(Note: You can watch Game 7 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m.) There's a strange anticipation to Game 7 of the World Series that doesn't exist any other day of the year. It's the ultimate game, and so there's excitement for the prospect of that. But it's also guaranteed to be the final game of the year, so there's a tinge of sadness that comes with that realization. No matter what happens, no matter who wins, there will not be another ballgame to come after this. The Nationals...

The Orioles are stuck in a sports holding pattern during the coronavirus pandemic, unable to play games but staying busy on other fronts. Only the rosters are frozen. Not the members of the organization. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias pointed out in yesterday's Zoom video conference with local media that the Orioles are prepping for the First-Year Player Draft while unsure of the total number of rounds. Could be five, could be more. Won't be less. The bonus for players...

Mike Elias is preparing as if the 2020 season will begin at some point over the summer. He's preparing as if the First-Year Player Draft will last 40 rounds. He's proceeding as if baseball life will get back to normal while fully aware that it might stay on hold. There might not be a season. The draft might consist of only five rounds. The club's executive vice president and general manager couldn't offer many updates this afternoon in a Zoom video call with the local media. He's hoping...

We know that Camden Yards is "the ballpark that forever changed baseball" when it opened for business. The first game was played there on April 6, 1992 when Orioles right-hander Rick Sutcliffe pitched a complete-game five-hitter. The Orioles beat Cleveland 2-0 in a game that took just 2 hours, 2 minutes. After the opening of Oriole Park, the era of the cookie-cutter symmetrical stadium gave way to a new generation of ballpark construction. Now parks could feature new amenities, but still be...

We're all (Adam) Jonesing for Orioles baseball right now, but you're not missing it on this particular day because April 16 was scheduled as an off-day to begin with. How's that for rationalizing? If not for this pesky pandemic, the Birds would have just hosted the Cubs for a pair, the Wednesday game coming on Jackie Robinson Day. That's the one day during the season when you can't tell the players even with a program, since everybody's wearing No. 42 in honor of the great Dodgers...

(Note: You can watch Game 6 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m. Eastern time.) Man, oh, man, did a lot of stuff happen in this game. I mean, this one game alone included Alex Bregman carrying his bat to first base after homering, then Juan Soto responding by doing the exact same thing. It had Stephen Strasburg tipping his pitches in the top of the first, then making a correction and pitching so well he actually took the mound for the bottom of the ninth. It had Adam Eaton hitting a...

A few days ago in this space, Orioles director of player development Matt Blood explained how players and coaches on the O's farm are keeping active and trying to improve themselves in various ways during the shutdown of baseball. Much of this is happening via video chats on Zoom. "As a group, we've had Zoom calls on just about everything there is to have a call on. Hitting, pitching, defense, strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental skills, research," he said. "We have calls with the...

I returned home from spring training 10 days early because of the coronavirus pandemic. I haven't seen my daughter or been able to hug her since I left for Sarasota, with news that I'm going to be a grandfather. And I haven't seen my mother and can't celebrate her 80th birthday today beyond another phone call and promises that we'll be together again. I've written about the many ways that sports influenced my relationship with my father, who passed away in January 2019, five months after...

A big second half was important to catcher Jakson Reetz's potential move up in the Nationals organization. Reetz, a third-round 2014 selection in the First-Year Player Draft, hit .282 with 12 homers and 38 RBIs for high Single-A Potomac after the All-Star break. In the first half, he had hit .220 with only one homer. His slugging percentage jumped from .300 to .563. The Carolina League All-Star told me his focus at the plate from July on was critical to those number jumps. He finished with 18...

A random assortment of tidbits for you on this Sunday morning with no baseball ... * We put the World Series re-watch on hold for a couple of days so we could line up the final two games with MASN's rebroadcast schedule. So look for my re-watch article about Game 6 on Monday morning, with MASN showing the game at 7 p.m. Then I'll have my re-watch article about Game 7 on Tuesday morning, in advance of the telecast at 7 p.m. Hope you've been enjoying the entire experience all over again. * As...