Decisions, decisions. #Nats must make roster moves. Talk Nats

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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The Fallacy of 5 Starters

Posted on January 3, 2016 by DonH

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Book Report: Kiss the Sky by Dusty Baker

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Power Boater

Name the title, author, and the number of pages:
Kiss the Sky: My Weekend in Monterey at the Greatest Concert Ever, Dusty Baker, 155 pages

Identify the type of book:
Autobiography

Identify the main characters:
Dusty Baker: Author and protagonist, Dusty details growing up in California, listening to all sorts of music during the San Francisco hippie movement and his early days playing sports. Followed by his success on the ball field which allowed him to meet many of his musician heroes.

Jimi Hendrix: Rock and Roll God who Baker idolized having seen him in concert.

Hank Aaron: All time baseball great who Baker played with during his early seasons in professional baseball. Continue reading →

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47 days to Spring Training & Rizzo has more work to do. Let’s Talk Nats!

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

New Years seems so yesterday! Spring Training has an official reporting date on February 18th for MLB, and players will start reporting to Viera Florida long before Spring Training officially begins.

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New Year, New Hope, New Expectations, New #Nats

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

As we turn the calendar from 2015 to 2016, we can finally refer to 2015 as last year.  This year brings new hope and many new faces led by new manager Dusty Baker and a revamped coaching staff which includes 5 new coaches:  bench coach Chris Speier and 1st base coach Davey Lopes, pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Dan Firova, and assistant hitting coach Jacque Jones.  There is also a totally revamped medical and training staff that is a new concept to baseball designed around data and prevention to keep players on the field instead of the DL.

The Nats have said goodbye to Yunel Escobar who was traded to the Angels and Jordan Zimmermann  signed with the Detroit Tigers, and there is very little chance that Dan Uggla, Ian Desmond, Casey Janssen, Matt Thornton or Doug Fister would return for 2016, although it is possible that Denard Span could re-sign as the Nats still have that need for a lead-off lefty centerfielder, and Span fits that need.

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

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A Trip through history: Negro Southern Leagues Museum

Posted on December 31, 2015 by ArVaFan aka Laura Peebles

Negro Southern Leagues Museum

If you ever find yourself with an hour or two to spare in Birmingham, head over to the Negro Southern Leagues Museum, located right next to Regions Park (home of the Birmingham Barons). It’s open year round, admission free (amazingly enough, it’s the only museum I’ve ever been to that doesn’t solicit donations). No restrictions on photography, which is also unusual for any museum.

In addition to the narrative history of the many Negro Leagues, the process of integrating southern baseball, a collection of signed balls, video interviews with former players, and exhibits of old gear and uniforms, there is memorabilia associated with some famous and not-so-famous teams and players. Did you know the Harlem Globetrotters were a baseball team before they were a basketball team? I also found it interesting that many players played winter ball on integrated teams in Mexico long before the major leagues integrated.

Robinson Jersey NSLM 12 2015

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The Scott Boras effect on the Washington #Nationals

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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#Nats add Stephen Drew as that bench middle infielder

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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The 40 man roster shuffle #Nats

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Nationals are currently at the maximum limit on their 40 man roster, and unless Rizzo can pull off a trade to remove a player(s) from the 40 man roster, the Nationals will have to waive a player to vacate a spot when they add Daniel Murphy to the roster.

This off-season the Nats had several players removed from the 40 man roster when they became Free Agents.   Mike Rizzo waived David Carpenter and non-tendered Craig Stammen to free up 40 man spots while the team decided to protect 3 players from being exposed to the Rule 5 Draft, and those players are Spencer Kieboom, Chris Bostick, and Nick Lee.  Each were added to the 40 man roster.  Rizzo then traded Yunel Escobar for Trevor Gott and also added Oliver Perez, Shawn Kelley, and Yusmeiro Petit.

Once Spring Training begins the Nats can transfer Aaron Barrett to the 60 Day DL and free up a spot on the 40 man roster.

Our source tells us that the Nats will likely waive Erik Davis from the 40 man roster to free up a spot; however, Rizzo is looking at other options.

Rizzo seems to be in no hurry making the Murphy signing official as he might be buying time to make a trade.

https://twitter.com/dyingquails/status/667538901054001153

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The Bench before and after Daniel Murphy #Nats

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

There was quite the discussion on Sunday on what the Washington Nationals 2016 bench could look like for 2016. Bench personnel change and evolve during the course of a 162 game season.

Most fans expect Espinosa to be a starter when the 2016 season begins which will create an opening for a backup middle infielder to begin the season. Currently on the 40 man roster, the middle infielders are Rendon, Espinosa, Trea Turner, Wilmer Difo, and Chris Bostick. Soon Daniel Murphy will join that list. If your Opening Day starters are Rendon 3B, Espinosa SS, Murphy 2B, and Turner, Difo and Bostick all begin the season in the Minors than that would mean Rizzo will be acquiring a middle infielder for the bench.

Dusty and Rizzo also have Tyler Moore and Clint Robinson as extra 1st basemen, and both players can also add emergency depth as outfielders. There is no guarantee both Moore and Robinson will make the Opening Day roster as Daniel Murphy could find himself as the 1st back-up to Ryan Zimmerman at 1st base.

In the outfield based on depth there is Harper, Werth, Taylor, den Dekker, and Brian Goodwin. As of now Werth LF, Taylor CF, and Harper RF would be your starting outfield; however, it is very possible that Mike Rizzo will acquire another outfielder before Spring Training starts which would push Taylor to the bench or to get reps in AAA.

https://twitter.com/BatHoarder/status/678959155332276224

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