The Morning Briefing: September 24

Good morning, Washington Nationals fans.

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, September 4.

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Leading this Morning's Briefing: Back Home for the Finish

The Nats open their final homestand of the year this evening when they host the Kansas City Royals, who are a) fighting for their playoff lives after dropping seven games in a row to finish their home schedule and b) are sending their best pitcher to the mound tonight in Cole Ragans. Ruh roh.

Last Game Out

There was no game yesterday, so the Nats' last game was their 5-0 loss at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon.

Nationals Headline of the Day: What Happens Next?

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post asks a few of the same questions I have as to why the Nats had to resort to the public humiliation of demoting CJ Abrams with just over a week to go in the season. What, if any, measures had they previously tried? Again, when the same thing happens to multiple young players over the course of a few years, that shows that management is failing to get its message across in one way or another, and then that becomes a culture problem.

Down on the Farm

The minor league season has ended for all Nationals affiliates.

Featured Baseball Story of the Day

Here in the final week of the regular season there are all kinds of division and wild card race ramifications, and Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru at MLB.com has you covered with the biggest ones.

Former National of the Day

Ryan Madson made a cameo in Svrluga's article linked above as one of the pitchers who talked to Shawn Kelley about the optics of him throwing a tantrum on the mound during a 25-1 win against the Mets in 2018. Madson was acquired along with Sean Doolittle from Oakland on July 16, 2017 for Jesús Luzardo, Sheldon Neuse, and Blake Treinen, and then traded to the Dodgers at the then-waiver deadline of August 31, 2018. In between, Madson appeared in 69 games, posting a 4.08 ERA and 1.234 WHIP. The 2018 season wound up being his last of thirteen in the majors, with the Phillies, Royals, A's, Nats, and Dodgers.

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