According to an industry source, the Marlins have denied the Orioles permission to interview assistant general manager Dan Jennings for the position of president of baseball operations. Jennings, who is currently in Arizona scouting the fall league, has a contract that runs through 2015. The Marlins have denied teams permission to interview Jennings on three other occasions. The Orioles are interviewing Diamondbacks senior vice president of scouting and player development Jerry Dipoto today...

Saturday's the day - a statue honoring legendary Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson will be dedicated at noon at a plaza between Washington Boulevard and Russell Street, northwest of Camden Yards. For the geographically impaired - or those who have never participated in the time-honored Baltimore baseball tradition of hoisting a brew at PIckles Pub or Sliders (or both) - here's a map of the statue's location. Though the ceremony doesn't begin until noon, the festivities kick off at 11...

Scottsdale Scorpions catcher Derek Norris has made some adjustments to his approach at the plate that have made a positive difference as he wraps up his 2011 season in the Arizona Fall League. Norris hit .210 in 104 games with 334 at-bats for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators this season. He had 17 doubles, one triple, 20 homers, 77 walks and 46 RBIs. Norris said playing in the Arizona Fall League this month has been good for his season. "I prefer this than to go out of the country to play...

I'm 51-34 picking NFL games against the spread this season. Is that good? Double-A Bowie first baseman Joe Mahoney, playing in his second Arizona Fall League game yesterday, went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored for the Mesa Solar Sox. He's hitting .600 with seven RBIs in two games. And his error total held at four. Xavier Avery, starting in center field, went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and his first error. He's batting .077. FOXSports.com's...

I would imagine we all can agree that the Orioles' biggest offseason priority is to upgrade the pitching staff for the 2012 season. But how do you feel about the offense? In several team batting categories, the Orioles were average - or a little above - average this year. They finished fourth in the American League in homers (191), sixth in average (.257), sxith in slugging (.413), seventh in runs (708) and seventh in OPS (.729). The AL average, by the way, was 723 runs scored and .730 in...

The Orioles will interview Arizona Diamondbacks senior vice president of scouting and player development Jerry Dipoto tomorrow for the position of general manager, according to an industry source. Dipoto will be the first candidate interviewed. Toronto Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava is scheduled to be interviewed later this week. You can read more about Dipoto right here, courtesy of mlbtraderumors.com. Update: LaCava will be interviewed on Wednesday. That's two.

Nationals mascot will accompany MLB All-Star Team for series against Chinese Taipei National Team. The Washington Nationals official mascot Screech has been selected as the only Major League Baseball (MLB) mascot to travel to Taiwan with a team of MLB All-Stars for the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series the first week of November. Screech will join Nationals players Ross Detwiler and Michael Morse, who have been named to the MLB team roster, and Chien-Ming Wang, who will play for the Chinese Taipei...

In case you were wondering or thought I forgot, reliever Jeremy Accardo refused his outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk last week and elected to become a free agent. Add him to your list of available relievers. Accardo went 3-3 with a 5.73 ERA in 31 appearances with the Orioles. He allowed 43 hits, walked 18 and hit a batter in 37 2/3 innings. His WHIP was 1.619. Yes, that's too many baserunners. Accardo was 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 26 games at Norfolk. The Orioles also outrighted...

Both Buck Showalter and Andy MacPhail have said it: A critical thing that any organization must do is properly evaluate itself. Many times, fans have asked me about the shortcomings of the Orioles' minor leagues and and they want to know where the issues are. Let me tell you, it is hard to completely really know. For three years, from 2004 through 2006, I broadcast games for short-season Single-A Aberdeen and for the last few years I have covered the O's minors pretty closely. After all...

Jeff Passan, the lead baseball columnist for Yahoo! Sports, tweeted the following last night: Brewers gave up Brett Lawrie and four prospects for Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke. Their playoff stats: 26.1 IP, 9.57 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 7 HR. Ouch. Lawrie will be a star with the Blue Jays. Marcum will be remembered as something else, and it won't be Mr. October. I was reminded last night that you can't spell M-I-L-W-A-U-K-E-E without two Es. Jerry Hairston Jr. has carved out a nice career as a...