How the Nationals will replace injured Wilson Ramos in the lineup
Before many games this season, Jose Lobaton could be seen wearing a shirt that read “Nobody Trains to be Backup.” He wore it facetiously, of course, because the Nationals hierarchy has been clear for a...
View ArticleDanny Espinosa says batting eighth has been ‘somewhat of a learning experience’
The Washington Nationals made a choice about Danny Espinosa and did not waver. Mike Rizzo, Dusty Baker and the rest decided that Espinosa would be their everyday shortstop, for better or worse. They...
View ArticleBryce Harper on regular season: ‘All that’s behind us’
The last time Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper played in the postseason, he slugged .882 in four games. The last time Harper played in the postseason, he hit more home runs in four games...
View ArticleDusty Baker ‘always wanted to be a Dodger’
Wednesday afternoon, in the midst of his wide-ranging daily media session, Dusty Baker was asked about being traded to the Dodgers. Normally, Baker sits back when asked a question, starts with a sigh...
View ArticleExperience paying off for Nationals’ offense in NLDS
LOS ANGELES — The phrase they keep repeating is “it never feels like we’re out of it,” a staple of the baseball player’s postgame interview, one heard especially often from Washington Nationals this...
View ArticleFive things to consider ahead of the Nationals’ decisive Game 5
If Thursday’s winner-take-all game against the Los Angeles Dodgers is not the single biggest game in Washington Nationals history, it is tied for that honor. The decisive game is the end-all be-all for...
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The 2016 season ended abruptly, early this morning, which felt like an eternity away from where it began in Viera eight months ago. Then, no one knew quite what to expect, with a new manager, new...
View ArticleWelcome back, baseball. Welcome back, Morning Brushback.
Another winter of baseball-less discontent is over. Another offseason is complete. Nationals pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, and position players arrive Friday. The...
View ArticleA year ago, Lucas Giolito was the Nats’ top pitching prospect. Now it’s Erick...
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Erick Fedde’s first reaction was incredulity. He couldn’t believe the Nationals had traded Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning to the White Sox, a stunning Winter...
View ArticleNationals’ Stephen Strasburg is preparing for a marathon, not a sprint
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Stephen Strasburg’s first spring training bullpen session lasted 10 minutes Thursday morning at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. He let loose — throwing all his pitches — and...
View ArticleNationals reliever Enny Romero’s success hinges on finding his command
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — For Dusty Baker, a pitcher throwing a bullpen session is akin to him swinging at a driving range. It’s easier to pinpoint pitches without a batter standing in the batter’s box,...
View ArticleIf the Nationals need a third catcher, there’s always … Jayson Werth?
A couple weeks ago, Washington Nationals Manager Dusty Baker described the importance of having a third catcher on a 25-man roster. He explained it is especially true for his team because Washington’s...
View ArticleHow Joe Ross could help the Nationals create roster flexibility
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Washington Nationals do not need a fifth starter until April 9, six games into their regular season – perhaps longer if Washington weather interrupts next week’s...
View Article2015 Bryce Harper or 2016 Bryce Harper? Best and worst case scenarios for...
Nobody knows what the Nationals will do in 2017, whether they will snap the every-other-year pattern and make the playoffs for a second straight season for the first time or fall short. Most...
View ArticleIt’s only been nine games, but the Nationals’ starters are holding their own
Max Scherzer was reflective in the moments after the Nationals’ 6-1 loss to the Cardinals Wednesday afternoon. He thought about the lack of execution on some pitches and about the trouble with his...
View ArticleThe Nationals’ win over the Braves had the strangest ending
ATLANTA — From Nationals Manager Dusty Baker’s vantage point, it looked as if Chase d’Arnaud missed the Shawn Kelley’s slider in the dirt “by a foot.” Baker’s counterpart, Braves Manager Brian Snitker,...
View ArticleJoe Ross goes seven strong in season debut for Nationals
ATLANTA – Washington Nationals Manager Dusty Baker gave Joe Ross an extra chance to salvage his pride in the eighth inning Wednesday night. Ross’s pitch count was already at 100 and the Washington...
