Mark Reynolds joined a nontraditional 20-20 club on Monday when he hit his 20th home run of the season and committed his 20th error. Prior to the season, I identified Reynolds as the most likely candidate to become the Orioles' first traditional 20-20 player (20 home runs, 20 stolen bases) since Brady Anderson in 1999. I was enamored with Reynolds' power, concerned about his strikeouts and largely ignorant of his defensive struggles. Now I'm pondering the question many other fans in Birdland...
In theory, the Washington Nationals should be proclaimed "America's Baseball Team" due to proximity and fact. But thanks to the Patriotic Series and a little bit of time, that fact could turn into one of the Nats' longest-standing ballclub legacies.
Take an annual contender in playoffs, for example. They're used to baseball during mid-October in front of a prime-time crowd. A D.C. fan hasn't had that opportunity since the invention of television. Plus, the Nats' end-of-season goals...
We're still dissecting this year's All-Star voting results, wondering how certain players were chosen, how other players weren't and which league will prevail July 12.
Last season, the National League ended a 13-year winless drought, upending the junior circuit, 3-1. It was a victory that, most San Francisco Giants fans will contend, was extremely important, so fans are sure to be in for a treat in a two weeks when the two leagues battle it out in the desert with home field advantage in the...
Happy Fourth of July, Orioles fans. I'm spending the holiday with my family in Catonsville, Md., where July 4 is, like a certain fictionalized news anchor, kind of a big deal. It certainly isn't more popular than Jesus (just "imagine" someone saying that); more like a secularized version of a holy day of obligation. Thousands of locals make the pilgrimage to Frederick Road in the afternoon for the annual parade and then on to Catonsville High School in the evening for fireworks. Both events...
When baseball returned to the District in 2005, the $5 grandstand tickets were the only reason my new-found friends at college would go to a baseball game with me. Now, in 2011, those same $5 grandstand tickets are the reason I'm not burned out when it comes to baseball.
I'm going to be honest here: I love baseball, but the past two seasons have been draining in many ways. The opportunity to cover the Washington Nationals has been fantastic. I've met the people I now like to call my...
The Orioles today announced that they have recalled left-handed pitcher Pedro Viola from Double-A Bowie.
Viola is 3-1 with two saves and a 2.25 ERA (28.0IP, 7 ER) in 24 games for the Baysox, striking out 25 and walking nine. He appeared in one game for the Orioles this season, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out two on May 30 versus Seattle.
The Washington Nationals today recalled from rehab and reinstated outfielder Rick Ankiel from the 15-day disabled list and placed infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. (right wrist fracture) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to June 30. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Ankiel missed the last 14 games after being placed on the DL on June 19, retroactive to June 15, with a left intercostal strain. The...
After Brian Matusz's terrible outing last night and his subsequent demotion to Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles' future is looking very unclear. Going into the season, before Matusz's injury, he was one of the players with the fewest question marks. But now, who knows what will happen? A polished college pitcher who sailed through the minors the first time, we know he has the talent. Hopefully he can figure out what he needs to and get back to Baltimore. But what if he doesn't?
It's a...
In his sixth full season with the Washington Nationals, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has become the face of the franchise. He has garnered many accolades, including being selected as an All-Star and winning a Gold Glove. A mild-mannered guy, ZImmerman usually leads not with words but with his actions and work ethic on the field. Last night, for the second consecutive year, Zimmerman spoke from the heart during "A Night at the Park," a benefit hosted by his ziMS Foundation, which funds...
Ho-hum.
Jordan Zimmermann threw another outstanding game last night. It's unfortunate that a defensive miscue set up the only run of the game allowed and his teammates couldn't muster an attack against the Angels in a 1-0 defeat, to drop the Washington Nationals one game below .500 exactly half-way through the 2011 baseball season.
Tell me, right now, that at the beginning of the season if someone promised you the Nats would be 40-41 at the mid-point of the season you wouldn't have taken...
