nationals

Nationals announce mini ticket plans for 2012 season

January 13, 2012, 7:04am

We're getting closer and closer to the start of spring training, which means, Nationals fans, your window to purchase tickets for the 2012 season is closing. Of course, the best option is to get to all 81 home games, but for those of you who, you know, actually have a job to go to, the Nationals have announced a collection of mini plans for the upcoming season. Starting this week, Washington Nationals fans will have the opportunity to choose between four affordable mini ticket plans to see...

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Washington Nationals announce mini plans for 2012 season

January 13, 2012, 7:03am

Nationals

Starting this week, Washington Nationals fans will have the opportunity to choose between four affordable mini ticket plans to see some of the hottest games of the 2012 season. As an added value, each plan will also include one game free. This year's mini plans include: * Manager's Plan (15 games for the price of 14): For the second consecutive year, fans can create their own unique ticket plan featuring games against National League East rivals and Interleague opponents. Some restrictions...

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What if ... Tim Raines had played longer in Montreal, boosting Hall credentials?

January 10, 2012, 10:12am

Nationals

What if ... Tim Raines had played longer in Montreal, boosting Hall credentials?

The annual announcement of the Baseball Writers' Association of America balloting for the Baseball Hall of Fame always brings polar opposites in emotions: elected candidates thrilled yet humbled to be recognized among the game's immortals and the lamentations of those bypassed or ignored who don't understand why. In that way, voting results are much like the game - there are clear winners and losers. But debate about those not elected goes on long after the lucky party - in this case, Barry...

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Cubs' trade for first base prospect means market for Fielder is thinning

January 07, 2012, 4:30am

Nationals

Cubs' trade for first base prospect means market for Fielder is thinning

By acquiring promising prospect Anthony Rizzo in a four-player deal with the San Diego Padres on Friday, the Chicago Cubs not only got their first baseman of the future, they also probably took themselves out of the Prince Fielder derby. That's good news for the Nationals, who are working to sign the free agent slugger. Who else remains in on Fielder? Quite frankly, the list of suitors is dwindling, a development that could work in Washington's favor as they negotiate with agent Scott Boras...

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Guest blog: Hope accompanies centennial of Washington's golden baseball age

January 11, 2012, 5:42am

Nationals

Guest blog: Hope accompanies centennial of Washington's golden baseball age

One hundred years ago, in January 1912, the Washington Nationals were owned by the principal publisher of the Washington Star, Tom Noyes. Noyes has assumed ownership of Washington's new American League team in 1904, but had despaired of ever seeing a winner in D.C. after a decade of cellar-dwelling teams. Then, in November 1911, serendipity linked Noyes with a giant of the game, Clark Griffith. Known as "The Old Fox," Griffith saw in Washington a unique opportunity and took the managerial...

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Solis "doing well" in recovery from elbow pain; Hansen also good news

January 10, 2012, 5:14pm

Nationals

Solis "doing well" in recovery from elbow pain; Hansen also good news

Left-hander Sammy Solis is progessing well following elbow soreness that shut down his Arizona Fall League campaign. Solis visited two doctors in Los Angeles to check the elbow pain and there was concern as to the extent of the injury, as there would be with any pitcher who suffers such a setback. Nationals director of player development Doug Harris reports that Solis is "doing well" at this time and the team is receiving "positive feedback" as Solis rests the elbow. He is day to...

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Which arbitration-eligible National is most deserving of an extension?

January 10, 2012, 6:31am

Nationals

Which arbitration-eligible National is most deserving of an extension?

The offseason is chugging along and we'll soon be talking about guys arriving at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla. The next step for the Nationals is to come to contract terms with their six arbitration-eligible players: right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jordan Zimmermann, left-handers Tom Gorzelanny and John Lannan, outfielder/first baseman Michael Morse and catcher Jesus Flores. Clippard and Zimmermann are first-timers in the arbitration process, while Lannan and Morse are getting their...

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Menhart critical to maintaining pace in Harrisburg

January 08, 2012, 4:53pm

Nationals

Menhart critical to maintaining pace in Harrisburg

The Nationals were faced with a major decision in their system this offseason when Harrisburg Senators pitching coach Randy Tomlin stepped down from his post. The Nats had already had to adjust to the promotion of Randy Knorr from Triple-A Syracuse manager to bench coach with the Nationals. Tony Beasley was elevated from Double-A Harrisburg to Syracuse to replace Knorr. At Harrisburg, the Nationals moved quickly and promoted Paul Menhart from Single-A Potomac to pitching coach with the...

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If Fielder doesn't pan out, healthy LaRoche a solid option

January 06, 2012, 5:22am

Nationals

If Fielder doesn't pan out, healthy LaRoche a solid option

For the sake of discussion, let's assume that Prince Fielder doesn't end up in D.C. in 2012. No majestic home runs reaching the second deck in right field. No snide comments about his weight the first time he goes into a slump. No spring training negotiations between Fielder and Jayson Werth - for cash, vintage automobiles, jewelry, etc. - over who gets to don jersey No. 28. If Fielder doesn't sign with the Nationals, could you stand to have a healthy, productive Adam LaRoche at first...

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Nats farmhand Zinicola hit with 50-game suspension

January 05, 2012, 11:02am

Nationals

Nats farmhand Zinicola hit with 50-game suspension

Nationals minor league pitcher Zech Zinicola has received a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball for a second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, according to a press release. The 26-year-old Zinicola's ban stemmed from a "drug of abuse," according to the release, meaning it wasn't for using performance-enhancing drugs. He was on the Triple-A Syracuse roster. The right-hander, a sixth-round pick of the Nationals in 2006, was 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA...

