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Report: Nats under consideration for 2020 series in London

February 08, 2019, 7:29pm

Could the Nationals be headed across the pond for one summer series in 2020? It appears to be a legitimate possibility. Major League Baseball is considering two potential matchups for its planned London Series in June 2020, either the Nationals vs. the Mets or the Cubs vs. the Cardinals, according to the Associated Press. The report, citing two people familiar with the discussions, suggested an announcement on the final matchup is expected after opening day this year. In its attempt to spread...

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Will proposed rules changes help commissioner speed up the game?

February 06, 2019, 11:57am

Nationals Orioles

Will proposed rules changes help commissioner speed up the game?

Major League Baseball is getting serious about quickening the pace of a game. And, MLB isn't just talking about cutting a few minutes here and there. The idea is to get away from games that drag for three hours. It's better to get the average time of game down to 2 hours, 30 minutes. MLB is discussing several rule changes with the players association. ESPN's Jeff Passan writes that his sources say that owners and players are thinking about a variety of ideas and rule changes that would...

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"MASN All Access" bringing exclusive live Winter Meetings shows to fans

December 09, 2018, 10:25am

Nationals

"MASN All Access" bringing exclusive live Winter Meetings shows to fans

LAS VEGAS - Season's greetings from the Winter Meetings! The "MASN All Access" crew touched down in Vegas this weekend and is gearing up to bring you our biggest and best live shows yet. Where will Bryce Harper sign? Which team will make the biggest splash this week? How the heck do we find the exit to this casino? We're looking to bring all of these answers to you this week with twice-daily live shows on MASN All Access. Be sure to follow along on Facebook Live from 3-5 p.m. Eastern time...

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"MASN All Access" podcast: Jamal Collier on road trip and homestand

April 27, 2018, 2:24pm

Nationals

"MASN All Access" podcast: Jamal Collier on road trip and homestand

The Nationals are back after their nine-game road trip and we're back at Nats Park! Paul and I are joined by Jamal Collier of MLB.com on a new episode of the "MASN All Access" podcast to recap the road trip and preview the 10-game homestand, which starts tonight against the Diamondbacks. Ending on a high note with a 15-run barrage in San Francisco, did the Nationals show signs of things to come out west? And what went wrong to lead the team to a 4-5 record this time out? Will this homestand...

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Minors to implement runner on second base in extra innings

March 14, 2018, 3:11pm

Nationals

Minors to implement runner on second base in extra innings

Major League Baseball has gone back and forth this offseason on directives that could help to speed up the pace of play. Unable to come an agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association, Minor League Baseball instead will implement a good amount of these regulations starting this season. The biggest change will be an attempt to shorten games that are tied after nine innings. At all levels of Minor League Baseball, extra innings will begin with a runner on base. The runner will be...

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Week in review: Harsh words exchanged, free agent batters and more

February 10, 2018, 1:21pm

Orioles

Week in review: Harsh words exchanged, free agent batters and more

In looking back on the last week of stories here and revisting a few, we spent some time discussing the harsh words exchanged recently by the players and owners, looked at some lefty-batting free agents and also looked at the latest PECOTA projections. On Monday, we discussed some recent statements issued, including one by the Major League Baseball Players Assocation and one by prominent agent Brodie Van Wagenen. He said the slow free agent market "feels coordinated" and that the players...

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Can the Orioles now take the next step with Schoop?

February 06, 2018, 5:29pm

Orioles

The Orioles and one of their top players made news yesterday when the club signed him for the 2018 season. He was already under team control - that we knew - but now we know that second baseman Jonathan Schoop's 2018 salary will be $8.5 million. The two sides avoided arbitration and any ill will such a hearing could have caused. There was already the issue of Schoop missing FanFest and the fact that his absence clearly didn't sit well with fans or the team's management. But on the field, of...

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Collusion charge is a stretch, but MLB is facing a real problem

February 02, 2018, 4:36pm

Nationals

Collusion charge is a stretch, but MLB is facing a real problem

It's been the underlying story of the entire offseason throughout the baseball world, the lack of free agent signings. And yesterday the most controversial theory was put out there by a prominent agent, something many have wondered but few have publicly been willing to offer: collusion by all 30 clubs to keep spending down and increase their own profits. Brodie Van Wagenen, the co-head of CAA baseball and agent for a host of big-name players (including Ryan Zimmerman), posted a memo on his...

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In the minors, the pitch clock has made a difference

January 23, 2018, 1:05pm

Orioles

In the minors, the pitch clock has made a difference

As Major League Baseball seems set to implement a 20-second pitch clock for the 2018 season, at the higher levels of Minor League Baseball, they have had a clock in place for three seasons producing some of the desired results. Overall, the clock has produced shorter game times while at the same time not many violations of the clock, according to one Orioles minor league skipper. Double-A Bowie's Gary Kendall has seen his Baysox and other Eastern League teams use the clock since the 2015...

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The readers respond and some props for a minor league player

January 18, 2018, 6:08pm

Orioles

The readers respond and some props for a minor league player

Some days, many of them actually, one of the best things about having this baseball blog is reading the interesting opinions of the readers here. Yesterday was clearly one of those days. The topic was the Jeff Passan column about the economic system in Major League Baseball, whether it is broken and/or in need of a major overhaul. If you haven't read the column, it's long, but well done and worth your time. If you haven't read some of the 200 or so responses from readers yesterday, that is...

