It's not the only MLB rankings out there, but it's always interesting to see what others think of the Nationals. Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports has the Nationals at No. 5 on his latest team rankings. The first three teams are American League squads in Oakland, the L.A. Angels and the Orioles. The Dodgers are in fourth place. The next closest National League club is the Brewers at No. 7. * The Nationals looked like a machine this week in New York. Each game featured the power of the lineup...

Manager: Clint Hurdle, fourth year Record: 64-57 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 2B Neil Walker (.277/.347/.456, 16 HR, 50 RBIs); UT Josh Harrison (.313/.351/.503, 25 doubles, 10 HR, 38 RBIs, 17 SB); RHP Edinson Volquez (10-7, 3.67 ERA, 1.27 WHIP); RHP Charlie Morton (5-11, 3.62 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats: 3-1, 12 runs scored, 11 runs allowed Pitching probables Aug. 15: Charlie Morton vs. Tanner Roark, 7 p.m., MASN HD Aug. 16: Jeff Locke vs. Gio Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN HD Aug. 17:...

The Nationals swept the New York Mets with Thursday's win, but on Wednesday night, the Nats came close to blowing a late lead to their National League East rivals. Jordan Zimmermann and the first two members of the Nationals' "A" 'pen, Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard, handed a 3-1 lead to closer Rafael Soriano, but the veteran right-hander struggled with his command after a couple of days off waiting for a save opportunity. A 2-2 fastball up in the zone to Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud...

Old is a relative term, and growing old is a relative experience. Nevertheless, there are certain mile markers for this baseball fan that indicate I have accumulated some wear on the tires. First, it was being older than most of the players I root for. Next, it was bringing my son to a baseball game. Now it's watching one of the game's legends retire at age 40 and realizing that I've watched his entire career as an adult. I may feel like a kid again when I am at the Yard, but I am not in...

Manager: Terry Francona, second year Record: 60-60 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: LF Michael Brantley (.325/.383/.517, 32 doubles, 17 HR, 78 RBIs, 77 R, 13 SB); C Carlos Santana (.226/.365/.425, 20 HR, 56 RBIs); 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (.292/.358/.460, 23 doubles, 11 HR, 46 RBIs); RHP Corey Kluber (13-6, 2.46 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) Season series vs. O's: 2-2, 23 runs scored, 19 runs against Pitching probables Aug. 15: Corey Kluber vs. Wei-Yin Chen, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD Aug. 16: Carlos Carrasco vs. Ubaldo...

I'm not sure whether the following piece of information will please readers or make you guys want to slam down your laptop screens and run away. So I guess I'll issue a quick warning: if you're the superstitious type, if you're the type to get annoyed by some positive news about your baseball team's chances of making the postseason, you might want to stop reading now. Just take a little break from the blog. Go catch up on some world news or check out some home decor tips for a bit and...

For all of the talk about how much the Nationals struggle against the Braves, it's the team's record against another divisional opponent that should be raising a few eyebrows. Following Thursday night's 4-1 win over the Mets, the Nationals hold a 10-2 advantage against New York in 2014, having outscored them 62-34. Sure, the Mets don't appear to have any hopes of playing in the postseason, while the Braves and Nationals fight atop the division, but with the regular season schedule pitting...

Did everyone enjoy the off day? Major League Baseball has a new commissioner. Dylan Bundy has a new lat injury. That pretty much covers the news. Rob Manfred - the commissioner, not the technical name for Bundy's injury - shouldn't be confused with WBAL Radio's Fred Manfra. Two different guys. As for Bundy, his season at Single-A Frederick was winding down and I doubt that the Orioles were going to recall him next month, so being shut down isn't a crushing blow. His right elbow is sound....

Prior to Thursday night's game, Nationals manager Matt Williams was confident starter Stephen Strasburg was going to come out firing. It seemed like a reasonable, even predictable comment for a manger to make of his own starting pitcher. Yet with a meager 1-8 road record this season coming into tonight, Strasburg's success away from our nation's capital had been anything but a realistic notion. As it turns out, Strasburg backed his skipper in a big way and backed the Nationals in a 4-1 win...

When Baseball America came out with its list of the Orioles top 30 prospects last December, pitchers took up the first four spots, and six of the top eight on the list. Based on what we've seen happen this year, and with the departures from that list of Kevin Gausman and Eduardo Rodriguez, several hitters should start making their way higher up on the Orioles' top prospects list next winter. In some respects this has become the year of the hitter on the O's farm. Several players have had...