Steve Melewski

Reaching out to non-baseball teams during MLB's shutdown

Reaching out to non-baseball teams during MLB's shutdown
Today was supposed to be opening night in minor league baseball. Triple-A Norfolk would be hosting Gwinnett and Double-A Bowie would host Richmond. Single-A Frederick was scheduled to play at Fayetteville and Single-A Delmarva would be hosting Asheville. But when baseball was shut down March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Orioles' minor league teams had yet to even play exhibition games. There were around 150 players at The Buck O'Neil Baseball Complex at Twin Lakes Park. Some had...
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Roch Kubatko

Because You Asked - The Island of Lost Dreams

Because You Asked - The Island of Lost Dreams
I'm wearing rubber gloves today while sorting through my mailbag. All of my clothes are made out of Glad trash bags. Safety first. Don't use the scented brand. They'll give you a headache. I'd keep a six-foot distance from the mail, but my vision is pretty bad. Also, my arms wouldn't reach it. You know what's also a reach? Trying to convince anyone that there's an actual bag. But treat it as you would "Rocky IV" and suspend disbelief. (The Soviet crowd chanting his name at the end?...
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Mark Zuckerman

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 3

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 3
Has there ever been more excitement and anticipation for a Nationals game than there was on the evening of Oct. 25, 2019, when the World Series came to D.C. for the first time since 1933? This was an event some weren't entirely sure would ever take place. Then throw in the not-insignificant fact the Nats went into Game 3 up two games to none on the supposedly superior Astros, and you had the perfect convergence of joy, intensity, nostalgia and celebration on South Capitol Street. The whole...
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Steve Melewski

Taking a look at the Arizona plan

Taking a look at the Arizona plan
Say this for officials of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association: They seem very determined to play baseball in 2020. That may prove to be ambitious, but the will to get it done is clearly there. The plan that ESPN and other outlets reported on yesterday included all 30 teams playing their games in the Phoenix area in parks with no fans. Players and other essential personnel would basically be under a form of quarantine, going back and forth from a hotel to a...
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Roch Kubatko

Leftovers from Ripken Q&A

Leftovers from Ripken Q&A
The Orioles intend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.'s record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game. Their promotional schedule includes the distribution of bobbleheads on Sept. 6, and other plans to honor him were under discussion prior to the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The schedule was released in early February. So much has changed. ESPN aired 2,131 last night and Ripken watched it for the first time from start to finish. He told me yesterday that he'd stumble...
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Doug Miller

Chef José Andrés will distribute free meals from Nats Park

Chef José Andrés will distribute free meals from Nats Park
The Nationals are lending celebrity chef José Andrés a really big place to cook. During the baseball hiatus prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, World Central Kitchen will distribute from Nationals Park thousands of free meals prepared in two of its large kitchens. The Spanish star chef and owner of gourmet restaurants in Washington and other cities across the United States founded the organization after an earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010. Uber Eats drivers will ferry the food to D.C....
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Roch Kubatko

Ripken on Twitter, Strike Out Hunger campaign and more

Ripken on Twitter, Strike Out Hunger campaign and more
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. has been intrigued with the idea of opening a Twitter account. He just needed a reason to do it beyond the interaction with fans, something he did tirelessly in person during a 21-year major league career. Most notably in 1995 as he closed in on Lou Gehrig's record for most consecutive games played. Ripken found his excuse and, as usual, it tied into his desire to help other people. Using his new account (@CalRipkenJr.), which already was approaching 3,000...
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Mark Zuckerman

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 2

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 2
Honest opinion: What was your reasonable, best-case scenario for the Nationals in the first two games of the World Series? Maybe you had a pie-in-the-sky dream of snatching both games from the Astros and returning to D.C. flying high, but realistically you just wanted to see them win one of two on the road. Especially when those two games were started by Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander. Right? Well, after beating Cole in Game 1, the Nats returned to Minute Maid Park the next night for Game 2...
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Roch Kubatko

Remembering Orioles who started strong and didn't sustain

Remembering Orioles who started strong and didn't sustain
My mind keeps spinning back to past Orioles teams that I've covered as an adult or watched as a kid. Anything to limit my screen time during this shutdown. Let me pose a question this morning while we resist the urge to panic shop. (Don't be that person. You don't need 12 dozen eggs and all the toilet paper and liquid hand soap.) Which homegrown Orioles started out good, fooling you into thinking that they'd become future All-Stars or at least longtime contributors, and then fizzled? Got...
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Mark Zuckerman

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 1

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 1
The Nationals and their fans waited a long time to reach the World Series for the first time. So, really, who was going to complain about the extra six days they had to wait after sweeping the National League Championship Series before finally taking the field in Houston for their first appearance in the Fall Classic? The long layoff may have been a dominant storyline entering the World Series, but it sure didn't hold up for long. By the end of their tense Game 1 victory - 5-4 over the...
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Mark Zuckerman

What matters to you: More games or fewer changes?

