Storen bounces back in a big way (Rendon on Sporting News NL All-Star team)

Storen bounces back in a big way (Rendon on Sporting News NL All-Star team)
Until last night, the Royals had been a perfect 8-0 in this year's postseason. They'd thrived largely because of their speed and dominant back end of their bullpen. So how do you beat them? Keep them off the bases, and don't let Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland play any type of factor in the ballgame. The Giants kept on rolling last night, thanks to their balanced offense and ace Madison Bumgarner, who continues to establish himself as one of the best postseason pitchers in the...
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Williams voted Sporting News NL Manager of the Year

Williams voted Sporting News NL Manager of the Year
The league-endorsed end-of-season awards, voted on by the members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, won't be announced until November. Matt Williams could find himself taking home the National League Manager of the Year award at that time. For now, Williams will add another award to his mantle courtesy of the Sporting News, which announced that Williams was voted its NL Manager of the Year for 2014. This award was voted on by Williams' fellow managers. The Nationals skipper...
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Rendon's 2014 season a sign of things to come

Rendon's 2014 season a sign of things to come
It's easy to forget how young Anthony Rendon is, both in terms of age and how little big league experience he possesses. You watch Rendon play the game and you assume that he's an established veteran. He's immensely talented, never gets frazzled or visibly upset and seemingly keeps the same heart rate at all times, regardless of how intense a situation he's in. He appears to be the same guy with the bases loaded and the tying run in scoring position late in a key game as when he's getting...
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Fister's first season in D.C. a major success

Fister's first season in D.C. a major success
This weekend just felt weird. After baseball being so much of a focus of my daily life for the past eight-plus months, to go an entire weekend without watching any baseball whatsoever was a bit bizarre. Luckily, we only have to go one more day before the World Series kicks off between the Giants and Royals in what should be an entertaining battle between two red-hot teams. Over the next five days, I'm going to be highlighting five different players who I feel like made a very strong impression...
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Examining the free agent second base options

Examining the free agent second base options
Asdrubal Cabrera has said that he would like to return to the Nationals and that he would even be willing to play second base if he does re-sign in D.C., despite the fact that he would prefer to play shortstop. The Nats, given the right circumstances and contract terms, would surely like Cabrera back, as well. He played well during his two months with the team following the July 31 trade that sent him from Cleveland to the Nationals, was a solid clubhouse presence and well-liked teammate, and...
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Rotation likely to return intact

Rotation likely to return intact
The Nationals have a busy offseason ahead of them on a number of fronts. They'll need to decide what they want to do with their starting second base job, assuming that Ryan Zimmerman moves across the diamond and becomes the everyday first baseman and Anthony Rendon remains at third. They'll need to add to their bullpen (which will almost certainly be without Rafael Soriano next season, as the Nats are unlikely to pick up his $14 million team option for next season) and bench, which will see...
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On Harper's finish to 2014

On Harper's finish to 2014
The National League Division Series obviously didn't go as the Nationals hoped. The team didn't perform as well as many, including those inside the clubhouse, expected it to. Many players didn't play to their ability levels. And they will openly admit as much. Despite the disappointment from a team perspective, there were a couple of positives from that series, however. And Bryce Harper was one of them. Harper had an up-and-down 2014 regular season, which featured a significant injury,...
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The recipe for postseason success

The recipe for postseason success
Like the Nationals, the Orioles are now done for 2014, heading home after a tremendous season and a sweep at the hands of the Royals in the American League Championship Series. It means that both local teams, despite tremendous 96-win regular seasons and division titles, saw their postseason run end in heartbreak. And in reality, that's the way it goes for 29 of the 30 teams in the majors. Only one organization will be smiling when it's all said and done, and that's the one holding the...
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Looking back on Nats' late-season roster additions

Looking back on Nats' late-season roster additions
It might be easy to forget now, given that the Nationals were knocked out of the postseason in the National League Division Series and have spent the last week reflecting on how everything quickly came to an end, but Mike Rizzo and his staff had a very successful six-day stretch from late July to early August that played a major role in the Nats' success. And while Nats fans are disappointed that their team isn't still playing, it's still worth looking back on just how much the roster got a...
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On pace of play during the postseason

On pace of play during the postseason
Forgive me for covering a non-Nationals related topic in my blog post this morning, but with both League Championship Series set to hold Game 3 today, I wanted to bring up something that has been on my mind lately. Clearly, I love the game of baseball. Have since I was a kid. I spent somewhere around 20 full days of my life watching baseball in person this summer. (If we assume a regular season game lasts somewhere around three hours, that's eight games in a 24-hour period, and 160 games can...
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Span's 2015 team option now looking like a bargain

Span's 2015 team option now looking like a bargain
Going into the 2014 season, some debated whether it might be Denard Span's final campaign with the Nationals. Span had signed a five-year, $16.5 million contract back with the Twins in 2010, a deal that included a $9 million club option for 2015. The Nationals acquired the speedy center fielder in the winter leading up to the 2013 season, giving them at least two years of Span's services in return for right-handed pitching prospect Alex Meyer. And while Span had finished the 2013 campaign on...
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Who do you want to win it all?

