Tag Archives: nationals

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals add three in Amateur Draft

Photo courtesy of
‘The team’
courtesy of ‘fishhawk’

While the Nationals toiled in San Francisco (a game they would lose 5-4 in 13 innings), the front office staff and general manager Mike Rizzo were busy in the war rooms at Nationals Park working out who they would take in the MLB Entry Draft yesterday.

The Nationals have enjoyed the first pick in each of the last two drafts, putting them in the position to take Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg, two of the strongest draft picks that the sport has had to offer in a generation. The Nationals added 3B Anthony Rendon with the sixth pick in the draft after three years at Rice University where he hit .371 with 46 doubles, 52 homers and just under 200 RBI in 187 games. Rendon, whose 21st birthday was yesterday, is 6′, 190lbs and was considered to be a plus defender at third, though was quick to tell reporters he’d be happy to play anywhere, so long as it meant playing.
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Sports Fix
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Homestand Preview: Padres and Phillies

Photo courtesy of
‘Bright and Ballsy’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’

There are few things that say summertime quite like baseball. With the long weekend coming, the Nationals (21-28) return home for a six-game homestand against the Padres (20-30) and Phillies (31-19).  The road trip wasn’t as kind to the Nationals as the previous one, with the Nationals going 1-7 across three cities, and playing some pretty dismal baseball.  It’s clear that the Nationals are in for some interesting times.  But, there’s some good reasons to hit the ballpark this time round.

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Sports Fix
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The Road Trip: New York, Baltimore and Milwaukee

Photo courtesy of
‘Route 16’
courtesy of ‘Kevin.Jack’

The Nationals got a nice present from Mother Nature yesterday: a rainout. A day off at home is about as rare a commodity as you’ll find during the Major League Baseball season.  The Nationals leave in the morning for a quick two-game jaunt in New York before three games of interleague play in Baltimore, and then three games in Milwaukee.

With a 20-21 record, the Nationals go into their road trip with a 6-4 record over their last ten games.  Their trip to New York will see them play the last place New York Mets, who are also sporting a 6-4 record over their last ten games, mostly at the hands of Houston and Los Angeles, who’ve not had strong starts, but also against Colorado, who lead the West.  Tom Gorzelanny (2-3) and Livan Hernandez (3-5) will start in New York, with Jordan Zimmermann losing his start due to the rain yesterday.  Given that the Nats are trying to limit the returning hurler’s innings this season, a saved start is a wise choice for the club.  They’ll likely face Dillon Gee (2-0) and R.A. Dickey (1-5).  A split would be the bare minimum, but I’d say it’s possible we’ll see a short sweep.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Homestand Preview: Marlins & Pirates

Photo courtesy of
‘ballpark crescent’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Welcome to the sweet spot of the baseball season in Washington, when the weather is perfect, the team is playing good cohesive ball, and there are enough deals and giveaways to make a night at the ballpark sound absolutely redeeming. The Nats come home this Friday night for a short but sweet five-game homestand.  There’s a lot to look forward to, for the dyed-in-the-wool fanatic, and the casual fan. Read on.

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Talkin' Transit
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Talkin’ Transit: Parking Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘281|365’
courtesy of ‘Danilo.Lewis|Fotography’

I hate parking meters. I think they’re an awful concept. Not because they make you pay for what you use, but rather how they make you pay for it: with change.  As rates have increased in the downtown core to $2/hr, it means that you need to carry with you rolls and rolls of quarters if you’re going to do any parking in the core that isn’t in a garage.

We started to see pay-by-phone metering last year, with a number of trials in Dupont Circle and in Foggy Bottom with a pair of services that work on a zone-based system.  Call a number, enter a credit card (the first time) and then enter the zone where you’re parked.  Bam, you’re good for as long as you’re within the limit for the zone.  If you only intend to stay for 50 minutes, that’s all you pay for, instead of the potential for overpaying at a traditional coin meter.  It’s a revolution.

