As the season winds down, try and stay positive and build for tomorrow. I know it sounds cliche, and maybe it is; but it's how we deal with failure and stay grounded in this game. No matter how the season ends in DC, there will be some who wish to break down the season into numbers and how the team finished. Once again, I will remind people that it only takes a year to turn a negative into a positive. Let's take Tampa in 2007. They finished the year with 66 wins and 96 losses and...

When the Washington Nationals sent Lastings Milledge down to Triple A, it helped to loosen up the log jam in the outfield; but it should also help the pitching. You always hear the phrase "pitching and defense win Championships," but why? Pitchers are very simple creatures. We just want to know that when we make a mistake, there will be a teammate out there on defense who can run it down. If we know that mistakes will be caught, we can take more chances, meaning, we will challenge...

Part of what makes up a big league pitcher is learning the major league hitters. It's as big a part of your game as mastering off-speed pitches when you are behind in the count. You have to know when they aren't catching up to your fastballs and when they're setting you up to throw another breaking ball. What makes this such an important part of your game is that all hitters want to be the hero; all hitters get paid to beat you; and they don't care if you lose your job. Baseball...

For the many who may not know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Rob Dibble, and I played 7 1/2 seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds, from June of 1988 to 1996. I was an All-Star and NLCS co-MVP in 1990 while a member of The World Champion Cincinnati Reds. As a Team, we swept The AL Champion Oakland A's. As a major league pitcher, I reached 500 K's faster than Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller. While it took them over 500...

When Japan won its second straight WBC title last night, it sent a message to the rest of the baseball world--"We are The Best"--Japan may not have the stars Major League Baseball has during its regular season, but when Japan puts on its international baseball uniform, it is way above The rest of the baseball world. In 2006, in winning it's first WBC Championship, Japan outscored its opponents 57-18 while only committing seven errors in six games. Not much has changed in three years, as...

One thing that has bothered me since I retired after the 1996 season is the way pro baseball pitchers have been handled--or should I say mishandled. Not many people will ever be blessed with the skills necessary to pitch at the Major League level. When the Washington Nationals drafted and signed Stephen Strasburg, it marked a new beginning for them and the start of Stephen's pro career. He is a very special young pitcher, just like Tim Lincecum, Tommy Hanson, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood....

The Nationals have to keep pushing forward and forget what people say. You can't go back and change history, nor can you go back to last season and try to win more than the 59 wins we finished with. What we can do is prove all the nonbelievers wrong by winning The NL East. The same people who said before the 2008 season that the Tampa Bay Rays who won 66 games in 2007 had no chance are choking on plenty of crow this year. The Rays went from 66 wins to 97 in one year and won the AL...

I've seen a few things lately that have nothing to do with baseball and more to do with politics. There are some local writers and bloggers that would like to try and twist what I say as to why the Nationals are not playing well. To me thats about as low as you may want to go. My street cred comes from experience, and though I sometimes might not come across as kind and gentle the way some people might think it should, let me try and get you up to speed with MY experience. I was a member...

Baseball is a roller coaster of emotional and physical issues. It's how you deal with them as a unit that sets you apart. The Washington Nationals took about 80 games to realize they could play with anyone--Not that they didn't have the team they have now, but they didn't have the TEAM they have now. I'll take you back to 1989. That spring turned to be the craziest time of my young career, with issues that began for us as a unit in Cincinnati. Pete Rose was being investigated for...

The Nationals have done their part, now it's time for Stephen Strasburg to do his. Nationals President Stan Kasten and owners Ted and Mark Lerner have offered the 21-year-old more than the record amount given to then Cubs 1st round pick Mark Prior back in 2001. We are talking about $10.5 million. Not only is that more money then 99.9 percent of the rest of the world, but we are talking about wanting to play professional baseball. Strasburg can choose to listen to an agent that is...