Recently by Phil Wood
Whn I was a high school senior, a new student arrived at Jefferson High School and ended up in my mixed chorus class. ... Read More
The Elijah Dukes experiment, project, call it what you will, ended today with the outfielder's release by Washington. ... Read More
Home runs by Mench, Guzman, Zimmerman, and a grand slam by Harris, some decent pitching, and - at long last - a spring training victory in Viera, a 12-3 pasting of the Marlins. ... Read More
VIERA - It's a fairly sparse crowd here for the Nats and Marlins, but the lack of ambient crowd noise is making for an interesting day. ... Read More
VIERA - When you talk with Nationals' manager Jim Riggleman about his potential rotation, it's perfectly apparent that he beiieves that Garrett Mock is a very strong contender for a spot. ... Read More
I encountered one of Brevard County's finest an hour ago when I went out to my car to get a jacket. ... Read More
VIERA - The Nationals are prepared to head into the season with only one lefty - Sean Burnett - in the bullpen. ... Read More
VIERA - It's no secret that Adam Dunn isn't yet an average player defensively. As a full-time first baseman, however, he's clearly focused on improving those skills. ... Read More
VIERA - They tell me this was the nicest day, weather-wise, they've had here since spring training started. ... Read More
Consecutive weather-related cancellations. Tomorrow is another day. ... Read More
So much for that planned "All-Star Tribute to Eddie Guardado" downtown this summer. ... Read More
Richmond, Virginia has a new minor league club this year, the Flying Squirrels of the Eastern League. ... Read More
Twenty-seven pitches. Fifteen strikes. No runs. Two hits. Two K's. ... Read More
There is little if anything less relevant in baseball than a team's won-loss record during the exhibition season. ... Read More
About 30 years ago, when I was doing a nightly show on 1500 in Washington, someone called in and asked if I thought I'd see a female major league player in my lifetime. ... Read More
My spring training travel plans are complete - I head south on 3/13 - and maybe it was that knowledge that triggered a pretty bizarre dream last night. ... Read More
I like baseball movies, but frequently they make me crazy. ... Read More
It's much bigger than I thought. So big, in fact, it's destined for the big screen. ... Read More
Leroy Tillman passed away last week. ... Read More
Bob Chakales, the Senators' Opening Day Starter in 1957, died in Richmond on Thursday. He was 82. ... Read More
Chien-Ming Wang's signing is now official. And while it may be late May before he's able to start a game in the big leagues, it's one of those gambles with a very high upside. ... Read More
The last time I saw Cristian Guzman, he was still ambulatory. ... Read More
If all goes well, in a couple of years prospect Chris Marrero will be wearing a Washington uniform. ... Read More
Kris Benson? ... Read More
Question: How many wins is an acceptable number for the 2010 Nationals? ... Read More
I loved the snow when I was 12. ... Read More
On the one hand, I'm impressed by the fervor some fans display in reacting to any Nationals' transaction, regardless of how insignificant they seem. ... Read More
Unless you're too busy standing in a checkout line at the grocery store this afternoon, we're doing a special edition "Wall-to-Wall Baseball" show again today from 3-7pm on MASN. ... Read More
I wouldn't get too emotional over Orlando Hudson picking the Twins over the Nationals, and the Nats ending up with Adam Kennedy to play second base. ... Read More
Many believe that Orlando Hudson signing with the Nationals is a foregone conclusion, and perhaps it is. ... Read More
It was welcome news to hear that Jon Miller is the 2010 Ford Frick Award winner. He'll be presented the award at this year's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in July. ... Read More
The situation with the Nationals and free agent Orlando Hudson reminds me of those sitcom auction scenes where someone swoops in with a dramatic last-second bid that's many times the actual value of the item, and ends up losing their shirt. ... Read More
I was told on Monday - off-the-record - that the Nationals were interested in signing Adam Dunn to a contract extension. ... Read More
The legendary - and reclusive - writer J.D. Salinger passed away today at the age of 91. ... Read More
Anybody got a spare 50K laying around? ... Read More
The Nationals didn't come up with anyone, but it was otherwise a busy day on the free agent front. ... Read More
