There's always a discussion each year about baseball's aces and what really defines an ace pitcher. I personally hate the term. How is it defined, and what are the statistical criteria for someone to be called an ace? There are only four aces in a standard deck of playing cards, so every team can't have one. Or does that mean there are actually four on each team? No matter how you look at it, the term "ace" is very subjective and can lead to a lot of debate. I'm not here to debate...

The Academy Award-winning film "The Lost Weekend" details an alcoholic's troubles in giving up his bad habits during an especially rough weekend. Sound familiar, Nationals fans? There will be plenty of time to reflect on the Nats' lost weekend in Atlanta. The injuries, the errors, the baserunning mistakes and all their other failures in their sweep at the hands of the Braves will no doubt be analyzed ad nauseum in the coming days. Where we choose to begin today, however, is the part of the...

MIAMI - I swear the Nationals will play teams other than the Braves and Marlins this season. It might not seem that way, given the schedule of late, but you'll have to trust me on this. The Nats open a three-game set in Miami tonight, a series that will cap off 12 straight games against the Braves and Marlins and 15 straight games against division opponents to begin the season. Given the way things went in Atlanta over the weekend, the Nats might be pretty pleased that they won't be seeing...

The low Single-A Hagerstown Suns continue to roll, and are now 9-2 to start the season after a 6-1 disptach of Lakewood on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep of the BlueClaws. Center fielder Isaac Ballou and shortstop Wilmer Difo had back-to-back doubles to highlight a four-run third inning. Right-hander Jake Johansen (1-0) pitched five innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with four walks to garner the victory. He struck out six batters. Right-hander Ryan Ullman, who was just called...

Manager: Mike Redmond, second year Record: 5-8 Last 10 games: 3-7 Who to watch: RF Giancarlo Stanton (.291/.339/.564, 4 HR, 16 RBIs); 3B Casey McGehee (.298/.382/.447, 6 XBH, 11 RBIs); RHP Jose Fernandez (2-1, 3.78 ERA, 23 K); RHP Tom Koehler (1-1, 3.00 ERA) Season series vs. Nats: 0-3, 8 runs scored, 22 runs allowed Pitching probables April 14: Brad Hand vs. Jordan Zimmermann, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD April 15: Tom Koehler vs. Stephen Strasburg, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD April 16: Jose Fernandez vs. Tanner...

The Blue Jays take two of three games from the Orioles over the weekend, and now the Rays come to town. It doesn't get any easier. Matt Wieters went 0-for-3 with strikeout yesterday against Jays left-hander Mark Buehrle and homered against right-hander Esmil Rogers. He's now 3-for-11 with one home run and four RBIs from the right side, and 9-for-26 with two homers and three RBIs from the left side. Are we still debating the whole switch-hitting thing? It may have gone unnoticed yesterday with...

Even though the Single-A Frederick Keys have not gotten off to a good start, going 3-7 through their first 10 games, a couple of their players sure have. That includes relief pitcher Mychal Givens. The 23-year-old right-hander was converted from an infielder to a pitcher last season at Single-A Delmarva. The Orioles' second-round pick in 2009, Givens went 2-3 with a 4.22 ERA and three saves for Delmarva. Over 42 2/3 innings, he walked 19 with 36 strikeouts, allowing just one homer, and had a...

Manager: Joe Maddon, ninth year Record: 7-6 Last 10 games: 6-4 Who to watch: OF Matt Joyce (.355/.475/.613, 2 HR, 7 RBIs); 2B Ben Zobrist (.277/.382/.489, 3 HR, 6 RBIs); LHP David Price (2-0, 2.91 ERA, 21 2/3 IP, 22 K, 2 BB); RHP Grant Balfour (4 saves, 0.00 ERA, .071 BAA) Season series vs. O's (2013): 13-6, 104 runs scored, 86 runs allowed Pitching probables April 14: Chris Archer vs. Wei-Yin Chen, 7 p.m., MASN HD April 15: Jake Odorizzi vs. Miguel Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN HD April 16: David...

Bryce Harper can't explain why the Nationals struggle against the Braves, nor is the slugging outfielder really concerned with Atlanta's early-season dominance. Going 1-5 against one club during the first two weeks of the regular season isn't any reason to panic, Harper said after the Nats were shellacked 10-2 at Turner Field on Sunday, with the Braves finishing off a weekend sweep. "It sucks coming here to lose," Harper said. "Nobody wants to lose. But like I said, it's part of the...

Through a quirk in the schedule, the Nationals won't play the Braves again until June 19, when Atlanta comes to D.C. for a four-game series. Washington doesn't return to Turner Field until Aug. 8. After being swept this weekend by the homestanding Braves, it's a good bet manager Matt Williams won't be critical of the schedule-maker. Maybe by the time they next face one another, the Nationals will be healthier, playing better defense and will have figured out a way to beat the Braves. By...