From the Nationals:

The Washington Nationals today selected right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg (first round/first overall), right-handed pitcher Drew Storen (first round/10th overall), infielder Jeffrey Kobernus (second round/50th overall) and right-handed pitcher Trevor Holder (third round/81st overall) on the first day of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo and Nationals Director of Scouting Dana Brown made the joint announcement.

“We are extremely satisfied with the players we selected today in the Draft,” said Rizzo. “We feel we have accomplished many of our pre-Draft goals of obtaining front-line talent and impact players for the Nationals organization.”

Strasburg went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA (16 ER/109.0 IP) in 15 starts as a junior for San Diego State University in ‘09. Known for a strong blend of velocity and control, he fanned an NCAA-best 195 in 109.0 innings this season, or 16.1 K’s per 9.0 innings (tops in NCAA), en route to a 10.3/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Strasburg did not issue more than two walks in any game this season, and walked one or fewer batter in 10 of 15 starting assignments. In three collegiate seasons, Strasburg went 22-7 with seven saves and a 1.59 ERA (43 ER/243.1 IP) in 52 games.

One of college baseball’s premier closers, Storen dominated his competition in ‘09, going 7-1 with seven saves and a 3.80 ERA in 28 appearances with Stanford University. In 42.2 innings of relief work, he tallied 66 strikeouts (13.9 strikeouts per 9.0 innings) with only eight walks for an 8.3/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. During his pair of seasons with the Cardinal, Storen went a combined 12-4 with 15 saves and a 3.64 ERA in 59 appearances. In 99.0 frames, he logged 116 strikeouts and issued just 23 walks for a 5.0/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

A hard-nosed infielder with speed, Kobernus hit at a .341 (74-for-217) clip as a junior at the University of California-Berkeley in ‘09. He ranked second in the Pac 10 with 20 stolen bases and posted 14 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 40 RBI in 53 games. Over his three seasons with the Bears, he batted .324 with 50 extra-bases (12 HR), 89 RBI and 44 stolen bases in 161 contests. Kobernus was one of three Cal players selected among the Draft’s first 56 picks with outfielders Brett Jackson (31st overall by Chicago-NL) and Blake Smith (56th overall by Los Angeles-NL).

Holder—a strike thrower with a bulldog attitude—went 7-5 with a 4.48 ERA in 15 starts as a senior at the University of Georgia in ‘09. He logged a .259 batting average against and tallied 72 strikeouts in 92.1 innings for an average of 7.0 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. During his four-season collegiate career, he won 22 games and fanned 223 batters in 313.2 innings.

The three-day Draft will continue on Wednesday at noon with rounds 4-30. The final 20 rounds will be completed on Thursday.

This past Saturday was the make up game for that rained out April Nats/Phillies game. As a result, instead of blogger night with MASN, we had blogger day. MASN hosted the event and invited various Nationals bloggers into their suite at Nats Park for the game. Todd Webster and Kristen were gracious hosts and took care of everything for the group.

We all got to take a trip up to seventh heaven a.k.a the broadcast booth before the game, to check out the digs and meet Rob Dibble and Bob Carpenter. It wasn’t until I saw the view of the field from inside the booth that I realized how high it actually was. The sight lines were amazing though, I could see clear past the Capitol Dome from up there. Rob and Bob answered a bunch of questions for the blogger crowd and then we headed down to the suite for the start of the game. The suite was stocked with all the comforts of home: beer, food, soda, air conditioning, and comfy chairs; it was a great place to watch the game. I had a great time officially meeting everyone and putting faces to blogs.

Throughout the game we had several visitors — Johnny Holiday and Ray Knight stopped by for a few innings to hang out and swap stories about the team. Chartese Burnett, Vice President of Communications spent almost the entire game with us; it was a nice surprise. Debbi Taylor stopped by to say hello, as did Pete McElroy from masnsports.com, Ben Goessling from the Washington Times and Lisa Pagano of the Nats.

