Jordan Zimmermann likely made his final start with the Nationals on Wednesday, taking a hard-luck 2-0 loss to the Braves. Zimmermann, 29, is expected to leave in free agency this offseason after spending his entire professional career in the Nationals organization since he was drafted in 2007. Zimmermann went 70-50 with a 3.32 ERA over seven seasons with Washington. The bulldog of the rotation started at least 32 games in each of his last four years and provided a lasting memory with his...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made a difficult decision yesterday. Sure, on the surface, it appeared an easy call to dismiss Matt Williams after the Nationals' second-half collapse and the recent dugout fiasco. But recognize that it's never easy for anyone, especially in a high-profile position, to admit their mistake and fire an employee they hired. "A tough day for me personally," Rizzo said in his opening statements during yesterday's media conference call. Rizzo knows the focus...

I'm happy to report that the end of the 2015 season hasn't diluted the passion here. Executive vice president Dan Duquette's comments yesterday at an exit press conference stirred the masses. A few of you were shaken. Here's what I took out of the 30-minute session with Duquette and manager Buck Showalter: * The Orioles want to re-sign Chris Davis. Duquette said it, Showalter said it, managing partner Peter G. Angelos said it. But stating the intention isn't the same as offering a...

Will 2016 be the year for Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman? Will it finally be the year where he is a starter at the major league level for the entire season? He certainly hopes and expects that it will be. No more back and forth between the majors and minors, and no more work out of the bullpen. It appears that day is coming for Gausman. "I'm really looking forward to that," the 24-year-old right-hander said. "Every year, I've gone into the season wanting to be a starter and throw a lot of...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter met with the media today for about 30 minutes to recap the 2015 season and share some thoughts on improvements needed to get back into the playoffs. It's done every year after the final game. The topics also included the six pending free agents, the coaching staff and the possibility of negotiating an extension with third baseman Manny Machado. Here are some comments from Duquette. Check Steve Melewski's blog for...

Maybe we could call it an exit media interview for the 2015 season for Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter. They took questions today from reporters for about 30 minutes at Camden Yards. It was time to wrap up another season, but mostly to take a look ahead to a very important offseason for the club. Check Roch Kubatko's blog for some quotes from Duquette, and I'll provide some here from Showalter. A reporter asked the pair about...

In a bittersweet ending to a rocky year, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer was named the National League Player of the Week after throwing his second no-hitter of the season on Saturday night. Yunel Escobar's sixth-inning throwing error was the only blemish that stood between Scherzer and a perfect game. From the end of the sixth until the middle of the ninth, Scherzer went on a rampage, striking out a franchise-high nine straight batters. Scherzer struck out a career-high 17 batters overall...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter stated today that they want to remain in their current roles in 2016 and downplayed reports of friction between them, laughing at various points when asked about it. "It's a great honor to manage the Baltimore Orioles and I don't plan to do anything else," Showalter said, adding that this will be his "last rodeo." "It's healthy when you have different styles of leadership," Duquette said. I'll post more comments...

Following a week in which he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and then turned in perhaps the most dominant no-hit performance in major league history as an encore, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer was named the National League Player of the Week on Monday. Major League Baseball made the announcement on MLB Network. In his final start of the 2015 season, Scherzer held the New York Mets hitless in a 2-0 victory on Saturday night, striking out 17 and allowing just one baserunner --...

With a turbulent season in the rear view mirror, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo immediately begins the task of staging a run back to the postseason in 2016. This morning, Rizzo took a giant first step in firing Matt Williams as manager. "We're going to immediately begin the process of the search of the manager," said Rizzo, wasting no time. "It will start this afternoon here in the front office and continue painstakingly until we have a manager under contract that we think is going to...