Nats prospect watch: Braymer fine-tunes changeup in big league camp
Nats prospect watch: Braymer fine-tunes changeup in big league camp
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Nationals pitching coordinator Brad Holman said left-hander Ben Braymer had been focusing on his mechanics with his changeup at spring training before the shutdown. The 25-year-old out of Auburn started 26 games and tossed 139 innings last season. The MLB Pipeline No. 22 Nats prospect, Braymer made one start in spring training and worked in three games. No. 22 Ben Braymer "He's doing good. Obviously, he's been in major league camp the entire spring," Holman said of Braymer. "He knows how...
Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 2
Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 2
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Remember that time a Nationals starting pitcher flirted with a no-hitter in the National League Championship Series in St. Louis? No, not the first time it happened. The second time it happened. The very next day. Of all the remarkable things the Nats did during their postseason run last October, the back-to-back no-hit bids by Aníbal Sánchez and Max Scherzer certainly deserve to sit high on the list. Making it all the more remarkable: That same duo did the exact same thing in Games 1 and...
A few more questions for O's fans
A few more questions for O's fans
Steve Melewski
Orioles
At this strange time in baseball and throughout the country really, it is nice to have normal things in our lives. I'd like to think this blog is one. It represents someplace we can go to discuss baseball. Baseball talk is understandably taking a back seat now, but there is still room and hopefully time to discuss the game and the players and get away from the world for a few minutes. One day, hopefully soon, all will be well and normal again. And baseball will become something important again...
Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 1
Home confinement re-watch: 2019 NLCS Game 1
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Because the wild card game, the National League Division Series and the World Series were so dramatic, with the Nationals fighting off elimination five times along the way, the NL Championship Series kind of gets lost in the shuffle when you think back to the 2019 postseason. We know the Nats swept the Cardinals in four straight. They never even trailed at any point in any of the four games. It was as one-sided a postseason series as you're likely to see. But let's give the NLCS more credit...
Another look at what could be coming in a 2020 MLB season
Another look at what could be coming in a 2020 MLB season
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The agreement between Major League Baseball owners and players this week ensures that players will get service time in 2020, even if there is not a season. While both sides seem very committed to playing this year and playing the most games possible, they did account for this scenario in their latest talks. Players on the roster all year in 2020, no matter how many games are scheduled, will also get a full year of service time. That makes sense as they would have played a full year, even if...
Updates on season status and another childhood heartbreak
Updates on season status and another childhood heartbreak
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The constant speculation over Major League Baseball's return and in what form is doing little besides confusing fans and spreading rumors. Separating truth from fiction is requiring a lot more muscle these days. Implement it into your workouts while gyms are closed. We don't know if or when baseball will be played. We don't know how long spring training 2.0 will last and whether teams would head back to Florida and Arizona. We don't know if the schedule will be packed with doubleheaders. We...
Memories of some media missteps
Memories of some media missteps
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Anyone who's stepped inside a major league clubhouse and posed a question during a pregame or postgame media scrum has probably committed an embarrassing gaffe. The odds increase the longer you've worked the beat. Colleagues can sympathize, but it doesn't prevent us from teasing the guilty party. Boxers don't land as many jabs as we do. The shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic is intended to keep people safe. It's also protecting the media from doing something stupid. Many of the...
Nats prospect watch: Romero ready to pitch in 2020
Nats prospect watch: Romero ready to pitch in 2020
Byron Kerr
Nationals
Here is an update on left-hander Seth Romero (Twitter: @sethromero21), who missed all of 2019 as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. The 23-year-old was a 2017 first-round selection out of the University of Houston. MLB Pipeline ranks Romero as the No. 9 Nationals prospect in their top 30. No. 9 Seth Romero "He was another one who came to the instructional league and minicamp and early arrival to spring," said Nationals minor league pitching coordinator Brad Holman. "Just a super talented...
Reports: MLB, union agree to salary, service time, draft changes
Reports: MLB, union agree to salary, service time, draft changes
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
For those wondering about the postseason re-watch articles, we'll get back to that tomorrow, with four straight days of the National League Championship Series. But first, there was some baseball news late last night, with Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreeing to a bunch of new provisions to account for the disrupted 2020 season. Multiple outlets reported that player representatives from all 30 clubs agreed to a deal that will become official today once owners sign off...
The comeback that rocked the Yard, plus draft notes
The comeback that rocked the Yard, plus draft notes
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Camden Yards was full and loud. Orange shirts were everywhere. Spirits were high and Orioles fans were probably convinced their team was heading to the World Series. That is how it felt in early October 2014 and yesterday, during "opening day at home," we saw a replay of the Orioles' eighth-inning comeback win over Detroit in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. It was a nice way to spend a few hours and a nice diversion from the virus that has put the game on hold for now. The...