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The Daily Feed
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Werth gives cold Nats 4-3 win over Brewers in extra innings

Photo courtesy of
‘1ST’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

There was no heat at Nationals Park on Friday night.

Game time temperature was 56 degrees, decreasing with the breeze and as the sun went down. It was colder than the press box at Verizon Center where the Caps were taking on the Rangers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals playoff series.

There was no heat in the stands, as maybe 15,000 loyal fans were at the park, dutifully cheering on the Nats against the Brewers and rewarded, with a 4-3, 10-inning win. By the end of the game, there were maybe several hundred customers looking for a Nats victory.

Perhaps the rest were busy watching hockey.

And, there was no heat on the mound as neither starting pitcher – Tom Gorzelanny for the Nats, Chris Narveson for the Brewers – came close to hitting 90 miles-per-hour on the radar gun on a consistent basis.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats shut-out by Lee, drop series to Philly in 4-0 loss

Photo courtesy of
‘2ND’
courtesy of ‘MissChatter’

Cliff Lee, much like Roy Halladay on Wednesday, was a force of nature that the Nationals just couldn’t contend with. Lee racked up 12 strikeouts in a complete game shutout of the Nationals to close out the opening series against the Phillies in front of 24,875 mostly Philadelphia fans on a perfect April evening.  The Nationals had two strong chances against Lee, but managed to make a hash of both of them.  Sadly, this was their night to waste a great start by Jordan Zimmermann, who was perfect through five, and went 7+ and allowed just 1 earned run, striking out 4 and walking none.

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The Daily Feed
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Nats Almost Comeback To Beat Halladay

Photo courtesy of
‘Trying to turn the double play’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

The last time Nationals left-handed pitcher John Lannan faced Phillies right-handed pitcher Roy Halladay was September 27, 2010 at Nationals Park. That was the day the Phillies clinched their fourth consecutive National League East division title.

Jayson Werth went 3-for-5 against Lannan that night, hitting a solo home run and a two-RBI double.

In Wednesday’s game, Werth went 1-for-4 and scored a run against Halladay but that wasn’t enough to fend off Philadelphia during their 3-2 victory over Washington.  Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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MASN Introduces Nationals Buzz Guest Bloggers


Photo by Rachel Levitin

As a few of you know, last year was my first full-season covering the Washington Nationals. Tom Bridge and I had the privilege of bringing you the latest news from Nationals Park during each home game. This summer, Dan Rowinski joins us in our effort to cover baseball in Washington.

During the off season, MASN Sports inquired about whether or not I would be interested in joining a small group of Nats bloggers as part of their effort to expand the voices heard on their Nationals Buzz blog. My first thought was: “I’d be a fool to turn down a chance to talk baseball more often than I already do.”

Fast-forward to April and the guest voices of Nats Buzz have now joined the blog’s veteran scribe, Kristen Hudak. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed
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Nationals Beat Phillies 7-4

Photo courtesy of
‘win’
courtesy of ‘oddlittlebird.’

The boos of Philadelphia Phillies fans targeted toward Jayson Werth didn’t stop the Washington Nationals from winning Tuesday night’s game 7-4. Division rivalry aside, the Nationals had to prove they could handle one of Major League Baseball’s best teams on a night where their men in the corners were sidelined with stints on the disabled list.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals lose laugher to Braves 11-2

Photo courtesy of
‘scooting through’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

April baseball can be a peculiar thing. The Nationals today displayed that peculiarity in all of its ugliness before a crowd of 22,210, surrendering 11 runs to the Braves,

Despite a month of Spring Training ball, both the Braves and Nationals made some ugly miscues in the field this afternoon.  In the bottom of the first, Braves’ veteran Chipper Jones crossed in front of Jayson Werth on the basepath, inciting a collision that threw Werth off his balance and cost him a few steps. He turned 3rd and headed for home to be thrown out, but awarded the run on obstruction.

Twice the Nationals’ outfielders ran into trouble with balls in the right-center gap, with Werth and Ankiel having some miscommunication over who was playing lead.  The biggest defensive trouble came from Danny Espinosa today, whose efforts in the fifth formally cost him an error and the Nationals a run, but that was just one of four plays on the day that hurt the Nationals in the field.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Position Battles Remain with 2011 Nationals

Photo courtesy of
‘LSE Sports Day, Malden Sports Ground, c1920s’
courtesy of ‘LSE Library’

We’re down to just 9 days before the Nationals starting 9 take the field against the Atlanta Braves (tickets still available), and there’s a pretty decent chance a couple of those positions aren’t yet full. The Nationals have been sorting out the position struggles over the last month or so, and there are still a few places with more questions than answers.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Spring Training through the eyes of the fans

Fans watch practice at Space Coast Stadium in Viera FL

Spring Training is always an optimistic time in baseball.  Fresh off a cold winter, and usually full of fresh faces, it’s easiest to have hope for even the most doomed club.  Look at the throngs that travel from Chicago to Mesa, Arizona to HoHoKam Park and swear that this will finally be the year for the Cubbies.  Sorry Rachel, I don’t think they’ve got it this year. The Nationals probably don’t either, but you wouldn’t know it to talk to their fans.

Nationals fans flocked by the hundreds to Space Coast Stadium in Florida this February and March to watch the Nationals take the field with unusual lineup combinations and positions, as they try to figure out what the team will look like come Opening Day on March 31st.  The sunny picture in their minds may still be brought down to Earth by May, but for now, these are some happy and optimistic fans.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats’ late heroics top Yanks, Harper sent down

Nationals vs Yankees at Space Coast Stadium

Spring Training is full of common hero tropes, and that’s part of what makes Sports into big entertainment and big drama for the fan. Today, we got a bit of the “underdog makes good” plotlines as the Nationals beat the Yankees 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth off the bat of a young phenom that the club is very excited about.

No, I don’t mean Bryce Harper (though he was right there when it happened, he was on second base), I mean catcher Derek Norris.

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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nationals face off with the Mets in Spring Training Action

Nats v Mets

The Nationals are off to quite a start in their Spring Training in Viera, Florida.  Their 7-3 start makes it the best start since the club left Montreal, but March baseball isn’t the sort that counts in the longterm.  Today’s matchup with the Mets was delayed slightly by a torrential downpour that covered much of Florida, but that didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the fans or the club.

In front of a light audience, the Nationals put on a clinic in the first, getting a pair of singles from Nyjer Morgan, and Ian Desmond, and a nice full-count walk to Jayson Werth put Adam LaRoche up against the Mets’ Mike Pelfrey with no one out and the bases loaded.  Another six feet on the ball he crushed to dead center would’ve put the Nationals up by four, but it was enough to put the Nationals ahead by a pair.

The Mets would threaten against the Nationals in the fourth, but Chad Gaudin worked himself out of a 1-out jam with runners on the corners with a filthy off-speed strikeout and a well-timed short fly.  The Nats play a pair today, we’ll have a full wrap of the games after this evening’s tilt against the Astros.

The Daily Feed
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Welcome The Beard

Jayson Werth's Beard
Jayson Werth’s Beard, by Bill Ladson
Used with Permission

No, I don’t mean your uncle Jack’s “wife” Mimi.  I mean the best beard in DC Sports: Jayson Werth’s beard.  Pitchers and Catchers don’t technically have to report in Viera, FL until Wednesday, but several players arrived early to start their Spring preparations, and among them is new outfield Jayson Werth.

Werth was sporting a soul patch for his introduction to the team in December, but has used the off-season to cultivate an epic mountain man beard. Even Brian Blessed, upon hearing of Werth’s fresh growth, acknowledged its supremacy, saying, “Though my beard is the best in all of Britain, it cannot hold a candle to the lushness of Jayson Werth’s beard.”(1)

I mean, the beard has its own twitter account, people. How can you not love that? There may be some team rivalry going, though, as Stephen Strasburg was last seen sporting an Abe Lincoln.

