Now that you've had a day to chew on it, how do you feel about the beginning of the Matt Williams era? In his introductory press conference Friday, Williams sure sounded the part of a 21st-century major league manager, as forward-thinking and embracing of the advanced metrics now frequently used to dissect baseball as he was respectful of the game he loves and true to his deep, traditional roots. He seemed to say all the right things, but that's by design. After all, introductory pressers...

New Nationals manager Matt Williams' coaching staff will remain largely intact. Only bullpen coach Jim Lett, who began his Nationals tenure under Jim Riggleman and remained on Davey Johnson's staff after Riggleman resigned, will not return. Lett will be replaced by Matt LeCroy, the former major league catcher who has managed at several levels of the Washington organization, most recently at Double-A Harrisburg. The return of bench coach Randy Knorr, who had been a candidate for the job that...

By his own admission, Matt Williams' managerial style will be a work in progress. At his introductory press conference Friday afternoon at Nationals Park, the sixth field manager in Nats history was consistent in his use of the word "fluid" to describe how he'll approach his rookie season as a major league skipper. "The plan's fluid," he said, "and it will present itself differently every day." But it won't be difficult to pinpoint one facet of the Williams era that will quickly...

New field manager Matt Williams made a point during his opening introductory news conference to say how thankful he was that current Nationals players Ian Desmond, Tanner Roark and Jayson Werth were in attendance. Williams said he was struck by a conversation he had with Desmond before the introduction to the media. Desmond told Williams he wanted to work a little bit harder. Williams said he was all for it. That symbolized what kind of player Williams was - the marine, the Carson Crusher,...

Matt Williams, former third base coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, was introduced Friday as the fifth manager in Nationals history, taking over for the retired Davey Johnson. Williams played 17 seasons as a third baseman with the Giants, Indians and Diamondbacks, playing in a World Series with each team. His only ring came in 2001 with the Diamondbacks. He is the only player in history to hit at least one home run in the World Series for three different teams. Other nuggets about Williams'...

One of the most intensly analyzed statements from Orioles manager Buck Showalter late in the 2013 season went something like this: "We need to pitch better." Sounds simple, right? But was he suggesting that the Orioles need to find better pitchers, or get better production from the ones currently in the organization? I'm going with the latter, which puts me in agreement with the likes of Tom Davis and Dave Johnson at MASN. (And I do like them, by the way.) The Orioles aren't going to...

Matt Williams has been around professional baseball for 27 years. He played 17 years in the big leagues, spent a few years getting a different perspective on the game when he worked as a Diamondbacks broadcaster and has been a part of Arizona's coaching staff for the last four seasons. Williams has seen pretty much everything there is to see in pro baseball. His knowledge of the game is vast. But there is one aspect of Williams' resume that is lacking as he takes the newest leap in his...

The Boston Red Sox are the 2013 World Series champions. Now that the season is over, just one question comes to mind: Is it spring training yet? With many eyes on the Red Sox and the Cardinals this week, there's a lot of news surrounding the Orioles that you may have missed. Dave Wallace has been hired as the O's new pitching coach, taking the spot vacated by Rick Adair. On Tuesday, the Orioles' defense was honored, as J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Manny Machado were all awarded Gold Gloves....

The Boston Red Sox are 2013 World Series champions, and with another season wrapping up Wednesday, the Nationals officially announced that Matt Williams is their new manager. The official statement came from the Nationals on Thursday morning. With the announcement came the news that Randy Knorr would be continuing his role as bench coach. In case you missed the news, we'll have you covered here on MASNsports.com each Friday with top news from the Nationals. Here are some other headlines...

Anyone else staring at a pile of fun-size candy wrappers this morning and feeling a bit sheepish? I could wallpaper my living room with them. And that's no fun. The Orioles made two roster moves yesterday and more are coming. None of them will blow back your hair. They're creating room for future acquisitions and players they want to place on the 40-man roster to protect from the Rule 5 draft. Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Chris Jones comes to mind, though the Orioles first will have to...