Josh Land

Opposite dugout: Tigers finding their way in lackluster AL Central

May 15, 2017, 7:28pm

Orioles

Opposite dugout: Tigers finding their way in lackluster AL Central

Manager: Brad Ausmus (4th season) Record: 18-18 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: LF Juston Upton (.259 average with 8 HR, 20 RBIs), 1B Miguel Cabrera (.238 average with 4 HR, 14 RBIs), 3B Nicholas Castellanos (.234 average with 22 RBIs, 34 hits), RHP Michael Fulmer (4-1, 2.54 ERA), RHP Jordan Zimmermann (3-2 with 6.28 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: First meeting (2-5 in 2016) Pitching probables: May 16: LHP Wade Miley vs. LHP Matt Boyd, 7:10 p.m., MASN2May 17: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez vs. RHP...

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Marty Niland: Ideal closer for Nats might already be on the roster

May 15, 2017, 5:02am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Ideal closer for Nats might already be on the roster

Sunday was another torturous day for Nationals fans as they watched the team's erratic late-inning relief corps blow leads in both ends of a split doubleheader, wasting fine performances from starters Gio Gonzalez and Max Scherzer. Only Michael A. Taylor's eighth-inning homer--a shot that glanced off the left-field foul pole--and Matt Albers' second appearance of the day saved the Nats from a sweep at the hands of a Phillies team that entered the day trailing the Nats by nine games in the...

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Andrew Stetka: Mora a bright spot during otherwise dark Oriole years

May 15, 2017, 4:51am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Mora a bright spot during otherwise dark Oriole years

Orioles fans didn't have a whole lot to cheer about between 1998 and 2011. That's 14 years of losing, met with a lot of disappointment and sitting in the cellar of the American League East. There were few bright spots, but one of them was Melvin Mora, who spent about 10 years in Baltimore. As it turns out, Mora decided to spend more than that in the area. Mora made a decision to settle down in Harford County during his playing days. Despite spending time with the Rockies and Diamondbacks...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: Baseball trilogy by Harold Seymour

May 14, 2017, 2:18pm

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: Baseball trilogy by Harold Seymour

A great treat to share the Hitting the Books page with a fellow play-by-play announcer - in this case, Bob Carpenter, the television voice of the Nationals on MASN. As Bob says, the baseball history books by Harold Seymour that Bob presents were indeed on the shelf in the broadcast booth. I had told Bob the night before I wanted to do a segment with him and he came back the next day and said the books he wanted to talk about were right behind him. From the obituary for Harold Seymour in the New...

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#LetsGoRendon: CareFirst Fan Challenge returns featuring Anthony Rendon

May 13, 2017, 4:17pm

Nationals

#LetsGoRendon: CareFirst Fan Challenge returns featuring Anthony Rendon

The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Fan Challenge is back! And look who's stepping to the plate this year ... Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon! We're leaving the actual challenge up to you, so take him on in anything! Think you can beat Tony Two Bags at tic-tac-toe? Can you take down the third baseman at cornhole, checkers or a cook-off? Maybe a board game or bocce? Whatever it is, tweet us @masnNatonals with pictures, videos, descriptions, etc. of your challenge using #LetsGoRendon. The...

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Common sports injuries infographic (via Johns Hopkins Medicine)

May 12, 2017, 11:07am

Orioles

Common sports injuries infographic (via Johns Hopkins Medicine)

Stay on your game no matter your sport. Learn how to prevent common sports injuries, and what to do if you get hurt. Presented by Johns Hopkins Medicine. Presented by Johns Hopkins Medicine. Learn more here.

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David Huzzard: Mike Rizzo's mistake with the bullpen

May 12, 2017, 6:28am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Mike Rizzo's mistake with the bullpen

The Nationals bullpen for the next couple months will be the main focus of the club because it is the glaring weakness of an otherwise near flawless team. The rest of the Nationals roster is a close-to-perfect construction of what a baseball team should be. I now sympathize with Mike Rizzo because I understand the mistake he made in the construction of the Nats bullpen. It wasn't that the Nats were unwilling to spend. They tried very hard to give away their money this offseason, but relievers...

