nationals

Switching to outfield should be easy transition for Harper

September 19, 2010, 7:43pm

The Nationals instructional league team has completed their first weekend of work in Viera, Florida, with game one set for Thursday against the Atlanta Braves. Bryce Harper had a good opening three days, getting started in the pros with his new teammates and coaches. Nationals hitting instructor Rick Schu says the team's number one pick should have no trouble switching from his familiar catching spot to the outfield. "He can catch. He can play infield, he can play outfield," Schu said....

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Nats look for one in series at Philly; need Maya to step up

September 18, 2010, 5:41pm

Nationals

Nats look for one in series at Philly; need Maya to step up

The Nationals look to salvage game three of their series with the Phillies Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. They will have to do it with a pitcher who has yet to win a major league game and who faces a veteran hurler that has not lost a game since July 21. Right-hander Yunesky Maya has had a tough early inning to get through in his first two starts and then has been able to settle down. Last time out in Atlanta, he allowed four runs in the second inning, including two balk calls, but...

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Harper: "This is the life...This is where I wanted to be"

September 17, 2010, 11:27am

Nationals

Harper: "This is the life...This is where I wanted to be"

He eats peanut butter and honey as his pre-workout morning meal. He loves the Dallas Cowboys. And he once hit a baseball 570 feet. Today he finished his first workout as a professional baseball player with the Washington Nationals at the team's instructional league in Florida. The 17-year-old Bryce Harper says the first day wasn't too strenuous as he got to know his new teammates and coaches. "We just went over a few things in the beginning, bunt coverage, bunt defense," said Harper,...

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Potomac claims Mills Cup

September 17, 2010, 5:35pm

Nationals

Potomac defeats Winston-Salem 2-1 to win Carolina League championship series 3-1 from Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. Bill Rhinehart and Tyler Moore with RBIs and Marcos Frias didn't allow an earned run as the P-Nats stunned the Dash, a team that had won 12 out of 20 meetings between the clubs during the regular season. Frias went five innings, allowing just four hits and one run with no walks and four punch outs. Joe Testa pitched two and two-thirds innings not allowing a base hit for...

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Potomac within one win of Carolina title

September 16, 2010, 7:08pm

Nationals

Potomac within one win of Carolina title

Bill Rhinehart and Jose Lozada slammed home runs and Jimmy Barthmaier escaped two jams to lift Potomac to a 10-2 dismantling of Winston-Salem in Game Three of the Carolina League Championship Series at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. The Nationals lead the series 2-1 with Game Four Friday night at 7:03pm. The P-Nats need one victory to secure their second Mills Cup title in the past three seasons. Rhinehart smacked his round tripper in the 1st inning and added a two-run double. Lozada...

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Potomac looks for quick start tonight against Dash

September 16, 2010, 6:44am

Nationals

Potomac looks for quick start tonight against Dash

The Potomac Nationals face off against Winston-Salem tonight in a critical Game Three of the Carolina League Championship from Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, VA. The Nationals got back in the best-of-five Mills Cup with a 5-3 win Tuesday in Winston-Salem to even the series at 1-1. Nationals right-hander Jimmy Barthmaier takes on Winston-Salem right-hander Terry Doyle, with first pitch at 7:03 p.m. Barthmaier won his last four decisions to end the regular season for the P-Nats, going 4-1...

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Potomac evens series with Winston-Salem 5-3

September 14, 2010, 6:33pm

Nationals

Potomac evens series with Winston-Salem 5-3

The Potomac Nationals got on the board in the Carolina League championship series with a comeback 5-3 victory in Game 2 at Winston-Salem over the Dash. The P-Nats made a pair of comebacks, down 1-0 in the fourth and 3-2 in the eighth. Trailing by 1, the P-Nats scored three times in the eighth and then the bullpen got six outs to win the contest. Derek Norris' RBI blooper single to right plated Francisco Soriano to tie the game at 3. Bill Rhinehart's sac fly scored Dan Lyons in the...

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Walton on a mission in Potomac

September 15, 2010, 7:14am

Nationals

July 20 was not a day that Jamar Walton likes to remember. It was the day the Kansas City Royals released the outfielder from Advanced-A Wilmington. The former fourth-round selection had struggled to a .200 batting average in 59 games with the Blue Rocks. Then in mid-August the Nationals were in need of outfield depth. Chris Curran, Nick Moresi and Edgardo Baez had all helped out in the outfield. Walton added another clutch bat and strong defense to keep the P-Nats rolling. The 6'4",...

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Bisenius grateful for health and shot with Nats

September 14, 2010, 8:34am

Nationals

Bisenius grateful for health and shot with Nats

Nationals reliever Joe Bisenius is excited to get back to the majors and have a shot to pitch for the Washington Nationals. In his major league debut, back in April of 2007 with the Phillies, he got Braves All-Star Chipper Jones to pop out and ended a threat in his first full inning of work. That game seemed like ages ago until he got it going this season. The last two seasons he has battled through a couple of injuries to get back to feeling good again and pitching well. The 6'4"...

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Jewett talks to and about Morgan as suspension looms

September 13, 2010, 9:32am

Nationals

Jewett talks to and about Morgan as suspension looms

Syracuse Chiefs manager Trent Jewett joined the Nats following the end of the Triple-A season, and Sunday he got the chance to sit down and speak with one of his former players in outfielder Nyjer Morgan. Morgan is likely facing a long suspension for a string of incidents the last couple of weeks and could find out his fate for the remainder of the 2010 regular season as early as today. Jewett, who managed Morgan while he was with the Indianapolis Indians in the Pirates organization from...

