Josh Land

David Huzzard: Inside the Nats' offensive struggles

David Huzzard: Inside the Nats' offensive struggles
There is no possible way to make it sound good that the Nationals' offense has scored only 3.41 runs a game and OPS'd a measly .654. In most offensive categories, they are better than only the Marlins. The Nats have faced a lot of good pitchers and good teams early in the season, and that has something to do with the poor offense, but that doesn't make it this dreadful. In April, the issue was that the Nationals got no offense from the third and first base positions as they put up an OPS...
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Josh Land

Zach Wilt: Breaking down Jim Johnson's struggles

Zach Wilt: Breaking down Jim Johnson's struggles
Last season, Jim Johnson blew three saves in 54 chances, while this year, he's blown three consecutive opportunities. The Orioles closer is scuffling and the team is stuck in a season-worst six-game losing streak. Johnson has allowed eight earned runs in his last three appearances and has watched his ERA jump from 0.95 to 4.22. Arguably one of the best at his craft a season ago, Johnson is a unique breed of closer. He doesn't overpower hitters or record high strikeout totals; he forces...
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Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: Is it time to fish or cut bait?

Ted Leavengood: Is it time to fish or cut bait?
The end of a tough road trip may not be the right moment, but the time is coming for the 2013 Nationals to fish or cut bait. The basic facts were laid out in a USA Today article Monday that cited the Nationals' offense as 29th in batting average and OBP, and 27th in runs scored among major league teams. It did not get better last night as another struggling pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong, found his A-game against the Nationals, crafting a three-hit shutout over five innings before leaving with a...
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Josh Land

Domenic Vadala: Do the Orioles need to trade for a top starting pitcher?

Domenic Vadala: Do the Orioles need to trade for a top starting pitcher?
Orioles pitching has been the elephant in the room all season long, and to a certain degree, it came to a bit of a head last week and this weekend. First off, while starters going deep into games has been an issue all season, I'm also a firm believer in not letting one bad start get you down. While Jason Hammel has struggled through his last few starts, he never struggled as much as he did Friday night against Tampa Bay. However, he can't allow that to seep into his mind, otherwise he won't...
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Josh Land

Matthew Taylor: Some context on Johnson's consecutive saves record

Matthew Taylor: Some context on Johnson's consecutive saves record
Jim Johnson's consecutive saves streak ended at 35 games Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres. Johnson's streak was one better than Randy Myers' previous Orioles record of 34 and one worse than Mariano Rivera's personal best of 36. Eric Gagne is in a world all his own with his major league record of 84 consecutive saves for the Los Angeles Dodgers. While it's interesting to see how Johnson's run stacks up to those of other great relievers, the more remarkable context is...
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Josh Land

Patrick Reddington: Can Strasburg become Nationals' "Big Train"?

Patrick Reddington: Can Strasburg become Nationals' "Big Train"?
Walter Johnson was born in Humboldt, Kan., in November 1887. In 1905, the future Washington Senator and his family lived in southern California, where, as Los Angeles Times writer Chris Dufresne noted in a 2008 article, the Fullerton Union High Indians pitcher first made a name for himself. "Johnson attended Fullerton Union High long enough to have, in 1905, struck out 27 batters in a 15-inning game against Santa Ana High," Dufresne wrote. Two years later, after he'd moved to Idaho and been...
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Josh Land

Rachel Levitin: A little perspective, please

Rachel Levitin: A little perspective, please
After this past weekend's series loss to one of the worst teams in baseball and a pair of losses in Los Angeles this week, the Nationals continue to battle in their pursuit of meeting the expectations imposed upon them. But here's the thing: For all the hiccups this team has encountered, they're still just one game behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East. To me, this season is all about perspective for the Nationals and their fans. Who could have ever predicted the...
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Josh Land

Neal Shaffer: Embracing a dilemma at the season's quarter-pole

Neal Shaffer: Embracing a dilemma at the season's quarter-pole
The 40-game mark, the quarter pole, has traditionally been one of the first real mile markers of the baseball season. It's the point at which we can no longer say, "Yeah, but it's early." By 40 games in, there's a sense of things. A lot will still happen, but the season is no longer a series of maybes. As the Orioles close in on that mark for 2013, it's safe to say they're off to a hell of a start. Here they stand at 23-16 with a 14-9 mark away from Camden Yards. They've scored 192...
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Josh Land

David Huzzard: Advanced metrics hint that Suzuki would flourish in two-hole

David Huzzard: Advanced metrics hint that Suzuki would flourish in two-hole
Danny Espinosa, Steve Lombardozzi and Roger Bernadina all have something in common - and they shouldn't. Each and every one of them has an under-.300 on-base percentage and all of them have batted second. Overall, Nationals No. 2 hitters are hitting .176/.216/.275. That isn't just bad production, that is horrid. The plan for the Nationals was to have career .267/.361/.460 hitter Jayson Werth in that spot, but that hasn't worked out as Werth moved down in the order when Ryan Zimmerman was...
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Josh Land

Zach Wilt: Has Pedro Strop bounced back?

