Within the span of a few weeks in July, the Orioles traded for four players, three of which were pitchers. In those deals they traded away five players. Here is a look at how those five players have done for their new organizations since those deals. On July 2, the Orioles acquired pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitchers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop and international signing bonus slots numbers 3 and 4. Arrieta first was sent to...

Nationals players have been told to stay away from Nationals Park for the time being after today's tragic shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and we're awaiting word on how this situation might affect tonight's game between the Nats and Braves. According to media reports, two shooters "are down" after a massive police search of the Navy Yard, where at least 10 people were reportedly shot this morning, four of which were killed. Again, all that information is according to...

It's come to this for the Nationals. They have 13 games to play in the regular season and trail the Reds by 4 1/2 games for the final wild card spot. They are close enough to taste it, yet still far enough out that they aren't much more than a mathematical possibility at this point. It's excruciating to think that if the Nats had managed to play the Braves evenly this season, this would be a completely different discussion. The Nats are 4-12 against the Braves. If they'd gone 8-8, well,...

The Nationals took full advantage of their soft schedule the last few weeks, going 14-5 during their 19-game stretch against the Marlins, Mets and Phillies. It was a crucial run of wins, and combined with a few slip-ups from the Reds recently, it's gotten the Nats back on the fringe of the wild card race. Yesterday's results - an 11-2 Nats beatdown of the Phillies and a dramatic walk-off win by the Brewers over the Reds - have brought Washington 4 1/2 games back of Cincinnati for the final...

Is the answer to this question yes? Has the 2013 season has been tougher on the Orioles fans than the 2012 season? To me it seems much tougher. These two seasons are just very, very different. Last season seemed magical and, at times, almost too good to be true. The Orioles hadn't won anything since 1997 and suddenly and surprisingly the O's found themselves in a pennant race. Then, as some feared it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped, something happened. The Orioles...

The Orioles are off today, the only open date on their September schedule. They arrived in Boston last night after taking two of three games from the Blue Jays. Outfielder Henry Urrutia comes off the restricted list, which requires a corresponding 40-man roster move. The Orioles could remove Dan Johnson, who took Urrutia's spot in Toronto. Darren O'Day may do some throwing today in Sarasota. The Orioles' bullpen covered the last 3 2/3 innings yesterday, shutting out the Jays, but it had to...

Wilson Ramos is on a tear right now, and while he might be pretty tired after catching 23 straight games - the most of any catcher in the majors this season - he has no interest in resting right now. Ramos has five homers and 15 RBIs in his last eight games, and with the Braves coming in to town, the Nationals will need him in there. Here's a sampling of Ramos' postgame session with reporters after today's 11-2 win over the Phillies: On feeling like this was his best game as a major...

As we were conducting interviews in the Nationals' clubhouse after today's 11-2 Nats win, Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez robbed Reds right fielder Jay Bruce of a home run to keep their game tied in the top of the ninth. The Nats' clubhouse exploded with excitement. Just minutes later, former Nats left-hander Zach Duke - now with the Reds - served up a walk-off homer to Sean Halton, and the Nats' deficit in the NL wild card race was suddenly cut to 4 1/2 games. The Nationals did...

I live tweet every Orioles game for Birds Watcher, and I monitor Twitter for all things Orioles on a daily basis. (If you're not into Twitter, I highly recommend it.) One thing I gather from seeing the opinions of some Orioles fans is that this season is a complete and utter failure if the team doesn't qualify for the postseason. In a way, I can understand those sentiments on the part of fans, as Baltimore got a reminder of what meaningful late-season and postseason games were like last...

It was another workmanlike effort for starter Jordan Zimmermann. Tossing seven innings, in which he had one strikeout in each frame, the Nationals right-hander held the Phillies to a pair of early runs and coasted to an 11-2 victory. Zimmermann picked up his National League-leading 18th victory, and the Nationals are now 21-9 in games he starts this season. "It feels good," said Zimmermann. "But, then again, I will trade all those wins in for a spot in the playoffs. That is the only thing...