The best news of the entire winter came out yesterday. I call it the best news not because the news is really that good or meaningful, but for the fact that it is two to three months early. Soon pitchers and catchers will start reporting to Florida and Arizona, and sports writers will need a story. They will find out that Livan Hernandez played racket ball or Balester was doing p90x, but whatever the players were doing one thing will be for certain they are ITBSOHL(In The Best Shape Of His Life). This is Stephen Strasburg's main goal coming back from Tommy John's. --Byron Kerr from masnsports.com
Seriously what does it say about me that ITBSOHL articles excite me more than the Jayson Werth signing. I don't even think I want to try and understand how my brain works. On to more Strasburg news. If one were to get into such good shape to be considered ITBSOHL sponsoring and running in a 5K seems like a great idea. --Dan Steinberg in The D.C. Sports Bog
Speaking of the Jayson Werth contract. How many minutes does it take Jayson Werth to make your yearly salary? ESPN hates you and wants to rub it in your face that athletes are the most overpaid people on the planet. --thenatsblog.com
I personally would call Colton Willems the Nationals biggest draft bust as Detwiler has at least made it to the majors and is still playing. --Jake Whitacre from dc.sbnation.com
If Jayson Werth had signed the same deal with the Yankees or Red Sox would anyone care about the length of dollar amount? --'Duk at yahoosports.com
No says the man in Washington. --Jamie Mottram at misterirrelevant.com
Improving the bench is something the Nationals need to do, but I would like Adam LaRoche first if it would please Mr. Rizzo. --Pete Kerzel from masnsports.com
More moves could happen soon as the Nationals continue to have a lot of irons in the fire after the Winter Meetings. --Mark Zuckerman from natsinsider.com
As for those irons in the fire. The Nationals were the talk of the Winter Meetings and Mike Rizzo went from an unknown to a rockstar GM. --Joe Lemire at si.com
Still don't believe the perception of the lowly Nats has changed? Mike Rizzo and the Lerner family are trying to prove to the fans that they care about putting a winning team on the field. --Tracy Ringolsby from foxsports.com
The Nationals do have a challenger for the services of Adam LaRoche and it is not one that will make many of us happy. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com
The Orioles improvement with players from Virginia might have people driving past Nationals Park up to Camden Yards. --David Driver at explorehoward.com
The Orioles have gotten better with the additions of Mark Reynolds and JJ Hardy, but still play in the toughest division* in baseball and have somehow found a way to trade bullpen arms from one of the worst bullpen's in baseball. The 2008 Nationals should be a lesson to any team that wants to ignore their bullpen. Also of note, "balls in the air," appears to be the Andy MacPhail equivalent of irons in the fire. --Jeff Zebriec from baltimoresun.com
* I also think people are ignoring the Rays a little too much. They lost .198 hitter Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, and most of their bullpen. What they didn't lose was Evan Longoria, David Price, Ben Zobrist, Jeremy Hellickson, and one of the best farm systems in baseball. They are like the Borg. Destroy one part and they will just assimilate more. So, you see Mr. LaRoche the Nationals have a far better shot of contending soon simply because of the division they play in.
We have had a nice influx of new Nationals fans recently, and some have asked about the history of D.C. baseball. One of the most important figures to learn about would be Walter "Big Train" Johnson, and now there is a mystery to be solved. --Mark Hornbaker at nationalsdailynews.com
The Redsox have a very lefty heavy line-up. The Nationals happen to have a certain power hitting right hander that could be had in a trade. Even with the acquisition of Carl Crawford some think it is still a fit. --nationalsarmsrace.com
I was hoping that one day the parking garages would be torn down not decorated with giant silver balls. --Dan Steinberg in The D.C. Sports Bog
The Winter Meetings might be a wrap, but there is still work for the Washington Nationals to do. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com