The Nationals have come out guns blazing in the first 16 games of the 2012 season. The guns that are blazing thus far are radar guns from the pitching staff, though. The Nationals offense has struggled mightily in the first few weeks of the season, ranking 20th in batting average, 21st in runs, and 23rd in slugging. It's time to switch things up in NatsTown, and it starts in left field. With Michael Morse out of commission for at least another month, it's time for the Nats to look to options...

I've never been a fan of power rankings. I think they're silly and worthless, especially this early in the season. (Come on, Dan, tell us how you really feel.) But when I saw the Nationals ranked sixth on

They have been two of the best pitchers in the Single-A South Atlantic League this year, and tonight they face each other at Salisbury's Perdue Stadium when the Delmarva Shorebirds host the Greenville Drive. It's Dylan Bundy making his fourth start for the Shorebirds and right-hander Matt Barnes for Greenville, a Red Sox affiliate. The two pitchers were both first-round picks last year, with Bundy No. 4 and Barnes No. 19, and have combined to pitch 25 shutout innings this season. The...

For the first time in years, I am loving the Orioles bullpen. I loved them when they broke camp. I thought it was almost perfectly constructed, given the personnel on hand and they are performing admirably. Over the past 14 years of losing, the bullpen has ranked among the worst in baseball, year in and year out. Sure, there were a couple of exceptions, but Orioles bullpens of the aughts and beyond have generally provided the proverbial gasoline on the starting staff's fires. Not in 2012....

What will tonight bring for Orioles starter Tommy Hunter? Hopefully, Hunter will bring his fastball. Just check his back pocket. You'll recall that Hunter didn't have his fastball in an 8-1 loss to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, and it cost him eight runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings and inflated his ERA to 5.79. "I've got a couple bullpens coming up and the emphasis is going to be down in the zone," he said afterward. "I'll find my fastball, I will find it. It will come....

It appears that we have a standoff between the Orioles and pitcher Dontrelle Willis. Executive vice president Dan Duquette has no plans to release Willis. Willis has no plans to report to Triple-A Norfolk, the team he left on Friday before learning that the Orioles placed him on the restricted list. The Orioles claim that Willis didn't have permission to leave. Willis and his agent, Matt Sosnick, say that's not the case, and that the left-hander believed he had been granted his release so...

So much for a quiet day off. The Orioles didn't play a game today, but they've been in the news with the signing of infielder Bill Hall to a minor league deal and confirmation that pitcher Dontrelle Willis left Triple-A Norfolk and has been placed on the restricted list. Hall will replace Josh Bell at Norfolk. In a text message, executive vice president Dan Duquette said Hall's strengths are "his defense at third base and power hitting vs. left-handed pitching." Hall, 32, is a career...

In his first game action since suffering a left hamstring injury March 15, Chien-Ming Wang threw three innings today at extended spring training. Facing the Tigers' extended spring training club, Wang allowed one run and five hits with no walks and three strikeouts over his three frames of work. He threw 51 pitches, 37 for strikes. This is the latest step in Wang's recovery from the hamstring injury which set him back in his quest to make the Nationals' starting rotation. The 32-year-old...

The Nationals have played 16 games and have won 12 of them, resting in first place in the National League East in late April. The Nationals have had big extra-inning wins, like Saturday's thrilling 3-2 win over the Miami Marlins, or the timely hit to stay in games. They haven't blown out teams, going 6-2 in one-run games. They have played error-free baseball, tallying an 8-2 mark when they don't commit a miscue. But manager Davey Johnson said pitching, with starters Stephen Strasburg,...

So far, during this 2012 season, it seems that leg cramps and neck spasms can slow Nolan Reimold's bat better than American League pitchers can. Flashing some of the potential that Orioles fans have seen before, Reimold is off to a fast start - when he can get on the field. In 11 games and 46 at-bats, he is batting .370 with four doubles, five homers, nine runs scored and a stolen base. He has a slugging percentage of .783 and an OPS of 1.166. If he had enough at-bats to quality for the...