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I only caught the last few innings of the Nationals' 7-1 win over the Marlins on Friday, so I'll keep this pretty limited. But Friday night was another big win for a team that's quickly making a habit of playing solid baseball on the road. Washington is 6-4 on the road this season, and could close up its third road series win of the year
Just got home from dinner with my wife and a couple great friends - taking most of a night away from baseball for the first time in a while. So then I get home, flip the game on and get caught up. Gee, I guess Ryan Zimmerman's back, huh? Another good night for Scott Olsen - six shutout innings and only 26 batters faced. If
Here are the lineups for tonight's Nationals-Marlins game at Sun Life Stadium (that's what it's called now, right? It's not Pro Player Stadium, or LandShark Stadium, or Dolphins Stadium? Or how about SunProLandDolphins stadium?): Nationals: Morgan, cf Kennedy, 2b Zimmerman, 3b Dunn, 1b Willingham, lf Rodriguez, c Bernadina, rf Desmond, ss Olsen, lhp Marlins: Maybin, cf Coghlan, lf Ramirez, ss Cantu, 3b Uggla, 2b Paulino,
I'm killing time on a Friday afternoon on the web -- wow, so this is what people with 9-to-5 jobs do all day! -- so I thought I'd pass along a few thoughts and a couple worthwhile reads: --Tyler Clippard really has been that good. Here are a few nuggets from his FanGraphs page: His fastball (averaging 91.8 mph) and changeup (averaging 81.1 mph) are
I had this ready to go yesterday, but then Drew Storen got promoted to Syracuse and my minor-league updates on a bunch of other guys suddenly lost their newsiness. So I decided to save it for this morning, since there's nothing to take a Second Look at: I caught up with Nationals player development director Doug Harris for another round of minor-league updates, which I'm
Just a quick update on the get-together we're planning for Saturday (you can call it a tweetup if you want, but I don't want to make natsfan1a mad): The plan is to watch the Nats-Marlins game at Crystal City Sports Pub starting at 7 p.m. We've got some space tentatively booked on the second-floor porch, where we can watch the game and hang out. I'm
One of the Nationals' top prospects is a step closer to the major leagues. Reliever Drew Storen, taken 10th overall in the 2009 draft, was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse today. Storen, who had an 0.96 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings at Double-A Harrisburg this season, was ready for a new challenge, player development director Doug Harris said. "He was ready to go,"
The Nationals are off today, heading to Florida after taking the last two games from the Cubs at Wrigley Field despite scoring a combined six runs on 10 hits in that time. There's been a lot of talk this year about games the Nationals wouldn't have won last year, and these last two wins can safely be added to that pile. As I discussed in
It's difficult to explain all the ways this Nationals team is playing like the antithesis of the two squads that came before it. On Wednesday afternoon, there were plenty of stats at the disposal of anyone who wanted to try. After a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday afternoon, the numbers and superlatives had a breathless quality to them as they came flying
The Nationals are still up 3-2 on the Cubs after six innings, with Luis Atilano wriggling out of a jam in the fifth and getting a 1-2-3 sixth. He's pitched far enough into the game that the Nationals have a chance to get through the final three innings with their top relievers and win the series. Atilano, after spending too much time nibbling around the
The Nationals lead the Cubs 3-2 at Wrigley Field in the fourth inning, with Luis Atilano's second big-league start not going quite as smoothly as his first one. But Adam Dunn just broke the tie with a solo homer to left on a 3-1 pitch off Ryan Dempster. Atilano, who allowed one run in six innings in a win over the Dodgers last weekend, is
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. If you want to participate in the
If you've been itching to ask Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo a question, here's your chance. We're doing a fan Q-and-A with Rizzo for his weekly blog entry on MASNSports.com. Just leave your questions in the comments section, I'll gather them and pass them along to Rizzo, and he'll answer a handful of them in his post.
Stephen Strasburg's latest outing at Double-A Harrisburg was probably also his best: five no-hit innings, six strikeouts and only one baserunner - on a third strike turned passed ball. And just for good measure, he drove in the only run of the game, like the fifth-grader who's already shaving. "He was very good. That was like a Little League game," Nationals player development director Doug
With their 3-1 win over the Cubs on Tuesday night, the Nationals moved a game above .500 for the fifth time this year. They'll try and get two games over .500 for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, when Luis Atilano faces Ryan Dempster. But first, we're going to take a detailed look back at the win and analyze some of the keys to the
They have criss-crossed through the first month of the Nationals' surprising season like three celestial bodies, each leaving an indelible impression on a staff that, a year ago, didn't have any of them. But Livan Hernandez, Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps hadn't all pitched on the same night, until Tuesday. Once they did, the Nationals' most formulaic way to win games finally clicked into place.
