Rewinding an Orioles roster review
Rewinding an Orioles roster review
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Among the inconveniences of baseball's lockout is the delay in attacking roster deficiencies with major league free agent signings. Get ready for the frenzy of activity after a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, with teams racing through the green light at speeds that could leave many competitors in the dust. The Orioles tossed a starting pitcher and second baseman in their cart before the market closed. Jordan Lyles isn't listed on the 40-man roster, which holds at 38, because...
Most significant stories of 2021: Schwarber's homer barrage
Most significant stories of 2021: Schwarber's homer barrage
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
As we reach the final week of the year, we're taking a look back at the Nationals' most significant stories of 2021. Some of them are uplifting. Some of them are depressing. All of them were significant in telling the story of the 2021 season. We begin today with one of the most uplifting events of the year: Kyle Schwarber's early-summer home run barrage. ... When he stepped to the plate to lead off the bottom of the first inning of a June 12 doubleheader at Nationals Park, Kyle Schwarber...
What will you remember - or try to forget - about 2021?
What will you remember - or try to forget - about 2021?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
It was a difficult year for so many, for so many reasons. And that it came on the heels of a difficult year for so many, for so many reasons, only made it more difficult. In some ways, the Nationals fit right in with that theme. As tough as 2020 was for them, 2021 was even tougher, on and off the field. And it leaves the franchise in an entirely different position as it looks ahead to 2022. Before we turn the page, though, we're going to take the final week of December to look back at the most...
News has been expectedly slow in Birdland
News has been expectedly slow in Birdland
Steve Melewski
Orioles
This time of year is usually pretty slow in baseball. And with the lockout on top of that, it's been real slow. And things may not speed up for a while, but hopefully it won't be too far into the new year when we get some better news on that front. Today I want to wish every reader and your family a merry Christmas and happy holidays! I appreciate this community today and every day. Just a short entry today to look back at a few recent items of news and feel free to leave any comments. But...
The Nats' surprising history of Christmas Eve transactions
The Nats' surprising history of Christmas Eve transactions
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Christmas Eve and baseball. They go together like, well, Christmas and hot dogs. This just isn't historically the time of year to be thinking much about the national pastime. Especially when the national pastime is nearly one month into a work stoppage. And yet for the Nationals, Christmas Eve has been the source of a surprising amount of news. Big news. Go back through the annals and you'll find six significant transactions made by the Nats in the final 72 hours leading up to Christmas,...
Remembering the year sports put a damper on Christmas in Baltimore
Remembering the year sports put a damper on Christmas in Baltimore
Steve Melewski
Orioles
When Christmas Eve comes along every year, I always think back to where I was on Dec. 24, 1977, and how sports kind of ruined Christmas for the high school junior me that year. I was at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium with about 60,000 other fans hoping to cheer on the Colts to a playoff win over coach John Madden's Oakland Raiders. The winner of that game would move on to the AFC Championship. Looking back now, so many years later, there was a ton of talent on the field that day and the game...
Taking a quizzical look at Orioles
Taking a quizzical look at Orioles
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Making it through Christmas yesterday during a cream cheese shortage goes down as another victory and proves again that nothing can stop me from living my best life. I also can't be deterred from assigning a quiz on a Sunday morning. You can treat it like the socks and underwear that someone gift-wrapped and left under the tree. Or the one chocolate candy in the sampler box that is filled with jelly. If you choose to take the quiz - and you can't spit it out - this would be a good time to get...
Who might join Soto in Nats outfield in 2022 and beyond?
Who might join Soto in Nats outfield in 2022 and beyond?
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
If you had to pick one position group on the Nationals roster you feel best about in both the short- and long-term, would you pick the outfield? There's a good case to be made it's the most reasonable answer. Not because the Nats outfield is loaded, or even guaranteed to be successful. There's still plenty of uncertainty at two of the three positions. But you can't find anything to complain about at the third position. And there is some ample reason to be optimistic about the future at the...
A son's conversation to keep close on Christmas
A son's conversation to keep close on Christmas
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
I wake up to my third Christmas morning without my father, who fought esophageal cancer until he decided, on his own terms, that he was done. The entire family gathered in Ocean Pines to be with him in late December 2018, the only time we've done that. He didn't say much as we exchanged gifts. He just sat in his recliner, watching our faces, taking it all in. We knew why. Three weeks later, he was gone. We still talk, and sometimes the exchanges feel like they're coming from one of my...
O's could pursue more free agent pitching
O's could pursue more free agent pitching
Steve Melewski
Orioles
It was a bit of a surprise when the Orioles reached an agreement with free agent right-hander Jordan Lyles on a deal that will pay him $7 million for the 2022 season. They agreed to sign Lyles before the lockout began, but the signing will not become official until after it ends. But when it does end, will Lyles' deal be just the first the Orioles add with free agent pitchers? Will they sign another pitcher to a similar deal, and if so, who could it be? After the experience of last season,...