After a couple of innings we split into two groups and headed underneath the stadium to the production truck. It was sensory overload as soon as I walked in. I still can’t believe so much goes on behind the scenes to make the broadcast work. It was a really cool thing to see, and everyone included the production crew seemed to have a great time.

The outcome of the game wasn’t a pleasant one. The Nationals lost to the Phillies 8-5, but spending the day in the suite, and meeting a bunch of really fun baseball people was a great way to spend the day.

Many thanks to Todd Webster and Kristen Hudak for hosting the event and getting us bloggers together. I for one, had a great time!

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Nationals fans. After the dismal 2008 season we were all hopeful for a better 2009, but the first two weeks of the new season didn’t fulfill that promise. The season started with a seven game losing streak. The first win against the Phillies a week later, was a bright spot but it was quickly overshadowed by a disgraceful weekend series against the Marlins. A series in which the Nationals led all three games until the late innings, when the bullpen just imploded. Two blown saves in a row from the closer Hanrahan hurt. Saul Rivera’s 9th inning performance a day later, was difficult to watch. After Sunday’s game Manny and Rizzo reshuffled the bullpen, calling up Kip Wells, Garret Mock and Jason Bergmann in hopes that they might fare a little better in relief. So after the disappointing start, it was hard for us to stay positive, most of the guys we were pulling for are no longer on the team, and losing those close games in such a way is enough to test anyone’s fandom. So in short, it has been a difficult start for both the team and for us. We were beginning to question whether the team we give so much to still had any heart, and even more so, did we have any left ourselves?

We got our answer Monday night. Yes we still have heart. Ours might be bruised and beaten and it might take a bit for us to dig it out, but deep down we still have heart. Something bigger than the win/loss record, keeps pulling us back for more. After a wet, cold dreary Monday I admit the last thing in the world I wanted to do was drag myself out to Nationals Park to sit in the rain and wait for a game that might not even happen. However, as I was watching the pre-game show from the comfort of my sofa, I realized I was crazy. What had happened to me? Was I really at the point where I didn’t care anymore? Last night was the debut of one of the only bright spots left in the Nationals organization. Was I really ok with watching it on TV when I could just as easily get to the park and see it in person? I debated for while, but in the end realized that there was no place I would rather be than at Nationals Park in the rain to watch Jordan Zimmermann’s start. After all, one of my best baseball memories ever happened two years ago under very similar circumstances. So at 7:00 pm I texted Kristen, told her I was on my way and headed to the stadium.

The game officially started at 9:15 pm and Jordan Zimmermann made his debut in front of a very small crowd. The announced paid attendance was 12,473, but I would be surprised if even half of those people were present at the start of the game. Jordan looked like a veteran on the mound. He threw seven pitches in the first inning, all of them strikes. He worked quickly and efficiently, attacking the strike zone. He pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He threw 72 pitches, 51 of them for strikes. His only mistake came in the fourth inning when he gave up a two run homer to Matt Diaz. Zimmermann shook it off though and worked like a pro through two more innings.

The Nationals battled Lowe and cut the Braves lead in half when Elijah Dukes singled Johnson home. Two batters later, Jesus Flores, hit a long sac fly to left center field to plate Ryan Zimmerman and tie the game. The Nationals took the lead in the 6th when Flores, who has struggled so far this season hitting with runners in scoring position, hit a grounder up the middle to send Dukes home. The Nationals lead 3-2 for the remainder of the game.

When Zimmermann was removed after the 6th having only thrown 72 pitches, it seems Manny was eager to test his new bullpen. Kip Wells worked a scoreless 7th, while wearing #32 (that stung a little bit, as I still miss Cordero). Joe Biemel came in for the 8th and recorded two quick outs, but heavy rain started to fall and the umpires delayed the game again at 11:16 pm. By this time, the crowd had thinned even more and the team announced that the last metro for the night departed the Navy Yard at 11:45. The announcement caused even more people to flee. We stayed though and are sure glad we did, because the tarp was rolled off about a half and hour later and the game resumed.

