The 14 homers the Nationals have hit in the first seven games of the season help mask some troublesome signs early from the bullpen. In Tuesday's 8-7 win over the White Sox, the bullpen allowed two huge home runs that could have lost the game. Up 6-2 in the seventh, Tyler Clippard surrendered a three-run shot to Paul Konerko to make it 6-5. In the ninth, Rafael Soriano gave up a two-run homer to Alex Rios, and an 8-5 lead was dwindled to 8-7. Fortunately for the Nationals, they were able to...

BOSTON - The Orioles were off yesterday, but they stayed busy. Besides the private screening of the film "42," they made preparations for a roster move involving outfielder Chris Dickerson. As I wrote last night, outfielder Nolan Reimold's hamstring is fine and the move isn't expected to involve him. Dickerson isn't on the 40-man roster, but infielder Wilson Betemit can be transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Stay tuned. Dickerson just sent this tweet a few minutes ago: "Rise and...

There were six home runs hit in tonight's ballgame. The Nationals and White Sox combined to put up 24 hits. Over the final eight half-innings, at least one run was scored in seven of them. "Wasn't pretty," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said as he sat down for his postgame press conference. Johnson then took a deep breath. It was one of those kinds of nights, but at least it ended in a win. Gio Gonzalez needed 99 pitches to get through five innings of work, this after he threw 33...

Quick show of hands: Who thought we'd be here? The Orioles' unexpected, unlikely and sublimely satisfying run to the postseason last year changed a lot of things in Birdland. It changed the relationship between the team and the city. It changed the way we thought of the people involved. It made Peter Angelos into less of a villain (or should have) and it made Adam Jones into the star we always knew he'd be. It made Camden Yards once again into a showpiece. And, yeah, it changed...

The National League East is going to come down to the Braves and Nationals, and it could be even closer than the four games that separated them in 2012. The Nats have the advantage in starting pitching, while the Braves have a slight advantage on offense and in the bullpen, with the defenses being fairly even. The Braves are going to score a lot of runs, but with Paul Maholm, Mike Minor, and Julio Teheran at the back of their rotation, they are going to need all the runs they can get to win...

How do the Orioles do as individual hitters and as a team when batting with runners in scoring position? It is a stat worth tracking and one that can have some meaning. How are the Orioles doing cashing in on scoring chances when they present themselves? First of all, be cautioned that reading anything into seven games' worth of stats is foolish, but nonetheless, here are some of the numbers. As team the Orioles are batting .254 (16-for-63) with RISP. They are just 1-for-9 over the last...

In his second at-bat tonight, Jayson Werth smoked a ball 400 feet to straightaway center. It died at the wall, and White Sox center fielder Alejandro De Aza brought it in for a loud out. In his third at-bat tonight, Werth took a shorter path to the seats. He crushed the first pitch he saw from Jake Peavy - a 90 mph two-seam fastball - deep into the left field bleachers. The two-run shot gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead, which they hold after six innings of play. Werth now has three home runs in...

BOSTON - Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Chris Dickerson was removed for a pinch-hitter tonight before batting in the first inning. He was supposed to lead off and play center field against Charlotte. LJ Hoes batted for Dickerson and went to right field, with Jason Pridie moving over to center. Should we read anything into it? Apparently, a roster move is pending that involves Dickerson and he's expected to meet the team in Boston, though I'm hearing that Nolan Reinold's hamstring is...

Gio Gonzalez threw 91 pitches over six shutout innings in his season debut last week, but he seems like a different guy tonight. It's taken the Nationals left-hander 84 pitches to get through four innings against the White Sox, as he's walked two, allowed three hits and had trouble putting Chicago hitters away. Gonzalez needed 33 pitches just to get through the top of the first, and his mental miscue brought in the first run of the ballgame. With the bases loaded and a 3-2 count on Alexei...

Davey Johnson and Bryce Harper took a little field trip this afternoon, heading down to City Hall to be honored by the D.C. Council with ceremonial resolutions. Johnson, the 2012 National League Manager of the Year, and Harper, the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, received their resolutions, presented by council member Vincent Orange. "It was good. I'm glad to see they're doing some work down there," quipped Johnson, when asked about his afternoon. Johnson's resolution listed him as five...