guestblogger

Rachel Levitin: Unprompted responses create hopeful stadium buzz

July 07, 2011, 4:21am

The recent slew of one-run victories in Washington is enough to get the adrenaline of the players and fans to gush. After last night's 5-4 win versus the Chicago Cubs, Nationals organist Matt Van Hoose and I got to talking about the electricity that erupts in the park's seating bowl and creates an aura of energy from within in the confines of Nationals Park. When fans make noise in favor of the team and feel like they're a part of the motivating factor to win it, it really makes that much of...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin

Matthew Taylor: Wieters should emulate former O's All-Stars Kennedy, Triandos

July 06, 2011, 4:59am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Wieters should emulate former O's All-Stars Kennedy, Triandos

Matt Wieters is only the fifth All-Star catcher for the Orioles, following Gus Triandos, Andy Etchebarren, Terry Kennedy, and Mickey Tettleton. The good news for Wieters is that each catcher made more than one All-Star team. After reviewing the boxscores of this quartet of previous O's All-Stars I'd say that, come next Tuesday, Wieters would do well to model Kennedy behind the plate and Triandos at the plate. Kennedy made his final All-Star appearance in 1987 for the Orioles after...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger matt wieters matthew taylor orioles orioles buzz

Rachel Levitin: Johnson holds Nats accountable with levity, pride

July 06, 2011, 4:42am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Johnson holds Nats accountable with levity, pride

When Davey Johnson was named manager of the Washington Nationals at the end of June, I was out of the country. Wednesday night's game was my first encounter with Johnson in a postgame press conference. Some managers play small ball with each play and others motivate their guys. The best of those guys do both. I'm still not 100 percent positive how to categorize Johnson, but I do know that I see potential in him as manager for the close of the year. Here's why: He's accountable. Besides...

Comments

Tags:

davey johnson guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin

Anthony Amobi: Reynolds finally emerging as legit power threat

July 05, 2011, 6:07am

Orioles

Anthony Amobi: Reynolds finally emerging as legit power threat

Yesterday, the Orioles lost deep in the heart of Texas to the Rangers. However, slugger Mark Reynolds again showed his power stroke. The third baseman, acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in the offseason, put on quite the power display in Atlanta over the weekend, and followed up that performance with two homers last night, his 19th and 20th. Despite Baltimore's 13-4 loss to the Texas, the story of last night's game was the power and approach of the third baseman. I know a lot of fans...

Comments

Tags:

anthony amobi guest blogger guestblogger mark reynolds orioles orioles buzz

Rachel Levitin: Could patriotic Nats become America's Team?

July 05, 2011, 4:51am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Could patriotic Nats become America's Team?

In theory, the Washington Nationals should be proclaimed "America's Baseball Team" due to proximity and fact. But thanks to the Patriotic Series and a little bit of time, that fact could turn into one of the Nats' longest-standing ballclub legacies. Take an annual contender in playoffs, for example. They're used to baseball during mid-October in front of a prime-time crowd. A D.C. fan hasn't had that opportunity since the invention of television. Plus, the Nats' end-of-season goals...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin

Matthew Taylor: Reynolds joins 20-20 club, only the wrong one

July 05, 2011, 5:54am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Reynolds joins 20-20 club, only the wrong one

Mark Reynolds joined a nontraditional 20-20 club on Monday when he hit his 20th home run of the season and committed his 20th error. Prior to the season, I identified Reynolds as the most likely candidate to become the Orioles' first traditional 20-20 player (20 home runs, 20 stolen bases) since Brady Anderson in 1999. I was enamored with Reynolds' power, concerned about his strikeouts and largely ignorant of his defensive struggles. Now I'm pondering the question many other fans in Birdland...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger matthew taylor orioles orioles buzz

Matthew Taylor: Beltway battle should include July 4 doubleheader

July 04, 2011, 7:31am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Beltway battle should include July 4 doubleheader

