I started what eventually became Nats News Network on March 14, 2007.  It was originally titled Bottomfeeder Baseball Blog, and I attempted to write about the Nats, Orioles, fantasy baseball, Capitals and other stuff.  It was not very good and nobody read it.  About that time, I also started writing about the Nats and Caps at DC Sports Box, and I would lke to thank Al Santos for allowing me that great opportunity.

In October 2008, I started my hockey blog, Caps News Network.  In December, I changed the name and format of the baseball blog to what you see now, Nats News Network.  Just before opening day 2010, the Nats invited us and four other blogs to apply for credentials based on a very specific set of guidelines.  We were extremely excited to find out the Nats accepted and approved our application and we will be eternally grateful to Stan Kasten, John Dever, Mike Gazda and Bill Gluvna for taking a huge leap of faith and opening the press box to independent media outlets.

And that's how we end up here, today, having completed our second season as credentialed media covering the Washington Nationals.  Hopefully you're still with me, because here comes the big news.

After five seasons and 1,472 posts, I am retiring Nats News Network.  I've decided to combine my two blogs, pick up coverage of the other sports in town, and start an on-line sports page covering all of D.C. sports.  You can find the new site at http://www.districtsportspage.com/.  It's a monumental challenge for me, but I won't be alone.

I have recruited some of the finest local independent journalists to help me with the project.  I will manage the Nats/MLB content for the site, and each sport/team will have a page editor who will guide content for those teams.  We'll have staff writers to write game stories and analysis.  We'll have several contributors; folks that have their own blog but will occasionally post for us too.  We'll continue to have fantastic photography from not only staff photographer Cheryl Nichols, but our good friends Brian Murphy and Anthony Amobi too.

Also, Cheryl's Off the Field column will be coming with us, so if you're looking for the latest player appearance in the community, player birthday of photo gallery of a special event, it'll all be on the new site.

Hopefully, we'll continue to have you as well, reading and commenting on our material.

Please visit our new site.  Tell us what you like, what could be better, and what you might like to see.  It's still a work in progress, but we're excited to get it out there and give folks in the DMV another outlet to get local sports news, analysis and opinion.

Thanks for making Nats News Network what it was.  What started as a vanity project became something so much bigger, bigger really than I or anyone could have expected. Thanks, as always, for reading. 

For the third year in a row, the D.C. Chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association announced their player achievement awards.  It's worth a look to go over to the website and see how the group voted.

Here were my picks (winner in bold; my votes for first, second, third):

Goose Goslin MVP (Michael Morse):  Morse, Jordan Zimmermann, Tyler Clippard.  With the dearth of offense this season, Michael Morse was a savior in spikes.  He emerged as a legitimate clean-up hitter this season and was one of the most valuable hitters in the National League.

Walter Johnson starting pitcher (Jordan Zimmermann):  Zimmermann, John Lannan, Ross Detwiler.  Zimmermann punished the strike zone in his first full season after Tommy John surgery.  He still had a few games where the swing-and-miss pitch was missing, but he was a machine in getting batters out while pitching in the strike zone.

Firpo Marberry relief pitcher (Tyler Clippard):  Clippard, Storen, Todd Coffey.  This in no way takes anything away from the excellent job that Storen did at the back of the bullpen, but Clippard was called upon in any number of situations, from starting innings clean to coming in with the bases loaded and no outs.  He pitched the Nats' highest-leverage innings all season long and did so almost without fail.

Sam Rice hitter of the year (Morse):  Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Ian Desmond.  Hitter of the year award is supposed to take into consideration all-around hitting, situational hitting and base running.  The Nats just don't have an all-around hitter better than Zimmerman, despite having been hurt for two months.  Despite Werth's low average, his OBP and power ratios weren't too far off his career norms.

Frank Howard slugger of the year (Morse): Morse, Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos.  Morse was the unanimous winner in this category, and for good reason.  He homered in his last three games to get over the 30-homer plateau and will be due a huge raise in arbitration this off-season.

