On a team with a lineup that requires few pinch hitters and even fewer defensive replacements, the Nationals' bench players, Chad Tracy, Steve Lombardozzi, Tyler Moore and Roger Bernadina, are faced with a difficult transition.
If ever there's a person who could use some good fortune, it is Ramos. Saying he had a difficult stretch doesn't do justice to what the young Venezuelan went through.
Harper homered in his first two at-bats to account for the only scoring and Strasburg pitched seven shutout innings as the defending NL East champs opened their 2013 campaign.
Washington opened its 2013 season Monday at Nationals Park with a 2-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. No offense to all the others who took part. The day was about The Top Pick Twins and all about The Top Pick Twins.
Talented but inconsistent Henry Rodriguez will be in the bullpen to open the season for the Washington Nationals. He can be maddening but it is still too early to give up on him.
Bill Millsaps is a former sports editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. During a long and distinguished career, he won multiple Virginia sports writer of the year awards and he was named The Associated Press Sports Editors' Red Smith Award winner in 2011.
White cinder block walls lead the way. Past the security guard in need of a cup of coffee just after 8 a.m. on a cool March morning. Through the makeshift clubhouse kitchen at Space Coast Stadium where three plug-in griddles serve up pancakes and eggs with toppings stored in plastic containers.
The Nationals' roster doesn't have many weak spots heading into the 2013 season, but the front office always keeps an eye on the future. Here are some players in Washington's farm system who could fill key roles in upcoming seasons.
The sun beat down on the field at Space Coast Stadium one day this spring as Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson approached his second baseman. Danny Espinosa was busy doing infield work during batting practice, fielding ground balls and practicing his footwork.
