Wire Taps: Davey Johnson-Led Washington Nationals Take On Frank-Bumping Mike Scioscia's Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim.

• Programming Notes: These are renamed the lunchtime links today, because Federal Baseball was resting up for tonight's 10:05 pm EDT game between the Nats and Angels at the Angels Stadium of Anaheim. John Lannan's trying to continue his winning ways against LAA tonight, with Ervin Santana on the mound for the Angels. The Nats have won five of their last six, and they're 13-2 in their last 15 games to leave them two games over .500 with three games left on their current road trip and an 11-game homestand to follow their west coast swing. Davey Johnson debuts on the bench tonight at 10:05 pm EDT. MASN HD, MLB.tv, 106.7 the FAN in D.C., 1500 WFED and Sirius/XM channel 182. Who's Watching The Nationals?

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• NATS BEAT: 

• "'He lets you play. He teaches the game. He understands the game. But the teaching and all that stuff, it’s all about winning. He was good to me.'" - Alex Cora on Davey Johnson - "The Nationals player who played under Davey Johnson" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "The move is one Rizzo acknowledged he had in the back of his mind when he asked Johnson to join his front office staff." - "Johnson the right(hand) man for the job" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Winning an interleague series on the West Coast, of course, will be the sternest test of whether the Nationals are ready to consistently play better on the road and in interleague games." - "The Nationals win a rare American League road series" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "'We're all really happy we got a chance to win for him,' Storen said. 'Mac's one of my favorite people in the game. So it really means a lot to have him be part of my career.'" - "Nats send McLaren out a winner" - Mark Zuckerman, CSNWashington.com

• "Now, partially because Jim Riggleman has the courage of his convictions, Johnson has moved from the Nationals' cabinet to their Oval Office dugout." - "Davey can enhance Nats' development in DC" - Marty Noble, nationals.com: News

• "But as Humber’s 85 mph slider barreled down the middle of the plate, lower than the changeup he’d pulled foul, Espinosa had found the one." - "Espinosa's homer leads Nats to series win over White Sox" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "Teams hire twice-fired managers with bad records all the time. Four-time losers? Not really." -  Unusual midseason managerial departures" - Chris Jaffe, The Hardball Times

• "The Nationals have overcome their slumping big bats with pitching, defense and two of the hottest hitters in the National League." - "How the Nationals keep winning" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "And [the Angels] always play well against the National League; they're 127-83 all-time in interleague play, the best record in the majors." - "Series preview: Nats at Angels" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "Lannan, who will take the mound in the series opener against the Angels, has won his last three decisions and has recorded six consecutive quality starts." - "Washington Nationals at Los Angeles Angels: Nationals' Johnson debuts against Angels" - Tom Green, MLB.com Preview

• "In [Davey] Johnson's case, it appears he's less likely to issue intentional walks, and likes to put runners in motion, though not necessarily a proponent of the stolen base." - "Tonight's the night" - Phil Wood, MASNSports.com

• "'It's sad,' said left-hander Sean Burnett of McLaren's departure. 'It's unfortunate for him. One man's decision affects other people's lives.'" - "A few observations as the Nationals turn the page on an interesting four days" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "'You automatically go into Plan B mode and try to think outside the box and make the decision rationally, clearly,' Rizzo said." - "Johnson to manage Nats through this season" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "Anger cannot be overcome by anger. If a person shows anger to you, and you show anger in return, the result is a disaster." - 

• NATS MINOR LEAGUE UPDATES: 

• Class-A Auburn: "Sunday did have its bright spots for Auburn though. Hendry Jimenez, Russell Moldenhauer, and Matt Skole all extended their hitting streaks to seven games each." - "Home Woes Continue in Loss to Williamsport" - Auburn Doubledays News

• Class-A Hagerstown: "Washington Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to have his first minor league rehab appearance Monday with the Hagerstown Suns." - "Nats Wang to pitch for Suns Monday" - Hagerstown Suns News

• Class-A Potomac: Justino Cuevas - 3 for 4, 1 2B, 2 RBI's, .391 AVG; Cameron Selik - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K - Potomac Nationals Scoreboard