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Potomac Nationals install new grass field at Pfitzner Stadium

January 04, 2012, 10:20am

Nationals

Early last season, the Single-A Potomac Nationals had to move some home games to Frederick, Md., and had other games postponed because their home field, Pfitzner Stadium, was deemed unplayable by minor league officials. The Nationals improved the clubhouse facilities for the home team during last season, expanding the locker room and coaches' offices, and added a new conference room behind the first base dugout. This season, improvements include a brand new grass field, installed last month,...

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Young Nationals talent will follow LeCroy from Potomac to Harrisburg

January 06, 2012, 2:42pm

Nationals

New Harrisburg Senators manager Matt LeCroy will see some very familiar faces as he takes the helm at Metro Bank Park this spring in his first season as a Double-A skipper. LeCroy said his team in Potomac persevered when it did not appear to be a formidable offensive threat early on. But behind quality pitching, the team defied a difficult first half, and scraped together hits and rallies in the final month of season to earn a playoff spot. This experience at Single-A will be a major boost...

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How much is too much for Prince Fielder?

January 05, 2012, 6:30am

Nationals

How much is too much for Prince Fielder?

I'm starting to feel like I know Prince Fielder better than I should. Isn't it bad enough that I owned his slugging father Cecil on my American League Rotisserie team for many years, gambling a pick on the elder when he came back from Japan after rediscovering his home run stroke (and, apparently, a lot more rice than sushi)? But I've resigned myself to the fact that until he signs elsewhere, Prince will be dominating discussion in NatsTown. At least hot stove season isn't boring,...

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Dobbs returns to Marlins, Nats still looking for bench help

January 04, 2012, 6:40am

Nationals

Dobbs returns to Marlins, Nats still looking for bench help

Scratch Greg Dobbs off the Nationals' list of potential bench additions for 2012. The left-handed-hitting corner infielder/outfielder signed a two-year, $3 million deal Tuesday to remain with the Miami Marlins. The 33-year-old Dobbs is a career .259 hitter with nine homers and 60 RBIs as a pinch hitter. Manager Davey Johnson wanted a guy or two on the bench who could run into a fastball late in a game, and Dobbs certainly fit that job description. So the Nationals will continue their search...

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What if ... the Expos (and Twins) had been contracted before 2002?

January 03, 2012, 8:06am

Nationals

What if ... the Expos (and Twins) had been contracted before 2002?

It may be a new year, and we may still be knee-deep in Prince Fielder rumors, but it's also "What If?" Wednesday, and we'll take this opportunity to tinker with baseball's space-time continuum to see what might have happened in Nationals history had something, somewhere occurred just a bit differently. This week, we set the way-back machine - that's a gratuitous "Peabody's Improbable History" reference, for the cartoon-challenged among you - for 2002, when commissioner Bud Selig was...

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Knorr relishes opportunity to be Nationals' bench coach

January 03, 2012, 7:20pm

Nationals

Former major league catcher Randy Knorr begins a new challenge with the Nationals' organization as manager Davey Johnson's right hand-man - he's the new bench coach in the first base dugout. Knorr has been managing parts of six seasons in the franchise's system, most recently as the skipper for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. Knorr has been with the Nationals before. He served as Nationals' bullpen coach for parts of the 2006 season and the complete 2009 schedule. While he enjoys any role...

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Report: Nationals ink pitcher Dan Cortes

January 04, 2012, 9:42am

Nationals

According to this tweet from Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, the Nationals have signed right-hander Dan Cortes, who has pitched in the majors during parts of two seasons with the Mariners. The 24-year-old Cortes was originally a seventh-round pick by the White Sox in 2005, and was then traded to the Royals in July 2006 in a deal for reliever Mike MacDougal and dealt to the Mariners in July 2009 in a swap for shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt. Cortes reached the majors in 2010 with...

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Is Steve Lombardozzi ready for the majors?

January 01, 2012, 8:40am

Nationals

Is Steve Lombardozzi ready for the majors?

In all the discussions about how the Nationals are trying to improve their bench for 2012, Steve Lombardozzi's name comes up - but only at the end of the conversation. Most agree that the 23-year-old infielder has a promising career ahead of him; the question remains whether he's ready to contribute at the major league level or whether he needs some more at-bats at Triple-A Syracuse. And then there's the pesky question about where the Nats can use him. Lombardozzi is a favorite among Nats...

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Nationals' interest in Fielder is real, but could affect other players, too

January 03, 2012, 12:13pm

Nationals

Turns out there was some meat to those rumors after all. The Nationals are, indeed, in the running to sign free agent slugger Prince Fielder, and met with Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, recently in Washington, D.C., according to a baseball source. The news was first reported by MLB.com. Confirmation that the Nationals are talking to Fielder should come as no surprise, considering general manager Mike Rizzo has said he felt the team was one big bat and one solid arm away from contending for a...

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Fielder chatter is becoming more difficult to ignore (updated with Nats in running)

January 02, 2012, 2:53pm

Nationals

Fielder chatter is becoming more difficult to ignore (updated with Nats in running)

The Nationals are expected this week to hold a press conference to introduce their newest acquisition, left-hander Gio Gonzalez. At the rate the Prince Fielder rumors are swirling around D.C., however, this might be the more likely line of questioning, and little has to do with the southpaw late of the Oakland A's: General manager Mike Rizzo, handing Gonzalez his new Nats jersey and cap: "We're thrilled and happy to welcome Gio Gonzalez to the Nationals family." Gonzalez, fumbling with...