Nationals Watch

Amanda Comak covers the Washington Nationals for The Washington Times.

• Notes from the Nationals’ Wednesday workout

  Nationals coaches aren't telling Davey Johnson how good Bryce Harper looks in batting practice; Mattheus impresses, Rodriguez still absent and other notes from Wendesday's workout. Published February 22 2012 · Comment

• Matt Purke takes realistic view on time in major league camp

  Matt Purke was focusing on his first bullpen of major league camp Wednesday morning when Nationals manager Davey Johnson walked up behind him and called to him in Spanish. Published February 22 2012 · Comment

• Feeling as healthy as he has since 2009, DeRosa ready to help Nationals win

  The video is a strange one to watch. Mark DeRosa stands in against Clayton Kershaw at Dodger Stadium last year, cocking his bat ever so slightly above his right shoulder. Kershaw delivers a pitch in the dirt and before DeRosa can even begin his swing, he reacts, drops his bat and brings his already twice repaired left wrist in toward his chest. "I'm done," DeRosa mouths as the San Francisco Giants trainers come out to see what's clearly causing him immense pain. A tendon in his wrist, the same one that DeRosa had operated on after the 2009 season and again during the 2010 season, had ruptured. It was possibly the best thing that could have happened to DeRosa. Published February 22 2012 · Comment

• Nationals window for a contract extension with Ryan Zimmerman before next offseason down to just a few days

  Washington Nationals' position players aren't required to report to spring training until Thursday. By then, Ryan Zimmerman will have been around for nearly a week, preparing for his seventh spring training with the Nationals. How many more he'll have with them, though, is the biggest question surrounding the Nationals' Face of the Franchise as he welcomes his first spring with a season to follow that'll contain any real hope of winning. Zimmerman will be a free agent after the 2013 season and getting an extension done is at the top of the priority list for both the player and the team. But there are always deadlines and Zimmerman's set an informal one that makes the next few days paramount. Negotiations, he's said, would not be preferable once spring training begins in earnest on Saturday with the first full-squad workout. Published February 22 2012 · Comment

• Notes from the Nationals first official spring workout

  Notes on Stephen Strasburg, Chien-Ming Wang, Henry Rodriguez, Drew Storen and Gio Gonzalez Published February 21 2012 · Comment

• Chris Marrero arrives in camp but torn hamstring will limit him

  This was supposed to be the camp where Chris Marrero never saw the inside of the Nationals' minor league complex. It was supposed to be the season where Marrero, the Nationals' first-round draft pick in 2006, served as the right-handed compliment to Adam LaRoche at first base, a valuable bat for manager Davey Johnson. It was what the Nationals had in mind when they welcomed Marrero to the major leagues last year in late August. But a torn hamstring that required surgery in November, suffered while he was playing in the Dominican Winter League, eliminated any shot at any of that for Marrero. Published February 21 2012 · Comment

• Defining a role for Steve Lombardozzi

  The Washington Nationals' roster lists infielder Steve Lombardozzi at 170 pounds. At the end of the season, the Nationals told him to "have a good offseason, work hard and come ready to compete." Even if you don't count the bushy beard he grew over the winter, Lombardozzi checked into spring training at least 25 pounds heavier than that figure would lead you to believe. Published February 20 2012 · Comment

• How the Nationals outfield shapes up after the retirement of Mike Cameron

  When Nationals general manger Mike Rizzo's phone rang last Wednesday the man on the other end of the line was throwing a small wrench into his outfield plans. Mike Cameron was planning to retire, he told Rizzo, and the GM tried to talk him out of it. Think on it for a few days, he said. Cameron did. It was time to hang it up. Published February 20 2012 · Comment

• LaRoche happy with shoulder progress: “It feels like the old me.”

  Adam LaRoche made his first appearance in the Nationals' clubhouse Monday morning and spent just a few minutes unpacking before he and his surgically repaired left shoulder left to go hit and workout. It was a good sign for LaRoche that he was able to get right to work after arriving in Viera, but he didn't dance around the health of the labrum in his left shoulder. Published February 20 2012 · Comment

• Anthony Rendon makes himself at home in big league camp

  Wearing a lime green sweatshirt and cargo shorts, Anthony Rendon walked into the Nationals clubhouse Monday morning for the first time and looked around. "I feel like I'm a freshman back at rice," said the No. 6 overall pick in last year's draft. "I'm the rookie again. Published February 20 2012 · Comment

• Nationals won’t manipulate Strasburg’s innings (UPDATED)

  The Washington Nationals have made no secret that they will have Stephen Strasburg on an innings limit this season. What the exact number of innings will be they have not divulged. This much is certain: There are no plans to force Strasburg to skip starts or otherwise manipulate the innings to keep him pitching deeper into the season. Once that limit is hit, he'll be shut down. Published February 20 2012 · Comment

• Desmond switches to No. 20 in honor of Frank Robinson

  By now, Washington Nationals fans are used to seeing Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa up the middle on defense. They'll still be seeing them there this year but with different numbers on their backs. Espinosa swapped out his team-issued No. 18 this season in favor of No. 8, the number he's always worn, and Desmond is changing from No. 6 to No. 20, the number Frank Robinson used to wear as manager. Published February 19 2012 · Comment

• Strasburg wants to be “just another donkey.”

  The first year, Stephen Strasburg was the phenom, the guy with the golden arm, and the biggest question was whether or not the Nationals would allow their prized pitcher to skip the minor leagues altogether. The second year, he was the guy who could look but not touch. The road back from Tommy John ligament reconstruction surgery was only part-way paved and Strasburg was mostly spectator while the rest of his teammates prepared for a season in which he'd have little impact. This year, finally, for Strasburg, it's about baseball, and now he can be "just another donkey," as San Diego State University pitching coach Eric Valenzuela calls him to this day. Published February 19 2012 · Comment

• Mike Cameron to retire after 17 seasons

  Mike Cameron spent parts of the last 17 years playing major league baseball. He was set to begin his 18th with the Washington Nationals but the 39-year-old outfielder decided instead to call it a career. (UPDATED: Cameron offers comment via twitter.) Published February 19 2012 · Comment

• Taking one last crack at projecting the Nationals’ Opening Day 25-man roster

  Washington Nationals pitchers and catchers are due to report Sunday but most of them already have checked in at Space Coast Stadium to get the 2012 season underway. Published February 18 2012 · Comment