Nationals outfielder Justin Maxwell has another Fall League journal out today. In it he talks about his competitive nature - he loves to win, an impressive fireworks display before last weeks game, and what it was like to play against the Chinese National Team. He also recounts a bizarre incident during that game, involving a swarm of bees. Its a good read.

Other news involving the Nats roster…

Robert Fick has opted to become a free agent. It’s the fifth time in six seasons Fick has gone through this process. It sounds like Robert wants to stay in DC. “I hope to be back with the Nationals. They are my guys. I like them. I enjoy it there a lot. I’m sure we’ll find out the next month or so.” We’ll see what happens.

Additionally, the Nats have signed lefty Mike Bacsik to a non-guaranteed Minor League contract. Bacsik will head to Spring Training in February, and try to earn a spot on the Major League roster. “I know I’m coming in on a non-guaranteed contract. I have to work hard to fight for a spot. I have to go on my good games and eliminate my bad ones.”

We wish them both the best.

We just wanted to send out a quick Happy Birthday to the Nats hitting coach Lenny Harris. Thanks Lenny for all your hard work this season, we are excited to have you back next year!

You knew this was coming –

Ronnie Belliard’s amazing play in July was nominated for Best Play by This Week in Baseball.

You can vote here.

Thanks for a great rookie season!

The radio show was broadcast live last night from the ESPN Zone in DC. Both Nationals President Stan Kasten and GM Jim Bowden were there to participate in the radio event. Nats fans were invited to listen to the live broadcast, and to place deposits for season tickets next year. Stan and Jim spent most of their time in the radio booth taking call in questions from fans. Catcher Brian Schneider also called into the show and took a few questions from fans. The Racing Presidents, Clint, and the Nat Pack made appearances as well.

Nats fans were aplenty last night – it was one of the more crowded events. Those late fans that hadn’t reserved their season tickets yet were treated to a gift bag if they put their deposit down last night. Lots of people took advantage of the promotion; it seemed to be a successful event. Clint did his regular trivia questions, some about the inaugural season, and some about the new stadium. We didn’t win anything sadly, but still had a great time!

The restaurant was pretty loud so it was difficult to hear the whole broadcast of the radio show. We especially had difficulty hearing the questions called in and Schneider’s contributions. We did hear a bunch of comments about the parking situation next year. It was a hot topic as the Nats had just announced that every season ticket holder would be able to purchase a parking spot next year. Big news! According to the Nats, those fans who don’t have season tickets next year, and who opt not to take the metro will be able to park at RFK and take a free shuttle to the games. Sounds like an ok deal, however according to the Washington Post, the whole plan hasn’t been totally worked out with the city, and the announcement of the shuttle with RFK parking might have been premature. Goodness it sounds a little messy huh?

Stan and Jim stuck around for a bit after the broadcast and mingled with fans. We were able to chat with Stan for a few minutes, which was pretty nice. We were also informed that there would be plenty more events this winter to keep us busy with baseball, we can’t wait. Great to see so many familiar faces again!

It must have been a busy night for the front office, because they also announced the selection of the contracts for four guys to be added to the 40 man roster. The Nationals selected, Garrett Mock (RHP), Justin Jones (LHP), Josh Whitesell (1B), and Roger Bernadina (OF).

Tom FitzGerald at the San Francisco Chronicle details McGeary’s signing by the Nats and the unique deal that allowed McGeary to study at Stanford.

“The Nationals were the only team willing to do this. Most teams want players with them 100 percent of the time,” said McGeary of the situation.

As news continues to emerge regarding the Nationals’ broadcasting team, many of us are left wondering “Why is a change even being considered?” We understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but a majority of people have grown to respect, admire and most importantly, enjoy the Nationals broadcasting team both on TV and the radio.In today’s Washington Examiner, Jim Williams writes that the front office should, “stick to building a winning baseball team and let your broadcasters alone - they are already winners.” We couldn’t agree with Williams more. Dave and Charlie are an excellent team who clearly have fun with their jobs and with each other. Their enthusiasm for the game is easily conveyed over the airwaves and the fact that they do not have contracts for upcoming seasons yet is disturbing. Whether I am driving in the car, or listening between innings of an away game, I truly enjoy hearing Dave and Charlie’s take on the game.

As for the TV side of the broadcasting team, we have always been impressed with Bob Carpenter’s work. In a recent Washington Post article supporting the return of Bob, there was confirmation that fans had written into the Nationals and MASN to support Bob. We are certainly hoping that he will be back for many more seasons to come.

Dave, Charlie, Debbi and Bob are all great broadcasters who have done a great job of drawing in the occasional fan (like myself) and turning us into devoted, season-ticket holding fans. While work does need to be done on the field, the broadcasting booths should be left alone.

Don’t forget to come down to ESPN Zone at 7 PM for a night with Stan and Jim. The team is offering a special package for you slackers that haven’t put down your deposit for season tickets next year (note: and nothing for those dedicated fans that have).

It’s alright. We’re still looking forward to hearing about next season from the GM and the Prez (and Brian Schneider via phone). We’ve got lots of questions (parking…Charlie and Dave…among other things) and hopefully, some answers soon.

Other Stuff:

Bill Ladson’s weekly notes have some great stuff this week - including a discussion about the Young/Johnson dilema.

We haven’t wrote anything yet about the return of Manny’s entire coaching team, but we were very happy with this news. Randy’s role in our organization can not be understated. Further, we had the opportunity to interact with all of the coaches at the Baseball 101 Clinic and really enjoyed their lessons.

Where would Jesus Flores be without the patience and guidance of his mentor, Pat Corrales? And, Aponte deserves much credit for maintaining our steadiest component –for some periods of the season, one of the best bullpens in the league. We had some concerns about Tim Tolman after a few bad decisions, but he was gracious and humorous during his lesson at the clinic and we quickly forgave his errors. Continuity is great - great for fans, great for the team. We’re looking forward to seeing them all back next year.

Also, J-Max has another article up. Did you know he wanted to be a vet or a dentist?

Build it Bigger’s Danny goes into the Nats dugout at RFK (and plays with Mike Bacsik’s helmet and bat) before heading to the new park to learn about construction of our new stadium.

The trip to the new park is the weekly webisode featured in the right-hand corner of their website. Danny helps install seats and cupholders in the featured clip.

The full episode re-airs on Tuesday, October 30 at 10 am.

Thanks for the tip, Ryan.

It’s no secret that the Hampton Roads area of southern Virginia grooms some of Major League Baseball’s finest young players.

One of the local high schools, Grassfield High, is hosting a special MLB Home Run Derby featuring a number of MLB’s most talented young stars, including Nationals Third Baseman, Ryan Zimmerman.

The Home Run Derby is set for Saturday, November 3 at 2 PM in Chesapeake, VA. Tickets are $25 and proceeds benefit the Grassfield High’s athletic program and a charity of each player’s choice.

The event will feature:

David Wright, New York Mets
Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
B.J. Upton, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
Mark Reynolds, Arizona Diamondbacks
Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

The six players generated 113 homeruns collectively in the 2007 season. They will wear Grassfield High uniforms (with their names and numbers) for the first rounds and their MLB jerseys for the final rounds.

We’re heading down — and we’ll be sure to post a thorough recap and lots of photos.