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Rachel Levitin: Electric Harper challenging short attention spans

June 09, 2011, 5:46am

It's not the most reliable of sources, but Bleacher Report had Bryce Harper kiss situation. While the unwritten rule of respecting one's opposition by not showing them up was clearly broken, Bleacher Report is under the impression that this is a rule that should be broken. Why? Because people want to be entertained while watching a game. In today's 24-hour news cycle and constant state of connectivity, the attention span of the average person has dwindled to dust. It's like Ellen...

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Matthew Taylor: Luke Scott new king of "bronze bombers"

June 08, 2011, 5:52am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Luke Scott new king of "bronze bombers"

I want to begin by congratulating the Orioles on their fine selection of Matt Taylor in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with the 155th pick. I don't know a thing about Taylor other than the fact that we share the same name, so I fully support the move and look forward to his first T-Shirt Tuesday at Camden Yards. And while I'm handing out plaudits, here's to Luke Scott for taking over sole possession as the career leader in Eutaw Street home runs....

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Rachel Levitin: Recalling poise, power and hype surpassing expectation

June 08, 2011, 4:48am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Recalling poise, power and hype surpassing expectation

It isn't often hype matches and then surpasses expectation, but last year on this very date, that's what Washington watched live at Nationals Park. Pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg became a part of Nationals folklore when he made his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The start was by no means shaky, but there were a few moments where the victory almost slipped away. Thanks to a few offensive heroics from Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn, combined with a nasty fastball and a...

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Matthew Taylor: A non-scientific analysis of hanging around

June 07, 2011, 4:38am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: A non-scientific analysis of hanging around

I recently read an interesting Wall Street Journal article by Matthew Futterman that, like many statistical analyses these days, challenged conventional baseball wisdom. In this instance, the cherished-but-challenged wisdom is as follows: "It's not a sprint, it's a marathon." Futterman writes that baseball is in fact very much a sprint and that the beloved boys of summer generally know how they'll finish the season even before the summer solstice. Here's a key passage from the...

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Rachel Levitin: Uniform alteration could fashion change for Nats

June 07, 2011, 5:46am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Uniform alteration could fashion change for Nats

If I were a Washington National, the ever-changing daily lineup would start to bother me after a while. It's not because I don't trust manager Jim Riggleman to do his job. I do. He's had his eyes and ears inside Major League Baseball for longer than a decent chunk of the roster. The issue to be taken here isn't with Riggleman but rather with a lack of consistency. Imagine being a kid again and playing in a summer league or school league for any sport. In those days, it wasn't about...

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Rachel Levitin: Zimmerman inches back toward D.C.

June 06, 2011, 4:55am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Zimmerman inches back toward D.C.

It's been a weird summer for baseball in Washington, D.C., without Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup. Without his consistent bat and Gold Glove performances daily, the Nationals have had to do the best with what they've got. That's all they can do under the circumstances. On Sunday, the Nationals got a little closer to getting Zimmerman back. Zimmerman played for the Single-A Hagerstown Suns - his first time playing in a live game since April 9 - as part of a minor league rehabilitation...

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Matthew Taylor: Pondering what might have been for O's

June 06, 2011, 6:42am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Pondering what might have been for O's

It's not often that I find myself 10 pages deep into MLB.com's sortable player statistics, but that's how far you have to go to find Mark Reynolds if you search by batting average. It turns out that page 10, which in this case lists players ranked between 451 and 500 for average, is a pretty interesting place for Orioles fans. In addition to Reynolds who, for the record, is No. 460 for average, page 10 contains names of guys who have played for the Birds this season or who were talked about...

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Dave Nichols: History not kind to Nats on West Coast trips

June 03, 2011, 8:29am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: History not kind to Nats on West Coast trips

The Washington Nationals' 6-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks kicks off an 11-game West Coast road trip that will see them visit San Francisco and San Diego as well. It's a brutal trip, not as much for the quality of competition - though that's tough enough - but just for the nature of the trip. Imagine how you'd feel waking up in a different city every third day for almost two weeks, four time zones from home. History hasn't been all that kind to the Nats on these extended west coast...

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Stacey Long: Talented starting pitchers deserve some offensive support

June 02, 2011, 6:56am

Orioles

Stacey Long: Talented starting pitchers deserve some offensive support

Brian Matusz and Zach Britton currently are pitching back-to-back in the rotation. Yes, the rotation is in a bit of a shambles, what with it only having four members, one of whom is just back from the disabled list. But Matusz and Britton are pitching back-to-back in the Orioles rotation. Two lefties who are renowned around baseball just happen to be pitching consecutive games for the Orioles. When looking ahead to upcoming series, Orioles fans often see two lefties pitching for an opposing...

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Dave Nichols: Who is Laynce Nix?

June 01, 2011, 8:28pm

Nationals

With all the injuries, losses and hitting woes for the Washington Nationals, one player has exceeded any type of projection or prediction, and his name is Laynce Nix. His home run and phenomenal catch in yesterday's 2-1 win over Philadelphia has made him a pretty popular player right now. Nix is a 30-year old left-handed outfielder from Texas. He's stocky and powerful, but runs pretty well for a big guy and is not a liability on defense. He signed as a free agent this past offseason when he...