Joe Judge defensive player (Danny Espinosa):  Espinosa, Zimmerman, Ankiel.  Espinosa might have trailed off on offense in the second half, but he never took it into the field with him.  He was consistently excellent and give the Nats more range and arm at second than they've ever had before.

Mickey Vernon comeback player (Zimmermann):  Stephen Strasburg, Chien-Ming Wang, Jesus Flores.  There was no shortage of comeback players for the Nats this year, and most voters forgot that Jason Marquis was even on this team this season.  But no story is bigger to the success of this franchise than the return of a healthy Stephen Strasburg.  The season-ending 10-strikeout game will linger in the backs of Nats fans minds all winter long.

Josh Gibson humanitarian (Ian Desmond):  Desmond, Storen, Zimmerman.  No player gives more of his time in the community than Desmond, though Storen gives him a run for his money.  Zimmerman's foundation's gala attracts a lot of attention too.

Minor League POY (Bryce Harper):  Harper, David Freitas, Tom Milone.  This voting was ridiculously close, with one point separating Harper and Brad Peacock, whom I did not vote for.  Harper destroyed Single-A and struggled a bit to start at Double-A, but was seriously heating up when he pulled his hamstring, ending his season.  Looking forward to the Arizona Fall League.

Biggest surprise?  Ryan Mattheus.  He over-performed what I expected in a big way.

Biggest disappointment?  Jayson Werth.

Will Zim re-sign before end of 2012?  No. I think this one goes the long route.

Which players on the 40-man won't be back?  Cora, Pudge, Gomes, Nix, Slaten, Livo, Gorzy, Bixler, Balester, Ramirez, Bernadina, Severino.

Favorite Pro Writer:  Mark Zuckerman.  Facts, stats, opinions.  Mark puts it all out there.

Favorite Non-Pro Writer:  Patrick Reddington.  His volume of work is unparalleled.

Join us for "Nats News Weekly" on PrimeSportsNetwork.com today at 5:30 pm as Greg Depalma and I will break down the first half of the Washington Nationals season, what to look for in the second half, and what we would do if we were GM Mike Rizzo.

We go LIVE at 5:30 pm, and you can join us in the discussion at 1-877-244-0585 with comments, questions, or predictions.  Click the link above for the LIVE RADIO FEED on PrimeSportsNetwork.com.

Another eposide of Nationals Lunchbox on CSNWashington.com hosted by Kelli Johnson, featuring yours truly and Patrick Reddington from Federal Baseball.

Please enjoy.

Earlier today I appeared on 106.7 The Fan with LaVar Arrington and Bill Rohland to talk Washington Nationals. Click below to listen to the segment.  It was a lot of fun and thanks to LaVar, Bill and The Fan for having me on.

In my piece for MASNSports.com this morning, I rained on everyone's parade that now expects the Washington Nationals to continue to win at a 13 out of 15 pace the rest of the season.  I kinda kept my mouth shut once the winning streak really got rolling, but now that the Nats have lost three of four and folks are actually starting to complain about the fact that Davey Johnson hasn't won a game as manager yet (in two games!), I thought a dose of reality might help keep things in perspective.

NatsTown, there are a lot of good things to look forward to with this team.  It's young and talented up the middle in the infield, has some really good arms in the bullpen, has a potential No. 2 type starter recovering from Tommy John surgery, several high-ceiling prospects not too far away from the Major Leagues, and the game's best third baseman when healthy.  That is certainly a lot to like.

But the roster, as it's constructed right now, is not of competing quality.  There's exactly one starting pitcher on this roster that will be part of the Nats first legitimate contending team.  They have one-third of a competitive starting outfield (that is, if the right fielder can find himself), and they are depending too much on a rookie second baseman and 29-year old slugger that is getting his first opportunity to play full-time.

The Nats were on a hot streak, one so pronounced that folks got a little too excited about what was going on.  So let's keep things in perspective.  It's good that there are things to be optimistic about, but let's keep that optimism grounded in reality.

Join us at 4:00 pm on PrimeSportsNetwork.com for a special edition of "Nats News Weekly" LIVE internet radio, as we discuss Jim Riggleman's resignation, possible replacements, and how the Nationals move forward from this fiasco.

