Revisiting our Opening Day predictions

We've been doing these Opening Day media predictions for 15 years now, and I'm always grateful to my colleagues on the Nationals beat for their willingness to participate and subject themselves to the inevitable ridicule that follows. And there's definitely some ridicule to be doled out as we look back at our 2024 predictions. (Hey, I'm just as gui
Masn Nationals

A deep dive into the O's offensive approach and why they should stay the course

Here is the thing about baseball: It can indeed break your heart. And in a sport that takes six months to play 162 games and can seem never-ending, the actual playoff ending can take about 24 to 48 hours. All those games, all those ups and downs, all those emotions, then it's over in a blink. And a whimper for the Orioles scoring just one run. Mike
Masn Orioles

Pitching in on leftovers for breakfast

When the Orioles swapped out pitchers late in the regular season to cover innings and allow manager Brandon Hyde to set up his bullpen for the postseason, they selected left-hander Tucker Davidson’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk, designated him for assignment a day later and recalled Colin Selby. When they set their Wild Card roster, they kept Sel
Masn Orioles

Nats define 2024 season with "experience"

Despite a 16-win improvement in 2023, the Nationals were careful not to call last year a success. Even though they jumped from 55 to 71 victories, they still lost 91 games for their fourth straight losing season. “I don't think that it's a successful season, but it's a very encouraging season,” said general manager Mike Rizzo on Sept. 13, 2023. “No
Nationals

More on the O's offense and the late-season falloff

When it comes to the Orioles offense, some of the judgements of it show recency bias, and that is understandable. As the team struggled late in the year the offensive performance and production dropped. Fewer runs led to fewer wins, pretty easy to understand. In scoring just one run in two games in the playoffs, the offense that came up short often
Orioles
Some Wild Card leftovers and lingering thoughts as playoffs proceed without Orioles
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
More baseball is being played while the Orioles regroup and think about 2025. They'll move past the crushing Wild Card loss to Kansas City but also use it to avoid feeling this way next fall. Since we're looking back ... * The Orioles worked backward over the last few seasons and it’s skewed perceptions that lead to some skewering of the organizati
Nats farm system finally producing homegrown big leaguers
Mark Zuckerman
Masn
Go back and peruse some random Nationals lineups from 2022, and you’re likely to find a lot of names who aren’t here anymore, many of them veterans in the waning days of their careers. Move ahead to 2023, and you’ll find a few more promising young players, the so-called first wave of prospects who either were acquired via trade or drafted and devel
A few notes on the Elias and Hyde press conferences
Steve Melewski
Orioles
During the first day of the Orioles offseason, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde took numerous questions from reporters trying to assess what went wrong again for the Orioles with a quick out in the playoffs. Elias spoke for over 30 minutes. After a 91-71 regular season, and 192 wins, the second-most i
Does Santander's possible departure increase need for veteran bats?
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The final game of a baseball season, and especially in the playoffs, can resemble a high school graduation. You sit next to someone in homeroom for four years and realize you probably won’t ever see each other again. Paths are more likely to cross in sports, but the Orioles know that their spring training clubhouse won’t look the same. Players will
Elias confirms Hyde's return in 2025 and talks coaches, Rutschman, payroll, analytics and much more
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Mike Elias’ annual season-ending press conference lasted 36 minutes today at Camden Yards. The time wasn’t an issue. It was the date. The Orioles thought they’d be playing games instead of packing and heading home. The sixth-year executive vice president/general manager didn’t want to reflect only a few days into October. The Royals swept the best-
Two games, one run: The offseason is here already for the Orioles
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The ending can be abrupt and this one was. A season of big expectations for the Orioles ended with another quick out in the playoffs. This time they are done one round sooner than last year. It all stings in the moment and will probably stay with many in the organization and fanbase for quite a while. Ten straight postseason losses and swept in fou
Are Nats ready to spend again to supplement young roster?
Mark Zuckerman
Masn
It feels a bit like ancient history at this point, but it’s worth remembering the Nationals were consistently one of baseball’s highest-spending clubs for nearly a decade. For nine consecutive seasons from 2013-21, their year-end payroll ranked among the top 10 in the majors, peaking in 2019 at more than $205 million (fourth-highest in the sport).
Orioles try to come to grips with another playoff sweep and pending losses within clubhouse
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Cionel Pérez sat frozen on the Orioles’ bench on a 65-degree night at Camden Yards. Most of his teammates who stood at the dugout railing and watched the Royals celebrate on their field had gone inside. Pérez didn’t budge except for the moment when he lowered his head. Pérez rubbed his hands across his face, but he couldn’t make it all go away. The
A few quick takes on a season-ending loss for the Orioles
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The Orioles have lost yet another close postseason game to the Kansas City Royals. Swept four straight in the 2014 American League Championship Series by six total runs, they lost a pair of one-run games to K.C. in this AL Wild Card round. They lose 2-1 today and scored just one run in the series. The Royals advance to play the No. 1 seed Yankees i
Orioles swept in Wild Card round with 2-1 loss to Royals, Cowser fractures hand
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The music didn't play. The reflections from the disco lights didn't bounce off the walls and ceiling. The Orioles sat in silence at their lockers or circled the room and hugged, failing to repeat as division champions and now mimicking last year’s morose elimination setting. The losing streak in the playoffs has reached 10 games. Any chance to snap
       
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