Longtime Nationals coaches Bob Henley and Randy Knorr will not return to the major league staff next season, though both will remain in the organization in player development roles, a source familiar with the changes confirmed. Henley, the club's third base coach for seven of the last eight seasons, and Knorr, the club's first base coach this season after previous stints as bench coach and bullpen coach, are the only members of manager Davey Martinez's staff who weren't invited to return to...

Predicting how a baseball season is going to play out is no easy task. We've been trying to do it around here for years, and though we sometimes get a few things right, we're usually wrong with much more frequency. And never have we been more wrong than we were this season. Not that my colleagues on the Nationals beat were alone in that regard. Seriously, how many of you out there predicted they'd lose 97 games? (If you just raised your hand, you're lying.) Nobody expected the kind of...

While the Orioles were encouraged by the performance of several hitters in their minor league system, especially players at higher levels who had big years, including Adley Rutschman, Kyle Stowers and Jordan Westburg, the group coming behind this group also made its mark during the 2021 season. We are talking mostly about the 2021 draft class headed by outfielder Colton Cowser, selected No. 5 overall in round one in July out of Sam Houston State. Most of the draft picks got their feet wet in...

The statistics are the first points of reference when critiquing the Orioles pitching staff this season. Eyes are drawn to a 5.84 ERA that's the highest in club history, the 258 home runs allowed that also led the majors. But there's more to the story. Manager Brandon Hyde will preach the urgency to upgrade and how a team can't compete in the American League East with these deficiencies. But he also will place an asterisk beside these numbers and explain the complications in fully judging...

The Nationals aren't participating in the 2021 postseason. And yet, everywhere you look, you find folks with Nationals connections that stir up all kinds of emotions inside you. Really, they're everywhere. There's Kyle Schwarber hitting Schwarbombs for the Red Sox. Lucas Giolito dealing for the White Sox. Dusty Baker managing the Astros. Mike Maddux coaching the Cardinals pitching staff. Blake Treinen coming out of the bullpen and Steven Souza Jr. coming off the bench for the Dodgers. And,...

It happened 55 years ago today at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 to complete a four-game World Series sweep built on stunning pitching. The Orioles used just three starters and four pitchers total in the entire series to vanquish the National League champions, who were led by ace pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. But it was the Baltimore quartet of Dave McNally, Moe Drabowsky, Wally Bunker and Jim Palmer that pitched the Orioles to the first of...

The first mailbag of the 2021 offseason is upon us. Keep breathing normally and suspending disbelief. Many topics are impossible to answer on this date - and some are impossible on any date - but I'm not above fudging it like a Keebler cookie. What's important is that you keep asking and I keep answering and you keep ignoring my responses and asking again and I discover a new sequel. Also important is that I remain a mailbag rebel. Let the length overflow. Let the lack of style be our...

Cedric Mullins couldn't ease into the offseason without receiving another honor for his breakout 2021 campaign. Mullins is counted among seven nominees in the American League for the Hank Aaron Award, presented annually to the best offensive player. The winner will be announced during the World Series. Mullins is joined by the Angels' Shohei Ohtani, the Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Yankees' Aaron Judge, the Athletics' Matt Olson, the Royals' Salvador Pérez and the Indians'...

At the crux of the Nationals' decision to trade away eight veterans and begin a franchise rebuilding project this summer was an acknowledgment by the front office that its farm system desperately needed to be restocked. Had their system been filled with more prospects who could step in and take over when veterans either got hurt or saw their skills fade, the Nats might well have stayed the course and made an attempt to continue winning now instead of shifting focus to the future. But that...

Only 20 times since 1901 has a big league team lost 110 or more games in a single season. Two teams did that this year - the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Orioles. You lose that much, you have earned the No. 1 draft pick. But Arizona, thanks to a walk-off homer on the season's final day, is not going to get one next year. That is, barring something in the new collective bargaining agreement that changes that. When teams tie for a spot in the draft - in this case the No. 1 pick - the previous...