Nationals prospect

Double-A Bowie reliever Dan Klein will be examined Monday by renowned orthopedic specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum in California. Klein underwent an MRI in Baltimore two days ago that didn't show anything conclusive in his shoulder, but there are concerns. He's still bothered by discomfort that prevents him from throwing, and it looks like more than just simple biceps tendinitis. He could be dealing with a small tear in the labrum. We should know for sure after Klein travels to the West...

Yesterday we talked about the current season. Today, let's talk about the future. The Orioles need to lock up J.J. Hardy. And they need to do it now. Remember how desolate the prospects at shortstop looked for the Orioles this past offseason? Internally, we were looking at Robert Andino and that's about it. In the free agent market, there were retreads like Jerry Hairston Jr., Juan Uribe and Miguel Tejada. We were going to have to choose between either a good glove or a good bat. But there...

It has been a pretty amazing run for Nationals right-hander Ryan Mattheus, who began the season in Double-A Harrisburg and on Tuesday made his major league debut for the Washington Nationals. The run becomes even more impressive when you realize that Mattheus had been in the minors since 2005. Mattheus jumped from the short season Single-A New York-Penn League last year to Harrisburg to start this season after a scintillating spring. Fast-forward to April 2011. He pitched in 13 games for...

Before finding out if the Orioles can end a 15-game losing streak in Toronto tonight, here are some random news, notes and takes. * The Orioles have struggled so much to score runs this year that it's tough to lose when they do put up some runs. They are now 24-11 on the season when scoring four runs or more. However, they have lost the last three games in which they scored more than four runs, putting up five, six and five runs, respectively, in those games. No great outburst, but they...

Here is something that is confusing to me: If the Orioles were not planning to play Ryan Adams much at all, why did they call him up from Triple-A? He has played some, but Adams has been on the team for 22 games now and has made just five starts at second base. A caller to my radio show last night said his theory was that Buck Showalter had major concerns about Adams on defense. To me, if that was the case, and I am not saying it is at all, why not just leave him in the minors until his...

MASNsports.com's Ben Goessling reported Tuesday night that Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche will, in fact, need season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder. The left-handed slugger had hit just .172/.288/.258 for the Nationals in 177 plate appearances before the club made the move to shut down the first baseman late last month. After an attempt to rehab the shoulder over the past few weeks, the club decided to have LaRoche undergo surgery in...

The Nationals showed resiliency with a gutty seventh inning rally against the first place St. Louis Cardinals. Down 6-2, the Nats put six runs on the board on four hits, three walks, one intentional and one hit by pitch. The six-run outburst matched the most runs the Nationals had scored in an inning this season. The Nationals had also scored six runs in an inning versus the Cardinals on April 20, against the Marlins, May 15 and the Orioles, May 20. Laynce Nix faced 11 pitches from St. Louis...

Koji Uehara threw 11 pitches while retiring the side in order in the bottom of the 10th. He induced a pop up and struck out two batters, including Jose Bautista. How many times have we seen Uehara replaced after one inning despite being in cruise control? Manager Buck Showalter sent out Uehara for the 11th inning, and the game ended on the right-hander's second pitch. Adam Lind hit a walk-off homer. Gary Thorne talks with Buck Showalter about the homers allowed by the bullpen in the O's...

If you wondered whether Felix Pie was going to spend last night's game in manager Buck Showalter's doghouse, your answer arrived in the eighth inning when he pinch-ran for left fielder Luke Scott. Putting Pie on the basepaths again? Showalter did it, and Pie raced from first to third on reliever Casey Janssen's errant pickoff throw. Pie was stranded, but at least he got off the bench. Showalter talked to Pie about the outfielder's ill-advised stolen-base attempt on Sunday - I'm sure the...