Andrew Stetka: Outside of Machado, O's have another looming free agency issue

Andrew Stetka: Outside of Machado, O's have another looming free agency issue
It's no secret that the Orioles have a little bit of a roster issue as they head forward. In the coming winter, the O's are bound to lose some key contributors from the roster. Chris Tillman, Ubaldo Jiménez, Jeremy Hellickson, Seth Smith, Ryan Flaherty and Craig Gentry will all be free agents. They could also lose J.J. Hardy, Wade Miley and Welington Castillo, who each have options of some sort. Once the winter of 2018 rolls around, that list expands to include much bigger, even more...

Marty Niland: Nats bench gaining valuable experience for postseason

Marty Niland: Nats bench gaining valuable experience for postseason
The dog days of August are proving to be a grind for the Nationals, playing .500 ball in their past 10 games. But while they endure this rough patch of injuries and a sometimes sputtering offense, they are laying valuable groundwork for the postseason. Let's face it, with a 13-game lead in the National League East and none of the other teams playing even .500 ball, it's extremely likely the Nats will win their fourth division title in six seasons. While this might be the most exciting team...

David Huzzard: Dusty Baker is better than some think

David Huzzard: Dusty Baker is better than some think
My opinion on Dusty Baker started to change sometime before the Nationals hired him. His name came up often whenever a job opened up and he was mentioned often by broadcasters when Matt Williams was the manager of the Nats. My thought on Baker started to be why is a manager that has done nothing but win in his career so disliked by a certain segment of fans? I've read "The Book" and "Moneyball" and I visit FanGraphs.com on a near daily basis, but at some point when the results are so...

Zach Wilt: Celebrating Buck Showalter's seventh anniversary as O's skipper

Zach Wilt: Celebrating Buck Showalter's seventh anniversary as O's skipper
On August 3, 2010, the Baltimore Orioles were 33-73, sitting in last place in the American League East, and 34 games out of first place. That day, Buck Showalter managed his first game for the O's and led the team to victory with a 6-3 win over the Angels. The Birds would go on to sweep Anaheim and win nine of their next 11 games. Showalter's club would finish the season 34-23 and he became the first skipper in major league history to take over a club in August and earn more victories the...

Dillon Atkinson: What August moves are ahead for Orioles?

Dillon Atkinson: What August moves are ahead for Orioles?
The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is behind us, and instead of selling, the Orioles decided to be small buyers, acquiring right-hander Jeremy Hellickson and infielder Tim Beckham. The Birds tried making a seller's deal to trade away All-Star closer Zach Britton for a package of prospects, but no deal could be reached. It's up for debate whether or not the moves the club made were wise ones, but what's done is done and the O's plan to make a run for the playoffs. They're off to a hot...

Luke Erickson: Finally, some promotions

Luke Erickson: Finally, some promotions
If there's one thing that marked the 2017 season in the Nationals minors, it's how few, far between and slow promotions have been. To clarify, I'm talking about upward moves from the low-to-mid minors based on merit, not the needs-based shift from Triple-A to the majors. Granted, nobody in their right mind wants to return to the days when an old-for-the-level, low Single-A guy is moved to Double-a in the space of 10 days (Bill Rhinehart, 2008) or a southpaw moved up from high Single-A to the...

Marty Niland: D.C. needs sports stars like Howard and Zimmerman

Marty Niland: D.C. needs sports stars like Howard and Zimmerman
Sunday was a day Nationals fans should long remember. On that sunny afternoon, they got to celebrate a baseball milestone along with two men who became stars at times when their teams and fans needed it. In the third inning of the Nats' 10-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies, Ryan Zimmerman sent a fly ball over the right field fence and into the Nats bullpen for his 238th career homer, surpassing Frank Howard for the most ever hit by a player in a Washington uniform. Zimmerman later hit a solo shot...

Andrew Stetka: Despite Hellickson move, Orioles aren't buyers

Andrew Stetka: Despite Hellickson move, Orioles aren't buyers
Don't be fooled by what you see or hear. Don't be duped by trades that are made or those that aren't. The Orioles aren't buyers this season. They aren't really in it and they likely aren't making a push for the postseason. Friday night's deal for Jeremy Hellickson told me all I needed to know about the direction the Orioles are headed. Actually, the O's appear to be more in neutral than anything else. Over the last few weeks, we've heard plenty of speculation about the plans for the...

Zach Wilt: Taking a look at Adam Jones' hot streak

Zach Wilt: Taking a look at Adam Jones' hot streak
Over the past week, no hitter has been better for the Orioles than Adam Jones. In 33 plate appearances, he has slashed .394/.394/.758. He's belted three homers, just one shy of All-Star Jonathan Schoop, and driven in nine while scoring seven times. Jones leads the O's in wOBA (.478) and wRC+ (205) over the last seven days. It's one of those classic stretches for the Orioles center fielder. We have seen No. 10 heat up like this countless times over his decade in Baltimore. On July 17, he was...

David Huzzard: Stop pointless debates and enjoy what's happening on the field

David Huzzard: Stop pointless debates and enjoy what's happening on the field
When I was growing up, Washington D.C., was the murder capital of the world and currently the Nationals are murdering baseballs at an alarming rate. The third inning of yesterday's game saw a quintuple homicide committed at Nats Park. But as with anything that's fun, there are always people that want to ruin it. Seriously, go to your Twitter right now and type in something you think is fun and declare your joy for it, and I'm sure one of the first responses will be someone looking to rain on...

