coronavirus

LeBlanc: "I just want to play ball"

April 23, 2020, 6:57am

Orioles

A world that no longer simulates normalcy during the coronavirus pandemic keeps tossing pitcher Wade LeBlanc in directions he couldn't imagine. From a professional standpoint, he settled for a minor league deal with the Orioles on Feb. 3 after the Mariners declined his $5 million option. He made $2.5 million in 2019 and is supposed to earn $800,000 this summer if he's on the club. The bonding process with teammates was interrupted in spring training with the March 12 shutdown. He participates...

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Nats commit to pay full-time employees through at least May 31

April 23, 2020, 8:06pm

Nationals

Nats commit to pay full-time employees through at least May 31

The Nationals informed full-time employees they will continue to receive full pay and benefits through at least the end of May, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. Following the lead of nearly every other major league organization in recent days, Nationals ownership sent an email out to all full-time employees Thursday with news they will continue to be paid through May 31. The club previously had committed to paying full salaries through the end of April. A decision on payments...

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After "magical" fall, Rizzos adapt to spring of confinement

April 22, 2020, 7:13pm

Nationals

After "magical" fall, Rizzos adapt to spring of confinement

Mike Rizzo spends his life in motion. If he's not in his office at Nationals Park, he's in the clubhouse meeting with the coaching staff. Or he's on the field watching batting practice from right behind the cage. Or he's on the team charter flying to nearly every road game during a season. Or on the rare occasions he's not with the big league club, he's somewhere else in America watching a top college or high school prospect who's on the Nats' radar for the upcoming draft. What, though,...

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Zimmerman willing to play in empty parks, but has other concerns

April 20, 2020, 8:30pm

Nationals

Zimmerman willing to play in empty parks, but has other concerns

As various proposals to play an abridged and altered Major League Baseball season get leaked, and the sporting public debates the practicalities and merits of them all, we must remind ourselves of the following key point: Eventually, MLB is going to have to make an official proposal for the 2020 season. And then the players are going to have to agree to it. And the second part of that equation is essential to any plan actually becoming reality. Players and owners haven't exactly seen eye to...

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Notes on a simulation sweep, KBO starting up and more

April 20, 2020, 12:29pm

Orioles

Notes on a simulation sweep, KBO starting up and more

So much for that. We had a 12th seed over a fifth seed in the opening round of the 32-squad MLB Dream Bracket. The fifth-seeded all-time Orioles were swept in four straight games by the No. 12 all-time Houston Astros. I recently wrote about how this simulation tournament worked here. So in the simulation, a team of Birds that included Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Boog Powell and Jim Palmer didn't win a game. What the heck! They lost to Houston by scores of 9-3, 2-1, 8-3 and...

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A few Orioles questions that can't be answered

April 18, 2020, 8:58am

Orioles

If the baseball season begins in its altered state, and in whichever states are deemed acceptable for hosting teams, we're still going to be left wondering what would have happened under the usual circumstances. It's impossible to simulate normal with spring training shut down on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic and months lost past the anticipated opening day. For example, no matter how many games are salvaged - and this is assuming that health risks are reduced and the travel and...

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Zimmermans grateful for new charity support, double goal

April 20, 2020, 11:05am

Nationals

Zimmermans grateful for new charity support, double goal

Ryan and Heather Zimmerman were a couple of weeks into their unexpected spring together at home with nowhere to go when they started wondering what they could do to help their community through the coronavirus pandemic. They immediately thought of the doctors, nurses and other health care workers who were being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, didn't have enough personal protective equipment and didn't have enough time to take care of themselves and their families while simultaneously taking...

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Schedule design could have big effect on eventual season

April 19, 2020, 6:48pm

Nationals

Schedule design could have big effect on eventual season

We don't talk about the schedule much in baseball, because it really doesn't matter all that much under normal circumstances. During the course of a 162-game season, every team in the majors is going to play every other team in its division 19 times, every team in its league's two other divisions six or seven times and then 20 interleague games. Sure, teams in tougher divisions - and those that play the toughest division in interleague play - have a little bit of a disadvantage. But rarely...

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Closing in on Orioles bullpen bests and blunders

April 17, 2020, 11:08am

Orioles

With so much uncertainty engulfing the 2020 season and the world-wide impact of the coronavirus pandemic reducing the importance of playing baseball to microscopic proportions, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde isn't whittling away the hours at home wondering about his closer situation. Mychal Givens counts as the incumbent, though he worked the seventh or eighth innings in his last five appearances. Hunter Harvey seems to be on deck for the role, though no one on the team has made him an offer....

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Which pre-2019 Nats team should have won the World Series?

April 16, 2020, 7:50pm

Nationals

Which pre-2019 Nats team should have won the World Series?

What's the best team in Nationals history? The one that actually won the World Series. Duh. But it's worth remembering the 2019 Nats only went 93-69 during the regular season. Four previous clubs won more games than that: the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 clubs. Those four teams, of course, lost in the National League Division Series, often in agonizing fashion. And so they're forever viewed as underachievers. Here's the question, though: Were any of those teams good enough to win the World...

