"'The Braves pitched two or three good games against us,' [Davey Johnson] said. 'I like where we’re at. I wouldn’t want to switch places with ’em. Our destiny is in our own hands. We’ve been consistent and resilient all year.'"

Tonight's game cancelled, via @Nationals on teh tweeters. Details to follow, rumors of 4:00/7:00 DH tomorrow

Thankfully for us all, Rob Dibble took time away from his busy work formulating a response to Immanuel Kant's A Critique of Pure Reason...

"[Jordan] Zimmermann recognizes the difference between the decision the Nationals made with him and the one they have made with Strasburg. On the day Zimmermann made his final start of 2011, the Nationals were 18 ½ games out of first place with 30 games to play. This year, the Nationals will be in the middle of a playoff race when they remove Strasburg.

"It would be pretty tough," Zimmermann said. "I’m sure that he’ll have a little something to say. I don’t know if he can change [Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo’s] mind or not. We’ll see when the time comes. We all want him to pitch, but we definitely want him to stay healthy and have him for the long haul, too."

I’m definitely not content. I’m always looking to do better. With everything that happened, everything that was perceived about me, everything that was spread throughout the Washington media, it was a bad rap. I felt like the Washington media was throwing me out there, trying to ruin my career.

"'The group of players that Washington has drafted over the past few years is incredible. To be included with a group of players mentioned above is really humbling for me. It’s an honor to get to play pro ball, but to be able to play with such a good group of guys committed to getting better makes it that much more fun.'"

September 30, 1971:

"The game took place in Washington, and the Senators rooters weren’t about to go out quietly. The news had broken the week before that the team was moving to Texas. This, predictably, infuriated the fans."

"But there's the Bryce Harper you don't know. This Bryce Harper isn't all that interesting. He signs autographs. He runs out ground balls. He declines interviews because he doesn't want to give off the vibe that he's better than his teammates..."

"I’ll tell you this, I talked to a few players and I talked to Mike Rizzo at length, and the players and Davey Johnson, they’re pretty pleased," [Kevin] Kennedy said. "There is no question [Jim Riggleman] had lost the clubhouse way before this."

WaPost's D.C.Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg:

"This one was a gem, especially when Murray pointed out that Riggleman was suggesting his ultimatum to Mike Rizzo had a much longer back story than the media have reported."

"'I’m not suggesting it; that’s a fact,' Riggleman said. 'But I read the papers. I read that nonsense Tom Boswell writes, and I’ll say this: Tom Boswell has tried to be the impetus behind me not being the manager here for a long time. He is a master of the half-truth. A half-truth can be more dangerous than a lie. He prints just enough nonsense that can paint a picture.'"