Byron Kerr

Highly touted shortstop among Nats' 10 international signings

Highly touted shortstop among Nats' 10 international signings
Today is the first day for international free agent signings across Major League Baseball. The Nationals made big news by signing the No. 5 prospect in 16-year-old shortstop Armando Cruz for $3.9 million. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the usual July 2 signing date was delayed until Jan. 15. In all, the Nats announced 10 signings. The list includes five pitchers, three outfielders and two shortstops. Five of the prospects hail from the Dominican Republic, four are from Venezuela and one...
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Mark Zuckerman

Remembering an uplifting event in the shadow of the Capitol

Remembering an uplifting event in the shadow of the Capitol
A terrible thing happened here Wednesday, and for the world, it was terribly difficult to watch. For those who actually live here, it was even worse. Because it happened in our own backyard, in a place where major events often take place but rarely produce the kind of anger and sadness this event did. And watching it unfold on television, I couldn't help but think about the familiar location it was all taking place in. We all know it, because we've all been there many times. And not that long...
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Mark Zuckerman

Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021

Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021
As Aug. 31 arrived earlier this year, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo faced a dilemma he never wanted to face. Rizzo's team had just completed an abysmal month of baseball, albeit during the unprecedented circumstances of the 2020 season. Now, as trade deadline day arrived, the Nats were 12-19, three games out of the final wild card position in the National League and staring up at six teams ahead of them in the standings for that last-ditch ticket to October. If they felt they still had...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats prepping for on-time spring, but know there will be hurdles

Nats prepping for on-time spring, but know there will be hurdles
On this cold, wet mid-December morning, here's a warm thought to boost your spirits: Exactly two months from today, Nationals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report for spring training. Emphasis, of course, on the "are scheduled to" portion of that statement. Anyone who definitively says spring training will begin as scheduled is merely hoping that comes true. "We're planning for an on-time spring training, Feb. 17, and a 162-game major league schedule," Nats general manager Mike...
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Mark Zuckerman

Lack of Winter Meetings reminds us things aren't normal yet

Lack of Winter Meetings reminds us things aren't normal yet
The baseball world should be gathering this morning in Dallas for the Winter Meetings. Thousands of club executives, managers, agents, minor league front office staffers, equipment manufacturers, job seekers and media members should be spending the next four days participating in what essentially amounts to an annual convention for professional baseball. Except it's not happening. There are no Winter Meetings in 2020. The coronavirus has claimed another victim, and while this one obviously...
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Byron Kerr

Ross, Harrison adjust offseason workouts in COVID environment

Ross, Harrison adjust offseason workouts in COVID environment
Joe Ross took the 2020 season off, opting out due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the Nationals right-hander believes he can use that time that rested his arm to his advantage as he ramps up for a return in 2021. "A little similarity to being injured," Ross said about being away from the game during a recent Zoom video call. "I'm sure the adrenaline first time back facing hitters is going to be through the roof. I think that might be the biggest thing as I start to throw off the mound more...
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Mark Zuckerman

Ross doesn't regret opt-out decision, ready to return in 2021

Ross doesn't regret opt-out decision, ready to return in 2021
As March turned to April, then May, then June and finally July, Joe Ross anxiously watched Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association negotiate a plan for the sport to play the 2020 season under unprecedented circumstances. Ross, like so many of his fellow players, acknowledged there were financial issues that needed to be sorted out before the season could commence. But he was more concerned with the lack of time and attention that seemed to be being spent on figuring out the...
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Mark Zuckerman

As football flails, MLB deserves more credit for 2020 season

As football flails, MLB deserves more credit for 2020 season
Fifteen Division I football games were canceled last week because of players, coaches and others testing positive for COVID-19. The 2020 college football season is a mess, with different teams from different conferences playing a different number of games over different stretches of time. Yet all you really hear out of that corner of the sports world are complaints about the effect these scattershot cancellations are having on the sanctity of the season. You aren't hearing any serious talk...
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Steve Melewski

Is a frigid free agent season looming?

Is a frigid free agent season looming?
After a season of uncertainty - no one knew in July if the year would be played to the finish - baseball now faces more uncertainty. This one involves not games, but salaries and free agency. Will it be a chilly winter - and we are not talking about air temperatures? It could wind up downright frosty and we're not talking about precipitation. There is a feeling around the game that the top free agents this winter may still get their money, but after that elite group, the dollars won't be...
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Byron Kerr

Cornell watched Harper to help refine swing

Cornell watched Harper to help refine swing
One of the Nationals' nine free agent signings last summer was Zach Cornell out of Southeastern University. The left-handed hitting outfielder was Baseball America's Preseason NAIA Player of the Year entering the 2020 season. In 27 games at Southeastern prior to the coronavirus shutdown, he hit .519 (56-for-108) with 12 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 12 walks, 44 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Cornell, 22, started his collegiate career at Middle Georgia State University for three seasons,...
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Steve Melewski

