Dan Kolko

Updates on Desmond, Haren and a funny clip from last night (we're under way)

August 22, 2013, 10:08am

CHICAGO - After three straight gorgeous days in Chicago, the rain has hit Wrigley Field this afternoon. The tarp is on the field with about a half-hour to go until the scheduled time for first-pitch, and the radar isn't looking good for the next couple hours. We might be here for a while. Ian Desmond is out of the Nationals' starting lineup today due to a tight back that he first felt during batting practice yesterday. Desmond said last night that he hoped to be in the lineup for this...

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DeJesus claimed off revocable trade waivers

August 22, 2013, 9:32am

Nationals

DeJesus claimed off revocable trade waivers

CHICAGO - David DeJesus' wild week continues. Hours after being acquired by the Nationals in a trade with the Cubs on Monday, DeJesus was placed back on revocable trade waivers by the Nats. Today, DeJesus heard multiple reports that he'd been claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays. The Nationals have three options when it comes to DeJesus now that he's been claimed: They can pull him back off waivers and keep him, which would leave them on the hook for the $2.5 million still owed to...

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Desmond, LaRoche, Span out of Nats lineup

August 22, 2013, 8:01am

Nationals

Desmond, LaRoche, Span out of Nats lineup

CHICAGO - The Nationals' lineup for this afternoon's series finale in Chicago is without three regulars - Ian Desmond, Adam LaRoche and Denard Span. Desmond felt his back tighten up on him during batting practice yesterday and was pulled from last night's game as a precaution as part of a double-switch in the fifth inning. He said after the game last night that he was fine and that on a scale of 1-to-10 of injuries that he's played through, this was a one. Still, Desmond is out of the...

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For Hairston, a step in the right direction

August 21, 2013, 11:32pm

Nationals

For Hairston, a step in the right direction

CHICAGO - In the three days before he was shipped from the Cubs to the Nationals in a July 8 trade, Scott Hairston hit two home runs over just five at-bats. Then, the power disappeared for a little while. Hairston got off to a slow start with the Nats, hitting just .200 with a .529 OPS over 37 plate appearances entering last night. He wasn't showing any frustration outwardly, keeping his cheerful, joking demeanor in the clubhouse, but he was getting a bit annoyed with his inability to...

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Hearing from Roark, Hairston and Ohlendorf

August 21, 2013, 9:20pm

Nationals

Hearing from Roark, Hairston and Ohlendorf

CHICAGO - If you were walking the streets of Chicago tonight between the hours of 7 p.m. and 10:25 p.m. local time, you probably heard Tanner Roark's personal fan club cheering him on from the right field bleachers of Wrigley Field. Roark, who hails from nearby Wilmington, Ill., made his first ever appearance at Wrigley tonight, and it just so happened to come on the night that two party buses packed with his friends and family members rolled into Wrigleyville to catch the action. They made...

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Johnson recaps Nats' 11-6 win

August 21, 2013, 8:51pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - The self-deprecating one-liners from Davey Johnson in relation to the Nationals' offense keep on coming. "Eleven runs? You'd think it's Christmas!" Johnson quipped after tonight's 11-6 Nats win over the Cubs. The Nationals jumped out on top of the Cubs 6-1 tonight, only to see their hosts even things up with a five-run fifth inning. Ross Ohlendorf - making his first start back off the disabled list - gave up a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo, and Illinois native Tanner Roark...

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The lead is gone, Desmond leaves (Nats win 11-6)

August 21, 2013, 6:20pm

Nationals

The lead is gone, Desmond leaves (Nats win 11-6)

CHICAGO - What was a five-run lead is now gone. And we have a tie ballgame. The Nationals had a comfortable 6-1 advantage going to the bottom of the fifth, and just like that, the Cubs have come back to knot this game 6-6. The Cubs batted around in the fifth, sending 10 hitters to the plate and notching seven hits. Ross Ohlendorf surrendered a two-run homer to Anthony Rizzo (Rizzo's second longball of the night) that made it 6-3, and then the Cubs ran off five straight singles. The final...

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Squeezing out some runs (Werth keeps on crushing)

August 21, 2013, 5:04pm

Nationals

Squeezing out some runs (Werth keeps on crushing)

CHICAGO - Last night, the Nationals put 21 runners on base and just four of them came around to score. Through two innings tonight, they've put four runners on and plated three of them. That's a much better ratio there, fellas. The Nats have a 3-1 lead going to the third thanks to a couple hard-fought at-bats, a hot-shot Kurt Suzuki groundball that got under the glove of Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo and a well-executed squeeze by Ross Ohlendorf. With one out in the inning, Ian Desmond...

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On Espinosa and a possible September call-up (plus Roark note)

August 21, 2013, 3:19pm

Nationals

On Espinosa and a possible September call-up (plus Roark note)

CHICAGO - When the Nationals optioned Danny Espinosa to Triple-A Syracuse in mid-June, they certainly hoped that the struggling second baseman would be able to get on track in the minors and then come back up to help the big league club in some capacity this season. At this point, however, it's not looking likely that we'll see Espinosa in the majors the rest of this year. Manager Davey Johnson seemed to indicate today that Espinosa's chances of being among the Nats' September call-ups...

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Bernadina signs with Phillies, Ohlendorf returns (plus Nats lineup)

August 21, 2013, 12:25pm

Nationals

Bernadina signs with Phillies, Ohlendorf returns (plus Nats lineup)

CHICAGO - Roger Bernadina was released by the Nationals on Monday, but he won't be going too far, either geographically or within the realm of Major League Baseball. Bernadina has signed with the Phillies, the team announced today, meaning the Nats will see the speedy outfielder in about a week and a half when they head to Philadelphia for a three-game set against their division rivals. After clearing waivers, Bernadina - who had been the longest-tenured Nats player prior to Monday - was...

