This just in: Vladimir Guerrero swung at the first pitch with a runner on third base and two outs in the first inning. He also swung at the third and fourth, striking out to strand Brian Roberts. The Orioles came close to taking a 1-0 lead, but Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira made a leaping catch to rob Derrek Lee. Lee hit another ball to the right side. It's been a fairly common occurrence over the first 10 games. Say what you want about Matt Wieters' offense - and I'm also...

The Orioles must be confident that they'll play tonight, because they've officially recalled Brad Bergesen from Triple-A Norfolk and placed shortstop J.J. Hardy on the disabled list. Bergesen can pitch out of the bullpen tonight if he's needed, and he's slated to start Sunday in Cleveland. Bergesen was optioned to Norfolk over the weekend, but he never reported. He met the club in New York and waited to join the 25-man roster. A postponement tonight most likely would have caused the...

The Washington Capitals begin their quest for the Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday against the New York Rangers. The Capitals have built a young, energetic, coachable, dedicated team through the draft, selected free agency and shrewd trading. They have signed their star players, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, to long-term, market standard contracts. They have embraced and backed their head coach, a 30-year plus minor league veteran who is now the winningest in the NHL since he took over...

The last time I checked, the sky over Yankee Stadium was gray. Looked like it could start pouring any second. Fingers crossed that we actually get to watch some baseball. If it happens, the Orioles will send out the following lineup against the Yankees. It looks the exact same as the one they tried to use last night: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Luke Scott LF Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Matt Wieters C Robert Andino SS Chris Tillman RHP Here's the...

Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay is the opposing starter tonight as the Nationals go for the series win against Philadelphia at Nationals Park. Halladay (1-0, 0.69 ERA) has started the season off, well, like a reigning National League Cy Young Award winner should. In his first two starts, Halladay has allowed only one run on 11 hits in 13 innings while walking one and striking out 13. Halladay was particularly good against the Nationals last season, going 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA in three...

MASN, the television home of the Washington Nationals, will debut a new Nationals-centric baseball show Saturday, April 16. "Nats Talk," co-hosted by veteran Washington, D.C., broadcaster Phil Wood, will air on MASN each Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. The addition of the interactive, two-hour show will expand to nine hours the amount of locally produced baseball talk programming airing each week on the popular regional sports network. "Nats Talk" will follow all the latest news about the...

While I'm waiting to find out whether the Orioles will resume their season or go on hiatus like a low-rated sitcom - I just realized that "Mr. Sunshine" isn't following "Modern Family" tonight on ABC - I wanted to pass along a blog entry from Danny Knobler at cbssports.com. Knobler writes about manager Buck Showalter's attention to detail, and how it often seems to come out of nowhere. Those of us on the beat can relate. We witness this sort of thing just about every day. And I'm sure...

MASN, the television home of the Washington Nationals, will debut a new Nationals-centric baseball show Saturday, April 16. "Nats Talk," co-hosted by veteran Washington, D.C., broadcaster Phil Wood, will air on MASN each Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. The addition of the interactive, two-hour show will expand to nine hours the amount of locally produced baseball talk programming airing each week on the popular regional sports network. "Nats Talk" will follow all the latest news about the...

Some stats, facts and notes to ponder as the Orioles and Yankees hope to begin their rain-delayed series tonight in The Bronx. *The Orioles are 40-26 since Buck Showalter took over as manager. They are six games better than the Yankees during that stretch. *Mark Reynolds is 5-for-9 on the year (.556) when batting with runners in scoring position. His career average is .266 when batting with RISP. *Of the Orioles' 35 runs scored on the year, they have scored 11 in the first three innings and...

For an Orioles fan, deciding on your favorite Yankees player is like deciding on your favorite dental procedure. Nevertheless, I've come to acknowledge, appreciate, and admire - notice I never said like - the talents of Yankees closer Mariano Rivera during the 17 seasons he's been cutting up major league hitters. Rather than breeding contempt, familiarity with one of the game's greatest closers has produced respect. No team is more familiar with Rivera than the Orioles, and Buck Showalter...