Potomac Nationals catcher Derek Norris has one more day at instructional league before heading to the Land of the Sun and the Arizona Fall League. The first workout is scheduled for Thursday and the first game is October 12. Norris says he is excited to be able to catch Brad Peacock, Adam Carr and Cole Kimball. Norris caught Kimball for one game and has never caught Carr. He says he can learn from calling games for other pitchers. "I am really looking forward to working with a guy like...

Coming off a 2009 season where he hit .279-15-45 in 358 at bats, Nolan Reimold looked poised to have a solid sophomore season in the Major Leagues. But it started with an injury and later it was his bat that wasn't well and he spent more time in the minors than the big leagues in 2010, playing 94 games with Norfolk and just 39 with the Orioles. Reimold said he can sum up his season in one word. "Brutal. If there is one word to describe it, it's probably that. It's been a tough year,...

Forget the standings that are running in your local newspaper and on-line. Derf did a little research, and a little match, and passed along the AL East standings since Aug. 3. First, here's how the division stacked up before Buck Showalter arrived in Baltimore, including records, winning percentage and games trailing the leaders: New York 66-39 .629 Tampa Bay 66-39 .629 Boston 60-46 .566 6 1/2 Toronto 55-51 .519 11 1/2 Orioles 32-73 .305 34 Here's the division since Aug. 3: Orioles 34-23...

On Tuesday, the Racing Presidents will help to promote fire safety at the Fire Prevention Fair at FEMA Headquarters in Washington D.C. Abe, George, Tom and Teddy will be on hand from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to help promote valuable tips for updating and maintaining home smoke alarms. FEMA and the National Fire Prevention Association are hosting the fair which runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This year's theme is "Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With." National Fire Prevention Week...

Throughout the season, the Washington Nationals participated in countless community service events in the Washington D.C. metro area. They brought joy to children in hospitals and schools, cleaned up the environment, made packages for troops overseas and visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed. They also helped with blood drives, youth baseball clinics and food banks, and raised money to find cures for multiple sclerosis and kidney disease. Led by former National Matt Capps, Ryan Zimmerman,...

The Orioles today announced that Luke Scott has been voted winner of the 2010 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis. He will be recognized for his accomplishments in an on-field ceremony prior to tonight's game against the Detroit Tigers. Entering tonight's game Scott, 32, was 6th in the American League in slugging percentage (.538) and on-base plus slugging (.904) and was 14th in the league in home runs with a...

When teams begin play in the Arizona Fall League a week from tomorrow, it turns out that Tyler Townsend will be playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions. The team's roster includes 8 O's minor leaguers. Townsend told me recently he would not play in Arizona, but rather Australia. The reasoning being that he is a "taxi squad" player on the Scorpions and said player can only start once or twice a week. He needed more at bats than that and playing in Australia would provide that. Now, word is...

I hear the voice of Stewie from "Family Guy" every time I type or say that line. The offseason has begun with me staring out the window at the rain and my daughter staying home from school with an upset stomach caused by the antibiotics she's taking to fight an infection in her thumb. Swallowing the pills on a full stomach didn't work as promised. So now what do I do? Call the doctor and ask for the pills that don't upset my kid's stomach? I didn't realize that I needed to be so...

Here we are on the first day of the offseason, with today the first of many days without Orioles baseball. On one hand, it's a bit of a relief to the players, coaches, managers, and front office members who have put in long hours over a long season. On the other hand, it won't take more than a few days before things already start to feel empty around Oriole Park. When the team departs, so does a certain energy from the Warehouse, and the overcast feeling of winter days without baseball...

When I was broadcasting Triple-A games back in the 80's and early 90's, my broadcast partner, Bob Black and I, had a running joke. We used to say the three saddest words in baseball were "no game today." In a way, it is sad. Yes it does feel strange today to not have a game to cover, watch or attend. I might have to watch Bull Durham to get my fix. Actually, to be honest, it will be nice to take a few days to slow down a bit and re-charge the batteries after the long season. The...