These days, you rarely see a pitcher admit that he hit a player on purpose.
Fans and media members get all over pitchers when they deny intentionally plunking a hitter, but in reality, there's no reason to come clean about it. All it will get you is a fine and possible suspension.
That's why the postgame comments made by Phillies starter Cole Hamels are so surprising.
Hamels drilled Bryce Harper in the back with a first-pitch 93 mph fastball in the first inning of today's game. It surely...
Instead of doing another "Clubhouse Cliff Notes" entry, which I plan on posting Monday mornings when the team is coming off a homestand, I decided to put that aside for now.
There's just too much to discuss coming out of the Nationals' exciting three-game series with the Phillies this weekend.
I'll start with Jayson Werth's wrist injury, which unfortunately will in some ways overshadow all the fantastic baseball we saw over the past three days. Even a good hour after the game last...
It was pretty clear even before the official diagnosis came in: Jayson Werth broke his left wrist tonight.
The Nationals' medical staff and manager Davey Johnson later confirmed what the highlights appeared to show. Werth broke his wrist while attempting to make a sliding catch in the sixth inning of tonight's game.
According to Johnson, the break was a clean one. There's no timetable as of yet for exactly how long Werth will be out, but it will be a matter of months, not weeks. The...
Last night's "Sunday Night Baseball" game was not good to the Nationals, despite the overall success of the "Our Park" campaign. When Bryce Harper stole home in the first inning, he stole Nationals Park back from the Philly faithful, but the loss of Jayson Werth to a broken wrist undermines any sense of triumph. It is a blow that will hurt Washington for the remainder of the season and a tragedy for Werth, who was playing so well and assuming such a large role in mentoring Harper....
It was a statement play by Phillies All-Star starter Cole Hamels. With two outs in the first, he hit Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in the lower back with a pitch.
With two outs in the opening frame after walking the 19-year old the entire series, the Phillies were looking to put what they thought was a brash young player in his place.
Hamels told the Philadelphia media he hit Harper on purpose. Harper and manager Davey Johnson did not publicly say that they thought it was...
The sweep was not to be.
Unfortunately for the Nationals, tonight's series finale against the Phillies might not be the only thing they lost.
Washington fell to the rival Phillies 9-3 tonight, preventing the team from winning its fifth straight game. But the injury to Jayson Werth, who looked to hurt his left wrist while diving for a ball in the sixth inning, is the bigger story. The Nats might be without their $126 million man for a while, providing another blow to an offense which is...
This doesn't look good.
Jayson Werth has left tonight's game in the top of the sixth inning after injuring what looked like his left wrist when he tried to make a sliding catch of a Placido Polanco liner.
The Nationals right fielder got his glove hand bent back while making a slide for the ball, and you could tell he immediately was in pain. Werth got the ball back in to the infield but fell to the ground after throwing the ball in, and was clutching his left arm tight to his body.
He...
You know what's pretty remarkable?
Even after the five-game losing streak the Nationals went through recently, they still are tied for the best record in the National League and are just a half-game back of the Rays, who have the best mark in baseball.
That's how solid this team has been this season.
The Nats now lead the Phillies by 5 1/2 games in the NL East, and have an opportunity to deliver an early-season blow in front of a nationally televised audience tonight when they go for the...
The Nationals are off to their best start since their arrival in D.C. in 2005. To put the start in perspective, look back at the first 27 games of each season.
After 27 games in 2012, the Nationals are 18-9. And before that?
* In 2011, they were 13-14.
* In 2010, they were 14-13.
* In 2009, they were 9-18.
* In 2008, they were 10-17.
* In 2007, they were 9-18.
* In 2006, they were 9-18.
* In 2005, they were 14-13.
So in the eight seasons the Nationals have been in D.C., they have been above...
You want to hit Bryce Harper? OK, that's fine.
He'll just sprint full-speed and go from first to third on a single to left and then steal home on a pickoff throw to first base.
No big deal.
The Nationals lead the Phillies 1-0 after one inning of play thanks to Harper's remarkable display of hustle and want-to in the bottom of the first.
Forget having Jordan Zimmermann plunk one of the Phillies' hitters in order to retaliate to Cole Hamels drilling Harper in the lower back on a...
I've got good news to pass along on the Nationals' injured first and third basemen.
