MASN will televise Stephen Strasburg's final start at Triple-A Syracuse, the network announced today. The Nationals prospect will face the Buffalo Bisons on Thursday, June 3rd at 1:05 p.m. MASN will air the game at 7:00 p.m. on a tape delay. MASN has televised each of Strasburg's five previous starts for Syracuse. The highly touted prospect is 3-1 at Syracuse with a 1.27 ERA and 33 strikeouts in just over 28 innings of work. He is expected to make his major league debut at Nationals Park...

Injured second baseman Brian Roberts is scheduled to play in his first extended spring training game on Friday at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota. Roberts will take infield and batting practice tomorrow and Thursday - a normal workout day - before playing five innings at second base on Friday. The plan is for Roberts to get four at-bats, so he could lead off each inning. The rules are a lot more relaxed down there. Assuming there are no setbacks, Roberts will get five at-bats as...

As I sat outside the clubhouse entrance at Ed Smith Stadium a few weeks ago, a player walked past me who looked exactly like former Orioles reliever Bob McCrory. I mean, they could have been separated at birth. It was uncanny. It also was Bob McCrory. The Orioles re-signed him about a week before Opening Day. I had completely lost track of him after he underwent shoulder and biceps surgery on Oct. 2. Can you believe that McCrory is already pitching in extended spring training games? And...

On June 5th, thousands of people will gather on the National Mall to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. For 20 years, events like Race for the Cure have raised millions and millions of dollars to help women fight the disease and to invest in research to find a cure. During those same years, treatments and early detection programs have improved dramatically. This season, the Nationals partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to recruit race participants and to raise...

As long as we're celebrating Jake Arrieta's latest gem, we should also note that Double-A Bowie left-hander Zach Britton held Richmond to two runs over 6 1/3 innings last night. He allowed six hits and walked four, so it wasn't one of his cleanest outings, but he came out of it with a 3.32 ERA. If I'm a young Orioles starter, I'm tracking every one of Arrieta's starts. And I'm hoping there's room in the rotation for both of us. I would assume that Brian Matusz's leash is longer than...

It was a minor league transaction that probably went under the radar among a lot of fans. On May 24th, Tyler Kolodny of the Delmarva Shorebirds was transferred to Aberdeen's roster. Some that follow the minors very closely asked a question. Why would the O's take a player with 10 homers, among the most in the Sally League, off the Delmarva roster. As it turns out, there were two major reasons. Kolodny was being disciplined due to a team matter. Seondly, the Orioles want him to improve...

Well, a manager does have to live with his won-loss record. For Dave Trembley, he is saddled with 15 and 36. It's clear some of you feel he has earned every bit of that. If you look deeper at how the Orioles, a team on the rise according to many experts over the winter, got to this point, much that has happened has been out of Trembley's control. For the most part. It's not his fault that: *Brian Roberts, Felix Pie, Mike Gonzalez, Brad Bergesen and Jim Johnson got injured. So have...

Jake Arrieta isn't just knocking on the door. He's kicking it in, repairing it and kicking it in again. Handy guy. Arrieta held Rochester to one run and five hits over eight innings, with two walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 106 pitches, 66 for strikes, and his ERA's down to 1.77. Arrieta has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. In his last three starts, he's surrendered two runs and 16 hits, walked six and struck out 23 in 22 innings. How much longer...

The Nats needed this one. With the bats cooled for most of the series in San Diego, the Nats' offense erupted in Houston with 14 hits in a 14-4 cruise over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. The highlight of the day was the 7th inning where the Nats sent 12 men to the plate and exploded for a season-high 9 runs. Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman each had a pair of hits and 4 RBI. Zimmerman with a 3-run homer in the 7th frame, his third homer in two games. Carlos Maldonado slammed his first...

The Orioles are broken and they have to be fixed. Tape and glue won't hold them together. Don't bother pushing a cart through Home Depot unless your deck needs waterproofing or you have loose tiles in your shower. The offense has to be repaired. The bullpen has to be put back together. You know it's bad when fans are clamoring for Matt Angle after 14 games in the minors this year, the last two at Triple-A Norfolk. Angle, by the way, covers a lot of ground in center field. He's a human...