In MLB, here's hoping for less off-the-field drama this time around

In MLB, here's hoping for less off-the-field drama this time around
Once the Major League Baseball season started in late July, the focus shifted away from negotiations between players and owners and back to the field. It was wonderful to discuss wins and losses, player slumps, lineup and rotation decisions, and bullpen matters over money matters. But in this sport right now, the board room and what will happen there is as important as what happens on the ball field. The sport's collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players expires on Dec. 1,...
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Steve Melewski

Checking in with pitching coaches from the Bowie alternate site

Checking in with pitching coaches from the Bowie alternate site
It was all a bit of mystery. They were playing baseball at Double-A Bowie this year but there were not any games that counted. No other Eastern League teams came to town. Bowie was an important place however, as it was the site of the Orioles' alternate camp this summer. No media or fans were allowed to watch and/or chronicle the happenings. But it was clear that some good instruction and work was going on out of the limelight and the major league spotlight. We saw Ryan Mountcastle come from...
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Steve Melewski

How much did fans miss attending games?

How much did fans miss attending games?
If absence does make the heart grow fonder, can something similar work when it comes to baseball attendance? I've heard from a few fans lately that basically said they can't wait to attend another Orioles game when they are allowed back into Camden Yards and it's safe to do so. They missed going to games. I can tell you that applies to some of the media as well. Speaking only for myself, I greatly missed the daily in-person interaction with O's players and staff. And seeing some media...
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Steve Melewski

Rays are headed to World Series

Rays are headed to World Series
The American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series. They won the first three games of the AL Championship Series against Houston, but then lost the next three. But behind right-hander Charlie Morton, they won 4-2 in Game 7 last night to head to the World Series for the second time in team history. In 2008, they lost, four games to one, to Philadelphia. Now they will chase their first title against the winner of tonight's National League Championship Series Game 7...
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Mark Zuckerman

Big moments just don't feel the same in empty ballparks

Big moments just don't feel the same in empty ballparks
Watching the various wild card series the last few days, I couldn't help but have two thoughts: There were some really compelling, tense, memorable moments in almost every series; and I constantly had to remind myself just how compelling, tense and memorable those moments were because the scene at each ballpark was completely sterile with no fans in attendance. It was tough enough to experience the 2020 regular season without fans, but this week really underscored just how noticeable it is in...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nationals survive trying, joyless road portion of season

Nationals survive trying, joyless road portion of season
Eric Thames, only minutes removed from dropping the throw that sent the Nationals to an agonizing, 2-1 loss to the Marlins in the opener of Sunday's doubleheader, was asked during his Zoom session with reporters how high the frustration level has become on the majors' most disappointing team of 2020. His answer, which grew more and more exasperated with each sentence, revealed a lot more than that. "It's very frustrating living life as it is now," Thames said. "It's not just on-the-field...
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Byron Kerr

Cavalli and Rutledge bringing the heat in Fredericksburg

Cavalli and Rutledge bringing the heat in Fredericksburg
Top Nationals pitching prospects Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge continue to get their work in at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg, Va., under the direction of minor league pitching coordinator Brad Holman and the coaching staff. Rutledge is currently ranked No. 3 and Cavalli No. 4 in the latest MLBpipeline.com top 30 Nationals prospects list. "Well, obviously both those guys are extremely talented," Holman told me. "I can't say enough about either one of them. They are...
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Roch Kubatko

Mancini missing teammates during troubling times

Mancini missing teammates during troubling times
There are days when Trey Mancini's separation from his teammates is a little easier to handle. He's counting down to his final chemotherapy treatment, and the light workouts that his body allows after recovery keep him focused on the 2021 season. His life is good, and in some ways the best it's been personally, in spite of the traumatic turn of events. But there also are days when the exclusion hurts. When the muting of a veteran voice on a young club in pain is almost more than he can...
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Roch Kubatko

Some Ripken reflections on 2,131 and more on his cancer diagnosis

Some Ripken reflections on 2,131 and more on his cancer diagnosis
As the latest anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.'s record-setting night approaches, he spun a popular question usually directed at himself while speaking with a group of local beat writers yesterday on a Zoom conference call. The proverbial shoe placed on the other foot. Does it really seem like it's been 25 years since he surpassed Lou Gehrig for most consecutive games played at 2,131? Since he took that glorious lap around the warning track while bathed in an ovation that lasted more than 22...
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Mel Antonen

In lieu of fans, creative cutouts dot ballparks during pandemic baseball

In lieu of fans, creative cutouts dot ballparks during pandemic baseball
When the Orioles play in Philadelphia this week, they need to check out a humorous piece of baseball history in section 302V, Row 21, Seat 1. Tip: Use binoculars because the seat is high above right field, likely the worst seat at Citizens Bank Park. The seat is where the Phillies have a cutout of Bob Uecker, the Brewers' Hall of Fame radio broadcaster who was a catcher for the 1966 Phillies and made a famous commercial for Miller Lite during the 1980s. In the commercial, Uecker gets ready to...
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