Pete Kerzel

Sturdier Mattheus ready to shoulder heavier workload

February 24, 2012, 11:40am

VIERA, Fla. - One of the inherent flaws in the bullpen that Davey Johnson inherited last season was the inability of Nationals relievers to work more than an inning at a time on a regular basis. The manager was saddled with a group that wasn't capable of longer outings - or, in some cases, pitching on successive days. At the end of last season, and through the offseason, Johnson preached to anyone who would listen about the need for durable arms that could be stretched out and used...

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Skipper ready for full-squad workouts to begin

February 24, 2012, 10:48am

Nationals

Skipper ready for full-squad workouts to begin

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals will hold their first full-squad workout Saturday morning, and manager Davey Johnson will hold a team meeting beforehand to make sure everyone's on the same page. With high expectations for the Nats, the skipper is eager to get the next phase of camp under way. "We become a team, we become whole," Johnson said. "I have not seen half of them swing the bat, take a ground ball, throw." After spending the bulk of his time the past week focusing on the pitching...

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Johnson on Zimmerman, Strasburg, Rodriguez, Hoyas

February 24, 2012, 10:36am

Nationals

Johnson on Zimmerman, Strasburg, Rodriguez, Hoyas

VIERA, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Johnson has a vested interest in keeping third baseman Ryan Zimmerman around long-term, so he's among those who want to see the Nationals and Zimmerman agree on a long-term contract extension. "I think it's a great idea. I hope that they come together and get it done," Johnson said. "He's the franchise player. He's the best player, your three-hole hitter, leader of the infield - all of the above. ... I think he wants to stay here, I think everybody...

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Jackson will get nod in Nationals' Grapefruit League opener

February 24, 2012, 9:23am

Nationals

VIERA, Fla. - Edwin Jackson, the most recent starting pitcher to join the Nationals, will start the team's March 3 Grapefruit League opener against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., manager Davey Johnson said Friday. "I talked to him in throwing drills and he was up for that," Johnson said. Jackson, like the rest of the pitchers in camp, will take the next two days off from throwing activities before pitching live batting practice Monday, Johnson said. The right-hander, who signed a one-year...

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Storen, Zimmerman weigh in on Braun's successful appeal

February 24, 2012, 5:58am

Nationals

Storen, Zimmerman weigh in on Braun's successful appeal

VIERA, Fla. - News that defending National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun of the Brewers had successfully appealed his 50-game ban for testing positive in October for elevated levels of testosterone was well-received in the Nationals clubhouse Friday morning, though some players privately questioned whether they could trust Major League Baseball's testing measures in light of Braun's suspension being overturned. "I think it's great," said closer Drew Storen, who is entering his...

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Does Zimmerman extension hinge on no-trade protection?

February 24, 2012, 5:16am

Nationals

Does Zimmerman extension hinge on no-trade protection?

VIERA, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman's self-imposed Saturday deadline to have a contract extension in place is moving closer, and it appears any chance the Nationals have at locking up their starting third baseman beyond 2013 hinge on a new deal containing a no-trade clause. "The point of me signing this deal is to be here, not to sign a deal that's team-friendly to have it with another team," Zimmerman said Friday morning. Zimmerman, whose current five-year, $45 million deal runs out after the...

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Detwiler's finally learned how he can be successful

February 23, 2012, 11:33am

Nationals

Detwiler's finally learned how he can be successful

VIERA, Fla. - Ross Detwiler sprints from the mound, takes a flip from spring training instructor Mark Grater and applies an tag on an imaginary runner at home plate. Another mundane but important drill completed, Detwiler heads off to his next station, a definitely noticeable spring in his step. And why not? After the way he impressed at the end of last season, the left-hander is expected to head north as part of the 12-man pitching staff manager Davey Johnson will take out of spring training....

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Humbled Morse wants to use breakthrough as a baseline

February 23, 2012, 10:58am

Nationals

Humbled Morse wants to use breakthrough as a baseline

Of the countless words used to describe Michael Morse's breakthrough season in 2011 - and a .303 average, 31 homers and 95 RBIs will get you a lot of plaudits, not to mention Most Valuable Player votes - the most unexpected may been uttered by Morse himself. "Last year, to me, was very humbling," Morse said Thursday morning in the Nationals' clubhouse. "It was something I always knew I could do. Now I feel like it's the tip of the iceberg. I feel I have so much more to offer. Now I know...

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McCatty, Johnson want Storen to slow down a little

February 23, 2012, 10:15am

Nationals

McCatty, Johnson want Storen to slow down a little

VIERA, Fla. - Drew Storen was between pitches in his bullpen session Thursday when pitching coach Steve McCatty walked over to him and interrupted his series of tosses to catcher Wilson Ramos. The conversation looked pretty one-sided, with Storen doing all the listening, and McCatty was making a plea that Storen is used to hearing. "He just keeps telling me to slow down," Storen said later. "I kind of ... wrecked my reputation in spring training because I threw about 100 pitches in 10...

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Wang to get extra day of rest, Gonzalez unleashes "snapdragons"

February 23, 2012, 9:50am

Nationals

Wang to get extra day of rest, Gonzalez unleashes "snapdragons"

VIERA, Fla. - Today should have been Chien-Ming Wang's day to throw a bullpen. Instead, the right-hander got an extra day of rest, a move Nationals manager Davey Johnson said would be repeated early in camp to allow Wang to build up his strength and stamina. "These guys have been around for a little bit, they know what they need to do to get that prepared. ... Since (Wang is) on a little different rest period, I will ... probably have him throw a simulated game for his first start here, or a...

