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Andrew Stetka: Looking back and ahead for O's

September 13, 2015, 7:13pm

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Looking back and ahead for O's

Orioles fans are going through a very strange period right now. After three straight seasons of competitive baseball, including two trips to the postseason, the O's are on the outside looking in this year. At this point, the Birds are just battling to finish with a winning record and stay out of the basement of the American League East. As someone who blogs for Eutaw Street Report, which is all about the fan perspective, I feel a need to get the pulse of a large portion of that fan base at...

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Matthew Taylor: Comparing the Orioles and Nationals seasons

September 18, 2015, 6:04am

Nationals Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Comparing the Orioles and Nationals seasons

Who has had it worse this season, Baltimore Orioles fans or Washington Nationals fans? The two teams will square off next week in a series that fans of each franchise had expected to be a tune-up for postseason play. Instead, it will be a match-up of drowning teams gasping desperately for a breath of playoff air. Neither of the teams playing near the Navy Yard next week is fully submerged just yet, but the O's and Nats have both been sinking ships for some time now. The teams have both sounded...

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Zach Wilt: A year later, recalling Clinchmas morning

September 17, 2015, 5:33am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: A year later, recalling Clinchmas morning

Waking up in Baltimore a year ago today felt very much like Christmas morning for Orioles fans. Instead of racing to the tree to see what Santa had left us the night before, we raced to our phones and computers to check the standings to see if what we witnessed the night before really did happen. Was that champagne celebration real? Did Adam Jones really pie that fan? It was all very real and I'll never forget the way I felt all day knowing that the O's were American League East...

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David Huzzard: No question, Bryce Harper is NL MVP

September 17, 2015, 5:19am

Nationals

David Huzzard: No question, Bryce Harper is NL MVP

The very fact that Bryce Harper's legitimacy as National League Most Valuable Player is up for debate is an absurdity. The MVP award is an individual award meant to be handed out to the best player in a league at the end of the season, but too many people get caught up in the word "value" and end up trying to give it some meaning beyond simply being the best. The problem for opponents of Harper is if you debate the merits of Harper as MVP on baseball terms, you lose. Harper is the first...

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Domenic Vadala: For resurgent O's, strong finish can affect next season

September 16, 2015, 5:19am

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: For resurgent O's, strong finish can affect next season

Many people are simply accepting the presumption that the Orioles aren't going to make the postseason in 2015. At this point, you have no choice but to admit that the season is certainly trending that way. However, one thing I try to convey in my columns each day is that until the team is mathematically eliminated, there's still hope. People try to tell me that I'm naive for not accepting reality. Maybe it comes off as clichÃ© to consistently say that the team still has a chance. But I see...

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Matt Kremnitzer: Chris Davis excelling against lefties

September 14, 2015, 7:51pm

Orioles

Matt Kremnitzer: Chris Davis excelling against lefties

It doesn't take a baseball expert to notice Chris Davis' rare power at the plate. He's already surpassed the 40-homer mark for the second time in his career (42, most in the majors), he's sixth in slugging percentage (.562), and he's second in isolated power (.299). With a wRC+ of 148, Davis is still a ways away from his 168 wRC+ from 2013. But he's bounced back in a big way after a disastrous 2014, and he's put himself in position to make a ton of money this offseason. In Davis'...

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Matt of Matt's Batts: Three reasons 2015 was disappointing for Nationals

September 14, 2015, 5:13pm

Nationals

On the 15th of September, the Nationals are 10 games back of the New York Mets and it's safe to say their postseason chances are just a little more than zero. Before the season started, almost everyone thought Washington was a favorite to win the World Series. I predicted on my blog, MattsBats.com, that they would win 99 games and take the National League East easily. A lot of people are now wondering what went wrong for the Nationals this year. Today, I am looking at three of the biggest...

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Marty Niland: Nats won't be judged by 2015 failure, but on how they respond

September 13, 2015, 5:06pm

Nationals

Marty Niland: Nats won't be judged by 2015 failure, but on how they respond

It seems like a natural instinct to judge based on failure, especially in baseball. So it might be easy to label the Nationals as a failure for falling short of their own expectations and those of many fans in the 2015 season. But it's often in failure where success is born, and that's how the Nats will ultimately be judged. The Nats set the tone for expectations shortly after signing Max Scherzer, when Bryce Harper asked rhetorically, "Where's my ring?" Pundits and fans quickly followed...

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Matthew Taylor: Another birthday to be celebrated at Camden Yards

September 11, 2015, 6:23am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Another birthday to be celebrated at Camden Yards

Have you ever celebrated a birthday at the ballpark? I'll be part of a celebration for my niece's birthday this evening at Camden Yards. She's turning 12 and decided that she wants to go to the baseball game with her family to mark the occasion. Smart girl. Happy birthday, Emily! My father surprised me with a birthday trip to the ballpark on the day I turned 17. Camden Yards was about to open its gates for the first time and the team held a dress rehearsal in the form of an exhibition game...

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Zach Wilt: Royals return to Baltimore

September 09, 2015, 7:51pm

Orioles

The harsh reality is that there isn't much hope for the postseason making a return to Birdland this season. FanGraphs.com has the Orioles' playoff chances down to 0.1 percent, and an October berth would require climbing over six teams in the American League wild card standings. Being back 7 1/2 games with only 23 remaining would make that an incredibly difficult task. As the attention of fans in Baltimore shifts over to the team across the street that kicks off their season on Sunday, the...

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David Huzzard: If Matt Williams is fired, who should replace him?