MLB.com beat writer Bill Ladson will join us in the discussion.  You can too, by calling 877-244-0585 with your comments or questions.

Should be a fun half hour.  Join us, won't you?

We were asked to participate in the first episode of "Nationals Lunchbox", what we hope will be a recurring program covering the Washington Nationals, on CSNWashington.com.  CSN's Kelli Johnson was our host, and we were joined by Federal Baseball's Patrick Reddington. We talked about the possible Nationals representitive in this year's All-Star Game, phenom Bryce Harper, and the upcoming amateur draft. Please enjoy.

In my latest for MASNSports.com, I take a look at the Washington Nationals upcoming schedule, where after they complete the ongoing series with the New York Mets, they host the World Series champion San Francisco Giants before setting out on a 10-day, nine-game road trip against Philly, Florida and Atlanta.

It would be a brutal test regardless, but made even more daunting by the fact the team is still without their best player, Ryan Zimmerman, who just yesterday started light baseball activities.  He'll need a rehab stint once he's comfortable taking batting practice, so he's still at least a week to ten days away.

The Nats really need their best players to start playing well, and that includes free agent signees Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche.  Both were supposed to be "impact players", but neither are hitting higher than .240 right now.  Add the shocking number of outfield errors by Werth (he committed his third last night), and it's been a recipe for disaster.

Please click through at the link above and read the rest of the story.

Here's a plug for my guest blogging spot on MASN.com today.

In my first piece, I wanted to try to convey where I come from with regards to my approach to covering the Washington Nationals.

I'm a big believer in the statistical side of baseball.  To me 100 years of evidence is strong enough to convince me that "the right way to play the game" is not always the best way to play the game.

The other thing I wanted to get across is to remind folks that baseball -- and sports in general -- are supposed to be a diversion from the mundane and misery in our lives, not add to it.  It's okay to take sports seriously, but also take time to enjoy it.  You, and everyone around you, will feel better for it.

Anyway, I hope you like the piece, and I'll have a new post every day this week for MASN.com.  And thanks to the fine folks over there, specifically editor Pete Kerzel and Nats Buzz columnist Kristen Hudak for allowing me the space this week.

Our friends at C70 at the Bat, a respected St. Louis Cardinals blog and founding member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, asked us to help them out with a series they call "Playing Pepper", where they ask a few questions about the upcoming season to bloggers and independent journalists for all the big league teams.

We were honored that they asked for our opinion about the Washington Nationals and you can find the article here.

Less than two weeks until real baseball.

The DC Chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association conducted a survey of its members (independent journalists, websites and blogs) on a variety of topics concerning the 2011 Washington Nationals.  The results can be found here. 

It's particularly interesting to gauge the opinions of those that follow the team the closest on some of the position battles, team statistical leaders and wins projections for the upcoming season.

My answers and some analysis can be found below.

1. Who will lead the Nats in home runs? Ryan Zimmerman.  The third baseman is entering his peak seasons and his power indicators are still rising.

2. Who will lead the Nats in RBIs? Adam LaRoche.  No player on the team will benefit from hitting behind two on-base machines (Zimmerman, Werth) more than the new first baseman, expected to his fifth in the lineup against right-handed pitchers.

3. Who will led the Nats in stolen bases? Ian Desmond.  As the second year shortstop feels ore comfortable with his place in Jim Riggleman's lineup he'll utilize his good base stealing instincts.  I don't expect Nyjer Morgan to stay with this team all season.

4. Who will lead the Nats in wins? John Lannan.  I think the lefty is poised for a good season and he's the starter I feel most comfortable projecting not missing time with injury.

5. Who will lead the Nats in saves? Drew Storen.  I think Storen will eventually be given the job full-time,but I also think Jim Riggleman will play match-up a lot at the back end of his bullpen.

6. Who will lead the Nats in starts? Lannan.  Jordan Zimmermann is still recovering from his Tommy John surgery and it's entirely likely he'll miss some time with a sore/tired arm in his first full season back.

