nationals buzz

Opposite dugout: Rockies living up to hype ... so far

April 23, 2017, 5:41pm

Manager: Bud Black (1st season) Record: 13-6 Last 10 games: 7-3 Who to watch: 3B Nolan Arenado (.329 average with 6 HR, 13 RBIs); 1B Mark Reynolds (.318 average with 5 HR, 16 RBIs); CF Charlie Blackmon (.270 average with 20 hits); RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-0, 2.08 ERA); RHP Greg Holland (2.00 ERA, 9 saves). Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (4-2 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 24: RHP Jacob Turner vs. LHP Tyler Anderson, 8:40 p.m., MASN2April 25: RHP Joe Ross vs. TBA, 8:40 p.m.,...

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Marty Niland: Healthy Zimmerman makes a big difference for Nats

April 24, 2017, 4:58am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Healthy Zimmerman makes a big difference for Nats

One big difference between the Nationals and Mets that allowed the Nats to sweep the weekend series with their National League East rivals was overall team health. Several key members of the Mets lineup were out with injuries all weekend, while the Nats' starting lineup was intact by Sunday. One member of the Nats who is clearly benefiting from relative good health early this season is first baseman Ryan Zimmerman. The team's first draft choice after moving to Washington made it through four...

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Opposite dugout: Injuries, ineffectiveness plague middling Mets

April 20, 2017, 6:11pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Injuries, ineffectiveness plague middling Mets

Manager: Terry Collins (7th season) Record: 8-8 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: OF Michael Conforto (.320), C Travis d'Arnaud (.263, 9 RBIs), RF Jay Bruce (.293/.379/.638 with 6 HR, 14 RBIs), LF Yoenis CÃ©spedes (6 HR, 10 RBIs), RHP Jacob deGrom (0-0, 1.89 ERA), RHP Matt Harvey (2-0, 2.45 ERA), RHP Addison Reed (4 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (7-12 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 21: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Jacob deGrom, 7:10 p.m., MASN April 22: LHP Gio Gonzalez...

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David Huzzard: A closer look at Nats' closer troubles

April 20, 2017, 6:24pm

Nationals

David Huzzard: A closer look at Nats' closer troubles

A couple of days ago, the Nationals made a much-needed change by removing Blake Treinen from the closer's role and replacing him with Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover. This is the current best option and the only option the Nationals truly have at this point. After the Nationals got outbid for Mark Melancon and Kenley Jansen, and Arlodis Chapman only wanted to play for the Yankees, the Nationals were no longer going to get a closer during the offseason. Earlier in the offseason the Nationals'...

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District 34 podcast: Nats rolling to start season

April 20, 2017, 12:23pm

Nationals

District 34 podcast: Nats rolling to start season

If you're Capitals or Wizards fan like I am, you'll probably join me in being thankful that the Nationals are cruising along through these first couple of weeks of the season. While stressing during the Caps and Wizards' playoff wins last night, it was nice to watch the Nats roll the Braves for an easy 14-4 victory. And with the big win at the new SunTrust Park came a lot of news out of the Nationals clubhouse, giving Byron Kerr and myself a lot to talk about on this week's episode of the...

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Opposite dugout: Injuries, ineffectiveness have hurt middling Mets

April 20, 2017, 12:28pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Injuries, ineffectiveness have hurt middling Mets

Manager: Terry Collins (7th season) Record: 8-7 (UPDATE) Last 10 games: 5-4 Who to watch: C Travis d'Arnaud, RF Jay Bruce, LF Yoenis CÃ©spedes, RHP Jacob deGrom, RHP Matt Harvey, RHP Addison Reed Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (7-12 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 21: RHP Tanner Roark vs. RHP Jacob deGrom, 7:10 p.m., MASN April 22: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. RHP Matt Harvey, 4:05 p.m., MASN April 23: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Zack Wheeler, 8:08 p.m., ESPN Inside the Mets: Fans in...

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Luke Erickson: Playing to win vs. player development

April 16, 2017, 1:22pm

Nationals

Luke Erickson: Playing to win vs. player development

In theory, the difference between playing to win and developing talent should be, um, minor. Getting ahead in the count (or not falling behind) is what you need to learn to get to the majors (and remember to stay there). In practice, however, it's not always one and the same. Last Saturday night in Woodbridge was a good example of the difference. Joan Baez is the No. 29 Nationals prospect according to Baseball America, which for better or worse is the bellwether for most prospect followers. He...

