Washington Nationals Blogs

Washington Nationals right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his spring training debut Tuesday in a 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers in Viera, Fla. 

Strasburg, who was selected by the Nationals with the number one overall pick out of San Diego State University in the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, fanned two batters in two scoreless innings before the was relieved. 

Continue reading "Stephen Strasburg Will Be a Top-Ten ..."

Hey Everyone,

Not sure who is out there but hopefully someone is! 

Continue reading "A new shortstop and new uniforms!"

In the National League, the elongated double switch shows again why pitching statistics are quite poorly attributed.  A traditional double switch involves the manager inserting a position player into the game  for the current pitcher and a new pitcher for a position player--typically one who just made an out, so that the new pitcher won't be batting for nearly a full trip through the lineup.

Continue reading "More Thoughts on MLB Pitching Statistics"

Continue reading "What We've Seen of the Chicago Cubs; ..."

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! I know what you're thinking. Here are the Chicago Cubs we've been waiting for. They just needed a four-day break to rediscover themselves. Their bullpen's coming around! There's Soriano! They have the best starting pitching in baseball! Now, we have to step out of our "Cubs fan suit" for a second and remind ourselves what we really saw this past weekend.

Continue reading "Perfect Cubs transition: Nationals to Phillies"

   Pittsburgh Pirates Mid-Season Analysis

     I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here.  Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push.  The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central.  On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it.  I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh.  In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in.  And here it is:  Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month.  So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).

Continue reading "Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Break Analysis"

Here'e another quirky entry into the "Win" category:  http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4318608.  If we used Team pitching statistics, that win would simply go to the Nationals pitching staff, which clearly it should have.

Continue reading "Another Reason Why MLB Needs Team ..."

I already knew that the Red Sox were in first, and that the Yanks were in second.  I also knew that whenever I looked at the standings, Toronto was not far behind New York.  What I didn’t know was that Tampa Bay is currently only a game behind Toronto. 

Continue reading "Take a Look at the Standings"

Last night I saw a funny production of Neil Simon’s play “Rumors” at Salem State College.  When I got out, I was hoping to catch the end of the game.  As it turned out, the game was over, and it was no laughing matter.  Smoltz had given up four runs alone in the first inning.  The Red Sox bullpen was very shaky.  And Jordan Zimmermann from the Nationals absolutely dominated the Red Sox through seven innings of work. 

Continue reading "Don’t Worry About Smoltz….Yet"

Dateline: last season. New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada injures his shoulder. He ends up needing season-ending surgery leading to a Pudge Rodriguez summer rental. Fast forward to this season. There is no doubt his shoulder's gotten better. It just seems like every time I turn on the Yankee game on TV, some baserunner is trying to steal 2nd and the throw from Jorge is...........IN TIME! He's caught a couple stealing in last week's series against the Washington Nationals. I remember him catching somebody stealing against the Marlins. I believe it was Hanley Ramirez and if I remember correctly Ramirez was perfect so far this season until he got caught by Posada. Cool, huh? There is no doubt that Jorgie is back to form before the injury. Throw in a couple of home runs here and there and you've got yourself one of the most exciting Yankee players to watch. I love it! Every time he throws the ball to second and catches a baserunner stealing, it shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there who think he's coming off shoulder surgery and he's an easy stolen base. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think he's done. It shuts the mouths of all those skeptics out there that think the Yanks should have kept Pudge. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against Ivan Rodriguez. Congrats Pudge on beating Carlton Fisk for most appearances as a catcher. I have a lot of respect for him. He's just too clutch against the teams I root for and a straight-up dud when he plays on teams I root for. This frustrates me just a little bit. Let Pudge be a journeyman going from team to team making history. I'll just stick with Jorgie, the best catcher in baseball as a staple on the New York Yankees.

Continue reading "Posada's shoulder holding up nicely ..."

I’ve been in Denver all week and was able to attend two Rockies games at Coors Field.

Among the highlights:

I saw Evan Longoria hit home runs – his 15th and 16th - on back-to-back nights.  The first shot got the Rays on the board in the first inning on Tuesday en route to their 12-4 win over the Rockies, whose 11-game winning streak came to an end.

