coronavirus

Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball

June 15, 2020, 9:49pm

When baseball owners approached Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis in 1920 and asked him to become the first commissioner in professional sports, the then-U.S. District Court judge insisted he be given a very specific power. Landis insisted he be allowed to make major decisions on his own, without approval of owners or players, for matters he believed were "in the best interests of baseball." Exactly one century later, that phrase remains written into Major League Baseball's constitution, and every...

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A hope that baseball can quickly get it together

June 16, 2020, 4:32pm

Orioles

A hope that baseball can quickly get it together

Here are a few - but certainly nearly not all - of the reasons that baseball has gotten to the point where there is a chance there will not be a 2020 season. * The Major League Baseball owners and players negotiated an agreement on March 26. But now they can't even agree on what they negotiated or agree on the language in said agreement. * The agreement failed to address the economics of how the sport would return if there were going to be MLB games played with no fans, which was a real...

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Tales from the clubhouse: Bonds and Bacsik

June 14, 2020, 9:53pm

Nationals

Tales from the clubhouse: Bonds and Bacsik

With no news on the state of the 2020 season expected until sometime today, the baseball world was left Sunday with nothing else to do but wax nostalgic and watch a documentary about the breaking of one of the sport's most hallowed records 22 years ago. The Great Home Run Chase of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa was beloved by everyone at the time, cringed at now because of the added layer of context we now have for what took place. Watching it, though, reminded me of the breaking of...

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Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players

June 13, 2020, 9:14pm

Nationals

Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players

Whatever sliver of hope remained that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association might find a way to come together and negotiate a reasonable settlement to their ongoing fight over salary structure appeared to go up in smoke Saturday night after both entities issued nasty statements accusing each other of ruining any chance of a reasonable 2020 season. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark all but gave up further negotiations and essentially demanded that Rob Manfred tell the players...

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Negotiation fatigue is real for the fans of baseball

June 12, 2020, 2:57pm

Orioles

Negotiation fatigue is real for the fans of baseball

At a time when turning on the news can be depressing in so many ways, baseball had the chance to be our hero in recent weeks. We turn to sports for enjoyment and entertainment. It is a great diversion from life's issues for a few hours. Baseball had the chance. But so far, baseball has failed. The constant bickering between the players and owners, I believe, has had an opposite effect. I call it negotiation fatigue. Fans are tiring of the back and forth and tired of hearing another day when...

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Friday morning Nats Q&A

June 11, 2020, 6:25pm

Nationals

Another week down, another week without resolution to the seemingly important question of: "When will the 2020 Major League Baseball season begin, and how long will it last?" Despite proposals and counter-proposals, the league and the MLB Players Association don't appear to be close to a deal at this point. We can only continue to hope cooler heads will prevail - and soon. There was baseball news this week, though, in the form of a condensed, five-round draft that began Wednesday night and...

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Orioles to pay minor leaguers through end of season

June 12, 2020, 3:06pm

Orioles

The 2020 Minor League Baseball season is likely to be canceled as the sport remains shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the Orioles have made the decision to continue paying the players' stipends through the rest of the schedule. The team made the announcement earlier today. The final day of the regular season would have been Sept. 7, but the spring training camps closed on March 12 and there's been no activity. The Orioles already had agreed to $400 weekly payments through...

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Nationals Day 2 draft tracker (updated)

June 11, 2020, 12:34pm

Nationals

It's day two of the draft, and the Nationals have much more to consider than they did last night when they waited around for their one and only pick (No. 22), which they used on Oklahoma right-hander Cade Cavalli. Tonight, the Nats will make five selections, one apiece in rounds two through five, plus a compensatory pick after the second round they received for losing Anthony Rendon to free agency. Yep, that's a big one. The whole thing begins at 5 p.m. with the start of the second round. The...

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Hudson Haskin: "Couldn't think of a better fit"

June 12, 2020, 11:19am

Orioles

Hudson Haskin: "Couldn't think of a better fit"

When Hudson Haskin's world shut down in March, lives changing in drastic measures due to the coronavirus pandemic, he had no idea whether he'd play college baseball again. And whether the impact on his status in the First-Year Player Draft would be minimal or severe. Like so many other people around the world, all he could do was wait through it and count his blessings. Haskin wouldn't see another pitch at Tulane University, but the Orioles made it clear that they wanted him in their minor...

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Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

June 11, 2020, 7:53pm

Orioles

Baseball's shutdown impacting prospects and draft picks (updated)

Two days of the First-Year Player draft provided the ideal distraction from the back and forth between ownership and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Barely a peep about the length of a proposed season, percentages of prorated pay and an expanded playoff format that could shove 16 teams into October. And now, back to our regularly scheduled bickering, already in progress. Selecting players from the college and high school ranks is followed by negotiations on contracts, with the...