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One reporter questions baseball's economic system

January 17, 2018, 2:15pm

Orioles

One reporter questions baseball's economic system

The column published Tuesday by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports was interesting and thought-provoking. It was about the economic system in place in baseball due to the brutally slow-to-move free agent market right now in the game. Click here to read the column. It is worth your time. I applaud the effort, research and time that went into this, but I will say that I don't see the system as broken or in need of a major overhaul. To me, baseball seems rather financially healthy with revenues in the...

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Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, realignment and Chris Tillman

November 04, 2017, 4:30pm

Orioles

Week in review: Talking free agent pitchers, realignment and Chris Tillman

As we look back at the last week of blog entries in this space, today we welcome more comments on some of those said entries. Monday we reviewed another three free agent pitchers in this space, taking a looking at Tyler Chatwood, Andrew Casher and Miguel GonzÃ¡lez. Chatwood is a right-hander that will be 28 on opening day. While he went 8-15 with a 4.69 ERA for Colorado, he posted much better numbers on the road. That provides hope that a team signing him and getting him out of Coors Field...

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A radical realignment plan for MLB (plus Game 7 tonight)

October 31, 2017, 8:49pm

Orioles

A radical realignment plan for MLB (plus Game 7 tonight)

Major League Baseball could be headed for an expansion to 32 teams while at the same time a reduction in games from 162 to 156. That is the potential plan being considered as written about recently in this column in Baseball America. Author Tracy Ringolsby suggests we could see Montreal and Portland, Ore., recieve expansion teams. That would lead to one league with four divisions of eight teams each. It would be a radical change for the Orioles, who would no longer be in a division with the...

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Harper's suspension reduced to three games, starts tonight

May 31, 2017, 10:25am

Nationals

Harper's suspension reduced to three games, starts tonight

SAN FRANCISCO - Major League Baseball has reduced Bryce Harper's suspension to three games after hearing his appeal, and the Nationals slugger will begin serving his time tonight, according to a source familiar with the decision. Harper, who originally was suspended four games for charging the mound Monday after getting intentionally hit in the right hip by a 98 mph fastball from reliever Hunter Strickland, will sit out tonight's series finale against the Giants and the first two games of the...

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Harper suspended four games, Strickland gets six; both appeal

May 30, 2017, 2:26pm

Nationals

Harper suspended four games, Strickland gets six; both appeal

SAN FRANCISCO - Bryce Harper has been suspended four games by Major League Baseball for charging the mound yesterday after getting hit with a 98 mph fastball by Hunter Strickland, who was suspended six games for his actions. Both players have appealed the suspensions and will be eligible to play tonight when the Nationals and Giants meet in the second game of their three-game series at AT&T Park. The suspensions were doled out by Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, and varied somewhat...

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A possible setback for the Red Sox, plus other notes

March 02, 2017, 5:02pm

Orioles

A possible setback for the Red Sox, plus other notes

The news from Boston Red Sox camp yesterday seemed ominous. Left-hander David Price was experiencing elbow and forearm discomfort/soreness. He underwent an MRI exam and now is headed to seek additional medical opinions. No one is saying that will result in a surgery, but Price is heading to Indianapolis (at the NFL scouting combine) to see two of the game's foremost Tommy John experts - Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Orioles prospects Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey have both spent...

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Baker meets with Torre, talks plan for Wieters and Zimmerman

February 25, 2017, 7:19am

Nationals

Baker meets with Torre, talks plan for Wieters and Zimmerman

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Before emerging from the clubhouse for his first Grapefruit League game of the spring, Dusty Baker got a crash course in Major League Baseball's rule changes for 2017. Joe Torre, MLB's chief baseball officer, met with Baker and members of the Nationals coaching staff for more than an hour this morning. There aren't many formal rule changes, but there is a renewed emphasis on improving pace of play. And then there is the controversial new rule for issuing intentional...

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MLB's proposed rule changes are playing to mixed reviews

February 24, 2017, 2:10pm

Orioles

MLB's proposed rule changes are playing to mixed reviews

Major League Baseball doesn't seem to have too many problems. Generally speaking, attendance and television ratings are strong and certainly revenues seem to be as well. The sport has seemed to achieve a level of competitive balance without a salary cap. A level where the Orioles, Blue Jays and Rays can dethrone the big-spending Red Sox and Yankees atop the American League East. A level where the Kansas City Royals can win the World Series. A level where there has been a different World Series...

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New CBA underscores the strong state of baseball today

November 30, 2016, 7:53pm

Nationals

New CBA underscores the strong state of baseball today

The last time Major League Baseball games were seriously in danger of being canceled due to a work stoppage was on Aug. 30, 2002. After playing the first five months of the season with an expired collective bargaining agreement, the Players' Association voted to go on strike if a new deal couldn't be reached by that day. The specter of a work stoppage was all too real. The players' strike of 1994 was still fresh in everyone's minds. Owners and players had not agreed to any new CBA without...

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Cole suspended five games for retaliation pitch (Nats win 4-2)

September 27, 2016, 2:08pm

Nationals

Cole suspended five games for retaliation pitch (Nats win 4-2)

Major League Baseball has suspended A.J. Cole five games for intentionally throwing at Jung Ho Kang's head during the Nationals game Sunday in Pittsburgh. Cole, who also was fined an undisclosed amount, has appealed the suspension, so he remains on the Nationals active roster until a hearing can be held and ruled upon. He's tentatively lined up to start Friday night against the Marlins, his final outing of the regular season. The five-game suspension is a fairly standard punishment for...