Continue reading "Mile High Baseball"

Ron Harper announced earlier this week that his prodigious son, Bryce, will forego his final two years of high school eligibility to pursue a professional baseball career.

Bryce, 16, who was the first high school sophomore to be named a first team All-American by Baseball America and has been called “the Lebron James of baseball” by Sports Illustrated, will take classes at the College of Southern Nevada over the summer and receive his GED in the fall.

Continue reading "Will Bryce Harper Be Lebron James ..."

Over the last two years America has slowly sunk into an economic mess. People are losing their jobs, their homes, and their self-esteem as they find it harder and harder to make ends meet. It appears however that not everybody is suffering. As college educated people lose jobs they've held for years, and recent college graduates struggle to find any job at all, there are some signing on the dotted line for millions that haven't earned a dime of what they are being given. America's two largest, and most arguably most popular, professional sports leagues are doing nothing to curtail ballooning salaries for top rated rookies who haven't even set foot on the field to prove they are worthy of a contract.

Continue reading "More and more money, but for what?"

What do you do with David Ortiz? Here's a guy who has bled Red Sox red (note to self: this doesn’t work) for the better part of his career. He is arguably the greatest clutch hitter in team history. Would the Sox have won two World Series rings without him? Surely not.

Continue reading "What to do with David Ortiz?"

Cleveland Indians (14-26) @ Kansas City Royals (21-18)

Fausto Carmona (2-4, 5.70) vs. Gil Meche (2-4, 4.60)

Can it get much worse for the Indians after last night? I think I should just copy and paste that question to use for the rest of the season. The season may already be lost, but a loss tonight will definitely cement that. This is a crucial game for the Indians tonight, win and stay on life support, lose and it’s sleeping with the fishes and or Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates of the world.

Continue reading "Foutain seats for $7 still available ..."

Where do I begin. Its very hard to gauge a team based on their performance against the Nats.  The Phillies could have blown that game WIDE open. On the night, the Phillies had twenty, yes TWENTY, runners in scoring position and only managed to get 8 home. Blanton struggled with command again walking 6 over five innings. Which further proves my point that the umpires have a league wide squeeze on the strike zone this year. I really can't put that much blame on Lidge for blowing the save Friday nights debacle of a game. The first hit barely made it passed the pitchers mound and the one Dunn hit, Feliz did the right thing at getting the lead runner. Yeah Utley through a slider to Ruiz and could have had Dunn out to end the ball game, but oh well. I was actually really looking forward to seeing Happ pitch Saturday night, but it obviously wasn't meant to be. I really do feel for Manny Acta. Does he have anyone in the pen with an ERA under 4? It seems like either the pitching or the defense or a combination of both let him down all weekend long.

Continue reading "Weekend Series Update: Philadelphia ..."

The National League has four legitimate contenders for the World Series, and two of those clubs reside in the NL East. Along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, the New York Mets and incumbent champion Philadelphia Phillies are the league’s elite. The Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves should have respectable seasons while the Washington Nationals battle with the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates for the label of most horrendous team in the league.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's 2009 NL East Preview"

Hey there Washington Nationals fan, this is going to be your newest sources for info on the big club as well as player development and organizational progress.

I'd like to start out with a little of who I am. My name is Joe Conroy and I'm a reporter with the News & Messenger (formerly the Potomac News) in Woodbridge, Va. I've covered both the major league club (with reporting partner Dave Utnik) as well as the High-A Potomac Nationals (Carolina League champs in 2008) just a short trip from my office.

Continue reading "Welcome to Nationals Outsider"

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

You wish Houston could have games like Sunday's first-half finale against the Washington Nationals all the time. I was pleased to see that Houston decided to stop wearing their glorified batting practice road jerseys and go with the grays instead, but I digress.

Continue reading "Halfway through the baseball season: ..."

Home sweet dome.

The Twins returned to the Baggie Dome and had little trouble with Washington, winning the final game Thursday, 9-3 over one of the worst teams in the major leagues. Minnesota's now 37-36, finally getting over the .500 hump.

