It's getting closer, I promise. Just another couple of weeks and we'll be talking about real, actual baseball. Yes, spring training is right around the corner, and before you know it, you'll be spending warm afternoons and evenings at the ballpark, bathed in sunshine and reminding people that the Nationals are World Series champions. In the meantime, we'll whet your appetites this week with a handful of "Nationals Classics" on MASN. What's on the menu? Well, a buffet of baseball fun:...

Pat Roessler was formerly the hitting coach for the Mets, most recently in 2018. He takes over as the assistant hitting coach for the Nationals this season. His resume is stacked with stops as assistant baseball coach at Old Dominion University (1983-1988) to years in the big leagues. The University of Arizona product was a minor league hitting coach in the White Sox system from 1988 to 1994, the Expos hitting coordinator from 1995 to 1997 and the Pirates chain from 1998 to 1999. He coached...

So you want to go to Nationals spring training. You know they train in West Palm Beach, Fla. And if you read yesterday's article, you know what to expect when you arrive at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. But you may not know what to do or where to go the rest of your time in town. Well, you're in luck. Because today we present Part 2 of our annual fans' guide to spring training. This time, we'll focus on everything other than baseball. First, you need to decide how you're going to...

Could the Orioles' pursuit of rotation help lead them back to signing right-hander Andrew Cashner as a free agent for the second time? Before the 2018 season, they signed him to a two-year deal worth $16 million with an option for 2020. The Boston Red Sox acquired him from the Orioles in a trade in July and did not pick up that option. Cashner is available and can be an Oriole again. The Birds could be encouraged to sign him when they look at how well he pitched for the Orioles last summer. Or...

Feeling super? Meh. The Ravens' playoff run stalled as soon as it started, and neither the Steelers nor the Patriots are playing in Sunday's big game either. There's nobody in this thing to root for or against. MASN has much more exciting television lined up in the next seven days, especially after Sunday. Each weekday morning next week, starting Monday, you can catch a rebroadcast of each game of the 1970 World Series, which happened (gulp) 50 years ago this October. Today and tomorrow...

The decision to trade Dylan Bundy to the Angels left a big hole in an Orioles rotation that already had team officials scrambling to fill spots. He made 30 starts in 2019 and logged 161 2/3 innings, totals that led the club with rookie John Means as the surprise runner-up. Means bested Bundy in plenty of other categories, including wins, ERA, WHIP, average against and WAR. But the first-round pick in 2011 has left lots of people wondering how the Orioles replace those innings. Is the answer...

It's Super Bowl Week, which means a lot to a lot of people but to baseball fans means something particularly meaningful: Spring training is fast approaching. Yes, once the Chiefs or the 49ers hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night, baseball season officially will be right around the corner. Nationals pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 12, a mere 16 days from now. And there's a decent chance many of you are making plans to report to West Palm Beach yourselves to enjoy the Nationals'...

Yusniel Diaz is going to be invited to spring training again and eventually be reassigned to minor league camp. No matter how he hits. No matter how he fields. The Orioles weren't tempted by last spring's statistics, which included 11 hits in 33 at-bats, with three doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in 14 games. The rebuild plan doesn't permit prospects to be rushed. Diaz never made it above Double-A last summer due to two leg injuries that limited him to 76 games. He slashed .262/.335/.472...

During a 17-minute interview Thursday night on 105.7 The Fan's "Orioles Hot Stove Show," Chris Davis talked about ways he is trying to get his bat productive again. During that interview, Davis told us he has not overhauled his swing, but has gotten bigger and stronger over the winter in an attempt to improve his game and drive the ball better. In 2019, over 352 plate appearances (his fewest since 2011), Davis hit .179/.276/.326 with nine doubles, 12 homers, 36 RBIs and 139 strikeouts. He...

The Nationals won the World Series last year with the oldest roster in baseball, so it's not surprising they went out this winter and either signed or re-signed a bunch of veterans who will help keep the team's average age near the top of the sport again. Nothing wrong with that philosophy, especially when it worked so well in 2019. But it's worth noting that a Nats farm system that was so instrumental in the franchise's initial ascension from laughingstock to annual contender might be as...