Yard Work: Episode 13

Yard Work: Episode 13
Hey, Orioles fans. Welcome to another edition of Yard Work. On this episode... What a difference three weeks makes. Following their series finale against the Cubs, the Orioles were seven games under .500 and the future of the team -- from a poor starting rotation to an inconsistent offense -- looked bleak. But, that's the beauty of the trade deadline. They may not have been the flashiest moves made, but the Orioles added assets on both sides of the ball, acquiring shortstop Tim Beckham from...

Yard Work: Episode 12

Yard Work: Episode 12
Hey, Orioles fans. Welcome to the latest edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode ... We hope you enjoyed the All-Star festivities. While there weren't any representatives from Birdland in this year's Home Run Derby, Jonathan Schoop came through in the clutch for the American League in last Tuesday's All-Star Game. His efforts helped the AL earn a 2-1 win over the NL. Too bad it doesn't mean anything this year, right? Steve Melewski and I will recap the All-Star events, including...

Yard Work: Episode 11

Yard Work: Episode 11
Hey, Orioles fans. Welcome to another edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode ... Jonathan Schoop is officially an All-Star! The Orioles second baseman earned his first career selection and will represent the Birds next week in Miami. Schoop's honor is well deserved and a testament to just how far he has progressed in his career. Steve Melewski and I will discuss Schoop's selection and what we expect to see from him next Tuesday. Meanwhile, while it's not quite the All-Star break, the...

Yard Work: Episode 10

Yard Work: Episode 10
Hey, Orioles fans. Welcome to another edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode ... The struggles continue for the O's, who have fallen to fourth place in the American League East and are hovering near the .500 mark. Both sides of the ball have been problematic, but it begins with starting pitching, where the Birds have allowed five or more runs in 17 consecutive games. A number of fans are saying it's time for a complete overhaul, but with a closing competitive window, is now the time to...

Yard Work: Episode 9

Yard Work: Episode 9
Hey, O's fans. Welcome to this week's edition of Yard Work. On this episode ... Happy Draft Day! Tonight is the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, where we'll see the biggest talent in college and high school baseball take the next step on their path to becoming major league players. The Orioles have several picks in the top 100, including the 21st overall selection. The team is usually mum on any insight when it comes to the draft, but who might they be looking at? Steve Melewski and I will...

Yard Work: Episode 8

Yard Work: Episode 8
Hey, O's fans. Welcome to another edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode ... It's hard to believe, but June is here already. And as the weather heats up, so has the competition in the American League East, where it seems the Orioles are always battling it out against a divisional foe. That might not be a bad thing, mind you, as the Birds are 21-13 vs. the AL East and sit just 2 1/2 games out of first place. On the offensive side of things, did we see Manny Machado return to form during...

Yard Work: Episode 7

Yard Work: Episode 7
Hey, Orioles fans. Welcome to another installment of Yard Work. In this week's episode ... It seems obvious that the key to the Orioles' success this season lies in the hands of the Yard Work podcast. After all, scheduling conflicts forced us to miss an episode last week and since then, the Birds have taken a turn for the worse. In all seriousness, it was a rough end of May for the O's as they find themselves in third place heading into tonight's series opener against the Red Sox. Both the...

Yard Work podcast: Episode 6

Yard Work podcast: Episode 6
Hey there, Orioles fans! Welcome to another edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode ... The Birds hit a bit of a rough patch, suffering a four-game losing streak and their first series sweep at the hands of the Royals. Oddly enough, all four losses came by just one run. Was there a key to coming up short? Steve Melewski and I will recap the week. One aspect you can certainly point to was Kevin Gausman's continued struggles on the mound in 2017. His start Sunday was disappointing,...

Yard Work: Episode 5

Yard Work: Episode 5
Hey, O's fans! Welcome to the crossover edition of the Yard Work podcast. This week, I'm joined by District 34 podcast hosts Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr as the Battle of the Beltways gets underway for the 2017 season. It's become a rivalry featuring two of the game's top teams, and this year is no exception. Both the Nationals and Orioles boast two of the best records in baseball. The Orioles got a terrific outing from starter Kevin Gausman in Monday's series opener, helping the Birds to a...

District 34 podcast: Crossover episode for Battle of the Beltways

District 34 podcast: Crossover episode for Battle of the Beltways
Come one, come all, baseball fans of the DMV: It's time for our annual District 34-Yard Work crossover episode for the Battle of the Beltways between the Nationals and Orioles! Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr are joined by Brian Eller of MASNsports.com's Yard Work podcast to discuss this earlier-than-usual Beltway Series and talk all things Nats and O's. The Birds were able to take Game 1 at Camden Yards on Monday Night, thanks to three first-inning home runs off Gio Gonzalez and a baserunning...