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In strange draft year, Nats confident early scouting will pay off

June 10, 2020, 8:37pm

Nationals

In strange draft year, Nats confident early scouting will pay off

When they gathered Wednesday night - each individual secluded in his own home - for the first night of this year's draft, Mike Rizzo, Kris Kline and the Nationals scouting department would have been excused if they felt less prepared than they had any previous year they gathered for the first night of the draft. Nobody had been able to scout anybody in person in three months, which under normal circumstances would be a ludicrous way to try to create a draft board. Instead, these men insist,...

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Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks

June 09, 2020, 9:02pm

Nationals

Nats need to find more success with late first-round picks

The Nationals built a contender - and ultimately, a World Series champion - on the strength of an impressive run of first-round draft picks who developed into superstars. Ryan Zimmerman. Stephen Strasburg. Anthony Rendon. Bryce Harper and Drew Storen (aside from the champion part). All were top-10 selections during the Nats' first seven drafts. All had a hand in the franchise's ascension. The first three had a major hand in the franchise's title run. But if they want to continue this run of...

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Players, owners can't try to fight 2021 battle in 2020

June 08, 2020, 8:18pm

Nationals

Players, owners can't try to fight 2021 battle in 2020

There are problems with Major League Baseball's economics system. Big problems. Yes, the sport brings in as much as $11 billion a year, but that doesn't mean the economic state of the sport is healthy. Players have been making this argument for two years now. How can owners be making so much money while free agency remains stagnant? How can so many teams be profitable while still claiming they need to cut payroll as part of a long-term rebuilding plan? And how can the best players in this...

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Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias

June 08, 2020, 11:07am

Orioles

Latest on negotiations for a 2020 season and more from Elias

The latest Major League Baseball economic proposal sent yesterday to the MLB Players Association assures that the 2020 season won't start before July 10. And it heightens suspicions that we're facing a 50-game schedule that, in the immortal words of heavyweight boxer Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," is going to produce a paper champion. As first reported by ESPN's Karl Ravech, ownership is now seeking a 76-game season, concluding on Sept. 27, that pays players 75 percent of their prorated...

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Elias says Orioles to choose among five players for first pick

June 08, 2020, 10:05am

Orioles

With two days remaining before the start of the First-Year Player Draft, the Orioles have reduced the number of possibilities with the second overall selection but aren't ready to pinpoint their preference. Speaking to the media today on a Zoom call, executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said the Orioles are "actively discussing" five players and probably won't make a final decision until the day of the draft. It's a fairly typical stance for a team positioned in such a high...

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10 years later, Strasburg's debut still leaves us in awe

June 07, 2020, 9:28pm

Nationals

10 years later, Strasburg's debut still leaves us in awe

It's almost impossible to refer to any game or any player in baseball history as unique. Over the last century and a half, this great sport has seen pretty much everything that can happen, happen. Yes, there have been countless remarkable, memorable, even historic moments and players. But in nearly every case, they can be compared to something or someone else. Rarely do we get to witness something and say with 100 percent conviction: "Wow, we've never seen anything like that before!" If you...

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Wondering how the Nats' season might have been playing out

June 06, 2020, 9:21pm

Nationals

Wondering how the Nats' season might have been playing out

The Nationals are wrapping up a homestand this afternoon, with the fourth and final game of their series against the Mets on tap, a marquee pitching matchup between Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom set for this warm afternoon on South Capitol Street. This is an important stretch of the season to date for the Nats, who through 64 games find themselves in the driver's seat of a competitive race in the National League East. They're in first place at 39-25, with the Braves trying to catch them at...

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A closer look at the O's draft preparations (with video)

June 05, 2020, 3:24pm

Orioles

A closer look at the O's draft preparations (with video)

Hired by the Orioles in 2013, Brad Ciolek is a young talent in the front office who has had to do some improvising the last couple of months. Ciolek is supervisor, domestic scouting operations for the Orioles, who have the No. 2 pick in the First-Year Player Draft this Wednesday night. They have three of the first 39 picks and six selections in the five-round draft. Time to add to that elite talent pipeline. The O's could take Vanderbilt's Austin Martin or Texas A&M pitcher Asa Lacy with...

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Friday morning Nats Q&A

June 04, 2020, 7:46pm

Nationals

And so the end of another week is upon us, the 12th such week since we last had baseball players doing baseball things on a baseball field. It's hard to believe that much time has passed, and it's hard to believe there is still no agreed-upon plan for bringing the sport back. Obviously, there are more important issues in the world right now than baseball, and our heads and our hearts need to remain focused on those issues. But it's also OK to care about baseball right now. It's what...

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Set a deadline, and you might actually get a deal at last

June 03, 2020, 8:42pm

Nationals

Set a deadline, and you might actually get a deal at last

Precisely 12 weeks have passed since Major League Baseball shut down spring training and delayed the start of the regular season, the novel coronavirus having forced the entire nation to shut down like never before. Nobody knew at that moment how much time would pass before baseball could be played again, but slowly it became clear the target date for starting a condensed 2020 season would fall right around July 4. Which meant teams would need to be able to start holding workouts for a second...