Josh Land

Patrick Reddington: An early test for a strengthened strength

Patrick Reddington: An early test for a strengthened strength
The signing of Rafael Soriano came as a surprise to most, including Nationals manager Davey Johnson. Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore explored the possibility before the two-year, $28 million deal with the veteran reliever was announced, but the baseball world at large was caught off guard by the defending NL East champions' decision to strengthen a strength and add another closer to an already strong bullpen that had helped them get within one strike of the National League Championship...
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Josh Land

Rachel Levitin: A changing of the guard?

Rachel Levitin: A changing of the guard?
When I moved to D.C. in 2005, I learned all I needed to know about the Nationals (at the time) rather quickly. It was the middle of August, the team was decent and they were on the verge of a winning season. Truth be told, I only went to a couple games before August turned into September. Then Ryan Zimmerman made his major league debut on Sept. 1. My memory's fading and I honestly can't recall whether or not I was physically at that game, but I do know I spent an awful lot of time at RFK...
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Josh Land

David Huzzard: In battle for NL East, Braves-Nats head-to-head battles are critical

David Huzzard: In battle for NL East, Braves-Nats head-to-head battles are critical
The National League East is going to come down to the Braves and Nationals, and it could be even closer than the four games that separated them in 2012. The Nats have the advantage in starting pitching, while the Braves have a slight advantage on offense and in the bullpen, with the defenses being fairly even. The Braves are going to score a lot of runs, but with Paul Maholm, Mike Minor, and Julio Teheran at the back of their rotation, they are going to need all the runs they can get to win...
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Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: A long season's early lesson

Ted Leavengood: A long season's early lesson
The Nationals' home opener in 2012 was against the Cincinnati Reds. They won three of the first four at Nationals Park to set up a truly successful first month and got the season rolling toward 98 wins. The Reds didn't like that movie and let Washington know they will be playing a very different role this year. The Reds had the second best record in the National League last year, winning 97 games. With Shin-Soo Choo at the top of their order, they are going to be even better. Choo's...
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Josh Land

Marty Niland: How will Nats respond to getting roughed up?

Marty Niland: How will Nats respond to getting roughed up?
It was a tough weekend for the Nationals. After a glorious opening series against Miami that included back-to-back shutouts, the Nats found the going much tougher on the season's first weekend in Cincinnati. They lost two of three to the Reds, including a 15-0 thumping on Friday night - the most lopsided loss since the team moved to Washington in 2005. Their first series loss in the magical 2012 season did not come until a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the final series of April. If...
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Josh Land

Patrick Reddington: An Expos fan at home in D.C. on opening day

Patrick Reddington: An Expos fan at home in D.C. on opening day
The closest I ever came to a sense of community as a fan of the Montreal Expos was when I would travel from my home in Johnson, Vt., where I lived after attending college in town, across the border in Richford, Vt., through Canadian farmland and small farming communities to Autoroute des Cantons de L'Est across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to Rue Notre Dame East, down the Boulevard Pie IX to the Stade Olympique on Rue Pierre de Coubertin. There with the 10,000-15,000 fans who still showed up for...
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Josh Land

Rachel Levitin: My first opening day was well worth the wait

Rachel Levitin: My first opening day was well worth the wait
For the first 25 years of my life, Major League Baseball's opening day was a romanticized fantasy played out in my head. It was an all-elusive game that one day I'd attend, though I didn't know when, where, why, or how. Growing up mere minutes from Wrigley Field was always such a tease, but I knew dad would never take us kids out of school for the game no matter how hard I begged. I'll also venture to guess that tickets to a Wrigley Field opening day game weren't exactly cheap even back in...
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Josh Land

David Huzzard: A rotation full of talent - and extra motivation

David Huzzard: A rotation full of talent - and extra motivation
The starting staff that general manager Mike Rizzo assembled for the 2013 Nationals is nothing short of remarkable. Up and down the rotation, there are pitchers who are, have been, or could be aces. The talent of Stephen Strasburg is obvious. If he hadn't been stopped because of an innings limit last season, Gio Gonzalez wouldn't have been the only Nat getting Cy Young votes. Strasburg's 11.13 strikeouts per nine innings would have been the 17th-highest in major league history - and this is...
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Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: On opening day, an elegant masterpiece

Ted Leavengood: On opening day, an elegant masterpiece
Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg made a compelling case on opening day to be considered the two best talents ever to play Major League Baseball in Washington, D.C. Facing a depleted Miami Marlins roster, Strasburg seemed to hardly work up a sweat as he breezed through seven innings on 80 pitches without allowing a run. On a day when Ricky Nolasco had his good stuff, Harper hit two laser shots that bored through a slight incoming breeze to easily reach the right field stands. The final score...
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Pete Kerzel

Nationals revel in watching Harper, Strasburg at work

Nationals revel in watching Harper, Strasburg at work
Having trouble deciding on the right word to describe Bryce Harper's two-homer performance in the Nationals' 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins in Monday's season opener? How about the double play Harper started in the seventh with a laser throw from left field? Or the way, after going deep twice, he faked a bunt that would have caught Placido Polanco so by surprise that Harper might have run to second before the Marlins third baseman could react? Consult your thesaurus. Nationals shortstop Ian...
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Josh Land

Marty Niland: The top five reasons the Nationals will live up to their high expectations

