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Matthew Taylor: A trip with my son to remind me what baseball is all about

September 02, 2016, 4:25am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: A trip with my son to remind me what baseball is all about

It's been a tough week in Birdland. It's times like these when I think irrational thoughts, like wondering if being a baseball fan is worth the aggravation. The ballpark trip I took with my son last weekend reminds me that it's about more than the outcome of games. Here's the story of the first of what I hope will be many annual summer baseball trips together: With the final out of an early half-inning having been recorded, the Chattanooga Lookouts' promotions announcer sprung into action,...

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Zach Wilt: O's need to finish strong for shot at postseason

September 01, 2016, 4:59am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: O's need to finish strong for shot at postseason

This morning we turn the page on our calendars, or simply swipe up on our smartphones, as September begins and we near the finish line of the 2016 MLB season. With 29 games remaining, the Baltimore Orioles sit four back of the first place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East and tied with the Tigers for the second wild card spot. August marked the O's second losing month of the year, as they finished 13-15. They went 12-14 in July. FanGraphs.com projects that the Birds will go 15-14...

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David Huzzard: Nats almost assured of NL East crown, but need postseason success

September 01, 2016, 4:45am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Nats almost assured of NL East crown, but need postseason success

When the Nats are good, they are good in the same way. And as September begins, the Nats all but have the National League East locked up, just like they did in 2014. And while 2012 was much closer, the Nats had the division lead for more than half the season. It has been since May that the Nationals haven't had sole possession of first place. They can't be called wire-to-wire winners, though it is close, but is it too early to say the Nats have the division won? Yes and no. It is close to...

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Dillon Atkinson: Believe it or not, O's need to ride Jimenez's hot hand

August 31, 2016, 6:25am

Orioles

Dillon Atkinson: Believe it or not, O's need to ride Jimenez's hot hand

Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez got the call in D.C. to start in place of Orioles ace Chris Tillman - who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder bursitis - because of limited options and his past success against the Nationals. While fans griped at the fact that he is on the O's roster, much less starting, Jimenez went up against Nats ace Max Scherzer and tossed six innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out four batters. The non-promising...

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Charlie Fliegel: Time for Nats to start thinking ahead

August 31, 2016, 6:07am

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Time for Nats to start thinking ahead

As September arrives, the National League East race is looking more like a stroll. The Nationals still want to win enough games to keep home field advantage in the National League Division Series. But they are afforded the ability to rest some players, keeping them fresh for October. And that gives them ample opportunity to try and address some roster questions before the postseason begins. So here are a few. What is the bridge to the closer? Getting to Mark Melancon hasn't been challenging,...

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Ryan Romano: If Hart fares better vs. righties, he'll have a shot in O's bullpen

August 30, 2016, 3:00am

Orioles

Ryan Romano: If Hart fares better vs. righties, he'll have a shot in O's bullpen

While the Orioles have one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball -- and one of the best southpaws, period -- in Zach Britton, their bullpen skews to the right overall. Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, and Darren O'Day each throw right-handed, and they've all had some problems with lefties, albeit to vastly different extents. With Brian Matusz melting down and hitting waivers, Baltimore has tried out a host of left-handed bullpen arms to see if any of them can stick, and most (Ashur...

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Steve Mears: The annual September roster shakeup draws near

August 30, 2016, 7:08am

Nationals

Steve Mears: The annual September roster shakeup draws near

It is August 30th and many teams will be doing the roster shuffle in a few days to make room for their September call-ups, which also means that any player not on the 40-man roster is not eligible for a call-up. There are strong indications that Mat Latos and Sean Burnett could both be called up if Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo can make room for them on the 40-man roster. Both Latos and Burnett signed minor league contracts, and could both prove to be valuable in September and...

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Marty Niland: Murphy shooting for spot among D.C.'s all-time greats

August 29, 2016, 5:18am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Murphy shooting for spot among D.C.'s all-time greats

Nationals fans are having fun watching their team move closer to its third division title in the past five seasons, but an even more exciting race is in full swing between the Nats' Daniel Murphy and Colorado's DJ LeMahieu for the National League batting title. The two second basemen came into last weekend's series as the league's top two hitters, with Murphy at .345 and LeMahieu at .344. Even though LeMahieu didn't play in Friday's series opener, he moved into the top spot by going...

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Andrew Stetka: A moment to appreciate Adam Jones

August 28, 2016, 4:42pm

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: A moment to appreciate Adam Jones

It's not all that uncommon these days to hear that a baseball player is dealing with an injury. That's never been truer when it comes to Adam Jones. This isn't a knock on the Orioles center fielder. Major league players get dinged up throughout a long 162-game season. This is a regular occurrence. The difference with Jones is that he rarely misses a game because of it. When he's out of the lineup, it's noticeable. You know it must be something more than just a bump or a bruise. Jones has...

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Matthew Taylor: An interesting conversation with my 2011 self

August 26, 2016, 5:52am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: An interesting conversation with my 2011 self

Have you ever heard someone talk about the advice they would share with a younger version of themself if they had the chance? Here's what a conversation with the 2011 version of myself might look like if we got to talking Orioles baseball. 2011 Me: I don't know how much more of this I can take. Fourteen consecutive losing seasons! I thought this was the year, and we still lost 93 games with Buck Showalter in charge. We're hopeless. 2016 Me: I think you'll be happy with where things go from...