Who do you want to win it all?
The last few days likely haven't been easy on Nationals fans, as the harsh reality that postseason baseball is continuing without your team has probably started to set in. Yesterday might have been especially tough for many of you. We had action in both League Championship Series yesterday, with the Orioles falling to the Royals for the second time in as many days and the Giants taking a 1-0 series lead over the Cardinals thanks to their 3-0 win in St. Louis. In the National League...
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Assistant GM Bryan Minniti leaving organization

Assistant GM Bryan Minniti leaving organization
As the Nationals get set to upgrade their roster this offseason, trying to add players that can help them return to the postseason and push past the National League Division Series for the first time in team history, they will also see some changes in their front office. Assistant general manager Bryan Minniti has announced that he will be leaving the Nationals after five years with the organization, a source confirmed. Minniti came to the Nationals in 2009, and has served as general manager...
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Asdrubal Cabrera: "I would love to stay here"

Asdrubal Cabrera: "I would love to stay here"
This trading deadline, we saw Cy Young award winner David Price get dealt to the Tigers. The Red Sox shipped stud left-hander Jon Lester to the A's for slugger Yoenis Cespedes. Martin Prado, John Lackey, Allen Craig, Gerardo Parra and Andrew Miller were also part of deals this July 31. It was a busy trade deadline, one in which the Nationals' acquisition of infielder Asdrubal Cabrera didn't draw much attention. Cabrera ended up being a key piece of the Nats' run to the National League...
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Evaluating the last three years isn't so easy

Evaluating the last three years isn't so easy
Over the last three years, the Nationals have won 280 regular season games, most in the major leagues during that time. In 2012, they picked up 98 wins, the most in the game, and earned their first National League East title since baseball returned to D.C. in 2005. In 2013, even in a year that was considered a bust in Davey Johnson's "World Series or bust" campaign, the Nats still earned 86 wins, sixth-best in the NL and far from anything worth being ashamed of in the grand scheme of...
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Bats go quiet at the worst time

Bats go quiet at the worst time
For much of the regular season, especially the second half of the 2014 campaign, the Nationals were a team that got balanced offensive production throughout their lineup. This wasn't a team that was carried by one or two players from an offensive perspective. Despite the fact that the Nats finished with 96 wins, the most in the National League, they don't have a clear-cut MVP candidate. (Although Anthony Rendon should get quite a few votes.) The Nats prided themselves on their ability to...
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Nats' season ends with 3-2 loss in Game 4

Nats' season ends with 3-2 loss in Game 4
SAN FRANCISCO - Seven Giants hitters came to the plate in the bottom of the second inning. Only one hit the ball out of the infield. And San Francisco has a 2-0 lead. Gio Gonzalez could have had an inning-ending double play on Juan Perez's tapper back to the mound with one on and one out, but he couldn't handle the slow roller which had loads of spin on it, and it went for an error. Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong then dropped down a nice bunt which neither Gonzalez nor Anthony Rendon made a...
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Strasburg available in relief tonight, Nats' Game 5 starter still TBA

Strasburg available in relief tonight, Nats' Game 5 starter still TBA
SAN FRANCISCO - Giants manager Bruce Bochy said today that all his pitchers are available for tonight's Game 4 of the National League Division Series - even Jake Peavy, who would otherwise be tabbed as San Francisco's Game 5 starter. Nationals skipper Matt Williams will go with the same everyone-is-available approach. Williams said this afternoon that he is not ready to announce his Game 5 starter, saying, "We have a couple guys that would be certainly ready for Game 5. But we don't know...
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Nats run out same lineup for Game 4

Nats run out same lineup for Game 4
SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals are running out the same lineup as they did in the first three games of this series. No changes from one through eight in Game 4. The Giants, however, are going with a new left fielder - right-handed-hitting Juan Perez - against left-hander Gio Gonzalez, and they've bumped third baseman Pablo Sandoval down to the No. 5 spot in the order. For the Nats CF Denard Span 3B Anthony Rendon RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond LF Bryce Harper C Wilson Ramos 2B...
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Looking for another win by the bay

Looking for another win by the bay
SAN FRANCISCO - The Nationals have life. Their clubhouse after yesterday's Game 3 win was brimming with energy. Now they turn the ball over to their most energetic starting pitcher. After yesterday's dramatic victory, Gio Gonzalez now gets the ball for the Nats today in their second straight must-win ballgame. The left-hander hasn't started a game in 12 days, but with their season on the line, the Nationals will look to Gonzalez to help them extend the National League Division Series and...
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