More memories of Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz

A memorial service will be held later this morning for former Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Glendale, Ariz. Teammates and the friends made through his years in baseball are gathering to celebrate his life.

That’s how they want to treat the day. To smile through the tears and to remember and share the many stories. To comfort and console.

Matusz, the fourth-overall pick in the 2008 draft out of the University of San Diego who appeared in 280 games in eight seasons, passed away on Jan. 6 at his home in Phoenix. He was only 37.

The Orioles turned Matusz into a lefty specialist out of the bullpen and he posted ERAs of 3.53, 3.48 and 2.94 in a combined 186 games from 2013-15. He made one start for the Cubs in 2016 and received a World Series ring. Attempts to extend his career took him to Triple-A Reno, Mexico and the independent Atlantic League, his last innings pitched in 2019.

Matusz was the bullpen coach for Baseball New Zealand in the 2022 World Baseball Classic, a final chance to remain close to the sport that he loved.

A sampling of Hardy and Wieters from upcoming "Babe's Birthday Bash"

A sampling of Hardy and Wieters from upcoming "Babe's Birthday Bash"
Among the more humorous social media reactions to the Orioles moving back the left field fence approximately 30 feet this season is how former shortstop J.J. Hardy would have scored standing up on Delmon Young's bases-clearing double in Game 2 of the 2014 American League Division Series against the Tigers. The loudest moment in Camden Yards history. The press box literally shook. The new dimensions would have removed the heart-pounding excitement of a close play at the plate. Hardy's...

Comparisons between Rutschman and Wieters keep coming

Comparisons between Rutschman and Wieters keep coming
I come to praise Adley Rutschman, not to bury Matt Wieters. The trick is doing one without the other. The comparisons between the first-round catchers and their intensely hyped travels through the minors and anticipated major league debuts are as unavoidable as traffic on I-495. Wieters was dubbed "The baby Jesus," "Jesus in spikes" and "The switch-hitting Jesus," when he simply wanted to be known as "Matt." Teammates at Georgia Tech called him "God." Apparently, he didn't get a...

Callis compares Wieters with Rutschman and more

Callis compares Wieters with Rutschman and more
He is a bit of a marked man as the No. 2 ranked prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com, by Baseball America and by ESPN. And at No. 2, catcher Adley Rutschman joins just three other Orioles that have ever been as highly rated by the major prospect analysts. No one has been at the top 100 rankings business as long as Baseball America. The first Baseball America list had O's right-hander Ben McDonald ranked second in 1990 behind Atlanta's Steve Avery. In 2009, Matt Wieters became the one and...

How it looks to get O's prospects back into minor league season

How it looks to get O's prospects back into minor league season
I wasn't aware of the term "coronavirus pandemic expansion" until reading it last week in an article detailing how Southwest Airlines is adding Sarasota, Fla., to its growing list of destinations. Finally, the official airline of the Baltimore Orioles is providing flights to the team's spring training home. Always made sense to me. This is big news to beat writers who have been flying into Tampa and driving an hour. Trying to avoid the traffic jam heading back to Tampa International Airport...

Young catchers at Nats' lower levels growing up fast

Young catchers at Nats' lower levels growing up fast
Current short-season Single-A Auburn manager Patrick Anderson says the Nationals need a lot of catchers at their lower levels so they can build stamina at that spot in the lineup. Catching is a position that can administer wear and tear on bodies over the course of a season, especially for teenagers just getting their first taste of playing pro ball. "That position beats them up," Anderson said. "They are not used to 140 games at the low Single-A level. Those guys can get hurt sometimes....

Plenty of former Nationals still looking for work

Plenty of former Nationals still looking for work
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - There are tons of still-unsigned free agents out there, as everyone's well aware at this point. And included on that long list are a whole bunch of former Nationals players, and we're not just talking about Bryce Harper. Several key members of the 2018 Nats are still looking for jobs, even as pitchers and catchers have reported across Florida and Arizona and position players are about to join them. Like Gio Gonzalez, whose long-awaited first foray into free agency...

Host of 2018 Nationals still seeking jobs in tepid market

Host of 2018 Nationals still seeking jobs in tepid market
For all the attention lavished upon Bryce Harper and Manny Machado and their long, slow quest to sign with somebody before the start of spring training, there are a ton of other free agents still unemployed as we reach late January. And that includes a whole bunch of guys who played for the Nationals in 2018. Let's look at those still-unsigned free agents and figure out what it might take to get them in a uniform before pitchers and catchers report ... MATT WIETERS Wieters had to know he was...

Lilliquist on Scherzer's homers, Strasburg's velocity dip and more

Lilliquist on Scherzer's homers, Strasburg's velocity dip and more
Each winter, Max Scherzer vows he can be better. Well, Nationals pitching coach Derek Lilliquist has something he thinks the three-time Cy Young Award winner can do to improve. "He can keep the ball in the ballpark a little better," Lilliquist said yesterday at Nationals Winterfest. "He got hurt with a lot of bad breaking balls in kill counts last year. So that's going to be an area we're going to really put a thumb on in spring training. We've got to execute (with two strikes). Scherzer...

Suzuki signing was smart - if Nats sign another catcher, too

Suzuki signing was smart - if Nats sign another catcher, too
It never fails. The Nationals go weeks without making any news, and then the moment I go on vacation they suddenly create headlines. So I can't say I was shocked when - just as I was packing my bags and preparing to head to the airport eight days ago - the first report of the Nats signing Kurt Suzuki emerged. Yes, it happened again. Thanks, as always, to Byron Kerr and Pete Kerzel for stepping in to cover the news and everything else that happened over the last week while I was relaxing and...

