Zach Wilt: Opponents have adjusted to Dylan Bundy

Zach Wilt: Opponents have adjusted to Dylan Bundy
Dylan Bundy was one of the Orioles' best stories over the first two months of the season. In April and May, the 24-year-old righty made 11 starts and the O's went 7-4 in those games. Bundy pitched 71 2/3 innings, limited opponents to a .240 batting average and recorded a 2.89 ERA over that span. He began the season with eight consecutive quality starts and ten in his first 11. Bundy immediately jumped out as the team's best starter in his first full season in the rotation. It seemed like...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

David Huzzard: What is the impact of the the Nats' bad bullpen?

David Huzzard: What is the impact of the the Nats' bad bullpen?
I had a question earlier this week on the Nationals bullpen. It was a simple one: Exactly how many ninth-inning blown saves have they had and where does that compare to the league average? The Nationals have 14 total blown saves, but because a lot of old-timey baseball stats are dumb, that counts a blown lead by a reliever in any inning and not just the ninth. The answer for how many ninth-inning blown saves has to be found by looking at how many times the Nationals had a lead entering the...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Dillon Atkinson: It's time to face reality

Dillon Atkinson: It's time to face reality
If you've followed me on social media or on Orioles Uncensored for the past few years, you've probably been able to get the idea that at times, I rock the orange sunglasses and I drink the orange Kool-Aid. It's not all the time, but I sure have shown my sides of blind optimism about the Orioles. But today, I'm hopping off that train. At least for now, that is. The Orioles are currently 40-43, fourth place in the American League East, and are less than four weeks away from Major League...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Luke Erickson: Why the Syracuse Chiefs struggle

Luke Erickson: Why the Syracuse Chiefs struggle
The Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs won 61 games in 2016, surpassed by everyone in the International League but Omaha (58). The 2017 edition of the Chiefs is on pace to win just 53 games. In nine seasons of affiliation with the Nationals, the fans in Syracuse, as I've been reminded me on more than one occasion, have seen just two winning seasons - 2012 and 2014. One thing that needs to be made clear is that while Triple-A is the highest classification of the minors, it's no longer where you'll find...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Andrew Stetka: Schoop's All-Star nod is well-deserved

Andrew Stetka: Schoop's All-Star nod is well-deserved
For the first time since 2011, the Orioles will have just one representative at the All-Star Game. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop can always refer to himself as an All-Star now, and rightfully so. While some may have wanted to see Trey Mancini or Welington Castillo get the nod as the O's representative, Schoop is the right man for the job. It's also hard not to feel great for Schoop. He's been stuck in a very deep pool of second basemen in the American League for the first few years of his...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Marty Niland: It's far from panic time for Nats fans

Marty Niland: It's far from panic time for Nats fans
From the sense of panic among Nationals fans these days, you would think the team is in last place, rather than on a pace to win more than 90 games. Let's calm down and let general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dusty Baker do their jobs. It's far too early for predictions of collapse. After Trea Turner broke his wrist, joining previous leadoff man Adam Eaton on the disabled list, Nats fans on Twitter started posting messages of gloom and doom. Perhaps the best was, "Leading off the the Nats...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

David Huzzard: Nats should rekindle trade talks for McCutchen

David Huzzard: Nats should rekindle trade talks for McCutchen
Baseball is considered a slow sport. All the discussions on how to get young people to pay attention to the game recently are centered around pace of play, but it sure does seem to move fast at times. A week ago leadoff hitter and shortstop was the least of the Nationals' concerns and this week it has moved to the top of the docket. With a 9 1/2-game lead in the division and every division rival looking like a seller this deadline, the Nationals place atop the division is as secure as it is...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Zach Wilt: Back end of Orioles bullpen proved its importance on road trip

Zach Wilt: Back end of Orioles bullpen proved its importance on road trip
Just like that, the Orioles are back to .500. Last night in Toronto, the Birds took care of business and secured a series win to even their record at 39-39. After being shut out the night before, Ubaldo Jiménez delivered his strongest start of 2017 with eight shutout innings of two-hit ball in the finale against the rival Blue Jays. It's amazing what good starting pitching can do for this club. The Orioles have struggled mightily away from Camden Yards in 2017, going 15-25, but just...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Luke Erickson: A look at the Potomac Nationals at the half

Luke Erickson: A look at the Potomac Nationals at the half
While Bill Parcells is wildly overrated as a coach, his maxim of "You are what your record says you are," is spot-on, and applies to the Potomac Nationals this year. The P-Nats almost finished .500 in the first half, falling two games short at 33-37, and haven't been above the break-even mark since May 13. Simply put, they're not quite good enough to win consistently. This is not to say there haven't been bright spots. Victor Robles is the Nationals' No. 1 prospect in the organization and...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Marty Niland: Cubs-Nats series is loaded with history

Marty Niland: Cubs-Nats series is loaded with history
If a date with the World Series champions and a potential postseason preview won't give Nationals fans enough to talk about this week, the Nats' series with the Cubs will offer plenty of history. The two teams, as well as mangers Joe Maddon of the Cubs and Dusty Baker of the Nationals, have a more than bit of a past between and among them, and we only have to go back to last season to start. The Nationals were coming off a blistering 16-7 April and had won three of their first four in May...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Andrew Stetka: If Orioles sell, who could actually be moved?

