Ranking the Nats' 19 home playoff games, from best to worst

Ranking the Nats' 19 home playoff games, from best to worst
There's a postseason game being played tonight in Washington. Er, Landover. But you get the idea. Remarkably, this is only the fourth time the Washington Football Team is hosting a playoff game in the last three decades. It hasn't won a home playoff game since its 27-13 victory over the Lions in the 1999 NFC wild card contest. The Nationals, on the other hand, have hosted 19 postseason games since 2012. Yes, eight of those came in October 2019 alone, but even prior to the World Series run...
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Time for Turner to get his due (and his dollars)

Time for Turner to get his due (and his dollars)
Francisco Lindor is a superstar, perhaps the best shortstop in baseball, and that's why folks in New York were so ecstatic Thursday when they learned the Mets had just acquired the 27-year-old (plus right-hander Carlos Carrasco) from Cleveland in a blockbuster trade. Now for something that might surprise you: Lindor and Trea Turner have the exact same career OPS of .833. Yep, the rightly regarded superstar shortstop's career offensive output has been matched by the Nationals' current...
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Remembering an uplifting event in the shadow of the Capitol

Remembering an uplifting event in the shadow of the Capitol
A terrible thing happened here Wednesday, and for the world, it was terribly difficult to watch. For those who actually live here, it was even worse. Because it happened in our own backyard, in a place where major events often take place but rarely produce the kind of anger and sadness this event did. And watching it unfold on television, I couldn't help but think about the familiar location it was all taking place in. We all know it, because we've all been there many times. And not that long...
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Why aren't the Nats as aggressive as they were one year ago?

Why aren't the Nats as aggressive as they were one year ago?
On Jan. 2, 2020, the Nationals signed Will Harris to a three-year deal. On Jan. 3, 2020, they signed Starlin Castro to a two-year deal. On Jan. 6, 2020, they re-signed Daniel Hudson to a two-year deal. Roughly two hours later, they signed Eric Thames to a one-year deal. That's four significant free agent moves in a four-day span, an avalanche of news that feels oh-so-quaint to revisit right now, does it not? Look, we knew this was going to be a slow-developing market, even slower than we saw...
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Could the Nats bring back any of their own free agents?

Could the Nats bring back any of their own free agents?
We spend a lot of time talking about free agents the Nationals might be interested in acquiring, newcomers who could help bolster their 2021 roster. But what about the possibility of re-signing free agents who played here in 2020? The Nationals already brought back one guy who could've departed: Josh Harrison, who signed a one-year deal very early in the offseason. Otherwise, they've stayed away from their own free agents so far. That, of course, could change as spring training inches closer....
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Will new year lead to new urgency to fill roster holes?

Will new year lead to new urgency to fill roster holes?
The new year began four days ago, but for practical purposes the new business year begins today. So perhaps that means we're about to get an influx of transactions by the Nationals? Hey, it's 2021. Anything's possible, right? Who knows if general manager Mike Rizzo will be making any announcements today, tomorrow or some other day later this week, but if nothing else you've got to think the pressure to get more aggressive is going to start building here soon. The Nationals' season ended 14...
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The Nationals' all-time leaderboards

The Nationals' all-time leaderboards
It's Nostalgia Weekend here on the blog. If you missed it yesterday, we looked at the long list of guys who never played in the major leagues again after playing for the Nationals. Today we're looking at the best of the best in Nats history. Yes, it's time to revisit the club's all-time leaderboards. Now that they've got 16 seasons under their belts, the Nationals have compiled enough history to make this exercise both informative and fun. There are a few highly recognizable names that...
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All the ballplayers whose careers ended in D.C.

All the ballplayers whose careers ended in D.C.
A total of 370 players have appeared in at least one game for the Nationals since 2005. Some of them were longtime stalwarts who are forever associated fondly with this franchise. Some were only here for a year or two as part of successful careers with multiple clubs. And some of them played for a while in Washington and then never played in the big leagues again. Actually, more than some of them fit that last description. Would you believe at least 127 of the 370 players in Nationals history...
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Why 2021 will be better than 2020

Why 2021 will be better than 2020
You already know this, but 2020 was a pretty awful year. Not that many folks didn't experience some legitimately positive moments, but in the big picture this was among the worst years in most everybody's lives. Now, you have to be awfully naïve to believe that the world is suddenly going to change for the better just because we're all opening up a new calendar today. Nothing is inherently different today compared to yesterday, other than an arbitrary number someone a long time ago chose...
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Thames signs with Japanese club for 2021

Thames signs with Japanese club for 2021
Eric Thames went to Asia to resurrect his career once before. He'll attempt to do it again after signing with a Japanese club Wednesday following his disappointing season with the Nationals. Thames signed a one-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He'll earn roughly $1.2 million, according to Sports Hochi. That's a bit of a fall from grace for Thames, who one year ago signed with the Nationals for a guaranteed $4 million in 2020, plus a $4 million mutual option...
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Why Yadiel Hernández isn't in the mix for the outfield job

