The Orioles have released eight minor leaguers, seven of which played in their Dominican Summer League program last season. There are likely to be more releases coming since the O's will have two fewer minor league teams next season as they cut back to one, not two clubs, in the Dominican and they have also moved out of Bluefield. The players that were released are: *C Moises Beltre, 20 years old, who hit .182-1-10 in 21 games. *C Carlos Paez, 19 years old, who hit .151-0-9 in 44...

These mornings roll around much too fast in my household. The Thanksgiving holiday can't come soon enough. School's are closed for the entire week. I shall rejoice. Reports keep surfacing that the Orioles are actively pursuing Rockies left-hander Jorge de la Rosa. Troy Renck uses the word "aggressive" in his tweet. I'm aggressively trying to avoid using the word "tweet," but it's unavoidable. As so often happens, I'm left to ponder how De la Rosa would fit on this club. Is he the...

MASN is once again broadcast home to the 19th annual BB&T Classic, the annual showcase of the region's most talented young players. The 2013 line-up has been announced! The Classic will showcase long-time host universities, University of Maryland and George Washington University, plus A10 rookie George Mason University and Big 12 powerhouse University of Oklahoma. The doubleheader will be played on Sunday, December 8th, 2013, and will benefit the Children's Charities Foundation (CCF). For...

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa hit for the cycle Tuesday for his team Leones de Ponce in Puerto Rico. "It was really exciting and a lot of fun," says Espinosa. "It was funny because my Uncle Bob always use to joke with me to call him when I hit for the cycle. So I was thinking about him after the game and I gave him a call. He just started laughing." Espinosa hit a home run, drew a walk, smacked a triple, then a double and finished off the cycle with a single. It was the...

So Buck Showalter didn't get a single vote for AL manager of the year. My reaction? I didn't expect him to. The award is for manger of the year, not manager of the last two months. Buck would have been a strong contender for that. Don't worry, this is no lack of respect for Buck or the Orioles. You just can't win this award when you manage just 57 games. Well, maybe if you went 57-0, but how likely is that? I'm sure some readers and fans may find a reason to be upset over this, but...

Britt's call for FCC-sanctioned arbitration rings hollow in light of refusal to abide by arbitrators' rulings Return Major League Baseball to North Carolina Testifying today before the Senate Commerce Committee, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt lauded himself for "asking the FCC... to update its rules with new measures that would protect consumers, such as interim carriage and dispute resolution procedures." Britt's comments today echoed his call one year ago when he offered to...

Ron Gardenhire has been named the American League's Manager of the Year, finishing ahead of Ron Washington by 27 points. Buck Showalter didn't receive a single vote. He was a little late jumping into the pool. Here are the results: Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota Twins 108 Ron Washington, Texas Rangers 81 Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays 44 Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox 13 Cito Gaston, Toronto Blue Jays 5 Joe Girardi, New York Yankees 1 Bud Black edged Dusty Baker by one point...

Let me start by repeating that I am, for the most part, against trading young pitching. Not in every case and there are probably some deals that could really help the O's where they just have to part with a young arm or arms. But, if they have any interest in getting a top talent like Adrian Gonzalez or Prince Fielder in a deal, there is no way they can avoid dealing some young pitching, I don't think. But here is the key reason the O's should not deal any young pitching right now. ...

If you play Japanese Fantasy Baseball, former Orioles pitcher Hayden Penn remains eligible for your draft. He re-signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines. Penn was victimized by more bizarre physical setbacks than any player I've covered. Three immediately come to mind: Sprained ankle while carrying boxes down steps at spring training, appendectomy, impaled by piece of broken bat. He wasn't attacked by sharks on Fort Lauderdale Beach, so his luck occasionally changed for the better. Does...

Former Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate is currently in negotiations with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Nippon Professional Baseball League and could be taking his professional career in a new direction - one that leads outside the U.S. No deal has been reached, but he's considering a move to Japan and a fresh start. Sarfate became a minor league free agent and declined a chance to stay in the Orioles' organization after they failed to purchase his contract during the summer. He went 2-2...