Orioles

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to terms with Florida high school shortstop Manny Machado, the third overall pick in this year's amateur draft. The deal was completed shortly before Monday's midnight deadline. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Machado batted .639 with 12 homers and 56 RBIs in 29 games for Brito Miami Private this season. He also scored 43 runs, hit 27 doubles and stole 17 bases. The No. 3 pick was the Orioles' highest since 1989, when they took pitcher Ben McDonald with the first overall selection.

Don't look now, but the Orioles and Nationals are in first place. I said don't look. As I write this column Friday afternoon, Baltimore (8-5) holds a one-game lead over New York and Tampa Bay in the American League East, and Washington (10-4) has two more victories than second-place Atlanta in the National League East. Nobody should be making their World Series plans just yet, but the first three weeks of this Major League Baseball season certainly have been more exciting than in recent years.

Former Baltimore Orioles standout pitcher Scott McGregor returned to speak at the Hagerstown Area Church Softball League's annual banquet Monday night at Hager Hall. McGregor, who has attended the banquet several times in recent years, brought along former Orioles reliever and 1983 World Series teammate Tippy Martinez to speak as well. The pair spoke about their exploits growing up together in the New York Yankees organization and how they were traded to the Orioles together on June 15, 1976.

Luke Scott felt something old and familiar on Monday. The Baltimore Orioles outfielder had a quick flashback when he walked through the gate to take the field at Halfway Little League. One of the Boys of Summer remembered what it was like to be a boy in summer. “I had no cares in the world,” Scott said about his formative baseball years. “I was just playing baseball to have fun.” Even with all the expertise Scott has gained from years of playing baseball, the idea of enjoying the game topped the list when he spoke to about 90 youth baseball players on the first day of the Orioles in the Outfield Baseball Camp at Martin L. Snook Park.

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Orioles announced Tuesday that they have signed draft selection Josh Cenate of Jefferson High School, W.Va. Terms of the deal were not announced. [cont. from sports page ] Cenate, the Herald-Mail's 1999 co-player of the year along with Keith Herbert of Boonsboro, was the first of three "sandwich picks" that the Orioles had in this year's First Year Player Draft held last month. Cenate was the Orioles' fifth selection and 34th overall. The 6-3, 195-pound left-handed pitcher was 13-1 with an 0.71 ERA in 15 appearances for Jefferson.

ADULT BASEBALL BRUNSWICK, Md. - The Brunswick Orioles added another crown to their 2004 trophy case, beating Perdue of Salisbury, Md., 6-4 for their second straight Maryland State Semi-Pro Baseball Association title. Brunswick, which won the the NABF World Series and Blue Ridge Adult League championships previously this summer, finished its season at 51-7. Jason Mobley was the MVP of the state championship game, going 2-for-5 with a three-run homer for the Orioles.

Even as a major league pitcher, the idea of family isn't wasted on Darren O'Day. He has learned that baseball teams are part of an extended family. And the family is the happiest when it is winning. There are a lot of smiles to go around in Baltimore these days, especially with the Orioles in the thick of a pennant race and seemingly headed for no worse than the franchise's best record and first playoff berth in 15 years. The Orioles' family is built on a common belief this year - that they can really be champions.

BALTIMORE (AP) - The courtship of free-agent pitcher Carl Pavano continued Monday in Baltimore, where the right-hander was escorted through Camden Yards by Orioles executive vice president Jim Beattie. It was the fourth site visited this fall by Pavano, who was 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA with the Florida Marlins in 2004. He has also been wooed by the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and world champion Boston Red Sox. Pavano arrived in Baltimore on Sunday and had dinner with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, Beattie, manager Lee Mazzilli and pitching coach Ray Miller.

SAINT JAMES - Once the Maryland School for the Deaf football team established the run Saturday afternoon, it was seemingly over for No. 7 St. James. Joseph Solano rushed for 155 yards and Ryan Bonheyo added 101 as the Orioles pounded out 306 yards on the ground on the way to a 30-17 victory. Bonheyo scored twice and Solano once for the unbeaten Orioles (3-0). "Their speed killed us. We just weren't able to compensate for it," said St. James coach Chick Meehan. "We just weren't fast enough to keep up with them.

We interrupt this column for a hypothetical news flash. "Marvin's, one of the area's main grocery outlets, has announced it will not be adding any fresh produce to its stores. "According to sources close to the situation speaking on an agreement of anonymity, the chain has decided against the investment because Food Lamb has also moved into the area. Marvin's decided against any restocking because it is unsure of what harm the presence of Food Lamb will do to its business, fearing financial losses.