The Nationals have a 2-1 lead on the Cubs after three innings, courtesy of a top-of-the-order attack that got going early tonight. Nyjer Morgan started the game with a triple to center, scoring on Ian Desmond's single to right. Then Desmond stole second, and scored on Cristian Guzman's triple. All that before Cubs starter Tom Gorzelanny got an out. The Chicago left-hander hasn't located his
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. If you want to participate in the
The Nationals take on the Cubs at Wrigley Field tonight, and while the Cubs' lineup isn't available yet, I've got the Nationals' lineup for tonight, which, again, doesn't include Ryan Zimmerman. My guess is the Nationals will hold him out until Friday, taking advantage of Thursday's off-day and the warmer weather in Florida to get his right hamstring back to full health. Here's the Nats'
Just wanted to pass along an update on right-hander Drew Storen, since I know plenty of you are probably clamoring for some bullpen help in the wake of last night's loss. After missing several days with a nasty case of strep throat, Storen is ready to go again. He needed time to regain some weight and get his arm back in shape, but could return
Two of the Nationals' last three losses have been in extra innings, both entirely preventable and thoroughly frustrating. Monday's 4-3 defeat against the Cubs, a 10-inning loss on a blustery night at Wrigley Field, came mostly because the Nationals failed to put the ball over the plate. John Lannan and Brian Bruney both walked in runs, and the Nationals' fifth chance to go two games
Every day, win or lose, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman usually talks about how his team has yet to hit its stride. The reasons are simple - the Nationals are still playing without Ryan Zimmerman, and the players they have in the lineup aren't yet producing mass quantities of runs. But the biggest reason cropped up again tonight, after going absent for most of the Nationals'
The Nationals and Cubs are tied at three after six innings, and much of that has to do with John Lannan's ability to settle down during the middle innings. He retired six of seven in the fourth and fifth innings, giving the Nationals a chance to tie the game up on Wil Nieves' RBI single. Lannan got better control of his fastball just as Carlos
The Nationals and Cubs have played three innings in Chicago, and the Nationals trail 3-2. John Lannan, fighting cold temperatures and swirling winds, hasn't found the strike zone much. Lannan has thrown 53 pitches in the first three innings, walking in a run in the second inning. He's walked four and given up four hits, missing on the left side of the plate repeatedly. It's
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Cubs game at Wrigley Field. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. If you want to participate in the
Good afternoon from Northern Virginia, where I'm missing a Nationals game for the first time in the regular season and the fourth time since camp broke. I'm not on the road this week (a few of you have asked, and I'm making some, but not all, of the road trips this year). But I'll still be blogging from home and doing the live chat as
After beating the Dodgers 1-0 on Sunday, the Nationals are 10-9 and finished a homestand against the Brewers, Rockies and Dodgers - who have a combined four playoff appearances in the last two years - with a 6-4 record. It was an important milestone for this team, because of who they beat and also because of how they did it. The Nationals managed to put
The new attitude, or new culture, or whatever nebulous concept the Nationals are attributing to the sea change in their results early this season, got put in a crucible time and again on Sunday. They took a 1-0 lead, earned by an offense missing its best player, protected by a pitcher coming off shoulder surgery and fortified by a defense that was the worst in
The Nationals lead the Dodgers 1-0 in the sixth inning here today, having scored the game's only run on an RBI groundout by Adam Dunn in the first inning. Throughout the game, Scott Olsen has been sharp, throwing 62 strikes in 88 pitches thus far. He's struck out seven batters, only getting in trouble once (a bases-loaded jam in the first inning). Olsen said after
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Dodgers game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. If you want to participate in the
Lineups first: Dodgers: Furcal - SS Martin - C Kemp - CF Loney - 1B Blake - 3B Belliard - 2B Anderson - LF Johnson - RF Billingsley - P Nationals: Morgan - CF Kennedy - 3B Guzman - 2B Dunn - 1B Willingham - LF Rodriguez - C Desmond - SS Maxwell- RF Olsen - P Just a couple pregame updates: Ryan Zimmerman is
Forty-five minutes after the Nationals' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers had ended on Saturday evening, as players showered and headed home for the night, Pat from D.C. called in to the Nationals' radio post-game show. He proceeded to say that for the first time since 2005, he'd watched the Nationals lose a game on Saturday that pained him, that tipped one way when it
You can't say the Nationals aren't getting their chances against Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw today. He's walked three, thrown a wild pitch and committed a balk in just four innings, in addition to giving up four hits. But to this point, all that wildness from Kershaw has led to just one run. Craig Stammen has given up two, and the Nationals trail 2-1 after four.
