Patrick Reddington: Davey Johnson, Stephen Strasburg and Beijing In 2008

Patrick Reddington: Davey Johnson, Stephen Strasburg and Beijing In 2008
Davey Johnson was especially blunt in his assessment of 25-year-old right-hander Stephen Strasburg's last outing. Washington's 2009 No. 1 overall pick gave up six hits and three runs in six innings of work in which he struck out six and threw 109 pitches to the Miami Marlins. "He was actually awful," Johnson told reporters after the start. "He was. I mean, every pitch he threw was up. He's got such great stuff, but everything was belt-high. I grew to love him when he pitched for me in...

Patrick Reddington: Walking a fine line with Bryce Harper

Patrick Reddington: Walking a fine line with Bryce Harper
Twins closer Kevin Jepsen challenged Bryce Harper and lost. Harper hit a ninth-inning home run to straightaway center field in Nationals Park to tie Sunday's game up and send it to extra innings. In an MLB Network Radio interview on Monday, Nationals manager Dusty Baker was asked about the Twins' decision to pitch to the Nats' 23-year-old slugger with a one-run lead. "The thing about it is you couldn't put the tying run on base when you've got the top of the order coming up behind him...

Patrick Reddington: The Nationals' yearly search for a gem

Patrick Reddington: The Nationals' yearly search for a gem
With the 57th pick of last June's draft, the Nationals selected left-handed pitcher Andrew Suarez out of the University of Miami. Suarez, 21, and a 6-foot-2 southpaw, went 6-3 with a 2.95 ERA in 16 starts for the Hurricanes, walking 15 (1.23 walks/nine innings) and striking out 87 (7.14 strikeouts/nine innings) in 109 2/3 innings pitched. "We tried to take the best player available," assistant general manger and vice president of scouting operations Kris Kline told reporters when asked about...

Patrick Reddington: Streaking in D.C.

Patrick Reddington: Streaking in D.C.
Denard Span struck out in his seventh-inning at-bat against Miami right-hander A.J. Ramos on Thursday night, leaving him 0-for-4 in the series finale with the Marlins. Span was three spots away from another at-bat when Wilson Ramos lined out to end the bottom of the eighth. Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless top of the ninth for the Nationals to earn his 42nd save in the Nats' 82nd win of the year, so Span never got another at-bat and his 29-game hit streak came to an end. Over the course of...

Patrick Reddington: Is Werth's injury Taylor's opportunity?

Patrick Reddington: Is Werth's injury Taylor's opportunity?
Jayson Werth has been credited, in the years since he signed a sort of out-of-nowhere, seven-year, $126 million contract with the Nationals, with changing the culture in the nation's capital. When he was asked earlier this season about his reputation as a leader in the Nats clubhouse and what it meant to him, however, Werth was clear that in his mind it didn't mean anything. "Absolutely nothing," he said. "I'm just another guy," Werth explained. "We've got a bunch of guys in there that...

Patrick Reddington: Ross Detwiler's lost season

Patrick Reddington: Ross Detwiler's lost season
When Stan Kasten was the Washington Nationals' president, before the former Atlanta Braves president left the nation's capital and became president and co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he shared an anecdote with reporters about a phone call from retired, legendary Braves manager Bobby Cox, who had called him after watching Ross Detwiler pitch. "This is unbelieveable, this is the exact way we did it." Cox told Kasten, referring to the rotation Atlanta assembled featuring Tom Glavine,...

Patrick Reddington: Forgiving Stephen Strasburg

Patrick Reddington: Forgiving Stephen Strasburg
It's not Stephen Strasburg's fault that he was hyped beyond belief throughout his final collegiate season and all the way up to the majors. Having followed him that entire time from San Diego State University to the Nationals system and up through his electric major league debut, I'm willing to bet he would have been perfectly fine without the over-the-top attention. He made a point of saying he hadn't done anything yet to earn the spotlight when he was anointed the "next big thing" by...

Patrick Reddington: Which Denard Span is the real Denard Span?

Patrick Reddington: Which Denard Span is the real Denard Span?
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo described Denard Span as a "front line defensive center fielder" when he acquired the then-28-year-old outfielder from the Minnesota Twins last winter. Rizzo went on to say that he saw the 2002 Twins' first-round pick who turned 29 in February as, "a confident leadoff type of hitter (who) appeals greatly to us because of his skill set as an offensive player. You know, high average guy, .350 OBP-type of guy, doesn't strike out - one of the tougher guys...

Patrick Reddington: The Nats' MVP, if not the National League's

Patrick Reddington: The Nats' MVP, if not the National League's
After going 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in last night's 9-0 win over the Miami Marlins, right fielder Jayson Werth has a .329/.406/.540 line with 13 doubles and 21 home runs in 101 games and 411 plate appearances in the third year of his seven-year deal with the Nationals. Since returning from a disabled list stint June 4, the 34-year-old outfielder has a .355/.441/.595 line with 11 doubles and 17 home runs in 74 games and 304 plate appearances. The 11-year veteran, to the surprise of...

Patrick Reddington: Strasburg finds his voice

Patrick Reddington: Strasburg finds his voice
Mike Rizzo has referred to Stephen Strasburg in the past as his "silent assassin," a soft-spoken, but ultra-competitive, elite athlete. The No.1 overall pick in the 2009 draft had his moments. He snapped at a reporter once who asked why he struggled against the Marlins after a tough start against the Fish and reminded everyone that he'd historically done well against Miami. Back in 2010, he told a loud-mouthed fan who made the mistake of taunting Strasburg while the Nationals were ahead on...

