Max Scherzer after Washington Nationals Spring Training Debut: "That Was Fun" and the two right knees that could decide how this Nationals bullpen fares.
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The Washington Nationals had a pitching plan, and soon they had another one, because the World Series and weather are out to make this complicated. But even with all that happened this weekend — a rainout Saturday, then a split-squad scrimmage Sunday — there is an unchanged variable: The Nationals will ease relievers Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson into action. And this, they believe, is critical.
It’s not that Hudson and Doolittle aren’t healthy. They actually feel good, at least for spring, and have thrown their share of bullpens and side sessions. But this being the year after a deep playoff run, and the back half of their injury-filled careers, the Nationals aren’t chancing it. How their bodies hold up could very well decide how the bullpen fares this season.
Read the full article via The Washington Post
Erick Fedde has his own breakfast of champions: A big bowl of fried rice.
Keeping weight on is a challenge for the 6-foot-3 right-hander, who estimates he was around 170 pounds when he was drafted in 2014. Fedde gained 12 pounds this winter to combat that ahead of his fourth Major League season, and he entered Spring Training weighing 202 pounds.
“I’m getting older,” Fedde, 26, said. “It’s one of those things where you learn how long the season is. Especially last year, [I’ve] got to find a way to stay durable. There’s a hundred different ways to do it, but I think having a little extra meat is better. Last year was the first year I didn’t have any injuries, so I’m just trying to keep it right there.”
Adam Eaton swears he has not watched Game 7 of the World Series.
None of Max Scherzer’s five-inning escape act; not Howie Kendrick’s go-ahead shot in the seventh off the foul pole in right; none of Patrick Corbin’s wizardry out of the bullpen; not Daniel Hudson’s final out.
“I was in it,” Eaton said. “I don’t know; maybe I’m a fun-sucker. But my career’s not over. For me, not that I don’t care about last year, but I don’t care about last year. The job’s not done, the work’s not done.”
Read the full article via The Athletic (Subscription Required)
Austin Voth, Joe Ross and Erick Fedde all sit next to each other in the Nationals clubhouse this spring. They all hang out today. They all want the others to do well.
And yet, each knows the harsh truth: Only one of the three is going to open the season in the Nats rotation. One other is likely to get a spot in the bullpen. Which means one is destined for the minor leagues.
These two guys are my friends, and if I had it my way I would want them on the team,” Voth said last week. “But it doesn’t work out that way, and I’ve got to pitch for myself.”
Yes, there’s a competition to be waged over the next month, one of the few competitions you’ll find in this camp. The Nationals need a No. 5 starter, and whoever pitches the best this spring out of that trio most likely will get the nod.
Read the full article via MASN
Max Scherzer was determined to be on the mound for the Nationals’ Spring Training opener on Saturday night. So was the rain, which cut the game short after only two innings. The Nats faced the Astros in a rematch of the 2019 World Series, in which Washington won it all in seven games. That was the last time Scherzer had pitched, and he had been eager to get back out there again.
The Miami Marlins have won consecutive games to open their 2020 Spring Training. In the Miami Marlins first game of the spring, we featured power, bullpen, and Jazz Chisholm as the three standouts in victory. One of those three remains on tap in game two. But first, the almost-heroic
Read the full article via Marlin Manic
Every year at Spring Training the Washington Nationals and all major league teams hold Photo Day, the annual parade of players having their moment in front of the cameras from Getty and USA TODAY Sports.
Shortly after it’s done, the photos are uploaded and we comb through them for the best of the best, bringing them to you so you can enjoy them in all their glory and try to guess the names of some new or lesser-known Nationals.
Read the full article via Federal Baseball
Padres To Sign Brian Dozier To Minor-League Deal
The Padres have agreed to terms with second baseman Brian Dozier and invited him to MLB spring training, report AJ Cassavell of MLB.com (via Twitter) and Robert Murray (Twitter link). It’ll be a minor-league deal, Murray adds (via Twitter). Dozier is a client of All Bases Covered Sports Management.
Dozier was once an elite performer for the Twins but has tailed off a bit in recent years. Over the last two seasons, he compiled a .225/.320/.408 line (94 wRC+) with 41 home runs in 1114 plate appearances with Minnesota, the Dodgers and the Nationals. That pales in comparison to the stellar .269/.349/.522 (129 wRC+) mark with 72 homers he posted over the two seasons prior.
Read the full article via MLB Trade Rumors
'Been Waiting For This His Entire Life': $324 Million Man Gerrit Cole Ready To Lead Yankees Back To Glory
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is recommending wines one minute, defending his former Houston Astros teammates the next, discussing the value of analytics with his teammates in the morning, and talking about Kobe Bryant and the frailty of life in the afternoon.
He has already memorized the names and faces of the Yankee beat writers, greeting them by name as if it’s his responsibility to make them feel at ease around him.
Read the full article via USA Today
Astros, Red Sox, Major League Baseball Urge Dismissal Of Sign-Stealing Lawsuit
The Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball asked a U.S. judge to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit by DraftKings participants who said the teams’ electronic sign-stealing distorted fantasy baseball contests they wagered on.
Read the full article via Reuters
Spring Training Recap: Mookie Betts Gives Dodgers Edge, DJ Peters Provides Insurance In Win Over Cubs
Alex Wood and Kenley Jansen each turned in a scoreless inning, later praised one another in the clubhouse, and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their Cactus League home opener by defeating the Chicago Cubs, 4-2.
Mookie Betts went 1-for-2 with a go-ahead RBI in his Dodgers debut. He was in position to put L.A. ahead thanks to Gavin’s leadoff base hit in the bottom of the fifth inning. Luke Raley’s single then put runners at the corners with one out.
Betts’ sacrifice fly to center field easily scored Lux. Although position players will often take a game off between starts, Betts is expected to be in the lineup again Monday. “It’s just going out and playing,” Betts said.
Read the full article via Dodger Blue
A Belated Farewell To Mookie Betts
I write to you today as a Red Sox fan still heartbroken over the Mookie Betts trade, but I also write to you today as a human being who is still trying to gather his own thoughts for all these events that led to this point over the past five and a half years. Because as so much as changed for the Red Sox, so much has changed over the last five years for me as well.
Let’s rewind for a bit. It’s five and a half years ago. Mookie Betts has been called up by the Red Sox. It was also the day of my first date with the woman who would become my wife. I was a bundle of nerves the entire day, about to meet her family and was presented with a need to impress them. I didn’t have much in the way of a job or future aspirations, and they came from a totally different background than I did. I was worried about acceptance, and whether they would allow their daughter to see me.
Read the full article via Over the Monster
Tampa Bay Rays Have Found Another Secret Advantage
The Tampa Bay Rays are always on the cutting edge of analytics and finding advantages no matter how small. Turns out they found an advantage with their catchers that greatly aided their pitching staff.
The Tampa Bay Rays have always run one of the lowest payrolls in baseball and have found every conceivable way to extract value from its roster. As other teams have gotten smarter, the Rays have had to work even harder to find value on the fringes.
Turns out in 2019, the Rays were able to generate value in the most obscure way possible with their catching corps. The Rays catching tandem of Mike Zunino and Travis d’Arnaud was the best in baseball at framing the top part of the zone. This advantage was uniquely beneficial to the Rays because of the way their pitchers use fastballs.