Joel Hanrahan’s music signaled the top of the ninth and Kristen and I looked at each other with worry. Was Joel ready for this again? We only had a one run lead after all! Hanrahan retired Jones on a grounder to short. He made all 70 of us left in the stands cringe with a four pitch walk to the next batter, but redeemed himself with a strikeout to Matt Diaz to get the save and preserve the win for Zimmermann. It was an incredible night of baseball, the best kind actually. Who would have thought that the a cold, rainy, gross day would help me gain some of my enthusiasm back? In the end, I think it was a love of the game and a promise of a few bright spots, one coming from a rookie making his debut, that caused my change of heart.

For more photos from the game go here.

We all hoped it was coming, and we have all speculated on how much and for how long. The Nationals announced yesterday that they had reached an agreement with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman for a long-term deal.  The 5 year $45 million agreement keeps Zimmerman in DC until 2013.  It’s good news for the Nationals after a very disappointing weekend on the field. Maybe there is still some hope for this team.  The “face of the franchise” is really here to stay for the long haul.  I know some have questions about how good Zimmerman really is, and those concerns are probably legit but regardless, Zimmerman is a great player who means a lot to this team and keeping him here was the only way to go.   The Nationals announced the agreement this afternoon at a press conference. 

From the Nationals -

The Washington Nationals today signed third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to a long-term contract extension through the 2013 season.  Nationals President Stan Kasten made the announcement.  Zimmerman is a career .282 (508-for-1804) hitter with 128 doubles, nine triples, 60 home runs and 268 RBI in 456 big league games, all of which have been played with the Nationals.

The 24 year-old Zimmerman is the Washington Nationals (2005-present) all-time leader in most offensive categories, including but not limited to games, runs (248), hits, times on base (675), doubles, home runs, extra-base hits (197), total bases (834) and RBI, as well as go-ahead (70) and game-winning RBI (36). 

Zimmerman is widely regarded as a top-flight defensive third baseman, and in 2008, he paced MLB in both total chances per 9.0 innings (3.00) and putouts per 9.0 innings (0.94). Regularly lauded by baseball pundits, Zimmerman’s finest defensive efforts are standard fare on baseball’s various nightly highlight programs. 

In 2006, despite being less than a year removed from college, Zimmerman hit .287 with 47 doubles, 20 home runs and 110 RBI in 157 games in his first complete big league campaign. In the closest vote since 1980, Zimmerman finished second to Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez in ‘06 National League Rookie of the Year balloting despite posting the top NL rookie RBI total since Albert Pujols’ remarkable 130-RBI effort in 2001.  

Zimmerman—as the Nationals’ first-ever draft selection—signed with Washington just minutes after being picked fourth overall in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft. After just 73 minor-league contests, he became the first position player from the vaunted 2005 Draft class to reach the big leagues. Ryan’s arrival did not disappoint, as he batted .397 in 20 September contests. 

The Nationals’ first home-grown player from a developmental standpoint, Zimmerman also fit nicely into Washington’s geographic footprint.

A few weeks ago Todd Webster, the MASN Spokesman, sent an invitation to Nats Bloggers proposing a get together in the MASN suite for last night’s game at Nats Park to learn more about the network and meet the talent team. With the rain-out though, plans changed, and thanks to some quick thinking on MASN’s part some of the bloggers were still able to meet in Crystal City for a few beers, some food, and a lot of baseball talk.

Todd Webster was our host, with some help from Kristen. Mike Harris from Nationals Fanboy Looser, drove up from Richmond. Brian from Nats Farm Authority, Ian from Nationals Pride, and Chris formerly of Capitol Punishment now with NBC-Washington.com also attended. We chatted about the team, MASN coverage and watched the Caps game. Eventually we were surprised to be joined by Nats color analyst Rob Dibble and his wife Jonna.

It was great to get the chance to meet Rob and pick his brain. He was very entertaining and engaging and answered all kinds of questions for us bloggers. I appreciated his thoughts about the Nats young pitching staff. Dibble stressed that all of the guys have talent; they just have to start believing they can take on the tough lineups in the NL East. Rob said that pitching is a huge mental game and confidence comes with time.

