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VIERA, Fla. -- Left fielder Josh Willingham, whose wife Ginger gave birth to the couple's second child last Tuesday, still hasn't arrived at Nationals camp because of a "personal matter," manager Jim Riggleman said Sunday. "It will be explained more clearly after he gets here, but Josh is doing good himself," Riggleman said. "We've just got to get him here later this week or next,
VIERA, Fla. -- John Lannan and Jason Marquis, or Jason Marquis and John Lannan, are the Nationals' top two starters. That much is clear. Has been all spring. But when the Nationals open their season on April 5 against the two-time National League champion Phillies, with a sellout crowd and possibly President Obama on hand, they'll finally have to put those two starters in some
For four years, Rafael Martin played baseball with no career path, no development schedule, no visible future beyond the casual association he still kept with the game. Martin graduated high school in Riverside, Calif., and went to work for Slater Construction for four years, building concrete structures for storm drainage. He played in a Sunday afternoon baseball league and played beer-league softball during the week.
Pretty crummy weather here in Viera today -- it rained much of the day, and temperatures have only been in the 40s -- but the Nationals were still able to get some work in this morning. Stephen Strasburg threw live batting practice for the first time this spring, though nobody took a swing against him. Eric Bruntlett, Roger Bernadina, Derek Norris and Willy Taveras all
Catcher Jesus Flores, who is still rehabbing from shoulder surgery, won't be available when the Nationals start their spring training slate next week, manager Jim Riggleman said. Flores, coming back from a torn labrum, is able to play catch from 90 feet, but the Nationals are having a coach throw the ball back to pitchers instead of Flores while he catches bullpen sessions. And the
While the possibility of Ian Desmond making the Nationals' major-league roster as a utility player isn't out of the question, it appears more likely at this point he will play every day at shortstop, either in the majors or at Class AAA Syracuse. Manager Jim Riggleman wouldn't rule out the idea of Desmond being a utility player, pointing to the fact that the Nationals don't
The Nationals' spring training complex was a whirlwind of activity today, with Livan Hernandez arriving, a handful of pitchers throwing live batting practice and the team running its first drills. Here are a few snippets from the day: --Plenty of you have asked about how Riggleman will run his camp to ensure a greater emphasis on fundamentals after last year's 143-error season. He started right
The contingencies that could make the Nationals' rotation as strong and deep as it could possibly be this season - Chien-Ming Wang being full-go in May, Scott Olsen regaining his velocity and form after shoulder surgery, Ross Detwiler coming back strong from hip surgery - are things Mike Rizzo cannot find solace in and does not discuss. The converse scenarios - all three of those
Before their first full-squad workout of 2010, the Nationals held a 45-minute team meeting in which team president Stan Kasten, general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Jim Riggleman all addressed the players. There was plenty of basic stuff to be covered - team logistics, clubhouse rules, etc. - but the main message of the session was distilled down to a two-minute shot of energy from
He had a few problems with his slider in the howling wind, sure, but those are mere quibbles with what was another strong day for Stephen Strasburg at Nationals camp on Thursday. Throwing to catcher Wil Nieves, Strasburg had his third bullpen session of the spring, which lasted 12 minutes and spanned anywhere from 50-60 pitches (pitching coach Steve McCatty wasn't counting, professed not to
It might not be the big international signing some are waiting for from the Nationals, but the club's latest addition could turn out to be a key piece for the bullpen down the road. The team has purchased the contract of 25-year-old reliever Rafael Martin, who pitched for Saltillo in the Mexican League and was on Mexico's Caribbean Series team. The 6-foot-2 reliever will be
Almost all of the money Adam Dunn has made in his career - and there's been a lot of it - has come because of his ability to, every 13.98 at-bats or so, test the alertness of fans in the right-field upper deck with a towering blast off his maple bats. Yet there is something almost defiant about Dunn's attitude toward defense. He's been hounded
