Tales from the clubhouse: Magnus' moment

Tales from the clubhouse: Magnus' moment
If baseball resumes in 2020, it will almost certainly do so with restricted access to the clubhouse, only essential personnel allowed through those sacred doors. That'll be a big change from the way it's been for a long time. And it'll ruin the possibility of any ridiculous stories like this one from happening again ... Players often invite guests into the clubhouse before or after games. Their children or another relative. A close friend. Maybe even a furry friend. It doesn't happen all...
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Manfred details plan for testing, quarantining players

Manfred details plan for testing, quarantining players
While the fight over compensation for a potential 2020 season draws most of the headlines, the matter of health and safety appears to be taking priority in early negotiations between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association. There are countless issues that must be worked out before a season can officially begin, but the question on most players' minds right now is a simple one: What happens if somebody tests positive for the coronavirus? MLB hadn't publicly said much of anything...
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Nationals trivia quiz: Uniform numbers

Nationals trivia quiz: Uniform numbers
It's time for another round of Nats trivia! If you didn't play along in our three previous installments, be sure to check out the quizzes on opening days, the postseason and club highs and lows. This quiz is all about uniform numbers. How well do you know your Nationals based not on names or stats but the number on the back of their jerseys? This will test both your simple and your deep-cut knowledge. Just to make one thing clear: Unless otherwise stated, all questions refer only to numbers...
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State of the Nats roster: Catchers (plus ticket refund info)

State of the Nats roster: Catchers (plus ticket refund info)
We continue 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 next is the catching corps ... As a whole, Nationals catchers were among the most productive in the majors last season. They totaled 28 homers (seventh-most in baseball), 100 RBIs (third-most) and a .743 OPS that represented a 119-point upgrade from the 2018 season. The club has every reason to believe this group...
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Can owners, players agree on parameters of 2020 season?

Can owners, players agree on parameters of 2020 season?
Major League Baseball owners reportedly agreed Monday to a proposal for a 2020 season, one that would include an abbreviated second round of spring training in June, then a regular season of roughly 80 games that would run from July through September, then an expanded postseason that includes two more wild card teams in each league but could still be wrapped up around Halloween. Sounds great, right? Our long national nightmare is almost over! The only thing the league needs now is approval of...
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Tales from the clubhouse: The John McLaren Era

Tales from the clubhouse: The John McLaren Era
I woke up on the morning of June 24, 2011, exhausted from the events of the previous day, and rushed to the airport to catch a flight to Chicago. The Nationals were opening a three-game interleague series against the White Sox, having just won 11 of their last 12 but now employing a temporary manager for the weekend. Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation following a walk-off win over the Mariners at Nationals Park had shocked the baseball world, certainly the baseball-caring portion of...
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Tales from the clubhouse: Riggleman's resignation

Tales from the clubhouse: Riggleman's resignation
I get asked often about the craziest story I've covered on the Nationals beat, and there's no shortage of choices over the last 15 years. But my answer has been consistent for a long time now: it's Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation during the 2011 season, and the chaotic 72 hours that followed. In fact, when Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (a long ago intern on the Nats beat) asked on Twitter a few days ago "What's the most random sports moment you'd watch a 10-part...
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Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A
Are we inching closer to a decision about the 2020 Major League Baseball season? Is the start of the season in South Korea encouraging or discouraging for our chances of a season here? And how in the world did Matt Williams become the highest-paid manager in Korea Baseball Organization history? You've got questions. We've (hopefully) got answers. If you've got something you want to ask - about potential scenarios for this season, about funny stories from past seasons, about which Nationals...
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As KBO season begins, Thames optimistic for MLB's chances

As KBO season begins, Thames optimistic for MLB's chances
Eric Thames, like so many other baseball players, media members and fans, turned on his television late Monday night to watch a real, live ballgame between two professional teams. And like so many others who tuned in, Thames was mortified by the sight of a tarp covering the infield at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. "Initially I was angry, because it was a rain delay!" the Nationals slugger said with a laugh. "I turned it on and was like, some baseball finally ... and I turn it on and it's a rain...
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How many games are needed for a legitimate season?

How many games are needed for a legitimate season?
We still don't know when - or if - the 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. We do know it won't be a full, 162-game season, though. Even in a best-case scenario, there's just not enough time to play all 162, not without extending the regular season deep into December and the World Series beyond New Year's Day. That's not happening. So if they play in 2020, it's going to be a shortened season. Which is not unprecedented in MLB history, given past labor disputes. But how many games...
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Casting Nats players as "Star Wars" characters

Casting Nats players as "Star Wars" characters
When it's Week 8 of writing about baseball when there's no baseball to write about, you start coming up with some weird ideas. Most of them never see the light of day, but some of them do. And this is one of them. Monday was May 4. For "Star Wars" fans, it's an unofficial national holiday. Why? Cause it's May the Fourth. As in: "May the Fourth be with you." Yeah, it's cheesy. Guess what? So is "Star Wars." I'm a "Star Wars" fan. Not the kind of fan who dresses up in a Stormtrooper...
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State of the Nats roster: Outfield

State of the Nats roster: Outfield
We continue 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 next is the outfield ... We don't know when the Nationals will take the field again as a team, but when that glorious day does arrive, we know exactly how they'll line up from left to right in the outfield. While other aspects of the roster underwent changes big and small over the winter, the outfield remained...
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Tales from the clubhouse: Getting pranked by the players

Tales from the clubhouse: Getting pranked by the players
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....
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Martinez trying to plan for various spring training scenarios

Martinez trying to plan for various spring training scenarios
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...
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The gutsy start that forever changed Strasburg's narrative

The gutsy start that forever changed Strasburg's narrative
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...
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Zimmerman interviews Fauci, plus more Nats notes

Zimmerman interviews Fauci, plus more Nats notes
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...
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Reading the tea leaves about various MLB season proposals

Reading the tea leaves about various MLB season proposals
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...
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An all-time Nationals roster - with a twist

An all-time Nationals roster - with a twist
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...
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State of the Nats roster: Infield

State of the Nats roster: Infield
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...
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Tales from the clubhouse: Stanton's balk-off

Tales from the clubhouse: Stanton's balk-off
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....
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