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Dodgers game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. If you want to participate in the
I've got to knock this out quick and get downstairs for the start of the Saturday work day, so I'll get right to it: Golden Geese Adam Dunn: The first baseman had been in a long slump, fouling off some good pitches and looking at others. But manager Jim Riggleman kept saying he believed Dunn was close to breaking out of it. On Friday, he
Can you think of a time, in the last two years, when the Nationals would have gotten a game to play out this way? When three errors, a ball lost in the lights and a screwy double play wouldn't reduce the foundations of a win to rubble? When a slumping slugger would regain his power stroke at exactly the same time a rookie pitcher was
All week, Jim Riggleman has been fielding questions about Adam Dunn's prolonged slump. And all week, he has said how he believes his cleanup hitter is close to turning it around. Whether or not Dunn has done that is a question that won't be answered for a few more days. But he gave some convincing evidence in the fourth inning here tonight. Dunn just blasted
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Dodgers game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs. Dodgers 4/23 in-game thread
Jason Marquis was back with the Nationals on Friday after getting a second opinion on his elbow in Cincinnati on Thursday, confident he'll be able to pitch without surgery and return sooner than the six-week prognosis the Nationals released on Thursday night. Marquis got a cortisone shot yesterday to relieve the inflammation caused by bone chips in his elbow, and will begin a throwing program
Just wanted to throw this out there and let you know about a couple get-togethers I'm planning in the next week. --First, some folks from our live chats are planning to meet up in the Red Loft on Saturday before the Nationals' 1:05 game against the Dodgers. I'll pop in around noon and hang out for a while before the game. Come say hello if
The Nationals announced Jason Bergmann has cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse this afternoon. Bergmann, who was designated for assignment on April 15, had a 15.43 ERA in four games this season. Washington had taken a few trade inquiries about the right-hander, but didn't strike a deal before having to put Bergmann on waivers. They'll send him to the minors and hope he
The Nats' lineup for tonight's game against the Dodgers is out, so here you go: Morgan 8 Kennedy 4 Guzman 6 Dunn 3 Willingham 7 Rodriguez 2 Harris 5 Maxwell 9 Atilano 1 No Ryan Zimmerman again today, as Jim Riggleman said last night. The Nationals will face Dodgers knuckleballer Charlie Haeger tonight. A couple other things: --Jason Bergmann is on waivers, and will learn
We're breaking down the Nationals' 2-0 loss to the Rockies this morning, taking a look at a few things you might have missed and discussing what themes we can pull out of the game going forward. A couple links first: Here's my game story, which focused on the role of an ace like the Rockies' Ubaldo Jimenez. The news on Jason Marquis' and Ryan Zimmerman's
A couple quick injury updates: --The Nationals got their second opinion back on right-hander Jason Marquis' elbow on Thursday; Dr. Tim Kremchek, who examined Marquis in Cincinnati, determined Marquis will not need surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow. Marquis had a cortisone shot and will not throw for 7-10 days; after that, he will begin a throwing program that will have him
There is no shame, and little complexity, in the kind of loss the Nationals sustained on Thursday afternoon. They ran into perhaps the most certain thing in baseball, an ace that is pitching so well, he reduces the game to a handful of missed chances and many more long faces, shaking heads and respectful platitudes from beaten opponents. It's the most valuable commodity in the
We're through 5 1/2 innings at Nationals Park, and the final game of a four-game series between the Nationals and Rockies has played out pretty much as planned: Livan Hernandez has been sharp, but Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez - one start after a no-hitter - has been almost that good today, and if the Nationals are going to win their third game of this series,
A reminder: Today's Nats-Rockies in-game thread is in our GameZone space, which you can find here. That's going to be the permanent home for it, if you want to bookmark the link. There, you can get stats, pitcher-vs.-batter matchup data, pitch tracking and more, in addition to chatting about the game. And you can follow any game in the major leagues there, too. Talk to
A few quick pregame items before the Nats and Rockies get started: --Ryan Zimmerman is out of the lineup today, and available to pinch hit, though manager Jim Riggleman decided not to push it with Zimmerman. He composed the lineup before Zimmerman got to the ballpark, and his decision was validated when Zimmerman said his right hamstring felt a little sore. "To this point, I'm
Caught up with GM Mike Rizzo this afternoon, and I've got a couple minor-league updates for you out of that: --Catcher Derek Norris, who broke his left hamate bone last October and bruised his left wrist sliding into second base in spring training, was placed on the 7-day DL at Single-A Potomac, retroactive to April 19. "He had a little setback," Rizzo said. "He has
Here is the Nationals' lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Rockies. I'll update this with Colorado's lineup when I have it: Nationals: Morgan 8 Guzman 9 Harris 7 Dunn 3 Pudge 2 Kennedy 4 Desmond 6 Gonzalez 5 Hernandez 1
Here is the weekly minor-league report from Nats PR man Bill Gluvna, who is a treasure trove of information on all things Syracuse, Harrisburg, Potomac, Hagerstown, Vermont and Viera. Seriously, if you're ever stuck in any of those cities, consider the dude your walking version of AAA, Yelp and OnStar, all in one. Well, maybe not. But he does know his minor-league stuff. Anyway, here's
