Mark Zuckerman

Rizzo, Martinez vow to improve "attention to detail" next year

October 04, 2018, 11:56am

Shortly after noon on Sunday, Mike Rizzo stood in the dugout at Coors Field and gave his end-of-season assessment of the 2018 Nationals, a team that had received plenty of elite performances from individual stars, outscored the opposition by 89 runs and yet barely finished over .500. What prevented the Nats from winning more games, Rizzo believes, was poor execution of "the little things" that make all the difference in a close contest. "I think that we have to work on the small aspects of...

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Looking at the Nationals' positions of need this winter

October 03, 2018, 8:33pm

Nationals

The Nationals' biggest offseason need may be in the starting pitching department, but it's far from their only roster need heading into 2019. Between free agent departures and other areas that simply need an upgrade, there's no shortage of items on general manager Mike Rizzo's to-do list this winter. Let's run through the positions that are likely to be addressed in the coming months ... CATCHER It shouldn't have surprised anyone that this was a problem area in 2018, because it was a...

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Nats must find way to improve rotation, internally and externally

October 02, 2018, 11:22am

Nationals

Nats must find way to improve rotation, internally and externally

If you had to pick one - and only one - defining characteristic of the Nationals during their seven seasons as a contender, the answer would be simple: a good, often great, rotation. This didn't happen by accident. Mike Rizzo's No. 1 goal in building a roster is to assemble an elite rotation. He saw firsthand what a difference that makes when he was farm director for the Diamondbacks during their run to the 2001 World Series title, and he has tried to duplicate it in his decade as general...

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A primer on Bryce Harper's pending free agency

October 01, 2018, 8:16pm

Nationals

A primer on Bryce Harper's pending free agency

As we transition into offseason mode around here, we're going to spend a few days looking at the most pressing offseason storylines for the Nationals. And there's no debate that the single most pressing storyline involves the guy who was the pre-eminent storyline of the entire season. You know the deal with Bryce Harper by now. No sense rehashing his wild 2018 campaign. Or trying to read the tea leaves from what he said over the last week as he simultaneously gushed about the only...

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After 82-80 season, Nationals admit there's work to be done

September 30, 2018, 9:23pm

Nationals

In 2018, Max Scherzer had what the already three-time Cy Young Award winner considered the best season of his career. Juan Soto produced one of the greatest seasons in history by a teenager. Anthony Rendon essentially duplicated his numbers from the previous season when he finished sixth in National League MVP voting. Bryce Harper, despite a dismal first half, finished with 34 homers, 100 RBIs, 103 runs and 130 walks. Adam Eaton hit .301 with a .394 on-base percentage. The team's first basemen...

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Season ends for Harper, Nats with blowout loss (updated)

September 30, 2018, 2:15pm

Nationals

Season ends for Harper, Nats with blowout loss (updated)

DENVER - The Nationals wrapped up their 14th season of baseball in the District this afternoon. That this particular season, already a disappointment, ended with a 12-0 pasting at the hands of a Rockies club that now heads to Los Angeles for a Monday tiebreaker game to decide the National League West didn't mean much in the larger picture. No, what meant the most was the question that loomed over this game at Coors Field and really loomed over the entire 2018 season. Was this Bryce Harper's...

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Turner reaches 162-game mark for first time (Nats down 7-0)

September 30, 2018, 12:17pm

Nationals

Turner reaches 162-game mark for first time (Nats down 7-0)

DENVER - Trea Turner wanted to play every day, and he indeed did play every day for the Nationals this season. Upon stepping up to bat in the top of the first this afternoon at Coors Field, Turner officially appeared in his 162nd game of the season, and in the process became only the second player in Nationals history to reach that mark. Ryan Zimmerman, who started all 162 games as the Nats' third baseman in 2007, had stood alone in the club's 14-season history until Turner matched him this...

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Rizzo says he expects Martinez and full staff to return

September 30, 2018, 10:47am

Nationals

Rizzo says he expects Martinez and full staff to return

DENVER - As we saw one year ago, Mike Rizzo doesn't necessarily have the final say on this, but the Nationals general manager did reiterate today before the finale of his team's disappointing season he expects Davey Martinez and his entire coaching staff to return in 2019. "Nothing's changed," Rizzo said about an hour before the Nats faced the playoff-bound Rockies in Game 162. "We haven't considered anything else." Rizzo had already expressed a similar sentiment about Martinez last...

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Game 162 lineups: Nats at Rockies

September 30, 2018, 8:18am

Nationals

DENVER - For the last time in 2018, hello from the ballpark. The scene today at Coors Field should be a wild one, with the Rockies seeking their first division title while also keeping an eye on what's happening in the Dodgers-Giants game at AT&T Park. They could end the day as National League West champs, as the league's second wild card or still tied with the Dodgers and heading to L.A. for a tiebreaker game Monday. Suffice it to say, there are some things at stake - for Colorado, not...

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Soto not ready for sensational season to end

September 29, 2018, 11:12pm

Nationals

Soto not ready for sensational season to end

DENVER - As the rest of his teammates look forward to the physical and mental rest that awaits them following today's season finale, Juan Soto just wants to keep playing more baseball. Never mind that the 19-year-old has played in 153 total games this season between the minors and majors, a workload far beyond anything he's ever experienced. He's still going strong straight through this final weekend, and as he worked in the cage before Saturday's game with Kevin Long he suggested to his...

