coronavirus

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

April 04, 2020, 7:37am

Orioles

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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Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 1

April 05, 2020, 9:36pm

Nationals

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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What matters to you: More games or fewer changes?

April 04, 2020, 9:00pm

Nationals

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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Baseball's shutdown impacting minor league preparation

April 03, 2020, 6:42am

Orioles

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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Can Phillips avoid the injured list?

April 02, 2020, 5:01am

Orioles

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

April 03, 2020, 6:51pm

Nationals

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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Friday morning Nats Q&A

April 02, 2020, 8:24pm

Nationals

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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Lamenting what should have been a glorious home opener

April 01, 2020, 7:32pm

Nationals

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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Providing a draft ranking and a Palmer take

April 02, 2020, 3:00pm

Orioles

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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Orioles finding ways to cope and assist during pandemic

April 02, 2020, 9:27am

Orioles

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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Nationals trivia quiz: Postseason

March 31, 2020, 8:15pm

Nationals

After clinching their first National League pennant in October, the Nationals had to wait six days before taking the field again for Game 1 of the World Series. Our break between re-watches of the NL Championship Series and World Series won't be that long, but we are going to take a couple of days off before diving back into the epic, seven-game showdown with the Astros. In the meantime, here's the second installment of Nats Trivia. (If you missed the first one last week, on the history of...

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Phillips keeping his spring roommates and new routine

April 01, 2020, 9:43am

Orioles

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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"Orioles Classics" #TBT: Marathon wins for long-term isolation

March 31, 2020, 9:27am

Orioles

Getting tired of jigsaw puzzles yet? You've cleaned the house to within an inch of its life and you're down to binge-watching the first (and final) season of "My Mother the Car." About this time, of course, you should be doing the heel-of-hand-to-forehead move as you remember that MASN continually brings you the best moments in Orioles history. So as most of us - apart from the grocery clerks, the first responders, the medical personnel and others who still venture into their regular work...

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Florida complex closed to Nats while serving as testing site

March 30, 2020, 11:14am

Nationals

Florida complex closed to Nats while serving as testing site

The few Nationals players and staffers who remain in West Palm Beach, Fla., are no longer allowed to use the club's spring training complex. FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches has become a testing site for the coronavirus, according to Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo, which has forced the 13 players and handful of staffers who had been utilizing the facility to stay in their respective homes and proceed with individual workouts and training on their own. A clause in the working contract...

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Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 4

March 30, 2020, 9:10pm

Nationals

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 4

They packed themselves into Nationals Park, nearly 44,000 strong, for a party 86 years in the making. They came to watch a major league team from Washington win a pennant for the first time since 1933. And when the home ballclub stormed out to a 7-0 lead after one inning, all that was left for everyone to do was count down the outs until it was official. Game 4 of the National League Championship Series was not a simple, by-the-book, three-hour party, though. It wound up including a couple of...

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A look at games possibly being played without fans

March 31, 2020, 3:49pm

Orioles

A look at games possibly being played without fans

It's becoming increasingly apparent that we may see at least some Major League Baseball games this summer with no fans. It will remind the Orioles of their 8-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on April 29, 2015. No fans were allowed in Camden Yards, but a game went on. The city of Toronto yesterday banned public events through at least June 30. Is that a sign that baseball will not be back until July, if at all, during 2020? Not necessarily, but it is also true that cities and states are...

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Chris Davis: "This is very abnormal, very unusual"

March 31, 2020, 2:14pm

Orioles

Chris Davis: "This is very abnormal, very unusual"

Chris Davis is safe at home, feeling blessed that the coronavirus hasn't touched his family. His wife and three young daughters, including 2-year-old twins, are fine. His friends are healthy. He's making many of the same adjustments as everyone else in his everyday life while unsure when he's going to be able to go back to work. Or if he'll be working in 2020. As the player representative with the Orioles, Davis has been gathering information on every conference call and sharing it with his...

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Another spring training memory from the Orioles beat

March 30, 2020, 12:34pm

Orioles

The regular season for the Orioles should be four games old. A home series against the Yankees completed and the middle game pending in a home series against the Red Sox. The first trip to St. Louis since 2003 was supposed to happen over the weekend, followed by a four-game series in the Bronx. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic has left us wondering if there will be a 2020 season and whether the Orioles will return to Sarasota for a second version of spring training. The Ed Smith Stadium...

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Wondering who's impacted by expansion to 29-man roster

March 29, 2020, 11:38am

Orioles

Wondering who's impacted by expansion to 29-man roster

The competitions for roster spots with the Orioles remain on hold during the coronavirus pandemic. Players are working out at home, a few of them posting clever videos on social media. Small children and pets are coming in handy as alternatives to gym weights. Ever done squats with a German Shepherd draped over your shoulders? These are the dog days of spring. One of the likely adjustments to baseball's season, if it happens in 2020, is inflating the active roster from 26 to 29 players for the...

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Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 3

March 29, 2020, 8:21pm

Nationals

Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 3

Postseason games at Nationals Park, generally speaking, have not been celebratory events. They're usually loaded with tension, usually involve contests that go right down to the ninth inning (or more), and usually see the home team desperate to win and keep its season alive. That was the typical scene for the first 14 postseason games played on South Capitol Street, beginning with Game 3 of the 2012 National League Division Series and running straight through Game 4 of the 2019 NLDS. The...