Washington Nationals, Bloomberg Sports announce new analytic technology solution partnership

Washington Nationals, Bloomberg Sports announce new analytic technology solution partnership
The 2012 National League Eastern Division Champion Washington Nationals and Bloomberg Sports, the world's leaders in sports analytic technology, today announced a new partnership to design a state of the art player evaluation system for the Nationals Baseball Operations Department. This new partnership is the latest step in analytic technology for Bloomberg Sports, which has been a leader in creating solutions for MLB teams, players and fans for the past four years. The Nationals new system...

Storen returns with scoreless frame, helps close book on last October

Storen returns with scoreless frame, helps close book on last October
It was just one inning, but symbolically, it was crucial for Drew Storen. You could see the determination, focus and drive on the face of Storen these first few days during pregame warmups and you knew whenever his first game arrived it would be important for many reasons. Erasing the memory but learning from the experience of Oct. 12 in the National League Division Series against the Cardinals drives Storen, even though it's not something that is talked about every day. But Ryan Zimmerman...

Hearing from Gonzalez, Zimmerman and Span

Hearing from Gonzalez, Zimmerman and Span
You might not know it by looking at his pitching line - or his batting line, for that matter - but Gio Gonzalez was battling a pretty bad headache during his 2013 regular season debut tonight. Gonzalez started feeling the headache prior to first pitch and relied on consistent massages on his temple from trainer John Hsu and some Advil in order to get through his six shutout innings in the Nationals' 3-0 win. "Every inning, all the way to the fifth, where it was constantly getting massaged...

Johnson speaks after another Nats shutout

Johnson speaks after another Nats shutout
The Nationals are red-hot to start the 2013 season. So is their hitting coach. The heater in the Nationals' tunnel serves an important purpose on a night when the temperature at first pitch was 45 degrees and dropped quickly. But for Rick Eckstein, the propane heater nearly did more harm than good. "He went down there and started talking to one of the hitters that was sitting close to the fire, and he was standing close to the fire," manager Davey Johnson said, a smile on his face after...

Two games, two curtain calls (Nats win 3-0)

Two games, two curtain calls (Nats win 3-0)
Bryce Harper got called out of the dugout by the Nationals Park crowd on opening day, getting a curtain call following his second homer of the ballgame. Tonight, Gio Gonzalez was the one to get the curtain call, and not for something he did while on the mound. The Nationals left-hander took a first-pitch Kevin Slowey curveball into the bleachers in left field for his second career home run. The blast came with one out in the fifth and gave the Nats a 1-0 lead. He circled the bases with a...

Johnson on where Gonzalez can improve, plus plans for bench guys

Johnson on where Gonzalez can improve, plus plans for bench guys
Gio Gonzalez finished third in the National League Cy Young voting last season. The Nationals left-hander led the majors with 21 wins, posted a sub-3.00 ERA, worked nearly 200 innings and struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings, best in the NL among starting pitchers. It was a heck of a season, and quite a statement in Gonzalez' first season in D.C. after coming to the Nats in a trade with the Athletics. But as Gonzalez prepares to take the mound tonight for his first start of 2013, where...

Suzuki, Ramos to alternate starts for now

Suzuki, Ramos to alternate starts for now
Davey Johnson has said for months now that he feels he has two No. 1 catchers. From his perspective, how better to use those two guys than to alternate them on a daily basis, giving them equal playing time? After going with Wilson Ramos behind the plate on opening day, Johnson wrote Kurt Suzuki's name into today's lineup as his starting catcher. Those two will continue to trade off days for the foreseeable future. "That's a tribute because I like them both," Johnson said. "They're both...

Suzuki behind the plate for Gonzalez's first start (with Marlins lineup)

Suzuki behind the plate for Gonzalez's first start (with Marlins lineup)
The Nationals will trot pretty much the same lineup out for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game against the Marlins at Nationals Park. The only changes are the battery, with Kurt Suzuki catching left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Here's the Nationals lineup: CF Denard Span RF Jayson Werth LF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa C Kurt Suzuki LHP Gio Gonzalez For the Marlins: LF Juan Pierre 2B Donovan Solano RF Giancarlo Stanton 3B Placido Polanco CF Justin...

With talented bullpen, deciding who gets to pitch is "good problem to have"

With talented bullpen, deciding who gets to pitch is "good problem to have"
With high expectations, and a Nationals bullpen filled with so many good pitchers, will there be enough work to go around? On opening day, Stephen Strasburg went seven innings and then Tyler Clippard took care of the eighth. Rafael Soriano arrived in the ninth and got three straight outs for his first save as a National. Manager Davey Johnson still has his left-handed long man Zach Duke and righties Drew Storen, Craig Stammen, Ryan Mattheus and Henry Rodriguez available to go in game two....

Nationals announce NatsLive Postgame Concerts

Nationals announce NatsLive Postgame Concerts
The Washington Nationals announced today that Blues Traveler (June 8), Thompson Square (July 6), Gavin DeGraw (August 31) and Montgomery Gentry (September 21) will comprise the lineup for the 2013 NatsLive Free Postgame Concert Series following select Nationals home games throughout the summer. "We are thrilled to be opening the NatsLive Concert Series for the Washington Nationals this year!" said John Popper, lead singer for Blues Traveler. "My visit to Nationals Park last season to...

