Nats building trust in the clubhouse

Nats building trust in the clubhouse
One critical component of a winning baseball team is accountability in the clubhouse by the players themselves. Veteran teams have leaders that lead by example. Small problems are solved before they become major fissures. The players in the clubhouse police themselves. When one player is not doing something on the field he should be doing, a veteran goes to him and fixes the problem. Sometimes when it comes from a teammate instead of a higher figure in the organization, like the...

Zimmerman on Dunn: "He is the most important piece of this team"

Zimmerman on Dunn: "He is the most important piece of this team"
Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman missed a couple of games with a rib strain, but before he went down with that injury, I had a chance to talk to the Nats' silver slugger about the season and what lies ahead for the Nationals in 2011. He explained why he has been so consistent at the plate and continues to make the case for resigning slugger Adam Dunn. Zimmerman says hitting .300 is certainly a goal each year, but feels being consistent at the plate is the key every year to reaching that...

A.J. Cole ready for instructs debut

A.J. Cole ready for instructs debut
Right-hander A.J. Cole makes his Nationals instructional league debut Friday and will throw one inning against Houston at the Astros complex in Florida. It seems like just yesterday that Cole had to make a big decision: whether to start playing pro ball now or go to college. The Nats presented a big contract. The University of Miami offered him a full ride baseball scholarship. Cole says it was a pretty easy decision. "It all came down to that I really wanted to just play baseball for a...

Bryce Harper 0-for-2 in Instructional debut

Bryce Harper 0-for-2 in Instructional debut
Bryce Harper went 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts as the Braves beat the Nationals 5-3 in the first game of instructional league from Viera, Florida. It was the first live pitching the team had seen in 20 days and the Nationals did have the winning run at the plate in the late going. The Nationals are at Houston tomorrow in Game 2 of the instructional league schedule. A.J. Cole will pitch one inning in that game. The Nats are throwing nine pitchers in each game, one for each inning.

A day in the life at Nats instructional league

A day in the life at Nats instructional league
Nationals prospects are busy from the early morning hours this week as they get ready to take on the Atlanta Braves in game one of the instructional league schedule on Thursday. Nationals hitting instructor Rick Schu says they are in the batting cage at 7:00 a.m. every morning. They then get on the field to work on defensive drills. The guys have workouts with individual coaches based on pre-camp evaluations of each players' specific areas of need. "These players are special guys. These...

After solid season with Suns, Hood ready for instructional league

After solid season with Suns, Hood ready for instructional league
Destin Hood, 20, is capping off a great season in Hagerstown by playing for the Nationals instructional league team in Viera, which begins play Thursday against the Braves. The 6'1", 225-pound outfielder from Mobile, Alabama played in 129 games for the Suns, batting .285 with 30 doubles, three triples, five homers and 65 RBI, totalling 140 hits and 56 runs. Hood struggled a little bit last season (batting .246 in 38 games with Vermont) so the Nats asked him to work hard to get into baseball...

Lannan looking for #9 again

Lannan looking for #9 again
Nationals left-hander John Lannan (8-7, 4.61) is looking for his ninth win of the season as he takes to the mound tonight against the Houston Astros. If he can secure the victory tonight at Nats Park, it will mark the third consecutive campaign in which he has won nine games in a season for Washington. Lannan has experienced an incredible surge the last half of the season after struggling out of the blocks. Since August 6, Lannan has won six of eight starts and has struck out 19 batters...

Switching to outfield should be easy transition for Harper

Switching to outfield should be easy transition for Harper
The Nationals instructional league team has completed their first weekend of work in Viera, Florida, with game one set for Thursday against the Atlanta Braves. Bryce Harper had a good opening three days, getting started in the pros with his new teammates and coaches. Nationals hitting instructor Rick Schu says the team's number one pick should have no trouble switching from his familiar catching spot to the outfield. "He can catch. He can play infield, he can play outfield," Schu said....

Nats look for one in series at Philly; need Maya to step up

Nats look for one in series at Philly; need Maya to step up
The Nationals look to salvage game three of their series with the Phillies Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. They will have to do it with a pitcher who has yet to win a major league game and who faces a veteran hurler that has not lost a game since July 21. Right-hander Yunesky Maya has had a tough early inning to get through in his first two starts and then has been able to settle down. Last time out in Atlanta, he allowed four runs in the second inning, including two balk calls, but...

Harper: "This is the life...This is where I wanted to be"

Harper: "This is the life...This is where I wanted to be"
He eats peanut butter and honey as his pre-workout morning meal. He loves the Dallas Cowboys. And he once hit a baseball 570 feet. Today he finished his first workout as a professional baseball player with the Washington Nationals at the team's instructional league in Florida. The 17-year-old Bryce Harper says the first day wasn't too strenuous as he got to know his new teammates and coaches. "We just went over a few things in the beginning, bunt coverage, bunt defense," said Harper,...

