Anyone else a little bit surprised to see Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos among the National League finalists for a Rawlings Gold Glove Award? Yes, Ramos effectively controls the opposition's running game - gunning down 24 of 54 would-be base stealers last season - and has improved his game-calling ability. His .995 fielding percentage certainly looks impressive. But I don't know anyone who doesn't cringe when a throw from the outfield skips in front of the plate because of Ramos' inability...

The New York Mets are looking to do what they did in the 1986 World Series. They won it after losing the first two games to Boston. Tonight, the Mets host Game 3 of the World Series at Citi Field against Kansas City. The Royals hold a 2-0 series lead after winning the opener 5-4 in 14 innings and the second game by a 7-1 score. In 1986, the Mets lost the first game by one run and the second by six runs. In World Series history, 42 of 53 teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to win. The last 14...

Justin Morneau's option was not picked up by the Colorado Rockies. Would the Nationals be interested in the first baseman? They would certainly covet a left-handed power bat of this stature, but would injury concerns and a logjam at that spot make them hesitate? Ryan Zimmerman is at first base for the Nationals and is coming off an oblique injury that finished his 2015 season early. Would the Nationals consider Zimmerman in left field, Bryce Harper in center field and Jayson Werth in right...

The reaction to Bud Black beating out Dusty Baker for the Nationals managerial job might have caused some head scratching at first. After all, the former managed the Padres - his only gig as a big league skipper - to a less-than-flattering 649-713 record over 8 1/2 years without tasting one sip of playoff-clinching champagne, while the latter took three different teams to the playoffs, reaching the World Series with the Giants in 2002. The immediate feeling on Black is understandable. Why...

The Orioles are having a typical non-playoff October, with only trickles of news before the World Series ends and the free agency floodgates open. Reliever Brian Matusz underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder. The Orioles released their spring training schedule. They claimed pitcher Vance Worley off waivers from the Pirates and lost reliever Jorge Rondon to a waiver claim by the Pirates. They re-signed all seven of their coaches, but are going to conduct interviews for an assistant...

Here is a quick question for you: Which team drew more walks this season, the Orioles or the Kansas City Royals? Surprise, surprise, but it was the Orioles. The Orioles were not great in this stat, finishing 13th in the American League with 418 walks, while Kansas City ranked last at 383. But those same Royals are averaging 5.77 runs per game in the postseason. Kansas City has the unique combination of finishing last in the AL on offense in both strikeouts and walks. They don't strike out much...

Back when Buddy Black, the Nationals' new manager, was a left-handed pitcher in the American League, he once stood below the Metrodome roof in Minnesota and counted the squares - and the holes in the squares - in the light-colored plastic roof. "Sometimes, you just have to find things to do," Black says. "I've been coming here for years and wondered how many holes there were in the roof. So I counted them.'' Black has the quirkiness you'd expect in a left-handed pitcher. But, he's also...

Following his first full season playing right field, Bryce Harper was named as a National League finalist for a 2015 Gold Glove Award. Rawlings made the announcement earlier today with the winners set to be revealed on ESPN on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. Beyond his eye-popping numbers at the plate, Harper routinely impressed with highlight-reel sliding catches in right field. His cannon of a right arm produced eight outfield assists, tied for sixth-best among major league outfielders. That arm, combined...

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been named a finalist for the 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Winners will be announced on Nov. 10. Machado is the lone representative for the Orioles. He's joined by the Rangers' Adrian Beltre and the Rays' Evan Longoria. Machado won a Gold Glove and Platinum Glove in 2013, but fell out of contention last year while limited to 82 games due to his recovery from surgery on his left knee and an injury to the right. Machado committed a career-high 21...

The finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced Thursday by Rawlings Sports, and for the fourth consecutive year, the Washington Nationals have two players among the honorees. Right fielder Bryce Harper and catcher Wilson Ramos were named finalists at their respective positions, the first such honor for each player. The awards will be announced on Tuesday, November 10, on ESPN. Harper is up against strong competition for the award, facing off against St. Louis Cardinals right...