Rizzo takes a look back and ahead

Rizzo takes a look back and ahead
With a long offseason behind him and opening day now in the rear view mirror, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo took a few minutes yesterday to catch up with MASNsports.com to discuss his team's postseason run in 2012, the changes to the roster made over the winter and his expectations for this upcoming season. Rizzo touched on how he's seen Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg evolve as players, whether his team is better set up for postseason success this year and what it would mean to...

New-look Hagerstown Suns ready for challenge of 140 games

New-look Hagerstown Suns ready for challenge of 140 games
HAGERSTOWN - The older brother of the Nationals' famous young hitter, a new-look uniform and a brand new manager highlight the 2013 version of Single-A Hagerstown Suns. Tripp Keister was promoted from the GCL Nats and takes over for Brian Daubach, who moved on to Single-A Potomac. The Suns feature several talented draft picks and eight Dominican players this season. They also will wear red- and blue-trimmed uniforms, more in tune with their top team, the Washington Nationals. "I think we...

Some opening day leftovers

Some opening day leftovers
Under normal circumstances, Rafael Soriano picking up his first save as a National on opening day with a dominant ninth inning would be something we'd be discussing immediately following the game. With what Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg did yesterday, however, Soriano's performance took a bit of a backseat. Now that we've broken down Harper and Strasburg's efforts backwards and forwards and backwards again, however, we can talk a bit about Soriano's 1-2-3 ninth, which included two...

David Huzzard: A rotation full of talent - and extra motivation

David Huzzard: A rotation full of talent - and extra motivation
The starting staff that general manager Mike Rizzo assembled for the 2013 Nationals is nothing short of remarkable. Up and down the rotation, there are pitchers who are, have been, or could be aces. The talent of Stephen Strasburg is obvious. If he hadn't been stopped because of an innings limit last season, Gio Gonzalez wouldn't have been the only Nat getting Cy Young votes. Strasburg's 11.13 strikeouts per nine innings would have been the 17th-highest in major league history - and this is...

First impressions on Darvish's near perfection, Hicks' tough start, Harper's blasts and more

First impressions on Darvish's near perfection, Hicks' tough start, Harper's blasts and more
The first two days of the season are complete. Here are some first impressions: * Yu Darvish's perfect game was broken up with two outs in the ninth in the Rangers' 7-0 win in Houston on Tuesday night. It brought back memories of April 4, 2001, when the Red Sox's Hideo Nomo, who, like Darvish is from Japan, threw a no-hitter versus the Orioles at Camden Yards. The Orioles' Delino DeShields made the final out. Red Sox second baseman Mike Lansing's tumbling catch of a Mike Bordick's pop...

A glimpse into what could be a special few years

A glimpse into what could be a special few years
It's hard, after seeing what we saw yesterday at Nationals Park, not to think big picture. It's hard not to think about what could be happening two or three years down the road, possibly more. It's hard not to envision Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg putting together dominating performances like Monday's in front of consistently packed houses, with fans clamoring for tickets to watch the dual phenoms in person. Despite their relative lack of big league experience, we still got to see...

Ted Leavengood: On opening day, an elegant masterpiece

Ted Leavengood: On opening day, an elegant masterpiece
Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg made a compelling case on opening day to be considered the two best talents ever to play Major League Baseball in Washington, D.C. Facing a depleted Miami Marlins roster, Strasburg seemed to hardly work up a sweat as he breezed through seven innings on 80 pitches without allowing a run. On a day when Ricky Nolasco had his good stuff, Harper hit two laser shots that bored through a slight incoming breeze to easily reach the right field stands. The final score...

Harper on his highlight-filled day: "It was a pretty special moment"

Harper on his highlight-filled day: "It was a pretty special moment"
With his mom and dad in attendance along with 45,272 others, Bryce Harper put on a show in the Nationals' regular season opener. Harper crushed two home runs in his first two at-bats of the season, scored the Nationals' only two runs of the day and started a dramatic double play in the seventh inning that brought an end to a would-be Marlins rally and preserved a two-run lead. Talk about an impressive start to a season in which some are projecting Harper as one of the favorites for the...

Nationals revel in watching Harper, Strasburg at work

Nationals revel in watching Harper, Strasburg at work
Having trouble deciding on the right word to describe Bryce Harper's two-homer performance in the Nationals' 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins in Monday's season opener? How about the double play Harper started in the seventh with a laser throw from left field? Or the way, after going deep twice, he faked a bunt that would have caught Placido Polanco so by surprise that Harper might have run to second before the Marlins third baseman could react? Consult your thesaurus. Nationals shortstop Ian...

Johnson discusses Nats' opening day victory

Johnson discusses Nats' opening day victory
Davey Johnson probably couldn't have drawn up a more perfect game if he tried. Johnson and the Nationals got two home runs from Bryce Harper, seven exceptional innings from starter Stephen Strasburg, a couple tremendous defensive plays, a strong eighth inning from Tyler Clippard and a perfect 1-2-3 ninth from Rafael Soriano. Add it all up, and it's a 2-0 Nats win. There was plenty for Johnson to like about today's effort, but Strasburg and Harper were paramount in his mind. "Oh, Stras...