The Morning Briefing: Nationals Day Off Edition

Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball headlines, news and the latest news coming out of Washington Nationals Spring Training for Wendesday, March 17, 2021

by Richard Wachtel

Updated March 17, 2021

The Morning Briefing: Nationals Day Off Edition

Good Wednesday Morning, Washington Nationals Fans, and Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Today's Game time forecast West Palm Beach via the National Weather Service: Sunny, with a high near 79. Breezy, with a south wind 10 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Games this Week:

3/18/21: @Mets 1:10 pm EST
3/19/21: @Astros 6:05 pm EST
3/20/21: v. Miami Marlins 6:05 pm EST
3/21/21: v. Mets 1:05 pm EST

Make sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for updates on the latest Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball during the day!

Countdown Clock:

Opening Day: 15 Days

Richard wrote today's Morning Briefing. Moving forward, I am bringing back fan-favorite pictures. So here you go! If you want your photo to be shared, tag us on social media, we will get it in an upcoming Morning Briefing!

Picture of the Day

The Rundown: What Nationals Fans Need to Know Before Returning to Nats Park & New Role for fan-favorite Dan Kolko

Late Monday, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she announced Monday during her weekly news briefing that she is loosening up several COVID restrictions in the District starting March 22, including Sporting Events, which prompted the Washington Nationals to announce that they will be allowing 5,000 fans into the stadium for Opening Day.

Yesterday, the Washington Nationals announced their safety protocols for fans returning to Nats Park if fans choose to return. We have the full rundown here.

One notable change is how game tickets to upcoming Nationals games will be sold. According to the new policy, tickets will be sold in "pods" of 1-6 people, and suites will be available at reduced capacities. NATS Plus members will receive priority access based on two factors: tenure of the length of being a season ticket holder and the ticket package size.

Well, either way, we are sure that Nationals fans are more than ready to return to watch the team in person! For many, it will be the first time that fans will see players in person since October of 2019.

Nationals Media News: In media news, former host of "Nats Xtra," the Washington Nationals' pre-and postgame shows on MASN, has now moved to a new media role within the Washington Nationals. Yesterday, the team announced the addition of Dan Kolko in a tweet.

Welcome to the Club: If you want t-shirts of one of the new Nationals additions, the wait is over. Yesterday, the Nationals Team Store announced that t-shirts for Bell, Schwarber, and Lester are now available to be purchased. Click here to find out more information.

Upcoming Stories on the Nats Report: I wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of the stories we are working on here at the Nats Report. Make sure to follow us on all social media channels to get updated when your favorite story gets published or leave a comment below to let me know which article you are most looking forward to reading.

Projected Opening Day Lineup
Did Joe Ross Prove Himself in Spring Training?
Player Profile of Max Scherzer

Spring Training Game Recap: Nationals Loose to the Marlins 4-3

Last night, the Washington Nationals lost to the Miami Marlins 4-3 at West Palm beach. However, there were some ups and some downs, and I have you covered.

Ups:
- Victor Robles continues to shine during Spring Training as he hit another home run. During Spring Training, Robles has a batting average of .280 and OPS of .960 with two home runs, three RBI's, and seven hits. Robles might be leading off for the Washington Nationals on Opening Day!
- Josh Bell hit a monster opposite-field home run last night that could have been heard up here in Washington D.C. Bell's home run is the second for the new fist baseman during Spring Training. "That sounded like opening day of duck season," Martinez remarked to Bell. "It was really loud."
Downs:
- Carter Kieboom: I think that there has been a lot of characters spent this offseason talking about Carter Kieboom and his future. Kieboom continues to struggle at the plate, last night ohe went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He's now batting .160 (4-for-25, one triple, zero homeruns) during Spring Training.
- Patrick Corbin: Up until last night, the Washington Nationals LHP, has been shinning. Last night he labored through the Marlins order. Last night Corbin gave up four runs, eight baserunners in 3 2/3 innings.

Welcome to the Nats Report: Brandon

Over the weekend, we welcomed a brand new contributor to the Nats Report: Brandon. Here is a little bit about him:

"My name is Brandon, I live in Lexington, Kentucky. I attended the University of Kentucky and graduated in 2016 (Go Cats). I became a Nationals fan at the start of the 2019, not a great time I know. My fiancé and her family are from Northern Virginia and are huge Nats fans so I decided to hop on since I didn’t cheer for any MLB team (being from Kentucky). As we know, that season was magical and I’ve been hooked ever since."

Check out his two articles that have been already posted, one is on Carter Kieboom and the other looks at Nats prospect Louis Garcia.

Do you eat, breathe Washington Nationals baseball, or want to help the Nats Report? We are looking for additional contributors and editors. If you are interested, please reply to this email to let us know!

Podcast Alert: In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report

I am going to be sitting down with Washington Nationals Prospect Jackson Cluff for an upcoming In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report Podcast and I want to ask your question to the prospect. So all you need to do is hit "reply" to submitt your question and then tune in to the podcast to see if your question was answered! Subscribe to In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report on all the major podcasting platforms: