On the local scene, the Orioles are playing as well as we could have hoped for after 16 games, considering that six of those games came against the New York Yankees and three against the Boston Red Sox. Unfortunately, there are no real teeth in any part of the batting order, but it's great to see Trey Mancini looking like the long-term keeper we hoped he'd turn into.
The Orioles have had lots of bad luck with injuries to Mark Trumbo, Richard Bleier and Alex Cobb, all of whom just happened to be three potential targets of contending teams. Overall, the brain trust is doing a lot right in the early stages of what will be a tough three-year slog.
Close by, the Washington Nationals are off to a .500 start at 7-7. Something always seems missing with the Nats, but this is not a case of missing Bryce Harper. The culprit is a moving target, mostly the bullpen. However, it's going to be incumbent upon manager Davey Martinez to figure it out and fix whatever "it" is, because the division is too loaded for the Nats to have an identity crisis.
