The Nationals have announced that Jim Riggleman will return as manager for the team in 2011 for his third year as skipper of the club. In 2010, the Nationals improved by 10 victories over their 2009 campaign, from 59 to 69 wins. Riggleman was very pleased with the announcement, saying "Mike (Rizzo) and I talked some during September, and I was given every indication that" the team would pick up the option. "It is a good thing and I am excited to get going." Riggleman originally signed...

The Sun is reporting, through unnamed sources, that Terry Crowley has accepted a position as an "organizational-wide offensive evaluator," which also leaves the Orioles in the market for a hitting coach. This is an interesting reversal from Crowley, who had agreed to return as hitting coach next season. I'm told he was given the option by manager Buck Showalter and accepted it, but three weeks later, he's apparently changed his mind and his title. I haven't been able to reach Crowley in...

Actually, this blog entry is brought to you by the letter H, for "Hargrove." I'm sending out warm birthday wishes to former Orioles manager Mike Hargrove, who turned 61 today. Grover managed the Orioles for four seasons after guiding the Indians to five consecutive AL Central titles and two appearances in the World Series. If I'm Hargrove, I'm not taking Jose Mesa's calls. Hargrove never really had the personnel in Baltimore to compete against the heavyweights in the AL East, and a...

When I interviewed Joe Mahoney Sunday about his wrist injury that forced him to head home from Venezuela, the topic came up. I asked Mahoney, the O's minor league player of the year, his take on being left off Baseball America's top 20 prospects lists for the Carolina League and the Eastern League. "One of my buddies called and brought it up. We have a running joke that I never get on any of those things. "I'll treat it like other things I see that can be a disappointment, I'll use it...

Maybe this will be the day that someone returns a phone call, text message or e-mail. Well, someone besides the electrician who's stopping by my house to check on my smoke detectors. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and concerns. They were greatly appreciated. Too bad this electrician isn't a possibility to serve on manager Buck Showalter's coaching staff. The guy spoke to me twice yesterday. Rather than talk about a coach being hired, we can eliminate Brian Butterfield, who's...

It didn't take long for the Yankees to react to their ouster from the ALCS. They fired pitching coach Dave Eiland today. Somebody had to be the scapegoat. General manager Brian Cashman refused to provide any reasons, but my guess is he wasn't happy with the pitching. The Red Sox also are in the market for a pitching coach after John Farrell was named Blue Jays manager. That's two teams within the division. And Farrell might want to make his own changes. Meanwhile, the Orioles might be...

Can you name every player in the Nats' Opening Day lineup since baseball returned to Washington? Want to prove it? Fellow Nats blogger Harper at Nationals Baseball posted a link to this quiz today on Sporkle. It asks you to name every Opening Day starter from 2005-2010 in eight minutes for a possible 60 points. For what it's worth, I scored 52 out of 60, but I missed two really obvious ones. Take the quiz and let me know how you do in the comments below! Good luck!

In case you skipped last night's Packers-Vikings game, you missed this exchange between sideline reporter Andrea Kremer and Green Bay receiver Donald Driver: Kremer: "What's the team have to do to get back in the win column?" Driver: "Just win." Back to you. Former Ravens cornerback Frank Walker was called for defensive holding. No, seriously. But he didn't climb up a receiver's back and wrestle him to the ground while the ball was in the air, so that's a good thing. It still...

It's not a long list, and it's subject to change, but here is the current list of Orioles' players already playing or soon to be playing in winter ball leagues around the world. Puerto Rico: Pitcher Brandon Cooney with Carolina Venezuela: Pitcher Chad Thall with Zulia Mexico: Pitcher Eddie Gamboa with Mexicali Dominican Republic: IF-OF-C Jake Fox with Licey Australia: Pitcher Cole McCurry Pitcher Brett Jacobsen IF-OF Robbie Widlansky OF Ronnie Welty This group of four will soon arrive...

Nationals hitting coordinator Rick Schu was in Scottsdale this week to coach and monitor Harper and the rest of the Nationals' Arizona prospects, and he recently gave me an update on the number one draft pick's progress. Harper is batting .375, 3-for-8, with a double and 2 RBI in his first two games. His slugging percentage is .500 and his OPS is .875 with no errors in the field. In his first game Wednesday, Harper went 1-for-4 with a bases loaded ground rule double. but Schu said Harper...