Yard Work: Episode 4

Yard Work: Episode 4
Hey, O's fans! Welcome to the latest installment of Yard Work. On this week's episode ... Last weekend it seemed like the hearts of Orioles fans were filled with despair and disgust. A three-game series in the Bronx was full of drama and heartache, most notably the team's collapse Friday during the series opener. Still, it was foolish to think any team was going to win every series. It's a long season and pitfalls happen. But what did this past weekend's series say about the Orioles - and...

Yard Work: Episode 3

Yard Work: Episode 3
Hey, O's fans. Welcome to the latest edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode... Following their first road trip of the season, the Orioles returned home for a quick six-game homestand against American League East foes Boston and Tampa Bay. Of course, despite the fact the Birds took two out of three vs. the Red Sox, the biggest news seemed to be last Friday's incident between Manny Machado and Dustin Pedroia, not to be outdone by Sunday's drama between Machado and Red Sox reliever Matt...

Yard Work: Episode 2

Yard Work: Episode 2
Hey, O's fans! Welcome to the latest episode of Yard Work. In this week's episode ... The Birds are off to another hot start to the season, posting an 8-3 mark heading into their three-game series in Cincinnati. That record is tops in the majors, and looks like a good omen to open the year. What's been the biggest key for the Orioles so far? Steve Melewski and I will discuss. It was a heavy news week off the diamond, as closer Zach Britton was placed on the disabled list with a strain in...

Yard Work: Episode 1

Yard Work: Episode 1
Hey, Orioles fans! Welcome to the season debut of Yard Work. If you followed along last season, thanks for tuning in. And if you're new to the podcast this year, MASNsports.com Orioles beat writer Steve Melewski will be joined by MASN editor Brian Eller to bring you Orioles news and insights each Wednesday throughout the season. We're already a week into the season, and for the Birds, it's another successful start. The Orioles sit atop the American League East through six games while hitters...

Yard Work: Episode 13

Yard Work: Episode 13
Hey, O's fans. We're back with another episode of Yard Work. On this week's edition.... Steve Melewski is in Detroit, ready to follow the Orioles as they get set for a pivotal three-game series against the Tigers. Both teams are fighting for the playoffs and wins and losses during September can make or break the season. Needless to say, this is the biggest series of the year for the Birds, at least until the next one. Melewski checks in from the Motor City. In injury news, fans are...

Yard Work podcast: Episode 12

Yard Work podcast: Episode 12
Hey, O's fans. Welcome to the latest edition of Yard Work. We're changing things up a bit this week. With the Orioles and Nationals resuming their annual Battle of the Beltways, we thought we'd combine our two squads - myself from Yard Work and MASNsports.com's Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr from District 34 - for a joint podcast session. The Orioles and Nationals have squared off each season, though the rivalry has been a little one-sided. The O's have taken the season series each year since...

District 34 podcast: Crossover episode with Yard Work

District 34 podcast: Crossover episode with Yard Work
The Beltway Series is a special time of the baseball season for the DMV area. No other area in all of sports has as unique a situation as we do with the Nationals and Orioles in terms of the history (or lack thereof) and the fan bases. So with a special series comes a special podcast as Byron Kerr and I welcome Brian Eller, co-host of the Yard Work podcast with MASNsports.com's Orioles writer Steve Melewski, to a crossover episode of District 34. To begin, we look back at the O's 4-3 win over...

Yard Work: Episode 11

Yard Work: Episode 11
Happy Friday, Orioles fans. Welcome to this week's edition of Yard Work. On this episode.... It seems like the Orioles have done a total flip flop since the start of the season. For the first few months, the O's dealt with inconsistent starting pitching. Each night was a gamble in terms of the starter and there were a few nights were a great offensive output wasn't enough to mask struggles on the mound. Over the past few months, however, the starting pitching has settled in, with starters...

Yard Work podcast: Episode 10

Yard Work podcast: Episode 10
Hey, O's fans. Welcome to this week's edition of Yard Work. In this week's episode... As the season moves into August, the Orioles find themselves battling the Blue Jays and Red Sox atop the American League East. For the Birds, it's been an odd season full of streaks. Since June 22, the Orioles have had two winning streaks of at least five games and two losing streak of at least five games. Is there a reason for the team's streaky nature? Steve Melewski and I will discuss. In trade...

Yard Work podcast: Episode 8

Yard Work podcast: Episode 8
Hey, O's fans. Welcome to this week's episode of Yard Work. We're back after the Orioles return home from a long West Coast road trip. Steve Melewski traveled with the team so we weren't able to record last week, but we're all back in Charm City for this week's episode as the team begins a brief three-game series at home with the Angels. We always talk about the ups and down over the course of an entire baseball season, but rarely are those extreme highs and lows within a two-week span....