The Nationals are back on the right side of .500, and they did it the hard way on Wednesday night. John Lannan was unable to throw strikes all night, putting the Nationals in an early 3-0 hole before he settled down. They took a 4-3 lead with the help of some mistakes by the Rockies, but missed a chance to extend it when Nyjer Morgan
The Nationals' 6-4 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night wasn't without its casualties; Ryan Zimmerman pulled up with a right hamstring cramp in the seventh inning while running out a double. And after the game, the team announced that starter Jason Marquis is headed to the 15-day disabled list after an MRI arthogram showed loose bodies in his right elbow (In English, per
To the naked eye - one that hasn't watched hundreds, if not thousands of prospects with the innate ability to resist the hype that might envelop lesser men - it might seem as though Stephen Strasburg declared himself ready for bigger things on Wednesday. Not to Mike Rizzo. The Nationals' general manager watched Strasburg allow one hit in five shutout innings while striking out six
First, the Nationals trail the Rockies 3-0 through 2 1/2 innings; rough start for John Lannan so far. He just gave up a homer to Brad Hawpe on a 3-2 pitch, trying to throw a curveball to a lefty and leaving it up in the zone. For a left-handed pitcher, he's still struggling with lefties, and needs to get better with his changeup against
It's been a slow, rainy day here at Nationals Park. But the tarp is coming off the field, and the forecast looks manageable for game time, so we should get this one in between the Nationals and Rockies. Just a couple pregame notes: --Pudge Rodriguez has the night off; he told manager Jim Riggleman he wanted to stay with Livan Hernandez, since the right-hander has
Rainy day at Nationals Park today, but the forecast would indicate we'll get this one in. When/if it starts, here are the lineups: Rockies: Gonzalez - LF Fowler- CF Giambi - 1B Tulowitzki - SS Hawpe - RF Mora - 3B Iannetta - C Barmes - 2B Hammel - P Nationals: Morgan - CF Guzman - SS Zimmerman - 3B Dunn - 1B Willingham -
Stephen Strasburg is pitching this morning in Harrisburg against the Reading Phillies. For those of you who can't follow it, I'll provide some updates here: First inning: Strasburg gets through the first in three batters in order. He got two groundouts and a foul out, throwing 10 pitches (seven for strikes) and hitting 98 mph on the radar gun. He's made a habit of working
I'm making an executive decision this morning to run an abbreviated version of Second Look today -- on account of the fact I don't have much more to say about last night's game than I did in the game story. I'm just going to get straight to the Talking Points section and come back with an thread for updates from Stephen Strasburg's start up in
Through 14 games of the 2010 season, the Nationals are, in some ways, the epitome of an average team. They've won as many as they've lost. They rank in the upper third of the National League in some categories, the lower third in a few and the middle in most. They are consistently inconsistent, which is better than being consistently unwatchable. But how - and
We're in the seventh at Nationals Park, and as they did on Sunday against the Brewers, the Nationals are chipping away at the big deficit their pitcher handed them early. They trail 10-4, scoring a couple in the fifth on a homer by Ryan Zimmerman and manufacturing two more runs in the sixth. The most encouraging thing there was the parties that were involved; Justin
Didn't we just do this on Sunday? The Nationals are staring down a 10-run deficit for the second time in three days, and while it took their pitchers longer to create this one, they've also got less time to get out of it. Scott Olsen is gone after allowing six runs on seven hits in two-plus innings. His fastball had little movement on it most
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Rockies game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs. Rockies 4/20 in-game thread
We'll get to the lineups for tonight's Nationals-Rockies game in a little bit. But I wanted to touch first on the backdrop on which tonight's game will be played: the grief the Rockies are dealing with following the death of their team president. Keli McGregor, who had been with the Rockies since their inception in 1993 and was named team president in 2001, was found
Nats player development director Doug Harris is at Nationals Park this week for part of the team's homestand, checking in with the mothership before he goes back out on the road. Harris, who lives in Carlisle, Penn., a half-hour from the Nats' Double-A affiliate in Harrisburg, will head back for Stephen Strasburg's next start at Harrisburg on Wednesday morning. So with him in town, I
In their first five years in Washington, the Nationals have been anything from cautious to cavalier in their attitude toward the running game. But the effect, under that spectrum of approaches, has remained minimal. Only once in five years have the Nationals ranked among the National League's top five teams in stolen bases. That came in 2006, when Alfonso Soriano reached the 40/40 mark and
The Nationals climbed back over .500 with a 5-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night at Nationals Park, and we're here this morning to analyze some of the finer points from the game in Second Look. Let's get right into it: Golden Geese Craig Stammen: The right-hander pitched 1 1/3 innings in his last start, with his adrenaline-fueled delivery leading him to overthrow
It's easy to typecast Craig Stammen's entire approach to baseball by his personality - easygoing kid from Ohio, with boyish good looks and attention to manners, overcomes low profile with hard work and climbs all the way to the majors. You've seen that character in a thousand feel-good sports movies. You can even write your own version of the clichéd script - (Grizzled high school
