Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo appeared with Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier on 106.7 The Fan prior to Wednesday's finale against the Cardinals, getting fans updated on the state of the Nationals. With his team falling to 10-10, Rizzo is not pleased with the start, but believes the Nationals can get on a hot streak, and more than just one. "It is probably mediocre," Rizzo said of the Nationals' record out of the gate. "I'm not satisfied. Davey (Johnson) is not satisfied. There...

So what happens when a pitcher and catcher have to work together for the first time and have to do it in a major league game? We'll find out shortly when Taylor Teagarden catches Josh Stinson as he makes his first appearance for the Orioles. The 25-year-old right-hander went 1-0 with an ERA of 0.77 in two starts at Triple-A Norfolk. He is 0-2 with a 4.43 ERA over 22 1/3 major league innings the last two seasons with the Mets and Brewers. "It is a challenge, but it is also a challenge for...

Online voting for the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will begin today at 3:00 p.m., and the Orioles are urging fans to vote early, vote often, and Vote Orange. Fans can cast their votes for Orioles players up to 35 times per email address online at www.orioles.com/voteorange using the 2013 All-Star Game Ballot. Each fan who votes 25 times and selects the Orioles as their "favorite" or "other favorite" club will receive an online promo code valid for $10 off a box seat or $5...

Manager Buck Showalter is going with close to his standard lineup for today's afternoon finale against the Blue Jays. The only change is Taylor Teagarden starting at catcher in place of Matt Wieters because it's a day game after a night game. Teagarden has appeared in just two games this season, with the last one coming on Saturday. Right-hander Josh Stinson is set for his Orioles debut. Reliever Alex Burnett just walked out of Showalter's office and appeared to have his travel papers in...

Having gone hitless in his last 10 at-bats with seven strikeouts, Adam LaRoche is getting a rest for today's matinee against the Cardinals. So is catcher Kurt Suzuki with a day game after a night game. Tyler Moore starts at first while catcher Jhonatan Solano gets his first start behind the plate since being called up on April 14. The Nationals are facing Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia today, so Johnson will get another right-handed bat in the lineup by putting Moore in there. With...

The Danny Espinosa/Steve Lombardozzi debate highlights many fascinating aspects of baseball fandom. It is tools vs. grit, slash line vs. batting average, and strikeouts vs. productive outs. The main issue is that in every meaningful category for their careers, Espinosa is a better player. Look at the two slash lines. Espinosa, for his career, is at .236/.311/.407 and Lombardozzi is at .273/.314/.352. While the increase in contact rate is aesthetically pleasing, it is close to meaningless...

Is there any team in baseball that has played three games already this season against 2012 Cy Young Award winners? The Orioles have and they are a very impressive 3-0 in those games, scoring 21 combined runs. On opening night, April 2, they faced David Price and beat the Rays 7-4. On April 18, they faced Price again and beat the Rays 10-6 in 10 innings. Last night they faced R.A. Dickey and beat the Blue Jays 4-3. Even though they didn't pin a loss on Price's record, they did hand Dickey a...

Davey Johnson says it's time to get mad. He's frustrated with the Nationals' 10-10 start to the 2013 season and wants to see his boys get their act in gear. That should start, Johnson says, with a little anger. How exactly do the guys do that, though? Do they smash bats over their knees following strikeouts? Do they throw their gloves to the ground after failing to get to a fly ball in the gap? Do they smack a security guard after yet another loss? (I sure hope not.) Johnson's point, of...

Your baseball body clock is probably out of whack this morning. The Orioles are playing a 12:35 p.m. game today. It's Wednesday. Something doesn't feel quite right. It's a travel day, with the Orioles flying to Oakland following Josh Stinson's debut with the club. Stinson was given today's assignment instead of left-hander Zach Britton, but don't read too much into it. The Orioles could have gone either way. The reports on Britton are mostly favorable. The feeling within the...

The frustration that the Nationals feel as an offense can be summed up in the roughest of nights at the plate for first baseman Adam LaRoche. Four times he faced one of his best friends, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, and four times the right-hander struck out LaRoche. The strikeout in the sixth was the toughest to take with the bases loaded and his team trailing by 2-0. Manager Davey Johnson said maybe it is time to get mad. It is obvious that everyone in this clubhouse is extremely...