by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
What is the baseball endgame? Does commissioner Rob Manfred have a plan? The tide has turned in public opinion weighing heavily in favor of the players since Manfred publicly announced that the first two series of the regular season would be cancelled. A sport that some say is watched by a demographics with an average age of 57, you have to wonder if the baseball will lose more fans. Continue reading
Major League Baseball commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. and Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Tony Clark speak during a press conference before Game 3 of the Championship Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/WBCI/MLB via Getty Images)
Tick tock, goes the clock,
And Now what shall we play?
Tick tock, goes the clock,
Now Summers gone away.
That nursery rhyme is perfect for this debacle of a CBA negotiation between the owners and players. It is like the two playground bullies arguing over dessert on the playground in elementary school. The two sides in baseball are acting like children. They are 20-25% apart in some instances and each side is budging by about 1% which will not make up any ground. The war of words has been played out in the media, and perhaps the worst of it hit the fan today. Continue reading
Photo by Laura Peebles for TalkNats
As I’m sure you’ve heard, the Washington Nationals are going through a “rebuild” of sorts. To kick it off, general manager Mike Rizzo and the front office sent away eight fan-favorites (and Jon Lester) in exchange for a plethora of top prospects during a crazy month in July 2021 at the trade deadline. The trade acquisitions along with a successful 2021 draft, headlined by the 11th overall pick in Brady House, catapulted the Nationals’ farm system 10 spots to 20th in the league according to MLB Pipeline – prior to this they were ranked dead last. Of note though, Keith Law of The Athletic and Baseball America are not as bullish as MLB Pipeline and have ranked the Nats’ farm system at No. 28. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Have you ever been married? A baseball contract is like a marriage, except it always has an expiration date. No, the expiration is not necessarily like a divorce, but it could be if both sides do not see eye-to-eye in the end. The Washington Nationals proposed to Juan Soto and he said “no” and that “no” is ringing loudly in the public eye — mostly in negativity. There should not be any negative vibes. Just because Soto did not take the deal, it does not mean it is over. Sure, the Nats can propose other deals over and over and maybe Soto says “yes” at some point. For all intents and purposes, any deal will tie the Nats and Soto together for the rest of his baseball life. It could be the greatest contract in history, but you never know until it is over — just ask any fans who have seen their team crushed by one of those bad and expensive long-term deals. Continue reading
Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
We knew this day was going to come eventually. But today’s announcement seemed to whip down Half Street as a bit of a surprise that Ryan Zimmerman picked this day to announce his retirement as a player. On Sunday October 3, 2021, he cried, and we cried as the fans gave him a long standing ovation as Zim waved to the crowd. He claimed he would not make a decision on his future until at least December. He repeatedly said he did not know if he would come back for another season or retire. In subsequent interviews, his words might have been taken out of context, and some fans were convinced he would return if there was a designated hitter. Yet, today he made it official. Continue reading
Baseball is now over 75-days into their lock-out that began at the beginning of December. Today, the MLB lock-out has now officially delayed the opening of big league camps in Florida and Arizona as pitchers and catchers were set to report today. The impasse needs a serious intervention and MLB unilaterally agreed to have a federal mediator step in which has not happened to this point due to pushback from the player’s union. Continue reading
Josh Harrison was part of the Nats deadline trades in 2021; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
During the last week of July 2021, the Washington Nationals went through a franchise altering trade deadline that meant parting ways with Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and five other key pieces of the team. Included in the trade deadline mayhem, was a deal that sent Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison to the Oakland Athletics in return for pitching prospects Seth Shuman and Richard Guasch, along with catcher Drew Millas. Continue reading
“I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me.”—Charles Dickens, introduction to A Christmas Carol.
“What he said.”—Laura Peebles Continue reading
Youth on display; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
After the official signings of the international prospects, the Washington Nationals added ten players to their farm system. Those ten players, two from Cuba, seven from the Dominican Republic, and one from Panama, will join the Nats at their Dominican Academy at some point this year. Those prospects range in age from 16-to-18, and it is the 17 year old Cristhian Vaquero, aka The Phenomenon, who garnered most of the attention over the weekend. Continue reading
I’m tired of debating the CBA and who is more at fault.
That, combined with the fact that it is challenging to come up with ideas for a post that people can have fun with and discuss, means we have another question that folks can try to guess the answer to.
I (DonH) already know the answer. As does Steve. At some point when the question(s) have been mostly answered I will post the table with all the relevant players. Continue reading
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
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