national league east

No one can argue that Alex Rodriguez hasn't served his time and isn't entitled to continue his major league career. But his solid presence in the New York Yankees lineup would be a lot easier to swallow if we didn't have to hear daily reports of the beloved baseball heroes he's either joining or supplanting in the record books.

A decade ago, it was nicknamed the "American League Beast," the biggest, baddest division in all of baseball. It featured the sport's two free-spending behemoths and three other talented but inferior teams that seemingly prayed for the gift of realignment to win a title. But the American League East has become — gasp — anyone's race each season, with four clubs winning the division title in the past five years. Only the Toronto Blue Jays haven't captured the crown recently.

The Orioles will open their six-day road trip to New York tonight with the first of two interleague games against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

The first week of the Major League Baseball season didn't go so well for the two local teams, both of whom made the playoffs last year and have fans dreaming of a Beltway World Series again in 2015.

The Atlanta Braves just traded one of the best closers in the league and are conceding the season, which can't be what Nick Markakis was expecting when he signed with them last winter.

After Nick Markakis' comments Wednesday to USA Today, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he had a text-message dialogue with Markakis on Thursday indicating that the outfielder's statements were taken out of context.

Before his departure for the Atlanta Braves, Nick Markakis was one of the Orioles' most respected players because of the way he let his play on the field speak for him.

Laurin Mincy leads the ninth-ranked Maryland women's basketball team past George Washington, 75-65, at the Smith Center in Washington.

Fans of Baltimore-area sports are feeling an excitement they have not felt for years – they can cheer on two teams at the same time in late September and early October.

It's not the Yankees or Red Six but the team from Baltimore that's captured the American League East — and the hearts of local baseball fans

The recent hot stretch has Nationals' fans dreaming of a World Series. And if Washington gets that far they could face Orioles.

The Orioles open their 2015 season on the road at Tampa Bay. Their home opener is Friday April 10 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles entered Saturday with a four-game lead in the American League East but are looking to add a starting pitcher.

The view from the top of the American League East looks mighty fine as Baltimore looks forward to a high-flying second half

The Orioles believe they could meet the Washington Nationals again this year.

The Orioles (50-41) have reached the 50-win mark in their 91st game, the earliest since their wire-to-wire division-winning season of 1997.

If you're a local baseball fan and inspired by a false sense of rivalry, this mostly meaningless last week of the regular season could be boiled down to a battle of the beltways.

With Major League Baseball's trade deadline Wednesday at 4 p.m., Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo does not see the next two days as an opportunity to blow up a struggling team or a chance to spark a late-season push.

Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays all feel they can win American League East in 2013.

The Orioles' improbable run to the postseason wasn¿t enough to earn Buck Showalter the BBWAA American League Manager of the Year Award, but his narrow loss to Oakland's Bob Melvin could take little from savoring a memorable season.

Is Laurel at the center of the Major League Baseball universe? That may be a stretch, but then again it was also far-fetched at the beginning of the season that the Baltimore Orioles would have a winning record let alone make the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

This upcoming stretch will be a good test for the Orioles. The Washington Nationals lead the NL East, the Cleveland Indians lead the AL Central and the Los Angeles Angels are the hottest team in baseball since calling up Mike Trout.

Who would have thought that one of the highlights of the first weekend of interleague play would be the Orioles and the Nationals?

There's no joy right now in Philadelphia, where Phillies fans have to be wondering just what will go wrong next.