nationals

Sorting through Soriano's first season in Washington

October 18, 2013, 4:52am

Like many of you, I watched Koji Uehara continue late last night to mow down hitters at an amazing rate in the late innings. Uehara, who has served as the Red Sox closer for the last five months, was called upon to record a five-out save in a one-run game in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series - by no means an easy task. He faced five batters and retired them all. This is nothing new for the Japanese right-hander, who started his major league career just up the road in...

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Weekly Wrap: Nats continue managerial search

October 17, 2013, 8:28pm

Nationals

Weekly Wrap: Nats continue managerial search

In case you haven't noticed, there's some pretty great postseason baseball being played right now. The Red Sox are looking to head to the World Series, and they're in need of just one more win. The Dodgers will send Clayton Kershaw to the mound tonight as they look to even up their series with the Cardinals. However, if your attention is solely on postseason baseball, you may have missed some news surrounding the Nationals this week. The Nats are continuing their managerial search, looking...

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A big day for Harper, a big offseason for Ramos

October 16, 2013, 5:13am

Nationals

A big day for Harper, a big offseason for Ramos

Bryce Harper put up 42 home runs, 117 RBIs and a .834 OPS before turning 21. As of today, he could, if he desired, legally celebrate those accomplishments with a beer. Harper turns 21 today, which is sure to set off plenty of bad "Clown question, bro" jokes online throughout the day. It was up in Toronto after a game last year, of course, that a 19-year-old Harper was asked whether he would be drinking any Canadian beers postgame, leading to his catchphrase that swept the country, got...

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Jewett another in-house name to watch during managerial search

October 15, 2013, 5:18am

Nationals

Jewett another in-house name to watch during managerial search

When discussing the Nationals' in-house managerial candidates over the last handful of weeks, the name that has most often been discussed has been Randy Knorr. That's with good reason. Knorr is very well-respected in the Nats' clubhouse, has a lengthy history as a minor league manager within the organization and has spent time on the Nats' big league coaching staff, most recently as the team's bench coach. When players were asked down the stretch, both on and off the record, who they...

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Looking deeper into Storen's shaky season

October 14, 2013, 4:40am

Nationals

Looking deeper into Storen's shaky season

Yesterday, I wrote about Ryan Mattheus' turbulent 2013 season and how he dealt with a self-inflicted injury, a demotion to the minors and a mostly subpar string of performances when he was healthy and on the Nationals roster. That led some of you in the comment section to bring up another reliever who struggled at times during the 2013 campaign - Drew Storen. It'd be easy to look at Storen's stats line for 2013 - a 4.52 ERA and 1.362 WHIP in 68 games (61 2/3 innings) - and assume that the...

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Handy guide to free agent left-handed relievers for 2014

October 13, 2013, 7:30am

Nationals

Handy guide to free agent left-handed relievers for 2014

Hanging with some Nationals fans Saturday at Maryland's college football game versus Virginia (Terps won 27-26 in a very competitive battle), a lot of them asked me what left-handed relievers might be available next season to fire pitches at Nationals Park. Here is a quick list of available veteran free agent left-handed relievers, according to MLBTradeRumors.com: Scott Downs (38) Mike Gonzalez (36) Rich Hill (34) J.P. Howell (31) Boone Logan (29) Javier Lopez (36) Eric...

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Mattheus: "I'm going to have to win my job back"

October 13, 2013, 7:00am

Nationals

Mattheus: "I'm going to have to win my job back"

It would probably be fair to say that Ryan Mattheus had a turbulent 2013 season. After punching up a 2.85 ERA in 66 appearances in 2012, becoming the Nationals' reliable seventh-inning guy, Mattheus had the following happen to him in 2013: He broke his right hand punching a locker after a poor outing in mid-May, knocking him out of action for more than two months, posted a 9.00 ERA in nine games after his return, got demoted to Triple-A Syracuse for two weeks, and then pitched to a 6.57 ERA...

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Marveling at some postseason magic

October 11, 2013, 11:28pm

Nationals

Boy, does Carlos Beltran dominate the postseason or what? Not only did Beltran go 2-for-6 in last night's National League Championship Series Game 1, driving in two of the Cardinals' three runs in a 3-2 win, including the game-winning run in the 13th inning, but he also threw out a runner at the plate in the top of the 10th, keeping the game tied at that point. What a tremendous play that was, and what a tremendous game we got to see. In his postseason career, spanning 40 games, Beltran is...

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Some of this, some of that

October 11, 2013, 6:12am

Nationals

Like the Nationals, the Mariners are looking for a new manager this offseason. They were interested in having their new manager be their old manager, however. FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Mariners made a major effort to try and convince former manager Lou Piniella to return to the dugout and take the reins of that struggling franchise. The 70-year-old Piniella declined, however. With Davey Johnson stepping away from the Nationals' managerial job and Charlie Manuel...

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Could Nationals' best choice for a new manager come from the outside?

October 10, 2013, 6:08am

Nationals

The managerial search continues for the Nationals. Most likely, a decision or announcement will not come until after the World Series. Manager Davey Johnson leaves with a Hall of Fame legacy. Finishing his career with the Nationals, he won 100 games in 2012 and 86 in 2013. General manager Mike Rizzo has to make one of the bigger decisions of his tenure. His choice will decide the direction the organization will go for at least the next five seasons. Bench coach Randy Knorr appears to have...