Is Wieters' time in D.C. over, or is there any chance of a return?

Is Wieters' time in D.C. over, or is there any chance of a return?
As our offseason coverage kicks into high gear, we're going to review each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Matt Wieters, who finished strong after a slow start followed by a significant injury. PLAYER REVIEW: MATT WIETERS Age on opening day 2019: 32 How acquired: Signed as free agent, February 2017 MLB service time: 9 years, 129 days 2018 salary: $10.5 million Contract status: Free agent 2018 stats: 76 G, 271 PA, 235 AB, 24 R, 56 H, 8 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 30 RBI,...

Looking at the Nationals' positions of need this winter

Looking at the Nationals' positions of need this winter
The Nationals' biggest offseason need may be in the starting pitching department, but it's far from their only roster need heading into 2019. Between free agent departures and other areas that simply need an upgrade, there's no shortage of items on general manager Mike Rizzo's to-do list this winter. Let's run through the positions that are likely to be addressed in the coming months ... CATCHER It shouldn't have surprised anyone that this was a problem area in 2018, because it was a...

Players react to Nats' elimination from NL wild card

Players react to Nats' elimination from NL wild card
The Nationals were officially eliminated from the National League wild card race despite an impressive 6-0 win over the New York Mets Saturday, and the club's most tenured player reacted to the news. The Cardinals defeated the Giants 5-4 to get to 86 wins and secure the second wild card spot as of Saturday night. The best the Nats could do this season is 85 wins. First baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who contributed a single and a run scored in Saturday's victory, spoke about his feelings after...

Voth gets surprise start and delivers in 6-0 win over Mets

Voth gets surprise start and delivers in 6-0 win over Mets
Right-hander Austin Voth was much more pleased with this outing against the Mets. Back on July 14, Voth started and took the loss, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts. He needed 99 pitches to record 13 outs. This time, Voth finished five innings on only 73 pitches, 49 for strikes. He allowed no runs on one hit with two walks and five strikeouts. It helped the Nationals to a 6-0 victory, Voth's first major league win. "I felt...

Hellickson progresses to throwing curveballs (plus other notes)

Hellickson progresses to throwing curveballs (plus other notes)
Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson threw another bullpen session Saturday afternoon, this time integrating his curveball for the first time since going on the disabled list with a right wrist sprain. "Felt good," he said. "Threw about 45, 60 (pitches). I threw some curveballs. It felt fine." Hellickson said after a 30-pitch bullpen Wednesday in Philadelphia that he has shied away from throwing curveballs off the mound because it still hurt to throw the pitch. But he's been throwing a few...

Gonzalez, Martinez lament another frustrating start by lefty

Gonzalez, Martinez lament another frustrating start by lefty
PHILADELPHIA - While Davey Martinez keeps insisting that his charges are playing better baseball and control their own fate in the most improbable of postseason runs, one look at Gio Gonzalez in the clubhouse after tonight's 8-6 loss to the Phillies demonstrated how the message isn't always getting through and offsetting a poor performance. Gonzalez walked out of the shower, slowly shuffling to his locker stall to put on his clothes and contemplate another start that got away from him in the...

Nats hitters on Scherzer vs. Nola II

Nats hitters on Scherzer vs. Nola II
PHILADELPHIA - Tonight the Nationals go for their second consecutive series win over the Phillies in a rematch of last week's Max Scherzer vs. Aaron Nola heavyweight bout. In that one, Nola was just a little bit better in a 2-0 win, going eight innings and allowing only five hits. The Nats managed three doubles in the game, but were unable to score a run. "He's really good," Nats manager Davey Martinez said. "We hit some balls pretty good against him. He throws a lot of strikes, so we just...

Strasburg gains strength on humid night in 5-3 Nats win

Strasburg gains strength on humid night in 5-3 Nats win
PHILADELPHIA - Right-hander Stephen Strasburg, making his 200th major league start, labored early on against the Phillies in the series opener. But on this hot and humid night, the temperature at 90 degrees at first pitch, Strasburg seemed to gain strength as the night wore on, and his team responded in the Nationals' 5-3 victory at Citizens Bank Park. The best example of Strasburg's resiliency came in the fifth, when he faced the top of the Phillies order for the third time - Roman Quinn,...

Zimmerman to the rescue with 11th career walk-off homer

Zimmerman to the rescue with 11th career walk-off homer
There is plenty still for the Nationals to be concerned about, most notably Stephen Strasburg's health after a worrisome performance in his return from the disabled list tonight. But remarkably, there are still reasons for this team to have some optimism no matter how hopeless their situation appears, and tonight an old friend provided the moment that helped raise those hopes another notch. Trailing with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Zimmerman launched a game-ending, two-run homer...

What happened to the Nationals?

What happened to the Nationals?
It's the most pervasive question in Washington this summer, at least in the realm of sports: What happened to the Nationals? The answer isn't nearly as simple as many would like. If only there was one concrete reason for the Nationals' slow descent from division favorites to a sub-.500 club trying to hang on for dear life. But the truth is, a combination of things had to come together this season to create this mess. Alter any one of them, and the story of the 2018 Nats might be totally...