View ArticleTaking a look at the Nationals’ next series, at the Colorado Rockies
Dusty Baker and his players worried about this three-city road trip. More accurately, they dreaded it, in large part due to the cross-country flight looming after an 8 p.m. game in New York Sunday...
View ArticleNationals vs. A’s series preview: Nats face another unfamiliar foe
SAN FRANCISCO — After sweeping the San Francisco Giants, the Nationals will head over the Bay Bridge to Oakland for a rare showdown with the Athletics, a club they have not played since 2014. The...
View ArticleNationals vs. Braves series preview: The start of a chance to gain division...
After being swept by the Texas Rangers this past weekend and in the midst of 20 games in 20 days, the Washington Nationals host the Atlanta Braves for three games before heading back out on the road...
View Article‘We need some help’: Bullpen deficiencies continue to vex Nationals
Dusty Baker doesn’t want to talk about the bullpen anymore, and who can blame him. When asked why the Nationals called up Trevor Gott Monday, Baker called it “self-explanatory.” When asked if the...
View ArticleThe hallmark of Joe Ross’s brief career continues to be inconsistency
Every few starts, Joe Ross shimmers. He pitches deep into a game, his fastball and slider complementing each other perfectly, his change-up just effective enough to matter. On those days, Ross looks...
View ArticleAnother subpar outing raises the question: What’s wrong with Tanner Roark?
MIAMI — Tanner Roark took longer than usual to emerge for his post-start interview Monday night. He actually had more time to prepare to answer questions about his outing than he normally does, given...
View ArticleNationals-Cardinals series preview: Perennial contenders set to lock horns
The vibes were good for the home team during the seventh inning at Nationals Park on Thursday afternoon. Anthony Rendon had swatted a two-run home run to give the Nats a 3-2 lead on the Cubs and...
View ArticleNationals vs. Mets series preview: A chance to come home and regroup
The Washington Nationals earned a much-needed 7-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday night, sending them home on a late flight to D.C. having staved off a sweep. But this past weekend, and the...
View ArticleThe Nationals’ Matt Wieters has struggled at the plate, but he’s not sweating it
Matt Wieters is a catcher, and a catcher’s duties are onerous. They must manage pitching staffs, produce in the batter’s box and maintain their bodies playing the sport’s most rigorous position....
View ArticleWhy is hot-hitting Anthony Rendon batting sixth in the Nationals’ order?
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Perhaps it is a testament to the way they shored up their bullpen this week that one of the more heated subjects of Nationals-related discussion these days is Dusty Baker’s...
View ArticleNationals-Diamondbacks series preview: Southpaws key as Nats close out road trip
PHOENIX — The Washington Nationals have three more games before they return home for the first time since before the all-star break. They’ll play those three games in Phoenix, sheltered from the summer...
View ArticleNationals-Rockies series preview: A hobbled Ian Desmond returns, but will he...
The last time the Washington Nationals and the Rockies engaged for a series, Adam Eaton was in the leadoff spot, Trea Turner hit for the cycle, Jayson Werth was producing at the bottom of the order,...
View ArticleA.J. Cole to start in Wednesday’s series finale against the Marlins
MIAMI – On a night when the Washington Nationals starting rotation received another scare, Manager Dusty Baker announced Tuesday that the club will summon A.J. Cole to start in Wednesday’s series...
View ArticleSammy Solis’s arm is live again and the results are evident
On Saturday, with the Nationals facing a three-run deficit in the seventh inning at Wrigley Field, Manager Dusty Baker gave the ball to Sammy Solis. Runners stood at first and second with one out, the...
View ArticleNationals-Giants series preview: Will bad blood boil over again?
This weekend’s three-game series at Nationals Park was supposed to be a possible playoff preview, a headline matchup to enliven August’s dog days. But it will not be that. It will be a meeting between...
View ArticleOn night when little seemed normal, Nationals pitcher Edwin Jackson stayed cool
Washington Nationals right-hander Edwin Jackson had another solid outing Saturday night, tossing five scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants after a one-run first — all after waiting out a...
View ArticleThanks to rebuilt pen, the Nationals are now doing it with pitching
SAN DIEGO — The Nationals headed to Houston Sunday evening for the Battle of the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches having taken three of four games from the Padres because of their pitching staff and, more...
