Every so often in this profession, you write an article knowing it's going to touch a few nerves. Criticism isn't going to sit well with everyone, especially those who are actually being criticized. But when it happens, you show up to work the next day, and if someone wants to let you know what they really thought about your work, you give them the opportunity to express those feelings (hopefully in a productive manner).
It's all part of the job, and over time you learn how to deal with it....
Davey Martinez's days are pretty occupied right now, all things considered. As he waits things out at his 350-acre farm near Nashville, he spends his mornings riding a Peloton bike, his afternoons outside taking care of his massive property and in between chases his new puppies Champ and Mya around.
There is some time reserved for Martinez's actual day job, though, and right now what occupies the Nationals manager's worktime most is formulating a plan for an eventual second round of spring...
The narrative of the Nationals franchise as a whole, and the narrative of many of those who wore the Nats uniform, forever changed last October. What had been regarded by many as a very good organization that consistently underachieved in the postseason is now thought of as a model of perseverance and togetherness.
The Nationals finally rose to the occasion in 2019, and high on the list of players who made that possible is Stephen Strasburg, who had a brilliant postseason capped by World Series...
Ryan Zimmerman insists he's got a lot of baseball left in him, but he sure seems to be laying the groundwork for a post-retirement career in broadcasting.
It began two weeks ago with the Nationals team Zoom chat, during which Zimmerman turned into something of a co-moderator with MASN's Dan Kolko and showed an impressive ability to ask teammates pertinent questions while maintaining some control over a disorganized group of talkers.
And it continued Wednesday when Zimmerman recorded a...
It's still impossible to say with any semblance of certainty when, where or how the 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. But it doesn't take a lot of reading between the lines in recent days to recognize the powers that be in this sport strongly believe there will be a 2020 baseball season.
The length, format and other particulars of a potential season remain very much uncertain. But as various proposals get tossed around, it does seem like everyone involved fully expects something...
Everyone's putting together "All-Time Best" lists right now. I half expect someone to compile the "All-Time Best All-Time Best List" before the pandemic ends.
So, we might as well get into the game here. But we're going to add a twist to this one. This won't just be the All-Time Best Nationals Roster. That would be too easy. (Just take a bunch of guys from the 2019 club, add a couple others from the pre-championship years and you've got it.)
No, this one requires a little more brain...
We begin today a periodic look at the state of the Nationals roster at the point spring training was suspended and project how things may look whenever baseball is played again. Up first is the infield ...
No aspect of the Nationals roster underwent as much change last winter as the infield. There was only one major departure (Anthony Rendon) but Matt Adams and Brian Dozier also left as free agents, leaving general manager Mike Rizzo with a couple of different paths in an attempt to make up for...
This extended break is offering us a chance to write some stories we wouldn't normally write and to take a few trips down memory lane. So here's a trip back in time for you that includes an epic behind-the-scenes story from the postgame clubhouse. Maybe this will be the first of several such stories that can be shared with you until we have real baseball again.
The date is July 15, 2005. The Nationals are in Milwaukee, facing the Brewers in front of a packed Friday night house at Miller Park....
In addition to paying all full-time employees' salaries through at least the end of May, the Nationals have not yet discussed asking for the organization's highest-paid employees to reduce their salaries while baseball is shut down during the coronavirus pandemic.
General manager Mike Rizzo, during his regular conference call with reporters today, confirmed the Lerner family's recent commitment to pay all full-time employees full salary and benefits through May, following a trend established...
The Nationals informed full-time employees they will continue to receive full pay and benefits through at least the end of May, a source familiar with the decision confirmed.
Following the lead of nearly every other major league organization in recent days, Nationals ownership sent an email out to all full-time employees Thursday with news they will continue to be paid through May 31. The club previously had committed to paying full salaries through the end of April.
A decision on payments...
Mike Rizzo spends his life in motion. If he's not in his office at Nationals Park, he's in the clubhouse meeting with the coaching staff. Or he's on the field watching batting practice from right behind the cage. Or he's on the team charter flying to nearly every road game during a season. Or on the rare occasions he's not with the big league club, he's somewhere else in America watching a top college or high school prospect who's on the Nats' radar for the upcoming draft.
What, though,...
How well do you know your Nationals history? If you tried our two previous trivia quizzes (the first highlighting opening days, the second all about the postseason), you may already have an idea just how proficient you are at these things.
But whether you aced those quizzes or failed them spectacularly, it's time to get back on the horse and give it another try. Today we present the latest edition of Nats trivia, this time looking at some of the most notable highs and lows for the franchise...
As various proposals to play an abridged and altered Major League Baseball season get leaked, and the sporting public debates the practicalities and merits of them all, we must remind ourselves of the following key point:
Eventually, MLB is going to have to make an official proposal for the 2020 season. And then the players are going to have to agree to it.
And the second part of that equation is essential to any plan actually becoming reality.
Players and owners haven't exactly seen eye to...
Ryan and Heather Zimmerman were a couple of weeks into their unexpected spring together at home with nowhere to go when they started wondering what they could do to help their community through the coronavirus pandemic.
They immediately thought of the doctors, nurses and other health care workers who were being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases, didn't have enough personal protective equipment and didn't have enough time to take care of themselves and their families while simultaneously taking...
We don't talk about the schedule much in baseball, because it really doesn't matter all that much under normal circumstances.
During the course of a 162-game season, every team in the majors is going to play every other team in its division 19 times, every team in its league's two other divisions six or seven times and then 20 interleague games.
Sure, teams in tougher divisions - and those that play the toughest division in interleague play - have a little bit of a disadvantage. But rarely...
What's the best team in Nationals history? The one that actually won the World Series. Duh.
But it's worth remembering the 2019 Nats only went 93-69 during the regular season. Four previous clubs won more games than that: the 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017 clubs. Those four teams, of course, lost in the National League Division Series, often in agonizing fashion. And so they're forever viewed as underachievers.
Here's the question, though: Were any of those teams good enough to win the World...
What would you have thought if someone told you a month ago you'd be spending four hours on the night of April 14 watching two dozen players, coaches and others from the 2019 Nationals hold a video conference call with each other while (sort of) re-watching Game 7 of the World Series?
Or that it would be the most enjoyable thing you've watched in the last month?
In these strangest of times, it's the strangest of entertainment that is captivating us. And, more importantly, bringing us all...
Well, we've completed the re-watch of the entire 2019 postseason. And it was capped off last night not only with the reairing of Game 7 of the World Series on MASN, but a once-in-a-lifetime Zoom chat with about two dozen Nationals players, coaches and broadcasters. If you missed any or all of it, the full four-hour video is still up.
Major props to Ryan Zimmerman and Dan Kolko for putting the whole thing together, and for helping to raise more than $200,000 for the just-formed Pros For Heroes,...
(Note: You can watch Game 7 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m.)
There's a strange anticipation to Game 7 of the World Series that doesn't exist any other day of the year. It's the ultimate game, and so there's excitement for the prospect of that. But it's also guaranteed to be the final game of the year, so there's a tinge of sadness that comes with that realization. No matter what happens, no matter who wins, there will not be another ballgame to come after this.
The Nationals...
(Note: You can watch Game 6 of the World Series tonight on MASN at 7 p.m. Eastern time.)
Man, oh, man, did a lot of stuff happen in this game. I mean, this one game alone included Alex Bregman carrying his bat to first base after homering, then Juan Soto responding by doing the exact same thing. It had Stephen Strasburg tipping his pitches in the top of the first, then making a correction and pitching so well he actually took the mound for the bottom of the ninth. It had Adam Eaton hitting a...