by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Power Boater
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
When Bryce Harper filed for free agency at the beginning of November, the Nationals put their “Plan B” into effect. Plan B was simply to use the offseason to improve pitching, defense, speed and athleticism. Improved defense improves pitching. Improved speed improves defense. Improved athleticism improves everything. Mission accomplished. These principles are nothing new for the Washington Nationals, but they lost their way the last couple of years. Continue reading
Scott Boras (background) at 48 years old gets ARod $252 million and largest in history
As we count down the minutes before the Bryce Harper announcement this article analyzes whether mega free agent contracts pay off for the teams and looks at some alternatives to calm the current labor situation.
Sunday morning Ryan Zimmerman joined the chorus with Sean Doolittle and Max Scherzer complaining publicly about the slower than ever free agent market, blaming teams tanking and using analytics to denigrate star players in order to keep contracts down. Certainly they have a point that the system is broken and something needs to be done but should guys who have eight and nine figures in career earnings be complaining to the fans?
Photo by Mitchell Layton for the Nationals
It has been a while since I’ve written a post here. I am tired of waiting out the Bryce Harper drama. Just like I was when I wrote An urgent request from Nats fans to Mike Rizzo & the Lerners: Fire Matt Williams Now! back in September of 2015.
Offer Bryce a 15-year deal for $330 million to meet the number in total dollars he would want as a minimum while giving the team a $22 million a year AAV which helps the team. It is a concession that helps both sides. Continue reading
Andrew Stevenson wants to make his first Opening Day roster
Usually the Nationals have over 60-players in Spring Training camp. This year the group is smaller. Officially the entire healthy portion of the 40-man roster is part of a team’s spring training roster, and they generally make up two-thirds of the beginnings of camp. This year the team only invited 18 non-roster invitees (NRI). By manager Dave Martinez‘s count, he said he has 58 players and that adds up.
Continue reading
The Washington Nationals used to offer a season ticket partnership site to find other ticket partners, and with that not available for this season, we decided to create a feature for season ticket holders to meet potential ticket partners. Joining a Nats season ticket plan group is the best way to lock in great seats at low prices for the season, and for many buying blocks of 42 or 82 seats is a few too many to fit our budgets and/or busy schedules.
So this year Talk Nats is here to help with a list of plan holders who are looking to share some games. The great part about buying a piece of an established ticket plan versus opening a new plan is that the existing plans typically have the best seats within the pricing sections, so for the same cost per ticket (or less) you can be in the front few rows instead of over a section and back a ways.
The other great reason to buy into a Nats season ticket plan is the perks, check the flyer below for the full list of benefits. Plan holders get the opportunity to save up Red Carpet Reward (RCR) points for prizes. Discounts on food and drinks. Express lines to get into the ballpark and up to the concessions stands. Even playoff priority. NOTE: Not all ticket groups offer all ticket plan benefits, check the details with the individual plan holder.
Another reason to look into joining an existing plan is to get great seats for a few games in different parts of the ballpark. It’s a cool thing to check out the Diamond Club, the Red Porch, or down by the dugouts. Based on the plans available it could be possible to try out a few games in each of these spots.
Disclaimer: Talk Nats is not a direct party to any deals made based on connections via this blog post. This is a service to help out plan holders and fans, all exchanges are at the own risk of the sellers and buyers. We will certainly allow feedback in case there are issues.
Scherzer’s 300th K photo by The Real Youppi for TalkNats.
MLB Network’s annual Top 100 Players Right Now! program last night placed seven Washington Nationals in their Top-100 players and right-handed pitcher Max Scherzer was ranked fifth on their list. Scherzer, who ranked 11th on last year’s countdown, finished one spot ahead of the Houston Astros’ José Altuve and one spot behind the Cleveland Indians’ Francisco Lindor. If you follow the popular NavyYardNats on Twitter, he was none too happy about the Nats rankings. Continue reading
It was a year ago that Howie Kendrick re-signed with the Nationals on a two-year deal. Sometimes life kicks you in the shin, and in Kendrick’s case it bit him in his right Achilles tendon early last season. There was doubt he would ever make it back. In fact at the Nats WinterFest event, the 35-year-old gave some pause on his progress because he still had milestones to meet before he would be cleared for baseball activities. Today, some good news on Howie’s progress. Continue reading
Maybe the most exciting news about the Nats broadcasting teams this Spring Training is the new weekly Charlie & Dave radio show titled, “Nats Spring Training Live!” which will broadcast live on Monday evenings during the Grapefruit League schedule.
In addition to their regular game programming, 106.7 The Fan radio will be broadcasting this 90-minute Nationals talk show once a week during Spring Training beginning Monday, February 25th, and each show will be hosted by Nationals radio voices Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler in a live format in front of an audience. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
It’s that time again! The Washington Nationals have (finally) revealed their slate of non-roster invitees to spring training. We head into camp at West Palm Beach, Florida, eager to see what’s new and different in 2019 from last year’s disappointing 82–80 team.
The Nats appear to be mostly done with their offseason shopping, with the biggest lingering question mark revolving around a player who is certainly familiar to everyone here. So we’ll take this opportunity to get to know the men new to the roster as well.
Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training tomorrow, and the Washington Nationals FINALLY disclosed who is invited from the Minor League ranks of players not on the 40-man roster. Also on this day, we reported sourced information that Bryce Harper‘s agent, Scott Boras, was set to talk to Nationals’ owner Ted Lerner. Continue reading