September 10, 2015, 4:51am

Nationals

David Huzzard: If Matt Williams is fired, who should replace him?

Matt Williams is going to be fired and it isn't because he won't use his closer in the ninth inning of a tied road game or that he uses cue cards from the sports guy clichÃ© machine in his postgame press conferences. No, it's because he has no feel for the game. There is a bit of luck involved in every decision a manager makes and when making moves in recent weeks, Matt Williams has had no luck, but he can't recognize when his pitcher is tiring or still going strong or when the opposing...

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Rachel Levitin: Reminiscing the Nats' early days at RFK Stadium

September 09, 2015, 5:38am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Reminiscing the Nats' early days at RFK Stadium

This isn't going to be popular opinion, but I find myself reminiscing of Nationals baseball in the early days at RFK Stadium as of late. RFK was by no means the "right" place to put a brand new baseball team within a city that, up to 2005, hadn't had baseball for so long that they got used to that fact and seemed relatively underwhelmed when it returned to the District of Columbia. What RFK had going for it was that it was grungy, run-down and gritty enough to adopt the Nats and give them a...

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Domenic Vadala: Looking at O's misfortunes going into offseason

September 08, 2015, 12:31pm

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: Looking at O's misfortunes going into offseason

Over the past month or so, I've gotten various comments and tweets on Birds Watcher to the extent of blaming various people for the Orioles' misfortunes. And while I don't think anyone's going to say that the likes of Buck Showalter or Dan Duquette are in any danger of losing their jobs, it's an interesting question. Who or what is to blame? I'll start by absolving the players - in terms of the effort put forth. Again, a lot of folks seem to want me to come out and say that the Orioles...

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Domenic Vadala: Cal Ripken Jr. belongs to fans of baseball

September 01, 2015, 5:01pm

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: Cal Ripken Jr. belongs to fans of baseball

If you're used to what I write on Birds Watcher and for that matter even here on MASN, a lot of what you read here today might come as a surprise. For the most part, I feel that writers should remain above the fray of the fan on the street when writing about the team. So most of what I try to put out there is analytical as opposed to emotional in nature. But some events rock the world. The career of the great Cal Ripken Jr. spanned my entire childhood, adolescence and into early adulthood....

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Matt of Matt's Bats: With Nats running out of time, Williams should have pulled Scherzer early

September 08, 2015, 6:02am

Nationals

Matt of Matt's Bats: With Nats running out of time, Williams should have pulled Scherzer early

This has been an unexpected year for the Washington Nationals. They started the year well below expectations until the Braves game on April 28 when Dan Uggla hit a three-run go-ahead home run in extras. Max Scherzer chocolate sauced him, and the Nats flew. In late May, the Nationals were the favorites to win the division, with a 90 percent chance to make the postseason. After mediocre summer and horrible August, their chances have plummeted down to a measly 14 percent. However, that number...

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Marty Niland: With the season on the line, who would you rather be?

September 07, 2015, 5:40am

Nationals

Marty Niland: With the season on the line, who would you rather be?

For baseball fans, the season's final weeks can be a manic-depressive time when fortunes turn on a dime. At least that's how it's been for followers of the Washington Nationals. We've gone from hope to despair and back so many times in the past few weeks, it's hard to count. Remember that awful western road trip when the Nats returned with a five-game deficit to the New York Mets? Wasn't the season basically over then? How about last week's trip to St. Louis when the deficit grew to 6...

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Andrew Stetka: Chris Davis could prove to be O's most valuable free agent

September 07, 2015, 5:17am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Chris Davis could prove to be O's most valuable free agent

As the Orioles continue to carry about a 1 percent chance to make the postseason this year, they also are approaching one of the more important offseasons in their recent history. There are plenty of big decisions to be made as the games start to dwindle. While the O's won't completely give up on the prospect of making the playoffs, reality will eventually set in and I have a feeling some players from the minors will begin to see playing time. Perhaps one of the biggest decisions the O's...

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Zach Wilt: Chris Davis' importance to the Orioles

September 03, 2015, 5:27am

Orioles

It's been a frustrating couple weeks in Birdland, you can feel the tension on the field. The Orioles have won just two of their last 10 games, went 11-18 in August and are 6 1/2 games back of the wild card, but at least they entered today's off-day on a positive note before heading north to Toronto. The O's avoided their longest losing streak in over four years last night when Chris Davis launched a monstrous walk-off homer in the 11th inning to help the Birds grab one of three from Tampa...

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David Huzzard: The cruelty of baseball

September 03, 2015, 5:11am

Nationals

The Nationals' 2015 season has been a lesson in the cruelty of baseball. Sure they built a roster full of injury-prone players and they had to expect they'd miss time. The ultimate outcome of how many players and how much time affected the Nationals in far more ways than just when those players were out. Clint Robinson, Danny Espinosa and Michael A. Taylor were all admirable fill-ins and helped the Nationals get to nine games over .500 and a lead in the division, but then Anthony Rendon, Ryan...

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Matt of Matt's Bats: Giving thanks for Denard Span

September 01, 2015, 5:33am

Nationals

Matt of Matt's Bats: Giving thanks for Denard Span

Last week, Nationals fans got the disappointing news that center fielder Denard Span, who had just come off the disabled list, needed hip surgery and would be out for the rest of the 2015 season. This is a huge blow for the team and Nats fans. In his three seasons on the Nationals, Span became a fan favorite and a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder. Since he becomes a free agent at the end of this season, and given how Michael A. Taylor has played this year, chances are Span has played his last...