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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

Another obstacle for planned Nats/Astros spring complex in Palm Beach County

Another obstacle for planned Nats/Astros spring complex in Palm Beach County
The Nationals' hopes to partner with the Houston Astros on a shared spring training complex in Palm Beach County have run into another obstacle: West Palm Beach, which owns the 160 acres the teams are targeting, is considering a $14 million offer for the property from a developer who wants to build there. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, city commissioners in West Palm Beach have decided to pursue a deal that would place town houses, retail businesses and a new park on the tract,...

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...

Giants and Cardinals demonstrating good situational hitting

Giants and Cardinals demonstrating good situational hitting
Situational hitting is key in any game, but doubly so in playoff matchups when opportunities are few and far between because of the quality of pitching. The Nationals struggled with situational hitting in the San Francisco series. In Game 4 at AT&T Park, with Bryce Harper at second base and no outs down 2-1, Wilson Ramos grounded out to the shortstop. It handcuffed Harper, who wasn't able to get to third base with less than two outs. It was a critical play in a game the Nationals had to...

Former National Young hopes new vision leads to new career path

Former National Young hopes new vision leads to new career path
Everything Dmitri Young thought he knew about baseball changed over the course of two weeks in Phoenix earlier this month. Now, armed with an innovative insight into the game he loves, the former Nationals first baseman is setting his sights on a new career path. The 41-year-old Young, who revived a moribund career with the Nats in 2007 to become an All-Star, recently graduated from Major League Baseball's scouting development program, an intensive two-week course affectionately known as...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Souza could provide spark to Nationals in 2015

Souza could provide spark to Nationals in 2015
Steven Souza Jr. put on a late-season display of his offensive and defensive abilities for the Nationals. The outfielder was named International League Rookie of the Year and the organization's top minor league player for his 2014 exploits. Souza played in only 21 games for the Nats, but showed off his immense power by hitting a couple of home runs, one a moon shot in Atlanta. At the minor league level, Souza has hit 56 home runs since 2012. He also made an defensive play that will forever be...

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...

Update from Arizona Fall League on Nats prospects

Update from Arizona Fall League on Nats prospects
The Mesa Solar Sox, the Arizona Fall League team that includes Nationals prospects, went 1-1 over the weekend. On Friday, Surprise beat Mesa 14-3. Nationals prospect Neil Holland was charged with a blown save after allowing five runs on four hits in one inning of work. The big blow was a Kyle Waldrop two-run shot against Holland, who entered the game with a 3-2 lead. Catcher Pedro Severino went 1-for-3 with an RBI single. Second baseman Tony Renda was a part of three double plays, but went...

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...

Williams on Barrett and Strasburg in NLDS Game 4

Williams on Barrett and Strasburg in NLDS Game 4
Nationals manager Matt Williams spent time this morning with The Junkies on 106.7 the Fan in Washington and talked about the loss in the National League Division series. Williams was obviously still disappointed about the way the season ended with a 3-1 series loss to the Giants. Listen to the entire interview here. The Junkies asked Williams to explain why he decided to keep relievers Matt Thornton and Aaron Barrett in the game to face the right-handers in the Giants lineup in Game 4. "We...

Rachel Levitin: Lackluster October offense shouldn't discredit a quality season

Rachel Levitin: Lackluster October offense shouldn't discredit a quality season
At the end of each baseball season, 29 teams go home without a ring. Unfortunately for baseball fans in Washington, the Nationals are one of those teams that went home without the ring in 2014. The team's playoff run lasted four games against the San Francisco Giants after Tuesday night's elimination match-up in which the Nats fell two games to one against their NLDS competitor. From what I could gather from casual fans I follow on Facebook and Twitter, the majority were discontent regarding...

Ex-Nat Willingham savoring first taste of postseason

Ex-Nat Willingham savoring first taste of postseason
BALTIMORE - Josh Willingham readily admits there were times during his 11 major league seasons that he wondered whether he'd ever taste the promised land of baseball's postseason. He was a part of the Nationals squad that went 59-103 in 2009, setting the stage for the team to take outfielder Bryce Harper with the first selection in the following year's First-Year Player Draft. Five times during his career, he's been on teams that lost 91 or more games. It would have been six had the...