There's been a very simple, almost predictable logic to the Nationals' wins this year. When their starting pitcher goes at least five innings, they're 6-0. When he doesn't, they're 0-6. That looks like it could be true again tonight. On the back of a solid outing from Craig Stammen, the Nationals lead 5-2 in the seventh inning. Stammen has pitched seven innings, allowing two runs
Yesterday, after he became just the fifth major-league pitcher in the last eight years to allow four runs without recording an out, Jason Marquis went to the batting cage underneath Nationals Park to throw some more. Then he went to his apartment and watched video. This morning, he watched some more video at his apartment, and still more when he came to the ballpark. Then
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Rockies game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=cd69383e56" >Nats vs. Brewers 4/19 in-game
Rockies: Gonzalez, cf Smith, lf Helton, 1b Tulowitzki, ss Hawpe, rf Olivo, c Stewart, 3b Barmes, 2b Cook, p Nationals: Morgan, cf Kennedy, 2b Zimmerman, 3b Dunn, 1b Willingham, lf Rodriguez, c Harris, rf Desmond, ss Stammen, p
The main topic of conversation today has been Jason Marquis, and I'll have a more lengthy blog item coming on him in a little bit. But in the meantime, here are a couple notes before the game: --Garrett Mock is back at Nationals Park, and was playing catch before today's game. Manager Jim Riggleman said Mock is confident he's getting better, and is now guessing
Welcome back to Second Look, our day-after analysis of the previous day's Nationals game. Today, we're breaking down the Nationals' 11-7 loss to the Brewers on Sunday. Let's get right into it: Golden Geese Ivan Rodriguez: The catcher has been nothing short of outstanding at the beginning of the year. He was 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI on Sunday, and leads the National
After concluding the worst start of his career - and by many metrics, the worst start in Nationals history - Jason Marquis repaired to the batting cages inside Nationals Park, hoping to repair whatever was wrong with his haywire delivery. With pitching coach Steve McCatty by his side, the right-hander kept throwing pitches, making up - from a pure workload standpoint - for the ones
For three of the four innings completed in today's Nationals-Brewers game, the Nationals have played head-to-head with the Brewers, outscoring them by a run. The problem was the first inning. Before he recorded an out, Jason Marquis effectively killed the Nationals' chances of getting their fourth straight win. Actually, that should be amended, because Marquis didn't record an out; he allowed seven runs on four
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Brewers game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=63a88ffde0" >Nats vs. Brewers 4/18 in-game
I'll keep this quick, but just wanted to pass along updates on a couple alumni of NatsTown you might be curious about: --Jon Rauch, appointed the Minnesota Twins' closer with Joe Nathan out for the year, has come rocketing out of the gates for the AL Central leaders. He is 6-for-6 in saves, leading the American League, and has a 1.50 ERA. Rauch saved 17
Brewers: Weeks - 2B Counsell - SS Braun - LF Fielder - 1B McGehee - 3B Edmonds - RF Zaun - C Gomez - CF Davis - P Nationals: Taveras - CF Guzman - SS Zimmerman - 3B Dunn - 1B Willingham - LF Rodriguez - C Maxwell - RF Kennedy - 2B Marquis - P
The oldest battery the Nationals have ever started a game with has been together before, lumped on the same list of reasons why, pundits said, the team wouldn't be any better this year. Ivan Rodriguez and Livan Hernandez were reaches, unwise investments, players who were past their primes but who were being put on the field to compensate for ones who had not yet reached
It's been an unbelievable week for Justin Maxwell. At the beginning of it, his daughter Liana Joy was born. In the middle of it, he was called up to the major leagues. And at the end of it, he's hit his first home run of the year in the majors. Maxwell's two-run homer in the second inning extended the Nationals' lead to 3-0, which is
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Brewers game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=1017bcc63e" >Nats vs. Brewers 4/17 in-game
A happy Saturday morning to you from Nationals Park, where the Nationals start the second game of their series against the Brewers at 1:05 today. It's going to be a bit of a busy morning for me, so I'm going to peck away at this as I have time. But we'll get right to it. Golden Geese Josh Willingham: The left fielder reached base in
Brewers: Weeks - 2B Counsell - SS Braun - LF Fielder - 1B McGehee - 3B Edmonds - CF Hart - RF Kottaras - C Wolf - P Nationals: Morgan - CF Guzman - 2B Zimmerman - 3B Dunn - 1B Willingham - LF Desmond - SS Rodriguez - C Maxwell - RF Hernandez - P
The Nationals played their 10th game of the season on Friday night, their fifth without third baseman Ryan Zimmerman in the starting lineup. They lost first baseman Adam Dunn in the first inning, courtesy of a disputed check swing call, a Frisbee-flicked helmet and an ensuing ejection. They entered the eighth inning trailing for the second day in a row, and once again, scored three
Quick minor-league update: They're underway in Harrisburg after a rain delay - and, rumor has it, a power failure - but Stephen Strasburg seems intent on making up for lost time. He got through the first inning in six pitches, and still managed a strikeout in there. You can listen to the game here. UPDATE AT 11:14: The rain delay got the best of Strasburg's
We're through six at Nationals Park, and the game is still tied, this time at two. The Nationals pulled even on a Josh Willingham homer in the bottom of the sixth, but they've stranded five runners in scoring position, including Nyjer Morgan for the third time tonight when Cristian Guzman grounded into a double play moments ago. John Lannan exited after his best start of
We've played three innings at Nationals Park here tonight, and the Nationals and Brewers are tied at a run apiece. But the Nationals missed a chance in the third inning to take a bigger lead. They tied the game at one on Nyjer Morgan's triple, which scored Wil Nieves, and Willie Harris followed with a one-out walk. But Harris got caught in a rundown at
