Cubs manager Dale Sveum didn't hold back. He knows what he saw over the last four days. "It's probably one of the biggest butt-whuppings I've ever gotten in my career, as a coach or player," Sveum said last night. Yeah, that just about covers it. The Nationals badly outplayed the lowly Cubs over the last four days, crushing 15 homers and outscoring the visitors 31-9 in a four-game sweep. Five of the Nationals' homers came from Adam LaRoche, who became just the sixth player in major...

My thoughts from Thursday's two benches-clearing incidents against the Chicago Cubs in a game the Nationals won 9-2: * Nationals third base coach Bo Porter is not one to be messed with. The dude calmly walked over to the Cubs dugout, where there were close to three dozen enemy personnel and told bench coach Jamie Quirk in no uncertain terms to (all my guesses, of course) keep his big trap shut and the Nationals were just playing baseball. You have to admire the cool, collected, but emphatic...

During a seemingly off-the-cuff speech as a part of Thursday's on-the-field-ceremonies, Cal Ripken Jr. pointed to the Orioles dugout and encouraged this year's team to "enjoy September." He was talking to the players, but he may as well have been talking to the fans, as well. If there's anything that 14 consecutive losing seasons should have taught the diehards who have been with this team through it all, it's to enjoy the moment and not take it for granted. What does it mean to enjoy...

Of all the milestones the Nationals have passed in this special season, none means more so far to their long-suffering fans than Monday's 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Nats' 82nd win of 2012 guaranteed their first winning season since moving to Washington. That's a treasure for the fans who stuck with the team through its lean years since 2005 and those who remember the expansion Senators. To quote the Eagles, "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969." That was the last time...

Biggest win of the season? That's the debate after the Orioles gave up five runs in the top of the eighth inning last night to blow a 6-1 lead and proceeded to hit three home runs in the bottom half to send a sellout crowd into a frenzy and avoid falling two games back in the American League East. I've been saying that the 17-inning win in Boston was the best game of the season. You can make a solid argument that last night's victory topped it because it's September and the Orioles pulled...

It was simply an amazing night at Camden Yards. From Cal Ripken Jr.'s statue ceremony and seeing the Orioles greats return again to one of the best home crowds just about anyone can remember at the Yard to the remarkable first inning that was topped by the last of the eighth inning, it was quite a night. Every time you think the Orioles can't top their latest comeback or great win, they do. The Yankees scored five runs in the first inning to lead the Orioles 5-0 on July 31 and couldn't...

Bryce Harper had a feeling he was going to get thrown at leading off the sixth inning, given what had happened an inning prior, when third base coach Bo Porter got into a heated argument with Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk. Sure enough, the first pitch Cubs righty Lendy Castillo threw in the sixth was aimed at Harper's kneecaps, causing the rookie outfielder to take a couple steps towards the mound and toss a few choice words in Castillo's direction. "I wasn't going to do anything stupid,"...

There was a baseball game played tonight at Nationals Park, but as you might guess, the Nats' 9-2 victory over the Cubs wasn't what Davey Johnson spent the vast majority of his postgame press conference discussing. There were two bench-clearing incidents tonight, one in the bottom of the fifth inning and then another in the bottom of the sixth. The action all started when Cubs bench coach Jamie Quirk began shouting at Nats third base coach Bo Porter, upset that the Nationals still had their...

Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann gave up three extra-base hits in the first two innings Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. After that, it was almost smooth sailing in a 9-2 Nationals sweep of the Cubs. The first big hit was the home run by Anthony Rizzo off a fastball in the first. But Zimmermann was able to settle in later, striking out three straight hitters following Darwin Barney's second-inning triple off Zimmermann's slider. "I went off the game plan to Barney and I threw a slider...

Manager Buck Showalter spoke to reporters for over 11 minutes following tonight's 10-6 victory, which pulled the Orioles into a first-place tie with the Yankees in the American League East. He wasn't particularly chatty. It's just that the Orioles are suddenly a national story. The interview room was packed. A cameraman asked a question. Maybe Showalter is right about how there are no roles around here. Here are some of the highlights from Showalter's press conference: On the mood in...