I think everyone there enjoyed talking to Rob and getting his take on the lineup, the rotation and the team in general. It’s clear he wants the team to win just as much as we fans do. His candor and honesty was a breath of fresh air and I for one will watch and probably learn a lot from the broadcast this season.

A night that could have ended in just a disappointing rain-out ended up being anything but. Any chance to get together with fellow fans and bloggers and talk baseball is welcomed in my book. Many thanks to MASN and Todd for setting this up. Hopefully we can all get together again soon.

Ok, lets get the obvious out of the way, it really stinks that the Nats still haven’t won a game. They sure tried to get that illusive curly W today but lost their 7th consecutive game, 11 straight if you count those lost at the end of the ‘08 season. A season that began with a promise of a fresh start, is looking more and more like the same old team off to a slow start with a seven game skid. Today’s game wasn’t much different than those the Nats have lost so far this season. With a final score of 9-8, offense wasn’t really the problem, pitching and errors on defense caused the Nats to fall.

The teams battled back and forth for the first five innings. The Nationals scored first off Moyer when Dukes hit a double to score Guzman. It was really nice to have Anderson Hernandez back in the lineup, but since he just came off the DL he might have been a little rusty, his error in the bottom of the first let the Phils eventually tied the game. The game stayed tied at 4-4 until the 7th inning, when Saul Rivera came in to face Victorino, Utley, and Howard. Uncharacteristically, Saul hit both Victorino and Utley with pitches and then Howard hit a monster three run homer to give the Phils a boost. Another solo shot from Raul Ibanez followed and the game seemed out of reach at 8-4.

The Nats proved us wrong though, and continued to play hard. Adam Dunn hit a two run homer in the bottom of the 7th and the Nats had a bit of a rally in the 9th, surprisingly off Lidge. Zimmerman’s two run homer in the 9th put the Nats within one, but the Nats couldn’t tack on anymore runs and the game ended when Johnson grounded out to win the game. The boys hung in there offensively, today’s loss can be chalked up to pitching and errors on defense. Hopefully everything will click soon and the Nats can get that critical first win.

I love home openers. It was really great to see so many people enjoying the stadium…even if most of them seemed to be Phillies fans. I saw the statues in center field for the first time. I must say they are…different…not what I had imagined for Nationals Park. I also just love April baseball. Sitting with the girls all bundled up, and cheering for the Nats was just about the perfect day…just about, a win would have made it so, but I guess we really can’t win them all!

Here are some photos from the day.

So the Nationals Opening Day game against the Marlins in Florida didn’t go the way we all hoped. Sadly, yesterday’s game was an all too familiar scene. John Lannan had never faced the Marlins before, and they shook him up quite a bit. Lannan gave up seven runs on ten hits in 4 2/3 innings. I’m sure Lannan had some Opening Day jitters, and that probably had some effect on his pitches. The Nats offense tried to battle back from a 6-0 deficit, with Adam Dunn hitting his first official homer as a National to cut the Marlins lead in half. RBI hits from Austin Kearns and Jesus Flores helped to even the score a bit, but the Nats bullpen couldn’t hold the Marlins. When Shell served up a grand slam to Hanley Ramirez in the 6th inning, the game seemed officially out of reach. The Nationals lost 12-6.

It was a painful game to watch. I know it was the first game and all, but honestly it looked like nothing much had changed on the field. Dunn’s home run was a nice addition, but I feel like I saw the same mistakes being made. Emilio Bonifacio rocked the Nats, going 4-5 with 3 stolen bases and an inside-the-park home run, which…shocker…sailed right over Milledge’s head. Ronnie Belliard bobbled the ball at second and then just gave up…again! I’m trying really hard to stay positive and say this was just the first game of a long season and things will get better, but I guess we will just have to see. Either way, it’s good to have baseball back!

Scott Olsen takes the mound tonight against his former team, and hopefully he can hold off the power hitting Marlins.

News Updates -

Did you all hear about Lastings Milledge missing Manny’s pep talk on Sunday? I think its safe to say, especially after last night’s game, that he should have been there front and center listening to his manager.  It’s the same old thing.

