The O's may not be battling their way through postseason play this October, but for O's fans abroad this time of year, the voice of the postseason might start to feel familiar. Gary Thorne, your very own O's play-by-play announcer on MASN, was recently given the same role to play in the international broadcasts of the 2010 ALCS and World Series. Starting today, Thorne will work together with Cy Young Award-winner Rick Sutcliffe to bring baseball fans from 219 countries and territories and...

Reliever Kam Mickolio allowed one hit, threw a wild pitch and struck out two batters in one inning for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. Twelve of his 16 pitches were strikes. The Scorpions are trailing the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 2-0, in the sixth inning. Xavier Avery and Greg Miclat are a combined 0-for-5. More important, I wonder what Phoenix's mascot would look like if the team was known as the Dessert Dogs. Mickolio was touted as a future closer back in spring...

There's positive news on catcher Jesus Flores' progress in instructional league competition this month in Viera. Nationals hitting coordinator Rick Schu says it would be huge to have Flores back 100 percent after shoulder surgery. "Boy, I sure hope so. I remember watching Flo in 2007. He was a Diamondback killer. That guy can hit. He has an uncanny way of getting the barrel on the ball. He hits the ball the other way, battles with two strikes. He has some power. It would be...

It's been said and asked before about Nick Markakis by those with the Orioles and some others from outside the organization. Why doesn't he pull the ball more and hit a bunch of homers over that right-field scoreboard? Some think that short right-field porch should become a regular landing place for Markakis homers. That is, if he would turn on the ball more and drive the inside pitch to right. We know Markakis loves to hit to left and left center and has gap-to-gap power. But he can...

The most important item first: Longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler remains hospitalized at the University of Maryland Medical Center after undergoing successful surgery on Oct. 6 to remove a benign brain tumor, but a team official tells me that doctors are pleased with his progress. We still don't know when they'll allow Tyler to return home, but his continued improvement is encouraging news. According to Bodog, the odds of the Phillies winning the World Series stand at 5/4. The...

Gary Thorne, the play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles on MASN, will also provide play-by-play for Major League Baseball's international broadcasts of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and World Series this fall. Beginning on Friday, Thorne will team up with Cy Young Award-winner Rick Sutcliffe to bring October baseball to fans in 219 countries and territories, as well as to the more than one million United States and Canadian Armed Forces personnel stationed around the...

When manager Buck Showalter was asked late in the season about his timetable for announcing which coaches would return in 2011, he said it would be "sooner rather than later." It's my fault for not getting a clear definition. This week would be considered "sooner," as opposed to after the World Series, which would fall into the "later" category. Showalter underwent the first of his two knee surgeries on Tuesday. He was supposed to return to Baltimore before the second procedure. Just...

There is no spin or excuses that can explain the fact the Orioles had just four players listed on the Baseball America minor league top 20 prospects lists while the rest of the AL East had 56 combined. The O's come up lacking big time here and got blown away by the rest of the division. To me it raises a red flag or two and is cause for concern, but certainly not wide spread panic. It doesn't mean everything the O's are doing is wrong or that they can't produce talent. They do have a...

I checked in with Andy MacPhail to get his thoughts on why the Orioles had so few prospects on the Baseball America minor league top 20 prospects lists. He can see, like we all can, that the O's had just four players listed and it tied Oakland for last in baseball. "The last two drafts, for whatever reason, we've had an inordinate amount of our players hurt, just didn't play a lot. Givens, Townsend. Then you add to the fact that no one is signing until August 15th these days. "But...

Since nothing else seems to be happening today... First baseman Tyler Townsend and third baseman Ryan Adams have two-run singles today for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League. The Scorpions lead the Peoria Saguaros, 7-0, in the sixth inning. Townsend and Adams singled off right-hander Jeremy Hall, who went 6-9 with a 3.52 ERA in 27 starts for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits - yes, I want to see the mascot - of the Southern League. The Biscuits are a Tampa Bay...