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Rachel Levitin: Time to focus on the 2013 Nationals' positives over negatives

June 13, 2013, 5:30am

With a win against the Colorado Rockies last night, the Nationals are back at .500 with a 32-32 record and are six games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East. There's been a lot of talk about expectations for the 2013 Nationals and how they're not living up to the alleged hype. Instead of getting bogged down in that, it may be best to realign expectations moving forward for the rest of the season. It's time to focus on what is working as opposed to what's not. Ian...

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David Huzzard: Jordan Zimmermann's great start makes waiting on long-term deal a smart move

June 12, 2013, 5:47am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Jordan Zimmermann's great start makes waiting on long-term deal a smart move

Before the start of the 2013 baseball season, the Washington Nationals and Jordan Zimmermann were at a crossroads. The Nationals would have liked to have extended him in the same manner they did Gio Gonzalez before his 21-win season. If Zimmermann had been paying attention to that and to the money that right-handed aces such as Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, Felix Hernandez, and Justin Verlander were commanding, then he was smart to turn aside the Nationals' advances to commit to a long-term...

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Neal Shaffer: Is it easier to talk O's baseball now than when team was losing?

June 12, 2013, 5:21am

Orioles

Neal Shaffer: Is it easier to talk O's baseball now than when team was losing?

There's only one item on the agenda today and it's a pretty simple one. It takes the form of a question: Is it harder to talk about the Orioles now than it was when they were losing? It is, a little bit, for me. When they were losing, I loved digging in on what ifs and maybes because the rest of the world treated Birdland as an afterthought or a joke. I loved uncovering new angles. I loved placing long bets and playing the long game. I didn't love the baseball a lot of the time, but I...

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Ted Leavengood: The third No. 1 truly arrives

June 11, 2013, 6:08am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: The third No. 1 truly arrives

Anthony Rendon leapt high into the air to snare a line drive during Sunday's game. It was not until the slow motion replay was available that the athletic nature of the play could be appreciated. Rendon was easily three feet or more off the ground when the ball settled into his outstretched mitt. His standing leap was one that most basketball players would covet. It was the kind of play that Danny Espinosa has been making routinely at second base for the past three seasons. When Rendon made...

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Zach Wilt: Chris Davis and the adjustment period

June 11, 2013, 5:54am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Chris Davis and the adjustment period

Baseball is a game of constant adjustments. This offseason, Chris Davis worked on fixing the holes in his swing and the adjustment resulted in a league-leading 20 home runs in his first 52 games. Now the rest of baseball has adjusted to Davis and it's his job to take back that advantage and start crushing baseballs over the fences of ballparks across the country again. Davis, the leading vote-getter at first base for the American League for the All-Star Game, hasn't homered since May 29 and...

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Marty Niland: Werth the straw that stirs Nats' drink

June 10, 2013, 7:37am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Werth the straw that stirs Nats' drink

The Nationals have been hit hard in recent weeks by injuries to key players like Bryce Harper, Wilson Ramos, Ross Detwiler and Stephen Strasburg. But perhaps the most important injury to hit the Nats this season was the hamstring injury that kept Jayson Werth out of the lineup from May 3 until last Tuesday's game against the Mets. The Nats missed not only his talent on the field, but his leadership in the clubhouse. Now it's apparent by the team's improved intensity that they're reaping the...

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Domenic Vadala: The relative unfairness of the AL East

June 09, 2013, 11:03am

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: The relative unfairness of the AL East

I've said numerous times on Birds Watcher that the birth of the current Orioles came on Sept. 28, 2011, when the O's beat Boston on the final day of the season. We all know the story: Robert Andino's RBI double, combined with Evan Longoria's walk-off homer, knocked Boston out of the playoffs that year. The Orioles followed that up with an impromptu playoff birth in 2012, and withstanding this past weekend's series in Tampa, the Orioles are in the hunt again this year. In fact, going into...

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Matthew Taylor: How a second wild card might have rewritten O's history

June 07, 2013, 4:48am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: How a second wild card might have rewritten O's history

It's June, and I'm scoreboard watching. I've actually been doing so since early May. It's not the best way to weather periodic losing streaks, blown saves or even a rival's hot streaks. Nevertheless, I do it all the same. The process is made more enjoyable by the realization that for much of the recent past there was no reason to scoreboard watch at any point in the season for us Orioles fans. Scoreboard watching, regardless of when it takes place, has become a little less stressful with...

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Anthony Amobi: O's will need a consistent Chris Tillman if they're going to win

June 06, 2013, 6:07am

Orioles

Anthony Amobi: O's will need a consistent Chris Tillman if they're going to win

For the past several seasons, Chris Tillman has been a very promising young arm for the Baltimore Orioles. However, from time to time, he is inconsistent, confounding and frustrating to watch on the mound. On Tuesday night, the Orioles defeated the Houston Astros 4-1, and Tillman was excellent, only allowing one run in seven innings of work. The Astros - universally predicted to be awful this season - were flying high and had won six straight games before facing Tillman and the Orioles. I...

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Rachel Levitin: Lacking consistency, Nats must hope shakeup helps fix team

June 06, 2013, 4:47am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Lacking consistency, Nats must hope shakeup helps fix team

A common saying among the Nationals' players and coaches this season is, "We're better than this." My question in retort is, "But, are you really?" Let's be frank here - this conversation has been running in circles for weeks now. Despite the thrilling victory on opening day in which Stephen Strasburg pitched a gem and Bryce Harper came up big at the plate, wins have been rare and cries lamenting that the team hasn't been meeting its potential are aplenty. Sure, the successful 2012...