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Potomac advances to league finals

September 12, 2010, 8:51am

Nationals

The Potomac Nationals have advanced to the Carolina League championship series which begins tomorrow in Winston-Salem. It is the second time in the past three seasons the team have reached the Mills Cup Championship. The franchise is going for their fourth league title. The P-Nats defeated Frederick 10-3 in Woodbridge to win the series 3-1. Bill Rhinehart went 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI, while Nick Moresi, Chris Curran and Tyler Moore each added a pair of RBI and Marcos Frias went five...

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Riggleman pleased with progress on defense

September 12, 2010, 9:14am

Nationals

Riggleman pleased with progress on defense

Danny Espinosa makes a diving stop towards the second base then gets up and throws the runner out, saving potentially two more runs and keeping the Nats in game. Ryan Zimmerman grabs a hot shot out of the air and throws to first to get the hitter. Adam Dunn quickly fires back across the mound to the shortstop who nabs the runner at third trying to take an extra base for a unique 5-3-6 double play. These may have been plays that would not have been made when the team was struggling to...

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Desmond to lead off Sunday's finale; Espinosa day off

September 12, 2010, 9:04am

Nationals

Desmond to lead off Sunday's finale; Espinosa day off

Manager Jim Riggleman shuffled the top of the lineup for Sunday's final game of the season against the Florida Marlins, placing Ian Desmond in the lead off spot and Adam Kennedy batting second. Riggleman said, "I am not going to play (Danny) Espinosa today. I am going to get Adam Kennedy some at bats. He has been sitting for a few days. I would like to get him some at bats. Espinosa has been leading off. "I know eventually we are not going to have Nyjer (Morgan) so I would like to...

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Moore and Oduber shine as Nats build talent base

September 10, 2010, 4:29pm

Nationals

Moore and Oduber shine as Nats build talent base

The Nationals minor league system was honored this season with most valuable player of the year awards handed out to Potomac's Tyler Moore and GCL Nationals Randolph Oduber. Nationals hitting coordinator Rick Schu says both players deserved their awards and greatly improved from the beginning of the season. Schu says Oduber, who hails from the island of Aruba and attended Western Oklahoma State College, came in and "really battled all season." "He had a great season in the GCL," says...

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Getting to know new National Danny Espinosa

September 10, 2010, 10:55am

Nationals

Getting to know new National Danny Espinosa

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa burst onto the scene at the beginning of September and ignited the team with his aggressive and exciting play in the Nats infield. He got off to a sizzling start at the plate as well, going 9-for-16 with 3 homers and 10 RBI in his first week. Coaches at Long Beach State saw the raw talent, energy, and passion from Espinosa when he was in his second year of high school. Former 49ers coach Mike Weathers recruited Espinosa, and current coach Troy...

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Knorr: "You play hard or you don't play"

September 09, 2010, 12:25pm

Nationals

Knorr: "You play hard or you don't play"

With several teams in the Nationals chain doing well all season on the field, including Syracuse playing down to the final week before being eliminated, the spotlight has turned to Potomac and Harrisburg as they battle to stay alive in the postseason. Harrisburg leads their series 1-0 over Altoona while Potomac looks to bounce back following a tough loss in Game 1 at Frederick. It's a good reflection on the talent level a team has in its organization if you have affiliates who make the...

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Schu talks prospects as instructional league approaches

September 08, 2010, 10:07am

Nationals

Schu talks prospects as instructional league approaches

Nationals hitting coordinator Rick Schu is preparing to head back to Florida to begin the instructional league, which runs from September 16 through October 13. This week we will cover a few of the Nats prospects that Schu worked with this season and update some of their offseason schedules. Hagerstown first baseman Justin Bloxom had his season cut short on August 7 but is working hard to recover from minor knee surgery. The Kansas State product put up some nice numbers: a .309 average in...

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Nats' former starters pitch shutout from the bullpen

September 07, 2010, 7:48pm

Nationals

Nats' former starters pitch shutout from the bullpen

The Nats and Mets are even at 1-1 in the series following Tuesday's 4-1 New York win at Nats Park. After starters Jordan Zimmermann and Yunesky Maya departed in the first two games, the bullpen threw nine innings of shutout ball. Scott Olsen, Collin Balester and Ross Detwiler combined to throw nine scoreless innings, 10 strikeouts, and just a pair of walks. Olsen threw four innings on Monday. Balester pitched the ninth inning yesterday and two innings today, striking out five of the nine...

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Subtle moment shows D.C. is becoming a baseball town again

September 07, 2010, 6:55am

Nationals

Subtle moment shows D.C. is becoming a baseball town again

Labor Day was fun for the Nationals again this year. The Nats steamrolled their division rival Mets 13-3 behind a spectacular performance from rookie Danny Espinosa. He hit two homers, including a grand slam and a career-high 6 RBI. Washington is now 5-0 on Labor Day since the team's first year in D.C. Espinosa had an incredible day at the plate. But the at bat that I remember very well was an out. In his second at bat, Espinosa smacked a long flyout to center field in the Nats'...

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Nats' prospects set for Arizona; can Bryce still get in?

September 05, 2010, 6:26pm

Nationals

Nats' prospects set for Arizona; can Bryce still get in?

The 2010 Arizona Fall League begins Tuesday, October 12. This year's team with players from the Nationals organization is the Scottsdale Scorpions. The best of the Nats, Orioles, Rockies, D-backs and Giants are represented on Scottsdale's roster. The Scorpions open at home October 12 against the Peoria Saguaros. There are six weeks in the season that spans October 12 through November 18. There are six teams in the league: two based in Peoria, Surprise, Phoenix (last year's Nats...