I've been getting the question multiple times a day, from family, friends and colleagues, all curious to know: What's it been like at Nationals Park during these first three days of summer training? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but the answer is: Pretty boring. That's not to say my time spent at the ballpark is worthless, or normal. It's just been rather uneventful. For those who don't know, media members are allowed to watch a portion of the daily workout (roughly 2-3 hours) from the...

A baseball season cut down to 60 games will start for the Orioles later this month in Boston. Major League Baseball released the schedules tonight and the Orioles are going to play the Red Sox in a three-game series that begins July 24. First pitch for the opener is 7:30 p.m. They won't return to Camden Yards until completing a two-game series against the Marlins in Miami. The first home game is July 29 against the Marlins, with the starting time set at 7:05 p.m. The coronavirus pandemic has...

The number of major league players deciding not to play in the 2020 season is growing. In the last day, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher David Price and Atlanta right-hander Félix Hernández were added to the list. So were Braves coach Eric Young Sr. and Indians bench coach Brad Mills. Earlier, Ryan Zimmerman, Welington Castillo, Ian Desmond and Mike Leake were among the players that opted out. San Francisco Giants star catcher Buster Posey said he had some reservations about playing this year....

As the Orioles transformed yesterday's summer training camp workout from batting practice in the cage to live BP sessions for a group of relievers, projected starter Asher Wojciechowski emerged from the home dugout and headed over to the visiting side. Long hair tied back and a smile on his face as he joined a couple of his teammates. Maybe a chance to feel normal again if only for a few minutes. There isn't much mingling for the Orioles and other clubs during the pandemic. Pitchers dress in...

Sean Doolittle is here. He's been on the field, participating fully in early summer training workouts. He has thrown off the mound, at times while wearing a mask. He wants to be around for the entire 2020 season. But he's not completely convinced yet he's willing to take the risk. "So far - and we're only three days into this - our medical staff has been doing an incredible job," the Nationals reliever said. "I think it's running as smoothly as it can at this point. Like a lot of...

Orioles pitchers Alex Cobb and Mychal Givens will throw live batting practice on Monday after doing side work earlier in summer training camp. They, too, are marked as present and active. "Really good. They threw the ball well," manager Brandon Hyde said in today's Zoom conference call when asked how the two right-handers have looked after three days. Cobb threw to hitters on a back field at the Ed Smith Stadium complex on the day that baseball shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. He...

Two Nationals players tested positive for COVID-19 during the team's initial intake testing program, manager Davey Martinez revealed today. The club has not publicly identified the names of the two players and may only do so with the players' permission, per Major League Baseball's protocols this season. No player is allowed to report to Nationals Park before the intake testing results are returned, so neither player who tested positive has been to the stadium yet and come into contact with...

Nationals manager Davey Martinez said one major issue with trying to play baseball amid the coronavirus pandemic is that he cannot yet get the entire team together on the field at one time. The "circle of trust" was a big rallying cry for the club the last couple of spring trainings under Martinez's direction, but with current safety protocols in place, it just isn't possible. "For us, we are basically working in groups," Martinez told reporters during a Zoom video call Sunday. "This is...

The Orioles haven't named their opening day starter for July 24, an announcement shelved due to baseball's shutdown. John Means was lined up for the assignment and nothing has happened to change the narrative. Means worked four "innings" yesterday while throwing live batting practice, which actually meant dialing down from his home activity. "I think I'm very close," he said today in a Zoom conference call. "Over the quarantine, I had built up to five innings, 75 pitches, but since the...

The ability of a 60-game season to thrust teams with normally low expectations into contender status has become a fascination of sorts in Baltimore. Fans wonder if the Orioles can make the playoffs, or at least flirt with the possibility from their lowered bar until closing time, due to the unusual dynamics brought by the coronavirus pandemic. Media is, at the least, curious about the possibility. The playoff field isn't expanded, since Major League Baseball had to implement its own vision of...