Ryan Zimmerman's sore left hamstring is still sore. He is still not in the lineup. He is available to pinch hit. He does not know when he's able to return - it could be tomorrow, it could be Sunday, but it won't be before his hamstring is completely healed. The status of Zimmerman's injury is, well, status quo. All his pinch-hit homer on Thursday did
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Brewers game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=b0266c8f28" >Nats vs. Brewers 4/16 in-game
Back at Nationals Park tonight for the start of one of three 10-game homestands the Nationals have this year. The first game is a matchup of struggling aces -- the Nationals' John Lannan against the Brewers' Yovani Gallardo. Here are the full lineups: Brewers: Weeks - 2B Hart - RF Braun - LF Fielder - 1B McGehee - 3B Gomez - CF Zaun - C
Welcome to a new feature we're trying out on MASNSports.com this morning. It's called Second Look, and it's a spot to revisit a few details from the previous days game you might have missed, as well as talk about what themes came out of the game that might be important going forward. There will be a few different components to this: the Golden Geese and
PHILADELPHIA| After the Nationals' 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday - a game where a team that had scored two runs after the fourth inning all season suddenly erupted for six after the seventh inning - manager Jim Riggleman was asked if he believed in clutch. Riggleman, ever eager for lively baseball debate, reclined slightly in his chair as he does when he
I'm hacking away at a game story right now, and will have that for you in a few minutes. But in the meantime, I wanted to draw your attention to a couple things on the site: --A number of you have asked about real-time commenting, where you can post on entries without the lag time from having to approve comments first, and I'm happy to
There's this great old graphic they used to put up in the Metrodome during Twins games. It's a picture of a ghost with a quote bubble that simply says, "Walks will haunt." So true. It's been a consistent problem for the Nationals all season -- they came into today's game having walked 44 batters, second-worst in the National League. And after a game they've fought
PHILADELPHIA | We're through three innings here at Citizens Bank Park, and I'm trying a new wrinkle to our in-game coverage today. Well, it's not all that new -- I did the same thing during in-game threads last year at the Washington Times. But for those of you who aren't into the in-game thread, here's a quick update: The Phillies and Nationals are tied at
Busy day today at Citizens Bank Park. A couple more little things before the game: --Justin Maxwell is back with the Nationals, concluding a whirlwind week for the outfielder. His second child, Liana Joy, was born on Monday morning, so Maxwell drove his 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix from Syracuse to Frederick, Md., to be with his wife Loren. The couple's baby was born Monday morning,
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs. Phillies 4/15 in-game thread
The Nationals voided the option of right-hander Garrett Mock this morning, instead putting him on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 11 with a right cervical spine disc injury. Mock was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse after his only start of the season. He stayed with the team through Monday to throw a bullpen session in preparation for his next start, which would have been
The Nationals called up Scott Olsen this morning, as expected. And the corresponding move was almost as predictable: reliever Jason Bergmann was designated for assignment and will head to Triple-A Syracuse if he clears waivers. Jason Bergmann discusses getting designated for assignment Bergmann gave up a key homer to Shane Victorino in Wednesday's loss to the Phillies. He made the team out of spring training
Nationals: Morgan, cf Desmond, ss Guzman, 2b Dunn, 1b Willingham, lf Rodriguez, c Maxwell, rf Gonzalez, 3b Olsen, lhp Phillies: Victorino, cf Polanco, 3b Utley, 2b Howard, 1b Werth, rf Ibanez, lf Castro, ss Ruiz, c Happ, lhp
PHILADELPHIA | The anniversary of one of the ugliest weekends - and swiftest responses - in Nationals history is drawing close, with the team set to begin a 10-game homestand 364 days after a fateful series against the Florida Marlins, during which Washington became the first team in major-league history to lose three straight games it led at the start of the ninth inning. At
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs. Phillies 4/14 in-game thread
PHILADELPHIA | Back at Citizens Bank Park today. Here are the lineups for tonight's Nationals-Phillies game: Nationals: Morgan, cf Harris, rf Guzman, ss Dunn, 1b Willingham, lf Kennedy, 2b Rodriguez, c Goznalez, 3b Stammen, rhp Phillies: Victorino, cf Polanco, 3b Utley, 2b Howard, 1b Dobbs, rf Ibanez, lf Castro, ss Ruiz, c Kendrick, rhp
First disclaimer: I may have subconsciously ripped off this title from Peter King. Second disclaimer: What follows will be an attempt - though hopefully a measured attempt - to draw conclusions based on 4.3 percent of the season. If you're still up for reading this after that, let's go: The Nationals have the worst average in the National League (.218), but their walk-to-strikeout ratio (0.56)
With baseball's First-Year Player Draft still almost two months away, the perception in some circles around the game is the Nationals won't have as easy a choice with the No. 1 pick this season as they did last year, when they took right-hander Stephen Strasburg first overall. That's not how the Nationals are approaching it. Barring an injury or a drastic change, the Nationals will
PHILADELPHIA | If the point wasn't clear when the Nationals started their 2010 season in a downpour of boos and unprintables from Philadelphia Phillies fans that invaded their park on Opening Day, it became clear on Monday. As the Nationals try to transform themselves from a last-place club to a respectable one, these Phillies are, more likely than not, going to be sitting at the
