Josh Land

Matthew Taylor: Postseason probably means an improbable hero or two

Matthew Taylor: Postseason probably means an improbable hero or two
The 2012 Orioles, a roster filled with odds-defying heroes, are a perfect match for postseason baseball, which rewards unlikely stars by elevating their clutch performances from enjoyable to unforgettable. Player names that, years later, you can't remember become ones you'll never forget. Taylor Teagarden has recorded three walk-off hits this season, including a game-winning, two-run homer in his second at-bat with the Orioles. I can envision O's fans years from now talking about "that...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger matthew taylor orioles orioles buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Marty Niland: The folly of baseball's new playoff system

Marty Niland: The folly of baseball's new playoff system
First the good news: By virtue of the best record in baseball, the Nationals have the home field advantage in a best-of-five series against Friday's wild card winner. Now the bad news: By virtue of the best record in baseball, the Nationals have the home field advantage in a best-of-five series against Friday's wild card winner. How's that? The half-baked playoff system that Major League Baseball came up with this year means the Nats will take to the road for two games in either Atlanta...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger marty niland nationals nationals buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

James Baker: It's not over

James Baker: It's not over
The Orioles finished Game 162 with a 4-1 loss at the hands of a scrappy, prideful, Tampa Bay Rays team. But for the first time in more than a decade, the season is not over. As a result of the their loss and the Yankees' win, the Orioles are the second wild card team and must fly to Arlington, Texas, to face the suddenly mortal Texas Rangers. The 2012 season will go down in Baltimore lore as one of the most amazing spectacles. The Orioles finished with the best record in one-run-games in the...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger james baker orioles orioles buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

David Huzzard: Welcome to the land of small sample sizes

David Huzzard: Welcome to the land of small sample sizes
October baseball is different, but not in the way most think. This isn't about the added pressure, how much brighter the spotlight is, or how some players can dig deep and find a special clutch ability they lacked all regular season. This isn't about the age old clichés. As The Boss will tell you on the commercials, October is the land of hope and dreams, but it is also the land of small sample sizes. There are a few weaknesses with the Nationals that can be exploited. First off,...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
david huzzard guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Rachel Levitin: Savor Nats' success because it's been a long wait

Rachel Levitin: Savor Nats' success because it's been a long wait
Here it is, Nats fans - today is last the day of the 2012 regular season. Your Nationals secured their first-ever National League East division title and hold the best record in baseball. Can anyone honestly say this is what they thought would happen this season? After Monday night's clinch of the NL East title, outfielder Jayson Werth mentioned that his decision to play baseball for Washington was motivated by the desire to play for a team that had a chance to win for a long time. "And it...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Neal Shaffer: A burden, lifted

Neal Shaffer: A burden, lifted
What do sports mean to a city, after all? Of what value is a team? What do we really gain from having handsomely compensated athletes organize themselves in uniform to play games in a city most of them don't call home? In a word, it's community. From economic impact to camaraderie, everyone can find their own favorite reason why sports matter. Regardless of which one you favor, a team is one of the few things that still has the power to impart a real sense of "us." Rooting can be a...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger neal shaffer orioles orioles buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Stephen Walker: A lifetime of waiting ends in rejoicing

Stephen Walker: A lifetime of waiting ends in rejoicing
To those born after 1971, this is how it was supposed to be in Washington all along. Enjoy it to the fullest. To those who remember the Senators, the sadness of September 30, 1971 is now gone. Forever. Let it go. Let peace wash over you. Rest in peace, Robert E. Short and all those who allowed the National Pastime to depart the nation's capital. The Washington Nationals are the 2012 National League East Division Champions. Say it again and again until joy fills your heart. No one, no...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz stephen walker
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Zach Wilt: Who's writing this script?

Zach Wilt: Who's writing this script?
If Hollywood was smart - six "Fast and the Furious" movies are strong evidence to the contrary - there would be a movie about the Orioles' season out by Opening Day 2013. This season is the perfect script and in a lot of ways, like most O's fans, I feel like I'm playing a minor character in it. Like when my brother-in-law and sister-in-law helped me purchase postseason tickets just days before giving birth to their first child. Or when my dad and I were on MASN reaching for Nate...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger orioles orioles buzz zach wilt
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: A tale of two seasons

Ted Leavengood: A tale of two seasons
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. The Washington Nationals have ascended the heights. They have one of the best records in the game. But the pitching staff that was masterful in the first five months of the season, had the wheels come off as the Cardinals scored 26 runs over the past three days. Ross Detwiler and Edwin Jackson -- both pitchers with some history in St. Louis--looked as bad as any two Washington pitchers have all season long. In less than four innings, they...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
Nationals Buzz bryce harper edwin jackson guest blogger guestblogger jordan zimmermann nationals ross detwiler ted leavengood
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Domenic Vadala: 2012 The Afterglow

Domenic Vadala: 2012 The Afterglow
While arguably the most important games of the 2012 Orioles' regular season are still ahead, at this point I feel it's worth taking a look back at where we've been. It goes without saying that 2012 will go down as the best Orioles season in a generation, especially with a playoff spot in hand. This was a team that was supposed to lose 100 games. Instead, they're going to win 90+ and go to the postseason. This was a team that supposedly had no chance to do anything more than fail. Instead...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
domenic vadala guest blogger guestblogger orioles Orioles Buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Matthew Taylor: Charm City fantasy has become a reality