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Dave Nichols: An early look at potential Nats All-Stars

May 31, 2011, 9:43pm

Nationals

Dave Nichols: An early look at potential Nats All-Stars

With the calendar flipping to June, it's not too early to start thinking about who might represent the Washington Nationals at the mid-summer classic, the 2011 All-Star Game on July 12 in Phoenix. It's an honor for players to be voted in by the fans, but the first early results posted by Major League Baseball show no Nationals player in the top five in voting for position players or top 15 outfielders. Unfortunately, $126 million isn't enough to buy Jayson Werth a few All-Star votes. But...

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Stacey Long: O's should consider dealing Guthrie

June 01, 2011, 6:46am

Orioles

Stacey Long: O's should consider dealing Guthrie

Jeremy Guthrie pitched an amazing baseball game last night. Undone in the eighth inning, Orioles fans who stayed up past midnight hoping for a win will only remember the crushing home run by Justin Smoak, but Guthrie was fantastic. He's been fantastic for most of this year, and for much of his time in Baltimore. But with one year left on his contract, Guthrie could bring back to the Orioles pieces that will help the team in the future. The Orioles are improved this year, there is no denying...

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Dave Nichols: Losses make big picture tougher to see

May 30, 2011, 8:07pm

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Losses make big picture tougher to see

The Washington Nationals are struggling. Like, really struggling. After Monday's 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, they have lost their last three games - all by one run. They have lost eight of their last nine, 10 of 12 and 13 of 17. The Nats are losing close games (5-12 in one-run games in 2011) and blowouts (1-6 when the game is decided by five or more runs). After 53 games, nearly a third of the season, they are 22-31, a .415 winning percentage. Over a 162-game schedule, that works...

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Stacey Long: Taking respite in O's minor leagues, draft

May 31, 2011, 2:48am

Orioles

Stacey Long: Taking respite in O's minor leagues, draft

With the advent of blogs such as my own and those that belong to the other fine writers taking up this space, there is more being written about, well, everything. In our case, it's the Baltimore Orioles. From the traditional media to those of us who have our own platforms online to the masses on Twitter who take to the Internet daily, it's mind-boggling just how much is being said about the Orioles on a daily basis. Because the Orioles are a losing team, and have been for so long, this...

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Dave Nichols: Natosphere offers something for every taste

May 30, 2011, 6:52am

Nationals

Dave Nichols: Natosphere offers something for every taste

When MASNsports.com asked me to participate in the guest blogging initiative on Nationals Buzz, I was honored. It's gratifying to know someone values your work. The other writers that were asked to participate, Will Yoder from The Nats Blog, Rachel Levitin from We Love DC and Drew Kinback from Nationals Inquisition all offer their differing and unique view to the Natsosphere. But the quartet of writers featured in this space represents just a small portion of the varied, talented, dedicated...

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Stacey Long: Our old friend Erik Bedard

May 30, 2011, 6:38am

Orioles

The Orioles start a three-game series in Seattle today, and while they mercifully miss Felix Hernandez again, they will face old friend Erik Bedard tomorrow. Of course, there are only four Orioles on the current roster who played with Bedard, so any special interest in Bedard is mostly from the fans. And it's not just interest in how well he's playing and how he'll pitch against the Orioles; seeing Bedard also reminds the fans of how far the team as come since the trade that sent Bedard to...

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Drew Kinback: Werth's words recall weirdness and freakouts

May 27, 2011, 5:18am

Nationals

Drew Kinback: Werth's words recall weirdness and freakouts

Let's not kid ourselves. Jayson Werth freaked out. After getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, the Washington Nationals' right fielder delivered a bizarre and cryptic postgame interview where he said: "I've got some ideas, obviously, and some thoughts, none I really want to share with the world. But I think it's pretty obvious what's going on right here. ... I'm not going to get into it right now. It is what it is. It's unfortunate. We're a way better...

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Anthony Amobi: This time around, Reimold making most of opportunity

May 27, 2011, 5:24am

Orioles

Anthony Amobi: This time around, Reimold making most of opportunity

Parts of the last two seasons have been nothing short of rough for Nolan Reimold. However, Remold is now back in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles and when he's been given the opportunity to play, the man has delivered in key moments. His bat played a huge role in Saturday's victory against the Nationals and also on Thursday against the Royals, where his home runs helped extend the Orioles' winning streak to five games. During the past week, Reimold has once again shown flashes of...

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Anthony Amobi: Jones finally realizing his immense potential

May 26, 2011, 5:28am

Orioles

Anthony Amobi: Jones finally realizing his immense potential

If you all have been watching the Orioles as of late, you know that Adam Jones has really been heating it up at plate. Right now, Jones is one of the more prominent faces of the franchise and so far in 2011, his profile seems to be rising even more in the sport thanks to an outstanding May at the plate. Before this season began, I was not sure what to think of Jones at times. Well, there a few situations last year while watching the action live from my seat, when I could recall myself...

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Drew Kinback: For starters, a Tao on the Nationals' rotation

May 25, 2011, 5:40pm

Nationals

After the Nationals got absolutely brutalized in Milwaukee, it was hard to sit down and write something about them. I mean, they savaged themselves. One game they got blown out, the other two were like they were trying to end it all by leaping up on a moose head attached to the wall to try and impale themselves on its horns. Comedic and pathetic. The feelings of anger and disgust were over whelming so I took some time and meditated in the Zen Room (all Nats blogs are equipped with one). If I...