7. Which pitcher (Chien-Ming Wang, Yunesky Maya or Ross Detwiler) will make more starts for the Nats? Ross Detwiler.  The change in his mechanics and how he's thrown thus far this spring have me more optimistic on the young lefty than I've even been.

8. Which utility player (Rick Ankiel, Jerry Hairston or Alberto Gonzalez) will get more at bats for the Nats? Jerry Hairston.  I think Riggleman will find ways to get the versatile Hairston in the lineup. He could see time at second, short, third, center and left fields.

9. Which catcher will get them most at bats for the Nats? Wilson Ramos.  Ivan Rodriguez hurt the team at the plate last season except for the first 13 games of the season.  Ramos had a great winter league and has continued that success this spring.  He's ready for a full-time workload.

10. How many all-stars will the Nats have and whom? One, Ryan Zimmerman.  If he can avoid his yearly June swoon, this could be the year Zimmerman becomes a national star.

11. Number of wins and place in division? 72, Fourth.  I'm still tweaking my season projections, but I don't think it will fluctuate too much from 72.  As a reminder, I missed last season's win projection by just one (I had the Nats for 68 wins in 2010).

12. Most important development for 2011?  The successful recovery of Stephen Strasburg from Tommy John surgery.  There is no more important player to this franchise and his successful recovery is paramount to anything else that happens in NatsTown this summer.  It's a 12-18 month recovery process, and everyone will be watching and hoping Strasburg can follow Zimmermann's timetable and return to a major league mound in September.

We'll have another installment of "Nats Weekly" on PrimeSportsNetwork.com today at 5:15 pm.

Host Greg Depalma and I will talk about the Nats off-season moves and upcoming spring training.

If you want to join us live with a question or comment, the number is 877-244-0585.

Pitchers and catchers report in just a couple days!

Over at MASN.com last week, Ben Goessling had some interesting ideas about improving Major League Baseball's playofffs and bettering the game as a whole. You should definitely check out his thoughts and the comments to his post in conjunction with this column.

Ben's inspiration for his post was the fact that the cruddy Monday Night Football game between Tennessee and Jacksonville outdrew the Cliff Lee playoff masterpiece.

And yesterday, a radio host in San Diego threw out a little nugget about realignment in Major League Baseball.  I haven't seen or heard this anywhere else, nor has anyone I've been able to talk to.  But it's still interesting to think about.

Man, I love this debate.

I wrote my college senior thesis (remember, that was in 1989) for my sport and society class on expansion, relocation and the business of baseball. The two things I enjoy most in life are baseball and telling people how they should do things. It's the perfect combination.

So since the dialogue has been started, here are my ideas for improving baseball and restoring its prominence on America's sporting landscape.

Are all these ideas the best in the world? Maybe not. Too much of baseball is run by dollar signs and not common sense. The rest is run by traditionalists and close-minded thinkers. But it would be a much more fair place to watch baseball if these ideas were adopted.

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1) Eliminate divisions and return to the two-league format. Divisions were created because of expensive travel costs and the need to gin up rivalries for commerce. Neither is a factor anymore.

There are time-honored traditional rivalries that will withstand the elimination of the division format, and if the rivals continue to play in the same league they'll still play those rivals -- only a few times less than they do now -- making those games that much more special.

We all know the unbalanced schedule is in place so that MLB can feature 19 Yankees-Red Sox games a season spread out over four networks all season long. Eliminating a couple of those series isn't going to do any damage. In fact, under my plan more teams will get a chance to play and host the two biggest revenue-drivers in the league.

Returning to the league format does a couple of beneficial things. First, it allows for balanced scheduling (which I'll address below). It's the only way of ensuring a regular season produces the best teams to go to the playoffs.

Also, we'll have to move an N.L. team (back) to the A.L. so that we have an equal number of teams in each league, which is necessary for playoff implications. It's not fair that a 14-team league gets the same number of playoff teams a 16 team league does.

Next, it mitigates the financial advantage that the teams with the largest payrolls have.

