Orioles announce roster for wild card game
Orioles announce roster for wild card game
Josh Land
Orioles
The Orioles have announced their roster for tonight's American League Wild Card game against the Texas Rangers. INFIELDERS/OUTFIELDERS/DH (12) Robert Andino INF Endy Chavez OF Chris Davis RF Ryan Flaherty INF Lew Ford OF JJ Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Manny Machado 3B Nate McLouth OF Omar Quintanilla INF Mark Reynolds 1B Jim Thome DH CATCHERS (2) Taylor Teagarden CA Matt Wieters CA PITCHERS (11) Jake Arrieta RHP Luis Ayala RHP Zach Britton LHP Tommy Hunter RHP Jim Johnson RHP Steve Johnson...
Cortisone: The "magic shot" that has been crucial to Nats' success
Cortisone: The "magic shot" that has been crucial to Nats' success
Dan Kolko
Nationals
Throughout much of the first half of the season, Ryan Zimmerman wasn't himself. Inflammation in the AC joint in his right shoulder sapped his bat speed and quickly increased his frustration level. After yet another 0-for-4 in a game against the Orioles on June 23, Zimmerman was hitting .218 and slugging a lowly .305. "I don't miss fastballs like I've been missing fastballs," Zimmerman said that night. "If things keep going the way they have been going, we're going to have to do...
Alan Mills talks about the Orioles and their bullpen
Alan Mills talks about the Orioles and their bullpen
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles had to submit their wild card roster by 10 a.m. today. That doesn't mean they had to make it public. I'm still waiting for the club to release the names, as the Rangers did with their roster much earlier. In the meantime, I had a chance to catch up with former Orioles reliever Alan Mills, the pitching coach at short-season Single-A Aberdeen who drove Kevin Gausman to Tropicana Field for his bullpen session. Mills was part of the Orioles' American League...
Nationals playoff viewing party at Fairgrounds moved to Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Nationals playoff viewing party at Fairgrounds moved to Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
Maybe you can't watch the first playoff game in Nationals history from your favorite spot in Nationals Park. But you can still watch the historic game Sunday afternoon, and not be far away from the home team's home park. Join MASN on Sunday for its official viewing party, which will be held at Fairgrounds, right across from Nationals Park's center field gates. The fun begins at 3 p.m., just a few minutes before first pitch, at 25 M St., SE (at Half Street) Fairgrounds will be the perfect...
A closer look at tonight's opponent with a Texas Rangers beat writer
A closer look at tonight's opponent with a Texas Rangers beat writer
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Here is something to consider about tonight's game. Some are wondering about the Orioles' lack of playoff experience coupled with the fact that Texas has plenty of it. The Rangers are 18-15 in playoff games the last two seasons. But heading into October 2010, Texas was the only major league franchise to never have won a playoff series and it won the AL championship that year. Gerry Fraley covers the Rangers for the Dallas Morning News. We all know the Rangers struggled down the stretch,...
Times for Games 1 and 2 of NLDS are set (with ump assignments)
Times for Games 1 and 2 of NLDS are set (with ump assignments)
Dan Kolko
Nationals
Major League Baseball has announced the start times for the first two games of each Division Series. And the schedule they've gone with might leave some D.C. sports fans a little frustrated. The Nationals will start their first postseason game in team history (and the first playoff game in D.C. baseball history in 79 years) at 3:07 p.m. on Sunday. Monday's Game 2 will start at 4:37 p.m. Both games will air on TBS. This means that Game 1 will start sometime just after halftime of the...
Matthew Taylor: Postseason probably means an improbable hero or two
Matthew Taylor: Postseason probably means an improbable hero or two
Josh Land
Orioles
The 2012 Orioles, a roster filled with odds-defying heroes, are a perfect match for postseason baseball, which rewards unlikely stars by elevating their clutch performances from enjoyable to unforgettable. Player names that, years later, you can't remember become ones you'll never forget. Taylor Teagarden has recorded three walk-off hits this season, including a game-winning, two-run homer in his second at-bat with the Orioles. I can envision O's fans years from now talking about "that...
Marty Niland: The folly of baseball's new playoff system
Marty Niland: The folly of baseball's new playoff system
Josh Land
Nationals
First the good news: By virtue of the best record in baseball, the Nationals have the home field advantage in a best-of-five series against Friday's wild card winner. Now the bad news: By virtue of the best record in baseball, the Nationals have the home field advantage in a best-of-five series against Friday's wild card winner. How's that? The half-baked playoff system that Major League Baseball came up with this year means the Nats will take to the road for two games in either Atlanta...
To win tonight, O's will likely need  'pen to be good again
To win tonight, O's will likely need 'pen to be good again
Steve Melewski
Orioles
If the Orioles can get past Texas tonight and into a five-game series, that might be where one of their strengths - their bullpen - can really help the team. This unit has been sensational this year and is a big reason the club is so outstanding in one-run and extra-inning games. In the playoffs, it often seems that teams with deep bullpens do well. The Orioles have a deep and talented bullpen, and given a chance to show his mastery at using it, I would expect Buck Showalter to put the right...
Will Showalter go with his familiar lineup? (ALDS times announced)
Will Showalter go with his familiar lineup? (ALDS times announced)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Atlanta Braves already posted their lineup for today's National League wild card game. It actually was tweeted yesterday. Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't in quite the same hurry. We won't know his lineup until later this afternoon, but it shouldn't be difficult to figure out, based on the pattern that he's established. Four of Showalter's last six lineups have been identical, all of them with the Orioles facing a right-handed starter. The two exceptions came...