Let's engage in a hardball hypothetical, shall we? Player A is a 25-year-old outfielder, hitting .244 with 6 HR, 30 RBI, and 18 runs. Not the greatest stats, but Player A is generally appreciated by the fans, and has moderate-to-good defensive capabilities, even though he might be slightly late to practice once in a while. On the other hand, Player B is a 29-year-old outfielder on the decline. Player B is currently batting .197 with only 3 HR and 16 RBI in 58 games, even though he has a reputation as a power hitter -- somehow, this power hitter's slugging percentage is lower than his poor on-base percentage. Player B is a defensive liability most of the time acceptable defensively, but strikes out nearly a third of the time he comes to the plate. Player B is also generally understood to be grossly overpaid. more ›

It's hardly the nicest stadium, but RFK Stadium holds a venerable place in Washington sports history. Open since 1962, when it was called District of Columbia Stadium, the venue has hosted two MLB franchises, the Washington Redskins during their glory years, the most successful MLS club ever, international soccer tournaments, concerts, and on and on. It even hosted Team America! Sunday's final Nats home game, a 5-3 win over the Phillies, isn't the last... more ›

Since we last left the Nationals, the team has gone 4-3 and pulled itself out of last place in the NL East. They are one win away from 63, and thus avoiding the humiliation of triple digit loses this year. They are also nine wins from tying last year's total. These are the metrics we have to use to judge a team that wasn't really competing for the post-season anyway (during the pre-season, Vegas... more ›

Damn Barry Bonds. Damn Cream’n’Clear takin’, media-manipulatin’, fan-hatin’ Barry Bonds. With apologies to sister site SFist, who has stepped up their excitement in anticipation of Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record, my recognition of his record-breaking achievement has gone from tepid acknowledgement to thinly-veiled animosity. It was bad enough that the Nats best baseball of the year – two straight series sweeps and a six-game win streak – was overshadowed this weekend by Balco... more ›

Prompted by the opening of online balloting for the 2007 All Star Game a few weeks ago, we recently started wondering who might represent the Nats in San Francisco (since, you know, somebody has to). Dmitri Young? The guy's hitting for a scorching .500 average over the last 21 games. But he's mired behind popular stars like Albert Pujols and Nomar Garciaparra, as well as reigning MVP Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder's 23-homer bat. Even... more ›

Ponder this one for a minute: Now that official online voting is open, if you had to select the Nats representative for the ’07 All Star game based on the team's first 52 games, who would it be? No National appears in the top five at any position in the early voting results, which is indicative of both the nature of the voting as a popularity contest and of the Nats' subpar 21-31 record.... more ›

If we told you that Orioles starting pitcher Erik Bedard struck out 12 Nationals batters in a thoroughly dominating performance on Sunday, you’d have expected the O’s to cruise to their third win in a sweep of their Beltway rivals. Likewise, if we told you that both Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns homered and the Nats opened with a 6-0 lead on the road in Cincinnati last night, you’d have expected a first road win... more ›

The talk about the Nationals being the worst team in major league history seems to have been slightly exaggerated. That being said, they've been pretty awful in losing 5 in a row, including being swept by the Cubs this weekend. The Nats are 9-22, 10.5 games out of first place in the National League East and 5.5 behind the fourth place Phillies. And they face the surprising Brewers, who have the best record in baseball,... more ›

When the best sports news to come out of the weekend is that the Nationals managed to not get swept, the thing to do is move on as quickly as possible. We'll try and make as painless as possible for you. Redskins Grab Safety in First Round With the sixth overall pick in Saturday's NFL draft (and only pick in the first four rounds), the Redskins selected LaRon Landry, a hard-hitting safety from LSU. What's... more ›

While D.C. was enjoying its glorious spring weather this weekend, the Nats were in Miami getting severely pounded by the Marlins. Many of the now-usual themes were present: big early deficits, too many walks, and baserunning blunders maligned the brief road trip. The biggest culprit, the Nats much-maligned pitching, has been adequately covered by others, including Chad Cordero's two blown saves and the disasterous outings by Matt Chico and Jerome Williams. Really, in a just... more ›

[Editor's Note: With the Nationals readying to begin their third season in D.C., change is constant and questions abound. Today, like last year, we take a look at the 2007 roster and all the new contributors. Next week, we’ll discuss this year’s most pressing questions with some of the Nats' best bloggers.] With the Nats preparing to head north from spring training in Viera for their third season on the Anacostia, it’s time to take... more ›

While the playoffs kick into high gear this week, the rest of the league is left wondering about what might have been this year, and what could be next year. Fans in Washington might be tempted to view 2006 as a lost season. The team struggled to 71 wins, 10 fewer than the last place ’05 squad, contributing to the team’s decision to dump Frank Robinson. Truth be told, Frank didn’t have much of a... more ›

The Washington Nationals and Alfonso Soriano, outside his apartment: Fonzi: Wow. That was intense. Nats: Seriously. You were amazing. I don’t know how you kept producing through all of that. Fonzi: Oh, I was o.k. I was just worried about you. I mean, I love being with you. I love it here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I didn’t like it when you were talking to all those other teams. Nats: I know. I’m... more ›

Alfonso Soriano is still a Washington National. For this season, at least. After what we assume were some intense negotiations with over a dozen teams, Jim Bowden failed to trade the Nats’ star left fielder. The 4 p.m. trading deadline came and went without a deal for Soriano, or any other Nationals for that matter. As a waiver-wire trade will be logistically impossible to complete, Soriano will stay with the Nationals for the remainder... more ›

The Washington Nationals found themselves in a familiar position Sunday afternoon. After dropping their first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Nats again were trailing in the third and final game of the series. Down 3-1 in the seventh, and in danger of being swept for the fourth time in a month's time, the Nationals turned to pinch-hitter Alex Escobar. With Jose Guillen on board with a walk, Escobar drilled a shot over... more ›

For weeks, the Nationals have been bracing for a barrage of player moves before the July trade deadline. Just yesterday, the Post prepared for the onslaught with a detailed analysis of who's on the trading block. Yesterday afternoon, Kasten & Co. launched the opening salvo: young pitchers Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, and Daryl Thompson, along with veteran playa hatin’ Royce Clayton and utility infielder Brendan Harris were all sent packing. In return, the Nats picked up SS Felipe Lopez, OF Austin Kearns, and minor league pitcher Ryan Wagner. more ›