Sometimes talking about the 2011 Orioles gets tiresome, especially when they're losing. So instead of rehashing another failure, let's go back in time.
It was on June 30, 2009 that the Orioles completed the greatest comeback in franchise history, and it was one of the most fun games I can remember watching. After falling behind 10-1 to the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles scored five runs each in the seventh and eighth innings to come all the way back and defeat the hated divisional rivals...
There are two days left in June, and for the entire month, there has been exactly one game when the starting pitcher for the Orioles pitched at least seven innings. That game was June 10, when Jake Arrieta pitched seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's it.
Since his disappointing return from the disabled list, Brian Matusz is averaging less than 4.5 innings per game. Since joining the rotation, Chris Jakubauskas has pitched 20 1/3 innings in four starts. Rookie Zach Britton is...
So the Washington Nationals lose two in a row and folks are ready to run Davey Johnson out on a rail? A quick look this morning at different social media indicates just how fickle this fan base is. Comments such as "the old man doesn't know how to manage a pitching staff" and "I stayed up to watch that?" are prevalent. All of a sudden, the Nats have lost three of four and the walls are crumbling down. People, Rome wasn't built in a day.
The Nats' remarkable winning streak over the last...
To say that Washington Nationals $126 million man Jayson Werth is struggling would be a dramatic understatement. After last night's 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Werth is hitting a robust .224/.329/.391, all career lows for seasons with more than 300 plate appearances. At the pace he's on, there's no way he'll even come close to his 162-game average of 25 home runs or 83 RBIs.
Team officials are quick to assure Nats fans that Werth is just going through a slump, that he'll rebound...
After a good rookie year in 2009, Nolan Reimold just couldn't get his act together in 2010. There's no way to know exactly what happened to Reimold last year, but between his documented personal issues, the fact that he was recovering from surgery on his Achilles tendon and his impressive minor league numbers since being drafted, not many people were writing off Reimold's 2009 as a fluke.
Reimold was the odd man out after Vladimir Guerrero was signed, but found his way back to Baltimore on...
Mark Reynolds has been on fire over the last four weeks, hitting .296/.446/.648. He leads the Orioles in home runs, doubles and walks. He trails only J.J. Hardy in on-base percentage and is arguably the best hitter on the team. Despite all of that, Reynolds remains at the bottom of the lineup, hitting ahead of only Robert Andino or Blake Davis and sometimes Felix Pie (who really shouldn't be in the starting lineup, ever, but that's another story).
I spent last week in Pittsburgh watching...
The Washington Nationals have won 13 of their last 15 games. That's pretty heady stuff. When play ended Sunday, the Nats owned a 40-38 record, a mere 3 1/2 games out of the Wild Card. This run that they're on right now can only be described with one word: ridiculous.
On this streak, the Nats have won close games and blowouts. They've pitched over their heads and picked up the bullpen on the few occasions they've faltered. The Nats blew three saves in Friday's game alone and still won. In...
The Washington Nationals today announced that Davey Johnson has been named to serve as field manager and will be in uniform Monday for the Nationals game against the Los Angeles Angels. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Johnson, a senior advisor to Rizzo since 2009, will direct the Nationals on the field for the remainder of the 2011 season. He also agreed to a three-year consulting contract that will have him remain...
It has not been a good week for the Baltimore Orioles, as they have struggled in interleague play, losing two out of three games to the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Much like the Orioles, the Pirates and Nationals have been your traditional bottom-feeders recently; however, they have improved greatly this season. They are not seen as contenders, but they are no longer doormats, either.
That same notion can be also applied to the Orioles. A lot of people at the start of the...
I really don't want to write about Jim Riggleman.
First, he doesn't deserve it, considering his actions yesterday; resigning only moments after the Nationals organization hit a peak after sweeping the Seattle Mariners and moving over .500. Second, he ruined my Thursday night because as a Nationals blogger I tend to have to keep on top of these sorts of news stories and it kept me from spending time with my daughter and eating out at Wayside Chicken. I love Wayside Chicken.
However, I...