Potomac claims Mills Cup

Potomac claims Mills Cup
Potomac defeats Winston-Salem 2-1 to win Carolina League championship series 3-1 from Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. Bill Rhinehart and Tyler Moore with RBIs and Marcos Frias didn't allow an earned run as the P-Nats stunned the Dash, a team that had won 12 out of 20 meetings between the clubs during the regular season. Frias went five innings, allowing just four hits and one run with no walks and four punch outs. Joe Testa pitched two and two-thirds innings not allowing a base hit for...

Potomac within one win of Carolina title

Potomac within one win of Carolina title
Bill Rhinehart and Jose Lozada slammed home runs and Jimmy Barthmaier escaped two jams to lift Potomac to a 10-2 dismantling of Winston-Salem in Game Three of the Carolina League Championship Series at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge. The Nationals lead the series 2-1 with Game Four Friday night at 7:03pm. The P-Nats need one victory to secure their second Mills Cup title in the past three seasons. Rhinehart smacked his round tripper in the 1st inning and added a two-run double. Lozada...

Potomac looks for quick start tonight against Dash

Potomac looks for quick start tonight against Dash
The Potomac Nationals face off against Winston-Salem tonight in a critical Game Three of the Carolina League Championship from Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, VA. The Nationals got back in the best-of-five Mills Cup with a 5-3 win Tuesday in Winston-Salem to even the series at 1-1. Nationals right-hander Jimmy Barthmaier takes on Winston-Salem right-hander Terry Doyle, with first pitch at 7:03 p.m. Barthmaier won his last four decisions to end the regular season for the P-Nats, going 4-1...

Potomac evens series with Winston-Salem 5-3

Potomac evens series with Winston-Salem 5-3
The Potomac Nationals got on the board in the Carolina League championship series with a comeback 5-3 victory in Game 2 at Winston-Salem over the Dash. The P-Nats made a pair of comebacks, down 1-0 in the fourth and 3-2 in the eighth. Trailing by 1, the P-Nats scored three times in the eighth and then the bullpen got six outs to win the contest. Derek Norris' RBI blooper single to right plated Francisco Soriano to tie the game at 3. Bill Rhinehart's sac fly scored Dan Lyons in the...

Walton on a mission in Potomac

Walton on a mission in Potomac
July 20 was not a day that Jamar Walton likes to remember. It was the day the Kansas City Royals released the outfielder from Advanced-A Wilmington. The former fourth-round selection had struggled to a .200 batting average in 59 games with the Blue Rocks. Then in mid-August the Nationals were in need of outfield depth. Chris Curran, Nick Moresi and Edgardo Baez had all helped out in the outfield. Walton added another clutch bat and strong defense to keep the P-Nats rolling. The 6'4",...

Bisenius grateful for health and shot with Nats

Bisenius grateful for health and shot with Nats
Nationals reliever Joe Bisenius is excited to get back to the majors and have a shot to pitch for the Washington Nationals. In his major league debut, back in April of 2007 with the Phillies, he got Braves All-Star Chipper Jones to pop out and ended a threat in his first full inning of work. That game seemed like ages ago until he got it going this season. The last two seasons he has battled through a couple of injuries to get back to feeling good again and pitching well. The 6'4"...

Jewett talks to and about Morgan as suspension looms

Jewett talks to and about Morgan as suspension looms
Syracuse Chiefs manager Trent Jewett joined the Nats following the end of the Triple-A season, and Sunday he got the chance to sit down and speak with one of his former players in outfielder Nyjer Morgan. Morgan is likely facing a long suspension for a string of incidents the last couple of weeks and could find out his fate for the remainder of the 2010 regular season as early as today. Jewett, who managed Morgan while he was with the Indianapolis Indians in the Pirates organization from...

Potomac advances to league finals

Potomac advances to league finals
The Potomac Nationals have advanced to the Carolina League championship series which begins tomorrow in Winston-Salem. It is the second time in the past three seasons the team have reached the Mills Cup Championship. The franchise is going for their fourth league title. The P-Nats defeated Frederick 10-3 in Woodbridge to win the series 3-1. Bill Rhinehart went 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI, while Nick Moresi, Chris Curran and Tyler Moore each added a pair of RBI and Marcos Frias went five...

Riggleman pleased with progress on defense

Riggleman pleased with progress on defense
Danny Espinosa makes a diving stop towards the second base then gets up and throws the runner out, saving potentially two more runs and keeping the Nats in game. Ryan Zimmerman grabs a hot shot out of the air and throws to first to get the hitter. Adam Dunn quickly fires back across the mound to the shortstop who nabs the runner at third trying to take an extra base for a unique 5-3-6 double play. These may have been plays that would not have been made when the team was struggling to...

Desmond to lead off Sunday's finale; Espinosa day off

Desmond to lead off Sunday's finale; Espinosa day off
Manager Jim Riggleman shuffled the top of the lineup for Sunday's final game of the season against the Florida Marlins, placing Ian Desmond in the lead off spot and Adam Kennedy batting second. Riggleman said, "I am not going to play (Danny) Espinosa today. I am going to get Adam Kennedy some at bats. He has been sitting for a few days. I would like to get him some at bats. Espinosa has been leading off. "I know eventually we are not going to have Nyjer (Morgan) so I would like to...