josh hamilton

Former Orioles left-handed reliever Brian Matusz was back home in Arizona on Wednesday contemplating the next step in his baseball career.

Jason Heyward has reportedly agreed to an eight-year contract worth $184 million with the Chicago Cubs, which might be a sign of the baseball apocalypse.

This year, Dan Duquette promised to be proactive and he delivered on that promise with the pre-winter meetings deal for Mark Trumbo, who probably isn't going to make anyone forget Chris Davis if the Orioles lose the bidding war for this year's team MVP but would be a reasonable facsimile under the circumstances.

The last time the voting populace elected a Seattle Mariners designated hitter as an All-Star Game starter, the club won 93 games and finished in second place in the American League West.

The All-Star Game will have a Kansas City flavor, just not as much as it appeared last month. And the hometown Reds can celebrate a starter, too, despite Cincinnati's sorry season.

The Texas Rangers are not the homer-happy club that they were during their glory years a few seasons ago, ranking fifth of 15 American League teams this year. But something about Camden Yards brings out that Texas power. On Tuesday the Rangers hit four homers for a second consecutive night to beat the Orioles, 8-6, before an announced 27,370. It was the seventh time since 2005 that the Rangers have homered at least four times in a game in Baltimore.

Former Orioles minor leaguer Eduardo Rodriguez beats the Texas Rangers in his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox

Rookie right-hander Kevin Gausman's bid for perfection ended in the fifth inning, but he still was pretty good Wednesday night in the Orioles' 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels at Camden Yards.

A nail-biter against the Los Angeles Angels stretched into extra innings before the Orioles prevailed with a 7-6 victory in the 12th on a walk-off homer by third baseman Manny Machado.

The Orioles bullpen couldn't hold the lead handed to it by right-hander Chris Tillman, though, as the Angels rallied for two runs in the eighth for their major league-leading 31st comeback win.

Sometimes shadows at certain ballparks play a factor depending on game time. The way a batted ball carries can be different whether it is day or night. And in Monday's 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels, the Orioles learned about a certain nuance of Angel Stadium of Anaheim the hard way.

The Orioles have optioned right-handed relief pitcher Preston Guilmet to Triple-A Norfolk in order to make roster space for right-hander Miguel Gonzalez, who will start tonight against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

In Monday night's series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, Adam Jones hit a pair of two-run homers for his fifth career multihomer game, providing the Orioles with all the offense they needed in a 4-2 victory at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Adam Jones' tweets about having a banana thrown at him Sunday by a fan at AT&T Park have made the incident a national topic of conversation, and the Giants today issued an apology to the Orioles center fielder.

John Kruk, who will be part of ESPN¿s broadcast of the Home Run Derby, says Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is the favorite "without question" to win the event at Citi Field on Monday night.

Twice in two nights, Orioles closer Jim Johnson faced off against one of the most intimidating lineups in the major leagues, and twice in two nights, Johnson notched the save.

One night after Camden Yards was transformed into a slipping, sliding mud bowl by heavy rainstorms, the Orioles played one of their crispest games of the season on a pleasant baseball Tuesday evening in Baltimore.

But the timing was perfect for the Orioles, who scored two runs through monsoon-like rain in the bottom of the sixth, then held on following a two-hour, 14-minute rain delay for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels that was completed just 10 minutes before midnight.

The Orioles have also been limiting the damage done by opposing bats because of when they give up home runs.

The Orioles will win if play doesn't resume today.

The Orioles exploded in a six-run seventh inning that featured two-run homers by Steve Pearce and Chris Davis.

Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman made history on Wednesday night, becoming the first National League player to hit three or more homers at Camden Yards.

With the opportunity to end their three-city, 11-game West Coast road trip with a series win in Anaheim, the Orioles overcame an early two-run deficit to beat the Angels 8-4 on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium.

Chris Tillman's homecoming was a memorable one as he turned in one of his most dominating starts of his big league career, allowing just three hits over eight scoreless innings to lead the Orioles to a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of this four-game series.

Each Wednesday, Baltimore Sun blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Baltimore Orioles.

Signs abound that the enthusiasm from last fall — when the club broke a 15-year streak of losing records and postseason whiffs — has carried forward to a new season, which starts Tuesday in Tampa Bay.

Orioles lefty Brian Matusz is hoping to springboard back into the starting rotation after embracing a reliever role and becoming an integral part of the Orioles sealing their first playoff berth in 15 years.

Stephen Strasburg surrendered three hits over two innings -- including a single and home run to the first two batters he faced -- in his first action since Sept. 7.

We're a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting to the Orioles' spring training camp in Sarasota, Fla. Here's a look at what some of the national media outlets have been writing about the Orioles in the recent days.

Manager Buck Showalter and team owner Peter Angelos continue to meet and have talks toward completion of a multi-year extension.

That the Boston Red Sox are talking to free-agent outfielder Adam LaRoche, which was reported Wednesday, isn't exactly new.

Now that the Blue Jays continue to load up this offseason -- agreeing to acquire NL Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey from the Mets pending signing him to an extension -- I¿m continuing to get questions about why the Orioles are being so quiet.

The Orioles made the Nate McLouth signing official on Thursday and, technically, that counts as a fairly important move for the club this offseason.

The news broke this afternoon that the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a five-year, $125 million deal, pending a physical, with talented but troubled slugger Josh Hamilton.

I believe the Orioles will make a trade ¿ either here or within a few days of the meetings.

You'll hear a lot of names this week. You may hear about the Baltimore Orioles' revived interest in Josh Hamilton. Don't believe it.

What I want from you is one name -- the one player you think the Orioles will end up with when all of the offseason dust settles. I can¿t imagine they land a Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke, but if you disagree, then go ahead and make that your choice.

This season's Most Valuable Oriole, center fielder Adam Jones, placed sixth in this year's American League Most Valuable Player voting.

The annual Silver Slugger awards are being announced tonight and while Orioles outfielder Adam Jones has a shot at winning the honor for the first time in his career, but it looks like this will be the 15th straight season that the Orioles come away from the awards empty handed.

Josh Hamilton's stats and position are a definite fit for the Orioles. The money Hamilton likely will command and the baggage that goes with him is not.

Showalter was announced Wednesday night as one of three finalists for the Baseball Writers' Association of America's award after leading the Orioles to a 93-69 record and their first playoff appearance since 1997.

The Orioles head into free agency — which starts in earnest Saturday with free agents permitted to negotiate with all 30 teams for the first time this offseason — in a much different situation than this time last year. Executive vice president Dan Duquette is not only in place as club's decision-maker, but he seems to be established as a man with a plan.

What they're saying about the Orioles