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Josh Michael: Ryan McKenna is hitting his stride at Double-A Bowie

July 10, 2018, 6:43pm

Orioles

Josh Michael: Ryan McKenna is hitting his stride at Double-A Bowie

No Orioles minor league player has risen more this season in terms of general O's fans knowing about him than outfielder Ryan McKenna. His performance this year has skyrocketed him into the limelight and he is hitting his stride at the plate with the Double-A Bowie Baysox in July. McKenna, 21, was drafted by the Orioles in the fourth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in New Hampshire. The 5-foot-11, 185-lb. right-handed hitting outfielder had three...

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Marty Niland: Cracker Jack Classic brought stars to baseball-hungry D.C.

July 09, 2018, 5:24am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Cracker Jack Classic brought stars to baseball-hungry D.C.

Now that the starting lineups have been announced and the rosters filled, Washington is abuzz about the 89th Major League Baseball All-Star game. Many historians will tell you will that the July 17 game will be the fifth All-Star meeting in the nation's capital, the first since 1969, and they'd be technically correct. However, each summer from 1982 to 1987, Washington baseball fans saw something arguably better come to RFK Stadium. The Cracker Jack Old Timers Baseball Classic featured lineups...

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Andrew Stetka: A farfetched solution to deal with tanking teams

July 08, 2018, 6:29am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: A farfetched solution to deal with tanking teams

The Orioles are in the midst of an historically bad season, that much is clear. They are likely going to challenge the 1988 team for the worst record in franchise history. That squad finished 54-107 for a .335 win percentage after starting the season with an major league-record 0-21 mark. Neither this year's team or the 1988 squad were tanking, but that word has come up a bunch in recent baseball memory. Some point to the Astros or Cubs as examples of teams that tanked for a few years in order...

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Josh Michael: Why not spend July 4 watching Baysox or Shorebirds?

July 03, 2018, 5:22pm

Orioles

Josh Michael: Why not spend July 4 watching Baysox or Shorebirds?

A very happy Independence Day to everyone out there as we celebrate this great country that we live in! If you do not already have plans for this evening and want to see some fantastic fireworks and great baseball, there are two Orioles minor league affiliates that have you covered. While the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, high Single-A Frederick Keys and short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds are on the road, the Double-A Bowie Baysox and low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds are at home this...

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Ryan Sullivan: Hey, now, (I hope) you're an All-Star

July 06, 2018, 5:33am

Nationals

Ryan Sullivan: Hey, now, (I hope) you're an All-Star

After years of hype and anticipation, the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Washington, D.C., is only 11 days away. The fan vote concluded Thursday and on Sunday, the American and National League will announce 31 of the 32 members of the 2018 All-Star Game rosters. It would be a travesty if Trea Turner is not selected. Somewhat lost amid this peculiar season for the Nationals has been Turner's development as perhaps the best shortstop in the NL and one of the best in the majors. The...

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Zach Wilt: O's last blockbuster set franchise up for next decade

July 06, 2018, 5:17am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: O's last blockbuster set franchise up for next decade

On every Orioles road trip this season, I wonder if Manny Machado will return home with the rest of the club. Was Sunday's 8-2 victory over the Angels the last time Machado played in front of the home crowd at Camden Yards as an Oriole or will we see him suit up again on Monday against the Yankees? We'll see what happens over the next three days as the Birds take on the Twins in Minnesota. Like many in Birdland, I've got my eyes glued to Twitter, waiting for that breaking news about an...

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Liz Barr: Finding the positives during a rough stretch for Nationals

July 04, 2018, 5:33am

Nationals

The last month or so of Nationals baseball has been a little bit rough. It's been tough for the team and tough for fans, and at times it's been hard to watch. They keep finding new ways to lose, and it seems like there are never enough runs scored, they can't get that big hit and there are always runners left on base. It's frustrating. But we can't wallow in misery. If we only talk about failures and what the team isn't doing right, we're going to drive ourselves crazy. Yeah, things...

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Marty Niland: Celebrating baseball's evolution and sense of community

July 02, 2018, 5:41am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Celebrating baseball's evolution and sense of community

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden's baseball roots aren't in Washington, but she knows the sense of pride that baseball fans in the nation's capital feel toward their team and national pastime. "They represent the capital, and the team in the capital, and this is the all-American game," she said, previewing the Library of Congress' new exhibit, "Baseball Americana," which opened Friday amid the buildup to the 89th All-Star Game on July 17 at Nationals Park. Washington baseball fans can...

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Andrew Stetka: Reaching a career crossroads, Jones' legacy is secure

July 01, 2018, 12:10pm

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Reaching a career crossroads, Jones' legacy is secure

It feels like a yearly rite of passage for me at this point. Writing something about my admiration for Adam Jones has become commonplace. I guess in a way, I'm making fun of myself a bit for being so obsessed with the captain of the Orioles. But who can blame me at this point? He's been a transcendental figure on and off the field for the team in an important era. In fact, he has kind of defined an entire era of this franchise. Since signing a six-year extension with the Orioles as a...

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Zach Wilt: Could O's offensive downturn have been predicted?

June 29, 2018, 6:00am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Could O's offensive downturn have been predicted?

The Orioles' offensive struggles in 2018 are well documented. We all know that this club has had a tough time scoring runs. That's putting it lightly. The Birds rank 29th in runs this season. Their team batting average also ranks 29th and they are the only offense in baseball with a negative Wins Above Replacement. These rankings seems like a dramatic fall from where the club was just a few seasons ago. The 2014 AL East champion O's offense ranked fifth in baseball in WAR (26.7) and led...

