The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

Different directions for these players; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

One of life’s lessons is learning from your past. Baseball calls that the learning curve part of the process. Last year, were you paying attention on August 17th to what happened? You might be thinking of the Sean Doolittle blown save where he could not protect a 3-run lead and exited with a deficit of one run at 12-11 in an eventual 15-14 extra innings loss against the Milwaukee Brewers. Juan Soto might have changed the divine line of destiny for his entire team in the dramatic Wild Card game against those Brewers, but if Anthony Rendon did not learn from a previous decision to chase high fastballs against Josh Hader, Soto probably never gets his chance. There was more to it than that; a Michael A. Taylor HBP that survived a nail-biting challenge, and a lob wedge broken bat single by the veteran, Ryan Zimmerman, that landed in the only place it could — to not be caught as three Brewers fielders chased it. Zim was inserted strategically as a pinch-hitter and that shattered bat should be bronzed. Every bizarre play that clicked into place seemed so unlikely at the time and then it added up to the improbable. Continue reading →

Near the height of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic the Red Sox and Cubs played the World Series to packed houses.

Spring will silently arrive tonight just before midnight.  It always comes.  Some seasons get a pass every now and then.  There was “The year without a summer” in 1816, caused by volcanic eruptions.  There have been years without a winter.  We just lived through one.  The dominant High Pressure system in the western Atlantic set up shop in the south over the Sargasso Sea.  There it provided an exit lane for the cold air that came and left just as quickly.  It happened time after time.   Such setups occur every now and then. But, forsythias never fail to bloom.  Western civilization has attached tremendous affection to this season of rebirth and renewal.  It’s a fresh start from the tiresome and seemingly endless grays of late winter.  We celebrate its arrival in all manner of festivals, ceremonies, and events.  Of the four seasons only spring has its own set of “Rites” ascribed to it by seemingly every sport and recreational pursuit.  Whether it’s the Cherry Blossom Ten-Mile Run, the Maple Festival in a tiny town nestled in the mountains of western Virginia, or baseball’s Opening Day the overarching theme is one of celebration.  Tomorrow the sun will rise at due East on the compass, the forsythias will be in full bloom, and all of nature will be on notice to begin the march to summer.  But, everything we do as a society to celebrate such a wondrous time will be cancelled or postponed due to an invisible and menacing microbe.  Our “Rites of Spring” have simply vanished into a dense and impenetrable mist.  For the first time in our lifetimes we have arrived at a year with a spring season stripped of its attendant and our cherished commemorations.   There is no shortage of madness afoot during this March.  There just isn’t any basketball to accompany it.

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All quiet at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

“The show must go on,” will not even hold true on Broadway which has gone dark. More baseball players are shutting it down as reality spreads that this is going to be a very protracted shutdown and a second offseason. The two week delay initially announced for the start of the baseball season looks to be months away at a minimum due to the Covid-19 virus. Now several NBA players have tested positive for the Coronavirus prompting some to believe that contact while sweating and open pores makes it easier to transmit the virus. Athletes in minimal contact sports like basketball, hockey, soccer and lacrosse are probably at a higher risk of passing the virus even though their athletes would be in the category of highest survival rates if infected because of their age and previous health history. Baseball has minimal player-to-player contact on the field of play, but the dugout and bullpen is in close quarters and goes against the new “social distancing” suggested mandates. Continue reading →

Photo provided by Mike Toomey in his baseball scrapbook

They call him coach now. This man has spent his entire adult life of over 50 years in baseball and at the end of his working days is giving back to his community while coaching high school ball at the ripe age of 69.

Caring,
One of a Kind,
Always inspiring,
Charismatic and
Humble

For those who have been involved in baseball in the DC area since the 1960s, you might have crossed paths with a baseball lifer like Mike Toomey. He epitomizes the way our American Pastime should be viewed both on and off the field. He has been a successful player (George Washington University), coach at both the collegiate (GW) and pro level (Alexandria Dukes) and a Hall of Fame scout who earned a World Series ring. However, what the baseball purists would miss about this baseball treasure is his undying love, loyalty and devotion to this amazing game! Continue reading →

Mark Lerner spoke to fans between innings; Photo by Steve Mears for TalkNats

Baseball games will most likely be delayed months — not weeks according to numerous reports due to the Covid-19 virus. In regards to the Coronavirus and workers getting paid, MLB will not dictate to teams how to pay players who are not on the 40-man roster because they fall outside of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). There are players  financially vulnerable who fall outside the 40-man roster and never received large amateur signing bonuses and were never on an MLB roster to share in some of those big paychecks. They are at the bottom of the food chain and were making below the minimum wage because they are covered by a different labor law. “Most minor leaguers make an estimated $7,500 for a year. Major league players average more than $4 million,” according to a report by NPR two years ago. The MLBPA will pay their player members on the 40-man rosters $1,100 per week through April 9th if they are returning home or to the team’s home city. They are doing other initiatives like this $1 million joint program between the MLB and MLBPA.  Continue reading →

The bullpen is a lot lighter today; Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

A week ago we passed the first severance point on the 16th day of Spring Training, and general manager Mike Rizzo made no moves. Not one. Business as usual to the surprise of the many armchair GMs including myself. Sure, nobody expected that he would DFA arbitration players like Trea Turner, Joe Ross, Roenis Elias, and Michael A. Taylor. But what about Hunter Strickland, and Wilmer Difo who were thought to be prime candidates for a DFA. . For the Washington Nationals to make the move today with Strickland by DFA’ing him was like dumping $128,000 down the drain. What did you learn in the last seven days that you did not know before that about Strickland’s abilities as a relief pitcher? The price to cut Strickland a week ago was $256,640.08 if he was DFA’d, and now the goodbye check is $385,120.17. It seems that money could have been put to better use if I can speak up.

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Photo by Steve Mears for TalkNats

That sign (pictured above) was next to the Washington Nationals players’ walkway egress to the parking lot. It seems like the perfect “goodbye” to the players who make up the big league rosters due to the delay to the start of the season. Spring Training camps were immediately suspended formally after discussions between MLB and the player’s union could not agree to a new agreement. The Coronavirus will have rippling effects in all of our lives in the short-term, and everyone will need to adjust. Sure, some players might decide to stay near the Nationals complex in West Palm Beach like Patrick Corbin, Trea Turner, and Max Scherzer since they all have homes in the area. But most players’ homes are in other parts of the country, and in the case of Juan Soto, Wander Suero, and Victor Robles — their homes are in a different country. Yesterday marked the last “formal” day in the month of March for MLB players unless the sides agree to an amended short-term agreement. Continue reading →