Of the Nationals' current healthy lineup, only Ian Desmond is performing above his career average OPS of .744 at .791, and Ryan Zimmerman is the only Nat with an OPS over .800 at .808. Everyone else is either on the disabled list or underperforming their career averages, some to a comical degree. One of the largest problems with the Nationals is that their best player ... read more
By David Huzzard, June 19, 2013 8:03 AM
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With the All-Star break just a little less than a month away, we're encouraging fans to vote so that D.C. is well-represented at Citi Field on July 16. One way that we're doing so is through one of our new favorite social media sites, Vine. Be sure to give @masnNationals a follow, as we being to upload behind-the-scenes looks of Nats Park, MASN contests and ... read more
By Olivia Witherite, June 18, 2013 8:19 PM
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Chad Tracy could be a poster child for this season. He has been down so long, that any kind of up looks awfully good. One wonders if the high expectations for a team still lost in the desert, are weighing this whole enterprise down. Would that Tracy home run have been enough last season? Tracy took out Jonathan Papelbon, which is no mean feat. It ... read more
By Ted Leavengood, June 18, 2013 9:41 AM
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As the Nationals struggled again to bring runners home in their 2-0 loss in Cleveland on Sunday, their fans must have been fuming. With apologies to Casey Stengel, or whoever initiated the quote that became the title of Jimmy Breslin's book chronicling the 1962 Mets, the question, "Can't anybody here play this game?" comes to mind. Eleven times, Washington hitters came to bat with at ... read more
By Marty Niland, June 17, 2013 8:51 AM
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That lat strain that sent Stephen Strasburg to the disabled list seems a distant memory. Through three innings at Progressive Field, the Nationals right-hander has yet to allow a hit, walked two and struck out two in a scoreless tie. Strasburg has thrown 47 pitches, but has only 25 strikes - an unusually high rate of balls for the power pitcher. He's got five outs ... read more
By Pete Kerzel, June 16, 2013 1:53 PM
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Five solo homers. A blown 5-0 lead. Late-inning heroics. Impressive relief. If you were looking for some excitement Saturday night, Progressive Field in Cleveland might've been the place to be. The Nationals were able to overcome a rare poor start from Jordan Zimmermann and a big Indians comeback to win 7-6 for their third victory in four games. The Nats looked like they'd cruise to ... read more
By Josh Land, June 15, 2013 10:29 PM
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This one's starting to look a lot like Jordan Zimmermann's rough May 29 start in Baltimore. Given a 5-0 lead in the third, Zimmermann has let the Indians come all the way back to take a 6-5 advantage in the fifth. Cleveland scored once in the third, twice in the second and three times with two outs in the fifth. Nick Swisher slimmed the Nationals' ... read more
By Josh Land, June 15, 2013 9:06 PM
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To set Jordan Zimmermann up with an early cushion, the middle of the Nationals' order dialed up the longball with two outs in the first. Ryan Zimmerman took Scott Kazmir deep before Jayson Werth made it back-to-back homers for a 2-0 Nationals lead. It was Zimmerman's eighth of the season and second in three games after an 11-game drought. Werth hit his sixth of the ... read more
By Josh Land, June 15, 2013 7:07 PM
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