• Double-A Harrisburg: "Shairon Martis pitched 8.1 innings, the longest outing this year for a Senators' starter. Martis struck out 10 and was lifted after allowing a one-out double in the ninth to Starling Marte." - "Shairon Martis leads the Senators to a sweep of Altoona" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News

• Triple-A Syracuse: "Lefthander Ross Detwiler allowed just one earned run in five innings for his sixth victory of the season." - "Valdez, Chiefs slam Wings 9-2" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• "Monday’s News & Notes" - NationalsProspects.com

• "[Doug] Harris said Peacock has turned a corner that every future major league hurler needs to get to and that is mastering the art of confusing the batter." - "Peacock's slight adjustment keys pitching consistency" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• Must Read: "It is a widely accepted belief that the jump from Hi-A to AA baseball is the hardest jump that a minor league baseball player as to make in his career..." - "The Jump" - Ryan Tatusko, The Backfield Diaries

• SHARKNATSTOWN: 

• "Some people have been questioning the origin and motives behind "The Shark" nickname.  I hope this catch helps put those questions to rest." - "Shark Robs Donkey, Game Goes on FOREVER" - Sharkadina: Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog

• NATSTOWN: 

• "I just have to wonder this:  What's in it for Davey?  Why did he agree to take on the task of guiding this team for the next three months..." - "Nationals Officially Hire Davey Johnson as Manager for 2011 Only" - Dave Nichols, NatsNewsNetwork

• "[Marquis'] K/9 is right on line with his career average. But that low walk rate has made everything else look better, including the Nats themselves." - "Marquis Best Season" - Charlie, The Nationals Review

• "It's too bad MacLaren won’t be around. He would have been a valuable resource as a bench coach for Davey Johnson, who takes over as the new Nationals manager tonight." - "McLaren Makes Impact On His Way Out" leslie4 - District on Deck

• "...and the Nats are rolling. Don't go and change anything, okay Davey?" - "Don't F*%k This Up, Davey" - Nats Enquirer

• "How they are winning is by dominating on the pitching end, and there is nothing different about those guys then there was a month ago." - "The great even-ing out" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "Bryce Harper’s brother and former College of Southern Nevada teammate Bryan Harper and his South Carolina Gamecock teammates will open the College World Series championship series tonight..." - "Bryce Harper’s Brother Bryan In College World Series Championship Series" - Harpermania.com

• "But the Nats' fortunes are changing. Instead of going in a funk when their best hitters are struggling, others - most notably Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa - are picking up that slack." - "New era for Nationals baseball?" - Nationals Buzz: Dave Nichols at MASNSports.com

• "The Angels, who won two out of three against the Dodgers this past weekend, will send all right-handers to the mound this week." - "A peek ahead: Nats conclude interleague play in Anaheim" - Mike Henderson, Hendo's Hutch | Washington Nationals Daily News

• NL EAST UPDATES: 

• Braves: "The pitcher with the highest Fangraphs WAR on the Braves is… Tim Hudson? Yeah, seemed like a surprise to me as well. Actually, he’s tied for the lead with Tommy Hanson at 1.9, but still." - "Tim Hudson Surging" - Ben Duronio, Capitol Avenue Club

• Mets: "Immediately after the series finale, which the Mets won 4-1 against the A's at Citi Field, Wilpon scolded the team for not retaliating, two clubhouse witnesses told ESPNNewYork.com." -"Sources: Jeff Wilpon chides New York Mets for not retaliating" - Adam Rubin, ESPN New York

• Marlins: "Marlins catcher John Buck did get a piece of the ball to keep it from going to the backstop and it was a pretty close play at the plate. Had Ackley been dozing off at the bag and not broken immediately, he'd likely have been out." - "Dustin Ackley kept his head in the game and secured his team a win" - Geoff Baker, Mariners Blog, Seattle Times Newspaper

• Phillies: "The pre-season hype was quite exaggerated. 'Best rotation of all time,' some would say. 'Historically great,' others crowed." - "Believe the Hype" - Bill Baer, Crashburn Alley

• Dunn-Hate Section: "You could argue — what the heck I will argue — that Adam Dunn in 2011 is the single least enjoyable player to watch in baseball history." - (h/t to @RoscoeNats on Twitter for this one, and sorry Dunn-Lovers) - Posts The Least Exciting Player Ever" - Joe Posnanski, SI.com