There are only 19 days until MLB Opening Day 2020 and 27 days to the Washington Nationals Home Opener at Nationals Park! There are 130 more days until the 2020 MLB All-Star Game in LA.
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Here are today’s latest Washington Nationals & MLB Headlines and what else you need to know to start your day.
Game Notes: Thames, Robles Will Return To DH On Saturday (Nats Fall 7-3)
The Nationals got a really solid start out of Aníbal Sánchez against the Marlins tonight. The veteran right-hander went four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit without issuing any walks (he did hit one batter). Sánchez threw 50 pitches and even topped out at 91 mph. All in all, a very strong outing. And he departed with a 3-0 lead thanks to a fourth-inning rally by his teammates. Jake Noll delivered a two-run, bases-loaded single to get them on the board. JB Shuck then followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead.
Read the full article via MASN Sports
Perspective: For The Nationals, A World Series Title Turned Balls Into Keepsakes And Dirt Into Treasure
This is what happened in the split-second after Michael Brantley swung through Daniel Hudson's 3-2 slider last October: Yan Gomes ripped off his catcher's mask with his right hand and flung it toward the Washington Nationals dugout. Hudson yanked his glove off his left hand and hurled it skyward.
Maybe an hour later, when the Nationals filtered into the visitors’ clubhouse at Houston’s Minute Maid Park to continue the celebration of the World Series title they just won, Gomes’s locker was covered in plastic to protect it from the inevitable spray of champagne, but his mask rested inside. Likewise, the Nationals clubhouse staff had tracked down Hudson’s glove and returned it as well.
Read the full article via The Washington Post
Washington Nationals’ Patrick Corbin Trying To Mix It Up In Preparation For Second Season In D.C
Patrick Corbin threw fastballs (four-seam and sinkers) 53.7% of the time in 2019, in the first year of his 6-year/$140M deal with the Washington Nationals, and threw his slider 37% of the time, mixing in a changeup (5.8%) and curve (3.6%), but relying for the most part on a two-pitch arsenal in the majority of his outings as he has throughout his MLB career.
That’s something the 30-year-old, seven-year veteran is working on in his Grapefruit League starts this Spring, as he attempts to give opposing hitters something to think about when in the batter’s box.
Read the full article via Federal Baseball
Daniel Hudson Is Nationals’ Prime Candidate For Regression
Spring training comes with a flood of caveats. When performance matters is subjective in south Florida. The idea is unequivocal during the regular season. All the numbers count, the purpose is clear and the measurements are unforgiving. In Florida, bad nights can be passed off with a shrug and point at the calendar, if the person in question is not competing for a job.
So, when Daniel Hudson follows a first bad outing with a worse one, any reaction needs to be tempered. But, what the Nationals need to be more wary of than Hudson’s current spring ERA of 40.50 is the ample evidence that last season was more outlier than repeatable.
Read the full article via NBC Sports Washington
From Collecting Baseball Cards To Being On Them: Nationals Players Reflect
Spring Training is more than just getting the players ready for the upcoming season. Various vendors from glove to shoe companies show their wares to players. Memorabilia companies are in the clubhouse with baseballs for players to sign. And, there’s also the day when Topps drops by.
Many generations have fond memories of collecting and trading baseball cards. They’ve certainly come a long way from being inserted into tobacco packs in 1909. There was a time when cards were inserted in cereal boxes and on the back of Hostess Twinkie cartons, feeding a child’s hunger for sugar and baseball in equal portions.
Read the full article via WTOP Washington
While Others Focus On Repeating, The Nats Should Keep Their Eyes On The NL East
The Washington Nationals are working to become the first team to win consecutive World Series titles since the New York Yankees accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000. Replicating their supernatural 2019 success won’t be easy. Just ask the previous 19 teams that tried to overcome the championship malaise Washington has already begun to combat this spring.
But before they start focusing on another deep October run, the Nats would be best-served to focus on winning their division, unquestionably the deepest in all of baseball. The Atlanta Braves have won the NL East the past two years, marking the first time Washington has gone multiple seasons without taking the East since 2011. That fact would keep President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo up at night had his outfit not encountered last fall’s magical carpet ride to a parade.
Read the full article via The Athletic (Subscription Required)
Washington Nationals: Something Holding Victor Robles Back
Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles became a bit overlooked in Washington DC with the emergence of Juan Soto. The top prospect got cups of coffee 2017 and 2018 but failed to secure every day ABs.
With Bryce Harper leaving for Philadelphia, Robles finally had a path to everyday at-bats in CF. He acquitted himself well in his rookie year, hitting .255/.326/.419 for a 91 wRC+ while being an incredible +25 DRS on his way to a 2.5 fWAR season.
Read the full article via Call to the Pen
Strickland's Goal For '20: 'Stay Healthy And Win'
The thing about adversity is, there are lessons to be gleaned from it.
The four months Hunter Strickland couldn’t play baseball were, as he put it, “pretty brutal.” That’s why health remains key as the right-handed reliever fights for a spot on the Nationals this season.
“You’ve got to come to the field and know you can’t help contribute and you can’t be out there doing what you love to do,” Strickland said. “I think through adversity, that’s when you learn the most vs. when you’re doing well.”
