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We continue our #ThrowbackThursday offseason series with a look at one of the top pitching milestones of the 2017 season.
On July 23, in the Orioles' 9-7 comeback win over the eventual World Series champion Astros, closer Zach Britton locked down his 55th consecutive save to set a new American League record, which was previously held by Red Sox closer Tom "Flash" Gordon (54, April 19, 1998-May 31, 1999). Britton's dominant streak continued until Aug. 21, when he converted his 60th...
A ton of remembrances today for the passing of two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, who died tragically in a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico near St. Petersburg, Fla., on Tuesday.
Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer remembered being motivated by watching how hard Halladay worked in spring training.
My deepest condolences to the Halladay family during this difficult time. The world lost a great one too early today #RIP34 pic.twitter.com/njBOuXZ9FW
-- Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer)...
It's that time of year. Getting ready for Thanksgiving and then the holidays before New Year's Day as the weather turns colder and the days shorter. At least Daylight Savings Time has kicked in so the kids don't have to walk to the school bus stop in the dark.
It's also time to get ready for our annual Nats Top 10 countdown via the expertise of Baseball America. Click here to review last week's Nationals top 10 prospects, as ranked by Baseball America.
Carlos Collazo, national writer at...
The average outing by a starting pitcher in the postseason this year was 4 2/3 innings. That is a pretty surprising stat for me. Sure, some early knockouts brought that number down but 4 2/3 innings on average for some of better starters in the game?
No doubt the bullpens get more use in the postseason and the off-days in each series made it possible for some relievers to pitch almost every game.
The Orioles bullpen is rather important to the team, especially one that gets fewer innings from...
Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon did not win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for his work on defense in 2017. The Rockies' Nolan Arenado took the honor, winning his fifth Gold Glove on Tuesday night. Rendon did win a Silver Slugger Award in 2014.
Rendon still improved on his fielding percentage by three points in 2017, getting to .979. He committed only seven errors in 334 chances.
Nationals center fielder Michael A. Taylor came up short as well in his nomination for a Gold Glove. Taylor...
A dip in defensive metrics may have denied Manny Machado a third Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
Machado lost out to the Rays' Evan Longoria tonight among American League third basemen, with the announcement coming via ESPN. The Indians' José RamÃrez also was a finalist.
Gold Gloves were delivered to Machado in 2013 - the same year that he won the Platinum Glove as best overall defensive player - and 2015. The pattern of winning every other year, as brief as it was, ended tonight.
Machado...
With a break in the awards shows - the Silver Sluggers are announced on Thursday and the Wilson Defensive Players of the Year on Friday - it's a convenient time to rummage through the ol' mailbag again and delve into the duplicates.
You ask and I answer. Someone else asks and I answer again. And the dance continues until my feet swell.
I skipped the ones asking, "Who exactly will the Orioles sign this winter?" I already feel pretty useless. Let's not crush my spirit completely.
Otherwise,...
Right-hander Stephen Strasburg took a significant step forward in 2017.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America agreed it was, and arguably could be, the best season of his career.
On Monday night, Strasburg was named one of three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award, alongside Nationals teammate Max Scherzer and Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw. The winners will be announced Nov. 15.
Strasburg received consideration for the honor in 2014, finishing ninth in the balloting, but never has...
Did a player that has been underrated most of his career finally get some level of recognition Monday evening?
He did. The Orioles' Trey Mancini was named as a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. It's an all AL East final trio with Aaron Judge of New York and Boston's Andrew Benintendi joining Mancini.
Judge is expected to become the easy winner of the award. But will Mancini get second place over the more heralded Benintendi?
Even that might be tough for a player that...
Though the Orioles aren't offering up names of pitchers who are targeted in free agency, there's definite interest in Andrew Cashner and left-hander Jason Vargas to plug holes in a rotation with only two returning starters.
MLBTradeRumors.com predicted that Cashner will receive a two-year, $20 million contract from the Athletics. Past injuries and a decrease in fastball velocity are marks against him, and he's a pitch-to-contact guy, while the Orioles could use the strikeouts. He averaged...