There's something almost sinful about wasting a quality start from Ubaldo Jiménez, who's registered five of them this season among his 16 outings. It's like the canteen scene in "Three Amigos" with Chevy Chase gargling and spitting out his water and dumping the rest in the desert sand while Steve Martin and Martin Short are practically dying of thirst. (YouTube it if the reference is lost on you. Martin's expression is priceless.) Jiménez made one bad pitch or none yesterday,...

The Nationals are calling up right-hander Erick Fedde to start in place of Stephen Strasburg on Saturday against the Rockies. Manager Dusty Baker confirmed that Strasburg will go on the disabled list Thursday, retroactive to July 23. In his last start Sunday at Arizona, Strasburg finished only two innings and left, citing "achiness" in his arm. Nationals head athletic trainer Paul Lessard described it Tuesday as a nerve impingement in his arm that has since been alleviated. "Yes. (Fedde) is...

Written in 1922, T.S. Eliot's epic poem, "The Waste Land," is considered a masterpiece of poetic writing. The characters in the poem are many, the sense of depression drips from their stories and there is little politeness in this work. Eliot wrote this in the aftermath World War I in a world of chaos and change. He himself struggled to figure out where mankind was headed, to the point of a depression that sent him to a sanatorium. It was there that much of this work was written. His friend...

The Nationals are planning to promote right-hander Erick Fedde this weekend, putting their top pitching prospect on track to make his major league debut and perhaps give Stephen Strasburg more time to rest his arm. Fedde's promotion from Triple-A Syracuse, confirmed by a source familiar with the club's decision, comes as the Nationals take a cautious approach with Strasburg's forearm. Though Strasburg has been able to throw on flat ground the last two days, the nerve impingement that caused...

When the Orioles recently moved prospect Ryan Mountcastle up to Double-A Bowie, and also moved him from shortstop to third base, the coach that has been with him a lot this year was there again. Dave Anderson, the Orioles' minor league infield coordinator, is well-versed on Mountcastle and his defense. He was there with him in Sarasota, Fla., at minicamp in Janauary when the Orioles developed a throwing program for the 20-year-old Mountcastle. He has been with Mountcastle often this season at...

A loud homer off the bat of Domingo Santana, which landed in the last row in front of the concourse near left-center field, gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. It appeared to bouncing around the concourse and traveled 476 feet according to StatCast, which would be the longest home run in Nationals Park history. Former Nationals slugger Michael Morse's drive of 465 feet was the longest previous homer on July 20, 2012, based on the previously used ESPN home run data, which is...

There's some interesting news from Nationals manager Dusty Baker about the thought process that goes into whether or not Stephen Strasburg will make his next start. MASN's Dan Kolko relayed a conversation he had with Strasburg to Baker prior to Wednesday night's second game against the Brewers in which Baker said Strasburg has a big-picture mindset about the rest of the season and if the star pitcher has to miss a game because of "achiness" in his arm, that's OK as long as he is ready for...

Washington officially was on the clock as host of the 2018 All-Star Game the moment this year's Midsummer Classic in Miami ended two weeks ago. But what's a big event without a logo or a press conference with important people sitting at the dais? So consider today the unofficial start of an 11 1/2-month countdown to an event many people in this town have anticipated for decades. "It's been 49 years since we had an All-Star Game here in Washington," Major League Baseball commissioner Rob...

The Nationals' No. 3 prospect, outfielder Juan Soto, has been out recently because he had the hamate bone removed from his right hand, according to Nationals director of player development Mark Scialabba. Soto will be able to return to the lineup in a few weeks. Soto fractured his ankle back in early May with low Single-A Hagerstown and returned for several rehab games at the end of June and into July with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals. Baseball America has updated its top 10...

The Nationals will try to even their series with the Brewers tonight, and right fielder Bryce Harper will try to extend his 17-game hitting streak, which is already a career high. He's 28-for-64 (.426) with six doubles, one triple, seven homers, 17 RBIs, 12 walks and 23 runs scored during the streak. Harper is also in the midst of a 25-game on-base streak, the second-longest of his career. During that span, he is slashing .398/.496/.724. The Nats send left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the mound...