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The last K.C. trip, Roenicke's roll, Mathews' quote

April 17, 2020, 6:55am

Orioles

The last K.C. trip, Roenicke's roll, Mathews' quote

The work put toward booking travel and hotels for the 2020 baseball season slipped into reverse. The coronavirus pandemic kept the media at home. I would have taken a train to New York for the four-game series earlier this month. I'm supposed to be in Kansas City this weekend for my first visit since the 2014 American League Championship Series. I'm not a huge barbeque guy. I like it, but don't treat it like a religion. Otherwise, yeah, I'd be wrestling Steve Melewski for the...

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Why the Nats' team Zoom chat captivated us so much

April 15, 2020, 7:26pm

Nationals

Why the Nats' team Zoom chat captivated us so much

What would you have thought if someone told you a month ago you'd be spending four hours on the night of April 14 watching two dozen players, coaches and others from the 2019 Nationals hold a video conference call with each other while (sort of) re-watching Game 7 of the World Series? Or that it would be the most enjoyable thing you've watched in the last month? In these strangest of times, it's the strangest of entertainment that is captivating us. And, more importantly, bringing us all...

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Memories of Mike Mussina as MASN airs more Orioles moments

April 16, 2020, 10:34am

Orioles

The classic coverage yesterday on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network included Game 1 of the 1997 American League Division Series between the Orioles and Mariners. A wire-to-wire team staying on its roll, and in unfriendly territory. Delmon Young's three-run double in the 2014 Division Series created the loudest moment at Camden Yards, but the '97 playoff game at the Kingdome, with 59,579 fans cranking up the volume, nearly burst my eardrums. The ringing noise didn't subside until pitchers and...

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Alex Cobb in radio interview: "I just want to go play"

April 15, 2020, 2:17pm

Orioles

Alex Cobb in radio interview: "I just want to go play"

Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb made just three starts last year due to injuries, and he's hoping the coronavirus pandemic won't keep him from seeing the mound this year. Cobb was a guest on the "Vinny and Haynie Show" on 105.7 FM The Fan on Tuesday and said he hopes to get back to playing as soon as possible. "As a player, at this point, even though we've been home for probably a month or so, I'm itching just to go play ball," said Cobb. "So, I don't care what it looks like. I don't...

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Memories of Melvin Mora as MASN airs more Orioles moments

April 15, 2020, 11:38am

Orioles

The sports shutdown is depriving us of live broadcasts - arm wrestling, for instance, is impossible at a six-foot distance - and networks are digging into their vaults for classic games to feed starving fans. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network keeps airing Orioles wins from as far back as the 1970 World Series. You can count on an exciting finish rather than heartache. Nerves won't be frayed. Yesterday's menu included the four-run, eighth-inning rally to defeat the Yankees on Aug. 13, 2014 at...

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Wednesday morning Nats Q&A

April 14, 2020, 7:52pm

Nationals

Well, we've completed the re-watch of the entire 2019 postseason. And it was capped off last night not only with the reairing of Game 7 of the World Series on MASN, but a once-in-a-lifetime Zoom chat with about two dozen Nationals players, coaches and broadcasters. If you missed any or all of it, the full four-hour video is still up. Major props to Ryan Zimmerman and Dan Kolko for putting the whole thing together, and for helping to raise more than $200,000 for the just-formed Pros For Heroes,...

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Another series for Orioles that wasn't played

April 14, 2020, 8:38am

Orioles

The Orioles would have been finishing a two-game series against the Cubs tonight at Camden Yards if not for the pandemic and slamming of brakes on the baseball season. A screeching halt before it actually got started. Manager Brandon Hyde would have been able to reminisce about his years in the Cubs organization and visit with friends. No social distancing to keep them apart. The whole scene could have played out again on June 2-3 with the teams meeting at Wrigley Field. Only there would have...

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Elias on importance of draft preparation while unsure of length

April 13, 2020, 6:04pm

Orioles

Elias on importance of draft preparation while unsure of length

The Orioles are stuck in a sports holding pattern during the coronavirus pandemic, unable to play games but staying busy on other fronts. Only the rosters are frozen. Not the members of the organization. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias pointed out in yesterday's Zoom video conference with local media that the Orioles are prepping for the First-Year Player Draft while unsure of the total number of rounds. Could be five, could be more. Won't be less. The bonus for players...

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Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 7

April 13, 2020, 7:35pm

Nationals

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 7

(Note: You can watch Game 7 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m.) There's a strange anticipation to Game 7 of the World Series that doesn't exist any other day of the year. It's the ultimate game, and so there's excitement for the prospect of that. But it's also guaranteed to be the final game of the year, so there's a tinge of sadness that comes with that realization. No matter what happens, no matter who wins, there will not be another ballgame to come after this. The Nationals...

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Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 6

April 12, 2020, 8:14pm

Nationals

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 6

(Note: You can watch Game 6 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m. Eastern time.) Man, oh, man, did a lot of stuff happen in this game. I mean, this one game alone included Alex Bregman carrying his bat to first base after homering, then Juan Soto responding by doing the exact same thing. It had Stephen Strasburg tipping his pitches in the top of the first, then making a correction and pitching so well he actually took the mound for the bottom of the ninth. It had Adam Eaton hitting a...