Newsflash: The Nationals will not contend for a playoff spot in 2010. ... Read More
If ever a fan base had earned a reward, it's the New Orleans Saints' faithful. ... Read More
Hudson, I get. Cabrera, not so much. ... Read More
Today's memorial service for George Michael at the National Cathedral in Washington was a celebration befitting the man. ... Read More
"It was like the lobby at the Winter Meetings." ... Read More
Ben Sheets is healthy again. ... Read More
I can exhale now. Brooks Robinson's surgery was apparently successful. ... Read More
The Chicago White Sox have signed Daniel Cabrera to a minor league contract. ... Read More
Someday, the Nationals will have a team-centric Hall of Fame or Ring of Honor or Wall of Distinction or Justice League of America. You know what I mean. ... Read More
RFK Stadium. Good Friday 1999. In yet another pre-season exhibition game, the St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos are playing a game on Friday, and another one on Saturday this Easter Weekend. I'm hosting a show on WTEM from the first base side dugout during batting practice. ... Read More
The Nationals' reported interest in free agent pitcher Doug Davis adds another name to the wheel of potential starters for 2010. ... Read More
HBO replayed their Ted Williams documentary this morning. ... Read More
Andre Dawson has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writer's Association of America. ... Read More
There's no Mariano Rivera in the group, but by adding 267 career saves to their bullpen, it's safe to say the Nationals recognized the main culprit in last year's miserable first half. ... Read More
Happy New Year. ... Read More
Greetings from Valley Stream, Long Island, where I'm visiting my wife's family for the holidays. ... Read More
The Nats' signings of first baseman Josh Whitesell and utility man Eric Bruntlett to minor league deals won't do much to excite the fan base. ... Read More
A look at the list of still-available free agents makes it seem fairly certain that a lot of last-minute minor league deals will be struck in late January-early February. ... Read More
Today is my oldest daughter Carrie's 20th birthday. ... Read More
Merry Christmas.. ... Read More
The arrival of Matt Capps to the Nationals' bullpen means two things right off the bat. ... Read More
What a shock to hear on Christmas Eve that my friend George Michael had passed away. ... Read More
Maybe you've seen it recently on the MLB Network: the last game of the 1983 ALCS between the Orioles and White Sox. ... Read More
Jason Marquis revealed today that his interest in the Nationals as a potential future home began last summer when they drafted, and later signed, San Diego State pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg. ... Read More
Jason Marquis is probably not going to win the Cy Young Award with the Nationals, but he brings intangibles to the rotation that can only help a building team. ... Read More
Now you can exhale. ... Read More
Nothing new to report on the Nats' pursuit of free agent starting pitching, but with Christmas a week from today, it's possible that things won't heat back up on that front for several days. ... Read More
I've known Ken Singleton pretty well for more than 30 years, so I figured he'd give me the unvarnished bird's eye lowdown on new Nationals' reliever Brian Bruney. ... Read More
The Nationals are one of a reported 16 - count 'em - 16 teams interested in signing free agent reliever Matt Capps. That's the number his agent came up with, and gosh, if his word isn't as good as gold, whose is? ... Read More
So, how will Roy Halladay's arrival in the Phillies' rotation impact the National League East? ... Read More
Somewhat lost in the hubbub surrounding the Pudge Rodriguez press conference on Friday was the signing - to a minor league deal - of veteran righthanded reliever Ryan Speier. ... Read More
Midnight tonight - December 12 - is the deadline for tendering contracts to eligible veterans. For the Nationals, that list consists of Jesus Flores, Josh Willingham, Sean Burnett, Jason Bergmann, Scott Olsen, Mike MacDougal and Wil Nieves. ... Read More
Ivan Rodriguez says he's ready to play every day, if necessary. ... Read More
Getting ready to turn in for a 4:15 a.m. wake-up call to catch a 7:00 a.m. flight back home. The airport is only 7.5 miles from downtown, but it's a $35 cab ride to get there. I guess that's what built Lucas Oil Stadium. ... Read More
The media work room closes in a couple of hours, and most everybody seems to be packing up and heading out of town, including representatives from 30 major league baseball teams. ... Read More
