Marty Niland

Author's posts

Healthy Zimmerman makes a big difference for Nats

One big difference between the Nationals and New York Mets that allowed the Nats to sweep the weekend series with their National League East rivals was overall team health. Several key members of the Mets’ lineup were out with injuries all weekend, while the Nats’ starting lineup was intact by Sunday. One member of the …

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Roy Sievers was a true hero, but can today’s stars match him?

Somewhere last night, an exited kid of 10 or 11 proudly hung a Bryce Harper poster in their bedroom, and fell asleep to dream of the day when they, too, would hit a walk-off homer for the Nationals, sending the crowd into delirium. It’s not hard to find heroes on the Nats these days. The …

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3 Keys to success for the Nationals in 2017

Washington sports fans are a demanding lot. We’re not satisfied with merely winning. We are disappointed if our teams don’t improve. We’re not entitled like New Yorkers, who expect to contend for a championship every year. But neither do we feel cursed, like Cubs fans before their team broke its 107-year record of futility last …

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Lobaton’s homer was no October surprise to Baker

The National League Division Series between the nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers may be knotted at one game apiece, bit when it comes to drama and momentum, the Nats are clearly ahead after Sunday’s 5-2 victory And while fans are rightly cheering backup catcher Jose Lobaton as the unlikely hero the team needed to …

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History shows anyone could be the Nats’ postseason hero

The Nationals are banged up as they enter the 2016 playoffs, with many of their top stars out or ailing for the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But if they are going to give Washington a postseason series win for the first time since 1924, the Nats will still need a …

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Dustup with Pirates may have helped Nats find playoff mojo

If the injured, tired Washington Nationals were wondering where they might get that extra push for the postseason, they may have found it Sunday in Pittsburgh. A day after clinching the National League East and celebrating late into the night, the Nats were clearly a weary team. They wrapped up a nine-game, 10-day road trip, …

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Remembering the Nats’ first postseason clincher

As the Nationals play the second leg of their final road trip this season, fans are still wondering when they will clinch the National League East title. Barring an extended losing streak, the Nats are likely to celebrate their third division title in five years in a visitors clubhouse, in front of another team’s fans. …

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Milestone wins show Nats’ progress in one year

This past week produced a couple of milestones for the Nationals in the 2016 season, as they continued their hopeful march toward the National League East title. Their sweep of the Atlanta Braves guaranteed the Nats their fifth consecutive winning season. Does that seem pretty ho-hum for a team that’s seems bound for a third …

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Looking back on a classic Nats extra-inning win


The Nationals are headed for the National League East championship with a possible Division Series matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are currently three games up on the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. It was a little more than two years ago, as the Nats were rolling toward their most recent division …

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Murphy shooting for spot among DC’s all-time greats


Nationals fans are having fun watching their team move closer to its third division title in the past five seasons, but an even more exciting race is is in full swing between the Nats’ Daniel Murphy and Colorado’s DJ LeMaiheu for the National League batting title. The two second basemen came into last weekend’s series …

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