Closing in on Orioles bullpen bests and blunders
Closing in on Orioles bullpen bests and blunders
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
With so much uncertainty engulfing the 2020 season and the world-wide impact of the coronavirus pandemic reducing the importance of playing baseball to microscopic proportions, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde isn't whittling away the hours at home wondering about his closer situation. Mychal Givens counts as the incumbent, though he worked the seventh or eighth innings in his last five appearances. Hunter Harvey seems to be on deck for the role, though no one on the team has made him an offer....
The last K.C. trip, Roenicke's roll, Mathews' quote
The last K.C. trip, Roenicke's roll, Mathews' quote
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The work put toward booking travel and hotels for the 2020 baseball season slipped into reverse. The coronavirus pandemic kept the media at home. I would have taken a train to New York for the four-game series earlier this month. I'm supposed to be in Kansas City this weekend for my first visit since the 2014 American League Championship Series. I'm not a huge barbeque guy. I like it, but don't treat it like a religion. Otherwise, yeah, I'd be wrestling Steve Melewski for the...
Which pre-2019 Nats team should have won the World Series?
Which pre-2019 Nats team should have won the World Series?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
What's the best team in Nationals history? The one that actually won the World Series. Duh. But it's worth remembering the 2019 Nats only went 93-69 during the regular season. Four previous clubs won more games than that: the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 clubs. Those four teams, of course, lost in the National League Division Series, often in agonizing fashion. And so they're forever viewed as underachievers. Here's the question, though: Were any of those teams good enough to win the World...
A tale of two college kids, the O's, football and a lost weekend
A tale of two college kids, the O's, football and a lost weekend
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The Orioles, since their first season in 1954, have won 100 or more games five times. The first four times they did so, they made the World Series, even though they lost three times. The fifth time they did so, they didn't even make the playoffs. The 1980 Orioles went 100-62 but finished second in the American League East, three games behind the New York Yankees. Baseball featured four divisions then and 100 wins would have been enough to win any of the other three divisions that year. But not...
Memories of Mike Mussina as MASN airs more Orioles moments
Memories of Mike Mussina as MASN airs more Orioles moments
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The classic coverage yesterday on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network included Game 1 of the 1997 American League Division Series between the Orioles and Mariners. A wire-to-wire team staying on its roll, and in unfriendly territory. Delmon Young's three-run double in the 2014 Division Series created the loudest moment at Camden Yards, but the '97 playoff game at the Kingdome, with 59,579 fans cranking up the volume, nearly burst my eardrums. The ringing noise didn't subside until pitchers and...
Nats Prospect Watch: At 18, De La Rosa ahead of competition
Nats Prospect Watch: At 18, De La Rosa ahead of competition
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Exciting to hear positive news about 18-year-old prospect Jeremy De La Rosa. The left-handed hitting outfielder from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic signed with the Nationals on July 2, 2018. De La Rosa spent 2019 with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Nationals for 26 games, hitting .232 with a double, two triples, two homers, three stolen bases and 10 RBIs. "He has a lot of good tools," said Nationals minor league hitting coordinator Troy Gingrich. "For being only 18 years old, I...
Why the Nats' team Zoom chat captivated us so much
Why the Nats' team Zoom chat captivated us so much
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
What would you have thought if someone told you a month ago you'd be spending four hours on the night of April 14 watching two dozen players, coaches and others from the 2019 Nationals hold a video conference call with each other while (sort of) re-watching Game 7 of the World Series? Or that it would be the most enjoyable thing you've watched in the last month? In these strangest of times, it's the strangest of entertainment that is captivating us. And, more importantly, bringing us all...
Alex Cobb in radio interview: "I just want to go play"
Alex Cobb in radio interview: "I just want to go play"
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb made just three starts last year due to injuries, and he's hoping the coronavirus pandemic won't keep him from seeing the mound this year. Cobb was a guest on the "Vinny and Haynie Show" on 105.7 FM The Fan on Tuesday and said he hopes to get back to playing as soon as possible. "As a player, at this point, even though we've been home for probably a month or so, I'm itching just to go play ball," said Cobb. "So, I don't care what it looks like. I don't...
Memories of Melvin Mora as MASN airs more Orioles moments
Memories of Melvin Mora as MASN airs more Orioles moments
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The sports shutdown is depriving us of live broadcasts - arm wrestling, for instance, is impossible at a six-foot distance - and networks are digging into their vaults for classic games to feed starving fans. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network keeps airing Orioles wins from as far back as the 1970 World Series. You can count on an exciting finish rather than heartache. Nerves won't be frayed. Yesterday's menu included the four-run, eighth-inning rally to defeat the Yankees on Aug. 13, 2014 at...
Minor swing adjustments allow Stevenson to be himself
Minor swing adjustments allow Stevenson to be himself
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Outfielder Andrew Stevenson played in 30 games for the Nationals last season and became a solid contributor off the bench, hitting .367 with a .486 OBP. The talented left-handed hitter is only 25, and has played in the majors over parts of the past three seasons. He made an appearance in one postseason game last year, scoring a crucial run against the Brewers in the 4-3 wild card win. Stevenson scored the tying run on Juan Soto's two-run single in the bottom of the eighth to help put the Nats...