Phil Wood Archive
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
There's a kind of paradox in baseball that rarely gets discussed. ... Read More
Stephen Strasburg's recent knee injury certainly gave the Nationals pause, but if Dr. Lewis Yocum says it's not a big deal, that's good enough for me. ... Read More
So, can the Nats afford to head into 2010 with Ian Desmond as the everyday shortstop? ... Read More
As we reported in this space a week ago yesterday, the Nationals have named former big league manager Davey Johnson a special advisor to GM Mike Rizzo. ... Read More
Ex-Mariners' skipper John McLaren will be the Nationals' bench coach in 2010, serving as Jim Riggleman's first lieutenant. ... Read More
So, if it were left up to you, would you want Scott Olsen back with the Nats in 2010? ... Read More
I like hearing rumors as much as the next guy, but I take them for what they are. ... Read More
As we approach Thanksgiving, let all Nationals' fans join together and give thanks that their favorite team isn't in the American League East. ... Read More
It's been a good week for Ryan Zimmerman. ... Read More
Calling it "the dream of a lifetime," Jim Riggleman was introduced to the press this afternoon, in GM Mike Rizzo's words, as "the permanent manager of the Washington Nationals." ... Read More
It appears all but certain that Jim Riggleman will retain his position as manager of the Nationals, shedding the "interim" tag he's had since replacing Manny Acta at the All-Star break. ... Read More
Ryan Zimmerman today was awarded the 2009 National League Rawlings Gold Glove for third basemen. It's the first Gold Glove of Zimmerman's career. ... Read More
...is a somewhat misleading headline. It's true, but somewhat misleading. ... Read More
I may be completely wrong, but I think Jim Riggleman wins this managerial horse race in Washington. ... Read More
When the regular season ended, GM Mike Rizzo made it clear that he intended to obtain one of the higher profile veteran starters available, either by trade or through free agency. ... Read More
The Nationals have claimed pitcher Doug Slaten off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. ... Read More
Mike Rizzo's new special advisor, Ron Schueler, has seen the game from pretty much every level - from player to executive. ... Read More
My old friend Joe Strauss, who writes baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, would like to see Nats' first baseman Adam Dunn in Cardinals' red in 2010. ... Read More
The Yankees are on the verge of another championship after last night's 7-4 win on the road over the Phillies, giving the Bombers a 3-1 edge in the World Series. "On the verge" is no lock for New York, if you recall the 2004 ALCS against Boston. ... Read More
Ryan Zimmerman is the best fielding third baseman in Major League Baseball. ... Read More
Nats' General Manager Mike Rizzo today announced the hirings of Kasey McKeon as Director of Player Procurement and Jay Robertson as Special Assistant to the General Manager. ... Read More
If you're not tied up otherwise, check out WETA-TV Channel 26 on Monday, November 2 at 9:00 p.m. ... Read More
The Cleveland Indians announced today that they've hired former Nats' manager Manny Acta as their new field boss. Acta got a three-year contract with a one-year option. ... Read More
Not necessarily. Don Mattingly may someday manage the Dodgers, but it will more likely be later than sooner, if at all. ... Read More
The Nationals have received permission to speak with Dodgers' coach Don Mattingly about their managerial slot. ... Read More
I was chatting recently with a friend who's a retired cardiologist. We were discussing the fact that frequently, when a hitter comes to the plate in a clutch situation, men in scoring position, late in the game, his team down by a run or two, two outs, and he swings ... Read More
