The Indians designated Mark Reynolds for assignment this morning and I'm already being asked about the Orioles' level of interest in bringing him back. I have no idea. The ink on the transaction hasn't even dried yet. The Orioles had no interest in picking up his $11 million option over the winter or tendering him a contract and risking an arbitration hearing. But circumstances do change. They're in the market for a right-handed hitter, but Reynolds batted .218/.310/.386 in May,...

Now that the Braves have finished off their second series sweep in D.C. and kept the Nationals from being relevant in the National League East, the Nationals have to turn their attention to making the playoffs as a wild card. And that avenue to October doesn't look good. After getting swept for a second time in D.C. by the Braves this season, the Nationals are nine games behind the Reds for the second wild card spot in the NL. The Diamondbacks are also ahead of the Nationals, who won 98...

When Manny Machado made his debut with the Orioles in 2012, many things changed. The callup from the minors for the then 20-year-old gave the team a much-needed boost in early August and helped push the O's to their first playoff berth in 15 years. The Birds were 60-51 prior to Machado's promotion, but went 33-18 afterwards. At the time, the move was made as a bit of a necessity. The combination of Wilson Betemit and Mark Reynolds at third base was not working out defensively. A solid game...

While I'll admit I wasn't present for the actual bench-clearing brouhaha that went down at Nats Park on Tuesday night, I have to say I for one am glad it happened. Just a couple of weeks ago on this very blog, I was commenting about how this Nationals team doesn't seem to be fighting for their wins this season. Granted, I went on to explain that I don't have clubhouse access so there's no way for me to actually ask the players what their feelings are on how the season's playing out or...

For months now, Nationals players, coaches and front office personnel have countered questions about the team's continued struggles by saying that they have a talented roster and that there was plenty of time left for things to turn and for talent to show through. Well, there's no longer plenty of time left for things to turn. And so far, the talent still hasn't shown through. The Nats have played 114 games, more than 70 percent of their schedule. They've reached their season's low...

You've already seen Jordan Zimmermann's quotes where he denied that he was feeling tightness in his neck, as manager Davey Johnson had indicated. So if it wasn't the neck, why was Zimmermann so off tonight, allowing seven hits, two walks and two runs in just four innings of work? "I had really, really good stuff today," Zimmermann said. "I just either was 0-2 and I let them back in the count or I fell behind 2-0, 3-0 and I had to battle. Get it back to full count, they fouled a few...

A few days ago, MASN replayed Game 2 of the 1983 American League Championship Series. The Orioles defeated the White Sox 4-0 at Memorial Stadium, and Mike Boddicker put on a pitching clinic with 14 strikeouts while going the distance. Sammy Stewart and Tippy Martinez warmed in the bullpen, but it was Boddicker's game. A year later, he would win 20 of them in the regular season. Quick, name the last 20-game winner for the Orioles? If you need a hint, refer to my previous sentence. It...

Right fielder Jayson Werth did all he could to keep the Nationals in their 6-3 loss to the Braves on Wednesday. He hit a game tying two-run shot, which was the first hit for the Nationals against Kris Medlen. He singled and scored the tying run three innings later. He walked in the rally attempt down three in the bottom of the ninth. But it was not meant to be and, in the end, Werth was sitting at his locker contemplating what a three-game sweep at the hands of the first-place Braves means...

Prior to tonight's 6-3 loss to the Braves, a defeat that resulted in the second Atlanta sweep at Nationals Park this season, Davey Johnson threw his back out. He appeared fine after the game, but in the 70-year-old skipper's mind, that injury was symbolic of how this season has gone for his club. The Nats came into this series against Atlanta hoping to, at the very least, take two out of three games and give themselves a shot to possibly claw back into the division race. Instead, they...

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones had three hits today after tallying four last night, the fifth time in his career and the second time this year that he collected three or more hits in consecutive games. It also happened on April 4-5. Jones, a San Diego native, owns a career .550 (11-for-20) average with two home runs and four RBIs in five games at Petco Park. In seven games against the Padres, Jones has hit .464 (13-for-28) with two home runs and six RBIs. Jones now has 74 hits on the road...