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Zach Wilt: Celebrating Dylan Bundy Day

May 12, 2017, 5:07am

Orioles

It's only mid-May, but I am happy to report that Dylan Bundy Day is officially a thing for Baltimore Orioles fans. Congrats, guys, we've made it happen. Every five days (or so), myself and fellow Orioles enthusiasts celebrate a day in which our team's best starting pitcher takes the mound. We wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and well rested from a good night's sleep, we're eager to watch our team that evening, and we feel confident in our starting pitcher's ability to earn a...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Undoing Project"

May 11, 2017, 4:53pm

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Undoing Project"

"The Undoing Project" is from Michael Lewis, the author of "Moneyball," and again we have the exploration of the way we think and why we make decisions, only this is on a level far beyond selecting players for a baseball team. "Moneyball" was the story was of Billy Beane and the use of statistics and software as a new way of defining the worth of a player to a team. Lewis told the Guardian after writing "Moneyball," "I'd set out to tell a story about the way markets worked, or failed...

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gary thorne hitting the books orioles

Yard Work: Episode 5

May 10, 2017, 7:08am

Nationals Orioles

Hey, O's fans! Welcome to the crossover edition of the Yard Work podcast. This week, I'm joined by District 34 podcast hosts Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr as the Battle of the Beltways gets underway for the 2017 season. It's become a rivalry featuring two of the game's top teams, and this year is no exception. Both the Nationals and Orioles boast two of the best records in baseball. The Orioles got a terrific outing from starter Kevin Gausman in Monday's series opener, helping the Birds to a...

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Dillon Atkinson: All aboard the Norfolk shuttle

May 10, 2017, 5:28am

Orioles

Dillon Atkinson: All aboard the Norfolk shuttle

In the past couple of seasons, depth for the back end of the Orioles rotation and front end of the bullpen has been fairly thin. For the most part, it was Tyler Wilson, Mike Wright, T.J. McFarland and - for 2016 only - Vance Worley. In 2017, Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has made sure manager Buck Showalter has had more options to choose from, and the O's skipper is using all that he can. Wilson and Wright are still around, joined by Alec Asher, Logan...

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Luke Erickson: Sharing some minor league travel tips

May 09, 2017, 1:51pm

Nationals

Luke Erickson: Sharing some minor league travel tips

One of the joys of following minor league baseball is going to see your favorite team on the road. Since 2006, I've been to the stadiums of eight of the nine opposing teams in the Single-A Carolina League, and every Nationals affiliate north of Florida (including short-season Single-A Vermont in 2010). This week, I'm aiming to take care of the ninth Carolina League stadium (Buies Creek) while I'm on vacation here in North Carolina, though it'll be against the Salem Red Sox (the vacation was...

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Andrew Stetka: Britton's injury reveals disturbing trend, bigger test for O's

May 08, 2017, 5:35am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Britton's injury reveals disturbing trend, bigger test for O's

As if the Orioles haven't been faced with enough challenges in the first month or so of the season, they'll now stare down another tough task. Zach Britton's latest setback is a tough pill to swallow for Orioles fans, and not just those that (cough, cough) may have him on their fantasy team. It was devastating to see the dominant closer go down on April 16 with the initial indications of the forearm strain. When he was reinstated last week and made two appearances in non-save situations,...

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Marty Niland: A Nats fan's response to a youngster in search of a team

May 08, 2017, 5:16am

Nationals

Marty Niland: A Nats fan's response to a youngster in search of a team

Baseball fans may have heard the story of Pete Van Vleet of Ashland, Va., who wrote to every major league team, asking each to make a case for his newborn son, Jack, to be their fan. The 42-year-old Richmond native, a former colleague at The Associated Press, did not have a home team to root for growing up, and chose the Houston Astros because they were a National League contender in the early 1980s. He wants his kids to choose a team as he did. His 5-year-old daughter, Madeline, roots for the...