Right now, the Yankees and Red Sox get to play non-contenders Baltimore and Toronto 19 times a season; Philly gets to play the Nats that many times. By spreading the competition out and expanding the playoffs (see below), it gives the traditional cellar dwellars in divisions dominated by large-payroll teams more of an opportunity to compete, and allows us to find out if the Yankees and Red Sox (and Rays, for that matter) are really that good or are feasting on poorly run ballclubs unfairly based simply on geography.

In addition, teams in the N.L. Central have to fight it out with five other teams in their division, while the A.L. West only has three division competitors. It's just not set up fairly. Leveling the playing field, by creating more competition and lessening the impact of unbridaled spending, should be the primary goal in any discussion about bettering Major League Baseball.

2) Institute true balanced schedules. Now that we have an uneven number of teams in each league, we'll have to change the way interleague play is factored in. My idea: Play each team in your league (14 others) ten games for a total of 140 games. That leaves 22 games for interleague (Nats played 18 interleague games last season).

Play a three- and four-game series against a "Geographic Rival" (Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, Nats-O's, etc.) for seven games, which leaves 15 games (five three-games series) to spread out among teams in the other league in an every-third-year cyclical, similar to how it is now.

With an uneven number of teams in each league, we'll have to have an interleague series going on at all times. Outrageous, you say? Eh, I'm numb to it by now.

The schedule-makers will all have ulcers, but that's why they invented computers.

3) Expand the number of playoff teams. Now that we have two 15-team leagues, we can send six teams in each league to the playoffs. That number is still right in line with the other sports without cheesing off the traditionalists.

Well, except Joe Morgan. His head will explode.

The teams that finish first and second in each league get a bye, teams three through six play a best of three at the higher seeds' park the Tuesday-Thursday immediately after the season. Then start the second round on Saturday, giving the top two teams five days off after the regular season, conveniently skipping each starter just once, and giving the survivor of the three-game series a day (or two) off as well.

Then compact the second and third rounds with one off day for each series. That's all you get in the regular season generally.

Reducing the off-days that much further forces teams, especially in the League Championship Series, to use their full rotation, one of my big pet peeves about the current playoff format. Let's make the playoffs about which teams are better, not who has the best three starters.

To take a week off the regular season because of the expanded playoffs, mandate Sunday double-headers once a month.

4) Start World Series games no later than 7:00 pm eastern time. Unless you want the league to die a slow, horrible death since no one under the age of 16 can stay up late enough to watch the end of a World Series game now. Sorry West Coasters.

5) Either eliminate or adopt the DH in both leagues. I don't really care which, but it's silly that in this day and age half of the teams in the Majors play with different rules than the other. It also adds to the competitive fairness come World Series time.

6) Base World Series home field advantage on regular season record. Even a dummy knows this is a good idea.

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The Washington, DC chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association announced their 2010 Nationals Player Achievement Awards earlier today.  There were some very interesting choices and individual votes, plus folks voted on their favorite professional and non-professional baseball writers.  If you read this blog, you'll want to check out the results.

Here's how I voted.

MVP:  Ryan Zimmerman/Adam Dunn/Josh Willingham.  Zimmerman was one of the most valuable players in the entire National League, not surprising he earned every single first place vote on the ballots.  Dunn did what he always does, and everyone saw how important Hammer was -- when he wasn't there anymore.

SPoY:  Stephen Strasburg/Livan Hernandez/John Lannan.  Hernandez certainly well exceeded any expectation I had for him, but Strasburg's debut was electrifying.  He was dominant for those few starts he had, and that was enough to carry my vote.  Upon his return from the minors, Lannan was the same old John -- only better -- striking out ore and walking fewer.

RPoY:  Matt Capps/Sean Burnett/Tyler Clippard.  Capps wasn't as dominant as Burnett really, but he performed very well, was named the Nats lone All-Star, and was traded for the potential catcher of the future.  All around, job well done for a guy coming off a year of 5.80 ERA.  Clippard vultured his way into a bunch of wins and had some problems, but he was also damn near unhittable at times.

Hitter of the Year:  Zimmerman/Ian Desmond/no third place vote.  I fear the voters didn't read the description of this award as closely as the others, as base running and situational hitting were supposed to be taken into account in this category.  Perhaps a tweaking of the award description next season is in order.  Desi really came around once he was moved up in the order.

