Josh Land

Ryan Romano: Schoop improves his situational plate discipline

July 19, 2016, 5:56am

Orioles

Ryan Romano: Schoop improves his situational plate discipline

If you've watched the Orioles on MASN recently, you've likely seen the ad featuring Jonathan Schoop. The announcer provides the denotations for a number of words like "fluke" and "luck," interspersed between clips of the second baseman's more impressive plays, before bragging about some element of his performance. These doubts have always seemed to haunt Schoop, which is why his apparent breakout in 2016 feels so sweet. Through, Schoop had hit .302/.335/.515, by far the best line of his...

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Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline

July 19, 2016, 5:35am

Nationals

Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline

The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and while the trade winds are blowing, we are throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes the best trades you make are the trades you don't. What does that mean? It means that when you are contemplating a trade that does not feel right that it is best to not do it. How many trades would teams want to have back? Plenty. The Orioles want to reverse the deal sending Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Steve Clevenger and Scott...

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Opposite dugout: Yankees have to be considered sellers at deadline

July 18, 2016, 4:24am

Orioles

Opposite dugout: Yankees have to be considered sellers at deadline

Manager: Joe Girardi (9th season) Record: 45-46 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: SS Didi Gregorius (.299 average, 11 HR, 41 RBIs); RF Carlos Beltran (.297 average, 19 HR, 58 RBIs); SP Nathan Eovaldi (7-6, 5.11 ERA); RP Aroldis Chapman (3-0, 2.30 ERA, 18 saves); RP Andrew Miller (5-1, 1.34 ERA). Season series vs. Orioles: 2-4 Pitching probables: July 18: RHP Kevin Gausman vs. RHP Ivan Nova, 7:05 p.m., MASNJuly 19: RHP Vance Worley vs. RHP Nathan Eovaldi, 7:05 p.m., MASNJuly 20: RHP Yovani...

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Andrew Stetka: Moving Bundy to rotation a bit premature

July 18, 2016, 2:38am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Moving Bundy to rotation a bit premature

You can call me a skeptic, a pessimist or someone who just generally doesn't enjoy fun, but I don't like the idea of Dylan Bundy as a starter for the Orioles right now. I thought this even before the 23-year-old former fourth-overall pick made his first major league start yesterday. This isn't a "hot take" or an overreaction to yesterday's outing, which was obviously less than stellar. I was mildly surprised by the move to start Bundy. At the start of the season, I never thought it was...

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Marty Niland: Nationals bench continues to come up in clutch situations

July 18, 2016, 2:28am

Nationals

With all the sabrmetrics and advanced stats that we baseball geeks toss around these days, there is still one aspect of the game we can't accurately quantify: Clutch. The official statisticians tried to do it for a few years back in the 1980s with the game-winning RBI, but that stat was abandoned after too many batters got credit for early-inning singles in eventual routs. So we're left with anecdotal evidence such as pinch-hitting numbers to say who has what it takes with the game on...

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Patrick Reddington: Nats thinking big picture with ace Strasburg

July 15, 2016, 5:44am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Nats thinking big picture with ace Strasburg

In his first start back after a stint on the 15-day disabled list for an "upper back strain," Stephen Strasburg took a no-hit bid against the Cincinnati Reds into the seventh inning at Nationals Park. He was up to 93 pitches after six innings though, and two outs into the seventh, at 109 pitches, veteran skipper Dusty Baker made the decision to end the outing in spite of the fact that Strasburg hadn't allowed a hit. It wasn't a difficult decision. "No, because he had just come off the...

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Determining the Orioles' first-half MVP

July 14, 2016, 6:58am

Orioles

It's hard to believe, but the second half of the season gets underway tomorrow. Of course, every team has played more than half of its games already, but this week represents the unofficial halfway point of the season. For the Orioles, it's been a half-season full of mostly ups and a few downs. The positives include a first-place standing, a 51-36 record, an offense that has already broken one record and could certainly break more, and a bullpen that is one of the strongest in baseball. On...

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Orioles option RHP Jason Garcia to Double-A Bowie

July 10, 2016, 2:15pm

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have optioned RHP Jason Garcia to Double-A Bowie. Garcia, 23, was recalled from Double-A Bowie on July 9 and did not appear in a game for the Orioles this season.

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "Position to Win"

July 10, 2016, 12:48pm

Dewayne Staats is the TV voice of the Rays. He has done play by play for the Astros, Cubs and Yankees in a career of some 40 years. A smile, a kind word and professionalism are always there. We have been friends for so many years that have flown by in this never-ending game of baseball. This book is about his time in the game: the memories, the people and the lessons. In this book, you will visit with Harry Caray, Tony Kubek, Joe Madden and so many more with whom Staats shares a baseball...

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Members of 1966 team look back on the Orioles' first championship season

July 08, 2016, 12:01pm

Orioles

Fifty years ago, the average cost of a new home was $23,300. Gas averaged around 32 cents per gallon, a dozen eggs cost 60 cents and a gallon of milk was a steep 99 cents. Lyndon Johnson was the president of the United States and, in Baltimore, the city was home to the world champions of baseball. It's hard to believe it's been five decades since the Orioles captured their inaugural championship. The 1966 Orioles entered the World Series as heavy underdogs to the Los Angeles Dodgers and their...

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Yard Work podcast: Episode 8

July 08, 2016, 11:21am

Orioles

Hey, O's fans. Welcome to this week's episode of Yard Work. We're back after the Orioles return home from a long West Coast road trip. Steve Melewski traveled with the team so we weren't able to record last week, but we're all back in Charm City for this week's episode as the team begins a brief three-game series at home with the Angels. We always talk about the ups and down over the course of an entire baseball season, but rarely are those extreme highs and lows within a two-week span....

