ZiMS event was flying high for his charity!

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Christopher Nahlik

This past weekend on Saturday, November 4, 2017, I had the distinct pleasure of volunteering at and attending the ziMS Foundation’s first annual Flight Fest, thanks to my friend Stefanie Bulleigh (@StefBullyNats).  We helped to greet people and answer questions about the silent auction at the event.  It was really easy to volunteer, did not require a large time commitment, and was awesome doing “more” to help this foundation and their wonderful cause.  Plus, I got to meet a lot of great, interesting people!

The ziMS Foundation was founded by Washington Nationals’ All-Star First Baseman Ryan Zimmerman in 2006.  The event was held at the Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA, which was a terrifically unique venue.  Not sure where else you can find autographed baseball jerseys in the same room as nearly 100 year old aircraft!  The event spanned from 2pm – 7pm, was fun for the whole family, and helped to raise money for a wonderful cause – the fight against Multiple Sclerosis.

 

It is quite clear what the ziMS Foundation means to Ryan and his family.  His mother, Cheryl, has Multiple Sclerosis, so the cause remains very close to the family’s heart.  Ryan, his wife Heather, his father Keith, and many others (some who I had the fortune of meeting and others who I did not) worked very hard to ensure that this event was a success.  Many athletes “support” a charity, but it’s really admirable to see how much Ryan cares about his foundation’s work and the cause behind it.  In fact, Ryan is consistently very warm and accommodating at ziMS events.  He takes time to chat with each guest, take pictures, and even sign autographs.  Continue reading →

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DC Girls Baseball Plays Hard Ball

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Erika C.

The phrase “throw like a girl” has long been hurled at boys as an insult, and used to demean them and insinuate that they were less than the other boys. In the 2014 Little League World Series, pitcher Mo’ne Davis took the world by storm, showing them exactly what a girl could do, and earning the first win for a girl in Little League World Series history.

Locally, the DC Force all-girls baseball team is continuing what Mo’ne and other girl baseball players around the country have done. In their first tournament, they needed girls from other states to field a complete team, however now they have grown to 2 teams and have about 45 girls and compete in tournaments around the country. Continue reading →

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Davey Martinez won’t discuss three things! Everything else is fair game!

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The media tried to pry out of Dave Martinez how much he was going to get paid over his 3 year contract with the Washington Nationals, and they will not be getting that information from him. Continue reading →

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Washington Nationals: WORLD SERIES & TRUST

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Alex Yalen

“World Series or bust,” Davey Johnson said before the 2013 season. “That’s probably the slogan this year. But I’m comfortable with that.”

Nats fans remember these comments all too well — and the listless mediocrity that followed in 2013. And then there’s Bryce Harper’s ill-advised “where’s my ring” comments ahead of the ‘15 campaign, and we all know how catastrophic ‘15 was. No need to revisit either year, thank you very much.

In sum, the Nationals don’t have a great track record when it comes to pre-season comments mirroring post-season promise. Maybe Davey Martinez, the proverbial “new guy,” didn’t know. Maybe he didn’t care. Whatever the case, he sat there in the clubhouse, on Day One of his tenure, and made his view clear: the Nationals can and should win a World Series, not after a three-year program, but in 2018. Right now, in baseball time. Continue reading →

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What do the #Nats need to do this off-season?

Posted on November 5, 2017 by SaoMagnifico

From @Nationals Twitter

The off-season has officially arrived, and the first news of free agents signing with teams and trades being made is expected to start breaking within days. It’s a time of the year fondly (and not-so-fondly) called “Hot Stove season”, as we continue to gather around baseball’s faint embers to tide us over until the start of spring training.

The Washington Nationals had the largest free agent class of any team in baseball this winter. But oddly enough, they’re also one of the best-positioned teams for 2018, as they are expected to enter the coming season with virtually their entire core intact. That’s because of those 12 free agents from the 40-man roster, only one appeared in at least half the games of the 2017 season (Adam Lind); the 38-year-old veteran outfielder Jayson Werth led the rest of the pack with 70 games played, followed by setup man Matt Albers (63), utilityman Howie Kendrick (52), backup catcher Jose Lobaton and mop-up reliever Joe Blanton (both 51), and left-handed relief specialist Oliver Perez (50). Werth, Albers, Kendrick, Lobaton, and Perez all appeared in the National League Division Series as well, while Blanton was left off the playoff roster. Continue reading →

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Arizona Fall Stars Game — Victor Robles is your MVP

Posted on November 5, 2017 by ArVaFan aka Laura Peebles
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick – Fall Stars game – November 4, 2017

Well, that was fun!  We attended the Fall Stars game with 4,212 other fans.  We did meet a handful of other Nationals fans, although we were well outnumbered by pretty much every other fan base (okay, I have to say I didn’t see any Padres jerseys).  Phil Rizzo had warned us about the steps:  they are really irregular depths. Odd design.  Thank goodness the designers didn’t copy that “feature” in WPB (same firm designed both stadiums).

As pretty much everyone knows by now, Victor Robles was the star (and MVP) of the game.  In the first inning, he walked, stole second and scored the first run for the East Division All-Stars. Then in the 8th inning he singled home the game tying run and scored the winning run on a Sheldon Neuse single. I managed to get a photo of Swaggy V crossing the plate scoring the first run.