Continue reading "Twins break out broom"

The Twins must wish the Nationals were in the AL Central so they could play them more often. The Twins win Wednesday night, 11-2, with good games from starter Kevin Slowey, center fielder Carlos Gomez, and the MM boys, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.

Continue reading "Twins swat Nats again"

Here I take time to answer questions sent to me, or questions posted in public forums worldwide.

Q: What does it mean when you see on the scoreboard at the park there will be a P then numbers below for each team like example 35 23 whatever

Continue reading "Q&A and Random Thoughts"

From May 28, 2008 San Diego Padres press release:

The San Diego Padres today acquired right-handed pitcher Cha Seung Baek from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-hander Jared Wells.

Baek, who turns 28 tomorrow, appeared in 10 games (one start) for the Mariners this season, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA (18 ER/30.0 IP) before he was designated for assignment on May 21.  Born in Pusan, Korea and originally signed by Seattle as a non-drafted free agent on September 25, 1998, Baek is 10-9 with a 4.96 ERA (93 ER/168.2 IP) in 37 career Major League games (24 starts) over parts of four seasons with the Mariners (2004, 2006-08).  He has compiled 107 strikeouts compared to 51 walks.  Cha (chow) Seung (sung) Baek (beck) will join the Padres today and be active for tonight’s game against the Washington Nationals.

Continue reading "San Diego Padres acquire pitcher Baek"

What an outing today! In the first game I actually got to watch on TV for quite a while, Redding pitched what was for the most part a gem. While he tailed off a bit after I stopped watching, he threw

Continue reading "Tim Redding"

First off, I find it incredibly ironic that one of the NFL's most respected players, Marvin Harrison, is in some trouble. Even though things are pointing at this time toward the fact that he's not responsible, I still find it hard to believe that he could have even gotten himself in that position in the first place.

Continue reading "Saturday's Roundup"

Congratulations! You've stumbled upon my new blog. Since I'm a student and have very little credibility when it comes to sports (just a foaming-at-the-mouth passion), you're just going to have to trust me at first.

Continue reading "What I'm here to do"

Your Washington Nationals have now lost 12 out of 13 games! The poster child for the franchise, Ryan Zimmerman is not even batting his weight, and Chad Cordero's fastball topped out at a blistering 78mph the other night! Hopefully the Pope blessed that locker room on the way out of town because God knows they are awful right now.....

Continue reading "How bout them NATS!"

With all apologies to the Boston Red Sox, Oakland A's, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, Major League Baseball's real Opening Day finally came on Monday.
A full day of baseball in March always reminds me how much I miss the game after it goes away at the end of October. Not having to wake up at 6 a.m. to see it is a nice plus, and not having to stay focused after two Regional Finals in the NCAA Tournament allows me to appreciate a match-up between Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt late in the evening.

Continue reading "The real Opening Day"

Next up on my preview of the 2008 Major League Baseball season is the National League East. Like before, these are the key questions facing each team.

Atlanta Braves

How much do Tom Glavine and John Smoltz have left?

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: National League East"

The Washington Post has their Washington Nationals preview today.  It's a good look.  One should check it out were one to be interested in such a thing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/mlb/longterm/2008/front.html 

Continue reading "Los Natos"

We are four and a half weeks away from first pitch of the new Major League Baseball and I have a lot to cover until Josh Beckett faces Joe Blanton in Japan.  This is the first of a seven part series of my MLB 2008 preview.  In the first six parts of the series I will discuss each division, break them down by team and give my predictions for the upcoming season.  The first division I will take a close look at in the NL East.  I see a tight three-team race here between the Mets, Phillies and Marlins.  Just kidding, of course the third team is the Braves.

Continue reading "First of a Seven Part Series-NL East Preview"

Let's mix in a Boone.  What's that?  The Nats already have 5 in the organization?  Who cares, let's add another.  The Washington Post is reporting that the Nats have signed Brett Boone to a minor league deal: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021802026.html

Continue reading "Feel Good Story or Awkward Comeback ..."