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Neal Shaffer: Don't become what we've lamented

June 05, 2013, 5:03am

Orioles

Neal Shaffer: Don't become what we've lamented

So we know that times are changing in Birdland. Winning doesn't seem so weird. The Orioles no longer rank among the bottom feeders. With that comes renewed interest in the team, and with that comes more activity on game day. That means it's time to sound a clarion call for all O's fans to hear: Act like you know. When I read about the recent altercation down at Camden Yards between a couple of supposed Orioles fans and a guy in a Yankees hat, I got a sinking feeling in my gut. I'm no...

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David Huzzard: Getting them on and getting them in

June 05, 2013, 4:50am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Getting them on and getting them in

After Sunday's loss to the Braves, tragic news broke that the Nationals' OBP had sunk lower than the Marlins. The Marlins offense has often been ridiculed and laughed at for how comically bad it is and while the Marlins are well on their way to losing 100 games, more was expected from the Nationals. The Nationals' failure to score runs is the biggest reason for their record this season and not having a lot of baserunners is no way to score runs. While watching a Nationals game or listening...

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Zach Wilt: Who's a bigger surprise, Chris Davis or Manny Machado?

June 04, 2013, 5:45am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Who's a bigger surprise, Chris Davis or Manny Machado?

Chris Davis leads Major League Baseball with 20 home runs, and he's on pace to hit 57 this season. Across the diamond, Manny Machado leads the league in doubles with 25. Over at BaltimoreSportsReport.com, in our little corner of the internet, we have been debating the biggest surprise on the O's roster this season. Is it Davis or Machado? On Monday, Davis was named the American League Player of the Week for the second time this season after hitting .481/.500/.963 with four home runs and six...

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Ted Leavengood: Winning is never a sure thing

June 04, 2013, 5:31am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: Winning is never a sure thing

The exuberant confidence that gripped Washington in March was a false dawn. It was not backed up by the play of the Nationals in Viera, Fla., and now two months later, the giddy talk about the postseason does not deserve ink. Happy talk does not win games. The precious commodities absolutely essential to winning - determination and focus -were not there in the spring and they have been missing for much of the first two months of the season. The hell-bent-for-the-World-Series Nationals have a...

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Domenic Vadala: Is Chris Davis an MVP candidate?

June 02, 2013, 1:16pm

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: Is Chris Davis an MVP candidate?

Going into the 2013 season, one of the big questions surrounding the Orioles was Chris Davis at first base. In 26 games at first last year, Davis fielded at a .989 clip and committed four errors before Mark Reynolds became the Orioles' everyday first baseman. However, for the season overall, Davis hit .270 with 33 homers. I remember saying on Birds Watcher during spring training that the nightmare scenario for the Birds would be for Davis to struggle in the field to the point that the O's...

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Matthew Taylor: Tracing the battle to before there were Beltways

May 31, 2013, 5:48am

Nationals Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Tracing the battle to before there were Beltways

The Orioles and Nationals wrapped up the 2013 edition of the Battle of the Beltways on Thursday night with the O's winning their third game of the four-game, split-stadium series. The series got me to thinking about the early days of this match-up and how much I'd forgotten since these two teams starting playing each other again. And then there's the stuff I never knew from the original days of Baltimore-Washington baseball. I took a look back at the first games between the two franchises in...

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Anthony Amobi: Is Chris Davis for real?

May 30, 2013, 5:17am

Orioles

At this point in my life, as a sports fan, I'm not often surprised by much. So far this season, Chris Davis has me wondering if what I am seeing from him is for real, based on his track record. I was not sure if he could replicate what he did last season, especially toward the end, coming into 2013. However, he is exceeding that - and a whole lot more. His nickname among fans and the media is "Crush", based on his power at the plate, size and physique. Since opening day, he has been doing...

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David Huzzard: The end of the 100-inning reliever

May 29, 2013, 5:19am

Nationals

David Huzzard: The end of the 100-inning reliever

Baseball is always looking to innovate. Most baseball fans' bookshelves include books like Moneyball and The Extra 2 Percent - books about how the A's and Rays innovated in order to win at baseball despite not having the money to win the way everyone else did. This desire to find advantages is nothing new to baseball and wasn't always about statistical analysis. Candy Cummings was a major league pitcher from 1872-77 and is in the Hall of Fame as the pitcher credited with inventing the...

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Neal Shaffer: J. Johnson's struggles illustrate why baseball should rethink closer role

May 29, 2013, 4:46am

Orioles

Neal Shaffer: J. Johnson's struggles illustrate why baseball should rethink closer role

Timely piece of work on Tuesday from SI's Tom Verducci about struggling closers around MLB, with our own Jim Johnson starring as co-Exhibit A with Fernando Rodney of the Rays. It's worth a read, but here's the salient point: It's not a surprise that Johnson, 29, and Rodney, 36, are struggling, especially given their age and workload last season. The surprise would have been if they pitched as well this year as they did last year. I'm on record as one who argues against statistics...

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Ted Leavengood: The malaise of near-.500 baseball

May 28, 2013, 5:05am

Nationals

Ted Leavengood: The malaise of near-.500 baseball

The pitching match-up favored Washington at Nationals Park yesterday. Gio Gonzalez had home field advantage and the better record in the majors going for him against the Orioles' Jason Hammel. But he could not beat Hammel because he could not get Yamaico Navarro out. The scrub second-baseman, just up from Triple-A Norfolk, got a key hit for the Orioles in the fourth inning that proved the undoing of the Nationals. When things are going well for a team, their call-ups from Norfolk will...