Even better, the renewed effort is also perfectly in time for Opening Day.

We’ve recruited a strong team of passionate Nats fans to carry WGH through this promising season.   Carolyn, Cassi, Danielle, Jenn and Rachel are a diverse mix of intelligent Nationals fans who really want to make this blog great again.  I am so excited to see where they take it.

I’ll be here behind the scenes — answering questions and making sure things go smoothly, but I have every confidence in the world that these lovely ladies will do a great job.   You can read my stuff over at Nats Buzz on MASNsports.com if you’re so inclined.

Please give our new gals a warm welcome and come back often!

Happy Opening Day!

Rookie of the Year: Thursday, October 15
Chris Coglan - Florida Marlin
J.A. Happ - Philadelphia Phillies
Tommy Hanson - Atlanta Braves

Cy Young Award: Monday, October 19
Tim Lincecum - San Francisco Giants
Chris Carpenter - St. Louis Cardinals
Adam Wainwright - St. Louis Cardinals

Most Valuable Player: Monday, October 26
Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals
Prince Fielder - Milwaukee Brewers
Hanley Ramirez - Florida Marlins
Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies
Derrick Lee - Chicago Cubs
Ryan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals
Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies
Pablo Sandoval - San Francisco Giants
Adrian Gonzalez - San Diego Padres

Nats News Network:
N.L. MANAGER OF THE YEAR
3. Joe Torre, LAD
2. Bruce Bochy, SF
1. Jim Tracy, COL

N.L. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
3. Chris Coghlan, FL (.321/.390/.460, 9 HR—47 RBI—8 SB)
2. J.A. Happ, PHI (12-4, 2.93, 119 K in 166.0 IP)
1. Tommy Hanson, ATL (11-4, 2.89 ERA, 116 K in 127.2 IP)

N.L. CY YOUNG
3. Chris Carpenter, STL (17-4, 2.24 ERA, 144 K in 192.2 IP)
2. Adam Wainwright, STL (19-8, 2.63 ERA, 212 K in 233.0 IP)
1. Tim Lincecum, SF (15-7, 2.48 ERA, 261 K in 225.1 IP)

N.L. MVP (AVE/OBP/SLG, HR/RBI/RUNS/SB)
10. Andre Ethier, LAD (.272/.361/.508, 31/106/92/6)
9. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.292/.364/.525, 33/106/110/2)
8. Pablo Sandoval, SF (.330/.387/.556, 25/90/79/5)
7. Derrick Lee, CHC (.306/.393/.579, 35/111/91/1)
6. Ryan Braun, MIL (.320/.386/.551, 32/114/113/20)
5. Prince Fielder, MIL (.299/.412/.602, 46/141/103/2)
4. Ryan Howard, PHI (.279/.360/.571, 45/141/105/8)
3. Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.297/.377/.552, 32/92/101/20)
2. Hanley Ramirez, FL (.342/.410/.543, 24/106/101/27)
1. Albert Pujols, STL (.327/.443/.658, 47/135/124/16)

Today, she was featured on The Today Show, along with Troy Polamalu.  You can watch it here.  You can also visit the website her family set up.

If you would like to send a monetary donation (no matter how small), your donations would help her family with food, transportation and lodging for the numerous trips they make to Pittsburgh, as well as the increasing costs for Heather’s care.

Heather Miller Medical Fund
PO Box 229
Osterburg, PA  16667

Also, wanted to pass along this Q&A I did with Mets blogger, Kerel of Ontheblack.com.

I’m sorry things are kind of quiet here these days.  Stephanie is adjusting to her new life in Miami and everybody is trying to handle this season’s disappointments in their own way — without using this space to whine.  We did too much of that in 2008.
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Everyone will be back at it when there’s something to say.

MissChatter said it better.

The Washington Nationals today acquired outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left-handed pitcher Sean Burnett from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Lastings Milledge and right-handed pitcher Joel Hanrahan. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

The 28 year-old Morgan was batting .277 (77-for-278) with six doubles, five triples, two home runs and 27 RBI in 71 games with Pittsburgh prior to the trade. Thanks to a career-high 29 walks and a .351 on-base percentage, Morgan has scored 39 runs this season, or two fewer than his career total in 86 games entering 2009. His five triples rank among NL (tied for second) and MLB (tied for third) leaders. Morgan departs despite pacing the Pirates in batting (.322, 66-for-205) against right-handed pitchers in 2009.