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Haren's turnaround and its implications beyond this season

August 20, 2013, 11:25pm

Nationals

Haren's turnaround and its implications beyond this season

CHICAGO - It really wasn't too long ago that Dan Haren could have, based on the numbers, been legitimately considered the worst starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. As of June 22, Haren led the majors in home runs allowed and had the highest ERA of any qualified starter in the National League. His WHIP was 1.43 (in other words, he was allowing an average of nearly 1 1/2 batters to reach via a hit or a walk every inning) and his OPS against was .888. Over the last six weeks, things...

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Johnson, Desmond and Span talk missed chances, clutch hits late in 4-2 win

August 20, 2013, 9:09pm

Nationals

Johnson, Desmond and Span talk missed chances, clutch hits late in 4-2 win

CHICAGO - It's easy to chuckle about the fact that the Nationals put 21 runners on base and scored just four runs now that tonight's 4-2 win is in the books. Had the end result been different, Davey Johnson and the guys in the Nats clubhouse wouldn't have been laughing. The Nats had 14 hits and drew seven walks off Cubs pitching tonight. But somehow, entering the ninth inning, they still had put just two runs up on the scoreboard. They got two big insurance runs in the ninth on RBI...

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Nats option Krol to make room for Ohlendorf

August 20, 2013, 8:24pm

Nationals

Nats option Krol to make room for Ohlendorf

CHICAGO - Needing to clear a roster spot for right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who will come off the disabled list and start tomorrow, the Nationals have optioned left-handed reliever Ian Krol to Triple-A Syracuse. Krol got off to a tremendous start with the Nats after his promotion from Double-A Harrisburg in early June, throwing 9 2/3 scoreless innings to start his big league career, with 12 strikeouts and one walk in that span. The 22-year-old has had a much tougher time of late, however,...

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Missed chances galore for both sides (Nats win 4-2)

August 20, 2013, 5:40pm

Nationals

Missed chances galore for both sides (Nats win 4-2)

CHICAGO - Call this the game of missed opportunities. And not just for the Nationals, for once. For both teams. The Nats and Cubs have combined to go 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position through the first four innings tonight. Seven of those missed chances have fallen at the feet of the Cubs, who have put runners on early in innings but haven't been able to do much of anything with them. Ryan Zimmerman's RBI double in the first inning and Brian Bogusevic's solo homer in the fourth...

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Pregame notes on Moore, Storen, Harper

August 20, 2013, 3:24pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - Adam LaRoche is making the most of his day off today, as the first baseman spent part of batting practice getting some ground balls at shortstop, rotating in with Ian Desmond. LaRoche was casually scooping grounders with his first baseman's mitt and then whipping the ball across the diamond to first. It's a bit weird seeing a left-hander on the left side of the infield, I'll tell you that. The day off for LaRoche comes as a result of Davey Johnson wanting to get Tyler Moore into...

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Source: Strasburg, Johnson won't be suspended for Atlanta incident

August 20, 2013, 1:43pm

Nationals

Source: Strasburg, Johnson won't be suspended for Atlanta incident

According to a Major League Baseball source, neither right-hander Stephen Strasburg nor manager Davey Johnson will be suspended for Saturday's incident in Atlanta during which the Nationals starting pitcher hit Justin Upton with a first-inning pitch and later threw behind Andrelton Simmons, earning ejections for both himself and Johnson. After Strasburg drilled Upton with a first-pitch fastball in the first inning, home plate umpire Marvin Hudson warned both benches that any further...

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Moore, Hairston starting for Nats

August 20, 2013, 12:29pm

Nationals

CHICAGO - Davey Johnson is again loading up his lineup with right-handed hitters against a left-handed starter, leaving Adam LaRoche and Denard Span on the bench in favor of Tyler Moore and Scott Hairston. Moore will play first base and bat sixth, while Hairston will play left field and bat eighth. Bryce Harper will slide over and play center field tonight and hit leadoff as the Nats face Cubs left-hander Chris Rusin. Rusin has a 3.06 ERA in six starts this season, and he's surrendered just...

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A twist in the DeJesus saga

August 20, 2013, 9:26am

Nationals

CHICAGO - As reported by FOXsports.com's Ken Rosenthal last night, just hours after the Nationals acquired David DeJesus in a trade with the Cubs, they placed him back on revokable trade waivers. In essence, that means DeJesus might not be around for all that long, after all. This is a strange bit of news, and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but there are a couple of theories here. First, it's possible that the Nationals simply made a mistake putting in a waiver claim on...

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Already reaching one 2012 mark

August 20, 2013, 1:19am

Nationals

CHICAGO - I failed to mention this here on the blog last night, but if you're able to stomach a depressing stat, I've got one for you. Last night's loss marked the 64th defeat for the Nationals this season. That evens their number of losses from all of 2012. In other words, in order for the Nats to match their record from last season, they'll need to go 38-0 the rest of the regular season. I'm no Major League Baseball scout. I'm no mathematician. Neither of those roles would suit me...

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Hearing from Zimmermann, Zimmerman, Ramos and DeJesus

August 19, 2013, 8:15pm

Nationals

Hearing from Zimmermann, Zimmerman, Ramos and DeJesus

CHICAGO - Jordan Zimmermann has had a couple solid starts since the All-Star break, throwing six scoreless against the Brewers and allowing just one run over seven innings against the Giants. Both those strong outings have been sandwiched by a number of poor starts, which are rare to see from a starter as consistent as Zimmermann. Tonight's five-inning, eight-run outing was the third time in seven starts since the break that Zimmermann has allowed five earned runs or more, and it was the...