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Opposite dugout: Rebuilding Braves welcome Nats to new ballpark

April 16, 2017, 8:24am

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Rebuilding Braves welcome Nats to new ballpark

Manager: Brian Snitker (2nd season) Record: 6-6 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 1B Freddie Freeman (.400/.481/.867 with 5 HR, 6 RBIs), 2B Bandon Phillips (.326 with 4 SB), CF Ender Inciarte (4 HR, 7 RBIs), RHP Julio Teheran (1-0, 0.95 ERA), RHP Jim Johnson (1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP with 3 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (4-15 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 18: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Mike Foltynewicz, 7:35 p.m., MASN2 April 19: RHP Joe Ross vs. RHP Julio Teheran, 7:35 p.m.,...

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Marty Niland: Roy Sievers was a true hero, but can today's stars match him?

April 16, 2017, 8:46pm

Nationals

Marty Niland: Roy Sievers was a true hero, but can today's stars match him?

Somewhere last night, an excited kid of 10 or 11 proudly hung a Bryce Harper poster in his or her bedroom, and fell asleep to dream of the day when they, too, would hit a walk-off homer for the Nationals, sending the crowd into delirium. It's not hard to find heroes on the Nats these days. The team is off to another great start at 7-5. The past two victories came on Daniel Murphy's walk-off double and Harper's mad dash home Friday, and Harper's game-winning shot Sunday. Murphy came within...

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David Huzzard: Getting used to offense-first Nationals

April 14, 2017, 5:37am

Nationals

It's a strange new world for Nationals fans. For the last five seasons, the Nationals have been a good team and sometimes one of the best teams in baseball, and they've done so on the back of their starting rotation. This current iteration of the Nationals is very different. Pitching is not a strength, and after Tanner Roark, the starting rotation is a weakness. When July 31 rolls around, the Nationals are going to be looking for a starting pitcher and bullpen help. The latter has been the...

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Luke Erickson: Looking over the minor league rosters

April 11, 2017, 7:08pm

Nationals

Luke Erickson: Looking over the minor league rosters

As you might have guessed, the release of last week's rosters was almost precisely what fans of the "Baby Nats" were hoping for - not too conservative with the kids, not too aggressive with the top pitcher and top position player. The folks in Hagerstown have to be happy with the talent that's sent there. Because the Nationals tend to draft collegiate players over high schoolers, it's rare to have one teenager on a full-season roster, never mind four (Carter Kieboom, Juan Soto, Tyler...

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Opposite dugout: Cardinals need bounceback season from rotation to contend

April 08, 2017, 12:12pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Cardinals need bounceback season from rotation to contend

Manager: Mike Matheny (6th season) Record: 2-4 Last 10 games: 2-4 Who to watch: SS Aledmys DÃaz (.300/.369/.510 with 17 HR, 65 RBIs), C Yadier Molina (.307/.360/.427), RF Stephen Piscotty (22 HR, 85 RBIs), RHP Adam Wainwright (13-9 with 4.62 ERA), RHP Seung-Hwan Oh (1.92 ERA with 19 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (2-5 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 10: RHP Adam Wainwright vs. RHP Tanner Roark, 7:05 p.m., MASN April 11: RHP Lance Lynn vs. LHP Gio Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m.,...

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Opposite dugout: Rebuilding Phillies could pose a pesky problem

April 05, 2017, 6:16pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Rebuilding Phillies could pose a pesky problem

Manager: Pete Mackanin (4th season) Record: 1-2 Last 10 games: 1-2 Who to watch: 3B Maikel Franco (25 HR, 88 RBIs), 2B CÃ©sar HernÃ¡ndez (.294/.371/.393 with 17 SB), CF OdÃºbel Herrera (.296 with 15 HR, 25 SB), 1B Tommy Joseph (21 HR), SS Freddy Galvis (21 HR), RHP Jeremy Hellickson (12-10, 3.71 ERA), RHP Jeanmar GÃ³mez (43 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (5-14 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 7: RHP Max Scherzer (20-7, 2.96 ERA) vs. RHP Vince Velasquez (8-6, 4.12...