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Mets game at Citi Field. I'll have updates and analysis throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV or following online, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs. Phillies 4/12 in-game thread
Couple injury updates from Philadelphia: Catcher Jesus Flores, who has been out all season while trying to rehab from surgery to repair a torn labrum, has been cleared by Dr. James Andrews to start a 4-6 week throwing program tomorrow, and he'll start swinging a bat soon after that. General manager Mike Rizzo said Flores has been doing conditioning, treatments and weight-lifting with the team's
Hello from Citizens Bank Park, where the Nationals take on the Phillies in their home opener at 3 p.m. Those fan buses are barreling up Interstate-95 as I write this, right? Sorry, sore subject. Anyway, lineups: Nationals: Morgan, cf Taveras, rf Guzman, 2b Dunn, 1b Willingham, lf Desmond, ss Rodriguez, c Kennedy, 3b Marquis, rhp Phillies: Rollins, ss Polanco, 3b Utley, 2b Howatd, 1b Werth,
There are two fronts on which Stephen Strasburg's first meaningful game must be evaluated, and Nationals player development director has no problem identifying and separating them. The first is the actual performance - how Strasburg's mechanics were, what he did in situations against hitters, etc. On that front, Harris had only minor teaching points; Strasburg's lower half was too quick through the gathering phase of
NEW YORK | The Nationals are 3-3, and if that seems insignificant - well, it is, in the course of 162 games. But consider how little it takes to play .500 baseball this early in the season, when hot streaks carry more value than they should and a good pitching performance or two is enough to inspire optimism. Now consider how long it's been since
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Mets game at Citi Field. I'll have updates and analysis here throughout the game. Kristen Hudak and Byron Kerr will also check in with updates from Altoona, Pa., where Stephen Strasburg makes his minor-league debut today for Double-A Harrisburg. And whether you're just watching either game on TV, following online or attending in person, you can participate by
NEW YORK | Lots of news this morning, so we'll just get right to it: --The Nationals optioned starter Garrett Mock to Triple-A Syracuse this morning to make room for Livan Hernandez, who pitches today against the Mets. Manager Jim Riggleman said the Nationals will likely make Scott Olsen the new fifth starter, calling him up in time to pitch Thursday against the Phillies and
NEW YORK | For all the attributes scouts and sabermetricians have quantified, confidence remains one of the few uncharted frontiers in the evaluation of a baseball player. It's rolled into scouts' loosely-defined "makeup" category, but for the most part, there's little way to measure what makes some players fail while players of equal or lesser talent succeed. And whether they should or not, the 2010
NEW YORK | Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman left Saturday's win over the Mets in the sixth inning with tightness in his left hamstring, sitting out the last three innings as a precautionary move to rest an injury he said had been bugging him for several days. Zimmerman could miss a few days, though he said he'd wait to see how he feels tomorrow. "It's nothing
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Mets game at Citi Field. I'll have updates and analysis here throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV, following it online or attending in person, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs.
Tomorrow, the Nationals will call up Livan Hernandez to be their fifth starter, and will have to clear a spot on their 25-man roster for him. Who they'll take off the roster remains an unknown, and there are still several ways the Nationals could go with the move. They've been carrying eight relievers so far this season, and the expectation has been they would send
NEW YORK | Where did the Nationals' 8-2 loss to the New York Mets on Friday night go wrong? Was it with Garrett Mock, who needed 84 pitches to get through 3 1/3 innings and walked half as many batters as he retired? Was it with a group of relievers that gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings? Or did none of it matter
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Mets game at Citi Field. I'll have updates and analysis here throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV, following it online or attending in person, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs.
NEW YORK - First, the Nationals' and Mets' lineups for tonight; Nationals: Morgan - CF Harris - RF Zimmerman - 3B Dunn - 1B Willingham - LF Kennedy - 2B Rodriguez - C Desmond - SS Mock - P Mets: Pagan - CF Cora - 2B Wright - 3B Bay - LF Jacobs - 1B Francoeur - RF Barajas - C Tejeda - SS Pelfrey
Of all the road trips a baseball writer takes throughout the course of a season -- rent-a-cars and regional jets, layovers and late departures -- the train ride to New York is probably my favorite. As a Midwesterner that's still relatively new to the East Coast baseball canon, there's still something nostalgic for me about getting on a train, watching cities whiz by out the
Jim Riggleman could tick off the names on the lineup card and see what was coming, like mile markers leading up to an accident down the freeway. The Nationals manager had a remade bullpen, protecting its first lead of the year, that was going to be put through as tough a test as it will see all season. The Nationals' first homestand last season ended
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals-Phillies game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis here throughout the game, and whether you're just watching the game on TV, following it online or attending in person, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. Nats vs.