After the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals each lost in Game 5 of the first round of the 2012 playoffs, fans of both teams have been waiting for Major League Baseball's Opening Day with high expectations. “I'm looking forward to the season and seeing how far we can go,” Orioles fan Fred Parson, 26, of Chambersburg, said Monday. “I think it's time to make that next step and go to the next round of the playoffs.” Mike Mason, 46, of Hagerstown, is a Nationals fan who said he had been waiting for Opening Day all winter.

Adam and Matt Grove grew up in Waynesboro, Pa., and drove from Columbus, Ohio, to see the Baltimore Orioles in the baseball playoffs. The brothers were not going to let the loss Sunday night to the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the best-of-5 American League Divisional Series deter their excitement. And the Groves are not alone. Baltimore's first divisional playoff game in 15 years was on the minds of area residents Monday after the Orioles allowed five runs in the ninth inning in a 7-2 defeat.

Even as a major league pitcher, the idea of family isn't wasted on Darren O'Day. He has learned that baseball teams are part of an extended family. And the family is the happiest when it is winning. There are a lot of smiles to go around in Baltimore these days, especially with the Orioles in the thick of a pennant race and seemingly headed for no worse than the franchise's best record and first playoff berth in 15 years. The Orioles' family is built on a common belief this year - that they can really be champions.

There's no crying in baseball? It was one of those moments when something just happens without any warning or buildup. It was hard to explain why it happened and what sparked it. I shed tears of joy. Yes, is this what I've come to in my mid-40s? Writing my first column in a couple of months about how I've become a bawling, babbling buffoon in middle age? No, this is not what this column is about. It's about baseball, of course. The tears - well at least the lump in my throat, the moistness of my eyes and the sogginess of the sleeve of my T-shirt - arrived last Friday morning as I sat in this very seat at home watching highlights on my laptop of the Orioles beating the Yankees on the night they unveiled the Cal Ripken Jr. statue at Camden Yards.

For the first time since the modern World Series era of Major League Baseball began in 1903, a team from Baltimore and a team from Washington, D.C., could both make the playoffs. “I've been a fan of the Orioles ever since Cal Ripken Jr., and I'm glad to see that they're doing better this year,” Falling Waters, W.Va., resident Cory Penrod, 29, said. “The Orioles and Nationals are proving to everybody that the underdog can come up, and that's what's great about America.” The Baltimore Orioles were 66-55 and in the second wild card position Monday afternoon.

Emily Bolton has a sweet seat for Baltimore Orioles games this year - and an even sweeter job. Bolton, a 2009 Smithsburg High School graduate, is working as an Orioles ball girl this season at Baltimore's Camden Yards. “It's awesome, I love it,” she said. “I really appreciate the opportunity. I've been an Orioles fan my whole life.” Bolton works at about a half-dozen games a month, seated in foul territory on either the first- or third-base line, waiting to field foul balls.

Former Baltimore Orioles standout pitcher Scott McGregor returned to speak at the Hagerstown Area Church Softball League's annual banquet Monday night at Hager Hall. McGregor, who has attended the banquet several times in recent years, brought along former Orioles reliever and 1983 World Series teammate Tippy Martinez to speak as well. The pair spoke about their exploits growing up together in the New York Yankees organization and how they were traded to the Orioles together on June 15, 1976.

Antonio Tobias “Toby” Mendez has been making a new Cal Ripken Jr. in his studio. Mendez's version - in bronze - will be taller than the human version of the Iron Man shortstop and several hundred pounds heavier. The Ripken statue is the last in a series Mendez is creating for the Baltimore Orioles, who are showcasing them in a newly refurbished outfield area at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The first statue, of Frank Robinson, was unveiled on April 28. Former Manager Earl Weaver will be next, on June 30, followed by Jim Palmer,  July 14; Eddie Murray, Aug. 11; Ripken, Sept.

Dylan Bundy knows you have to walk before you can even start to think about running. Maybe that's why the 19-year-old pitcher is able to take everything in stride. Bundy, the Baltimore Orioles' top pitching prospect, continued his march through Single-A competition as he controlled the Hagerstown Suns for five innings - allowing just one hit in a 3-1 win on Sunday for his first professional victory. It was just another step in the right direction. “I'm just taking it day by day,” Bundy said.

With the Baltimore Orioles' pitching prospect expected on the mound at Municipal Stadium on Sunday, the question was, would Orioles fans show up like Washington Nationals fans did when prospects Bryce Harper and rehabilitating starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg played home games with the Hagerstown Suns last year? Orioles fans definitely showed up as there appeared to be more Orioles hats and shirts in the stands than Nats' or even Suns' gear. Whether the crowd was bigger for Dylan Bundy or Harper depended on who was asked, as fans had differing opinions.