Andrew Stetka: If Orioles sell, who could actually be moved?
With five weeks to go until baseball's non-waiver trade deadline, teams are starting to assess whether or not they will be buyers or sellers at the end of July. It's a conversation every front office has this time of year, and it's no different for the Orioles. What is different this year than from recent seasons is the position the Birds find themselves in. Despite being below the .500 mark, the O's find themselves only a handful of games out of a playoff spot. Teams have made crazier runs...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Zach Wilt: Even former O's starting pitchers are underperforming

Zach Wilt: Even former O's starting pitchers are underperforming
Starting pitching has been the story of the 2017 season for the Orioles. It seems to be a topic every night in Charm City as the Birds have again fallen below .500 at 35-37 and their rotation has produced just two quality starts in their last 16 games. Collectively, the O's pitching staff has allowed five or more runs in 19 consecutive games and they have gone 6-13 over that span. Last week, I wrote about the Orioles' production in June 2016 when they went 19-9 and finished the month with a...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

David Huzzard: Nats should look at other trade possibilities

David Huzzard: Nats should look at other trade possibilities
The 2017 Nationals are a confusing team to follow. They are a combination of the best run-producing team in baseball, a huge division lead, a strong top of the rotation and one of the worst bullpens ever constructed. That last one gets most of the attention and it needs to be addressed, but it is not the Nationals' only weakness heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The bullpen is the obvious area of concern and it's where the Nationals focus will be, but it will also be where...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Dillon Atkinson: Orioles offense being asked to perform a difficult task

Dillon Atkinson: Orioles offense being asked to perform a difficult task
After dropping the series opener to the Indians on Monday night by the score of 12-0, the Orioles came back to even up the series at one game apiece by defeating the Tribe 6-5 Tuesday evening. Although they counted differently in the win-loss column, there's one thing that's common between not only those two scores, but the scores of the past 17 games. In each of the last 17 games, and 21 of the last 24, the Orioles have allowed their opponents to score five or more runs. The 17-game stretch...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Luke Erickson: Looking at the Hagerstown Suns at the half

Luke Erickson: Looking at the Hagerstown Suns at the half
For most baseball fans, the All-Star Game is considered the halfway point of the season. In the minors, that's this week for two of the four full-season affiliates - the Hagerstown Suns (low Single-A) and the Potomac Nationals (high Single-A). This week, we'll take a look at how the Suns have done and who might be moving up, then next week we'll examine the P-Nats. While winning is not the goal of the minors - development is - it's still something to shoot for and root for. For most of the...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Andrew Stetka: Hardy's absence will create a new look in O's infield

Andrew Stetka: Hardy's absence will create a new look in O's infield
With J.J. Hardy set to become the latest member of the Orioles to make a trip to the disabled list, parts are going to continue to move for the Birds. It's just the latest in a string of injuries that has recently included first baseman Chris Davis, along with the likes of Zach Britton and Darren O'Day out of the bullpen. Nothing new for the Orioles, but it could certainly spell new looks in the near and distant future. We don't know exactly how long Hardy's injury will keep him off the...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Zach Wilt: Offense can still carry the Orioles

Zach Wilt: Offense can still carry the Orioles
Yesterday afternoon, the Orioles wrapped another disappointing road trip and fell back under .500 with a 32-33 record. The Birds went 1-7 on their eight-game road trip in D.C., New York and Chicago, and they have now lost 16 of their last 18 games away from the friendly confines of Camden Yards. They are now 11-23 on the road this season and thankfully return home tonight to play their next seven contests in Baltimore, where they have gone 21-10 this season. Home sweet home. It's been a tough...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

David Huzzard: What will a closer cost the Nationals?

David Huzzard: What will a closer cost the Nationals?
Believe it or not, the Nationals don't have the worst bullpen in the majors. That isn't to forgive or forget just how bad the bullpen has been and how many leads they've blown, or that with even a league-average bullpen the Mets' recent hot streak wouldn't matter one bit. It is simply a fact. The Nats don't have the worst bullpen in the majors and it is going to cause them major issues when the trade deadline comes around. By ERA, the Twins have the worst bullpen in the majors at 5.39....
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Dillon Atkinson: When it rains, it pours

Dillon Atkinson: When it rains, it pours
After Tuesday night's 6-1 loss to the White Sox, the Orioles are now 31-32 and in fourth place in the American League East, 7 1/2 games back of the division-leading Yankees. Sure, the Orioles' record makes it look like they're just a near perfectly average Major League Baseball club. But the maddening part of it all is that they started off the season 22-10, looking like they were going to prove all the major analysts' predictions wrong yet again. But now we're in mid-June, and it seems...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments

Luke Erickson: Who's going to Auburn and West Palm Beach?

Luke Erickson: Who's going to Auburn and West Palm Beach?
Tonight is Day 3 of the First-Year Player Draft and what this means to me is discovering which of the players drafted by the Nationals will be on the rosters of the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays and the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals. That's it. I am well aware that this makes me an anomaly among some prospect followers, but consider this: I don't follow college baseball, which to me is like baseball the way 10-pin bowling is like candlepin bowling, nor do I care about the...
Continue reading
  0 Comments
0 Comments