Dan Kolko

Don't call him the stopper, but that's what he is

June 20, 2012, 10:52pm

Stephen Strasburg doesn't want to be referred to as the Nationals' stopper. He's not a fan of that term. Strasburg isn't interested in being painted as the top dog on the Nats' pitching staff, the guy that bails the team out of trouble or stops losing streaks in their tracks. He would prefer to just be labeled one of the guys, one piece of an excellent Nationals rotation that is doing incredibly impressive things this season. The problem for Strasburg is that with each and every start,...

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Nats lean on their "true No. 1" yet again

June 20, 2012, 7:36pm

Nationals

Nats lean on their "true No. 1" yet again

Stephen Strasburg's outing tonight started in a somewhat bizarre fashion. As the Nationals ace was preparing to step onto the mound and throw his first pitch to the Rays' Desmond Jennings, home plate umpire Jeff Nelson came walking out to the mound. After all that went on yesterday with GloveGate, Strasburg assumed that Nelson was going to check his glove for a foreign substance. Turns out, the ump just wanted to see if the ball in Strasburg's hand had been scuffed up on catcher Jesus...

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Clinging to a late-inning lead (Nats win 3-2)

June 20, 2012, 5:19pm

Nationals

Clinging to a late-inning lead (Nats win 3-2)

As Joel Peralta starts to get loose in the Rays bullpen ... Yes. That's actually happening. Peralta still hasn't been suspended yet, and is eligible to pitch tonight. I'm sure his glove is squeaky clean. The Nationals have a 3-2 lead as we go to the eighth inning, even though they haven't recorded a hit since the first. Washington struck for three runs on three hits in that first inning, battering Rays rookie Chris Archer, who looked shaken and uncomfortable. That didn't last long,...

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Rizzo supports Johnson's decision to have Peralta checked (plus game update)

June 20, 2012, 3:55pm

Nationals

Rizzo supports Johnson's decision to have Peralta checked (plus game update)

In this entry, I'll have quotes from the Nationals general manager, who responded to quotes from the Rays manager, who responded to quotes from the Nationals manager, who responded to quotes from the Rays manager. GloveGate just keeps on going. Shortly after Rays skipper Joe Maddon came down on the Nationals (again), saying that if he was a player, he'd think twice before signing with the Nats after last night's pine tar incident, Rizzo responded to that take. "I don't agree with it,"...

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Detwiler back in the rotation, Wang to the 'pen

June 20, 2012, 2:31pm

Nationals

Detwiler back in the rotation, Wang to the 'pen

Less than a month ago, Ross Detwiler was bumped from the Nationals' starting rotation after three straight rocky starts. Now, Detwiler finds himself back in the rotation after four straight rocky starts from Chien-Ming Wang. After taking a bit of a verbal swing at Rays manager Joe Maddon this afternoon, Nats manager Davey Johnson announced that Wang will be moved to the bullpen, while Detwiler will again become the Nationals' No. 5 starter. He'll take the mound Sunday when the Nats face...

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Davey Johnson makes rotation move, fires back at Joe Maddon

June 20, 2012, 1:25pm

Nationals

Davey Johnson makes rotation move, fires back at Joe Maddon

Davey Johnson's 15-minute pregame session with reporters this afternoon sure didn't lack substance. Johnson announced that Chien-Ming Wang will be moved to the bullpen and Ross Detwiler will be inserted into the rotation. He also took aim at Rays manager Joe Maddon, who last night called out Johnson for having Joel Peralta's glove inspected on suspicion of Peralta using a foreign substance. Maddon called Johnson's decision "cowardly", "bush" and even dropped an expletive in there, as...