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guest blogger guestblogger marty niland nationals nationals buzz ryan zimmerman

Opposite dugout: Orioles using new tricks to produce similar results

May 07, 2017, 7:03pm

Nationals Orioles

Opposite dugout: Orioles using new tricks to produce similar results

Manager: Buck Showalter (8th season) Record: 20-10 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: 3B Manny Machado (.237 average with 8 HR, 21 RBIs); 2B Jonathan Schoop (.296 average with 5 HR, 17 RBIs); CF Adam Jones (.268 average with 33 hits); RHP Dylan Bundy (5-1, 2.17 ERA); LHP Wade Miley (1-1, 2.27 ERA). Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (3-1 in 2016) Pitching probables: May 8: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Kevin Gausman, 7:05 p.m., MASN2May 9: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Ubaldo JimÃ©nez, 7:05 p.m.,...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Hero of the Empire"

May 06, 2017, 1:50pm

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Hero of the Empire"

I guess sometimes you just know. Winston Churchill just knew he was going to be the prime minister of England, and early on he set our to show a nation that he was right for that job. For Churchill, that meant joining the armed forces and looking for trouble. He found it, and that is the subject of Candice Millard's "Hero of the Empire," about the young and not-to-be-deterred Churchill. One would be hard-pressed to believe a story such as this could happen today. The means to leadership...

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gary thorne hitting the books orioles

Zach Wilt: Birds bounce back from ejections, but still deal with ripple effects

May 05, 2017, 5:51am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Birds bounce back from ejections, but still deal with ripple effects

There were many frustrating aspects to umpire Sam Holbrook's decision to eject Kevin Gausman in the bottom of the second during Wednesday night's Orioles-Red Sox game. For starters, Chris Sale threw behind Manny Machado the night before and got nothing more than a warning. Gausman got tossed for plunking Xander Bogaerts on a 77 mph breaking ball without either club receiving warnings from the crew. Who intentionally hits a guy with an off-speed pitch? Gausman's average fastball velocity,...

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David Huzzard: Nats dispelling some back luck by racking up wins

May 05, 2017, 5:34am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Nats dispelling some back luck by racking up wins

Adam Eaton is out for the season, Bryce Harper left yesterday's game with a groin strain, the back end of the rotation is a mess with a career minor leaguer just being inserted as the fifth starter and then there's the bullpen, and I think we all know the problems there. Yet the Nationals are 19-9, the best record in the major leagues. The Nationals are having the same bad luck with starters staying healthy they've always had and now have issues with pitching depth. And yet they just keep...

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Opposite dugout: Phillies coming along, but have plenty to work on

May 04, 2017, 7:45pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Phillies coming along, but have plenty to work on

Manager: Pete Mackanin (3rd season) Record: 12-15 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 2B CÃ©sar HernÃ¡ndez (.336 average with 39 hits), 3B Maikel Franco (.231 average with 5 HR, 25 RBIs), RHP Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 3.18 ERA), RHP HÃ©ctor Neris (0-1, 3 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: 3-3 Pitching probables: May 5: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. RHP Nick Pivetta, 7:05 p.m., MASNMay 6: TBA vs. RHP Vince Velasquez, 7:05 p.m., MASNMay 7: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Jeremy Hellickson, 2:35 p.m.,...

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MASN returning to WTMD's First Thursday concerts

May 03, 2017, 2:52pm

Orioles

MASN returning to WTMD's First Thursday concerts

Next Up: The next WTMD First Thursday show is Thursday, June 1. Visit us at Canton Waterfront Park! The weather is warming up and summer will be here before we know it. To help get you excited for warm, summer nights at The Yard, we'll be on-site Thursday, May 4 for the first of WTMD's First Thursday concerts of the season! MASN's giveaway tent will be set up for the concert at Canton Waterfront Park. The concert is gearing up to be bigger and better than ever with two stages. All evening...