Robles grounded out in the third, but it was a close play at first. His defense was fine, including a catch at the wall and the last out of the game. Continue reading →

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Mesa Solar Sox @ Scottsdale Scorpions, Scottsdale Stadium

Posted on November 4, 2017 by ArVaFan aka Laura Peebles

My visit to Scottsdale Stadium for an Arizona Fall League game started with a conversation with Phil Rizzo. Yep, Mike’s dad. He spotted our Nats gear, and called us over to chat before the game got started. He talked about working for the D-Backs, doing scouting for Mike, and the logistics of trying to live in Chicago and scout in Arizona for spring training and fall league. He doesn’t like traveling much anymore, since it’s become such a pain in the “rear.” Not sure if he’ll go through with it, but he took my business card, and promised us Nats tickets. He and his buddy sat behind home plate, definitely scouting. Plenty of radar guns in evidence. Phil also gave us permission to give Mike a hard time when we see him in Florida.

Continue reading →

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The Off-Season Calendar and Deadlines and #Nats Free Agents

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Jeffery Salter

The off-season calendar officially began yesterday.  Below are some important dates for your off-season calendar which began in rapid fire yesterday as the Nationals watched 11 of their current players file for free agency and a 12th was added when Adam Lind’s mutual option was declined. Here is the list of Nationals free agents: Adam Lind, Howie Kendrick, Jayson Werth, Jose Lobaton, Ryan Raburn, Stephen Drew, Alejandro De Aza are the 7 position players to join the 5 pitchers that include Matt Albers, Brandon Kintzler,  Joe Blanton, Oliver Perez, and Edwin Jackson. The good news is that the Nationals did not lose a key starting pitcher or a projected 2018 starting position player.

If you want to track the free agents, the only two Nats free agents to make the Top 50 list from MLBTR was Brandon Kintzler and Howie Kendrick. Adam Lind and Matt Albers didn’t make the list or even receive an honorable mention.

Continue reading →

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Nats go Long with new coaching staff for Davey Martinez

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Kevin Long Nats Craig Wallenbrock

Long before Kevin Long was reinventing swing paths and visual optics with Daniel Murphy, the batting guru was the hitting coach with the New York Yankees from 2007 to 2014 and was tweaking Derek Jeter‘s swing and reconstructing Yankees struggling slugger Curtis Granderson who went from seventeen home runs in 2010 to twenty-six dingers in 2011. Grandy became an All-Star in 2011 while raising his OPS from .792 to .916. The Yankees’ improvements were dramatic in Kevin Long’s tenure, and they won the World Series in 2009. Robinson Cano went from fourteen home runs to thirty-three home runs under Long’s tutelage.  Yes, it does help to have promising players that want to learn, and that is why Murphy and Long clicked in the student and teacher relationship.

If you ask Long, he will espouse the virtues of launching balls versus rolling over groundballs. Long is always quick to spit out the “.220 stat” which is the batting average of ground balls. In Bryce Harper‘s world, 220 means “2nd to none” but in Long’s lexicon it’s a dirty word, and he wants his hitters to keep balls off the infield dirt and get them in the air where the success rate is much higher.

Yesterday, the Washington Nationals announced that Kevin Long was hired by the Nats as their new hitting coach on Dave Martinez‘s revamped staff. It was the first of many coaching hires on the horizon, and a significant move by the newly minted manager Dave Martinez and G.M. Mike Rizzo.

Continue reading →

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The Nationals introduced Dave Martinez as their new manager

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

”I’ve always had a thing about never quitting,” Dave Martinez said. “I will preach that every day and that is something I will bring that here. We will play to the last pitch of every game. We will compete every day. The object is to win every game. This team doesn’t lack very much. I think we have to get over the fact that we aren’t here to win one playoff game. We are here to win the World Series.”

“I have a lot of high energy — positive energy,” Martinez continued. “I collaborate a lot with Mike [Rizzo] and ownership. The ultimate goal is winning the championship.”

“When I came here for the playoffs, this place was electric” Dave Martinez recalled of the NLDS this season at Nationals Park. “From the opposing side, it was very…my hair stood up to see how the fans were with all the red. I was jacked up about it.”

“I believe, ‘why change something that really works’ and I am very creative,” Dave Martinez spoke to what he learned from Joe Maddon. “We shared ideas together and I will bring those here. Stick to the process that’s the biggest thing I learned from Joe [Maddon] It’s a long season and it’s all about preparation and sticking to the process.”

“[Dave Martinez] in my humble opinion you were much more prepared right now then you were four years ago,” Mike Rizzo said to Dave Martinez last week when they met in Tampa.

“Stay positive,” Dave Martinez said. “That’s the key. Not everyday will we be successful on the field. Stay positive. I think positivity and a lot of energy and let [the players] know we care when they have a bad game or a good game. Let them know we care about them, and you’ll get the most out of each player.”

Harry Caray gave Dave Martinez the nickname of “Davey”, and he is fine being called “Dave” or “Davey”.

“In high leverage situations I will tell the players to slow it down,” Dave Martinez said in handling the pressure.

He was asked what he would consider as a successful 2018 season:

“Winning the World Series,” Dave Martinez said.

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