Well, he did - just not for the Orioles. The venerable MASN play-by-play man, whose home run calls pack so much unbridled joy and enthusiasm into mere seconds, is working for ESPN during the Fall Classic, calling games for ESPN International, which distributes the World Series games to a worldwide audience. Fans get the games in three languages - English, Spanish and Portugese - throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East and via ESPN America throughout Europe. Thorne...

The Orioles today announced that right-handed pitcher Chris Jakubauskas and catcher Jake Fox have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles also announced that catcher Craig Tatum has been claimed on waivers by the Houston Astros. Jakubauskas, 32, was 2-2 with a 5.72 ERA (72.1IP, 46ER) in 33 games (six starts) for the Orioles in 2011. Fox, 29, batted .246 (15-61) with two homers and six RBI in 27 games for the Orioles, while Tatum, 29, batted .195 (17-87) with...

The Orioles lost their backup catcher when the Houston Astros claimed Craig Tatum off waivers. Tatum began the season at Triple-A Norfolk and batted .195 in 31 games with the Orioles. He had three doubles and seven RBIs. Tatum beat out Chad Moeller for the backup job in 2010 and batted .281 in 43 games, with four doubles and nine RBIs, but the Orioles made Jake Fox the backup coming out of spring training this year. Tatum made it back to Baltimore during the summer because he was a defensive...

Since so many fans have been asking, I wanted to pass along news that the Orioles' caps for next season will include a variation of the cartoon bird, which will replace the "ornithologically correct" version presently worn. According to a source, the logo won't replicate the birds from the 1970 and 1983 caps, but it will be a variation of the two, taking certain qualities of both to create the new cartoon image. These caps will be worn as part of the regular uniform, rather than being an...

Diamondbacks executive Jerry Dipoto reportedly will become the next general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hopefully, his first order of business will be to shorten the team's name. FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted the following a few minutes ago: "Sources: DiPoto to be named #Angels GM" SI.com's Jon Heyman followed that tweet with a confirmation of his own. Heyman also is hearing that Tony LaCava is "very likely" to be named the Orioles' president of baseball...

Let me start by saying I don't know if John Stockstill would be a good general manager or not for the Orioles. But I do know he has a strong resume in the game in a variety of roles and is well respected by a lot of people. Some of the comments I have read and reaction to this are just over the top. It is one man, with a solid resume in the game, getting a chance to interview for a top position. No Orioles fan needs to begin rooting for another team, no fan needs to move out of town and no...

I predicted that the Rangers would win the World Series in six games. I twice came within a strike last night of finally getting something right in the postseason. Was last night's game, won by the Cardinals in 11 innings on David Freese's walkoff home run, the greatest in World Series history? Did it top Carlton Fisk? Bill Mazeroski? Kirk Gibson? BIll Buckner? The Jack Morris/John Smoltz scoreless duel? Am I missing a more obvious choice? As long as I'm firing questions at you, does...

In a surprising twist, Orioles director of player development John Stockstill will interview Friday for the position of president of baseball operations. An industry source confirmed the news a few minutes ago. Stockstill will be the fourth candidate interviewed, and the first from within the organization, following Jerry Dipoto, Tony LaCava and De Jon Watson. It's possible that Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine is contacted after the World Series. Stockstill, 51, has been with the Orioles...

Scottsdale Scorpions reliever Patrick Lehman has lost three straight in the Arizona Fall League and pitching coach Paul Menhart believes he's found out what has been going wrong. Lehman got through his first two AFL appearances with the Scorpions unscathed. However, over the last four outings, the George Washington product has allowed 11 runs,10 of them earned, on 12 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Menhart, the pitching coach for the Single-A Potomac Nationals, thinks a mechanical issue in Lehman's...

It would probably be considered a bit of an upset, but the World Series beat the NFL on back-to-back nights recently in the TV ratings. Yes, the all-powerful NFL took a beating in TV viewership Sunday and Monday nights. Game 4 of the World Series drew a 9.2 national rating for FOX on Sunday and beat the 7.6 rating that NBC got for the New Orleans Saints rout of Indy. On Monday night, FOX drew an 8.8 rating for World Series Game 5 to whip ESPN's 5.8 for the Ravens' loss at...