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Nats blow out Rockies, won't pitch Scherzer in Game 162

September 29, 2018, 7:51pm

Nationals

Nats blow out Rockies, won't pitch Scherzer in Game 162

DENVER - The Nationals wrapped up a seventh consecutive winning season tonight, and in the process ensured they will play a role in a wild Sunday in the National League, with four Game 162s all set to be played in unison to determine the winners of two divisions. But not with Max Scherzer participating. The Nationals' 12-2 drubbing of the Rockies left a crowd of 47,781 at Coors Field hoping to celebrate the franchise's first-ever NL West title muttering, occasionally booing and walking out of...

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L.A. win means Scherzer will start Sunday finale (Nats up 9-2)

September 29, 2018, 5:15pm

Nationals

L.A. win means Scherzer will start Sunday finale (Nats up 9-2)

DENVER - Max Scherzer will make one more start in 2018 after all. The Dodgers' victory in San Francisco this afternoon prevented the Rockies from having a chance to clinch the National League West title tonight, making Sunday's regular season finale meaningful. And that means Scherzer will take the mound for the Nationals one last time this season. Scherzer and the Nats had decided earlier this week he would pitch if the Rockies were still playing for something, out of respect for the Dodgers...

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Zimmerman likely done for 2018, focused on new winter plan

September 29, 2018, 3:15pm

Nationals

Zimmerman likely done for 2018, focused on new winter plan

DENVER - It doesn't look like the Nationals are going to take any chances playing Ryan Zimmerman this weekend and will shut down the veteran first baseman with back tightness. Zimmerman, who tweaked his bat swinging during Wednesday's home finale in Washington, wasn't in Friday night's lineup against the Rockies and he's again not in tonight's lineup. With nothing left to play for - aside from impacting Colorado's playoff position - manager Davey Martinez doesn't sound inclined to...

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Game 161 lineups: Nats at Rockies

September 29, 2018, 12:33pm

Nationals

DENVER - This hasn't been Stephen Strasburg's most memorable season. He will have made only 22 starts, his lowest total since 2013 (when he was recovering from Tommy John surgery). Unless he tosses six scoreless innings (or nine innings of one-run ball) tonight, he'll finish with the highest ERA of his career. Strasburg, though, can wrap up a disappointing 2018 season on a legitimate high note. If he pitches well tonight at Coors Field - where he owns a 7.20 ERA, but the vast majority of the...

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SolÃs' struggles vs. lefties reach staggering proportions

September 28, 2018, 9:22pm

Nationals

SolÃs' struggles vs. lefties reach staggering proportions

DENVER - With his team trailing by two runs in the bottom of the sixth and a left-handed batter leading off for the Rockies, Davey Martinez made the move most managers would make to try to keep the game close. He brought in a lefty from his bullpen to face that one batter: David Dahl, who has received only 64 plate appearances against southpaws this season and batted a mere .210 with a .557 OPS. What happened next could not have come as much surprise to anyone who has observed the Nationals all...

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Nats lose to playoff-bound Rockies, but clinch second place

September 28, 2018, 7:02pm

Nationals

Nats lose to playoff-bound Rockies, but clinch second place

DENVER - The Nationals emerged from the dugout at Coors Field this evening, the temperature already down to 51 degrees on its way to 42 degrees by the time the game ended. A sellout crowd of 48,089 packed into the ballpark for the opener of what could be a momentous weekend here to wrap up the regular season. Alas, the visitors who had to break out their red jackets and hoodies for the first time in a long time weren't the ones playing for something meaningful. Aside from clinching second...

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Zimmerman not taking chances with back injury (Nats down 4-2)

September 28, 2018, 4:51pm

Nationals

Zimmerman not taking chances with back injury (Nats down 4-2)

DENVER - Ryan Zimmerman celebrated his 34th birthday today by getting treatment on his ailing back and then bundling up to watch from the dugout as the Nationals faced the Rockies on a 51-degree late-September evening at Coors Field. Zimmerman was not in the Nats lineup two days after he tweaked his back on a swing in the team's home finale, an injury that forced him to come out of the game after two at-bats. He hoped to play tonight, but common sense told him it wasn't worth it. "It's...

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Scherzer prepared to start Sunday if Rockies need to win

September 28, 2018, 3:22pm

Nationals

Scherzer prepared to start Sunday if Rockies need to win

DENVER - Max Scherzer doesn't really have any reason to pitch Sunday - "I've made 33 starts, thrown 220 innings," he said today. "So that's a full workload." - but Game 162 could mean everything for the Rockies, who enter the weekend trying to win either their first division title or fourth wild card berth. So Scherzer and the Nationals have made a decision how to proceed. If Sunday's game matters for Colorado's postseason chances, Scherzer will start. If it doesn't, he'll sit. "The...

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Game 160 lineups: Nats at Rockies

September 28, 2018, 12:31pm

Nationals

DENVER - Hello from Coors Field, where it's been in the 50s all afternoon and is expected to dip into the 40s tonight, with a sellout crowd expected for a must-win game for the home team seeking its first division title. In short, it's going to be a playoff-like atmosphere tonight. Maybe not the playoff atmosphere the Nationals wanted to experience, but it nonetheless will add some juice to their final series of a disappointing season. The Nats intend to play this out, at least as long as the...

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What's at stake this weekend in Colorado

September 27, 2018, 7:23pm

Nationals

What's at stake this weekend in Colorado

Mike Rizzo's primary goal at the outset of each season is for his team to be playing meaningful games in late September. (The ultimate goal, of course, is to then be playing meaningful games in late October, but that can't happen without meaningful games in late September.) Well, the good news is that the Nationals indeed will be participating in meaningful games during this final weekend of September. Alas, the games are meaningful only for the opposition: the Rockies, whose 2018 fate hangs...