Fired by the Cardinals at the end of the regular season, Derek Lilliquist had to wonder if it would take a while to find another pitching coach job as good as the one he held the previous six seasons. That kind of job opening, for a perennial postseason contender, doesn't come around all that often. And then one did. When the Nationals came calling last month, needing a new pitching coach after Dusty Baker's departure led to Mike Maddux leaving (for St. Louis, of all places), Lilliquist...

Stephen Strasburg quieted his critics last season, his seven shutout innings in the Nationals' Game 4 of the National League Division Series victory capping a workmanlike season that saw the right-hander take the ball from opening day until final outing, the dominant start-to-finish season that had eluded him. Yes, there were some speed bumps along the way, just to test his mettle. His spot in the rotation changed when staff ace Max Scherzer's start of the season was delayed by a fractured...

As much as he wanted to bring back Brandon Kintzler and keep the back end of his bullpen intact for the 2018 season, Mike Rizzo admittedly thought the Nationals would be at a disadvantage in negotiations. Kintzler, who recorded 29 saves this season (28 while with the Twins), figured to get offers to close somewhere else. And sure enough, he did. Only to decide to re-sign with the Nationals after all. "I think there were those offers to go pitch the ninth inning exclusively, to have more save...

It is the moment every playoff team never wants to have happen. The smack of handshakes, bear hugs and pats on the back in any other situation would be a welcome sight, but the sounds of these gestures after a Game 5 loss are eerily hard to take. Harder to stomach than a loss in the playoffs might be the feeling of not being called on to contribute when you were set to start a pivotal season-saving game, then ended up not being used at all. Such was the plight of right-hander Tanner Roark as he...

The Nationals' first major league signing of the offseason still isn't official because Brandon Kintzler still needs to pass his physical. But that didn't stop those who were at Nats Winterfest on Saturday from raving about the re-signing of the veteran reliever, which preserves the three-man unit that so effectively locked down games late this season. "That was awesome to see," said Sean Doolittle, who along with Ryan Madson joined Kintzler to form the so-called "Law Firm" bullpen over...

If you think Michael A. Taylor is resting on his laurels after a breakthrough season that catapulted him back into the long-range plans of the Nationals, think again. Taylor said yesterday at Nationals Winterfest that he isn't taking anything for granted, and that he's approaching spring training in February the way he's approached every one of the major league camps he's attended. "I take the same approach as I have in years past and every year: just come out, be ready to go and be in the...

Finally back home from Lake Buena Vista, Fla., where I left my Mickey ears on the nightstand with a tip for housekeeping. Manny Machado hasn't been traded. Zach Britton and Brad Brach haven't been traded. Mychal Givens won't be traded. I've heard Givens, second baseman Jonathan Schoop and outfielder Trey Mancini referred to as "untouchable" by an executive from outside the organization who attended the Winter Meetings. Everyone has a price, but the Orioles are determined to hold onto the...

Daniel Murphy hobbled into his scheduled interview session on crutches and said made sure everyone knew he's already begun walking. He's learned a lot about the microfracture surgery performed on his right knee on Oct. 20, eight days after the Nationals ended their season with another first-round playoff exit in the National League Division Series. He's not sure if the injury was the result of overuse or just an acute condition. And despite general manager Mike Rizzo's assurances at the...

Injured time is hard time for ballplayers, never more so than injured time that overtakes nearly an entire season and leaves a player watching from the outside as his teammates lose in the postseason. Adam Eaton just experienced all of that in 2017, and it left him determined never to experience it again. "Oh, it was brutal," the outfielder said Saturday at Nationals Winterfest. "The worst year of my life, I think it's safe to say. The longest summer of my life. That's what I told all of...

Like many Nationals fans, right-hander Koda Glover keeps replaying the fateful fifth inning in Game 5 of the National League Division Series in his mind. Unlike most Nats fans, however, Glover isn't focusing on the fact that eventual National League Cy Young winner Max Scherzer failed to throttle the Cubs in a rare relief appearance when his team most needed him to. Glover thinks about Scherzer being undone by bloops and bleeders, bad luck and a debatable call by a home plate umpire and...