Dillon Atkinson: Deadline approach could define Dan Duquette's legacy

Dillon Atkinson: Deadline approach could define Dan Duquette's legacy
Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has a mixed reputation among the fan base. Some applaud him for his acquisitions of productive players like Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, Nelson Cruz and Mark Trumbo, among others. Another large sum show their disapproval of Duquette for letting players like Cruz and Andrew Miller walk, for trading away young pitching and for acquiring players who performed below expectations, like Ubaldo Jiménez, Travis Snider and Yovani...

Luke Erickson: The season-ticket holder experience in the minors

Luke Erickson: The season-ticket holder experience in the minors
For the past several years of writing online about the Nationals minor leaguers, I've had to make the disclosure that I'm a season-ticket holder to Washington's high Single-A affiliate in Potomac. Well, maybe not "had to," but I've felt the need to as a matter of integrity and my experience as a newspaperman (I'm old enough to have actually cut and paste with an X-acto knife and a wax machine). It's also because the inference that I might be a "homer" because I root for many of these...

Marty Niland: Remarkable recovery made Tommy John a household name

Marty Niland: Remarkable recovery made Tommy John a household name
Today is the 43rd anniversary of the date a Dodgers pitcher tore an elbow ligament, an injury that eventually made his name not only a part of baseball vernacular, but a household term. We learned over the weekend that Nationals pitcher Joe Ross will have Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, a procedure that one-third of all major league pitchers had undergone as of 2013. Hundreds are performed each year. The Single-A Potomac Nationals even had an "Ode to Tommy John Surgery Statue" giveaway on...

Andrew Stetka: Roller coaster of Orioles season making some fans sick

Andrew Stetka: Roller coaster of Orioles season making some fans sick
If you've ever been to an amusement park and taken a ride on the biggest roller coasters, you know exactly what an Orioles fan feels like over the last few weeks. The ups and downs, the twists and turns, and the subtle feeling that you might need to vomit all go hand in hand. Whether you are a fan that is more focused on the prospects of the 2017 O's, or are more concerned with Baltimore's chances beyond this season, there has been enough double-talk and mystery to go around for both...

Marty Niland: Despite injuries and bullpen woes, Nats making the best of it

Marty Niland: Despite injuries and bullpen woes, Nats making the best of it
How are you feeling about the Nationals season so far? Are you one of those glass-half-empty types who believe that the 59-38 Nats have underachieved this season and should be competing with the Dodgers for baseball's best record, if not for so many wasted scoring opportunities and blown leads? Or is your glass half-full, thankful that the team is 21 games over .500 with the biggest division lead in the National League - 12 games approaching the end of July - despite what has been baseball's...

David Huzzard: Trade for relief help puts Nats in strong position

David Huzzard: Trade for relief help puts Nats in strong position
The recent acquisition of Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson helps the Nationals bullpen. It added two much-needed proven, veteran arms to a 'pen that was lacking everything. Madson brings his 2.01 ERA and 2.39 FIP, and Doolittle his 3.63 ERA and 2.51 FIP. While these two are instantly the best relievers in the Nationals bullpen, all reports indicate the Nationals are far from finished in looking to add talent to a bullpen that has severely lacked it for most of the season. If the Nationals are...

Zach Wilt: Caleb Joseph's turnaround in 2017

Zach Wilt: Caleb Joseph's turnaround in 2017
2016 was not kind to Caleb Joseph. The Orioles catcher finished the year with a .174/.216/.197 slashline and a zero in the RBI category. That statistic combined with his long homerless stretch drew quite a bit of attention nationally. Joseph started last season with 66 RBI-less at-bats, then suffered an unfortunate testicular injury that landed him on the disabled list for the entire month of June. After returning with a reinforced kevlar cup, he finished the year with another 66 RBI-less...

Dillon Atkinson: Machado's return to form shouldn't be a surprise

Dillon Atkinson: Machado's return to form shouldn't be a surprise
Through the first half of the 2017 campaign, to say Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was underperforming at the plate would be an understatement. Machado slashed a combined .290/.351/.518 with 72 long balls and a 132 wRC+ from 2015 through 2016. Being just 24 heading into this season, many expected him to stay on the same track, if not get even better. However, this hasn't been the case. From the start of this season to the All-Star break, Machado posted just a .230/.296/.445 with a 91...

Luke Erickson: Is anyone really untouchable in a trade?

Luke Erickson: Is anyone really untouchable in a trade?
When this guest blog was first written, it was about how the injury to Joe Ross would force a trade and that the Nationals may have to consider trading one or more of their so-called untouchable players, outfielder Victor Robles and Erick Fedde. Instead, Washington and Oakland executed their 432nd 11th trade this decade with right-hander Blake Treinen, infielder Sheldon Neuse and left-hander Jesus Luzardo going to the Bay Area and left-hander Sean Doolittle and right-hander Ryan Madson coming...

Andrew Stetka: For O's, any sell-off must be done carefully

Andrew Stetka: For O's, any sell-off must be done carefully
The Orioles aren't completely buried after this weekend's sweep at the hands of the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, but there is certainly some dirt on their grave. With that comes the realization that perhaps this isn't "the year" for the Birds. At least that appears to be the sentiment of the front office if reporting from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is to be believed. Rosenthal says that O's executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has begun informing...