Why Yadiel Hernández isn't in the mix for the outfield job
The Nationals need a corner outfielder. This is not news to anyone who has paid even scant attention this winter. This to-be-determined outfielder most likely will come from outside the organization, acquired either via free agency or trade. Unless the front office decides to gamble and stay in-house with Andrew Stevenson, who looked awfully impressive when given a chance to play in September but has very little track record. What, though, about the other in-house option, the other outfielder...
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Cubs' teardown is a cautionary tale for Nationals

Cubs' teardown is a cautionary tale for Nationals
It's a common practice to look at a team in the moments after it wins a championship and wonder if it's good enough to come back the next year and win another. And rarely in recent baseball history has that sentiment been more prevalent than in the moments after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series. Yes, they broke the Billy Goat Curse with their first title in 108 years, but this didn't appear to be some kind of one-in-a-million convergence of events. The Cubs roster was loaded with young...
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Monday morning Nats Q&A

Monday morning Nats Q&A
Good morning, everyone. Hope you all had a safe and healthy holiday weekend. And hope you had a little time to read about the Nationals' trade for Josh Bell and the subsequent reaction and analysis that followed. After an awfully quiet start to the offseason, the Nats have now acquired a much-needed big bat. The question is, will they attempt to go get another significant bat to further bolster the top half of their lineup? We know they still need a corner outfielder. And they could still...
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Is there still room for Zimmerman on 2021 roster?

Is there still room for Zimmerman on 2021 roster?
It was a throwaway line at the end of his opening statement introducing Josh Bell on Saturday afternoon, but a four-word phrase from Mike Rizzo might have carried more weight than he realized at the time. Rizzo referred to Bell as "our new first baseman." That's not something the Nationals general manager has said in some time. The last time Rizzo acquired a first baseman with the intention of starting him on opening day was 2011. The player's name was Adam LaRoche, and he would hold the...
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Nationals believe Bell is "a big upgrade for us"

Nationals believe Bell is "a big upgrade for us"
In searching for the big bat his club was missing this season and he had openly identified as his No. 1 goal of this offseason, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo had no shortage of options to consider. He could've gone big in the free agent market and tried to sign one of the pre-eminent (but pricey) players available. He could've gone after a second-tier (and thus less expensive) free agent and hoped that would be enough. Or he could've explored trade possibilities, recognizing that type...
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How the Nationals' 2021 lineup looks for now

How the Nationals' 2021 lineup looks for now
The Christmas Eve acquisition of Josh Bell gives the Nationals a much-needed, middle-of-the-order bat. General manager Mike Rizzo said that was his No. 1 priority of the winter, and the general manager even dropped a hint last week it could come in the form of a first baseman. But where exactly does Bell - who is tentatively scheduled to speak to reporters this afternoon, by the way - figure to bat in the Nats lineup? The idea all along was to provide protection for Juan Soto, who sorely needed...
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Bell trade can't be Nats' only big move of the winter

Bell trade can't be Nats' only big move of the winter
The initial reaction to the Josh Bell trade was overwhelmingly positive. A Nationals club that desperately needed to acquire a big bat did so without spending gobs of money and without dealing away top prospects. What's not to like about that? Well, as with all trades, it's best not to jump to any conclusions just yet. Let's see how this plays out. There's a good chance Bell proves to be everything the Nationals need him to be, and that neither Wil Crowe nor Eddy Yean amounts to much with...
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Nats get big bat for Christmas, acquire Josh Bell from Bucs

Nats get big bat for Christmas, acquire Josh Bell from Bucs
General manager Mike Rizzo found a much-desired big bat to stuff into the Nationals' stocking just hours before the sun sets on Christmas Eve: Josh Bell. The Nats have acquired Bell, an All-Star first baseman in 2019, from the Pirates in exchange for pitching prospects Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean in a rare (but not unprecedented) Dec. 24 move announced by the club this afternoon. The switch-hitting Bell, 28, clubbed 37 homers and drove in 116 runs while posting a .936 OPS and earning his first...
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Kendrick's immeasurable impact on the Nationals

Kendrick's immeasurable impact on the Nationals
Ask someone to create a list of the best players in Nationals history, and you're going to find plenty of consensus. Max Scherzer is on there, probably at the top, with Stephen Strasburg right behind him. Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper most likely round out the top five, in one order or another. Ryan Zimmerman certainly deserves a spot. Then you'll start getting some diverging opinions as supporters make the case for the likes of Jordan Zimmermann and Daniel Murphy and Ian Desmond...
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Nationals finished with seventh-highest payroll in 2020

Nationals finished with seventh-highest payroll in 2020
The Nationals finished the 2020 season with the seventh-largest payroll in Major League Baseball, down three slots from their position during their World Series run the previous year but still leaving them among the sport's biggest spenders. The Nats paid out a grand total of $76.2 million to all players on their 40-man roster this season, according to figures obtained and published by the Associated Press on Saturday evening. That ranked seventh in the majors, behind the World Series champion...
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