It's often said that putting together a roster in spring training is like solving a puzzle. If that's the case, the Nationals' group of pitchers is a Sudoku puzzle - it appears to have multiple solutions at the start, but as numbers are put in place, it becomes clear there's only one place for the rest of the numbers to go. To wit: If Scott
You know, I never complain about the weather in spring training for two reasons: 1) It's almost always better than what's going on in D.C. on a given day, and 2) Because I'm from Minnesota, people in the Mid-Atlantic give me no leeway to complain about weather whatsoever. But it's currently in the low 50s, with a 25-mph wind whipping across Space Coast Stadium. In
Just a couple things I gathered today that I'll post before I go to bed. You kids keep it down. Jesus Flores is starting to throw from 90 feet, and said his shoulder feels a little better every day. He still hasn't been told when he can throw from a squatting position, rather than handing the ball back to coaches in bullpen sessions, but he's
Just a couple things I gathered today that I'll post before I go to bed. You kids keep it down. Jesus Flores is starting to throw from 90 feet, and said his shoulder feels a little better every day. He still hasn't been told when he can throw from a squatting position, rather than handing the ball back to coaches in bullpen sessions, but he's
As Steve McCatty stands in the Space Coast Stadium hallway, turkey sandwich on standby, his instincts have him hunting. His eyes dart back and forth, and he's ready at a moment's notice to interrupt a thought - or merge the construction of a sentence - with a dig at whichever one of his pitchers are walking by. The Nationals' pitching coach comes from the school
The Nationals have signed Livan Hernandez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, according to a team source. It gives them the additional veteran pitcher they've been seeking all spring, and brings Hernandez - the team's Opening Day starter in 2005 and 2006 - back to the Nationals for the third time. Hernandez signed with the Nationals last August after being
I've confirmed Stephen Strasburg will make his Nationals debut March 9 at Space Coast Stadium against the Tigers. If you're interested in going to that game, I suggest you get your tickets soon. He'll only pitch a couple of innings, but it will be as momentous an occasion as you can find in spring training, and I'm sure it will be treated as such. It's
The Nationals are still talking to a number of veteran pitchers, Livan Hernandez among them, but don't feel like they absolutely have to have one before Opening Day, according to a team source. They'd like to get one more veteran and feel comfortable bumping some of their young guys back because they all have options. But they're prepared to go into the season with a
Hello again from Space Coast Stadium, where the weather is doing its best Brett Favre routine. Is it going to rain? Is the sun going to come out? Is it going to be cloudy, but without rain? I can't tell. But I know this: Nowhere is the rain having more fun than it is in Viera. It's like a little kid out there. Anyway, there's
Thanks to everybody who came out for the chat at Washington Nationals Fan Forum last night. I hope everyone had a great time. I know I did. I wanted to set up a thread for those of you who arrived a little late to the chat, or who didn't get a chance to get your questions in. We ran out of time last night, but
Hey all, Just a quick note... I'm chatting live at Washington Nationals Fan Forum right now, so head on over there to ask about whatever spring training stuff is on your mind, as well as what kinds of things we've got in store for coverage here at MASN this year. Check it out here.
Not a great deal of news here today -- the Nationals worked out this morning with pitchers, catchers and early-reporting position players -- but there are plenty of things we can discuss. And because my liberation from the confines of print media is relatively recent, I'm still running around like a dog who's just been given a larger yard for the first time. As such,
For most, if not all, of his career, Nyjer Morgan's first instinct has been to slide headfirst into bases. It's been part bravado - favored over a feet-first slide on the basis that it allows the former hockey player to get his uniform dirty quicker - and part habit. But that practice, as it does for many ballplayers, caught up with Morgan last August. He
