Maryland General Assembly Notebook 2013

Miller Gets His Bust

A state senator wants a new state bird; one man's technolgical fortress is his castle; and the Senate president feels snubbed by Obama.

It's not a statue in front of the office building that bares his name but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller did receive a bust of himself this week courtesy of the Regional Manufacturing Institute. Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat, gave a sneak preview of the small, light-weight bust of Miller moments before presenting it to the Senate's top dog. "You can't have too much Mike Miller," Klausmeier said. The technology is similar to what was used in a scene of Jurassic Park 3 where a copy of a velociraptor's larynx was recreated. The institute offered legislators in Annapolis the opportunity to have themselves scanned into a computer and get busts of themselves. Miller seemed impressed with the petite bust but joked that it …

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Nationals, Orioles Force Decisive Playoff Games Friday

It comes down to winner-take-all for both Washington and Baltimore.

It might be the biggest day of baseball this region has seen in decades. On Friday evening, both the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles will play the final—and decisive—games of their respective divisional series. Just 24 hours ago, it wasn't clear that either team would live to see action beyond Thursday, with the Nats trailing the St. Louis Cardinals and the O's trailing the New York Yankees by two games to one. But in thrilling, late-inning play, both teams slipped ahead yesterday to seize 2-1 wins and even up each best-of-five series at two games apiece. Washington's saving grace came in the form of a walk-off solo home run by right fielder Jayson Werth in the bottom of the ninth, which snapped a 1-1 tie that had held since…

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Winning Baseball in Baltimore and Washington for First Time Since '69

It's been more than 40 years since the DC region had two winning baseball teams.

By Matthew Owings, Capital News Service This year will be forever known as the season of resurgence for Washington and Baltimore baseball, as the Nationals and Orioles are both headed for the playoffs. Not since 1969 had baseball teams from the two cities—back then it was the Orioles and Senators—both finished with a winning record. The 1969 Orioles went 109-53; the Senators 86-76. "I'm not much of a history buff," said Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson, thinking back to his playing days in 1969 with the Baltimore Orioles. "I know it was a great year for Baltimore, even though we lost." Johnson, who played for the Orioles from 1965 to 1972, should know. "I made the last out (in the World Series)," quipped Johnson, whose Birds lost…

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Playoff Schedule Set for Nationals, Orioles

Baseball's postseason kicks off this weekend.

Major League Baseball's 2012 regular season is officially in the books, and for the first time ever, the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles are both in the playoffs. The Nats wrapped up the top seed in the National League yesterday with a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, taking them to 98-64 on the season. They'll go on the road Sunday to face the winner of Friday's one-game wild card playoff between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves. The best-of-five National League Division Series will then come to Washington Wednesday for one to three games, depending on how many wins each team racks up. The winner of that round will face the winner of San Francisco and Cincinnati for a World Series berth. The O's, …

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Marty Chase

12:41 pm on Thursday, October 4, 2012

This crazy format is for this year only and puts the Nats at a disadvantage. Let's hope they don't lose the first two on the road. That'll make it very tough to comeback, even with three straight at home.   more ›

Nats, O's Clinch Playoff Spots—Could a Beltway Series Be Brewing?

There's plenty of baseball yet to be played, but for the first time ever, a Nationals-Orioles World Series is a real possibility.

It's been 15 years since the Baltimore-Washington area fielded a Major League Baseball team with a winning record, let alone sent one to the postseason.  But as of the final out in last night's Rangers-Angels game, the Orioles—improbably, unfathomably—became the second playoff-bound ballclub in the corridor, clinching at least a wild card spot for the first time this century. Their 6-3 win over Boston earlier in the day also kept the O's tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East. The Nationals' shining moment came 10 days earlier as Washington closed the deal on a postseason berth with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year marks just the second time the organization has made the playoffs and its…

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Baysox Pitcher Dylan Bundy Called Up to Orioles

Dylan Bundy, 19, will be the youngest Orioles player to make a major league debut in more than 40 years.

Bowie Baysox right-handed pitcher Dylan Bundy was called up to the majors Wednesday morning, according to a Baltimore Orioles press release. Bundy made his Baysox debut in August after being called up from Class-A Frederick, and has spent the past several weeks impressing fans and media alike. Following his first minor league season he was named to the Baseball America Minor League All-Star Team and this year he finished his Double-A minor league regular season going 2-0 with a 2.24 ERA in three starts. At just 19 years old, Bundy will be the first Orioles player to make his major league debut before turning 20 since Mike Adamson in 1967, according to the release. Bundy will join 20-year-old infielder Manny Machado, who has been wowing …

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Bundy Offers Hope, Excitement in Double-A Debut

Dylan Bundy, the Orioles top pitching prospect made his Double-A debut in Bowie Tuesday night and received a standing ovation from the fans when he left in the top of the sixth.

Baltimore Orioles top pitching prospect, Dylan Bundy, made his Double-A debut Tuesday night with the Bowie Baysox at Prince George’s Stadium in front of an eager and supportive crowd. Bundy impressed fans, media and Orioles players—Jim Thome was on hand to catch the action—alike by earning a 5-3 victory over the Erie SeaWolves in the outing. While you can talk about Bundy’s performance—he went five-and-a-third innings surrendering three runs, two earned, and three strikeouts—what Orioles fans should choose to focus on is the fact that it is August and people are still excited about Orioles baseball. On a Tuesday night, 2,982 people flocked to Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie to see a pitching prospect—someone who hasn’t event made it to …

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Dylan Bundy Expected to Make Debut with Baysox

The pitching phenom is set to make a move to Bowie.

Dylan Bundy, often touted as one of the Orioles top-rated prospects along with Manny Machado, will reportedly pitch for the Bowie Baysox on Tuesday night. However, as of Tuesday at 3 p.m., the official roster transaction to call up the 19-year-old pitcher from the High-A Frederick Keys to the Baysox was not officially confirmed by the Orioles. The Baltimore Sun reported last week that Bundy would make his debut in Bowie in the first game of a doubleheader against Erie at 6:05 p.m. Tuesday. Bundy was recently profiled by Tom Verducci in Sports Illustrated (SI) magazine and appeared on a SI television feature, both of which can be seen at www.SI.com. Order tickets online or call 301-464-4865. Are you excited that Dylan Bundy is coming to …

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Former Baysox Machado Has Hot Start with Orioles

The Orioles remain in the playoff hunt in August—how do you think the Birds will finish?

What if? What if the Orioles actually took those requests for Manny Machado seriously? The Orioles (62-53, second wild card leader) could have had a veteran starter, or a middle-of-the-road third baseman—if only they were willing to part with Machado, who moved up last week from the Bowie Baysox. Standing pat was seen as a move for the long-term. After Machado's debut last week, Dan Duquette's reluctance to trade Machado is working out to be a positive in the short-term, too. Machado homered again Sunday—his third in four big league games. He's already been moved from the No. 9 spot to the No. 7 spot in the Orioles' order. How long before—like the Nationals did with outfielder Bryce Harper—we see Machado in a prime spot in the lineup? Only…

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