After a full year of injuries and plate inconsistency, Nationals catcher Derek Norris made an emphatic debut in his first two games this week in the Arizona Fall League with a two-run homer, a couple of walks and another safety for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Norris hopes the minor adjustments he made to his swing at instructs will make the difference throughout the next month of Fall ball. Nationals hitting coordinator Rick Schu monitored Norris' progress in Viera and says it is no surprise...

On November 9th, the Smithsonian will host New York Times bestselling author Jane Leavy to discuss her new book, "The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood." Former Senators slugger Frank Howard will be among the special guests invited to speak about Mantle at Baird Auditorium in the National Museum of Natural History at 7 p.m. on that Tuesday evening. He will be joined by former Mantle teammates Jim Bouton and Phil Linz. Phil Hochberg, former Washington Senators and...

Recently, Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg were named as finalists for Washington D.C.'s Power 30 Under 30 Awards. The Power 30 Under 30 Awards honor outstanding individuals under the age of 30 who have achieved extraordinary success. Young leaders are recognized in Arts, Entertainment, & Media, Business, Community Service, Politics, Science & Technology and Sports. Both Zimmerman, 26, and Strasburg, 22, were nominated in the Sports category, along with Alexander Ovechkin, Devon...

Now through December 3rd, Nats fans can show support for Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Nyjer Morgan by voting in the annual This Year in Baseball Awards. You watch your Gold Glove third baseman make sparking defensive plays night after night at Nationals Park and on MASN. Make sure he gets selected as "Defensive Player of the Year" by voting here. Stephen Strasburg is also up for two awards -- Performance of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Rookie is tough, both because he only...

Jim Palmer is 65 today. How is this happening? If he's 65, that means we're all growing older, and that's not possible. I didn't sign any papers allowing it. I'll hire a Dream Team of lawyers and fight it in court. They can't do this to us. I'll always feel a certain connection to "Cakes" because he pitched in the first game I ever attended with my father at Memorial Stadium. Home games were rarely televised, so seeing the Orioles in their crisp white uniforms made my eyes bulge...

The O's may not be battling their way through postseason play this October, but for O's fans abroad this time of year, the voice of the postseason might start to feel familiar. Gary Thorne, your very own O's play-by-play announcer on MASN, was recently given the same role to play in the international broadcasts of the 2010 ALCS and World Series. Starting today, Thorne will work together with Cy Young Award-winner Rick Sutcliffe to bring baseball fans from 219 countries and territories and...

Reliever Kam Mickolio allowed one hit, threw a wild pitch and struck out two batters in one inning for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. Twelve of his 16 pitches were strikes. The Scorpions are trailing the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 2-0, in the sixth inning. Xavier Avery and Greg Miclat are a combined 0-for-5. More important, I wonder what Phoenix's mascot would look like if the team was known as the Dessert Dogs. Mickolio was touted as a future closer back in spring...

There's positive news on catcher Jesus Flores' progress in instructional league competition this month in Viera. Nationals hitting coordinator Rick Schu says it would be huge to have Flores back 100 percent after shoulder surgery. "Boy, I sure hope so. I remember watching Flo in 2007. He was a Diamondback killer. That guy can hit. He has an uncanny way of getting the barrel on the ball. He hits the ball the other way, battles with two strikes. He has some power. It would be...

It's been said and asked before about Nick Markakis by those with the Orioles and some others from outside the organization. Why doesn't he pull the ball more and hit a bunch of homers over that right-field scoreboard? Some think that short right-field porch should become a regular landing place for Markakis homers. That is, if he would turn on the ball more and drive the inside pitch to right. We know Markakis loves to hit to left and left center and has gap-to-gap power. But he can...

The most important item first: Longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler remains hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center after undergoing successful surgery on Oct. 6 to remove a benign brain tumor, but a team official tells me that doctors are pleased with his progress. We still don't know when they'll allow Tyler to return home, but his continued improvement is encouraging news. According to Bodog, the odds of the Phillies winning the World Series stand at 5/4. The...