I've got a grab bag of updates about various starting pitchers this afternoon, so I'll post them all here, under that attempt at a clever headline: John Lannan has changed agents, going from The Show and Andrew Mongelluzzi to Creative Artists Agency and Brodie Van Wagenen. Lannan, who is arbitration-eligible after the season, said he made the change over the winter in preparation for arbitration
A happy Monday morning to you - and if such a thing exists, it certainly does in Viera. Anyway, Jim Riggleman just finished meeting with the media a few minutes ago. Here are the highlights of what he had to say, broken down in handy bullet-point form: It appears the Nationals will take a similar approach with Drew Storen as they are with Stephen Strasburg;
Fresh off an appearance on Baseball Tonight, Stephen Strasburg continued a media slate wholly incongruous with a 37-pitch bullpen session, meeting a while ago with about a dozen reporters across various media in the Nationals' dugout. Strasburg said all the right things: he refrained from putting expectations on his season, said he was fine starting the year in the minors, talked only of wanting to
The first bullpen session Stephen Strasburg threw in major-league spring training was as much of a media event as it was a rudimentary early-season exercise. More than 100 fans strained to get a look at the right-hander, who threw 37 pitches in the middle of five hurlers on the Nats' back fields. Reporters from the New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer trekked across the state
Good morning from Viera, where the sun is shining and one of the most anticipated bullpen sessions in Grapefruit League history is less than two hours away. Stephen Strasburg will step on the mound this morning to throw a bullpen session, but if the event itself is mundane enough, the treatment it's receiving is not. ESPN is setting up camp today, its "Baseball Tonight" tour
Mike Rizzo met with the media at Space Coast Stadium a little earlier today, and if it wasn't an official State of the Team address, it certainly covered enough ground to function as one. Here is a transcript of what he had to say: On the general outlook of the team: "We're confident that we improved out product. We think we've got a good bunch
Greetings (for the first time) from Space Coast Stadium, where I've finally arrived at Nationals spring training. No interesting travel stories, other than an Avis line that lasted about half as long as my flight, so we'll get right to it: Ross Detwiler is in camp, hopping around on crutches after surgery earlier in the week to repair a torn right hip flexor. The left-hander
First time blogging while waiting for makeup... Anyway, a quick bit of news: The Nationals won their arbitration hearing with reliever Sean Burnett, two days after winning a hearing with fellow reliever Brian Bruney. Burnett, who asked for $925,000, will get $775,000. Washington traded for the left-hander last June, and he posted a 3.20 ERA in 33 appearances for the Nationals after making 38 appearances
Hello from BWI International Airport, where I'm killing time on the set of MASN's commercial shoot for spring training. It promises to be a fun day, and for those of you keenly interested in mocking my performance, that opportunity should be available to you soon. As I've said, I'll be in Viera tomorrow, but I'll have some things to pass along from the Chien-Ming Wang
Apologies for not posting this earlier -- I've been tied up with some other MASN stuff today that kept me away from the computer for quite a while -- but I just wanted to get a quick post up to analyze what today's news about Ross Detwiler means. Detwiler, as you've probably heard by now, had surgery on Monday to repair a tear in his
Thanks to everybody who submitted music suggestions yesterday -- you can still chime in here. I'll probably dive into some of the stuff you suggested later this afternoon. It's so nice to have a large batch of suggestions to check out -- seems like you can always get that from discussing music with a big group. Anyway, on to today's installment of our weekly series
UPDATED AT 4:45 P.M.: The Nationals agreed to a minor-league contract with reliever Ron Villone, who was 5-6 with a 4.25 ERA in 63 appearances for them last year, on Wednesday. The 40-year-old will get an invite to major-league spring training, and it wouldn't surprise me if he makes the team. Jim Riggleman is fond of Villone, and it's conceivable he snags one of the
Since the Nationals walled off a spot for Jesus Flores on their 2007 roster, there has been little question they saw in him a 10-year answer at the catching position. When free agent pickup Paul Lo Duca started slow, then got hurt in 2008, they gave Flores the starting spot, and Lo Duca became a $5 million utility player before he was cut in August.