Adam LaRoche got an MRI on his sore right oblique today and it came back clean. The oblique is not torn, which let LaRoche breathe easy.
"Just a bruise, which is awesome news," LaRoche said. "I was worried about that."
LaRoche got treatment and hit today, probably at about 50-60 percent, he estimated. He will hit again tomorrow on the Nats' off day at closer to 100 percent force, and hopes to be able...
Check out this gem from Ryan Zimmerman when asked about the strong crowds at Nationals Park for this weekend's series against the Phillies.
"I wouldn't have come and watched us a couple years ago, either," he said. "That's the truth. Nobody wants to come watch a team that loses 100 games.
"It's their hard-earned money. It's not easy to buy tickets now. As long as we continue to win, the fans will come, and that's what we plan on doing."
The fans came this weekend. The Nats have...
As promised, Davey Johnson's lineup for Sunday night's game against the Phillies is exactly the same (minus a different starting pitcher) as the one he put up for yesterday afternoon's contest in which the Nationals pounded out 15 hits.
If it ain't broke, don't ...
Here's how things will look for the Nats tonight:
SS Ian Desmond
3B Steve Lombardozzi
LF Bryce Harper
RF Jayson Werth
1B Chad Tracy
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Rick Ankiel
C Wilson Ramos
P Jordan Zimmermann
I'm back from the "Nats Xtra" set after quite a fun day of TV work. The members of the crew all were great liars and told me I did a nice job.
Dating to last season, the Nationals have now won seven in a row and 11 of their last 13 against the Phillies after today's 7-1 victory.
Through the first two games in this series, they out-hit Philadelphia 29-11 and already locked up their eighth series win of the young season with a chance to earn a sweep of their division rivals tomorrow.
Yeah,...
You'll have to pardon the lack of updates from me this morning - I'm co-hosting "Nats Xtra" today along with my MASNsports.com colleague Byron Kerr and will be multitasking throughout the day.
Tune in to the pregame show starting at 12:30 p.m. and stick around postgame, as well, and you'll see my ugly mug all over your TV screen. Should be fun.
Wanted to pass along a quick note on Ryan Zimmerman, who swung at 100 percent force while hitting "flips" today and felt no discomfort in his...
Wilson Ramos is regarded as an above-average defensive catcher.
He's got a strong arm, is usually sound when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt and has good overall fundamentals behind the plate.
So far this season, however, Ramos' defense has left something to be desired.
Ramos could have made a grab on Jayson Werth's throw to the plate in the fourth inning, but couldn't hang onto the ball, and Shane Victorino scored the game's first run on a Carlos Ruiz sac fly.
Werth's throw...
I hate to be the cynic, but every game I expect the Nationals' starting pitcher to falter, not due to a lack of talent or anything sinister, it just simply has to happen some time.
Fortunately, Nats fans, today was not that day.
As he has done all season, Gio Gonzalez was dominant, stifling a Phillies lineup that mustered just four hits and one run in seven innings against Washington's left-hander. Gonzalez's seven strikeouts and one walk, combined with three home runs by the offense,...
The Nationals were resilient Friday night against the Phillies, clawing out an 11-inning, 4-3 win against a key divisional foe.
Their reward for such a victory? How about a 1 p.m. start time for Saturday.
That's just what we have here today as the Nats and Phillies will partake in a little day baseball with Gio Gonzalez getting the start for the home team. Vance Worley will pitch for the Phillies.
SS Desmond
3B Lombardozzi
LF Harper
RF Werth
1B Tracy
2B Espinosa
CF Ankiel
C Ramos
P ...
The Single-A Potomac Nationals announced their roster for the 2012 season, highlighted by the No. 6 overall selection, third baseman Anthony Rendon.
"I love this group of guys," Rendon said. "You got a lot of great players here. I grew up playing with a lot of these guys and also in college. They tore us up when we played them. I just know what they can do and when they come out here it is going to be even better."
In years past, the P-Nats had been heavy with pitchers, but this season...
Davey Johnson likes to say that he doesn't view any one game as more important than the rest.
It's a long season, and a game in May means just as much in the standings as a win in September.
But the Nationals skipper also acknowledges that games against the Phillies have a little bit of a different vibe to them. The crowd is more animated, the game feels tighter and a win, like tonight's 4-3 walk-off victory, tastes maybe just a little bit sweeter.
"They kind of have a bigger feeling...