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Nats lineup vs. Rays rookie Chris Archer

June 20, 2012, 11:34am

Nationals

Nats lineup vs. Rays rookie Chris Archer

In his first major league start, Rays right-hander Chris Archer will get tossed right into a potentially volatile situation. After last night's GloveGate, tensions might be high tonight as the Nationals and Rays meet up in game two of this three-game series. Archer was called up from Triple-A to start tonight after Tampa Bay's original starter, Jeremy Hellickson, was scratched because of a shoulder injury. The 23-year-old Archer came over to the Rays in the Matt Garza deal, and has posted a...

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About last night

June 20, 2012, 6:44am

Nationals

Too bad nothing exciting went down in last night's 5-4 Nationals loss to the Rays. All we had was a Nats starter (a two-time 19-game winner, mind you) pitch his way firmly onto the rotation bubble, his competition for the No. 5 starting spot dominant in relief, a former Nationals pitcher get called out as a cheater by someone on his old team, and the Rays manager toss expletives in the direction of the other clubhouse. Just a nice, quiet little Tuesday night interleague game. For what it's...

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Nats react to Peralta's pine tar incident

June 19, 2012, 8:59pm

Nationals

Nats react to Peralta's pine tar incident

You've seen the quotes from the Rays' side about the Joel Peralta ejection due to illegal use of pine tar, courtesy of MASNsports.com's Pete Kerzel. Now let's hear from the Nationals. Manager Davey Johnson said postgame that he had gotten word from people within the organization that Peralta (who pitched for the Nats in 2010) is fond of putting pine tar in his glove, which can help create a better grip on the baseball during a hot night like tonight. "He pitched here. I don't think...

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Johnson will wait to make decision on Chien-Ming Wang

June 19, 2012, 8:07pm

Nationals

Johnson will wait to make decision on Chien-Ming Wang

I've got plenty on the whole bizarre Joel Peralta pine tar incident coming up in a bit, with reactions from both the Nationals and the Rays. First, let's get to Chien-Ming Wang, who delivered another poor outing tonight and has a 6.62 ERA and 2.26 WHIP since joining the rotation. Wang has now made four starts this season. None have been all that impressive, and often, they've featured Wang struggling with his mechanics. That was true tonight, as well. "He's been having some problems...

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Rays' Peralta ejected for "foreign substance" on glove (Nats lose 5-4)

June 19, 2012, 6:01pm

Nationals

Rays' Peralta ejected for "foreign substance" on glove (Nats lose 5-4)

Weird, wild stuff is happening here in D.C. as we get ready to start the eighth inning of a 5-4 ballgame. Rays reliever Joel Peralta, who pitched for the Nationals during the 2010 season, was ejected for having an "illegal substance" on or in his glove. The ejection happened before Peralta threw a single pitch in the eighth inning. All four umpires came out to the mound, as did the entire Rays infield and manager Joe Maddon. The umpires, including crew chief and home plate umpire Tim...

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Chien-Ming Wang's future now in doubt (Morse has his first homer)

June 19, 2012, 4:42pm

Nationals

Chien-Ming Wang's future now in doubt (Morse has his first homer)

With Chien-Ming Wang putting up three straight sub-par starts entering tonight, this might have been a statement game of sorts for the veteran right-hander. This wasn't the statement he was hoping to make. Wang got smacked around by the Rays tonight, and was pulled after just 3 1/3 innings. He allowed five runs on seven hits, gave up three extra-base hits, walked three batters (including Rays starter David Price) and tossed 77 pitches before being pulled. Ross Detwiler came on in relief of...

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Johnson tells Zimmerman, Morse to relax and "just go play"

June 19, 2012, 2:43pm

Nationals

Johnson tells Zimmerman, Morse to relax and "just go play"

After Sunday's game, a game in which Michael Morse went 0-for-4 at the plate, dropping his average to .211, he approached manager Davey Johnson and asked to be dropped in the batting order. "I'm killing the team," Morse told Johnson. "No, you're not killing the team," the Nats' manager replied. "You're going to be fine. You'll be carrying us in a minute. I'm not worried. I don't want you worrying." Morse and Ryan Zimmerman are frustrated with the way they've been swinging the...

