How it might look in 2020: O's outfield
How it might look in 2020: O's outfield
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Over the next few weeks, let's take a look at some aspects of the Orioles and how they were shaping up at the time that spring training was halted. Today, a look at the outfield. Earlier, I made my projection for the five-man rotation in this entry and an infield with a roster of seven in this entry. While we may see rosters larger than 26 players when baseball does start this year, we are going with a roster of 26 for this exercise. So with five in the rotation and eight in the bullpen...
Devils Backbone unveils new Curly W India Pale Ale
Devils Backbone unveils new Curly W India Pale Ale
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
Devils Backbone Brewing Company and the Washington Nationals are proud to announce that Curly W India Pale Ale, a brand-new beer celebrating the World Series champions, is available at retail locations throughout the D.C. area beginning on Monday, April 6. Curly W is a 6% ABV, 28 IBU crisp and juicy golden IPA that includes Pilsner, Pale Wheat, CaraHell, Golden Naked Oats, Acidulated, Carafa Special 2, and Victory malts - in honor of the 2019 World Series title. The pale malts are balanced out...
Remembering Orioles who started strong and didn't sustain
Remembering Orioles who started strong and didn't sustain
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
My mind keeps spinning back to past Orioles teams that I've covered as an adult or watched as a kid. Anything to limit my screen time during this shutdown. Let me pose a question this morning while we resist the urge to panic shop. (Don't be that person. You don't need 12 dozen eggs and all the toilet paper and liquid hand soap.) Which homegrown Orioles started out good, fooling you into thinking that they'd become future All-Stars or at least longtime contributors, and then fizzled? Got...
Nats prospect watch: Mendoza getting aggressive with swing
Nats prospect watch: Mendoza getting aggressive with swing
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Third baseman Drew Mendoza (Twitter: @MendozaDrew22) knew from his first few weeks with the Nationals organization that he wanted to make some adjustments to his swing. The 2019 Baseball America second team All-American was a standout third baseman at Florida State, but was ready from his first few days in pro camp to add power to his approach. It is the Nationals' policy with drafted players in their initiation to professional baseball to allow them a full month to get acclimated and pitch...
Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 1
Home confinement re-watch: 2019 World Series Game 1
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
The Nationals and their fans waited a long time to reach the World Series for the first time. So, really, who was going to complain about the extra six days they had to wait after sweeping the National League Championship Series before finally taking the field in Houston for their first appearance in the Fall Classic? The long layoff may have been a dominant storyline entering the World Series, but it sure didn't hold up for long. By the end of their tense Game 1 victory - 5-4 over the...
Did Rio Ruiz lock down third base gig with strong spring?
Did Rio Ruiz lock down third base gig with strong spring?
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Chris Davis was not the only Oriole with a strong spring training at the plate. Third baseman Rio Ruiz had a solid spring and was spraying a few line drives around ballparks all over Florida. Ruiz led the club in hits in spring training, batting .440 (11-for-25) with three doubles, a homer and two RBIs. He posted a .464 OBP and a .680 slugging percentage in that small sample. In a game March 1 against the Phillies in Clearwater, Ruiz went 3-for-3, hitting all three base knocks on the screws. He...
Kendrick helpful to Nats' next generation of hitters
Kendrick helpful to Nats' next generation of hitters
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Re-watching the Nationals' playoff run gives fans the opportunity to see Howie Kendrick bounce back from a rough start to October baseball and turn into one of the biggest heroes. Kendrick's grand slam against the Dodgers and later the foul pole-clanging two-run shot against the Astros will go down as two of the most clutch hits in Nats postseason history. Kendrick kept on going to begin 2020 spring training, slashing .318/.375/.318 during 10 games. In the 2019 postseason, the 36-year-old hit...
What matters to you: More games or fewer changes?
What matters to you: More games or fewer changes?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
I feel like I've already said this countless times over the last three weeks, but let's state it again for the record: As much as we all want to project when the baseball season (or any other sport's season) will begin, it's pointless right now. There's simply no way to know with any certainty when the world will be safe enough for sporting events and the mass gatherings they draw. That hasn't stopped a lot of folks from trying to figure this out. Some insist it can happen by June. Some...
Take this Orioles quiz
Take this Orioles quiz
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Let's have some fun today with a pop quiz. OK, this is not School of Steve, but it still could be fun. I'll throw out 10 questions. To me, a few are somewhat easy, but most are not. I don't provide any multiple answer questions, so you have to come up with the answer on your own. If you don't know the answers, don't fret. I know these answers due to researching over 60 players heading into spring training. I made a bunch of notes and these questions came out of that research. As a hint,...
Armstrong's strong spring and a deeper dive into Orioles bullpen
Armstrong's strong spring and a deeper dive into Orioles bullpen
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The magic of video is enabling the Orioles to stay connected while spread all over the country. I've heard that reliever Shawn Armstrong was able to share a bullpen session with one of his teammates that included a fastball clocked at 97 mph. Armstrong's fastball averaged 93.9 mph last season, per BrooksBaseball.net. There is no data available on his home workouts. An expansion of rosters from 26 to 29 players for the first month enables the Orioles to carry at least a few extra relievers to...