Some good news on Anderson Hernandez.  He ran a few sprints and took some grounders on Sunday, which is encouraging. We are excited to have him back in the lineup soon.

Tomorrow at 11 a.m., the Nats unveil the statues of DC baseball legends Josh Gibson, Walter Johnson and Frank Howard in the Center Field Plaza.  The event is open to the public.

Several sources with no knowledge of the situation indicated on Wednesday that the Lerner family and President Stan Kasten have petitioned MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to move the Washington Nationals to the American League, effective as soon as possible.

With Dmitri Young joining the 40 man roster, the result of a handshake agreement with former GM Jim Bowden, the franchise will break camp with too many potential Designated Hitters to remain in the National League.  The team is said to have concerns about the lack of defensive prowess at most positions, save third base.

On Wednesday, Kasten pointed out the many economic advantages of playing in the American League East, especially in this struggling economy.

“We offered a state of the art Red Sox ticket pre-sale for our most loyal fans and the demand was extraordinary,” said Kasten.  “The high demand indicates that we could sell a lot more tickets and pack this beautiful new ballpark all summer long if we make the move.  It makes sense, for our franchise and for our fans as we move forward.”

Washington Post reporter Chico Harlan doubts the Nationals will be able to make the transition, though he expressed excitement over the possibility of sampling new foods at American League ballparks.

“Washington is in an era of change right now.  We know that President Obama would highly prefer to see his hometown White Sox at Nationals Park this summer,” continued Kasten.

Rumors began circulating that the Nationals intended to make the move last summer when Nationals jackets appeared at MLB.com’s online store with American League patches.

The same anonymous sources with no knowledge of the situation have indicated that both the Orioles and Rays are mulling over the proposal.

More as the story develops…Oh wait,

HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY!!

I was sitting here wondering how the Nats conference call this afternoon might go.  I think I have a pretty good idea…

Stan - It’s going to be a great season, no news on the new GM, but we do have new food plans at the park so you can still spend all your money NOT watching what’s on the field.

Manny - We are ready to go!! All the guys are healthy and ready to start the season…this year going to be an improvement.

Dunn - I’m happy to be playing for the Nats and I’m excited to start the season, I wouldn’t be here if i didn’t think the team could win.

Zim - You know we are all healthy and this is a young team.  We are ready to prove that we can compete.  I would love to stay in Washington, and we are still working on that long term deal, I don’t know much about it though…

END

More later.

Baseball is a universal language. No matter what country you are from or what language you speak, the language of baseball is unifying.  Attending the Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico World Baseball Classic game was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever experienced.  I’m not sure how to even begin to describe the atmosphere in Dolphin Stadium, it was electric upon entering and only got more intense as the game started. Players like Jesus Flores, Johan Santana, Miguel Cabrera and K-Rod are some of my favorites, so I decided to root for Venezuela. I even wore my new Venezuela hat. Kristen decided to cheer for Puerto Rico specifically for Saul Rivera and Felipe Lopez. It was fun to just be there, we wanted each team to do well.

As I walked into the stadium I was engulfed in a cheering mob of Venezuela fans, beating drums, yelling and waving flags. In the first few minutes I was welcomed as a fellow fan and learned my first baseball chant…Ven-ez-uela…WOO!! After watching a few other WBC games I wasn’t expecting the stadium to be as full as it was. People were everywhere, the excitement and anticipation was unbelievable. I really have never experienced anything like it. The game was great baseball, the Venezuelan’s got off to an early lead and Puerto Rico just couldn’t mount the offense for a comeback. Saul Rivera pitched a scoreless inning though and it was really cool to see him there.

After the final out the stadium went nuts, people were cheering, yelling, and chanting. It took a good 30 minutes for us to get from our seats to the parking lot. I was engulfed by numerous Venezuelan fans celebrating along the way. People were literally dancing in the streets after the game. It really was incredible and I think we are both really lucky to have been able to make the game a part of our spring training trip.

Here are some photos from the game. MetsGrrl has a really great post about the same game here.