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David Huzzard: Nats will be ready come October

August 25, 2016, 5:23am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Nats will be ready come October

The Nationals' current four-game losing streak feels like the longest losing streak of the season. It isn't. That happened back in June when they lost seven in a row. This probably feels like a longer losing streak because the Nationals played so poorly against the Braves in order to test just how bad they were. The Nats found out that the Braves are very bad. The Orioles aren't a bad team, and so playing poorly against them has had much more disastrous results. Each loss by the Nationals...

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Zach Wilt: What Ubaldo Jimenez needs to do to be effective

August 25, 2016, 5:35am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: What Ubaldo Jimenez needs to do to be effective

For the first time since July 28, Ubaldo Jimenez will make a start for the Baltimore Orioles. With Chris Tillman on the disabled list, Jimenez will take the mound tonight in D.C. as the Birds look to take all four games of their interleague series against the Nationals. It's been a tough season for Jimenez, he's 5-10 with a 6.94 ERA. In his three seasons with the Orioles, he's pitched to a 4.99 ERA and surrendered 4.5 walks per nine innings. Jimenez signed a four-year deal with the Birds...

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Dillon Atkinson: Five X-factors for the Orioles down the stretch

August 24, 2016, 6:08am

Orioles

After defeating the Nationals 8-1 on Tuesday night, the Orioles are still in third place in the American League East, just two games back of the Red Sox and Blue Jays, who are tied for the division lead. The Birds are 22-25 since the start of July, so they're going to have to turn it around sooner rather than later. Here are five X-factors that could very well be big influences on whether or not the O's turn it around and make the postseason. Manny Machado: Since the start of July, Machado is...

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Charlie Fliegel: Nats bullpen is missing effective left-handed specialist

August 24, 2016, 5:45am

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Nats bullpen is missing effective left-handed specialist

The Nationals bullpen has been overused the last week, thanks to short stints from starting pitchers. However, since the addition of Mark Melancon, most of the title-worthy roles appear to have stabilized in the 'pen. Except one spot seems to be missing, and it's a need they must address. Melancon is, of course, the closer. Shawn Kelley seems to have nabbed the role of setup man. Since the beginning of July, he's only given up four earned runs in 20 appearances, held opponents to a .269...

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Steve Mears: Nats have struggled with situational hitting

August 23, 2016, 5:48am

Nationals

Steve Mears: Nats have struggled with situational hitting

Last night, situational hitting once again was a focus by the discerning eye as to why the Nationals offense sputtered. The lack of execution in productive outs, and hitting with runners in scoring position was beyond poor. In fact the RISP hitting finished at 1-for-9 and there were no productive outs made in the game by the Nationals, even though three times they had a leadoff man on second base and no outs to start an inning. We saw it right from the beginning of the game when Trea Turner...

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Ryan Romano: What's to blame for Trumbo's strange slump?

August 23, 2016, 4:52am

Orioles

Ryan Romano: What's to blame for Trumbo's strange slump?

As the Orioles go, so goes Mark Trumbo. In the first half of the season, the newest O's slugger put up some of the best offensive numbers in baseball. His .288/.341/.582 triple-slash translated to a 142 wRC+, ranking him 17th among qualified hitters. The club rode that scorching start, and the other hot hitters who backed it up, to a 51-36 first-half record. Since then, their performance has fallen off -- they've gone 16-20 in the second half of the season -- and Trumbo has played a big...

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Andrew Stetka: Orioles should look to deal strength for depth

August 21, 2016, 2:48pm

Orioles

There's a good debate going on throughout the baseball world right now about Orioles closer Zach Britton. Some believe he should get consideration for the Cy Young Award at season's end. Others don't think that honor should go to relief pitchers who don't accumulate as many innings as starters during the season. The argument is really about value. There's no real question that Britton, who has given up a staggering three earned runs all season, carries a lot of value. That value is seen by...

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Matthew Taylor: Hyun Soo Kim deserving of Hitting Machine nickname

August 19, 2016, 4:58am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Hyun Soo Kim deserving of Hitting Machine nickname

Hyun Soo Kim stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning on Thursday night with a chance to do something that no Orioles batter has done since ... Sunday. OK, so Matt Wieters' five-hit game at San Francisco, only the third ever by an Orioles catcher, made the possibility of a five-hit game for Kim seem less important. Regardless, it would have been a unique and fitting accomplishment for the rookie nicknamed Hitting Machine. Only one O's rookie has totaled a five-hit game in his...

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Zach Wilt: Schoop drawing comparisons to game's top second basemen

August 18, 2016, 6:03am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Schoop drawing comparisons to game's top second basemen

Power hitting second basemen are the quite the commodity in Major League Baseball. Most teams hope to get solid defense and above average offense from that position; adding some pop is a huge bonus. Jonathan Schoop is one of the few who provides both, a great glove in the middle of the diamond and 20-plus home run power. In his third full season in the big leagues at age 24, Schoop has homered 18 times for the Orioles and is on pace to finish the season with 25. The Birds second baseman is...

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David Huzzard: Pitching depth should be arranged for likely postseason trip

August 17, 2016, 4:53pm

Nationals

David Huzzard: Pitching depth should be arranged for likely postseason trip

It is still a little early to start talking about the playoffs, but let's face it - despite a minor bump in the road in Colorado, the Nationals have the National League East division all but wrapped up. One of the main questions for the playoffs is who will be on the pitching staff. It can be said with almost near certainty that Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Tanner Roark will be the top three. Joe Ross is still working his way back from injury and Gio Gonzalez has been wildly...