Former Oriole executive Jim Duquette's six-year old daughter, Lindsay, is in a battle right now with a foe that's ravaging her young body.

From Roch's blog: "The Duquettes are holding a fundraiser May 31 in the Maryland/DC area aimed to fight a disease known as "Nephrotic Symdrome" that their 6-year-old daughter, Lindsey, still suffers from.

Well, the non-existent rivalry between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles kicks off tonight at the Yard.

What can we say -- right now, no one cares that the team formerly known as the Expos are playing the recently-down-on-their luck Orioles. The reason is simple -- aside from the few people 40 and over who were around to see the Senators and the Orioles face off (and the Senators were bad), there's no real history between the two franchises.

Lest we not forget the role of Peter Angelos in this whole affair.

Once you look at the record of Washington this season and the talent they've got, plus the Orioles' reputation -- it's east to see why no one wants to hype this up.

We need an incident or better yet, the two teams winning to create any interest.

Until that happens, the team that's in my backyard which I see often (the Nationals) are playing the team I rooted for as a youngster and to this very day (the Orioles).

Topics Discussed:

* Are the Orioles, Rays and Marlins for real?

* Goose Gossage's comments about Joba's fist pumps

* Hank Steinbrenner opens his big mouth again.

* Quick hits on Barry Bonds new indictment

Well, one should never count on "The Worldwide Sports Leader" for fair and balanced coverage (sorry, Fox News) unless you play in Boston, New York or Chicago if you're into baseball.

Look at the highlighted portion of the graphic. Do we have a problem here? If I remember correctly, didn't the O's win yesterday? Didn't Jay Payton hit the game-winning grand-slam? I would say Manny Ramirez didn't exactly steal the thunder of the Baltimore Orioles.

Unbelievable...

From today's game, only as Manny can do it. Such a savant, but nothing short of funny...

Manny Ramirez made an over-the-shoulder running catch of Kevin Millar's fly ball to left field in the fourth inning on Wednesday then took the time to high-five a fan in the stands before throwing the ball into the infield to complete a double-play.

Folks, the Yankees are not what they used to be -- at least for right now. With a litany of injuries, along with A-Rod and Posada out, as well as struggles of the young pitching staff, it looks like the Bronx Zoo Part II may be opening up for business.

With a bloated playroll and only 120+ games to go, Hank Steinbrenner mused about the Yankees.

The Oriole Magic video after the game was so bad, it was actually good.

In what will become a classic for years to come, Kevin Millar, Adam Jones, Dennis Sarfate, Jeremy Guthrie and a few other O's were nothing but horrible, but having fun, lip-synced as they pretended to actually play the guitar, drums, etc, danced around in a non-rhythmic fashion, and showed clips of old-school O's players, great moments from the past and the present day.

Photo Gallery - Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles: Balt., Md - May 14, 2008

An unintended consequence of having an Red Sox-Oriole series where both teams are competitive is the jostling and yelling back and of drunken hooligans trying to show some bravado or be loyal to their team.

As if the players on the team care what happens 400 feet away from the action.

Photos of Florida Marlins vs. Washington Nationals - May 11th, 2008 -- Washington, D.C.

The Baltimore Orioles tango with the Boston Red Sox, or as I dub them, the Evil Empire 1A tonight and tomorrow at the Yard.

The Red Sox always play us tough; however, this weekend, the Twins took 3 out of 4 from them and they'll be looking maintain their slim division lead (Tampa is 1/2 game back from first in the AL East right now).

The Orioles took three out of four in Kansas City, and despite the excellent pitching from both the starting and relief corps -- they are still struggling woefully on the offensive front.

According to the AP, The Florida Marlins and shortstop Hanley Ramirez agreed on a contract extension for six years and $70 million. Despite the history with the Marlins of dumping high-value players or trading them, they have decided to put an investment with one of their core players -- in fact, he may be one of the top three in the game.

Many, yes including myself have been very critical of the Florida organization with their high turnover of players and taking the revenues they receive to not reinvest in their team. They scout well and know how to pick young talent, but it seems that the fan base down there are a little disillusioned with the franchise.

Well, let's hope this is a sign of change down there.

People have complained, whined and bitched about the Orioles this week as their nice start came to an abrupt and complete halt; however, tonight showed why we as fans have a lot to look forward to with the new look Baltimore franchise. Daniel Cabrera won his third game — a complete game — thanks to an excellent effort by the tall righty, and Nick Markakis' three run-homer.

Back to Daniel, the kid is now focused and in a way — now in the zone. Granted, we are not only even 1/2 of the way through the season, but if number 40 keeps this up, he will no doubt be the man we hoped he'll be. Then again, he may be dangled on the market too.

There's a bit of stuff to go through in the roundup, but before we any further, Pressbox/MASN/WHFS's Amber Theoharis has a great piece on the art of hitting perhaps inspired by the recent struggles of the Baltimore Orioles. Simply put, she does a fine job explaining more or less why it is so hard to hit a major league pitcher.

I played baseball growing and actually have the ability now to play in a fast-pitch men's league and used to play in a wood bat league a few years ago (let's say it's because of my age - 29).

Needless to say, hitting is very hard thing to and it's why I am sitting in front a computer and spending half my time in a car than being one the privileged few to ever play the game on a professional level.

It's one thing to play in a softball league and get brushed back, it's another to be given the same treatment by a flame thrower going 90+ mph with amazing movement on the ball.

Well, this is the first I've ever done this on this blog, but I'm announcing there'll be a give away -- good one.

What's the prize? A copy of MLB 08: The Show for the Sony Playstation III Console. I did a review on it, and the sponsor was kind enough to give five complimentary copies to give away to readers.

The catch, there's none -- however, what I'd like you to do is tell me your favorite baseball story. It could be about the Orioles or anything encompassing the world of the sport -- just as long as it is about it.