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Werth possibly ahead of schedule in rehab (plus plenty of injury updates)

June 19, 2012, 1:59pm

Nationals

Werth possibly ahead of schedule in rehab (plus plenty of injury updates)

It's now been more than six weeks since Jayson Werth broke his left wrist while trying to make a sliding catch in a game against the Phillies. The initial timetable on Werth's return was set around 12 weeks, but doctors thought that because they had operated on the outfielder's wrist so quickly after the injury, he might be able to cut as much as three weeks off that estimate. Today, manager Davey Johnson said that Werth is making progress, but still probably is at least a month away from...

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Moore starts in left against Rays (Rodriguez begins rehab assignment)

June 19, 2012, 11:36am

Nationals

Moore starts in left against Rays (Rodriguez begins rehab assignment)

Facing Rays left-hander David Price, Davey Johnson will send out what's become his typical lineup against lefties. Danny Espinosa will lead off, Michael Morse will hit cleanup and Adam LaRoche will be bumped down to the No. 5 spot. In addition, Tyler Moore will start in left field, hitting seventh. Here's how the lineup will look tonight: 2B Danny Espinosa CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman RF Michael Morse 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond LF Tyler Moore C Jesus Flores P Chien-Ming...

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It doesn't get any easier

June 19, 2012, 5:59am

Nationals

I can't believe I'm actually asking this question right now, but is there a better starting pitcher in baseball as of today than R.A. Dickey? The guy who spent time with four organizations over a five-year span from 2006-2010, the guy who two years ago started the season in Triple-A, the guy who throws a knuckleball for God's sake, is the pitcher who no one in the majors wants to face right now. Dickey dominated the Nationals nearly two weeks ago, holding them scoreless over 7 1/3 innings...

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New-look bullpen continues to impress

June 18, 2012, 6:11am

Nationals

Remember when, coming out of spring training, the Nationals used Brad Lidge and Henry Rodriguez as their two ninth-inning arms out of the bullpen? Those days seem so long ago, don't they? With Drew Storen on the disabled list, Davey Johnson had Lidge and Rodriguez working the back-ends of his "A" and "B" bullpens. Things worked out well at first, as Lidge recorded two saves early in the season while Rodriguez looked like a new man for the first couple weeks of the year. Now, Lidge has...

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What can we take out of the weekend?

June 18, 2012, 5:40am

Nationals

Well, I think it's fair to say this weekend didn't go exactly as the Nationals had hoped. Coming off six straight road wins over American League East teams, the Nats returned home with a chance to make a statement against another red-hot division leader, one with plenty of talent and experience on the big stage. Instead, it was the visiting Yankees who made the statement. The Nats were outscored 16-6 in the Yankees' three-game sweep, made four errors to New York's one and went a combined...

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Johnson concerned about Zimmerman, middle of the order

June 17, 2012, 2:41pm

Nationals

Johnson concerned about Zimmerman, middle of the order

In his opening remarks to the media after today's 4-1 loss to the Yankees, manager Davey Johnson cut right to the chase. He's starting to get worried about the prolonged slump Ryan Zimmerman has been in all season. "Only thing that really concerns me - we've got to get Zim going," Johnson said. "Need to get Zim in a happy place." Johnson's remarks come after yet another hitless game for Zimmerman, his 17th contest without a base knock in 50 games played this season. The Nationals...

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Swept away by the pinstripes

June 17, 2012, 12:50pm

Nationals

The much-anticipated battle of first-place teams at Nats Park this weekend turned out to be a complete dud for the Nationals. The Yankees punctuated a dominating weekend in the nation's capital with a 4-1 win today, finishing off a three-game sweep. This marks the third time the Nats have been swept this season, and the first of those sweeps which has come at home. Ivan Nova went 7 2/3 innings for the pinstripes today, holding the Nats to one run on seven hits, while Curtis Granderson,...