In his office at Nationals Park Sunday morning, Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson sat relaxed at his desk, feet up, discussing what the rain pounding the D.C. area and washing away his team's finale with the Miami Marlins did to his pitching staff. Published April 22 2012
Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman said that the right shoulder inflammation that caused him to be a late scratch Saturday afternoon “felt a lot better” on Sunday morning. With the Nationals game against the Marlins getting rained out, Zimmerman will get three straight days to rest the shoulder and saw no reason he wouldn’t be in the starting lineup Tuesday night in San Diego. Published April 22 2012
The Washington Nationals got their first series sweep of the season Sunday afternoon when rain washed away their finale with the Miami Marlins. Having won the first two games of the series, the Nationals wrapped up an 8-2 homestand with their fifth straight series victory. Published April 22 2012
Ryan Zimmerman called the right shoulder injury that kept him out of Saturday’s game “really, really nothing.” The third baseman was a late scratch against the Marlins with what the team is calling “mild inflammation," but insisted there is no structural damage in Zimmerman's shoulder. Published April 21 2012
Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was a late scratch from the Nationals lineup Saturday afternoon due to mild right shoulder inflammation, according to a Nationals spokesman. Published April 21 2012
With closer Drew Storen rehabbing from elbow surgery, manager Davey Johnson has turned to Brad Lidge and Henry Rodriguez in the final frame. Most of the time, he’s alternated the two relievers. But in the past two save opportunities, Johnson put the ball in Rodriguez’s hand. Could this be a sign that the 25-year-old who Johnson called the “new guy on the block” is the go-to closer? Published April 21 2012
After getting a night off Friday, Wilson Ramos is back in the lineup to catch the 23-year-old right-handed pitcher. Chad Tracy will start at first base in place of Adam LaRoche, while Xavier Nady makes his second straight start in left field. Published April 21 2012
Chronicling the epic 14-pitch at-bat between the two in the eighth inning. Published April 21 2012
Washington Nationals outfielder Brett Carroll remains in limbo after the team designated him for assignment last Saturday. Carroll was DFA'd when the Nationals needed space on the 25-man roster for center fielder Rick Ankiel, who was coming off the disabled list. The Nationals had 10 days to try and trade Carroll and a club source said the team had been making a few calls to gauge the interest in the 29-year-old outfielder but there doesn't appear to be anything imminent in the way of a deal. Published April 20 2012
Xavier Nady got the start in left field Friday night as the Nationals faced the Miami Marlins and right-hander Carlos Zambrano. While manager Davey Johnson had been rotating Nady, fellow right-hander Mark DeRosa and lefty Roger Bernadina at the position, he said Friday he plans to give the majority of the playing time there to Nady and Bernadina for now. Published April 20 2012
The Washington Nationals will open their second divisional series of the season tonight when they welcome Ozzie Guillen and the Miami Marlins to Nationals Park. Published April 20 2012
Good evening from Nationals Park. An ideal night for baseball, but not much of a crowd on hand. Between the Caps-Bruins game and an Astros' lineup even the hardest core fans would have have trouble recognizing, it's not surprising. Published April 19 2012
The Washington Nationals won their 10th game of the season Wednesday night. In half of those wins, they've taken the lead in the eighth inning or later. When you think about it, that's a pretty ridiculous statistic. Published April 19 2012
Washington Nationals right-hander Chien-Ming Wang threw 35 pitches in a simulated game on Wednesday, the first time since March 15 that the sinkerballer has faced live hitters -- and a big step in his recovery from a strained left hamstring. Published April 18 2012
Jayson Werth and Brad Lidge spent three years on the same roster in Philadelphia and whether from the outfield or the dugout, Werth watched Lidge lock down 112 saves for the Phillies. They weren't all pretty. So when Lidge entered the Nationals' 1-0 victory over the Astros in the ninth inning Tuesday night, looking for his second save of the season and trying for the second time to lock down a superb Gio Gonzalez start, Werth knew what to expect. And when Lidge gave up a leadoff double and then walked the next batter? Published April 17 2012
Edwin Jackson was walking around the Nationals' clubhouse Tuesday afternoon showing off his latest piece of jewelry -- and this was one that everyone wanted to see. Jackson was called into manager Davey Johnson's office early Tuesday for a "surprise." Waiting for him was his 2011 World Series ring, won as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Published April 17 2012
Monday night, Stephen Strasburg took the mound and pitched for six innings. Nationals owner Ted Lerner was in attendance, as were 16,245 fans. It was the smallest Nationals Park crowd the 23-year-old phenom has ever pitched in front of. Published April 17 2012
Stephen Strasburg found himself in something of a jam Monday night. No outs, the bases loaded and the most accomplished hitter in the Houston Astros lineup, Carlos Lee, at the plate. Lee connected with a 1-0 fastball from Strasburg and skied it into center field. On third, Astros speedy leadoff man Jordan Schafer prepared to tag up. Then Washington Nationals center fielder Rick Ankiel fielded the ball and unleashed his left arm (link to video). The ball rocketed in to catcher Wilson Ramos on a straight line. Ramos, positioned in front of the plate, didn't move an inch. The ball hit his glove chest-high. Schafer didn't even bother trying. Plus notes on Ramos and Stephen Strasburg. Published April 17 2012
Washington Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa was out of the starting lineup on Monday, a mental break as Nationals manager Davey Johnson put it. The day off came as a surprise to the second baseman, who has maintained an extremely positive outlook and is happy with his approach at the plate despite the hits not falling for him just yet. Plus lineups. Published April 16 2012
Washington Nationals right-hander Chien-Ming Wang will throw a simulated game on Wednesday, the first time he'll face live hitters since straining his left hamstring on March 15. Published April 16 2012
By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