View ArticleThe education of a rookie: Growing pains continue for Nationals’ Andrew...
HOUSTON — Though it did not make the difference in the end, one play stood out in the Washington Nationals‘ clunky 6-1 loss to the Astros on Wednesday night as a play that could have been made and...
View ArticleMax Scherzer did what few pitchers have done lately: Shut down Giancarlo Stanton
Dusty Baker managed Barry Bonds when Barry Bonds was at his peak at the turn of the century with the Giants, a peak no other baseball player has ever reached, so he knows a thing or two about sluggers...
View ArticleNationals-Phillies series preview: One team in the championship hunt, the...
A couple weeks after departing Houston just before Hurricane Harvey hit, the Washington Nationals left Miami on Wednesday night as Hurricane Irma approached South Florida. They did so with a three-game...
View ArticleNationals have a decision to make in left field, and Howie Kendrick isn’t...
About a month ago, a reporter prefaced a long-winded question to Nationals Manager Dusty Baker with the assumption that the Nationals acquired Howie Kendrick to bolster their bench. Baker cut the...
View ArticleKoda Glover is out for the season, clarifying the Nationals’ bullpen picture
Koda Glover tried to get back. He tried to pitch through hip pain, then shoulder pain, then rehab it all in West Palm Beach for a few lonely months. But Wednesday, Glover tweeted that he will not...
View ArticleDodgers-Nationals series preview: Let the battle for home field begin
A few weeks ago, this weekend’s three-game series between the Nationals and Dodgers was thought of as a possible NLCS preview, but nothing more. Suddenly, there is more. Home field advantage throughout...
View ArticleAdam Lind sets Nationals record for career pinch-hit home runs in a season
Matt Wieters overheard talk of the Nationals record Adam Lind had set with his fourth pinch-hit home run of the season Sunday night, when he interjected for clarification. “For a season?” the Nationals...
View ArticleTrea Turner breaks Nationals’ single-season steals record, Ryan Zimmerman...
ATLANTA — As the last two weeks of the regular season click by, Nationals will achieve milestones over and over. Those Nationals will downplay those milestones, over and over. Ryan Zimmerman has...
View ArticleNationals-Mets series preview: This isn’t the showdown we expected
This weekend’s three-game series between the Nationals and Mets won’t provide the late September drama so many envisioned back in April. The Nationals already have the National League East crown in...
View ArticleNationals’ Dusty Baker on anthem protests: ‘The bottom line is there’s a...
PHILADELPHIA — Dusty Baker, the Nationals’ 68-year-old manager, is one of the most accomplished skippers in baseball history. He is 14th on the all-time wins list — only one of the managers ahead of...
View ArticleFrom an infinity ERA to reliable big league reliever: Austin Adams bounces back
Austin Adams heard all the words of encouragement from teammates after the nightmare in Cincinnati. Don’t worry about it, they told him. Put it behind you. It was just one game. Nobody will remember....
View ArticleNationals GM Mike Rizzo on the Cubs: ‘We respect them, but we don’t fear them.’
Nobody on the Nationals wants to stir the pot. Nobody wants to say anything that might give the Cubs any extra ammunition. The Cubs, for their part, have already said plenty. When Cubs board member...
View ArticleWhile the offense provided the thunder, the Nationals’ bullpen brought the...
CHICAGO — When the bullpen gate opened and a sustained “Dooooooooooo” welcomed Sean Doolittle at Nationals Park Saturday night, the angst had dissipated, replaced by a sense of confidence after Bryce...
View ArticleWill the Nationals have to overhaul their bench?
General Manager Mike Rizzo began preliminarily outlining the Nationals’ offseason strategy last Friday morning, hours after his club’s latest crushing Game 5 loss. That strategy does not need to...
View ArticleWill the Nationals make changes to their coaching staff?
General Manager Mike Rizzo began preliminarily outlining the Nationals’ offseason strategy last Friday morning, hours after his club’s latest crushing Game 5 loss. That strategy does not need to...
View ArticleOn collateral damage and the Nationals’ future coaching staff
The jarring end of Dusty Baker’s Nationals tenure is slowly settling into the pages of the franchise’s brief-but-winding D.C. history, giving way to the reality of a complicated managerial search that...
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