When the Nationals named Ian Desmond their starting shortstop and announced their intentions to make Cristian Guzman a utility player, there were some concerns about how Guzman would handle the move, and with good reason. Guzman is an 11-year veteran who'd never played a position other than shortstop in the majors, and with the 32-year-old in the last year of a contract that would pay
There's nothing terribly pressing in this blog post - I mostly want to test out our swanky new website and my ability to blog from my BlackBerry - but here are a couple injury updates: --Mike Morse, who strained his left calf while catching a fly ball last night, is available tonight on an emergency basis. Jim Riggleman said he wants to avoid making Morse
The gap between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Nationals is forged on nights like these, when the Nationals' pitchers speak with satisfaction about their work, but for a few pitches, and when Washington's hitters do just enough things right to talk about how they're not that far away from competing with the two-time National League champions. But the gap exists because in most of these
Welcome to MASN's live thread for tonight's Nationals-Phillies game at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis here throughout the night, and whether you're just watching the game on TV, following it online or attending in person, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll be included in the chat. <a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=c88019d720"
Those who have watched John Lannan pitch for the last two years have no doubts about his bona fides as a major league starter: his high number of quality starts, his ability to stop a losing streak, his resolve when put in a tenuous situation. He has acted and pitched like their version of an ace, and the Nationals have believed in him as such;
We'll have more substantive baseball content later in the day, but first, it's time to name the winners of our two spring contests: the guess-the-rotation game and MASN's group in ESPN's Tournament Challenge. The guess-the-rotation contest got a little tricky once Ross Detwiler got injured - so basically, the first day of the spring. But things got even more complicated when the Nationals signed Livan
Baseball teams are endowed to begin seasons with certain inalienable rights: to hang bunting from the railings, to introduce everyone from clubhouse attendance to cleanup hitters, the latter with a volley of fireworks worthy of a national holiday, to invite dignitaries to throw out the first pitch, and in the case of the Nationals, to get the leader of the free world to drive halfway
Welcome to MASN's live thread for Opening Day -- the Nationals against the Phillies this afternoon at Nationals Park. I'll have updates and analysis here throughout the day, and whether you're just watching the game on TV, following it online or attending in person, you can participate by commenting in this thread. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can tag tweets with #masnnats, and they'll
The bunting is on the rails, the sun is shining, the balloons are out, and judging by the 40-minute wait for security I had getting into Nationals Park this morning, I think we're expecting a special guest. Yep, it's Opening Day in D.C. There are plenty of platitudes written about this day each year -- how it signals the start of something new, how it
There's a strange tradition among sportswriters at the beginning of each season; they make a handful of predictions about how the season they're about to cover will turn out, most of which turn out to be wrong, and they're never asked to revisit them again. I'm going to continue part of that tradition; I'm about to make a handful of predictions, most of which will
Hey all, Just headed out the door for an Easter get-together at a friend's house, but I wanted to put up a quick post to let you know some of the things we're planning for regular-season coverage around here, and get your take on them: --First, the gameday coverage: We'll bring back the live threads we were doing all through spring training, and they'll be
When the Nationals cut Elijah Dukes in spring training, they opened themselves up to the possibility that they would start the season without an everyday player in right field. With a day to go before Opening Day, it appears that's how they'll start the year. And though they've made some inquiries about a handful of high-profile options in right, they're prepared to get by with
With the Nationals' 6-1 loss to the Red Sox at Nationals Park on Saturday, spring training is officially over -- and not a moment too soon, in my opinion. No more guesses on the 25-man roster (which was finalized this afternoon). No more reading in to results that mean nothing in the final accounting of the season. And no more games where matchups and strategy
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals game against the Red Sox. We'll have updates and analysis throughout the day, and if you want to participate, here's how: Leave your comments here, or tag your tweets with #masnnats. Nats vs. Red Sox 4/3 in-game thread
With a final flurry of cuts this afternoon, the Nationals have effectively, if not officially, set their 25-man roster for Opening Day. They picked Garrett Mock to be the final starting pitcher over Scott Olsen, optioning the left-hander to Triple-A Syracuse despite his strong outing on Friday. Mock, the 26-year-old right-hander who started the spring well but struggled at the end of it, nonetheless won
When the Nationals started the spring 0-11, the talk in the clubhouse was about how little the record mattered. All the team was looking for, its players and manager said, was a progression toward the end of spring, a sign that the team was headed in the right direction. After the 0-11 start, as familiar names start to dot the lineup card and pitchers work
Welcome to MASN's live thread for today's Nationals game against the Mets. We'll have updates and analysis throughout the day, and if you want to participate, here's how: Leave your comments here, or tag your tweets with #masnnats. Nats vs. Mets 4/1 in-game thread
Searching all spring for a fifth starter and in need of another left-hander with Ross Detwiler on the disabled list and Scott Olsen's status uncertain, the Nationals went another route on Thursday: They filled out their rotation at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Multiple club and industry sources said the team has signed President Obama to a one-year deal for the major-league minimum, and will add him
