American League

Dave Boswell, a former Minnesota Twins pitcher who led the American League in winning percentage in 1966 and ended his career with the Orioles, died of a heart attack Monday at his Joppatowne home. He was 67. Born in Baltimore, he was a 1963 graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. A Baltimore Sun article in 1967 said that in his senior year there, "he was followed by a pack of major league scouts. " According to news accounts, he was whipped into condition by his father, Buck Boswell, a Baltimore steelworker, and an uncle who had played for the International League Orioles.

First baseman Chris Davis was voted the American League Player of the Month for April, becoming the first Oriole to earn that honor since Melvin Mora in August 2008. Davis hit .348 (32-for-92) with eight doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBIs, 19 runs scored and 16 walks in 27 games last month. The 27-year-old first baseman finished first in the league in slugging percentage (.728) and total bases (67), tied for first in homers and RBIs, second in extra-base hits (17), fourth in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage (.442)

Quote: "I felt comfortable, but it was a little weird. It's a long run from right field to the dugout. I was just lucky I didn't get any balls hit to me." - White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin, who played the outfield for the first time in his major-league career It's a fact: Cristian Guzman leads the majors with 12 triples, four off the Twins record by Hall of Famer Rod Carew in 1977. Who's hot: Bernie Williams has hit safely in the first 12 games of the Yankees' 13-game road trip and is 23-for-51 (.451)

The Orioles' improbable run to the postseason wasn't enough to earn Buck Showalter the American League Manager of the Year Award. Up until Tuesday evening's announcement on the MLB Network, the race between Showalter and Oakland A's manager Bob Melvin for the AL's top manager of 2012 seemed too close to call. Both were equally deserving and both led their teams to storybook seasons that captivated baseball. The award was decided by a mere couple of votes, Melvin beat Showalter in a vote of 28 AL market Baseball Writers' Association of America voters.

Pop quiz: What do two baseball fans do if they have four hours to kill?Answer: Go to an American League game.Since coming to Detroit last spring and getting an up-close-and-personal view of American League baseball, I am totally convinced that I don't like the AL's style of play.Boring, slow and tired are the best ways to describe the AL. Some games last so long that your 8-year-old son could return home with five o'clock shadow.You don't think the games are too long? Then why do some teams hold "Soup and Blanket" night in late September?

The Orioles needed a last-week winning streak to avoid the third 100-loss campaign in team history, their first since 1988. They were assured of a 12th straight losing season 3 1/2 weeks ago, even before the club dropped 13 straight September games, the longest losing streak in the major leagues in 2009 and the third longest in team history. Not only are the Orioles firmly situated in last place - they're 39 games back of the American League East-winning New York Yankees and 12 behind the fourth-place Toronto Blue Jays - they have also clinched the worst record in the AL. They were overmatched on the road (25-56)

PITTSBURGH -- If conventional wisdom had prevailed, the 77th All-Star Game would have been a slugfest won by the ever-so-dominant American League. Balls would have been flying out of PNC Park and names like Ortiz and Rodriguez and Pujols would have been slowly circling the bases at will, spinning the scoreboard the way it had been done the past four years. Once again, though, baseball threw convention a curve. Pitchers ruled until the ninth inning, when possibly the sport's most unheralded hitting star tripled with two outs and two strikes to give the AL a 3-2 win and extend its All-Star unbeaten streak to 10 games.

HOUSTON - Roger Clemens had been such a huge presence at this week's All-Star festivities, you half-expected the roof to open at Minute Maid Park last night so a helicopter could deliver him to the mound for the first pitch. By the time the first inning ended, however, Clemens must have wished he could dig himself a hole and disappear. Pitching in his hometown, for his home team, in his home ballpark, The Rocket gave up six first-inning runs and the National League never recovered. With home runs from Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and David Ortiz, the American League rolled to a 9-4 victory before a crowd of 41,886 that had come for a coronation and witnessed a flogging.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Step away from baseball reality for a moment. Forget what you know about the sport. Abandon logic. Instead, envision the baseball impossible: Neither the New York Yankees nor the Boston Red Sox make the 2005 playoffs. Neither one represents the American League in the World Series. Assume the two superpowers take their bats, their balls and their combined $335 million payrolls and go home. Maybe their aging rotations break down or their multitude of millionaires clashes in the clubhouse or key injuries ravage their offenses.