Matthew Taylor: Charm City fantasy has become a reality
Two years ago, with Buck Showalter new in town and leading a late-season Orioles resurgence that saw the team go 34-23 in its final 57 games, then-Baltimore Sun writer Kevin Van Valkenburg outlined what he termed "a Charm City fantasy" - two winning professional sports teams playing in Baltimore in September. "The Orioles' late-season stretch of stellar baseball has been such a welcome surprise that it has allowed fans to fantasize about a scenario that hasn't occurred in more than three...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
Orioles Buzz guest blogger guestblogger matt taylor orioles
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Marty Niland: Cy Young for Gonzalez? Not a clear-cut choice

Marty Niland: Cy Young for Gonzalez? Not a clear-cut choice
Several interesting discussions about the National League Cy Young Award broke out Thursday among some Facebook friends, as Mets fans congratulated RA Dickey on winning his 20th game of the season. Posters and commenters began comparing Dickey and Gio Gonzalez, the only other 20-game winner in the majors this season, and speculating on which pitcher would win. So who does deserve to win the award as the league's top pitcher, Gonzalez or Dickey? Gonzalez won his 21st game Thursday night by...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
Nationals Buzz gio gonzalez guest blogger guestblogger marty niland
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

David Huzzard: Power up the middle

David Huzzard: Power up the middle
There is an old saying in baseball about building teams with defense up the middle and power at the corners. Anyone watching the Washington Nationals can see that they have built a team full of capable defenders. The Nationals' infield is the best in the game, getting not just defense up the middle and power at the corners, but receiving power up the middle and defense at the corners. While Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche offer Gold Glove play on a nightly basis, the real added strength of the...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
david huzzard guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Rachel Levitin: Playoff baseball is a bonding experience unlike any other

Rachel Levitin: Playoff baseball is a bonding experience unlike any other
The first thing I wanted to do when I heard the Nationals had clinched their first playoff berth was call my dad. I was standing at a bus stop in Arlington with Twitter feeding me a constant live stream of updates from friends, media members and baseball fans. I'll even admit to getting a little misty-eyed. That's why I wanted to call my dad. He's the one who taught me how to love baseball. To my dad and me, baseball was a bonding experience. While I don't know exactly why we chose...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz rachel levitin
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Neal Shaffer: What if the Orioles miss the playoffs?

Neal Shaffer: What if the Orioles miss the playoffs?
Today I come to raise a spectre. Not because I want to. Certainly not because anyone else wants me to (you surely don't). I do so, simply, because I must. To wit: What if the Orioles miss the playoffs? With seven games left the black and orange remain in a strong position. Despite two consecutive losses to the Blue Jays, they're still in this thing. The division title might be slipping away but the wild card is very much an option. The numbers, however, are not comfortable. A lot can and...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger neal shaffer orioles orioles buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Zach Wilt: Qualifying the Orioles' 'luck'

Zach Wilt: Qualifying the Orioles' 'luck'
Growing up, my dad always had old sayings that he would use to help teach me a life lesson. They were always simple, thought-provoking sentiments about whatever struggles I happened to be facing at the time, and many of them stick with me today. One such saying has particularly been of interest to me throughout the last five months. As I have watched the Baltimore Orioles go from 69 wins in 2011 to 88 wins (and counting) in 2012, I can't help but hear my dad saying, "You make your own...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger orioles orioles buzz zach wilt
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: The teapot tempest over turnout

Ted Leavengood: The teapot tempest over turnout
On Saturday, Nationals Park was awash in an unbroken sea of red jerseys and caps as 40,000 loyal fans came to enjoy baseball played in remarkably clear, crisp autumn weather. Much has been written about the disappointing attendance at Nationals games. Too much has been said about the preponderance of Philadelphia fans who overrun the loyal Washington rooters when their team is in town. Too many have said this is a football town and always will be. Put that teapot away, the tempest fugit. (From...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
adam laroche bryce harper davey johnson gio gonzalez guest blogger guestblogger nationals nationals buzz ted leavengood
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Domenic Vadala: On closing acts and changed fortunes

Domenic Vadala: On closing acts and changed fortunes
On Friday night, the Boston Red Sox come to town for the final home series of 2012's regular season. Friday is also the Sept. 28, which will mark the one-year anniversary of last season's spectacular finish to the regular season. I'll spare everyone the details yet again, however the act of Robert Andino hitting an RBI single to win it for the Fighting Showalters followed almost immediately by Evan Longoria hitting a walk off homer in St. Petersburg, Fla., is something that will not soon...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
domenic vadala guestblogger orioles orioles buzz robert andino
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Matthew Taylor: Historical proof that more is better

Matthew Taylor: Historical proof that more is better
The Orioles extended their remarkable run of consecutive extra-inning victories to 15 this week with wins in 18 and 11 innings against Seattle. Overall, the O's are 15-2 in extra-inning games in 2012. Explanations for the team's success in extra frames are varied; however, the historical marker you'll hear referenced most often is that the current 15-game extra-inning streak is the longest such effort since 1949, when the Cleveland Indians won 17 straight extra-inning games. History tends to...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
guest blogger guestblogger matthew taylor orioles orioles buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Josh Land

Marty Niland: Memories of 1981 Expos, franchise's last playoff team

Marty Niland: Memories of 1981 Expos, franchise's last playoff team
Nationals fans no longer have to dream of the day their team makes the playoffs. It's a reality. Thursday's night's win over the Dodgers put the city of Washington, D.C., in the baseball postseason for the first time since 1933 and this franchise in the playoffs for the first time in 31 years. The team that moved to Washington to become the Nationals, the Montreal Expos, made its first - and only - National League playoff appearance in 1981. In a year when baseball fans endured a nearly...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
andre dawson gary carter guest blogger guestblogger marty niland montreal expos nationals nationals buzz
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments



LATEST ORIOLES NEWS

LATEST NATIONALS NEWS

       
59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68