Slugger of the Year:  Dunn/Willingham/Michael Morse.  I left Zimmerman off my ballot here as I regard him as more than a slugger.  Morse made the most of the opportunities given him this season.

Defensive POY:  Danny Espinosa/Zimmerman/Alberto Gonzalez.  I really, honestly think if he gets 500-plus at bats next season, Espinosa will win the Gold Glove at second.  I think he's that good.  Zim had another fine year, but his constant sidearm throwing has me nervous.  Gonzo can play anywhere in the infield and has as good an arm as anyone.

Comeback POY:  Jordan Zimmermann/Matt Capps/Roger Bernadina.  I guess most folks thought Livo's comeback from sucking for three years was enough to garner the nod here.  J-ZImm's return from Tommy John in 51 weeks is nothing short of remarkable,and we can only hope Strasburg takes the same route in his rehab.  Bernie's return from his broken leg was good news too.

Humanitarian of the Year:  Capps/Lannan/Willingham.  It's kinda telling in the ballot that Capps finished out of the Top 3 overall, but received four first place votes -- the only people that voted for him.  He did more in less time for the good of the community.  Lannan shows up for everything, and Hammer's foundation and appearances put him on my list.

Minor Leaguer of the Year:  Espinosa/Tom Milone/Tyler Moore.  Espi charged through the ranks and produced at every level.  Milone averaged almost a K per inning and K/BB rate of 155/23 was outstanding at the Double-A level.  Moore's power streak in the middle season was ridiculous, but he'll have to prove himself next year as he was old for Single-A this season (23).

Go take a look at the totals, and let me know what you think in the comments.

I know that it's usually customary to thank your readership when the season is actually over, and I'll do it again at that time too, I'm sure.  But since this is the last weekend homestand I wanted to take a moment to say Thank You, to every single person that has read Nats News Network and Off the Field this season.

Despite all the losses, and the long hours Cheryl and I put into this, we've had a lot of fun experiencing baseball from "the inside" this season and being able to bring it to you.

Whatever happens in the future, we've both gained a tremendous amount of experience as credentialed internet writers and photographers this season and we wanted to thank you for being interested enough in what we had to say, to look at our photos, to debate us in the topic of the day, and just for clicking our link.

There's an awful lot of places you can get your Washington Nationals news, photos, commentary, opinion, analysis and debate.  We're humbled and grateful that you keep us on your list.

So, Thank You.

If you're in the park this weekend, please let us know, either by leaving a comment, email or tweeting us (@NatsNewsNetwork or @cnichols14) so we can come by and say thanks in person.  It would be great to put a face on the nicknames, aliases and anonymouses throughout the season and shake your hands for visiting our site.

BULLET-POINT STYLE!

• Dang, it's cold in Pittsburgh.  Definitely sweatshirts and jeans weather.
  
  
• First guy we see getting out of the parking garage was wearing a Penguins windbreaker and Steelers cap.  Naturally.
  
  
• The Nationals plan to recall Yuneski Maya, Collin Balester and Ross Detwiler on Monday, according to multiple reports.  You have to figure at this point Maya will slide right into Scott Olsen's spot in the rotation, and perhaps the Nats will do like they do with rehabbing starters in the minors on a four or five inning limit, and bring another starter in behind him after he gets his (hopefully) five innings in.  With Zimmermann, Livan, Lannan, Marquis, Maya, Detwiler and Olsen, that's seven starters for five rotation spots.
  
  
• Still buzzing about Danny Espinosa's first two games in the big leagues.  At 23, his glove is major league ready.  The play he made ranging far to his left to record a ground out in the middle of the game last night was on a ball that no one that's played second base this season evne gets close to making a play on.  It's going to be how well his bat plays, and his ability to get on base consistantly, that will tell what type of major leaguer he's going to be.  But with him at second and Desmond at short, there both be a lot of balls that sneak through the middle infield.
  
  
• For the last two days, Manager Jim Riggleman has had Espinosa and Desmond out on the field before batting practice working on exchanges on the double play.
  