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Orioles recall right-hander Mike Wright from Triple-A Norfolk

July 08, 2016, 10:54am

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled right-handed pitcher Mike Wright from Triple-A Norfolk. Wright, 26, has gone 3-4 with a 6.12 ERA (44 ER/64.2 IP) over 13 games (12 starts) with the Orioles this season. He went 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA (2 ER/20.2 IP) and 13 strikeouts in three starts with the Tides this season. Over 25 career Major League games (21 starts), Wright has gone 6-9 with a 6.09 ERA (74 ER/109.1 IP) and 72 strikeouts. He was named the Orioles Jim Palmer Minor League...

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Patrick Reddington: This year's Nats squad hoping to continue first-half momentum

July 08, 2016, 6:57am

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: This year's Nats squad hoping to continue first-half momentum

With 51 wins so far in the so-called "first half" of the 2016 campaign, the current Washington Nationals squad is tied with the 2014 Nats for the second-most most wins before the All-Star Game in franchise history (2005-present), behind only the 2005 Nationals, led by Frank Robinson, who won 52 games before the break. That team went on to finish 81-81, dropping 29 of 74 games in the second-half as things fell apart for the inaugural Nationals. "From day one until the All-Star Break was over,...

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Matthew Taylor: Players have statistics, so why not fans?

July 08, 2016, 6:47am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Players have statistics, so why not fans?

There are literally billions of data points about baseball available each season, thanks to the rise of pitch tracking and player tracking technologies. We have more objective measures than ever before regarding player performance. Fan performance, however, is difficult to examine objectively. We need to put baseball fan bases, including our own, to the test. In the best of times and in the worst of times, what is the tale of each baseball city? The wonderful term "fanalytics" is already...

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Opposite dugout: Trout having another MVP-type season for Angels

July 08, 2016, 5:33am

Orioles

Opposite dugout: Trout having another MVP-type season for Angels

Manager: Mike Scioscia (17th season) Record: 36-50 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: CF Mike Trout (.321 average, 18 HR, 56 RBIs); 3B Yunel Escobar (.327 average, 99 hits); RF Kole Calhoun (.284 average; 46 RBIs, 93 hits); SP Hector Santiago (6-4, 4.58 ERA); RP Huston Street (3-1, 7 saves). Season series vs. Orioles: 1-2 Pitching probables: July 8: RHP Matt Shoemaker vs. TBA, 7:05 p.m., MASN2July 9: RHP Nick Tropeano vs. RHP Yovani Gallardo, 4:05 p.m., MASNJuly 10: RHP Tim Lincecum vs. RHP...

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Trumbo to participate in next week's Home Run Derby

July 07, 2016, 8:25am

Orioles

Trumbo to participate in next week's Home Run Derby

For the fourth year in a row, an Orioles player will try to capture a Home Run Derby title. Following Wednesday's win over the Dodgers, Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo told reporters he will take part in this year's event, which will feature four hitters from both the American League and National League. "I'm doing it," Trumbo said on participating in the event. Let's chalk that brief comment up to being a little tired after a 14-inning game to end an even longer road trip. In any case, this...

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Zach Wilt: O's need pitching, but not at cost of losing top assets

July 07, 2016, 6:54am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: O's need pitching, but not at cost of losing top assets

It took 14 innings, but yesterday the Orioles turned what could have been called "a bad road trip" into "let's just ignore what happened for those four games in Seattle." Jonathan Schoop's heroics in the 14th secured a series win for the Birds in Los Angeles and a 4-5 record out west against the Padres, Mariners and Dodgers. I'm sure it made the long flight back to Charm City a little more pleasant. Though it's not the 5-1/2-game lead they had when they won their seventh straight game...

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David Huzzard: Current All-Star Game format needs fixing

July 07, 2016, 6:37am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Current All-Star Game format needs fixing

When does something become tradition? My wife and I recently had a big discussion about this. She is heading up to Maryland this weekend for our 1-year-old nephew's birthday party and she is tasked with baking a "smash cake." I had no idea what a "smash cake" was and asked her about it and she called it a tradition. I argued that it isn't old enough to be a tradition if it is a more recent thing. A Google search failed to answer how long the practice goes back and the debate was never...

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MASN heading to First Thursdays concert (again)!

July 06, 2016, 7:34am

Orioles

MASN heading to First Thursdays concert (again)!

** Update: We're heading back to First Thursdays on Thursday, August 4! Come visit the MASN booth for free koozies and social snapshots! We'll also be giving away an autographed Chris Davis bat, so be sure to swing by! To RSVP to the free event or for more information, click here.** -- Hey, Baltimore! We're heading to WTMD's First Thursdays concert in Canton, and we want to see you there! During the summer months, local radio station WTMD holds FREE concerts at Canton Waterfront Park,...

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Charlie Fliegel: Scherzer having solid season, despite high home run total

July 06, 2016, 5:51am

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Scherzer having solid season, despite high home run total

Max Scherzer has had a good season - he currently ranks ninth in National League pitcher fWAR. He's already at 155 strikeouts. But despite those positives, he's also given up 21 home runs in only 18 starts. He's leading the league in both categories. Scherzer is in some rare company, as there have only been seven times where a pitcher led the league in strikeouts and home runs. In the deadball era, Grover Cleveland Alexander struck out 195 hitters and surrendered 11 four-baggers, or...