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Matthew Taylor: The Blue Jays weren't always a familiar opponent in Baltimore

April 10, 2015, 4:45am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: The Blue Jays weren't always a familiar opponent in Baltimore

The Orioles welcome a familiar opponent to Camden Yards for opening day. This will be the first of 19 games the O's play against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking to break the longest playoff drought in the majors at 21 seasons. Whether it's the Dan Duquette saga from this past offseason, the "Cito Sucks" memories from the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore, or the pain of the 1989 season when Toronto provided the unfortunate answer to the question, "Why Not?," O's fans...

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David Huzzard: Baseball is a simple game ...

April 09, 2015, 5:37am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Baseball is a simple game ...

I'm certain that you've heard the saying that baseball is a simple game a number of times in your life as a sports fan. But a startling number of people don't seem to understand how simple it is. Broadcasters and hot-take journalists are always talking about players knowing or not knowing how to win. The highest level of baseball I played was t-ball, and even as a wee lad, I knew how to win. Baseball is not complicated in this regard and it is, in fact, one of the things that make it the...

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Zach Wilt: Early returns on De Aza as leadoff hitter are promising

April 09, 2015, 5:18am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Early returns on De Aza as leadoff hitter are promising

The 1972 Dolphins can breathe easy. The Orioles aren't going 162-0. A 161-1 record still is a possibility, however. In case you are curious, that would be a .994 winning percentage. After three games, the O's are on pace to finish 108-54 and, as you'd expect, that would win the American League East. Travis Snider is on pace for 216 hits, while Steve Pearce will lead the club (and likely the majors) with 108 home runs. Aren't small sample sizes fun? Our beloved Birds wrapped up the first...

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Domenic Vadala: Fondly recalling my earliest baseball memories

April 08, 2015, 6:11am

Orioles

Domenic Vadala: Fondly recalling my earliest baseball memories

Greetings, O's fans, and welcome back to another season of Orioles baseball! On behalf Birds Watcher, I'd like to thank you, the readers, as well as the powers that be at MASNsports.com, for having me back as a guest blogger this year. Baseball is unlike any other sport in that opening day is a massive celebration, and that party welcoming the sport back to the front pages of our minds seems to last for the better part of April. And for me, that raises an interesting point. The return of...

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Rachel Levitin: Considering Ryan Zimmerman's legacy

April 08, 2015, 5:33am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Considering Ryan Zimmerman's legacy

When baseball moved back to Washington, D.C., a decade ago, I also moved to town right around the same time. My dad used to joke with me back then, saying, "Good thing D.C. got a baseball team! They must've known you'd be coming!" He was kidding, of course, but I liked to think that it was somewhat true. The 18-year-old kid headed off to college needed some comfort moving to a new city and knowing that there'd be baseball to watch across town was extremely helpful since I was struggling to...

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Matt Kremnitzer: On Orioles roster, expect the unexpected

April 07, 2015, 6:17am

Orioles

You already know the Orioles will need help from familiar names like Manny Machado, Matt Wieters and Chris Davis after Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis departed via free agency. National writers and reporters repeated that line of thinking often during the preseason, and it isn't wrong. But things rarely go as expected, and the Orioles are likely going to need more than that over the course of a long season. It's also a bit simplistic - of course the O's could use strong performances from their...

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Marty Niland: Five things that must go right for the Nats to succeed in 2015

April 06, 2015, 4:36am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Five things that must go right for the Nats to succeed in 2015

How can a team that hasn't even competed in a league championship series be a favorite to win the World Series? It may seem odd, but that's the predicament the Nationals find themselves in as they enter the 2015 season. Experts nationwide have pegged a team with a bullpen full of question marks, Denard Span, Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Casey Janssen on the disabled list, and an 0-for-2 mark in the postseason since moving to Washington 10 years ago as the team to beat. The expectations...

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Andrew Stetka: Defending the AL East crown

April 06, 2015, 4:17am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Defending the AL East crown

"It's opening day!" and "Play ball!" are some of the most beautiful words in sports, especially for baseball fans. The day is finally upon us. All 30 teams, including the Orioles, have the hope of a new season where anything can happen. For the O's, this comes with something they haven't experienced since the Clinton presidency - trying to repeat as division champions. If you remember, it's something they failed to do back in 1998. After winning 98 games and going wire-to-wire in 1997...

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Matthew Taylor: On life, baseball and near loss

January 30, 2015, 10:57am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: On life, baseball and near loss

As I writer, I know the advice: Avoid cliches. That means I shouldn't write about fathers and baseball any more than I already do, and I certainly shouldn't pull out the line from "Field of Dreams": "Hey dad, wanna have a catch?" I'm going to do both, and more, because as a writer I also understand that sometimes you have to break the rules. This is one of those times. My dad nearly died over the holidays. He went into cardiac arrest while participating in the Military Bowl parade as...

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Olivia Witherite: Orioles dominate after off-days

June 24, 2012, 8:51pm

Orioles

Off-days are nice for a lot of reasons. For the Orioles today, it means resting Matt Wieters after he caught a day game after a night game and had a big day at the plate. It means a chance for the Birds to rest at home before beginning a tough series against some great pitching, including the arms of C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver. It allows the 'pen, which has been called on often, a day to recuperate in some measure before having to face rookie sensation Mike Trout and some guy named Albert...