MINNEAPOLIS - The commissioner of baseball stepped inside their house last night, basking in the postseason glow - or maybe it was the overhead lighting - and expressing his gratitude for their mere existence. With their futures so uncertain only a few months ago, the Minnesota Twins have become hardened enough to deal with anything. They weren't sent to the major-league graveyard, they weren't too distracted to win their division, and they weren't about to let the Anaheim Angels take early command of the American League Championship Series.

Lee MacPhail, a Hall of Fame baseball executive who served as the Orioles' general manager from 1959 to 1965, died Thursday evening at his home in Delray Beach, Fla. He was 95. Mr. MacPhail, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998, represented the middle of a four-generation baseball dynasty. His father, Larry, was also a Hall of Fame executive. His son Andy became the Orioles' top baseball executive from 2007 to 2011 after serving in similar roles for the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs.

NEW YORK - The Orioles have done the improbable so many times this year that it's starting to seem commonplace, so why wouldn't they suddenly be standing on the threshold of the American League Championship Series? They managed to sneak out of the Bronx on Thursday night with another in their amazing collection of extra-inning victories and have set up the delectable possibility of another wild and crazy champagne celebration Friday in the bowels of Yankee Stadium. It's hard to imagine anything matching the full-contact free-for-all that took place at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington last Friday night, but it's also impossible to predict how an Orioles team will react if they vanquish their most storied rival in the stadium that is considered by many to be the center of the baseball universe.

Here's a look at how our Orioles Insiders see the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees playing out: Eduardo A. Encina Orioles in 5 Can't pick against the Orioles now. The O's will feed off the crowd today, as will Game 1 starter Jason Hammel, who fought to get healthy in time for this moment. I like the idea of going with Miguel Gonzalez in Game 3 in Yankee Stadium in a huge momentum game. He's shown he can win there. In my eyes, the Orioles only need to win one of two at Camden Yards.

Orioles fans were still bubbling Saturday morning, many clad in orange while going for their morning jog or cup of joe, basking in the baseball glow that took more than a decade to shine on the city. "It's been rejuvenating the city," said James Parsons , 33, of Locust Point as he and his family took a walk to the Fort Avenue Starbucks. "It's been rough because it's been 15 years since they've been relevant. " Parson and his wife, Sarah, chuckled as her 1-year-old son Brandon, bedecked in Orioles gear played with his hat. The couple was just discussing baby-sitting plans as they look forward to using the Yankees game tickets they secured.

Here is the Orioles' schedule for the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees: Game 1 (Sunday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m., TBS): Yankees at Orioles Game 2 (Monday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m., TBS): Yankees at Orioles Game 3 (Wednesday, Oct. 10 at TBA, TBS): Orioles at Yankees Game 4* (Thursday, Oct. 11 at TBA, TBS): Orioles at Yankees Game 5* (Friday, Oct. 12 at TBA, TBS): Orioles at Yankees * if necessary

The Orioles and Rangers lineups are up for tonight's one-game American League wild-card playoff in Arlington. The Orioles lineup is pretty much representative of what it has been the last part of this season. Ryan Flaherty is starting at second base. No other even slight surprises. Here are the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Jim Thome DH Mark Reynolds 1B Ryan Flaherty 2B Manny Machado 3B Joe Saunders P Here are the Rangers: Ian Kinsler 2B Elvis Andrus SS Josh Hamilton LF Adrian Beltre 3B Nelson Cruz RF Michael Young 1B Mike Napoli DH Geovany Soto C Craig Gentry CF Yu Darvish P To see the full 25-man rosters, click here.

Free agent left-hander Randy Wolf is flying into Baltimore on Wednesday evening and will sign a contract with the Orioles, according to a source. Wolf, 36, was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers this season before being released Aug. 22. He was not claimed on waivers, and therefore was eligible to sign with anyone for the prorated major league minimum. He has to be in the organization by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason. Given his experience - he has appeared in 371 big-league games and made 366 starts in a 14-season career - he obviously will be signing in Baltimore to be on the 25-man roster.

The Orioles' 7-3 loss to the Kansas City Royalson Saturday night was a necessary reminder of why the franchise hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years: It drops games it should win. The O's are 61-53. They're just a half game behind Tampa Bay and Oakland for a wild-card spot with 48 games remaining. Yet just like they've done so many times in the past, they continue to shoot themselves in the foot. The Royals have the third-worst record in the American League and none of their starters have an ERA below 4.3. The O's, meanwhile, entered Thursday's series opener on a tear.