Look familiar? Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton DH Adam Jones CF Jake Fox 1B Craig Tatum C Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP Bengie Molina is the only Ranger who has faced Arrieta, going 1-for-3 with a strikeout. For the Rangers: Julio Borbon CF Michael Young 3B Ian Kinsler 2B Vladimir Guerrero DH David Murphy LF Nelson Cruz RF Bengie Molina C Chris Davis 1B Andres Blanco SS C.J. Wilson LHP

The Nationals are getting ready for the second half of the season with 73 games remaining on the schedule. The team can still make a move in the National League East, unlike last year when they reached the All-Star break 22 1/2 games out of first place and had already lost 61 games. Manager Jim Riggleman is confident the clubhouse is filled with the players that can get it done. "I think the world of our team because they play hard and they care. They suffer with the losses. They really...

Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann says he will pitch Wednesday, July 14 in his third rehab start against the Kinston Indians at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. Zimmermann is expected to go four inning and 65 pitches. He was outstanding in his second start Thursday in Frederick, hitting 96 miles per hour on the fastball, striking out five over three innings, allowing a 1st inning double as the only hit and walking none. What impressed me the most was his major league tempo, not giving the...

As we continue our series of stories on the O's minor leagues today we look at the Orioles farm through the eyes and thoughts of an insider - Someone who has managed in that farm system since 2007 - current O's interim third base coach Gary Allenson. Until he took that position last month, Allenson had managed at Triple-A Norfolk since 2007, seeing most of the club's top prospects come his way at one time or another. "I think we've developed some pretty good players. It's still...

One of the biggest decisions teams make for their minor leaguers is when to promote players to higher levels. When is the time right? What if the player doesn't succeed at that level? How fast should prospects move through the system? O's president Andy MacPhail worked with David Stockstill when he headed up the O's farm system and now works with his brother, John, who is the current director of player development. The O's may be going through some subtle changes in philosophy in how...

It feels like I just got to Ocean Pines and I'm already prepared to make the return trip to Sykesville. I'll post the lineups and check the comments once I'm home. The usual drill. Before hitting the road, I wanted to point out the following: * The Orioles are hitting on the road. They're batting .301 in this series, with seven home runs and 14 extra-base hits. * The last time Cesar Izturis homered before last night, Brian Matusz was making his major league debut on Aug. 4 in Detroit....

Yesterday, we began our series of stories around this All-Star break on the Orioles minor league system and how well - or not - it is performing. After getting Andy MacPhail's take, today we solicit an outside and independent, but very well informed, opinion. I interviewed Baseball America's Will Lingo, who has followed the O's minors closely for years and who puts together the publication's Orioles top prospects list every year. How are the O's doing on the farm right now at the...

Earlier today, I presented comments from Baseball America's Will Lingo on the O's farm system. Lingo and Baseball America ranked the O's farm in the top third of baseball earlier this year. "We rated them ninth coming into the season in our Prospect Handbook. For our midseason update, I wouldn't say they are one of the top organizations right now, but I would say they are in the middle of the pack," Lingo said. But if the O's were ninth then and now are in the middle of the pack, are...

I wanted to pass along another reminder about what you will be reading in this space beginning Monday. I'll present a series of blogs on the Orioles minor league system. We'll take a look at how the O's are doing on the farm, how they develop players, how scouting and player development work together and how the O's make decisions like deciding when to promote a player. For those of you that are diehard fans of the minors, I hope it will add some information for your further enjoyment of...

The Nats offense connected early against Jonathan Sanchez, scoring five runs and sending the Giants starter to the showers in the fourth inning. With a 5-3 lead, the Nats had to like their chances with a normally reliable bullpen waiting for the opportunity to go. But in the fifth and sixth frames, the Nats had opportunities to add to their lead, but were unable to plate another run, leaving four men on base following three hits. In the sixth inning, the toughest outs of the night came at...