It is pretty amazing to look back at how dominant a team the Nationals were on the road in 2017. They went 50-31 away from home, far and away the best road record in the National League. Only the Indians and Astros had better road records (53-28) in all of baseball. The 50-31 record on the road for the Nats was five games better than their 45-36 road record in 2016. The Nats even won two out of three games in late August at Houston, the eventual World Series champions. In 2012, the Nats went...

As Major League Baseball seems set to implement a 20-second pitch clock for the 2018 season, at the higher levels of Minor League Baseball, they have had a clock in place for three seasons producing some of the desired results. Overall, the clock has produced shorter game times while at the same time not many violations of the clock, according to one Orioles minor league skipper. Double-A Bowie's Gary Kendall has seen his Baysox and other Eastern League teams use the clock since the 2015...

It's Hall of Fame announcement day, which means two things: Several of the greatest players in baseball history are about to become immortalized forever, and far more attention will be paid to those very good-to-great players who aren't elected this year, for a variety of reasons. Personally, I think it's a real shame that we spend way more time and energy arguing over who didn't get in than celebrating who did get in. But that's the world we live in today. Why celebrate positives when we...

While taking the high road again after my latest Oscar snub ... As the Orioles keep us waiting on their decision regarding the starting shortstop on opening day - Manny Machado, Tim Beckham or a mystery applicant - J.J. Hardy is working out in Arizona and drawing interest from multiple teams. A typical offseason except for the free agency part. Hardy has played only shortstop and therefore doesn't profile as a utility candidate. He wants to be the primary starter at the position, but also get...

The Orioles' exhibition schedule doesn't end on March 25. Only the Grapefruit League portion of it. For the second year in a row, the Orioles will travel to Norfolk for a game against their Triple-A affiliate. The teams will play on March 26 at Harbor Park with first pitch slated for 3:05 p.m. There's always rain in the forecast. It's become a tradition. But don't let the weather dampen your enthusiasm because there's going to be a window and the sides always manage to play. "The Orioles...

The Norfolk Tides announced today that the Baltimore Orioles will play an exhibition game at Harbor Park on Monday, March 26th. The game will feature the Orioles taking on the Tides, with first pitch scheduled for 3:05. "The Orioles have such an outstanding fan base in the Hampton Roads area, and we're extremely fortunate to have a major league affiliate committed to growing baseball in our local community" said Tides General Manager Joe Gregory. "This is yet another example of the...

Monday's release of Baseball America's top 100 prospects list for 2018 was notable, from the Nationals' perspective, for two reasons: Victor Robles' ascension into one of the sport's best prospects is complete, given his No. 5 overall ranking, and for the first time in a long time, the Nats have no pitching prospects on the list. Nope, no pitchers. Robles and fellow outfielder Juan Soto (ranked 56th) are the only Nationals in this year's top 100 at all. And that's quite unusual for this...

Yesterday was a big day in prospect land, as Baseball America released its top 100 prospects list and ESPN's Keith Law released his second 50 (subscription required). His top 50 will be released today. For the first time since 2014, the Orioles have three on the Baseball America top 100. Austin Hays was ranked No. 21, with Chance Sisco at No. 68 and Ryan Mountcastle at No. 71. The last three years, the Orioles had three combined, with two in 2015, none in 2016 and one last year with Sisco at...