The Nationals, thought for the better part of a week to be the favorites to land free agent pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, got their man. They have agreed to a contract with the former Yankees right-hander, according to a team source, and will announce the move in a Friday press conference at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla. Wang, who turns 30 on March 31, has
There are many metrics by which to measure how much the Nationals' bullpen has changed since this time last year, when former GM Jim Bowden entered spring training with a devil-may-care attitude toward the untested group of relievers he'd assembled. But the most telling one might be this: Four relievers in Washington's 2010 big-league camp have more career saves than Joel Hanrahan - who went
Seeking a veteran option who could make the team as a fourth outfielder, the Nationals added to their growing supply of spring training invitees on Monday, signing former A's outfielder Willy Taveras to a minor league deal, according to a team source. The A's released Taveras last week shortly after acquiring him in a trade with the Reds, and will have to pay the bulk
With the Nationals' pitchers and catchers reporting to Viera, Fla., on Friday, we've got five days (counting today) to preview, analyze and dissect what might happen before it gives way to what is happening. So with that in mind, I've decided to spend a little time each day highlighting one of the five storylines I'm most interested in this spring. I'll take a specific topic
In less than a week, I'll be in Viera, Florida, covering Nationals spring training for the third time. But this one is going to be a little different than the last two. As most of you know, I spent the last two seasons covering the team for the Washington Times, where spring training coverage was dictated in part by the confines of print space. That's
With the snowstorms that battered Washington for the better part of a week finally out of the way, the Nationals were finally able to give second baseman Adam Kennedy a physical on Friday and announce perhaps the worst-kept secret of their offseason: that they've signed Kennedy to a one-year deal for the 2010 season. Kennedy, who will make $1.25 million this season and stands to
Good morning. One bit of Nats news to pass along this morning. The team has signed outfielder Elijah Dukes to a contract for 2010 worth $444,000. It's a small pay bump for Dukes, who made $411,500 last season and will be arbitration-eligible after this year. The Nationals are in the process of signing players with less than three years of service time to contracts for
The Nationals remain among the teams in play for free agent pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, according to a source familiar with the situation; but they have not reached a deal with the former Yankees pitcher, who isn't likely to decide on a team for the next 7-10 days. Reports early this morning had the Nationals close to a deal with the pitcher, but the source said
You might want to hold onto those pitching staff projections just a little longer. According to a source familiar with the situation, the Nationals are one of the teams that's "way ahead of the pack" in pursuit of free-agent pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. The 29-year-old Taiwanese pitcher, who won 19 games for the Yankees in both 2006 and 2007 but made just 24 starts in 2008-09
We're inside of two weeks until pitchers and catchers report now, and with an enjoyable-if-not-classic Super Bowl behind us, the baseball season officially enjoys an unobstructed view on the sports horizon. Well, maybe that's a little less true in an Olympic year. But you get my point: It's getting close. In that spirit, I wanted to kick around an issue that many of you asked
Hey everybody--don't have any Nats news for you this afternoon, and I don't expect there to be any, because the sports world is focused on other things. So I'm writing for another reason: I'm curious to hear your Super Bowl predictions. And I'm not just talking about the score. Any stabs at The Who's halftime set list? Over/under on the number of times we see
With the signing of Adam Kennedy, the Nationals' middle infield looks a lot more stable for the 2010 season than it did earlier in the week. But what about how it looks for the future? Barring an injury or a scenario in which Ian Desmond overtakes Cristian Guzman at shortstop, the Nationals look like they will open the season with Kennedy at second and Guzman
Unable to get free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson, the Nationals wasted little time moving on to their next option to fortify their middle infield for the 2010 season. The team agreed late last night to a one-year deal with former A's second baseman Adam Kennedy, who will likely start at second base, keeping Cristian Guzman at shortstop and giving Ian Desmond more time to
The Nationals, it appears, will have to move a spot down their list of middle infield options; Orlando Hudson isn't coming to Washington. According to league sources, the free agent second baseman is either headed to the Twins or the Indians, with the Twins appearing to be the front-runner. The Nationals had acknowledged interest in Hudson and had made an offer believed to be upwards
Good morning--hope you're enjoying your last day before the Washington metro area is once again under siege from bucketloads of snow and media hysteria. Wait, the media hysteria has already started? OK, moving on then... Not a whole lot of Nats news to pass on this morning; we're still playing the Orlando Hudson waiting game. But I'll pass along another link from Joe Christensen of
Here is the recap from Tuesday's Nats chat. -- We're going to chat about the Nationals at 3 p.m. today--stop by and ask all the burning Nats questions on your mind. You can do that in one of four ways: --Leave them in the comments section of this post, --E-mail them to me at ben@masnstudios.com, --Message them to me on Twitter (if they're 140 characters
Hey Nats fans--just wanted to call your attention to a few new bells and whistles around here, and get your take on the best time for a live chat in the next day or so: --First, MASN is updating my landing page--and a name for the blog is coming within the next few days. It's looking like one of the ones mentioned in the suggestions
When January passed the baton to February 12 hours ago, it meant one thing to most of us who follow baseball: Pitchers and catchers report this month. As I sit there and type those words, I'm met with a rush of optimism that rolls around this time every year. The Hot Stove thing is fun for a while, but by this point, it needs to
