With two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the seventh inning on Friday came the pitch felt round the Natosphere. Reds reliever Tony Cingrani drilled Nats slugger Bryce Harper in the back – right between the numbers — with a 94-mile-an-hour fastball. No matter whether it was intentional, Harper was not …
Tag: Bam Bam
Apr 06
Five things that must break the Nats’ way in 2015
How can a team that hasn’t even competed in a league championship series be a favorite to win the World Series? It may seem odd, but that’s the predicament the Washington Nationals find themselves in as they enter the 2015 season. Experts nationwide have pegged a team with a bullpen full of question marks , …
Sep 15
No slow lane on the road to the 2014 postseason
It comes down to this: With 14 games left in the regular season, the Nationals visit their division archrivals in Atlanta with a chance to clinch the National League East, drop the Braves below .500 and send them to the outer fringes of the postseason picture. In a season where they’ve overcome numerous injuries and …
Jun 16
Counting down the Nats’ ‘houses of horror’
Music fans of a certain age are mourning the death on Sunday of long-time radio host Casey Kasem. Long before the days of podcasts, teenagers and young adults would ritually tune in each week, usually on Sundays, to hear the genial Kasem count down the top 40 songs in the nation. Nationals fans, meanwhile, are …
Mar 29
Nationals 2014 Preview: Hitters
Let’s get the predictions out of the way first. I’m calling “World Series or Bust” for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The defending National League West champions have two wins under their belts before most other teams have even played a game, and there should be many more to come. In fact with all their talent …
Jul 08
Harper joins elite company with All-Star start
Bryce Harper made history last season when he became the youngest position player selected to the major league All-Star game at the age of 19, and he’s doing it again with his second appearance at the age of 20. Not only will Harper be the youngest position player ever to start for the National League, …
Apr 26
Bryce is Nice… Happy Anniversary, Harper.
Of all the red-letter days in Washington’s baseball history, Nationals fans may well look back on April 28, 2012 as the most important date of all. It was on that date that a 19-year-old rookie named Bryce Aron Max Harper made his major league debut, amid the media spotlight of Los Angeles. He singled and …
Apr 01
Nationals Preview: The Outfield
The Nationals’ most dramatic upgrade this season is in the outfield. With the addition of Denard Span, the team has defensive skill across the board and speed at the top of the order. While Michael Morse‘s high average and power will be missed, if Span can play to his potential, the rest of the lineup …
Oct 19
The Year I Got to Be 11 Again
I got to be 11, all over again this summer, thanks to the greatest season in Washington Nationals history, and my boy, Mark. Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, baseball was not a huge part of my life. When I was 11, in 1975, I could still remember the Senators and their move to …
Oct 15
Looking back through tear-stained eyes
Let’s face it, for the fans of 29 teams, the end of the baseball season is hard to take. To be sure, it’s harder in some cities than in others. Here in Washington, after watching seven regular seasons mercifully conclude with the reality of a losing team, we got not only our first winning season, …