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David Huzzard: The dilemma of picking MVP between Harper and Turner

April 06, 2017, 3:28pm

Nationals

David Huzzard: The dilemma of picking MVP between Harper and Turner

I have a bit of a dilemma. It isn't a bad dilemma. It is a situation Nationals fans would be agreeable to and one many would call me an overly bright-eyed optimist for predicting, and it is this: I can't decide who to pick for National League MVP, Bryce Harper or Trea Turner. From all indications, Harper is poised to have a season much like 2015 and Turner is ready to pick up where he left off in 2016. That makes it a hard choice. Is it the shortstop who is likely to hit 20 homers and steal...

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Luke Erickson: The arc of a minor league season

April 05, 2017, 6:02am

Nationals

Luke Erickson: The arc of a minor league season

Greetings from the "New Kid on the Block" at MASNsports.com! Well, except I'm not new, I'm not a kid, and my wife is the one from South Boston. What I am is a minor celebrity in the "Natmosphere," as I've been covering the Nationals' farm system for eight seasons at NationalsProspects.com, with the help of some volunteers and some gratuitous use of bulldogs. Tomorrow is opening day for Washington's four full-season affiliates - low Single-A Hagerstown, high Single-A Potomac, Double-A...

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District 34 podcast: Recapping Nats' opening day win

April 04, 2017, 9:45am

Nationals

District 34 podcast: Recapping Nats' opening day win

What an exciting opening day at Nats Park on Monday! The new baseball season got off on the right foot for the Nationals as they beat the Marlins 4-2 in front of a sellout home crowd. This opening day had everything a Nats fan could want: fantastic pregame ceremonies, strong starting pitching, home runs, efficient bullpen work and of course a Nationals victory. And an eventful opening day means we have a lot to talk about on the District 34 podcast to get you through the first off-day of the...

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Marty Niland: Three keys to success for the Nationals in 2017

April 03, 2017, 6:22am

Nationals

Washington sports fans are a demanding lot. We're not satisfied with merely winning. We are disappointed if our teams don't improve. We're not entitled like New Yorkers, who expect to contend for a championship every year. But neither do we feel cursed, like Cubs fans before their team broke its 107-year record of futility last October. This is city where few living souls can remember its only World Series title, and folks have seen six presidential inaugurations since its last championship...

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Opposite dugout: Marlins start another season of high expectations in D.C.

March 28, 2017, 4:32pm

Nationals

Opposite dugout: Marlins start another season of high expectations in D.C.

Manager: Don Mattingly (2nd season) Record: 79-82 (third in NL East in 2016) Last 10 games: Season opener Who to watch: RF Giancarlo Stanton (27 HR, 74 RBIs), CF Marcell Ozuna (23 HR, 76 RBIs), LF Christian Yelich (.298, 21 HR, 98 RBIs), RHP Dan Straily (14-8, 3.76 ERA), AJ Ramos (2.81 ERA with 40 saves) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (9-10 in 2016) Pitching probables: April 3: RHP Edinson Volquez (10-11, 5.37 ERA) vs. RHP Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 3.60 ERA), 1:05 p.m., MASNApril 5:...

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District 34 podcast: 2017 Nationals season preview

March 30, 2017, 11:57am

Nationals

Baseball is back and that means so is the District 34 podcast presented by MASNsports.com! Bobby Blanco and Byron Kerr are back with brand-new episodes all season long to bring you the best Nationals coverage filled with in-depth analysis and behind-the-scenes features for your listening pleasure. When we last left you, the Nationals had just been eliminated from a close matchup with the Dodgers in Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Now we have an entire offseason's worth of...

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MASN booth gearing up Natstown with giveaways on opening day

March 27, 2017, 9:23am

Nationals

After almost six cold, baseball-less months, opening day is finally here! The Nationals welcome the Marlins to kick off the 2017 season, and MASN is gearing you up for the new season so you're ready to back the Nats! The MASN booth returns to South Capitol Street on opening day, giving fans the opportunity to take home free gear and show off their Nationals fandom! Get to the ballpark early and come by the booth to enter to win brand-new "Ain't Baseball Great!" T-shirts, #IBackTheNats knit...