On November 10th, the Nationals will unveil their new uniforms during an exclusive fashion show featuring players Tyler Clippard, Ian Desmond, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Drew Storen, Ryan Zimmerman and Jordan Zimmermann. The invitation-only affair will be held from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Stars and Stripes Club at Nationals Park. Guests will enjoy a pre-show cocktail reception and an opportunity to mingle with players and purchase the new jerseys. General Manager Mike Rizzo is also...

The Washington Nationals today announced that field manager Jim Riggleman will return in 2011. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. In 2010 under Riggleman, the Nationals increased their win total from 59 to 69. Washington's 10-game improvement tied for the fourth-best in MLB this season and trailed only San Diego (+15), Cincinnati (+13) and Tampa Bay (+12). Riggleman's third season as Nationals skipper will be his...

O's to play 16 games at newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota The Orioles will play their first of 16 home spring training games in 2011 at the newly renovated Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota on Tuesday, March 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays. 2011 marks the second consecutive spring training for the Orioles in Sarasota, and the first in the newly renovated ballpark. Ed Smith Stadium is undergoing extensive improvements which will dramatically transform the ballpark aesthetic and radically...

The Orioles will play nine different teams in Sarasota next spring, and will host the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Tigers twice at Ed Smith Stadium. The Minnesota Twins will make three trips to Sarasota, and the Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays will each make one visit. Here it is: Monday, February 28: Pittsburgh Pirates (ss) - Bradenton - 1:05 Tuesday, March 1: Tampa Bay Rays - Sarasota -...

A little play on campaign season there. We'll spare you the commercials and fundraising emails. Vote for Zimmerman for the 2010 Heart and Hustle Award! Each year, the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association votes on one winner among the 30 nominees representing each club. Zimmerman has represented the Nationals in both 2009 and 2010, but he needs your votes. Fan voting will represent 5% of the total voting pool. I know NatsTown couldn't get Zimmerman to the All-Star Game, but...

The Orioles are getting closer to finalizing their coaching staff and making the grand announcement. I'm not carting around my laptop today, but some of the "moving parts," as manager Buck Showalter likes to call them, are slowing down. I wrote yesterday that former shortstop Mike Bordick would be willing to listen if the Orioles offered a coaching position, but he expects to continue working as a roving minor league instructor. He mentioned the possibility of taking on additional...

I can still remember it now. I wrote a column last winter that got some readers very stirred up. It brought me what felt like an avalanche of criticism. Some questioned my sanity, not to mention my intelligence about baseball. The comment I made was pretty simple. I wrote that, at his best, Jeremy Guthrie is in John Lackey's class as a pitcher. I'd like to remind you that I wrote that about a pitcher coming off a season where he led the league in losses and had an ERA of 5.04. But I...

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...