For the third time in the last two days, Ryan Zimmerman has delivered an off-target throw. Two of those three throws have cost the Nationals. I'm of the mind that not too much blame should be heaped on Zimmerman for his throw to second base in the ninth inning last night. Zimmerman was off-balance and needed to get the throw off in a hurry in order to beat Jason Heyward to the second base bag, and he missed his target by a few feet. The ball rolled into right field and two runs...

NEW YORK - Alexi Casilla held up on Manny Machado's low line drive to second base last night, broke late to third after Robinson Cano played the ball on one hop, and realized that he had no shot at reaching the bag. Glancing back at Machado, his priorities changed in a hurry. "I stayed in the rundown to give Manny time to get to second so we could keep somebody in scoring position, but we couldn't do it," Casilla said this afternoon. "I tried my best to stay in it as long as I can and...

In an effort to allow more fans to honor Earl Weaver, the greatest manager in the history of the franchise, the Orioles have announced that "A Celebration of Earl" will now begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The memorial was previously scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. "A Celebration of Earl" will include a video tribute and a collection of notable guest speakers, including Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Buck Showalter, National Baseball...

This morning, I wrote that it might be time for Nationals manager Davey Johnson to start giving his starters a little bit of a longer leash, letting them work deeper into games when their low pitch counts and level of effectiveness dictate that another inning or two is a possibility. Doing so would, in turn, take some pressure off a struggling Nats bullpen. But Johnson said this morning that he isn't planning on loosening that leash on his starters just yet, instead sticking with his...

NEW YORK - Nate McLouth is back atop the order today after sitting out last night's 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees. Nolan Reimold is serving as the designated hitter after starting in left field last night. Orioles DHs are 1-for-33. Reimold, at 1-for-13, has the only hit. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS Ryan Flaherty 2B Nolan Reimold DH Jason Hammel RHP For the Yankees Brett Gardner CF Robinson...

Will the real Orioles offense please stand up? Over the first five games, it looked like a juggernaut and over the last five games, it has looked feeble at times. The real offense certainly lies somewhere in the middle, not as good as the group that got out of the gates so fast or the one we've seen in recent days. The Orioles scored twice as much in those first five games and had exactly twice as many extra-base hits. After scoring five runs or more in each of those opening five contests,...

One night after a disappointing extra-inning loss to the Braves, the Nationals are sticking with their regular lineup. Stephen Strasburg gets the start with Wilson Ramos behind the plate. The Braves have Ramiro Pena at shortstop after he hit the go-ahead homer in the 10th on Friday. For the Nationals: CF Denard Span RF Jayson Werth LF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa C Wilson Ramos RHP Stephen Strasburg For the Braves: CF B.J. Upton RF Jason...

Here's a strange note: Last night's blown 4-0 lead and eventual 6-4 loss to the Braves came six months to the day after the Nationals blew a 6-0 lead and lost 9-7 to the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Ironically enough, Drew Storen's first save opportunity since that crushing postseason loss came last night. This one also ended in a blown save and a Nats loss, although Storen wasn't on the mound when it ended this time. I thought Ryan Zimmerman's point last...

NEW YORK - A loss like the one that the Orioles experienced last night should be dissected and discarded. It's over and done. We've picked it apart - the drop, the triple play, the walks. Now it should be buried before it stinks up the joint. But first... I'm going to repeat that Adam Jones didn't commit the three-run error because of a bubble. My head explodes with more force than his gum whenever it's suggested as a reason. It always looks bad when a misplay occurs while a bubble is...

Nationals starting pitchers have gotten off to a strong start to 2013, putting up a 3.09 ERA collectively with six quality starts in 10 games. Nationals relievers, however, have had some issues through the season's first 10 contests. The guys in the Nats' bullpen have posted a 6.34 ERA over 32 2/3 innings. Tonight, three Nationals relievers combined to surrender five runs over three frames, turning a 4-1 lead into a 6-4 loss in 10 innings. This isn't what most people expected, given the...