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Daniel Clark: Recapping O's prospects' performances in Arizona Fall League

November 14, 2014, 7:32am

Orioles

Daniel Clark: Recapping O's prospects' performances in Arizona Fall League

The summer of baseball has finished, and while most of the discussion has shifted to free agents, trades and roster moves, many of baseball's best young prospects have just completed play in the Arizona Fall League. Seven of those prospects - four pitchers and three position p layers - were wearing Orioles uniforms. Those seven minor leaguers were playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs, who won 14 games, lost 15 and tied two, finishing in last place in the AFL West Division. Here's how each...

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Zach Wilt: Final thoughts on Orioles' 2014 campaign

October 16, 2014, 5:13am

Orioles

How could I possibly be disappointed in the Orioles' season? Ninety-six regular season wins, an American League East title for the first time since 1997 and a trip to the American League Championship Series. Oh, and the Orioles accomplished all of those feats without Matt Wieters, Manny Machado and even Chris Davis at the end of the season. If you told me way back when pitchers and catchers reported on Feb. 13 that the O's year would run through mid-October, I would have been thrilled. I...

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Daniel Clark: The good and bad of the ALCS

October 15, 2014, 5:25am

Orioles

Daniel Clark: The good and bad of the ALCS

After three games of the American League Championship Series, there's been a number of key things that haven't gone according to plan for the Orioles, who trail the series 3-0 and require four straight wins in order to progress to their first World Series since 1983. In light of these disappointing results, let's explore the good and bad of the series thus far... The Good Shut down the Royals' speed Much had been made of the Royals' speed on the basepaths prior to the series commencing,...

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Matt Kremnitzer: Looking ahead to Game 3 of ALCS

October 14, 2014, 5:04am

Orioles

Matt Kremnitzer: Looking ahead to Game 3 of ALCS

Thanks to a heavy dose of rain, Game 3 of the American League Championship Series was postponed last night. So the series will get back up and running tonight. There are a number of ways the Orioles could get back in this series; they certainly have not played their best. And even though Kansas City leads two games to none, the O's could have pilfered one or both of those games with a key hit or two. Each game has been closely contested throughout. One simple way for the Orioles to turn things...

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Andrew Stetka: Probability suggests tide will eventually tilt O's way in ALCS

October 13, 2014, 5:21am

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: Probability suggests tide will eventually tilt O's way in ALCS

While the doom and gloom set in, and the dirt continues to be piled on the Orioles as the American League Championship Series shifts to Kansas City, a lot of reason and sense goes out the window. The chances of the O's coming from behind to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1983 have dropped drastically since the start of the ALCS. Those are just the numbers; it's simple probability and statistics of prior history. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I think the Orioles...

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Rachel Levitin: Lackluster October offense shouldn't discredit a quality season

October 08, 2014, 5:34am

Nationals

Rachel Levitin: Lackluster October offense shouldn't discredit a quality season

At the end of each baseball season, 29 teams go home without a ring. Unfortunately for baseball fans in Washington, the Nationals are one of those teams that went home without the ring in 2014. The team's playoff run lasted four games against the San Francisco Giants after Tuesday night's elimination match-up in which the Nats fell two games to one against their NLDS competitor. From what I could gather from casual fans I follow on Facebook and Twitter, the majority were discontent regarding...

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Matthew Taylor: Everywhere you look, O's fandom endures

October 10, 2014, 5:22am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: Everywhere you look, O's fandom endures

I arrived for our family vacation in Florida this week with a suitcase stuffed to the feathers with five Orioles hats, seven Orioles T-shirts and an Orioles sweatshirt - and that was after whittling down my baseball clothing options. I'm not ashamed to say that I've become a billboard for Orioles pride of late; I'm absolutely basking in the reflected glory of this American League East title and this postseason run. My dedication won't carry me so far as to get an O's tattoo, although as a...

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Zach Wilt: Backs ends of bullpens present interesting ALCS matchup

October 09, 2014, 4:47am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: Backs ends of bullpens present interesting ALCS matchup

For years, I preached about the importance of starting pitching in the postseason. In my mind, I firmly believed that the teams with the best rotations had the greatest chance of making a deep run into October. It was all about those four starters and no matter what a team did to hide its lack of starting pitching in the regular season, they would surely be exposed in the playoffs. Suddenly, I'm not so sure that's true anymore. At least not this year. The Tigers added a third Cy Young award...

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Daniel Clark: Previewing the Royals-Orioles ALCS

October 07, 2014, 2:10pm

Orioles

If someone told me six months ago that the two teams competing for the American League championship would be the Orioles and Royals, I'd probably have told them they were dreaming. Back in March, I would have argued that while each team was capable of competing with the best, a lot of things would need to fall into line for the two to outlast powerful American League rivals such the Tigers, Athletics, Angels and the defending world champion Red Sox. Just as the Orioles did to the Tigers, the...

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Matt Kremnitzer: Orioles shedding underdog status, gaining respect

October 07, 2014, 5:01am

Orioles

The Orioles are no longer underdogs Even though the Orioles finished with six more wins during the regular season, many still viewed the Detroit Tigers as the favorites to win the American League Division Series. And yet the Orioles dispatched Detroit in just three games. Fans drinking nothing but orange Kool-Aid likely would not have even predicted a sweep against Detroit. But the Orioles demonstrated that they had the more complete team. Before the ALDS, Adam Jones hinted at the team's...