Marty Niland: The top five reasons the Nationals will live up to their high expectations
By any measure, the Nationals' 2012 season was an historic time in the nation's capital. It was the city's first winning season since 1969, its most wins and first postseason appearance in almost 80 years, and first postseason victory since the 1933 World Series. The 2013 season could be even more historic. Few people alive today can remember a season with such high expectations for a Washington baseball team. The pundits at Sports Illustrated and other national media outlets are picking...
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Pete Kerzel

Rodriguez nails down final 'pen spot, Ramos to catch opener

Rodriguez nails down final 'pen spot, Ramos to catch opener
In the end, the Nationals weren't about to take a chance on parting ways with a relief pitcher capable of hitting triple digits. Despite an up-and-down spring, right-hander Henry Rodriguez has claimed the final spot in the Nationals bullpen. Manager Davey Johnson made the announcement after Friday's 4-2 exhibition loss to the New York Yankees at Nationals Park, surprising a team public relations official who had just told reporters the word on the Nats' final roster moves wouldn't come...
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Pete Kerzel

Harper gets his revenge on Pettitte (Nats lose 4-2)

Harper gets his revenge on Pettitte (Nats lose 4-2)
The last time Bryce Harper faced Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte, the pitcher got the better of the Nationals rookie hitter. Harper was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts against Pettitte, and didn't look very good. So much for the domination. Facing Pettitte in the first inning of today's exhibition game at Nationals Park, Harper singled with two down, smacking the ball sharply to right field on Pettitte's first pitch, an 89-mph two-seamer. That makes Harper 11-for-11 with a walk and a sacrifice...
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Josh Land

Spring Training Wrap: It's Nats baseball season

Spring Training Wrap: It's Nats baseball season
It's been a long winter. I think the snowstorm that many of us saw on the East Coast this week really drove that statement home. After a lengthy offseason and spring training, which was extended due to the World Baseball Classic, I can finally utter the words that I have been waiting to say for months: "Baseball is back." The Nationals will wrap up their spring at home in D.C., facing the Yankees in an exhibition game Friday. If you can't make it out to Nats Park, be sure to check out the...
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Josh Land

Ted Leavengood: What to take from a topsy-turvy spring

Ted Leavengood: What to take from a topsy-turvy spring
This spring has been a confusing one. The only cherry blossoms we have seen were the white puffs of snow clinging to the branches several days ago. Nationals spring training hasn't blossomed the way we thought either. The expectations are so different after winning 98 games in 2012. We want to win them all, even the ones in March. Like the osprey soaring on March winds above Viera, the Nationals have ridden Bryce Harper's bat on one day only to be grounded the next as the pitching staff is...
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Pete Kerzel

MASNsports.com sets Nats guest blogger rotation for first half of 2013

MASNsports.com sets Nats guest blogger rotation for first half of 2013
The way MASNsports.com is structured, conversation is encouraged. And good conversation requires strong, distinctive voices. The blogosphere covering baseball is Washington, D.C., is one of the strongest collections of baseball observers in the major leagues, chocked full of well-reasoned opinions and creative storytellers. We're happy to once again welcome these dedicated writers to our pages for the 2013. Guest bloggers will return to MASNsports.com, offering their viewpoints each weekday...
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Pete Kerzel

Nationals lineup vs. Mets (Harper scratched)

Nationals lineup vs. Mets (Harper scratched)
VIERA, Fla - Before I head over to Orlando International Airport for the flight back to Baltimore, I wanted to pass along the Nationals lineup for today's 1:10 p.m. game against the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. Consider it my going away gift to you. MASNsports.com's Dan Kolko will be at Tradition Field this afternoon and will handle coverage duties for the remainder of spring training, through the Nationals' March 29 exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Nationals Park. A...
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Pete Kerzel

Espinosa's groundball approach paying dividends (Soriano, Rodriguez notes)

Espinosa's groundball approach paying dividends (Soriano, Rodriguez notes)
VIERA, Fla. - Want to get a good indication of just how well Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa is hitting in spring training? Check out his batting practice session and see how many sharp ground balls are rocketing off his bat. A 1-for-3 day in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Tigers upped his Grapefruit League batting average to .316, and continued to dispel any worries about Espinosa's decision to strengthen his torn left rotator cuff instead of opting for offseason surgery. He's been...
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Pete Kerzel

Strasburg averts scare on Fielder's shot through the box

Strasburg averts scare on Fielder's shot through the box
VIERA, Fla. - As soon as the ball came off Prince Fielder's bat in the fourth inning, Stephen Strasburg immediately knew two things: The screamer was coming right at him, and he had a shot to catch it. The ball hit him, and he didn't snag it. And as it caromed into short center field for a single, all eyes turned to the mound as Nationals personnel descended upon the ace to make sure he was OK. It was the kind of reaction play that can either be a pitcher's best friend or worst enemy....
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Pete Kerzel

Except for home run, Strasburg in command (Nats lose 4-3)

Except for home run, Strasburg in command (Nats lose 4-3)
VIERA, Fla. - It seems odd to see the 0-2 record next to Stephen Strasburg's name on the stats sheet. The 4.66 ERA he toted into today's game against the Tigers looks a little strange, too. But then again, this is spring training and the stats here don't count. What's that old baseball adage about not making player personnel judgments based on statistics from March or September? Through three innings in his sixth spring start, Strasburg has looked pretty much in command, save for the...
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