Patrick Reddington: Rizzo, rumors and the Nats' GM search in '09

Patrick Reddington: Rizzo, rumors and the Nats' GM search in '09
Mike Rizzo and the Nationals announced a new long-term deal for the general manager last night. Managing principle owner Theodore N. Lerner praised the work the 52-year-old executive has done since 2009 to turn the Nationals into, "one of the most exciting and respected young teams in baseball." Rizzo talked in the press release about the hard work they have done with the Lerners' support to build "this club from nearly expansion level - at both the minor and major league level," into a...

Patrick Reddington: Enjoy Jordan Zimmermann while you can

Patrick Reddington: Enjoy Jordan Zimmermann while you can
The Washington Nationals made three selections in the 2007 draft before their second-round pick came up at No. 67. At that point they had a decision to make, but they couldn't come to an agreement. There was a difference of opinion among the front office executives and scouts gathered in the nation's capital, as now-former general manager Jim Bowden explained in a 2011 segment of his show on MLB Network Radio. "Everybody's lists are different," Bowden explained. "We got to the point of...

Patrick Reddington: Taking a look at Doug Fister's struggles

Patrick Reddington: Taking a look at Doug Fister's struggles
While plenty of digital ink has been spilled examining what's wrong with Stephen Strasburg, Nationals rotation mate Doug Fister has struggled as well, though a little more quietly. Before Washington's 31-year-old sinkerballing right-hander landed on the DL with forearm tightness in mid-May, the free agent-to-be put up a 4.31 ERA in seven starts and 39 2/3 innings over which opposing hitters had a .291/.331/.456 line. In four starts since he's returned to the rotation, Fister has put up a...

Patrick Reddington: Clint Robinson making the most of his opportunities

Patrick Reddington: Clint Robinson making the most of his opportunities
After eight minor league seasons and a total of 3,836 minor league and 73 major league plate appearances, 30-year-old Nationals first baseman/outfielder Clint Robinson finally connected for his first major league home run in the Nats' June 11 game in Milwaukee's Miller Park. Robinson, 30, hit 141 homers in the minor leagues for Royals, Jays and Dodgers minor league affiliates, putting up a combined .302/.381/.510 line in 921 minor league games. But before this season, the 2007 25th-round pick...

Patrick Reddington: Dan Haren's tidy narrative

Patrick Reddington: Dan Haren's tidy narrative
Dan Haren told reporters this winter he was surprised by the concerns about his health when he hit the free agent market. After all, the 32-year-old right-hander had made just one trip to the disabled list in his 10-year major league career. The Los Angeles Angels put the pitcher on the DL in July 2012 with what was described then as a lower back issue. In Haren's third season in Los Angeles following a 2010 trade from Arizona, he started 6-8 with a 4.86 ERA, 24 walks (2.08 BB/9) and 86...

Patrick Reddington: Roark has morphed into Nats' utility arm

Patrick Reddington: Roark has morphed into Nats' utility arm
All is right with the Nationals for the moment. With the help of Joe Ross, now down at Triple-A Syracuse, the much-ballyhooed best rotation in baseball has put together a streak of 41 1/3 scoreless innings. Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister returned from their respective DL stints with strong outings. With solid pitching and a resurgent offense that was able to manufacture runs, the Nats finished their eight-game homestand with six straight wins, three each over the Pittsburgh Pirates and...

Patrick Reddington: Storen appears bound for All-Star Game

Patrick Reddington: Storen appears bound for All-Star Game
In the process of earning his 18th save last week against the Cubs in the nation's capital, Drew Storen gave up a run for the first time in 18 appearances dating to April 21. It was just the third run Washington's 27-year-old closer has allowed in 24 1/3 innings this season. His ERA jumped from 0.81 to 1.16. It dropped back to 1.11 when he completed a scoreless, 10-pitch inning in the Nationals' 5-4 win over the Yankees on Wednesday in which he earned his 19th save. Storen is now tied for...

Patrick Reddington: Escobar's drive to another five-hit night

Patrick Reddington: Escobar's drive to another five-hit night
Yunel Escobar's first 5-for-5 game of the season, in a 6-4 win over the Miami Marlins in early May, took him from a .271/.326/.376 line to .311/.361/.411 in one night. The 32-year-old Nationals infielder singled the Fish to death in front of an appreciative crowd in the nation's capital and impressed manager Matt Williams, who told reporters, "Yunel did what he does." What Yunel does, Williams explained that night, is stay inside the baseball, remain calm at the plate, take what he's given...

Patrick Reddington: It's just not Strasburg's year

Patrick Reddington: It's just not Strasburg's year
It's just not Stephen Strasburg's year. It was supposed to be, but it's not. Strasburg was efficient Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field. He was pounding the zone. He was striking batters out, with eight Ks. He was inducing ground balls, with eight groundouts. He had seven scoreless innings on 86 pitches. He gave up a leadoff home run by Brian Bogusevic on the first pitch of the eighth. That ended Strasburg's bid for a shutout, but he got the next three outs on 10 pitches to finish the...

Patrick Reddington: Like Stephen Strasburg, focus on each of right-hander's outings

Patrick Reddington: Like Stephen Strasburg, focus on each of right-hander's outings
Stephen Strasburg's agent Scott Boras told FOXSports.com's Jon Morosi this spring that the Washington Nationals and their 2009 No. 1 overall pick were not actively discussing a deal that could keep him in the nation's capital beyond 2016 and weren't likely to talk about one until the season was over. Strasburg and the Nationals avoided arbitration this winter, agreeing on a 1-year/$10.4M deal, but beyond that, there were no discussions about a long-term deal. "We amicably agreed to a...