john axford

The Orioles allowed two two-run homers in the eighth inning in their third straight loss after the All-Star break.

Trey Mancini fouled a pitch off his hand in the sixth inning on Wednesday but remained in the game.

Season previews of the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.

Grant Balfour's two-year, $15 million deal with the Orioles is now in major jeopardy, after team doctors expressed concern with Balfour's right shoulder during his physical, according to industry sources.

The lobby at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort quickly emptied out as Major League Baseball's winter meetings ended Thursday. While the Orioles only added a pair of Rule 5 draft picks this week, the club continued efforts to land a free-agent closer.

Orioles are one of three clubs with offers out to Grant Balfour

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. ¿ The clock is ticking for the Orioles. We¿ve reached the final day of the winter meetings and the O's are still empty-handed.

A CBSSports.com report surfaced Wednesday evening that the club made offers to closer Grant Balfour and Nelson Cruz. An industry source said while the Orioles' discussions with Balfour were progressing on Wednesday night, their reported pursuit of Cruz was exaggerated.

As the clock strikes noon on Day 3 of the winter meetings, the Orioles are still quiet.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette suppressed speculation that the club was nearing a deal with a free-agent closer on Tuesday at baseball's winter meetings.

The Orioles continue their search for a new closer to replace Jim Johnson, but manager Buck Showalter said the club has yet to focus on a certain player.

The Orioles remain interested in free-agent relief pitcher John Axford as the potential replacement for closer Jim Johnson.

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is shopping for a closer, among other things, at this week's winter meetings here at the Walt Disney World Resort.

The Orioles traded Jim Johnson so they could use his projected salary elsewhere. But they won't have much left if they buy another closer.

While the Orioles' trade of closer Jim Johnson offered more questions than answers, Dan Duquette insisted Tuesday that the deal can't truly be evaluated for the next several weeks.

If you went to bed early last night, you woke up this morning to the news that the Orioles suddenly have an opening at closer.

With one click of his laptop mouse, Bill Squadron, the head of Bloomberg Sports, shows every pitch thrown to Orioles centerfielder Adam Jones this season. It shows a strike zone full more than 1000 marks of different colors and shapes ¿ much like abstract art, Squadron jokes. One click later, it graphic shows the 600-some fastballs thrown to Jones. Another click and it¿s down to 200 pitches that show pitches with one out. Then, Squadron filters the data to show just home runs and it¿s down to three dots. The mouse pointer find one of the three dots and up comes a video of Jones¿ home run against Pirates pitcher Brad Lincoln on June 12.