The Nats lost three players and added three in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft this morning. ... Read More
Zech Zinicola, the inconsistent righthanded reliever drafted by the Nats in 2006, was selected by the Toronto Bue Jays in the first round of this morning's Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. ... Read More
Don't look now, but the podium is about to get a workout. ... Read More
The manager's luncheon ended about 30 minutes ago. It's a nice event: very informal, no tweeting allowed. ... Read More
There's s stage set up at one end of the Marriott ballroom on which sits a podium flanked by a table with several chairs. Seven TV cameras are set up in front of it, with a few dozen chairs for the media behind them. ... Read More
I have to admit I'm finding many of the message board comments on various websites today about the Nats' acquisition of Pudge Rodriguez somewhat entertaining. ... Read More
George played 20 games with the 2006 Nationals, batting .143 in 26 plate appearances - a pretty small sample, to be sure. ... Read More
The Pudge Rodriguez deal with the Nationals is still a wisp in the wind: not yet official or ready for announcement. ... Read More
Putting the lie to the presumption that blockbuster trades in baseball are a thing of the past, the Yankees, Tigers and Diamondbacks are preparing to announce a seven-player, three-way deal, pending completed physicals. ... Read More
I ran into Mark Lerner in one of the hallways at the Indy Marriott. He's pleased with the success the club's management has had so far. ... Read More
Just like you always remember your first kiss, many baseball fans remember their first game, and I'm no different, ... Read More
So far, about a half-dozen other reporters have approached me here in the media work room at the Indianapolis Marriott with a quizzical expression on their faces, all saying the same thing. ... Read More
He just turned 38, but the Nationals feel like Pudge Rodriguez has enough left to make a difference. ... Read More
Not an June draft pick - those type of deals aren't currently allowed in MLB - but the first pick in the Rule 5 draft later this week. I'm going to try and get some clarification on this, but the way it's currently being explained is this: The Nationals will ... Read More
Nats' GM Mike Rizzo held a press conference in the club suite this afternoon, and talked about the trade with New York for reliever Brian Bruney. ... Read More
Nationals' manager Jim Riggleman held a brief press conference this afternoon following the acquisition of right-handed reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees. ... Read More
The Nationals have made it official: Brian Bruney has been acquired from the Yankees for a player to be named later. ... Read More
There's no official announcement yet, but reports indicate that the Nationals have acquired righty reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees for a player to be named later. ... Read More
The collecting world has been a little slow reacting to the news that Whitey Herzog is now a Hall of Famer. ... Read More
Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey. ... Read More
Here we are all checked in on the eve of the 2009 Baseball Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. ... Read More
A caller today on the radio portion of "Wall-to-Wall Baseball" asked me if I thought the Nationals or the Orioles were closer to a winning record. ... Read More
If you were Mike Rizzo, how interested would you be in either Ben Sheets or Erik Bedard? ... Read More
As the flight to Indianapolis approaches, I'm hopeful that next week produces some compelling WMD's: Winter Meeting Deals. ... Read More
The winter meetings get underway next Monday in Indianapolis. I'll be getting there Sunday afternoon. ... Read More
The Nationals have a lot of relief options available via free agency this winter. I tend to think they'll go into spring training with Mike MacDougal as the closer, and Sean Burnett, Tyler Clippard and Jason Bergmann are almost certain to return; so there are still 2-3 slots open. ... Read More
The 2010 Hall of Fame ballot is out. I don't have a vote and likely never will, but that's another story. ... Read More
The thought of major league baseball without Bud Selig as commissioner? I'm absolutely giddy. ... Read More
The passing this week of Abe Pollin brought about a flood of memories from the 1970's when the D.C. area got the NBA and the NHL, thanks to him. ... Read More
