Pitchers and catchers report today to minor league camp, but the Orioles should be hosting the Pirates this afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium. It says so on the original Grapefruit League schedule. The lockout has forced the cancellation of at least 10 games. Major League Baseball announced on Friday that games were wiped out through March 7, with three more dates tagged onto the first update. A new collective bargaining agreement must be in place for teams to play on March 8. The Orioles have...

It's a matter of when, not if, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement and the lockout ends. Spring will bloom and a new baseball season will be underway. The real question is what is going to happen once the lockout does, in fact, end? It wasn't our direct topic of conversation, but that question was discussed a bit on this week's episode of the "MASN All Access Podcast." I came up with three things that fall under that...

The analytical side of baseball operations that's reshaping how players are evaluated and instructed, with teams now embracing what they used to resist, didn't find former college pitcher Forrest Herrmann. He hunted for it, absorbed every bit of information available to him, and turned a desperate attempt to draw out the last ounces of his talent into a post-playing career that's taking off. The Orioles hired Herrmann, 29, as their pitching coach at Single-A Aberdeen, contacting the Reds...

The start of the 2022 season reportedly will be delayed, with games lost, unless Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association settle on a new collective bargaining agreement by Monday. An MLB deadline that the union says doesn't really exist. I haven't been locked out of my mailbag. Can't do it. You can negotiate with me, but I'm getting the last word. You get the first by sending along questions. Thanks for your interest and humor. The sequels keep flowing since the original more...

Especially at low Single-A Delmarva, but possibly at other affiliates as well, the Orioles could use a piggyback pitching system in some minor league games again this year. Last April in this story, we told you about this coming to the O's farm in advance of the start of the 2021 minor league season. It is essentially where one of the affiliates gets two starting pitchers or starting rotation candidates into the same game, with one going the first part of the contest and the other the second...

Baseball is perhaps only a few days away from an event that hasn't been experienced in 27 years, one the commissioner himself recently said would be "disastrous" for the sport. Major League Baseball has said if it and the MLB Players Association can't agree to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement by Monday, some regular season games will be canceled. Whether that actually proves to be true remains to be seen, because the MLBPA insists the Feb. 28 deadline set forth by commissioner...

When you talk to Roberto Mercado, a new member of the Orioles front office and player development staff, his excitement to work for the club in 2022 comes through. It's going to be a big adjustment for the 42-year-old Mercado. He was the head coach of New Britain (Conn.) High School from 2011-2021 with a record of 139-80 and dean of students at the school since 2004. But his baseball experience also includes time spent as an assistant coach in the summer wood bat Cape Cod League, one of the...

The Washington Nationals announced the winner of the second annual Phil Rizzo Scout of the Year Award on Thursday. The award is given annually to the Washington Nationals scout who represents the integrity, character and work ethic exemplified by Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo's late father, Phil Rizzo. Jay Robertson, Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, is this year's winner, announced by Mike...

Until the lockout ends and major league spring training camps finally open, I'm left to reminisce about past stays in Florida. The many stories that unfolded, some of which never made it into print. The many mornings spent inside the clubhouse and on the back fields. The road trips, more grueling when the home site was down in Fort Lauderdale. The unexpected arrivals and departures. I'll share a few more today: Betemit's knee injury Media wanting to interview the starting pitcher or a...

Well, we've just about reached the point of no return. For nearly three months, we've speculated the lockout likely wouldn't end until the two sides faced a significant deadline: the potential loss of regular season games. And now, alas, we are on the verge of reaching that point. Major League Baseball reiterated Wednesday that if a deal is not in place by Monday, opening day will not proceed as scheduled March 31, adding that any games lost would not be made up and players would not be paid...