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Ryan Sullivan: Saying farewell to Jayson Werth

June 29, 2018, 6:09am

Nationals

Ryan Sullivan: Saying farewell to Jayson Werth

Earlier this week, Jayson Werth publicly acknowledged his baseball career is over, failing to specifically use the word retirement, but effectively ending his playing days. After the Nationals decided not to offer him a contract, Werth signed a minor league pact with Seattle in March to attempt to earn his way back to the majors. Unfortunately, nagging injuries and mediocre statistical performance was baseball's way of telling him his playing days were finished. Werth had a fascinating career,...

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Josh Michael: Kirvin Moesquit has become stolen base machine for Shorebirds

June 27, 2018, 6:57am

Orioles

Josh Michael: Kirvin Moesquit has become stolen base machine for Shorebirds

I am a bit of an old-school baseball fan. I appreciate the small aspects of the game like hitting behind the runner, the hit-and-run, the sacrifice bunt and the stolen base. Many of the small things seem to have left the game, and while I understand the numbers behind it, part of me still misses them. When it comes to the Orioles, the stolen base has been as missing in action as their offense as a whole has been this year, but down at Single-A Delmarva, second baseman Kirvin Moesquit is...

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Liz Barr: Soto working his way into Rookie of the Year conversation

June 27, 2018, 6:37am

Nationals

Liz Barr: Soto working his way into Rookie of the Year conversation

Juan Soto has taken the Nationals by storm. We all know this. The Childish Bambino has provided the Nationals with a spark, and at times he's the only thing keeping this streaky train running. But he hasn't just taken the Nationals by storm, he's taken the entire league by storm, in a way no teenager has in a long time. There isn't an elite crop of rookies in the National League this season. There isn't a unanimous favorite like Cody Bellinger. So I say that it's within reason that Juan...

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Marty Niland: Ex-Senators catcher Moe Berg's story comes to life on screen

June 25, 2018, 5:59am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Ex-Senators catcher Moe Berg's story comes to life on screen

Moe Berg is known as a man who possibly changed history, although the former Washington Senators catcher is best remembered for decidedly non-baseball skills. Anyone who has visited the International Spy Museum has likely seen Berg's photo and read his story, and some who have been inside CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., may have seen his baseball cards on display. Now his exploits as a secret agent who helped the Allies win World War II have been brought to life in a film that's in limited...

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Andrew Stetka: What's Tim Beckham's future with the Orioles?

June 25, 2018, 5:38am

Orioles

When the Orioles traded minor league pitcher Tobias Myers to the Rays at the non-waiver trade deadline last year to acquire former first overall draft pick Tim Beckham, it raised some eyebrows. Some questioned why a team that was three games under .500 and in fourth place in the division, was making a go-for-it type of move. The O's went on to collapse at the end of last year and finish 75-87 and in last place in the American League East. But the Beckham move became more clear in that final...

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Ryan Sullivan: Carter Kieboom's breakout season is being noticed

June 22, 2018, 6:18am

Nationals

Ryan Sullivan: Carter Kieboom's breakout season is being noticed

We are witnessing an outstanding season from a Nationals prospect unable to legally buy beer. If you immediately think this is yet another article about Juan Soto, I promise you it is not. Although he might deserve it, the 19-year-old Soto started the year at Single-A Hagerstown and is now batting cleanup in the major league. Yet somehow overlooked in the Soto tsunami, the Nationals have another prospect breaking out in their system in Carter Kieboom. Washington's first-round pick in 2016 out...

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Zach Wilt: All-Star Game nod long overdue for Nick Markakis

June 21, 2018, 5:17pm

Orioles

Zach Wilt: All-Star Game nod long overdue for Nick Markakis

A familiar face is leading the National League's All-Star voting for outfielders: our old pal, Nick Markakis, who at 34 looks like he will finally get a very well deserved first trip to the mid-summer classic. I can't think of anyone more overdue for the honor. Markakis has spent 13 years in the big leagues playing in more than 1,900 games. As Orioles fans are well aware, nine of those years were spent in Baltimore, where he was drafted in the first round in 2003, played through the minor...

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Josh Michael: Keegan Akin trending up, possibly O's best pitching prospect

June 19, 2018, 3:56pm

Orioles

Josh Michael: Keegan Akin trending up, possibly O's best pitching prospect

There's no sugarcoating it, there's not a lot to be excited about for Orioles fans at the moment. There are, however, several prospects that have seen their stock rise in 2018, and among the top of the class is left-handed pitcher Keegan Akin. Akin, 23, was selected by the Orioles in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Western Michigan. Along with right-handed pitchers Cody Sedlock and Matthias Dietz, the O's used their top three choices in that draft on pitchers, and...

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Liz Barr: Taylor has earned his way back into Nats lineup

June 19, 2018, 3:59pm

Nationals

Liz Barr: Taylor has earned his way back into Nats lineup

Michael A. Taylor has been absolutely on fire of late. The man who was once under the Mendoza line has raised his batting average almost forty points in just over two weeks. It's phenomenal what Taylor has been able to do this month. At the beginning of June, Taylor was hitting just .204 and struggling mightily in just about every aspect offensively. But since the calendar turned, Taylor has become a new hitter. This month, in 14 games (nine starts), Taylor has hit a sizzling .429, scored...

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Ryan Sullivan: Nationals need a boost behind the plate

June 15, 2018, 6:20am

Nationals

The Nationals have been scuffling thus far in June with a 5-5 record. In particular, the offense has been struggling, scoring only 39 runs in those 10 games. And if you eliminate their 11-run explosion last week against the Rays, the Nationals are averaging only 3.11 runs per game in June. While it takes many hitters collectively struggling at the same time to produce these results, the Nationals catchers have been particularly dreadful recently. Starting catcher Matt Wieters was having a solid...