Read the full article via MLB Nationals
EDITORIAL: Take Me Out To The (Hometown) Ballgame
THE COUNTDOWN to opening day for the Fredericksburg Nationals is really on now. The Fred Nats begin their inaugural season at their brand new stadium at Celebrate Virginia on Thursday, April 23. They’ll play the Frederick Keys, a farm team of the Washington Nationals’ regional rival Baltimore Orioles.
For baseball fans in the Fredericksburg area, this will be a spring like no other. Real baseball fans have a special appreciation for the minor league game. On the field are some of the game’s future stars, who for some outings might find themselves teaming up with stars of the Major League’s reigning World Champion Nationals, in town for a rehab assignment or a few tune-up games.
Read the full article via Fredericksburh.com
Luis Garcia Knows He Fits In The Nationals’ Future. Let’s Count The Ways.
Look at Luis Garcia, looking around, looking like the second baseman, or third baseman — or maybe even the shortstop — of the Washington Nationals’ future.
He won’t be with the major league club much longer. He’s just 19 years old, bound for another season in the minors, brace-faced and growing like a well-watered plant. He could be forgiven for getting antsy, standing this close to a dream, sticking out with seven hits and a homer in 15 at-bats this spring. But Garcia is fine with scanning the clubhouse, doing some math, and, on a cool day in Florida, knowing his time will come.
Read the full article via The Washington Post
Goose Gossage Rants About State Of MLB: 'It's Like The Democrats Are Running Baseball'
Every year during spring training, on cue, Baseball Hall of Famer Goose Gossage manages to tear into the state of the game with his oft incendiary statements that rile up the majority of baseball fans.
Gossage adheres to the "get off my lawn" attitude. He is the embodiment of the "Old Man Yells At Cloud" meme from "The Simpsons."
And in 2020, the former right-handed pitcher took it upon himself to make a political comparison, likening MLB to the DNC.
"These (stat-driven) workouts are all eyewash. It’s a bunch of (expletive)," Gossage told the Tampa Bay Times by phone. "It’s like the Democrats are running baseball."
Read the full article via USA Today
There Are Bad Ideas, And Then There Is A Minor League Baseball Team’s ‘O.J. Trial Night’
Good ideas for minor league baseball promotional nights: something involving “Star Wars,” pups in the park, plain ol’ fireworks.
Bad, awful, gross idea for a minor league baseball promotional night: one that celebrates (?) the O.J. Simpson trial, which involved two people getting killed.
The Class A Charleston RiverDogs in South Carolina released their promotional calendar on Monday, and May 26 was scheduled to be something called “OJ Trial Night.”
“Fans will act as our jury, voting with custom paddles to reach verdicts on various topics throughout the night,” the team wrote in its description of the evening. “The eyes of the nation will be upon us. Fans will receive an ‘OJ Trial’ shirt upon entering the stadium. If the shirt don’t fit, you must … see if we have a different size.”
Read the full article via The Washington Post
Sources: Angels Fire Visiting Clubhouse Manager For Aiding Opposing Pitchers
The Los Angeles Angels have fired their longtime visiting clubhouse manager after an internal investigation confirmed suspicions that he was providing ball-doctoring substances to opposing pitchers, sources confirmed to ESPN on Thursday.
Major League Baseball initially informed the Angels about a week ago about allegations that Brian Harkins, who had been with the Angels for 30 years, was providing illegal sticky substances in the visiting clubhouse that aided pitchers' abilities to grip the baseball, sources with knowledge of the situation said. Harkins confirmed that he had been let go Thursday, but did not elaborate on the reason. The Angels did not comment, either, citing legal restrictions preventing them from discussing employee matters.
Read the full article via ESPN
Ex-Astros Pitcher Regrets Not Being 'Brave' Enough To Stop Sign-Stealing Scandal: 'It Was Tough Watching That
Right-hander Collin McHugh spent six seasons with the Houston Astros, including the 2017 World Series season where the club was found to have illegally used technology in order to steal signs. Now, McHugh, a member of the Boston Red Sox, who are under MLB investigation for allegations of sign stealing during their 2018 championship season, is sharing his regret about the club's cheating scandal.
Read the full article via CBS Sports
MJ's Baseball Career Wasn't The Failure You Think: Why His Airness Doesn't Deserve To Be A Punchline
There’s nothing like a great baseball story. But baseball has been around a long time, and in some cases, it can be hard to tell whether those stories are too good to be true. Which is why MLB Mythbusters is here to help -- we'll be diving into some of the game's greatest legends, trying to separate fact from fiction.
Arizona Diamondbacks Infielder Domingo Leyba Suspended For PED Use
Infielder Domingo Leyba was suspended 80 games without pay on Friday for violating baseball’s drug policy, testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance.
Leyba’s suspension will begin at the start of the regular season. Manager Torey Lovullo said the team has not determined if Leyba will remain in big league camp in the interim.
Leyba, 24, a switch-hitting middle infielder, debuted in the majors last season, hitting .280 (7 for 25) in 21 games. He appeared ticketed to open the season in Triple-A Reno.