Morgan is blessed with the brand of speed that the Nationals were lacking both on the basepaths and in the outfield. Morgan currently ranks fifth in the National League with 18 stolen bases, and his eight swipes in June are just one less than the nine registered by Washington this month. Morgan played primarily left field for the Pirates. He currently leads all MLB left fielders in total chances per 9.0 innings and range factor per game.

Morgan’s patience (3.9 pitches seen per plate appearance) and batting eye (career-best walk ratio of one base on balls per 11.1 plate appearances) have both played a role in his breakout 2009 season.

Burnett, 26, was 1-2 with six holds, one save and a 3.06 ERA (11 ER/32.1 IP) in a team-leading 38 appearances for Pittsburgh at the time of the trade. A two-time (2001 and 2002) Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Burnett is 7-8 with 14 holds, one save and a 4.54 ERA (81 ER/160.2 IP) in 109 games (13 starts) spanning three big league seasons with Pittsburgh.

Burnett sports a .200 (22-for-110) batting average against in 2009, and has been nearly equally effective against left-handed batters (.189, 10-for-53, four walks) as those that hit from the right side (.211, 12-for-57, one home run). Burnett shifted exclusively to relief in 2008 and in 96 appearances since, has neutralized opposing left-handed batters with a stingy .178 (23-for-129) batting average against.

The Pirates’ No. 1 selection (19th overall) in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft, Burnett is currently tied for eighth in the National League having allowed only four of 28 inherited baserunners to score. His .345 slugging percentage against is .067 better than the NL average of .412.

Milledge, 24, went 4-for-24 (.167) with one RBI and one walk in seven games with Washington this season.

The 27 year-old Hanrahan finished 0-3 with five saves (10 save opportunities) and a 7.71 ERA (28 ER/32.2 IP) in 34 appearances with the Nationals in 2009.

Doors open at 11 a.m. — the event begins at noon.   As always, Charlie Slowes is the moderator.

ESPN Zone
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Washington, DC

Vote for Zimmerman here.

Which brings me to this conclusion: Instant replay is a waste of time.

What was the point again?  To be more accurate?  Eight minutes later, still wrong.

Tonight…

Dunn’s still looking for hit #1000 as the Nats take on Livan and an injured Mets lineup.

Now…for the busy weekend. I did a recap of this weekend’s events and giveaways at MASN’s Nationals Buzz.

ESPN’s Draft Blog has more on Strasburg’s injury, which appears minor.  It also has some notes on a good performance by Mike Minor of Vanderbilt.

Peter Gammons says the Nationals would like to deal Johnson and/or Kearns to get relievers.

Nats320 says that Chad Cordero’s wife recently gave birth to their first child, a baby girl.

That’s about all for now. Get your red on!

Earlier this season Dave at Nats News Network wrote a nice post about surviving another tough year.  Steven at FJB had a similiar one.  Read those.  If wins and losses make or break your day, it’s going to be a painful couple of months.  I refuse to go through that again.  I was cranky, depressed, cynical, mean — last summer was a challenge.  But I learned a lot.

Keep your expectations low.  Look for small victories.  Enjoy the offense.  Meet new baseball friends.  Enjoy a night at the ballpark.  Teach someone about baseball.  Come watch the young kids learn how to pitch.  Learn to laugh at yourself (and your team).  Complain (hey, we all need to complain sometimes, right).

Don’t expect to win, think of that as a bonus.  Don’t expect any magic solutions.  There’s not a lot of relief pitching out there to be had and Strasburg will stay in the minors, apparently.

Decide what the Nationals are worth to you — in terms of your leisure time and hard earned money, and stick within that parameter.  Don’t overdo it… not yet.  There will be a time and a place for 24/7 commitment, but now is probably not that time and if you’re investing that kind of energy, you’ll probably get burned.  I did.  You can still be a fan and scale back a little.

If you are giving 100%, go you.  I can respect that.  I love that.  Just watch your heart.  The Nats are prone to breaking it.