by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
About an hour before first pitch, we learned that starting Max Scherzer was scratched due to a sore tricep in an injury he sustained he claimed during batting practice. Who knows what to think about this just six days before the trade deadline. In his place on regular rest is lefty Jon Lester. Continue reading
The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower and the Inner Harbor are in the background; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
This series was once known as the “Battle of the Beltways” when the Orioles were good, and that has not been often in the last 16 years. When the team from Washington, D.C. came into existence, the Washington Nationals fans were met with tough words from the O’s owner who said, “there were no real baseball fans in D.C.”. There were 28 owners who supported a team relocating in the Nation’s Capital and 1 vehemently against, Peter Angelos, from Baltimore.
From the time the Nats came into being, the Orioles owner enriched himself based on circumstance, and he pounced and took advantage like a profiteer. What has not changed in nearly ten years is that the MASN split of money still has not been resolved. It has made a tough relationship, even tougher. Continue reading
Mike Rizzo is never far from his phone, Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
The best general managers are usually the ones who have World Series rings, and the Washington Nationals man in charge of the baseball side of the ledger, Mike Rizzo, has a ring that has not lost its luster. It isn’t even two years old yet. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
The streaky Washington Nationals are taking advantage of their schedule and will try to sweep the Marlins today before a day-off tomorrow and a weekend series against the team from Baltimore. This game will end this 6-game homestand, and a chance to really push the team closer to that .500 mark.
2021 HR Derby presented by Griffey! Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
The coolest thing about the 2021 MLB season is that it’s reminded us what it’s like when a player transcends rooting interests, and really the sport itself. It was just a few years ago that the chase for Shohei Ohtani headlined the offseason (and disappointed Washington Nationals fans and every other fan base on the East Coast). Now, however, Ohtani is arguably the best all-around player in baseball — a superstar so magnetic you can’t help but root for him (even if we were glad to see Juan Soto take him out in the Home Run Derby!). Continue reading
Minor League baseball is a grind; Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
This is where the draft has come to resemble the NFL late rounds. Teams have players on their board; but unlike previous years in which the draft extended up to 40 rounds, and can make selections for a variety of organizational reasons, late round picks now are less disposable. Since we have no insider line into the Nationals, and Kris Kline mumbles a narrative that is carefully engineered, these are the knowns – the Nationals drafted five players that they wanted to make sure they did not lose to another team in the competitive free agency marketplace, and players they were willing to pay up to 125K for, perhaps even more.
Very interesting to see whom these might be, especially when you consider the team draftees from 11-20 (including Alvarez in the 12th, a player whose numbers would not otherwise have set him apart). All of those players have signed except for Marc Davis, Mack Anglin and Elie Kligman. But with the Nationals not far under slot and two high school products unsigned (Brady House and Daylen Lile), one has to wonder whether they can thread the needle to get all five outstanding 1-20 picks (1, 2, 11, 13, and 20) in the fold.
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
With Paolo Espino giving another great outing, he handed it over to the bullpen with a 2-0 lead in the 6th inning, In mere minutes, Austin Voth blew the save and the lead and Espino’s hard-earned potential W was gone. The good news is the Nats bats got busy again and scored three runs of their own to take back the lead, and the rest of the bullpen threw zeros in three perfect frames to seal the win. Continue reading
Nationals Park, Washington, D.C. | Paolo Espino records a strikeout f; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Baseball is a game that often defies logic. Last night was the easiest win of the season for the Washington Nationals in a blowout game. Te final margin of victory eclipsed the 15-run win earlier this season against the Diamondbacks. In the previous 11 games, the Nats have scored 80 runs — but are 4-7 in those games leading to the logic of how could that be when an average of 7.25 runs per game should win you most. But it is how and when you score the runs that matter. Continue reading
Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
When you needed Jon Lester to be great, he did it on the mound and in the batter’s box. With 7.0 shutout innings on his pitching line and a home run and single from his batter’s line, Lester did it all in his best performance of the year for the Washington Nationals. If we go by Lester’s “game score” of a 72 rating, this would be his best start since May 1, 2019 when he recorded an 82 against the Mariners. Continue reading
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
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