  
• Third base coach Pat Listach had his suspension reduced from three games to two after speaking with the league offices.
  
  
• Finally, if you're in Pittsburgh for the games this weekend, find us in the park.  We'll be walking arounnd pre-game and we're in section 12 tonight and 115 on Sunday.  Mmm, Primanti Bros.

In case you missed it on our sister blog, Nats News Network--Off the Field, here is a reposting of our photo gallery from last night's still-remarkable debut of Stephen Strasburg.

Nats News Network special contributor, Anthony Amobi, posted a gallery in his personal site as well.  Here's the link for your further enjoyment.

Here are a few photos from Stephen Strasburg's MLB Debut......

Fans first look at Stephen Strasburg as he took to the field

for warmups at 6:24pm

Strasburg heading to dugout before game

Pitching Coach Steve McCatty with Strasburg heading to dugout before game

Strasburg in dugout before game

Strasburg pitching in first inning

Strasburg pitching in first inning

Strasburg throwing pitch to earn his first strike out (Former National Lastings Milledge)

Strasburg smiling after pitching 1st inning

Shaving cream pie bandit John Lannan strikes again!

Lannan and Olsen tag team....

Olsen gave Strasburg towels to wipe off face and then proceeded to shove another pie in his face! LOL. Mike Morse looks like he has one too. Nyjer Morgan is handing him the Silver Elvis wig.

Strasburg = Pie face and Silver Elvis!

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian with Strasburg

Fan celebrating "Strasmas"

All Photos 2010 © Cheryl Nichols Photography/

Nationals News Network. All Rights Reserved

With the advance in websites and blogs covering sports, and the general decline of the newspaper industry, leagues and teams are wrestling with how to incorporate new media into the traditional method of coverage for their product.

Some leagues and teams have been in the forefront with allowing access to websites and blogs to cover their team, while others have protected their intellectual property, choosing to only allow access to the traditional media and broadcast partners.

Last season, the Washington Nationals invited internet writers and bloggers to a series of "Blogger's Days", aiming at increasing their access and opening up a better line of communication between the team and the new media.

Now, the team is taking another step in incorporating the new media into the fold.

The Nats have invited five "On-line Only Media Outlets" to apply for full-season media credentials to cover the team. The five are: Nats News Network, Nationals Daily News (formerly Nats Pride), Federal Baseball, Nats Farm Authority, and Nats 320.

The team termed this a "trial program", describing the outlets invited as "news-gathering outlets". The credential access includes the manager's pre-game and post-game press conferences, batting practice, and press box access. It does not include (at this point) clubhouse access or access to the visiting team in any manner. The credentials also include photography.

The selected blogs are also subject to the rules and regulations for media access to MLB, and several team restrictions regarding access, conduct and performance.

The team considers this program a trial, and is open to the idea of further participation based on the success of the trial.

In addition, the team hired a Senior Manager of New Media.

During the off-season, the Washington Times eliminated the staff of their sports section, reducing the amount of already limited daily coverage of the Nationals. 

Both beat reporters, Ben Goessling and Mark Zuckerman have both found gigs covering the team, Goessling at MASN.com and Zuckerman for CSN Washington and his own blog, Nats Insider.

With the large part of the coverage of the team now decidedly in the "On-line Only" genre (including MLB.com's Bill Ladson), it was a logical conclusion that the team would reach out to a few of the independent sites that were dedicated to a primarily "news-gathering" format in order to increase the amount and quality of daily coverage of the Nationals.

It's a new day for media coverage of sports teams.  The Nationals should be credited here for their efforts for introducing this program.  Hopefully it leads to better, more varied ocverage of the Nationals for the 2010 season.

On the eve of Opening Day 2010, I'm going to go out on a limb and publish some highly debatable predicitons.  I'd love to hear any feedback you might have, and if you want to leave predicitons of your own in the comments, we can compare when the season is over.

Or, if you just want to rip mine mercilessly anonymously, that's ok too.

2010 Record:  Let's get the big one out of the way.  Honestly, last year's team suffered from such horrendous luck in the first half of the season, it would be almost impossible for this edition not to be better.

