Drew Kinback: Storen's choice of flat-brim shows definite closer style

Drew Kinback: Storen's choice of flat-brim shows definite closer style
There is just something about a ballplayer who styles the flat-brim. Pardon the obvious and shameless pun, but a player who wears his ballcap flat-brim style is tipping the hat to an older school of baseball while at the same time showing defiance in the face of modern standards and comfort in ballplayer headwear. It is true that a new baseball cap is not conformed to the shape of the wearer's head so it is necessary to bend the bill a little bit. Give it some flex. So in a way, flat-brim...

Nationals' Desmond reinstated from paternity leave

Nationals' Desmond reinstated from paternity leave
The Washington Nationals today reinstated shortstop Ian Desmond from the Paternity Leave List and optioned outfielder Roger Bernadina to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Desmond, 25, rejoins the Nationals after missing the previous two games. Desmond is batting .205 (16-for-78) with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in 20 games this season with Washington. He...

Detwiler rolling through April in Syracuse; the hip a distant memory

Detwiler rolling through April in Syracuse; the hip a distant memory
Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs left-handed starter Ross Detwiler may not want April to end. It has been a month to remember. In four starts, Detwiler has gone at least six innings each time, allowed only six total runs, struck out 20 and walked only six. Detwiler has compiled a 2-0 record with a 2.22 ERA. Even more amazing has been his two no decisions. In those two starts, he allowed just two runs in 12 1/3 innings. In his most recent outing, April 25 at Scranton, Detwiler tossed six and...

Drew Kinback: Nats' Hairston delivers a blow to logic of putting trust in veterans

Drew Kinback: Nats' Hairston delivers a blow to logic of putting trust in veterans
If you watch Nationals baseball long enough, you eventually find that over time nothing really surprises you anymore. Nationals baseball is full of every strange play and freak occurrence you can probably think up and wrap your mind around. At this point I would not be surprised to see Jayson Werth drop a routine fly ball because some crocodile had slunk up from the Anacostia and run onto the field after him. I really wouldn't. I've seen it all. Until Tuesday night. In the ninth inning of...

Nationals reinstate Henry Rodriguez from DL; place Gaudin on disabled list

Nationals reinstate Henry Rodriguez from DL; place Gaudin on disabled list
The Washington Nationals today returned from rehab and reinstated right-handed pitcher Henry Rodriguez from the 15-Day Disabled List and placed right-handed pitcher Chad Gaudin on the 15-Day DL, retroactive to April 26, with right shoulder inflammation. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Rodriguez missed 22 games after beginning the season on the DL, retroactive to March 22, with right shoulder inflammation. The...

Drew Kinback: An early look at Jim Riggleman's future in D.C.

Drew Kinback: An early look at Jim Riggleman's future in D.C.
I peg manager Jim Riggleman as a whiskey man. I don't base this off much of anything or know if he actually partakes in the American firewater, but let's pretend a little bit. He just looks and carries himself like a whiskey man: staunch, regal, a touch of book-smart intellect mixed with barroom pugilism. A lover and a fighter. It is the sort of thing you want in a baseball manager running a team of bosky greenhorns and slightly fossilized gray-hairs. I've always imagined Riggleman walking...

Minor league starting lineups 4/27/11

Minor league starting lineups 4/27/11
Here is a look around the Nationals system at the starting lineups put on the field of play for Wednesday, April 27, 2011. Harrisburg lineup Steve Lombardozzi 2B Josh Johnson SS Jesus Valdez LF Tyler Moore 1B Derek Norris C Bill Rhinehart RF Tim Pahuta 3B Jonathan Tucker CF Ryan Tatusko P Potomac lineup Game 1 Cutter Dykstra 3B Jeff Kobernus 2B Destin Hood RF Steven Souza 1B Stephen King DH J.P. Ramirez LF Sandy Leon C J.R. Higley CF Francisco Soriano SS Syracuse lineup Boomer...

Burnett gets roughed up in ninth, suffers first loss

Burnett gets roughed up in ninth, suffers first loss
The Nationals had worked their way into a chance to win it in the ninth inning on Wednesday. After scoring a run on a sacrifice fly by catcher Wilson Ramos, Washington led 3-2. Heading into the top of ninth inning, the Mets had hitters five, six and seven coming up next. The Nationals manager Jim Riggleman elected to give the ball to lefthander Sean Burnett to get three outs. Sean Burnett discusses his blown save with the media after the Nats' 6-3 loss New York had a different idea,...

Bullpen addition Rodriguez ready to contribute

Bullpen addition Rodriguez ready to contribute
After battling right shoulder inflammation in spring training, reliever Henry Rodriguez joined the Nationals on Wednesday afternoon ready to contribute out of the bullpen. The hard throwing right-hander was acquired from Oakland for Josh Willingham back in December. Rodriguez completed a rehab assignment in Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse before being recalled by the Nationals. "Everything went well," he said of his rehab. "I feel great and now I just have to go out there and do...

