Dan Kolko

Things getting interesting in the NL East

Things getting interesting in the NL East
I'd imagine there aren't many baseball fans who would object to me saying that not much is being expected of the Miami Marlins or New York Mets this season. The Marlins, who downright stunk last year, traded away the vast majority of their established major leaguers, and while there is buzz around the league that the Mets could be major players for free agent center fielder Michael Bourn, they dealt Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey this offseason and are coming off a second half of the...
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Dan Kolko

Some surprising pitching news within the division

Some surprising pitching news within the division
Given we currently have a free agent market in which Anibal Sanchez, a pitcher coming off a nine-win, 3.86-ERA season, can land a five-year, $80 million deal, it's shocking that the Mets aren't willing to offer R.A. Dickey the two-year, $26 million extension he's seeking. Instead, the Mets are on the verge of dealing the Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer to the Blue Jays, according to reports, for top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud and other pieces. I guess this is the move you make...
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Dan Kolko

Phillies' catcher suspended, Nats' catcher healing

Phillies' catcher suspended, Nats' catcher healing
The Phillies had a rough 2012 season, but catcher Carlos Ruiz helped them fight through the tough patches, batting .325 and posting a .935 OPS, both career highs. He was arguably the Phillies' top position player over the course of the season. This upcoming year, the Phillies will be without Ruiz for nearly the first month of the season. Major League Baseball has announced that Ruiz has been suspended for 25 games for testing positive for amphetamines. The suspension means that Ruiz has...
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Mel Antonen

Experienced pitcher and leadoff hitter top Nats' wish list

Experienced pitcher and leadoff hitter top Nats' wish list
As the offseason kicks into high gear, the Nationals are a defending champion in an unusual position: They could stand pat and be picked to win the National League East for a second consecutive season in 2013. But that's not how the Nationals operate. They'll likely be looking for an experienced pitcher and a leadoff batter. The Nationals rotation will have Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and Ross Detwiler, but the fifth guy is up for debate. It could be Zack Greinke,...
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Dan Kolko

Rollins takes parting shot, plus Jackson, Morse notes

Rollins takes parting shot, plus Jackson, Morse notes
The Phillies wrapped up a .500 season today with a loss to the Nationals. The year didn't go as the Phils had expected, as they relinquished the NL East crown and failed to record a winning record for the first time in 10 years. But Jimmy Rollins feels his team would have prevented the Nats from winning their first division title in team history if key guys on the Phillies' roster (Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Carlos Ruiz, Placido Polanco) had spent less time on the...
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Dan Kolko

Riding a Teddy high, Nats crank up the offense (updated)

Riding a Teddy high, Nats crank up the offense (updated)
Yes, the losing streak is over. As my colleague Byron Kerr wrote, Teddy won the Presidents Race today. Print Byron's story out. Frame it. Tell the grandkids about this moment one day. The crowd got all riled up by Teddy's big victory, and apparently the players did, too. (Either that, or they just got better pitches to hit and put the barrel on them. One of the two.) The first three Nationals to come to the plate after Teddy's win - Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse and Tyler Moore - went...
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Dan Kolko

Nats lineup for Game 162

Nats lineup for Game 162
The bulk of the Nationals' regulars are back in the starting lineup, while the two that started yesterday - Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche - are taking a seat for today's regular season finale. The Nats have a magic number of one to clinch the top seed in the National League, giving them home-field advantage through the playoffs and setting them up to play the wild card play-in winner. If they win today against the Phillies or the Reds lose to the Cardinals tonight, the Nationals will get...
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Dan Kolko

How's this for a post-clinch Nats lineup?

How's this for a post-clinch Nats lineup?
Davey Johnson got hit with a champagne shower three times last night. After he got dried off from the first attack, Adam LaRoche ambushed Johnson and soaked him again. Johnson may not have loved it, but he took it in stride. "He got me good," Johnson said. Then, rookie reliever Christian Garcia, a guy battling for a spot on the postseason roster, was gutsy enough to soak his 69-year-old skipper yet again. "'Son, that's a no-no,' " Johnson recalled himself saying, chuckling as he...
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Dan Kolko

A whole lot of nothing against Kyle Kendrick (we're through seven)

A whole lot of nothing against Kyle Kendrick (we're through seven)
Through five innings, the Nationals have not managed a single run and have put up just three base hits - all singles - off Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick, who the Nats lit up on Wednesday, has let just four balls out of the infield. Of the 15 outs he's retired, 12 have been via the ground ball, and the Nationals' best threat so far only came after the Phillies starter chucked a pickoff throw down the right field line, allowing Kurt Suzuki to move from first to third. The play brought a large crowd...
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Byron Kerr

Remembering 2010: Nationals have chance to turn tables on Phillies

Remembering 2010: Nationals have chance to turn tables on Phillies
The Phillies defeated the Nationals 8-0 on September 27, 2010, before 14,309 at Nationals Park, to clinch the NL East crown. The Nationals managed just two hits that day, as Roy Halladay tossed a complete game for his 21st win. A look back at the starting lineups that day: Phillies Victorino CF Polanco 3B Utley 2B Howard 1B Werth RF Ibanez LF Ruiz C Valdez SS Halladay P Subs: Wilson Nationals Espinosa 2B Morgan CF Desmond SS Dunn 1B Morse RF Bernadina LF Ramos C Gonzalez 3B Lannan...
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Dan Kolko