Happy Fourth of July, Orioles fans. I'm spending the holiday with my family in Catonsville, Md., where July 4 is, like a certain fictionalized news anchor, kind of a big deal. It certainly isn't more popular than Jesus (just "imagine" someone saying that); more like a secularized version of a holy day of obligation. Thousands of locals make the pilgrimage to Frederick Road in the afternoon for the annual parade and then on to Catonsville High School in the evening for fireworks. Both events...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger matthew taylor orioles orioles buzz

Rachel Levitin: Creating a sense of baseball community

July 04, 2011, 5:28am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Creating a sense of baseball community

When baseball returned to the District in 2005, the $5 grandstand tickets were the only reason my new-found friends at college would go to a baseball game with me. Now, in 2011, those same $5 grandstand tickets are the reason I'm not burned out when it comes to baseball. I'm going to be honest here: I love baseball, but the past two seasons have been draining in many ways. The opportunity to cover the Washington Nationals has been fantastic. I've met the people I now like to call my...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin

Dave Nichols: Zimmerman speaks from the heart at "Night in the Park"

June 30, 2011, 6:24pm

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Zimmerman speaks from the heart at "Night in the Park"

In his sixth full season with the Washington Nationals, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has become the face of the franchise. He has garnered many accolades, including being selected as an All-Star and winning a Gold Glove. A mild-mannered guy, ZImmerman usually leads not with words but with his actions and work ethic on the field. Last night, for the second consecutive year, Zimmerman spoke from the heart during "A Night at the Park," a benefit hosted by his ziMS Foundation, which funds...

Comments

Tags:

dave nichols guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz

Stacey Long: What if Brian Matusz doesn't get better?

July 01, 2011, 3:18am

Orioles

Stacey Long: What if Brian Matusz doesn't get better?

After Brian Matusz's terrible outing last night and his subsequent demotion to Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles' future is looking very unclear. Going into the season, before Matusz's injury, he was one of the players with the fewest question marks. But now, who knows what will happen? A polished college pitcher who sailed through the minors the first time, we know he has the talent. Hopefully he can figure out what he needs to and get back to Baltimore. But what if he doesn't? It's a...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger orioles oriolez buzz stacey long

Stacey Long: June 30, 2009: A Night to Remember

June 29, 2011, 7:21pm

Orioles

Stacey Long: June 30, 2009: A Night to Remember

Sometimes talking about the 2011 Orioles gets tiresome, especially when they're losing. So instead of rehashing another failure, let's go back in time. It was on June 30, 2009 that the Orioles completed the greatest comeback in franchise history, and it was one of the most fun games I can remember watching. After falling behind 10-1 to the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles scored five runs each in the seventh and eighth innings to come all the way back and defeat the hated divisional rivals...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger matt wieters nick markakis orioles oriolez buzz red sox stacey long guestblogger

Dave Nichols: Jordan Zimmermann is ace in the hole

June 29, 2011, 7:47pm

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Jordan Zimmermann is ace in the hole

Ho-hum. Jordan Zimmermann threw another outstanding game last night. It's unfortunate that a defensive miscue set up the only run of the game allowed and his teammates couldn't muster an attack against the Angels in a 1-0 defeat, to drop the Washington Nationals one game below .500 exactly half-way through the 2011 baseball season. Tell me, right now, that at the beginning of the season if someone promised you the Nats would be 40-41 at the mid-point of the season you wouldn't have taken...

Comments

Tags:

dave nichols guestblogger jordan zimmermann nationals nationals buzz

Stacey Long: Short outings by the rotation are killing the O's

June 29, 2011, 4:39am

Orioles

Stacey Long: Short outings by the rotation are killing the O's

There are two days left in June, and for the entire month, there has been exactly one game when the starting pitcher for the Orioles pitched at least seven innings. That game was June 10, when Jake Arrieta pitched seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's it. Since his disappointing return from the disabled list, Brian Matusz is averaging less than 4.5 innings per game. Since joining the rotation, Chris Jakubauskas has pitched 20 1/3 innings in four starts. Rookie Zach Britton is...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger orioles orioles buzz stacey long

Dave Nichols: Losses put winning streak in perspective

June 29, 2011, 4:19am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Losses put winning streak in perspective

So the Washington Nationals lose two in a row and folks are ready to run Davey Johnson out on a rail? A quick look this morning at different social media indicates just how fickle this fan base is. Comments such as "the old man doesn't know how to manage a pitching staff" and "I stayed up to watch that?" are prevalent. All of a sudden, the Nats have lost three of four and the walls are crumbling down. People, Rome wasn't built in a day. The Nats' remarkable winning streak over the last...