Gorzelanny feeling good about start against Mets

Gorzelanny feeling good about start against Mets
Left-hander Tom Gorzelanny looks to earn his first win as a Washington National Wednesday night when he takes to the hill against the New York Mets, who send knuckleball right-hander R.A. Dickey (1-3, 4.10) to the mound. Gorzelanny (0-2, 4.96) is coming off a tough loss last week in St. Louis in which he went five innings and allowed two runs. He surrendered only two hits, but struggled with control, giving up four walks and striking out three batters in a 5-0 setback. The Nats lefty allowed...

Dave Nichols: Nationals face daunting schedule over next two weeks

Dave Nichols: Nationals face daunting schedule over next two weeks
The 2011 Washington Nationals have been hovering around .500 most of the season. They currently sit at 10-12 as a result of dropping five of their last six games, including Tuesday night's 6-4 loss to the New York Mets, an imminently winnable game as manager Jim Riggleman said in his press conference after the game. "A little something happen here or there and we could have won that ball game," Riggleman rationalized after the loss. That seems to be a popular sentiment. But the fact that...

Ramos makes case to be regular catcher

Ramos makes case to be regular catcher
The Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos provided most of the offense for the Nationals Tuesday against the New York Mets and continues to make a case to be the regular backstop for this team going forward. This case doesn't have to go to an arbitrator. The numbers don't lie. Ramos is now batting .378 which is 128 points better than the next offensive starter (Danny Espinosa .250) and well over 150 points better than Jayson Werth (.220) and Adam LaRoche (.219). On Tuesday, Ramos had one of...

All-Star voting is open

All-Star voting is open
We're just two weeks into the season, but online ballots for the 82nd All-Star Game are already available. Fans can only vote 25 times between now and June 30, but paper ballots will also be available at Nationals Park for 23 home games. Just how many ballots do you think you can fill out during those 23 home games? And, more importantly, who do you think deserves to head to Arizona this July to represent the Nationals?

Nationals place Desmond on paternity leave list, recall Bernadina

Nationals place Desmond on paternity leave list, recall Bernadina
The Washington Nationals today placed shortstop Ian Desmond on Major League Baseball's Paternity Leave List and recalled outfielder Roger Bernadina from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Bernadina batted .267 (12-for-45) with three doubles, one home run and two RBI in 13 games with the Chiefs. The 26-year-old is tied for ninth in the International League with five...

This Week at Nationals Park

This Week at Nationals Park
The Nationals return home to take on the Mets this week and there are plenty of fun reasons to get out to the ballpark. Fans can celebrate Earth Month on Tuesday at the interactive Coca-Cola recycling trailer outside the center field gates. You can play games, win prizes and learn more about going green. If you bring a recyclable container to trailer, you'll get a voucher good for 50% off select tickets to a future game.    Beginning Wednesday, make sure...

Drew Kinback: With Nats, there's simply no margin for error

Drew Kinback: With Nats, there's simply no margin for error
It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen on a Monday night. I was reading over the standard Nationals news from the usual rogue's gallery of sources when I decided to take a break and take in something non-baseball related. I find a quick dose of tabloid entertainment, a music video off YouTube or a random news story usually cleans out the colon of your baseball mind. Man cannot survive on baseball alone - unless you are Pete Rose at a sporting memorabilia convention. Somehow, someway I...

Shane McCatty off to solid start for Suns

Shane McCatty off to solid start for Suns
Single-A Hagerstown Suns right-hander Shane McCatty is coming off his best outing of the season Saturday. He tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on three hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts against the Hickory Crawdads. The 6-foot-3, 205-lb., McCatty now has a 3.27 ERA in four relief appearances with seven strikeouts, two walks and four earned runs allowed. Imagine being the 23-year-old. You have to answer to two pitching coaches every night - one in Hagerstown and another...

Drew Kinback: Nats-Pujols marriage not a far-fetched notion

Drew Kinback: Nats-Pujols marriage not a far-fetched notion
In March, I got the unique opportunity to spend all month in Viera, Fla., following the Nationals during their 2011 spring training campaign. I run the online rag known as Nationals Inquisition and spring training is usually the Super Bowl of my blog. I've attended the Nationals' Viera sessions since 2007 and have seen many curious and wondrous things in the Sunshine State during this time. But on March 25, I saw something at a Nationals game that was plain inspiring. The game was one of the...

Bryce Harper hits another homer; Daubach compares him to Chipper Jones

Bryce Harper hits another homer; Daubach compares him to Chipper Jones
Single-A Hagerstown Suns right fielder Bryce Harper had a night to remember - likely not his last - Friday night in a 17-1 thumping of the Hickory Crawdads at Municipal Stadium. Harper went 3-for-3 with a double, two walks and a two-run homer. It was his third home run of the season and first time he has hit a homer in the professional ranks in back-to-back games. Harper registered a career-high six RBIs. Harper is now batting .306 with three doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs In 15 games. In...

Nationals reinstate RHP Todd Coffey from 15-Day DL

Nationals reinstate RHP Todd Coffey from 15-Day DL
The Washington Nationals today reinstated right-handed pitcher Todd Coffey from the 15-Day Disabled List. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Coffey missed the last 12 games after going on the DL with a strained left calf on April 17, retroactive to April 9. The 30-year-old is 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA in five relief appearances this season.