by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
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
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
Bryce Harper is very adept at creating cryptic messages. Sometimes it feels like he has mastered the art of trolling. A few months ago, he tweeted out a photo that Juan Soto Instagram’d with the hashtag “TopFlight” and a few hours ago Bryce Instagram’d out #topflight with 12am! Can you decipher that? There are several teams “in” on Harper with Vegas betting 1:1 odds on Harper landing in San Francisco or is that Scottsdale where the Giants play their Spring Training?
Continue reading
Hope Springs Eternal is something I have written about for years. As training camps open in Florida and Arizona in the warmer weather, it feels like springtime for those who have traveled from colder northern cities to their Spring Training homes for the next 6 weeks. Opening Day is just 45-days away at the end of March and is exactly eight days after the official start to Spring in the northern hemisphere as the vernal equinox occurs when the sun moves north across the celestial equator. Daylight is more prevalent and warmer weather is a possibility not a guarantee. The average Washington, D.C. weather on March 28th is almost 60°F.
Hope Springs Eternal was originally a poem of a different meaning, and it has been a title of books. The eternal meaning of the years as they go by in perpetual motion should never changes what is in our hearts. We think with our brains and love with our hearts. Each year, you have the new seasons and every Spring we find new hope as the flowers bloom and the leaves appear on trees with new growth. The grey of the winter blues is replaced by the blue of Spring. As the calendar turns, Spring is about renewal. If we lose our hope, then we lose our dreams. For baseball fans, this 2019 season starts with new dreams, and the games are played on the field of dreams. Hope will come in different sizes and shapes that make each player unique. Every team starts with a 0-0 record in a tie.
Hope will come from within, and be placed upon those who can look up and beyond. Those on the roster are expected to perform to the expectations that are set. Some exceed those expectations while others disappoint. There are also those players who seemingly come out of nowhere to leave an indelible image that could last forever. That is what baseball does. New memories are made.
Photo by Laura Peebles for TalkNats
With great power comes great responsibility. Whether you are Spiderman or a power pitcher or a power hitter or a general manager who has the power of the pen, there is a great responsibility to the fans to put a competitive team on the field. The Washington Nationals are in “win mode” once again and have spent the money on payroll to improve their roster going into Spring Training. The mild-mannered Buster Posey went public with an unsolicited response to Philadelphia’s manager Gabe Kapler who said his team is in win-now-mode and pushing their chips into the middle. Continue reading
Frank Robinson at his last game in RFK in 2006; Photo by Luis Albisu for TalkNats
For the Washington Nationals, there was debate as to whether jersey number 20 should have been retired after Ian Desmond left for free agency. For those who do not remember, number 20 was Frank Robinson. In baseball, number 20 was synonymous with Frank Robinson. A larger than life Hall of Famer who was part of this region’s baseball since 1966 when he was traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the Baltimore Orioles for Jack Baldschun, Milt Pappas and Dick Simpson. It was considered one of the worst trades in history in hindsight for the Reds. While Robinson was 30-years-old at the time of the trade, he proved to have a lot more in the tank. In his first season with the Orioles, he not only won the MVP award as the only player ever to accomplish that in both leagues, but he won the Triple Crown and a World Series ring. Continue reading