What matters to you: More games or fewer changes?
I feel like I've already said this countless times over the last three weeks, but let's state it again for the record: As much as we all want to project when the baseball season (or any other sport's season) will begin, it's pointless right now. There's simply no way to know with any certainty when the world will be safe enough for sporting events and the mass gatherings they draw. That hasn't stopped a lot of folks from trying to figure this out. Some insist it can happen by June. Some...
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Roch Kubatko

Armstrong's strong spring and a deeper dive into Orioles bullpen

Armstrong's strong spring and a deeper dive into Orioles bullpen
The magic of video is enabling the Orioles to stay connected while spread all over the country. I've heard that reliever Shawn Armstrong was able to share a bullpen session with one of his teammates that included a fastball clocked at 97 mph. Armstrong's fastball averaged 93.9 mph last season, per BrooksBaseball.net. There is no data available on his home workouts. An expansion of rosters from 26 to 29 players for the first month enables the Orioles to carry at least a few extra relievers to...
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Mark Zuckerman

Union creates fund for non-roster players in big league camps

Union creates fund for non-roster players in big league camps
The agreement struck last week between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association ensured all players on 40-man rosters would be paid a partial salary even if there's no 2020 season. But what about longtime big league players who aren't currently on 40-man rosters? That group was taken care of Friday when the union voted to establish an assistance fund for players with major league experience who were in spring training as non-roster invitees. The fund will pay anywhere from $5,000...
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Roch Kubatko

Baseball's shutdown impacting minor league preparation

Baseball's shutdown impacting minor league preparation
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in professional baseball reaches down to the minor league level. To players with salary concerns and the managers and coaches who are trying to develop them and prepare for an abbreviated season. Triple-A Norfolk's Gary Kendall is back home in the Salisbury area, doing yardwork and engaging in video conference calls to collect and share information that no longer could be dispensed in Sarasota. The six-foot rule turned into complete isolation. The calls...
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Mark Zuckerman

Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A
First things first: Yes, we will start up the World Series re-watch soon. Just taking a little break after the National League Championship Series (but not as long as the six-day break the Nationals actually took). In the meantime, this feels like a good opportunity to chat with all of you. Obviously, these are not normal circumstances for baseball - but more importantly, for the world. We're trying to stick to baseball around here, but it's impossible not to acknowledge the larger...
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Steve Melewski

Providing a draft ranking and a Palmer take

Providing a draft ranking and a Palmer take
At a time when we hope, but don't know for sure, that there will be a baseball season, we do know for sure there be a First-Year Player Draft. The draft is going to be held, although we don't yet know for certain if it will be limited to five rounds. But it may be just five. At a date yet to be decided - reportedly between June 10 and July 20 - there will be an amateur draft and the Orioles will make the No. 2 overall selection for the first time in club history. Readers here have asked...
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Roch Kubatko

Orioles finding ways to cope and assist during pandemic

Orioles finding ways to cope and assist during pandemic
The Orioles aren't able to start their season due to the coronavirus and they have no idea whether it's going to unfold. In the meantime, players are working to stay in shape, just in case, and finding ways to assist people in need and to ease the strain on their lives. First baseman Chris Davis and his wife, Jill, donated breakfast to the staff at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital on the morning of March 26, which would have been opening day. The couple made a $3 million...
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Roch Kubatko

Can Phillips avoid the injured list?

Can Phillips avoid the injured list?
The medical update from Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and a brief interview with the injured reliever at his spring training locker made for an easy jump to a roster conclusion. It felt like more of a hop. Evan Phillips wasn't able to pitch because of a sore elbow and headed to Los Angeles for a second opinion. A month or more could pass before he'd be allowed to pick up a ball. My headline on a March 6 article stated: "Phillips to start season on injured list" The third paragraph read:...
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Mark Zuckerman

Lamenting what should have been a glorious home opener

Lamenting what should have been a glorious home opener
When opening day came and went last week with no baseball, we all shed a tear and wondered when we'll finally get a chance to celebrate the most glorious unofficial holiday on the North American calendar. In the week since, we've mostly turned our attention back to the far more important matter affecting the entire globe right now, the ramifications of which are just now really setting in for many here. We know instinctively that the Major League Baseball season should be a week old now, and...
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Roch Kubatko

Phillips keeping his spring roommates and new routine

Phillips keeping his spring roommates and new routine
Baseball players are creatures of habit, a trait that seems to be part of their DNA. Or maybe it develops over time, creating a chicken or the egg parallel. What comes first? No matter the order, being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic has brought a major disruption in their routines - though also kept in its proper perspective given the loss of lives throughout the world. Being unable to complete spring training or start a season is much more of an inconvenience than a...
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