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And then there were none ...

February 23, 2012, 7:05am

Nationals

VIERA, Fla. - All present and accounted for. The last two straggers - one with an excused absence, one who probably didn't realize he'd be the last arrival to camp even though he was reporting early - showed up at Space Cost Stadium today, meaning all the Nationals have reported to spring training. Right-hander Henry Rodriguez, whose absence was excused, was by his locker stall bright and early. He had been granted a waiver from the Feb. 19 reporting date to work through a personal issue in...

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Nats, Zimmerman continue to talk; Rizzo "hopeful" of deal

February 23, 2012, 4:52am

Nationals

Nats, Zimmerman continue to talk; Rizzo "hopeful" of deal

VIERA, Fla. - Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Thursday that he continues to be engaged in talks with Ryan Zimmerman and his representatives in hopes of hammering out a contract extension before the third baseman's Saturday deadline for a deal. "We continue to talk and have discussions," Rizzo said. "His agent (Brodie Van Wagenen) is in town, so that makes it easier." Zimmerman has said that he wants a deal in place by the time full-squad workouts begin Saturday or discussions...

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Newcomer Lidge more than willing to share his experience

February 22, 2012, 12:19pm

Nationals

Newcomer Lidge more than willing to share his experience

VIERA, Fla. - Brad Lidge isn't ready to open his arms to the role of bullpen sage just because he's got 10 major league seasons and 223 career saves under his belt. But he was lucky enough to have established closers like Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner reach out to him when he was younger, and the 35-year-old Lidge is more than willing to do the same for the Nationals' young relievers, paying it forward so they can better adapt to and succeed in their roles. "If I see something going on...

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Nats' Morse still a big hit with Taiwanese media

February 22, 2012, 11:10am

Nationals

Nats' Morse still a big hit with Taiwanese media

VIERA, Fla. - For a few minutes Wednesday afternoon, a Nationals player was swarmed by Taiwanese media, who crowded around him outside the first base dugout at Space Coast Stadium, still cameras clicking, video cameras running and note pads in hand. Surprise, it wasn't Chien-Ming Wang, who has apparently been replaced as the media darling among his countrymen by teammate Michael Morse. Morse toured Taiwan with a group of Major League Baseball all-stars back in November, immediately...

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More from the manager

February 22, 2012, 10:13am

Nationals

VIERA, Fla. - More from Nationals manager Davey Johnson after the Nationals' second workout of the spring Wednesday. With utility man Mark DeRosa reporting, the only two players who haven't shown up in camp are non-roster outfielder

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Jackson will work on not tipping pitches in windup

February 22, 2012, 10:08am

Nationals

Jackson will work on not tipping pitches in windup

VIERA, Fla. - One of the main goals the Nationals have for veteran Edwin Jackson this spring is to correct a flaw in his delivery that may lead to the right-hander tipping his pitches, particularly from a full windup. Jackson went through his first side session today, throwing to catcher Wilson Ramos, and manager Davey Johnson says the problem, first discovered by pitching coach Steve McCatty while watching video of Jackson before camp, is still evident. "He's tipping his pitches. I did...

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Zimmerman firm on Saturday deadline for contract talks

February 22, 2012, 9:18am

Nationals

Zimmerman firm on Saturday deadline for contract talks

VIERA, Fla. - Agent Brodie Van Waganen is in Nationals camp, fueling speculation that he's trying to get something done on the Ryan Zimmerman contract front by Saturday, the deadline the third baseman has imposed on a possible long-term deal. Zimmerman reiterated Wednesday that he will shut down talks with the club if a deal isn't reached by then. "It's not fair for all these guys here to have to worry about that every day," Zimmerman said. "It's not fair for me to answer questions...

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Wrist woes behind him, DeRosa comes full circle to utility role

February 22, 2012, 7:11am

Nationals

Wrist woes behind him, DeRosa comes full circle to utility role

VIERA, Fla. - The tendon he ruptured in his left wrist swinging at a pitch from Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw in L.A. last May 18 may have been a blessing in disguise for Mark DeRosa. Of course, at the time, all the veteran could do was wince and wonder whether his career was over. "To be honest with you, since I've ruptured it, it's the best that it felt," said DeRosa, who reported to Nationals camp on Wednesday, leaving only non-roster outfielder Xavier Paul unaccounted for among...

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Johnson embraces players' manager moniker

February 21, 2012, 11:40am

Nationals

Johnson embraces players' manager moniker

VIERA, Fla. - Go ahead, call the Nationals' Davey Johnson a players' manager. Some major league skippers might bristle at that moniker, which to some indicates that they mollycoddle millionaires and refuse to exert their managerial authority. Not Johnson, who values the relationship he culls with his players, figuring the more intimate the understanding of his charges, the better he's able to perform his job. "I always try and put a guy in a situation that's conducive for him to succeed....

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Johnson satisfied with Nationals' initial workout of spring

February 21, 2012, 11:00am

Nationals

VIERA, Fla. - For the first workout of the spring for Nationals pitchers and catchers, the first time he's kicked off a major league camp since 2000 in Dodgertown at the now-vacatedVero Beach, Fla., facility, manager Davey Johnson took a page from the past in his instructions to a vastly improved mound staff. Fastballs and change-ups were allowed in the first side sessions. Breaking balls were not. When you're 69 and the oldest manager in the majors, you have a perspective some of the...