VIERA, Fla. - Chris Young has never been a guy who wows scouts with his overpowering stuff or blows hitters away with a fastball that reaches the mid-to-upper 90s. The veteran right-hander has made a nice career out of throwing strikes, deceiving hitters with his repertoire and using his 6-foot-10 frame to create a different pitch trajectory than batters are used to. Today, pitching in a minor league intrasquad game inside Space Coast Stadium, Young looked a lot like the guy the Nationals...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Ed Smith Stadium complex is closed today, but there's plenty of action at Twin Lakes Park, where minor league pitchers and catchers are working out. Position players who reported to the early camp also took the field today - guys that manager Buck Showalter wanted to be ready in case they were needed in Grapefruit League games. Matt Hobgood, the fifth overall selection in the 2009 First-Year Player draft, threw off a mound today for the first time since instructional...

VIERA, Fla. - Zach Walters admits he has a bit of flair. Born in Cheyenne, Wyo., but raised in Las Vegas, Walters has a colorful personality, and he's got a bit of a colorful wardrobe, as well. One day earlier this spring, Walters, an eager 23-year-old shortstop in the Nationals' organization, was getting ready for a workout at the team's facilities at Space Coast Stadium. He tossed on a pair of sneakers that had what Walters described as "blindingly neon green" shoelaces on them. As...

As the World Baseball Classic gets under way around the world, here are the burning questions back home in Arizona and Florida: * Are the Angels being cheap by signing second-year outfielder Mike Trout, the AL Rookie of the Year, to a $510,000 contract for this season? His agent Craig Landis told reporters that he, not Trout, was disappointed in the Angels' contract. Given that Trout is going into his second season, the Angels have the hammer, which is how the labor agreement works. The...

VIERA, Fla. - Today marks the Nationals' first day off so far this spring, and of course it comes on a day when temperatures are expected to barely make it into the 60s. It's currently 38 degrees here on the east coast of Florida. So much for a beach trip this morning. The Nationals' facilities will be open to players and coaches looking to work out today, but there will be no media availability. I will, however, make my way over to the back fields at the Space Coast Stadium complex this...

It was the ninth inning of an insignificant spring training game last Wednesday night. The Orioles would go on to beat Boston 5-3 and, in that ninth frame, Pedro Strop struck out three batters. Sure they were against players ticketed for the minors and not Dustin Pedroia or Jacoby Ellsbury, but it was the dominant pitches Strop was throwing, or at least it sure appeared that way during the MASN telecast. Strop looked to have his usual mid-90s, or better, heat that game, but also a dominant...

SARASOTA, Fla. - It seems like only yesterday that Conor Jackson was stressing over the amount of days he remained idle in camp because of a sore lower back. He's signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Guys like him can't afford to spend the bulk of their time on the injury report instead of in the lineup. "You can't impress anybody when you're in the training room," he said. "You've got to be on the field, you've got to play and you've got to show...

VIERA, Fla. - Not only did Wilson Ramos make his long-awaited return to game action, he also played an integral part in the Nationals' walk-off win over the Cardinals. Appearing in his first game since tearing the ACL and meniscus in his right knee last May 12, Ramos went 1-for-2, grounding out to third in his first at-bat and then doubling off the base of the right-center field wall leading off the bottom of the ninth. Sandy Leon was called upon to pinch-run for Ramos, and after he moved to...

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals have made their first round of cuts, sending left-handed pitchers Bill Bray, Will Ohman and Brandon Mann, and right-hander Tanner Roark to minor league camp. Bray and Ohman, brought in on minor league deals, were hopeful of winning a role in the Nats' bullpen. Mechanical issues set Bray back this spring, and he allowed three runs (two earned), five hits and a walk in two innings of work. Ohman battled a hamstring injury that slowed him over the last week, and he...

Following today's game, the Washington Nationals re-assigned left-handed pitchers Bill Bray, Brandon Mann and Will Ohman and right-handed pitcher Tanner Roark to minor-league camp. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. The Nationals currently have 50 players in their big league camp.