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Pool of managerial candidates gets a little smaller

October 10, 2013, 5:44am

Nationals

Pool of managerial candidates gets a little smaller

Well, I guess Joe Girardi won't be going anywhere after all. Girardi was thought to be a main target of the Cubs. The Nationals had expressed interest in discussing their managerial job with him. Other teams surely would have wanted to interview the former big league catcher who won the 2009 World Series as the skipper of the Yankees and has posted a .566 career winning percentage as a big league manager. Instead, Girardi will forego his other managerial options and remain in New...

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More on Moore's rocky season and outlook for 2014

October 09, 2013, 12:46am

Nationals

More on Moore's rocky season and outlook for 2014

Over the final couple of months of the season, we heard manager Davey Johnson say over and over (and over and over) again that one of the main reasons for the Nationals' struggles for much of the year was that the guys on the bench didn't perform to their ability level. Chad Tracy hit .202 with a .568 OPS and Roger Bernadina hit .178 with a .517 OPS this season, a pretty steep decline from their numbers in 2012. But they weren't alone. Tyler Moore also saw his production level take a pretty...

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Looking back on the two winter trades

October 07, 2013, 11:42pm

Nationals

Yesterday an entertaining enough day of baseball for everyone? In four postseason games, we saw a ninth-inning, benches-clearing incident in Detroit; a near no-hitter by 22-year-old Michael Wacha (who came within an out of a no-hitter against the Nationals in his last start prior to yesterday); a walk-off homer that staved off elimination for the Rays; and a series-clinching homer in the bottom of the eighth that sent the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series and sent the Braves...

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Werth selected as Nats' nominee for Hank Aaron Award

October 07, 2013, 10:00am

Nationals

Werth selected as Nats' nominee for Hank Aaron Award

Major League Baseball announced today that Jayson Werth has been selected as the Nationals' nominee for the 2013 Hank Aaron Award, which recognizes the most outstanding offensive performer in each league. Fans can place their vote for the award here through Oct. 10 by visiting MLB.com. The winners of the 2013 Hank Aaron Award will be announced during the World Series. Werth hit .318 with 25 home runs, a team-leading 82 RBI, 24 doubles, 60 walks and 84 runs scored in 129 games this season....

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Span: "I can go home and have my head up. I held my own"

October 07, 2013, 5:43am

Nationals

Span: "I can go home and have my head up. I held my own"

If you look at Denard Span's overall numbers for the 2013 season, you probably wouldn't have any indication of just how long the Nationals center fielder struggled offensively this year. Span's career slash line is .283/.351/.387. This season, he hit .279/.327/.380. Not his best work, but not a line that jumps out at you as all that subpar. Yet, for more than four months, Span was stuck in neutral from an offensive perspective. He didn't feel comfortable with his swing. He wasn't getting...

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Jayson Werth named Nationals' nominee for Hank Aaron Award

October 07, 2013, 9:44am

Nationals

Major League Baseball and MLB Advanced Media announced that right fielder Jayson Werth was named the Nationals' nominee for the 2013 Hank Aaron Award. Fans can vote exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites. For the fourth straight year, a special panel of Hall of Fame players led by Hank Aaron will join fans in voting for the award, which is officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and has recognized the most outstanding offensive performer in each League since it was...

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Another way to look at the search for a starter

October 06, 2013, 6:52am

Nationals

Another way to look at the search for a starter

I mentioned yesterday that the emergence of young pitching talent in the Nationals organization could cause general manager Mike Rizzo to view the plans for the back of the rotation differently. Instead of going out and spending a large chunk of money for an experienced free agent starter, like the Nats have the last two offseasons when they acquired Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren, Rizzo could go a different route. He could decide that with Tanner Roark, Taylor Jordan, Nathan Karns, A.J. Cole,...

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Thinking differently about the back of the rotation

October 05, 2013, 6:33am

Nationals

Thinking differently about the back of the rotation

Each of the last two offseasons, the Nationals have added a veteran right-handed starter to complement the back end of their rotation. Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren were supposed to provide experienced, talented options behind a rotation of fairly young starters. They got $11 and $13 million, respectively, and were counted on to make big things happen to help the Nats get over the edge. It's safe to say that didn't happen. Jackson went 10-11 with a 4.03 ERA in 189 innings in 2012 and...

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Report: Nats ask permission to interview Girardi

October 04, 2013, 6:32am

Nationals

Report: Nats ask permission to interview Girardi

The Nationals' search for a manager is officially under way, and not surprisingly, Joe Girardi's name has found its way into the discussion. According to David Kaplan of CSNChicago, the Nationals have requested permission to interview Girardi, who just finished up his sixth season as manager of the Yankees. Girardi is an interesting name to watch this offseason. His contract with the Yankees expires at the end of the month, and he's one of the more proven and respected managers that could...

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Who's your Most Valuable National?

October 04, 2013, 5:31am

Nationals

While watching a host of games last night - and man, was there a lot of entertaining sports action on TV with two MLB playoff games, an overtime Capitals game and "Thursday Night Football" - I got into a discussion with my buddy about who should take home National League MVP honors. I feel Andrew McCutchen is deserving of the award after leading the Pirates to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, sitting among the league leaders in the three major offensive categories, stealing 27...