Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan said Thursday he is ready to learn from his mistakes and move on. Morgan found himself embroiled in controversy over a two week stretch in late August which culminated on Sept 1 with an on field brawl at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. League officials lightened Morgan's suspension to eight games on Thursday afternoon after his appeal, a decision he thought was "fair." "I definitely learned so much, not just from this incident but the whole year," Morgan...

Camden Yards should be rockin' this weekend. The Orioles are expecting a crowd of 35,000 or more tomorrow night, depending on the walk-ups, and they'll exceed 40,000 on Saturday. Could be a near-sellout for Guthrie vs. Sabathia that night. You won't recognize the place. Manager Buck Showalter mentioned earlier this week that he doesn't think any players are counting down the days until the season ends. He feels an energy and enthusiasm that, as we know, is usually missing around here in...

After three seasons and 348 games in a Frederick Keys uniform, Billy Rowell is more than ready to play for a different minor league team. For the first time in a few years, Rowell's career move be on the move upward. The O's first-round pick in 2006, Rowell hit .275-11-61 this year with 25 doubles in 117 Keys games. His average was up from last season's .225 and his OPS increased from .620 to .756. "I just wanted to stay consistent throughout the second half. Consistency is part of the...

The Potomac Nationals face off against Winston-Salem tonight in a critical Game Three of the Carolina League Championship from Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, VA. The Nationals got back in the best-of-five Mills Cup with a 5-3 win Tuesday in Winston-Salem to even the series at 1-1. Nationals right-hander Jimmy Barthmaier takes on Winston-Salem right-hander Terry Doyle, with first pitch at 7:03 p.m. Barthmaier won his last four decisions to end the regular season for the P-Nats, going 4-1...

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball announced the tentative schedule for next season. It reminds me of being at college in the midst of gearing up for finals and papers when the class schedule for the next term would finally come out. I was always so happy to be able to start planning ahead and preparing for the next semester. Yes, I was a bit of a dork but it's exciting, isn't it? So, what do we know about next season? Despite the fact that we'll be bundled up for the home...

...the segment that ran on O's Xtra last night with Brady Anderson and Luke Scott? Former Oriole Brady Anderson headed into the batting cages with current O's slugger Luke Scott to work through a hitting drill and to take a look at Scott's home run swing. It's a short video, but fun to get a behind the scenes look at a former Oriole working casually in the cages with a current player, and knowing how methodical Scott's approach to the game is, it's neat to have an inside look at how he...

Blame Yunel Escobar. If he didn't hit a liner off Brian Matusz's left triceps Tuesday night, the Orioles might have a streak of nine straight quality starts right now. We don't know how well Matusz would have done had he stayed in that game, but he's been pitching well, so I'd like his chances to get it done. O's starting pitching has gone from good to great. Here are the latest numbers: *ERA of 0.56 in the Toronto series. *ERA of 0.61 over last five games. *Starters are 5-0, 1.66 the...

The Orioles haven't won five straight series, something they'll try to accomplish this weekend, since Aug. 4-18, 1998. They went 2-0 vs. Detroit, 2-1 at Minnesota, 2-1 at Tampa Bay, 3-1 at Cleveland and 2-0 versus Minnesota. We tend to remember it being all bad when Ray Miller managed. I mentioned last night that the Orioles hadn't played a nine-inning game in under two hours since May 25, 2005 versus Seattle. That one also lasted 1:55. Rodrigo Lopez beat Jamie Moyer, 3-1, before an...

After one inning tonight, Brad Bergesen had thrown 20 pitches and allowed a homer. We didn't know then that he would need just 75 more pitches over the next eight innings and that he would pitch an at times dominant game vs. Toronto. But Bergesen produced his second complete game of the year and third of his career, with a 95-pitch, seven-hitter as the Orioles beat Toronto 3-1 to complete a three-game sweep. He threw 68 of his 95 pitches for strikes, with no walks and three...

Tonight's game was completed in 1 hour, 55 minutes. The anthems took longer. The Orioles hadn't played a nine-inning game in under two hours since May 25, 2005 vs. Seattle. That game also lasted 1:55. Showalter joked about all the smiling faces in the interview room. We're easy to please. Showalter wasn't going to yank Brad Bergesen after eight innings, though he played all the scenarios in his head. "You think about it. You know where they are in the order, but I thought he...