With all the injuries, losses and hitting woes for the Washington Nationals, one player has exceeded any type of projection or prediction, and his name is Laynce Nix. His home run and phenomenal catch in yesterday's 2-1 win over Philadelphia has made him a pretty popular player right now. Nix is a 30-year old left-handed outfielder from Texas. He's stocky and powerful, but runs pretty well for a big guy and is not a liability on defense. He signed as a free agent this past offseason when he...

No game today. No position changes, no roster moves - well, I'm going out on a limb here by predicting that the roster stays the same - and no lineup shuffling. I'll revel in the calm and wait for the next storm. I had planned on driving to Double-A Bowie tonight for Derrek Lee's first injury rehab game, but manager Buck Showalter told reporters yesterday that Lee's grandfather passed away. The first baseman's assignment will be delayed for a few days. So far, 2011 has been an...

Chris Tillman is making his first start tonight for Triple-A Norfolk, opposing former Orioles pitcher Kevin Millwood, who signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox and was assigned to Pawtucket. Millwood lasted only 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs and five hits, walking two, striking out three and hitting a batter. He threw 61 pitches, 36 for strikes. Josh Bell was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Rhyne Hughes and Brendan Harris also drove in runs. Tillman had a 4-0 lead going into...

There have recently been some rumblings in baseball circles and some reporters have been wondering whether Orioles manager Buck Showalter will have any input into the team's selections in the upcoming First-Year Player Draft. The theory is that Showalter wants to win now and doesn't have time to wait around for a high school player to get to the majors. Thus, he would want the Orioles to draft a closer-to-ready college player with the fourth pick of the first round "The X-factor for the...

Well, it's not that simple, but the Orioles are now 9-0 over Brian Matusz's last nine starts after winning today at Seattle. During that stretch, the Orioles have five wins over AL East opponents. It's a big lift to the team to have a healthy Matusz back, and, even though he did not get the win today, the team did and that is the most important thing. Over his last nine starts, dating to last August, Matusz is now 6-0 with an ERA of 1.57. The Orioles have beaten, in order, Texas, the...

Brian Matusz returned to the Orioles today to start what he hopes will be a solid season and Adam Jones saw his solid season continue this afternoon as the Orioles won the final game of their road trip, 2-1 at Seattle. The win snapped the Orioles' five-game losing streak. Gary Thorne interviews Buck Showalter after the O's 2-1 win For the second time this year, the Orioles won a game started by Mariners' rookie sensation right-hander Michael Pineda, even though he didn't get tagged with...

I thought the Orioles would push Brian Matusz a little farther today after he threw 83 pitches in his final injury rehab start at Triple-A Norfolk. Matusz was removed today after 84 pitches, including 52 strikes. He held the Mariners to one run and four hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. Matusz would have completed six innings, except first baseman Nick Markakis - it still feels weird typing that position for him - couldn't pull down third baseman Mark Reynolds' high throw with two...

Nationals left fielder Laynce Nix had a feeling it would happen. He had seen this scenario come up in a game before. Playing in left field, you have to be ready to make a play on every pitch. Nix says when Phillies pinch-hitter Domonic Brown stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, his team hanging on to a 2-1 advantage, he sensed the ball could be coming to him. "It was right after a pitching change," Nix said. "It is easy to sort of get on your heels and not be ready. But...

The best play of today was that catch by Adam Jones in the Seattle fourth. Running full go with his back to the plate, he reached out to rob Miguel Olivo just as he got to the wall. He had to take his eyes off the ball at the last moment, and I'm not sure how he could see the ball enough to get it in his glove, but he did, with a remarkable running catch. That might be the best catch I've ever seen Jones make, and that is saying something. Between his arm this year and his glove, his play on...

Brian Matusz doesn't necessarily have his best stuff today. He's hung a few changeups, including one that Jack Wilson ripped into center field for an RBI single. His fastball looks like it's topping out at 88 mph. But Matusz is a pitcher. He's not just a thrower. And he's held the Mariners to that one run over three innings. Matusz, in his first start this season, has allowed four hits, walked none and struck out two. He's thrown 44 pitches, including 28 for strikes. The Orioles might...