Zach Wilt: Has Pedro Strop bounced back?
Coming off a stellar performance in the World Baseball Classic, the Orioles seemed very optimistic about Pedro Strop heading into the 2013 season. Buck Showalter leaned heavily on him through much of 2012, until Strop struggled with pitch location in September and into the postseason. In Strop's final 11 regular season outings, he surrendered six earned runs over 7 1/3 innings pitched, issued eight walks and struck out seven. Opponents were hitting .371 against him with a .444 BABIP (Batting...
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Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: A glass half-full

Ted Leavengood: A glass half-full
Losing two home games against the Chicago Cubs is disheartening and, after the excellent game Friday night, it was as if a switch just flipped and the progress of the prior week vanished in the flash of a Stephen Strasburg meltdown. There wasn't much to like on Saturday and Sunday unless you are a ticket rep for the Nationals. They are selling ducats like snow cones in 100-degree heat. Sky-high expectations bring in the fans and despite the cool weather and the failure of the real Nationals...
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Josh Land

Marty Niland: Nats must learn to overcome their own failures - and success

Marty Niland: Nats must learn to overcome their own failures - and success
A baseball team can't win on talent alone. It also takes discipline, maturity and courage, qualities that key members of the Nationals seemed to be lacking against the Chicago Cubs this weekend. In dropping games Saturday and Sunday to the last-place team in the National Legaue Central, the Nats' 24-year-old pitching phenom and 70-year-old manager both showed they have something to learn about handling both adversity and success. Stephen Strasburg has shown plenty of talent since the Nats...
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Josh Land

Domenic Vadala: Anatomy of a comeback

Domenic Vadala: Anatomy of a comeback
We all saw what happened Friday night, as the Orioles came back and defeated the Minnesota Twins after being down 6-0. Six runs isn't the greatest comeback of all time, however there's certainly a difference between that and being down by one or two. I think that in all sports there comes a point in a game where a team feels somewhat secure in its lead. In the NFL, I'd say that a 21-point lead is fairly safe, and the same would be true of a 15-point lead in the NBA. Minnesota had the...
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Josh Land

Matthew Taylor: Enjoying the ride

Matthew Taylor: Enjoying the ride
The Orioles enter the weekend with a 21-14 record, in a three-way tie for first place in the American League East with the Red Sox and Yankees. If you've followed baseball long enough, you've likely developed the reserved reflex that is so common to the sport. It's the one that produces programmed responses to good news, led by the many variations of "it's early." We're not supposed to get excited about individual efforts yet because of sample size, and as for teams, well, "It's a...
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Josh Land

Patrick Reddington: The Nationals' next wave

Patrick Reddington: The Nationals' next wave
In explaining the Nationals' willingness in recent years to part with top pitching prospects like Tom Milone, Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole (who was eventually reacquired), Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters in early 2012 that there was enough pitching in the system for him to feel comfortable making the type of deal that brought then 26-year-old left-hander Gio Gonzalez back from the Oakland A's. "I like our depth," Rizzo said. "We've got another wave of prospects coming,...
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Josh Land

Rachel Levitin: Scouting the perfect seating locations at Nationals Park

Rachel Levitin: Scouting the perfect seating locations at Nationals Park
The Nats are looking good right now. They're coming off a three-game win streak with Jordan Zimmermann holding his own as team anchor and the under-.500 Chicago Cubs coming into town for a three-game series for Mother's Day weekend. With warmer temperatures on the way, school wrapping up for the kids and summer truly around the corner, now's the time to get to the ballpark ... or at least that's what my friends keep telling me. I'm at the ballpark often enough, catching games and writing...
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Josh Land

Anthony Amobi: O's took a chance and gamble with Machado has paid off

Anthony Amobi: O's took a chance and gamble with Machado has paid off
In August 2012, the Orioles were in the wild card hunt and desperate to solve a problem - third base. Former Oriole Mark Reynolds, despite his power, was struggling at the hot corner, and executive vice president Dan Duquette, the front office, along with manager Buck Showalter were looking for a solution. In the middle of that month, the Orioles did something bold and head-scratching at the same time. They promoted Manny Machado from Double-A Bowie to the majors. At first, I was bewildered...
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Josh Land

David Huzzard: Stephen Strasburg and approach versus results

David Huzzard: Stephen Strasburg and approach versus results
Stay within yourself, don't try and do too much, and let the game come to you are all baseball clichés Nationals fans have become accustomed to over the early part of the 2013 season. They aren't easy concepts to understand until you see players not doing it. Up until the recent 7-4 run, the Nats weren't doing any of these things and were quite a frustrating team to watch. In baseball, approach is much more important than results and many Nats players had poor approaches at the...
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Josh Land

Zach Wilt: A full season of Manny Machado

Zach Wilt: A full season of Manny Machado
Seven wins on an 11-game west coast road trip are enough to turn even the Orioles' fiercest doubter into a believer in 2013. For the first time this season, I stopped comparing this year's team to its surprising playoff roster from a year ago and instead just enjoyed watching the O's starters pitch a 3.76 ERA, the bullpen to a 3.60 mark and cheered as the offense totaled 5.27 runs per game against the A's, Mariners and Angels. It took just over a month for me to stop making that comparison...
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Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: Winning a championship, one series at a time

Ted Leavengood: Winning a championship, one series at a time
There was too much Sterling Marte and A.J. Burnett in Pittsburgh, too little Bryce Harper. Yet the Nationals still looked like the better team when all was said and done. The Pirates are capable of beating anyone. They won their series against the Nationals in 2012 and recently swept the Atlanta Braves. Pittsburgh has an obvious weakness in their bullpen, however. They lead the league in bases on balls and a good team will exploit that. On Saturday night, the Nats' veteran hitters took the...
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