The turnaround had less to do with Riggleman taking over for Acta and more to the bullpen normalizing, Josh Willingham playing every day and Nyjer Morgan playing out of his head.

However, I don't think the Nats have made themselves that much better, and certainly not as much as the kool-aid drinkers think. 

The bullpen has more question marks than on the Riddler's costume from the old Batman TV series.  The rotation for the first two months will be Lannan, Marquis and three revolving doors.  Right field will be full of non-OBP slap-and-dashers.  And everyone that prays better tune the big guy up so that Willingham stays healthy, or the five hole will be a black hole.

Morgan won't hit as well as hit did during that six-week stretch last summer.  Guzman has one more year of being an albatross and will eat at bats Desmond should get.  And Dunn's defense at first just isn't going to get better.

All that said, I think this team will manage to make a ten-game or so improvement, which is relatively huge.  I'm setting the bar at 68 wins.

Biggest Pleasant Surprise:  Adam Kennedy.  I was originally against his signing, fearing that it would signal the end of Ian Desmond on the big club.  But as things have shaken out, I think Kennedy will provide decent production and passable defense.

Biggest Disappointment:  Matt Capps.  I don't think he's fully recovered from arm injuries he had two seasons ago in Pittsburgh, and if he leads this team with saves I will be very surprised.  At least it was a one-year deal.  And if he IS leading the team in saves come the trade deadline and he isn't moved...well, I guess that's just status quo.

Honorable Mention:  Ivan Rodriguez.  Anyone hoping for Pudge circa 2004 will be sorely disappointed.

Most Critical Decision of the Year:  To sign, or not sign, Adam Dunn to a long-term deal.  I'm on the record saying the team should move Dunn at the deadline to an AL team for what the going rate will be this year.  I think it's a big mistake to tie up money and a position to a 30-plus player with a skill set that does not age well and plays terrible defense.

That said, I think Rizzo re-signs him.

What's Strasburg Going To Do:  I see Saint Stephen dominating Double-A for five starts, moving up and having much the same success at Triple-A for another 5-6 starts (in five/six inning chunks) and getting the call just after Memorial Day when his "Super Two" status will pass, thus allowing the Nats to keep him from becoming a free agent a year early and adding another arbitration year.

Of course, if he becomes the pitcher we all think he will, the Nats should tie him up long-term before it gets to that.  But that's another story.

Bottom line once he reaches the bigs:  I think he'll get around 15 carefully managed starts, average around eight strikeouts per nine innings, and be prone to the gopher ball.

What About Wang?:  I think Wang will return around the all-star break (he was put on the 60-day DL today) and eventually look serviceable.  He never blew anyone way, and I think he'll be better next year than this year.  But I think he does come back and does contribute.  It could turn out to be Rizzo's shrewdest move.

Team Leaders

HRs:  Dunn with 41

RBIs:  Zimmerman with 105

Steals:  Morgan with 40 (and 15 caught stealing)

Wins:  Lannan with 12

Losses:  Marquis with 14

Saves:  Bruney with 18

Lastly, Looking Ahead:  I think Desmond gets 450 at bats, has 15 homers and 20 steals, and probably 30 errors.  Live with it this year, he'll be worth it.

Jordan Zimmermann gets four starts at the end of the season and reminds everyone why they're so high on him.

Drew Storen comes up with Strasburg at Memorial Day and initially is used in the sixth-seventh inning.  Capps and Bruney both keep getting save opportunities until the trade deadline, then Storne takes over.  I'll say he gets eight saves this year and is annointed for next season.

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There you go, some bold and sure to be wrong predicitons for 2010.  Please make sure when you rip me in the comments you refrain from vulgarity.

Seriously, it might not sound like I'm looking forward to covering the team this year with some of the dour comments and predictions.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I'm looking forward to this season so much it hurts.

But I'm also trying to take a realistic outlook to what's going on and not just relying on hope and marketing to believe this season will be much different than last season.  It won't be.  But there is hope coming.  You'll just have to look carefully for it this season, and especially early on.