The eventual promotion of Adley Rutschman to the major league roster, whenever it happens, comes with the expectation that the Orioles will have a veteran mentor ready as his backup. But the club already seems equipped to tutor him. The staff isn't running short on former catchers. Manager Brandon Hyde caught 69 games in the minors and 13 with the independent Chico Heat. Major league field coordinator and catching instructor Tim Cossins caught 217 games in the minors and two with the...

As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We continue today with one of the most emotional aspects of the year: Ryan Zimmerman's potential farewell tour. ... Throughout a season of turmoil and constant change, there was only one declaration the Nationals could make with complete confidence:...

The Orioles haven't made any announcements during the holiday break. Nothing about minor league deals or staff hires. Not a creature is stirring, not even a rumor to douse. The ice pellets in yesterday's wintry mix had me yearning for the Florida sunshine that illuminates spring training workouts and afternoon exhibition games. Warms the heart - and areas where you should apply sunscreen. I've already written about eight camp storylines that should keep me busy, whether or not I'm able to...

As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We continue today with one of the most depressing developments of the year: Stephen Strasburg's latest (and perhaps most serious) injury. ... It's not fair to boil a baseball franchise's chances for success in any given year to the health and...

Among the inconveniences of baseball's lockout is the delay in attacking roster deficiencies with major league free agent signings. Get ready for the frenzy of activity after a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, with teams racing through the green light at speeds that could leave many competitors in the dust. The Orioles tossed a starting pitcher and second baseman in their cart before the market closed. Jordan Lyles isn't listed on the 40-man roster, which holds at 38, because...

As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We begin today with one of the most uplifting events of the year: Kyle Schwarber's early-summer home run barrage. ... When he stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom of the first inning of a June 12 doubleheader at Nationals Park, Kyle Schwarber...

It was a difficult year for so many, for so many reasons. And that it came on the heels of a difficult year for so many, for so many reasons, only made it more difficult. In some ways, the Nationals fit right in with that theme. As tough as 2020 was for them, 2021 was even tougher, on and off the field. And it leaves the franchise in an entirely different position as it looks ahead to 2022. Before we turn the page, though, we're going to take the final week of December to look back at the most...

This time of year is usually pretty slow in baseball. And with the lockout on top of that, it's been real slow. And things may not speed up for a while, but hopefully it won't be too far into the new year when we get some better news on that front. Today I want to wish every reader and your family a merry Christmas and happy holidays! I appreciate this community today and every day. Just a short entry today to look back at a few recent items of news and feel free to leave any comments. But...

Christmas Eve and baseball. They go together like, well, Christmas and hot dogs. This just isn't historically the time of year to be thinking much about the national pastime. Especially when the national pastime is nearly one month into a work stoppage. And yet for the Nationals, Christmas Eve has been the source of a surprising amount of news. Big news. Go back through the annals and you'll find six significant transactions made by the Nats in the final 72 hours leading up to Christmas,...

When Christmas Eve comes along every year, I always think back to where I was on Dec. 24, 1977, and how sports kind of ruined Christmas for the high school junior me that year. I was at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium with about 60,000 other fans hoping to cheer on the Colts to a playoff win over coach John Madden's Oakland Raiders. The winner of that game would move on to the AFC Championship. Looking back now, so many years later, there was a ton of talent on the field that day and the game...