Re-watching the Nationals' playoff run gives fans the opportunity to see Howie Kendrick bounce back from a rough start to October baseball and turn into one of the biggest heroes. Kendrick's grand slam against the Dodgers and later the foul pole-clanging two-run shot against the Astros will go down as two of the most clutch hits in Nats postseason history. Kendrick kept on going to begin 2020 spring training, slashing .318/.375/.318 during 10 games. In the 2019 postseason, the 36-year-old hit...

I feel like I've already said this countless times over the last three weeks, but let's state it again for the record: As much as we all want to project when the baseball season (or any other sport's season) will begin, it's pointless right now. There's simply no way to know with any certainty when the world will be safe enough for sporting events and the mass gatherings they draw. That hasn't stopped a lot of folks from trying to figure this out. Some insist it can happen by June. Some...

Let's have some fun today with a pop quiz. OK, this is not School of Steve, but it still could be fun. I'll throw out 10 questions. To me, a few are somewhat easy, but most are not. I don't provide any multiple answer questions, so you have to come up with the answer on your own. If you don't know the answers, don't fret. I know these answers due to researching over 60 players heading into spring training. I made a bunch of notes and these questions came out of that research. As a hint,...

The magic of video is enabling the Orioles to stay connected while spread all over the country. I've heard that reliever Shawn Armstrong was able to share a bullpen session with one of his teammates that included a fastball clocked at 97 mph. Armstrong's fastball averaged 93.9 mph last season, per BrooksBaseball.net. There is no data available on his home workouts. An expansion of rosters from 26 to 29 players for the first month enables the Orioles to carry at least a few extra relievers to...

Nationals hitting coordinator Troy Gingrich said that top prospect Carter Kieboom started to get into a nice rhythm the final few weeks of March after a slow start to this spring training. "It was a different feeling for Carter this year because he knew the job was his for the take," Gingrich said. "He made a couple of adjustments in the offseason on his own, trying to make some moves that he does smaller. They didn't really transform how he was expecting them to in the games, along with...

The agreement struck last week between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association ensured all players on 40-man rosters would be paid a partial salary even if there's no 2020 season. But what about longtime big league players who aren't currently on 40-man rosters? That group was taken care of Friday when the union voted to establish an assistance fund for players with major league experience who were in spring training as non-roster invitees. The fund will pay anywhere from $5,000...

It was during a radio broadcast of the "Orioles Hot Stove Show" on 105.7 The Fan in late January when Chris Davis first revealed what he did this winter that could help him hit come summer. He got bigger. To say the least, many were skeptical when they heard that. The revelation came after Davis said that he did not make any swing changes over the winter. At 34, he said, he hits the way he hits. But getting bigger was part of the plan. "One of those (adjustments I made) is just my overall...

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic in professional baseball reaches down to the minor league level. To players with salary concerns and the managers and coaches who are trying to develop them and prepare for an abbreviated season. Triple-A Norfolk's Gary Kendall is back home in the Salisbury area, doing yardwork and engaging in video conference calls to collect and share information that no longer could be dispensed in Sarasota. The six-foot rule turned into complete isolation. The calls...

We switch gears now in our previews to the offense and check in with how Luis García's spring training was going before the shutdown. Um, yeah, it was going really well. The left-handed swinging García was hitting the baseball consistently to begin 2020. The 19-year-old shortstop slashed a stunning .417/.462/.542 in 15 big league games, with one homer and four RBIs. García is listed as the No. 97 overall prospect according to MLBPipeline.com's preseason rankings. As one might expect,...

First things first: Yes, we will start up the World Series re-watch soon. Just taking a little break after the National League Championship Series (but not as long as the six-day break the Nationals actually took). In the meantime, this feels like a good opportunity to chat with all of you. Obviously, these are not normal circumstances for baseball - but more importantly, for the world. We're trying to stick to baseball around here, but it's impossible not to acknowledge the larger...