pitcher Dana Eveland in a trade with the Dodgers. But I also asked the question many fans are asking today: Do the Orioles still have a chance for some bigger moves this offseason either with trades or through a free agent signing, or is Duquette resigned to the fact the Orioles can't or won't...