Revisiting trades can be brutal for some teams. Right now, the Nationals seem to have a very bright future ahead of them. However, they could be better now. In this case, when they were the Montreal Expos, the Nationals made a terrible trade. They acquired Bartolo Colon in 2002. Washington (or Montreal at the time) traded Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Brandon Phillips to get Colon’s services. That off-season, Montreal traded him anyway. So they parted with three all-star caliber players to get Colon for half a season. Just imagine if that trade had not been done.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Tuesday night, Stephen Strasburg made his long awaited debut. And he did not disappoint. After three innings, he had already struck out six batters. Soon after, he let up a 2-run home run that just made it over the fence. But he kept his composure, and seemed to get better against the Pirates as the night went along. When it was all set and done, Strasburg struck out 14 batters in seven innings of work. Including that, he struck out the final seven batters that he faced.

The entire sports world is praising Strasburg, and he deserves it. Let’s just remember that Mark Prior dominated the Pirates in his debut, and look what happened to him. But so far, Strasburg looks like the real deal. Washington will likely be selling out whenever he pitches this season. Fans in Washington have something to be very excited about.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Stephen Strasburg is set to make his Major League Baseball debut on June 8th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. So far, Strasburg has a 3-1 record with a 1.27 ERA in five Triple-A starts. Everyone seems so incredibly certain that Strasburg will dominate on the Major League level. While it is possible, it is not a guarantee. If his ERA in his first start is above a 3.00, will people assume that he will not instantly dominate? And if he does do well, it will not automatically bring success. Mark Prior dominated the Pirates in his first ever start, with ten strikeouts; and look at him now.

The Nationals need something to cheer about. They have not had a winning season in an extremely long time, and have not had a superstar since Vladimir Guerrero bolted from the Montreal days. Stephen Strasburg could be the franchise’s savior. But then again, he may not be.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Yesterday, the Washington Nationals announced that their prized pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, will debut on June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The debut of Strasburg has been a hot topic in the DC area for several weeks. It had been speculated by many that Strasburg would debut for the Nationals on June 4 against the Reds. Due to the speculation of Strasburg’s June 4 arrival, the game was sold out. In recent days, when it became clear that the phenom would not be starting on June 4, many fans became outraged at theperceived cash grab by the frugal club. When the announcement of Strasburg’s first start was made yesterday, fans seemed to forgive the franchise, as the June 8 fixture against the Pirates sold out in less than two hours.

It goes without saying that Stephen Strasburg will arrive in DC with massive expectations. Just a few weeks ago, former star pitcher Curt Schilling said that Strasburg will “immediately potentially be the best pitcher in the game. He’s that polished.” The Washington Nationals need Strasburg to succeed. While they are an improving team with a seemingly bright future, there just is not much buzz around them both in the DC Metro area or in the baseball world. If Strasburg comes to the club and lives up to expectations, it will be a much needed boost to a previously floundering franchise.

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Once his team joined him in the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park, Manager Jim Riggleman had a message for his players. “We haven’t got started yet,” he said. Riggleman told them he liked their intensity and the way they were grinding through games, and that they could be upbeat about their 3-4 record because their offense had not yet come close to hitting stride.

That would be the positive to draw from Washington’s first full week. Certainly, it wouldn’t be the starting pitching, which has consisted of one excellent start, two passable ones and four clunkers. The Nationals staff has thrown 32 1/3 innings, fewest in the majors despite five teams having played just six games. (Tracee Hamilton will chat about the Nationals and Jason Marquis’s poor start this morning at 9:30.)

Their offense has also lagged near the bottom. They’ve scored 3.71 runs per game, 25th in the majors. The Nationals are drawing walks — they have 29 as a team, 10 from Adam Dunn, who is tied for the league lead. But they’re not hitting — their .218 batting average, second lowest in the majors.

Click here to read the full article – By Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post

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Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg has made his spring training debut for the Washington Nationals, pitching two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers.

Starting for Washington, Strasburg threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes and allowed two hits, successive two-out singles by Don Kelly and Alex Avila in the second. But the right-hander finished off Brent Dlugach with a bending, 81 mph breaking ball for an inning-ending strikeout.

Strasburg’s four-seam fastball was consistently measured in the 97-98 mph range and he struck out two Tuesday. But he had some problems with location and threw first-pitch strikes to only two of the eight batters he faced.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Alberto Gonzalez drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 15th inning and the Washington Nationals closed the season with a seven-game winning streak, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday.


Playing the longest game since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal before the 2005 season, the Nationals became the first team in baseball history to close the season with seven straight wins after losing the first seven. Still, they finished 59-103 — the worst record in baseball.
Atlanta, which got within two games of the wild-card lead with six remaining, finished with a season-high six-game losing streak. Logan Kensing (1-2) earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out Brooks Conrad on a checked swing for the final out with runners at second and third.

Elijah Dukes started the winning rally off Boone Logan (1-1) with a one-out walk. Mike Morse flied out, but Wil Nieves and Gonzalez came through with back-to-back singles to break a tie that had stood since the seventh.

Click here to read the full article – By PAUL NEWBERRY of timesunion.com

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A day after the Nationals signed their No. 1 Draft pick, Stephen Strasburg, to a record contract, it appears that acting general manager Mike Rizzo has not secured that role for the longer term.


According to YahooSports.com, the Nationals are expected to name Jerry DiPoto of Arizona as GM.

The move reportedly could happen within the next 24 hours. Rizzo was talking to local media on Tuesday about Strasburg and didn’t give any indication that the role he filled on a temporary basis had been earned by another candidate. Subsequent calls placed to Rizzo about his future were not immediately returned.

In March, the Nationals named Rizzo acting general manager, two days after Jim Bowden resigned from the GM position. Rizzo has handled responsibilities related to the Major League, Minor League and scouting operations of the organization. Day-to-day inquiries related to player personnel have been directed to Rizzo, with team president Stan Kasten having key hands-on involvement.


Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLB.com

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Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals agreed to a record contract just before Monday’s midnight deadline, a four-year deal that will pay the hard-throwing right-hander slightly more than $15.1 million.

The San Diego State pitcher was selected first by the last-place Nationals in June and set the mark for the most money guaranteed to a drafted player. That’s been held since 2001 by pitcher Mark Prior, who received a $10.5 million, five-year contract after he was selected with the second pick, behind Joe Mauer.

“It feels awesome. I got a little nervous there for a while that it might not happen, but I feel very blessed,” Strasburg told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez. “I’m not sure of the plan right now. They said they’d bring me up for the media. They said to take my time to get ready. It’s an amazing feeling. I really wasn’t sure if it was going to happen, but I’m glad it did.”

Strasburg was among 16 of 32 first-round picks without announced agreements heading into the final day. Only three first-round picks apparently failed to sign, and the deadline didn’t apply to one of them.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

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