Sometimes, baseball can be a very simple game. As the manager in "Bull Durham" said, "You catch the ball, you hit the ball, you throw the ball." Sometimes it rains of course. Sometimes you get clutch hits and you win. Sometimes you don't and you lose. In looking at the Orioles' season, one stat that seems to always figure heavily in whether the club wins or loses is how they fare when batting with runners in scoring position. Just look at the Pittsburgh series. On Monday, the O's...

Because of the Independence Day holiday, "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" will not air on MASN on Monday, July 4. "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report" will return to its regular schedule at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 5.

Because host John Riggins is on vacation, "The John Riggins Show" will not air on MASN between Wednesday, June 29 and Friday, July 1. Additionally, the show will also be off the air Monday, July 4 because of the Independence Day holiday. "The John Riggins Show" will resume its regular schedule on Tuesday, July 5 at 4 p.m.

Brian Roberts may be missing from the Orioles lineup, but he's been busy putting the finishing touches on one of every summer's top fundraising events: Brian's Baseball Bash. The sixth annual event, which raises money for programs at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, will be held July 24 at 6 p.m. at Dave and Buster's at Arundel Mills Mall, 7000 Arundel Mills Circle. This year's edition will benefit three programs - expansion of the neonatal intensive care unit, clinical...

We are a time during each and every season where teams looking forward to playing in October are looking for help via trades. They need an extra piece to contend and often look at second division teams to acquire a player or two for the stretch run. Meanwhile, teams that know they are realistically out of contention for the season are looking to dump expensive or productive players with value in exchange for young talent or a player who is perhaps more cost-effective. For the Orioles, Jeremy...

The greatest sporting event I never witnessed took place on Oct. 30, 1974 in the Mai 20 Stadium in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was a title bout for the boxing heavyweight championship of the world. It pitted champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali. Labeled "The Rumble In The Jungle," the match went on to become one of the most legendary sporting events in history - and I missed it. Foreman was the supposed favorite. He was bigger and younger than Ali and from what they say,...

Something has clicked for short season Single-A Auburn Doubledays catcher Adrian Nieto in the first week of the 2011 new season. The 21-year old Cuban backstop struggled last season for Single-A Hagerstown Suns, batting .195 with 44 strikeouts in 60 games. But Nieto came out of the blocks swinging a hot bat this campaign, grabbing attention in the Doubledays' first game last Friday. Nieto went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. He went 0-for-2 in his second game but has gone 5-for-12 the...

The Orioles are off today, which pretty much matches their play for most of the road trip. See if you can tell the difference. Here's one way to do it: There won't be a final score later. If we're led to believe that the Orioles are improved - and their record compared to last season points to that truth - they can't lose four of six games against the Nationals and Pirates. OK, those teams are improved, too, but the Orioles need to be ... more improved. They need to beat these clubs if...

Every year, there are players in the minor leagues who seem to fly under the radar, guys who are not considered top prospects or are not high-round draft picks. But they put up good numbers and we should notice that. Ty Kelly at Single-A Delmarva is one of those guys, and I got the chance to meet and interview him before Tuesday's All-Star Game at Perdue Stadium. Kelly is 10th in the South Atlantic League batting at .312 in 52 games with seven doubles, three homers and 27 RBIs. He went...

With the Orioles not playing tonight, let's take a look at some notes around the O's minors. The Bowie Baysox have been playing pretty well lately. The Baysox, led by manager Gary Kendall, have won 12 of their last 18 games to improve to 36-34 on the season. Catcher Caleb Joseph takes a 10-game batting streak into play tonight. He is batting .317 (13-for-41) during the streak with two homers and seven RBIs. He can tie Xavier Avery for longest hitting streak this year for Bowie at 11...