(1) Brian Blessed didn’t say this. He probably should have.

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nats make overnight contract moves, part ways with Dunn

Photo courtesy of
‘Adam Dunn’
courtesy of ‘Max Cook’

Yesterday evening at midnight was the end of season deadline for the Nationals to agree to contracts with their arbitration-eligible players, and the Nats let Chien-Ming Wang, Wil Nieves (Who?) and Joel Peralta go without a contract.  The Nats did agree to contracts to Jesus Flores and Alberto Gonzalez for the 2011 season.  The other five players that will participate in binding arbitration are John Lannan, Josh Willingham, Sean Burnett, Michael Morse and Doug Slaten.  Of these deals, the biggest departure is Peralta, who had an excellent second half of 2010 after his promotion from Syracuse.


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Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Zimmerman passed over for Golden Glove

Photo courtesy of
‘Ryan Zimmerman’
courtesy of ‘BrianMKA’

Ryan Zimmerman is a joy to watch at 3rd base.  He’s the sort of guy that old school radio announcers loved to call games around.  “Zimmerman at Third like a Razor’s Edge!”  “Zimmerman makes the play, leaping on that ball like a mongoose!”  He’s a phenomenal athlete, and the core of the Nationals’ young franchise.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t repeat his Golden Glove performance of 2009.

This year’s Golden Glove goes to Scott Rolen of the Reds, who had 9 fewer errors in 6 more chances at third base, as well as five more double plays than Zimmerman.  While Zim had a great year for the Nationals, and was largely the team’s MVP, it’s hard to ignore the statistics.  Sorry Zim, you’ll get it in 2011.

Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: The Sports Curse

Photo courtesy of
‘Strasburg – Coming Spring 2012’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

We all know about the Sports Illustrated cover curse.  And we know the story of the Madden NFL cover curse.  But is the worst curse of all just being part of the Washington sports scene?  That’s what ESPN claims, saying, “A star-destroying black hole of unimaginable proportions, the Washington curse goes beyond sports, touching everything from reality TV (worst seasons ever for “The Real World,” “Top Chef” and “The Real Housewives”) to politics (the reputation of any popular pol who stays in town long enough).”  Ouch.  But does the DC area really have a sports curse?

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Season Wrap-Up: The Nationals

Photo courtesy of
‘Friday Night Fireworks’
courtesy of ‘MudflapDC’

The baseball season is over and done with.  Hockey starts Friday, and Basketball in a few weeks. The beginnings of winter are incumbent upon us to respect, and the end of the baseball season is a part of that winterizing process.  This was a season of growth for the Nationals in many ways, and there’s a lot to respect in terms of significant process. There’s also a lot that we’ll have to see changed in order for this to become a contending franchise in the next decade.

This is a turning point for the Nationals, and there’s a real opportunity for this club to take what it’s spent the last five years working on and put it to good use.  The Nationals are not a complete franchise, right now, but in two or three years, they could be a .500+ club with a shot at the Wild Card.  Will they get there? I hope so, but I fear for the worst.  Losing the head of their front office will be a big test for this club that has relied upon his experience so extensively.  There is, as in many cases, both crisis and opportunity in this change.  The Nats finally have a solid GM in place, someone who can handle baseball operations and contract negotiations without giving away the farm, in Mike Rizzo, and the addition of Andrew Feffer as the Nats’ Chief Operating Office this past off-season gives them someone who understands the intricacies of running the ballpark operations side of things for the Nationals.

Stan Kasten is right: DC could be a baseball town. There’s an audience, yes, but they’re going to have to be shown that the product’s worth watching.  This season? It was too volatile to promise to a good audience.  If the Nats want to draw 2-2.5M fans each year, they’re going to have to put out there something that people want to watch.  And generally speaking, those people shouldn’t just be in from out of town.  Let’s take a look at the lineup this season and see how everyone did, shall we?

 

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