The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

Mark Lerner with Scott Boras in happier times in 2009. Photo by Win McNamee for Getty Images

From Monday’s smashing success at the Nationals premiere of the World Series documentary, Mark Lerner agreed to do another interview today. It turned out to be another of those “cringeworthy” one-on-one interviews like Lerner has done before. Clearly, Ted Lerner’s son lacks the ability to maneuver through the minefield of direct questions about free agents when the situation calls for a more subtle response. The interview with Donald Dell for NBC Sports Washington appears to not have been done with any prepping from the public relations department. When Ted Lerner was the principal owner of the Nationals he was seen but rarely heard. He would never talk about the team’s strategic moves and always left that up to his baseball people like general manager Mike Rizzo. When the reigns of the team was handed to Ted’s son, Mark has given the occasional interview, and he lacks that gift of gab. Continue reading →

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

Can Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo meet all of his goals for the 2020 roster of penciling in a 90-win team based on the analytics plus stay under the $208 million CBT salary cap, and bring back Stephen Strasburg, Anthony Rendon, Howie Kendrick, and Asdrubal Cabrera? The answer is “possibly” and they have reportedly agreed to bring back catcher Yan Gomes at $5 million a year for two years. It would not be easy though to get most key players back at inflated numbers though and stay under the cap and fill all holes. Continue reading →

The FOCO World Series Bobblehead collection

Finding holiday gifts for Nats fans are easy this year due to the World Series win! There are so many choices from a few dollars to over $1 million. Continue reading →

A Distant Mirror: Muddy Ruel scampers home with the Series-clinching win. October 10, 1924

There’s a sneaking suspicion that the turkey will taste better this year for Nationals’ fans.  They award a World Series Championship every year.  Washington baseball fans just had to wait out 95 of them to get the city’s second title.  There was no shortage of pain and suffering in the interim.  Sad and lengthy litanies of losing, watching teams leave, and then there were the 34 years spent wandering in baseball’s desert.  A new team was only a temporary salve.  What followed were 100-loss seasons. A promising ascent to relevance was capped with improbable and crushing playoff losses.  Prior to this World Series angst was always a core component of Nationals’ fandom.  If the fates were finally going to purge that bucket of bile it had to be done in spectacular fashion.  And, so it was.

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LOS ALAMITOS YOUTH BASEBALL Image Screenshot

The Nationals Thanksgiving

I’m thankful the Nationals won the World Series (aren’t we all!) because:

The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Asterisks, er, Astros. In their own stadium, no less.

The Spring Training games at the Fitteam Ballpark of the Palm Beaches will be lit!

Ryan Zimmerman gets a well-earned ring.

Gerardo Parra gets a well-earned ring.

Heck, even Jake Noll gets a well-earned ring!

We got to see Max Scherzer cry on Aníbal Sánchez’s shoulder. For a good reason.

Parades are cool and especially when they’re attended by an estimated million fans. 🎉 Continue reading →

The 2019 World Champions

When you win the World Series, there is a financial windfall that will cumulative for years to come. One of the first checks will come from the players share of the MLB pool that the Washington Nationals received in a total of $29,110,012.47 for winning the World Series. On top of that, the players will get World Series rings, mementos, and other gifts of appreciation, and if that is not enough, there will be trips, appearances, and memorabilia contracts. Many of the players have already signed thousands of World Series pieces that were sold to collectors, and the demand will always be there for reunions and autograph shows. It is the gift that keeps on giving!  To a player like Max Scherzer who has made hundreds of millions of dollars, the monetary sums will not matter but to a player like Jake Noll his share of cash will make a sizeable difference in his life for that walk-off walk on April 3rd. In total, 50 Nats players appeared in games this season and 51 players were on the roster during 2019. There are players like James Bourque who appeared in one game and 2/3 of an inning, Michael Blazek who appeared in four games and was DFA’d, and the most curious case of Spencer Kieboom who was on the roster for five days in two separate stints but never appeared in a game in 2019.  Continue reading →

Rendon photo exclusively for TalkNats by Sol Tucker

The Washington Nationals plan of tanking during 2008-2010 was painful for fans, but the draft picks resulting from those disastrous years yielded in succession: Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, and Anthony Rendon. Those are three All-Star players who have been at the top of their game for the Washington Nationals. The thought of any of them leaving will shake you at your core. Reality struck last year when Harper signed with the rival Phillies. It was a gut-punch for many. When Jordan Zimmermann left for Detroit it did not hurt as bad. But nobody wants to see other key defections. Drafting stars like Strasburg, Harper, and Rendon can change a franchise and a mindset in the fanbase. The Nationals have not picked in the top half of any draft since Rendon was chosen in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Continue reading →