Zimmerman announces retirement after standout career

Zimmerman announces retirement after standout career
Ryan Zimmerman could've kept playing. But after 17 years with the Nationals, countless franchise records, a World Series title and a fitting farewell on the final day of the 2021 season, there really was nothing left to prove. So the face of the Nationals since the franchise made him its first draft pick in 2005 made it official today: He's retiring after a remarkable career with one organization that has become increasingly exceptional in the modern sports world. "Although my baseball...

Was Adon's impressive debut a sign of things to come?

Was Adon's impressive debut a sign of things to come?
As the lockout drags on, we're taking this opportunity to break down some players in the Nationals organization who haven't garnered as many headlines. Today we look at right-hander Joan Adon, who spent most of 2021 in the low minor leagues but made a big impression in his major league debut on the season's final day. ... RHP JOAN ADON Bats/Throws: R/R Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 242 lbs. Age on opening day 2022: 23 How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2016 Service time: 1...

Despite issues, MLB still has more parity than other leagues

Despite issues, MLB still has more parity than other leagues
The National Football League crowned a new champion Sunday night, the Rams winning their first Super Bowl in 22 years (when they still played in St. Louis), making this their first Lombardi Trophy while representing Los Angeles. And they did so by beating a Bengals franchise making its first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years, a franchise still seeking its first title after this heartbreaking loss. The NFL, with its salary cap and even distribution of television money (something it can do...

Will latest offer spark talks or leave them stagnant?

Will latest offer spark talks or leave them stagnant?
Nobody really expected Major League Baseball's latest offer to players to bring an immediate end to the lockout, but there was hope it would at least spark more aggressive negotiations between the two warring parties as the clock ticks down to the point of no return. Based on the immediate reaction widely reported Saturday, it didn't achieve that goal. And that's only going to leave more people around the sport worried the season might not actually start on time. We don't have to delve into...

State of Nationals bullpen at this point

State of Nationals bullpen at this point
We haven't talked much about the Nationals roster in the last two months, because the roster hasn't changed at all in the last two months. So it might be time for a refresher on the current state of things, because it's easy to forget what this team currently has in place for 2022 and what it still needs to address once everyone's allowed to address needs again. Obviously, there will be an opportunity to add players as soon as the lockout ends, though it could be quite a mad rush by all 30...

Who's in Nats rotation at this point?

Who's in Nats rotation at this point?
We haven't talked much about the Nationals roster in the last two months, because the roster hasn't changed at all in the last two months. So it might be time for a refresher on the current state of things, because it's easy to forget what this team currently has in place for 2022 and what it still needs to address once everyone's allowed to address needs again. Obviously, there will be an opportunity to add players as soon as the lockout ends, though it could be quite a mad rush by all 30...

What would Nats lineup look like at this point?

What would Nats lineup look like at this point?
We haven't talked much about the Nationals roster in the last two months, because the roster hasn't changed at all in the last two months. So it might be time for a refresher on the current state of things, because it's easy to forget what this team currently has in place for 2022 and what it still needs to address once everyone's allowed to address needs again. Obviously, there will be an opportunity to add players as soon as the lockout ends, though it could be quite a mad rush by all 30...

Can Clay show improvement after erratic rookie year?

Can Clay show improvement after erratic rookie year?
As the lockout drags on, we're taking this opportunity to break down some players in the Nationals organization who haven't garnered as many headlines. Today we look at left-hander Sam Clay, who spent most of 2021 in the big league bullpen but finished the season in the minors. ... LHP SAM CLAY Bats/Throws: L/L Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 227 lbs. Age on opening day 2022: 28 How acquired: Signed as free agent, November 2020 Service time: 169 days 2021 salary: $575,000 Contract status: Under team...

What needs to happen this week to keep spring training on tap

What needs to happen this week to keep spring training on tap
Friday's news of the Major League Baseball Players Association declining the league's request to bring a government mediator into the stalled negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement made for a dour start to the weekend. As a new week arrives, we're all left wondering a seemingly simple, yet perhaps not-actually-simple question: What happens now? We don't have an official answer yet, but the actions of both parties in the next 48 hours or so should give us a good clue about...

Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A

Well, here we are. It's February. The Winter Olympics are underway. The Super Bowl is nine days away. And pitchers and catchers will be reporting in ... well, who really knows at this point?

There was some news on the collective bargaining front this week, though apparently not positive news. The clock has nearly run out to ensure an on-time start to spring training, though there is still a little bit of time to ensure the season begins March 31 as scheduled.

In the meantime, we'll keep plugging along here and try to keep the content coming every single day. Today, it comes in the form of a Q&A. If you've got a Nationals question you'd like to ask, go for it! Use the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my replies ...

Will anyone be elected off controversial Hall of Fame ballot?

