Jose Vidro, the Nats oft-injured second baseman, has been traded to the Seattle Mariners, pending a physical exam delayed until this morning. Vidro’s a three-time All Star with fine career numbers, and he’s a standup character. He’s shown admirable loyalty to the club throughout the franchise’s tumultuous past and gruesome near-term prognosis. After the clearing of roster debris like Ramon Ortiz, Tony Armas, and Joey Eishen, one might think that Nationals Nation would mourn –…

This much is known about the Nats’ managerial search: 1) With Piniella and Girardi having withdrawn, the position is unlikely to be filled by recognized “name”. 2) The process has been conducted with Karl Rove-like secrecy. 3) Because of #2, the press is essentially groping in the dark for leads, and the final selection will most likely not have been on anyone’s lists two weeks ago. For the prospective candidates, the description of the Nat’s…

Livan Hernandez is Frank Robinson’s kind of player: crafty, with dogged determination and competitive fire. He wants the ball in every situation. He’s eaten innings in big chunks, leading the league in IP for three years straight. He’s loyal, perhaps to a fault. He’s been one of the faces of the franchise in recent years, and was the first player to throw a pitch for the Nationals last year. Despite not having the best…

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…

John Patterson may make his return by Friday of this week against the Orioles, and not a moment too soon. After last night’s 11-3 drubbing in Fenway, Nats pitchers have now surrendered 66 runs over the past eight days. That’s an average of over eight runs per game, for a team that ranked 9th in the majors in team ERA last year. The failures are across the board, with the bullpen and four of the…

While watching two fourth-place teams duke it out over a weekend is rarely exciting, the Nats and the Orioles made a good show of it in the first Battle of the Beltways. In the end, the Nationals got the upper hand by taking two of three from the now tied-for-last-place Orioles. The weekend started like many others this season for the Nationals: with a loss. Alfonso Soriano provided the only offense for Washington with…

After 22 straight scoreless innings, things looked bleak for the Nationals. With their highly-anticipated Battle of the Beltway on tap, the Nats had to beat the Cubs and Kerry Wood making his first start of the season. Well, a little bit of lineup shake up did the trick as four players, including Damian Jackson and Marlon Anderson, homered in a 5-3 victory over the Cubs. Firmly in fourth place, the Nats can now look ahead…

“People keep asking me, ‘What’s wrong?’ I’m going to have my numbers. People shouldn’t worry about Jose Guillen.” Somewhere, Gilbert Arenas is smiling. He would definitely appreciate the third-person proclamations Jose Guillen made in Monday’s Post. Especially since Guillen had previously struggled so badly – through Saturday he had two homers on the year, was batting a paltry .227, and recently was dropped from cleanup to the fifth spot in the order. But Guillen emphatically…

This entry was written by DCist contributor Benjamin Kabak. After taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies this week, the Nationals return to the confines of RFK Stadium to face the division-rival Atlanta Braves in a three-game series this weekend. If the weather holds up, that is. Thursday’s 10-4 drubbing of the Phillies capped off a successful week for the Nats as Frank Robinson became just the 52nd manager to reach the 1000-win plateau….

This entry was written by DCist contributor Jeff Beam. Just another day at the office for the 2006 Nationals. After Monday’s much-needed day off, Tuesday was off to the races. By midday, the team had learned that Ryan Drese would be out four to six weeks, but would avoid season-ending surgery. By the late evening, when Gary Majewski was wrapping up a 10-3 victory in Philly, their GM was on the hot seat, and the…