Suzuki gets 10th straight start

Suzuki gets 10th straight start
Kurt Suzuki has told manager Davey Johnson in the past that he has no problem starting every single game. Until the Nationals clinch the NL East title, Johnson is taking Suzuki up on his offer. Suzuki's getting the start behind the plate for the 10th straight day, a very lengthy streak for a catcher. In the last nine games, Suzuki is batting .294 with a home run and seven RBIs, so Johnson doesn't want to go away from the hot hand. He'll stick with Suzuki until the Nats are able to lock up...
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Byron Kerr

Lannan gets the call to clinch division for Nationals on Monday

Lannan gets the call to clinch division for Nationals on Monday
It is with a bit more than just a little irony that the Nationals have three chances to clinch their first NL East title, at home, against the Phillies, and with none other than left-hander John Lannan getting the call. Lannan gets the start because it is his turn in the rotation in a season where he has made only five starts with the Nationals. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg? No, he reached his innings limit. Gio Gonzalez? He gets the chance Tuesday. Edwin Jackson, Jordan Zimmermann and...
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Dan Kolko

This, that and tonight's lineups

This, that and tonight's lineups
PHILADELPHIA - In New York, R.A. Dickey is in line for his 20th win of the season, which would tie him with Gio Gonzalez for the most in the majors. Dickey notched 13 strikeouts through 7 2/3 innings of work, allowing three runs. The NL Cy Young race between Gonzalez, Dickey and Braves closer Craig Kimbrel looks like it'll come down to the wire. Gonzalez will have a chance to bolster his chances tonight when he faces the Phillies in the series finale between these two teams. The Reds beat...
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Dan Kolko

The Phillies keep chipping away (Nats win a thriller 8-4)

The Phillies keep chipping away (Nats win a thriller 8-4)
PHILADELPHIA - What was a 5-0 lead after the top of the second inning has become a tight ballgame as we go to the eighth. Nothing's been easy for the Nationals this season, has it? The Nats' lead is down to two, as the Phillies have chipped into the Washington advantage with single runs in the third, fourth and seventh innings. Jimmy Rollins' solo homer off Ryan Mattheus made it 5-3, but it's the Nationals' inability to do anything off the Philadelphia bullpen which has let the home...
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Dan Kolko

Espinosa out of Nats' lineup

Espinosa out of Nats' lineup
PHILADELPHIA - A day after Nationals manager Davey Johnson said that all hands would be on deck until the Nationals clinched the division, Danny Espinosa is out of the lineup. Espinosa got a cortisone shot in his aching shoulder last Monday and has played in all eight games (with seven starts) since then, batting .348 with two RBIs and three doubles. His production has returned, and Espinosa told me yesterday that his shoulder was feeling fine. That all makes it a bit surprising that he's...
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Dan Kolko

Detwiler on his performance: "It was embarrassing"

Detwiler on his performance: "It was embarrassing"
PHILADELPHIA - Ross Detwiler is usually pretty tough on himself after a poor outing. Tonight, given how close the Nationals are to clinching the National League East and how few starts he has left this season, Detwiler didn't hold back when asked about his performance in the Nationals' 6-3 loss to the Phillies. "It was embarrassing," a dejected Detwiler said after the game. The Nationals have watched the Phillies celebrate in person three times in the last five years. In both 2007 and...
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Dan Kolko

Johnson discusses Nats' 6-3 loss

Johnson discusses Nats' 6-3 loss
PHILADELPHIA - The combination of the Nationals' loss to the Phillies and the Braves' dramatic walk-off win over the Marlins leaves Washington's lead in the NL East at four with eight games to go in the regular season. Your thoughts, Davey Johnson? "Just got to win tomorrow," the Nationals' skipper said. "We lost a battle today, we've got to win a battle tomorrow. Want to win the war." The Nats aren't panicking yet. They would've liked to keep pace with Atlanta today and cut into...
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Dan Kolko

Lannan heating up, Phils looming down the stretch

Lannan heating up, Phils looming down the stretch
John Lannan is starting to heat up at the right time. The expected replacement for Stephen Strasburg in the Nationals rotation (once Strasburg is shut down) was named the International League Player of the Week for August 20-26. Lannan, who has spent nearly this entire season with Triple-A Syracuse, threw a complete-game, three-hit shutout Saturday in a 1-0 win over Gwinnett. The left-hander threw just 87 pitches, walked one and struck out two. Over his last four starts for Syracuse, Lannan...
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Byron Kerr

During losing string, bullpen having trouble bridging

During losing string, bullpen having trouble bridging
One reason for the Nationals' four-game losing streak is the bullpen's inability to hold the game at one or two runs. In every one of the four games the Nationals have lost since Wednesday, relievers have allowed at least one run. On Thursday, the Braves scored three runs in the ninth to extend a 2-1 lead to 5-1. Atlanta won the game by that score. On Friday, the Phillies tallied a crucial run in the eighth after the Nats had pulled with 3-2 on a Tyler Moore two-run homer just an inning...
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Dan Kolko

Addressing a few key topics after a weekend to forget

Addressing a few key topics after a weekend to forget
If it's not too painful, let's take a little time to nibble on some leftovers from this weekend's three-game sweep in Philadelphia. Settle in. Grab some coffee. There are a few topics to discuss. Topic No. 1: Mike Rizzo and Davey Johnson met after yesterday's game and Johnson was heard getting a bit heated during the discussion in his office, shouting, "You come down and manage the team!" Yes, this happened. Is this a big deal? Is it a sign of the team morale deteriorating or an...
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