Will anyone be elected off controversial Hall of Fame ballot?
The lockout may have drained the life out of this winter, but it can't eliminate one of the most important days of the year on the baseball calendar: Hall of Fame election day. (Well, provided somebody actually does get elected today. More on that in a moment.) The time has come for the Class of 2022 to be revealed, for a ballot of 30 candidates with varying cases for selection to be whittled down to the precious few who receive at least 75 percent of the vote among 10-year members of the...

Fans won't have any sympathy if games are lost

Fans won't have any sympathy if games are lost
There is no greater experience in sports than watching a great postseason game, a down-to-the-wire, back-and-forth affair that comes down to one final dramatic moment that instantly becomes part of the very fabric of each franchise's lore, good or bad. And there is no worse experience in sports than watching owners and players decide not to contest games because they're squabbling over money. Guess which North American professional sport just enjoyed the ultimate weekend of great theater and...

Catching up after a news-filled week of vacation

Catching up after a news-filled week of vacation
After a long, slow winter with precious little going on, the Nationals at last made news on multiple fronts last week. And wouldn't you know who happened to be on vacation as this all happened? Yep, it never fails. If you want news, all you've got to do is book me and my family on a flight out of town, then sit back and wait for the alerts to drop. Many thanks, as always, to Bobby Blanco and Pete Kerzel for handling the various items in my absence. But now that I'm back to work, I figured...

Friday morning Nats Q and A

Friday morning Nats Q and A
It's been three weeks since we last did one of these, and so much has happened since then, right? Right? OK, so very little has happened since then, at least in the baseball world. At least the owners and players met Thursday for the first time since the lockout began six weeks ago, so that's a good thing, right? Right? Alas, the entire sport remains very much in a holding pattern until the two sides start to feel a little more urgency to get a deal done, which probably won't be for several...

What if Desmond took the Nationals' $107 million offer?

What if Desmond took the Nationals' $107 million offer?
Heading into the 2014 season, few shortstops in baseball were trending up like Ian Desmond. Back-to-back Silver Slugger seasons for a Nationals franchise that was beginning to establish itself as a perennial contender catapulted one of the last remaining Expos draft picks into the national spotlight. And that meant Desmond was due to be paid big money in the near future. The Nats recognized this, and in the kind of move they hadn't really been in position to make with many homegrown players...

Bullpen improvement must come both from within and from outside

Bullpen improvement must come both from within and from outside
Stability has never been a hallmark of the Nationals bullpen. Truth be told, it's rarely a hallmark of any club's bullpen, given the inherent instability of the position. But the Nats took this longstanding theme to new (and often painful) levels in 2021. For only the third time in team history, Nationals relievers finished a season with a collective ERA north of 5.00, joining the 103-loss 2009 group and the tightrope-walking 2019 unit that managed to get it together just in time to win in...

Was Cluff's strong showing in AFL a sign of things to come?

Was Cluff's strong showing in AFL a sign of things to come?
We spend the majority of our time here talking about major leaguers, but with the lockout now preventing teams from making any transactions involving players on 40-man rosters, let's take an opportunity to delve deeper into some of the Nationals' top minor leaguers. We continue this weekly series with a recent riser within the organization ... SS JACKSON CLUFF Height/Weight: 6-foot-0, 185 lbs. Age on opening day 2022: 25 How acquired: Sixth-round pick, 2019 draft, BYU 2021 stats (Double-A...

Shortened spring could really hinder Nats' pitching prep

Shortened spring could really hinder Nats' pitching prep
There's a prevailing sense around the baseball world right now that a delayed start to spring training wouldn't necessarily mean a delayed start to the regular season. If owners and players can work out a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement by late February, it would be possible to shorten camps from six weeks to four weeks, or (gulp) maybe even three weeks and still wrap things up in time to begin the season March 31 as scheduled. This, of course, all makes sense. Does spring...

Robles playing in Dominican, Nolin heading to Korea

Robles playing in Dominican, Nolin heading to Korea
Whether spring training starts on time or not, Victor Robles will report to West Palm Beach with some game experience already under his belt this winter. Robles is now playing in the Dominican Winter League, added to Aguilas Cibaeñas' playoff roster earlier in the week and already making the highlight reel in the outfield. The Nationals center fielder threw out a runner at second base in his debut game, retrieving a drive off the wall and making a perfect throw to the delight of the crowd...

Nationals trivia quiz: Hitting

Nationals trivia quiz: Hitting
Last month, we published our first quiz of the lockout, focusing strictly on Nationals pitching trivia. Today we come back for another round, this time focusing only on hitting trivia. Some of these questions hopefully will be simple enough for semi-serious fans to answer, featuring some of the most recognizable names in club history. Some of them are only for the truly die-hard among us, featuring some names most will have long since forgotten. There are 20 questions in total, with all...