Comments

Tags:

dave nichols guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz

Dave Nichols: Is it time to be worried about Werth?

June 28, 2011, 6:55am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Is it time to be worried about Werth?

To say that Washington Nationals $126 million man Jayson Werth is struggling would be a dramatic understatement. After last night's 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Werth is hitting a robust .224/.329/.391, all career lows for seasons with more than 300 plate appearances. At the pace he's on, there's no way he'll even come close to his 162-game average of 25 home runs or 83 RBIs. Team officials are quick to assure Nats fans that Werth is just going through a slump, that he'll rebound...

Comments

Tags:

dave nichols guest blogger guestblogger jayson werth nationals nationals buzz

Stacey Long: Finding playing time for Reimold should be a priority

June 27, 2011, 4:57pm

Orioles

Stacey Long: Finding playing time for Reimold should be a priority

After a good rookie year in 2009, Nolan Reimold just couldn't get his act together in 2010. There's no way to know exactly what happened to Reimold last year, but between his documented personal issues, the fact that he was recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon and his impressive minor league numbers since being drafted, not many people were writing off Reimold's 2009 as a fluke. Reimold was the odd man out after Vladimir Guerrero was signed, but found his way back to Baltimore on...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger nolan reimold orioles orioles buzz stacey long

Stacey Long: Reynolds a victim of O's lineup

June 27, 2011, 4:14am

Orioles

Stacey Long: Reynolds a victim of O's lineup

Mark Reynolds has been on fire over the last four weeks, hitting .296/.446/.648. He leads the Orioles in home runs, doubles and walks. He trails only J.J. Hardy in on-base percentage and is arguably the best hitter on the team. Despite all of that, Reynolds remains at the bottom of the lineup, hitting ahead of only Robert Andino or Blake Davis and sometimes Felix Pie (who really shouldn't be in the starting lineup, ever, but that's another story). I spent last week in Pittsburgh watching...

Comments

Tags:

guest blogger guestblogger mark reynolds orioles orioles buzz stacey long

Dave Nichols: New era for Nationals baseball?

June 26, 2011, 8:36pm

Nationals

The Washington Nationals have won 13 of their last 15 games. That's pretty heady stuff. When play ended Sunday, the Nats owned a 40-38 record, a mere 3 1/2 games out of the Wild Card. This run that they're on right now can only be described with one word: ridiculous. On this streak, the Nats have won close games and blowouts. They've pitched over their heads and picked up the bullpen on the few occasions they've faltered. The Nats blew three saves in Friday's game alone and still won. In...

Comments

Tags:

dave nichols davey johnson guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz

Anthony Amobi: Are the Orioles what they thought they were?

June 24, 2011, 4:58am

Orioles

It has not been a good week for the Baltimore Orioles, as they have struggled in interleague play, losing two out of three games to the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Much like the Orioles, the Pirates and Nationals have been your traditional bottom-feeders recently; however, they have improved greatly this season. They are not seen as contenders, but they are no longer doormats, either. That same notion can be also applied to the Orioles. A lot of people at the start of the...

Comments

Tags:

anthony amobi guest blogger guestblogger orioles orioles buzz

Drew Kinback: Selfish Riggleman played chicken, lost in a walk-off

June 24, 2011, 4:45am

Nationals

Drew Kinback: Selfish Riggleman played chicken, lost in a walk-off

I really don't want to write about Jim Riggleman. First, he doesn't deserve it, considering his actions yesterday; resigning only moments after the Nationals organization hit a peak after sweeping the Seattle Mariners and moving over .500. Second, he ruined my Thursday night because as a Nationals blogger I tend to have to keep on top of these sorts of news stories and it kept me from spending time with my daughter and eating out at Wayside Chicken. I love Wayside Chicken. However, I...