coronavirus

Spring training storylines: Holding camp in a pandemic

February 16, 2021, 6:58pm

Would you believe we've reached the final countdown to spring training? That's right, pitchers and catchers are holding their first official workout in West Palm Beach, Fla., tomorrow. So it's time to count down the Nationals' top storylines of the spring. We conclude today with the unique challenges the team will face conducting a six-week camp during a pandemic ... The last time the Nationals worked out as a team at their complex in West Palm Beach, a few precautions had been put in place...

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Protocols to begin 2021 season are similar to 2020 precautions

February 09, 2021, 8:04pm

Nationals

Protocols to begin 2021 season are similar to 2020 precautions

Major League Baseball formally announced its health and safety protocols Tuesday. And if you haven't heard yet, the 2021 season is going to look a lot like the 2020 season. At least at the outset. With the pandemic still consuming the nation and vaccinations still not available to most Americans yet, baseball had little choice but to reinstate many of the procedures that were necessary last season. This time, though, they're going to have to hold up through a full spring training, 162-game...

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Notes on health and safety, PECOTA, Renato NÃºÃ±ez and more

February 09, 2021, 12:12pm

Orioles

Notes on health and safety, PECOTA, Renato NÃºÃ±ez and more

We now know some of the rules that will govern the 2021 Major League Baseball season. MLB and the MLB Players Association announced the health and safety protocols that will be in place starting when spring training begins next week. By the way, as a reminder, O's pitchers and catchers report Tuesday, Feb. 16 with the first workout set for the next day. The first full-squad workout in Sarasota is Feb. 22. Some things that were agreed on include: * Doubleheaders will feature two seven-inning...

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MLB announces rules and protocols for 2021

February 09, 2021, 12:32pm

Orioles

MLB announces rules and protocols for 2021

The Orioles begin spring training next week with a much better idea of the rules and health and safety protocols awaiting them in 2021. The wait is finally over. Major League Baseball offered confirmation on some details that recently began to leak, including how rosters will hold 26 players and increase to 28 in September. There's no limit on the number of pitchers. Any clubs that experience a COVID-19 outbreak among its players are allowed to add to the major league active list temporarily,...

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What will spring training look like?

February 01, 2021, 6:39pm

Nationals

As expected, the Major League Baseball Players Association on Monday night shot down MLB's proposal to push back the start of spring training one month, reduce the regular season to 154 games and complete an expanded postseason in early November, all while receiving full-season pay and reinstituting the universal designated hitter for 2021. "The MLBPA Executive Board and Player leadership reviewed and discussed the owners' proposal throughout the weekend and today," the union said in a...

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Will players go for MLB's delayed, 154-game proposal?

January 31, 2021, 6:19pm

Nationals

Will players go for MLB's delayed, 154-game proposal?

It's February, and February means the start of spring training. Nationals pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to West Palm Beach in 16 days, and if that isn't reason to smile on this snowy morning, what is? Unless pitchers and catchers don't actually report on Feb. 17 as scheduled, which appears to be the preference of Major League Baseball. MLB, according to multiple reports Sunday, has sent a proposal to the MLB Players Association requesting a one-month delay of spring training,...

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Remembering an uplifting event in the shadow of the Capitol

January 06, 2021, 8:54pm

Nationals

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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Rizzo makes pitch for scouts to return to ballparks in 2021

December 18, 2020, 7:30pm

Nationals

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

December 16, 2020, 6:54pm

Nationals

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

December 06, 2020, 8:52pm

Nationals

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

December 04, 2020, 11:17am

Nationals

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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As football flails, MLB deserves more credit for 2020 season

November 22, 2020, 6:45pm

Nationals

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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Is a frigid free agent season looming?

November 16, 2020, 1:03pm

Orioles

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

November 08, 2020, 2:16pm

Orioles

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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Checking in with pitching coaches from the Bowie alternate site

October 27, 2020, 12:03pm

Orioles

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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How much did fans miss attending games?

October 19, 2020, 3:29pm

Orioles

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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Rays are headed to World Series

October 17, 2020, 7:16pm

Orioles

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

October 02, 2020, 8:49pm

Nationals

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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Pandemic playoffs present new challenges

September 26, 2020, 5:06pm

The baseball postseason starts Sept. 29, and after a bizarre season defined by the coronavirus, there will be nothing normal about October baseball. First of all, there will be 16 teams instead of 10, more than half of Major League Baseball's 30 teams. The wild-card round, usually a dramatic one-game playoff, has moved to a three-game format with all three games played in the ballparks of the top-seeded three division winners in each league. After that, all games will be at a neutral...

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Nationals survive trying, joyless road portion of season

September 20, 2020, 7:08pm

Nationals

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...