The day always seems a little better after a Nationals' victory. Each year I think I dislike a different team more than I did before. This year it has been the Atlanta Braves. I am not sure why. My best friend lives in Atlanta and is a Braves fan. Maybe it is because if I am not experiencing the joys of winning baseball I don't want anyone else I know to experience it either.
Yesterday was a good game for Nationals fans. Besides seeing "in play run(s)" more for our team than the other we saw the return of John Lannan. --Adam Kilgore washingtonpost.com
And if you missed the game for any reason and feel like reading a recap from somewhere else, here it is. --Bill Ladson from mlb.com
Yesterday wasn't just important for the stat defying wizard Lannan (I personally like players that defy stats because, one; it is an interesting story, and two; it makes people angry that are funny when they are angry) it was also the Nationals debut of Wilson Ramos, and while he didn't get a hit he called a good game, made some nice defensive plays, and saw 18 pitches in his first two ABs. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com
Do you want to write for The Washington Post? You can if you apply to be one of two fan bloggers they are adding the first of September. --Mitch Rubin at washingtonpost.com
Do not forget that tonight is Drew Storen bobble head night in Woodbridge. Go pick up your Storen bobble head and watch the future of the Nationals. --potomacnationals.com
What could be more important than Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, and resigning Adam Dunn? BEER!!! More importantly Leinenkugel beer. Four free samples of beer with purchase of $22 ticket to the Wednesday the 25th game against the Cubs. If I go with my wife that is eight free samples. --nationals.com
As much as we liked the game yesterday it wasn't the biggest story in baseball. More on that, the Nats, and other baseball news after the jump.
The Nationals Bullpen has been very good since the trade of Matt Capps. In fact 4/7 of the bullpen has been outstanding. acknowledging this makes me feel like there will be a blown save tonight. --Mark Zuckerman natsinsider.com
I have never had a problem with the plan Stan Kasten laid out. It was actually the plan I wanted to see in place when we got ownership. I however did have a problem with the execution of the plan. Jim Bowden was on the Mike Wise Show yesterday and Dan Steinberg has the transcript. --Dan Steinberg from The DC Sports Bog
An examination of Brad Hawpe's career as he hits free agency early. Do you think it would be a good idea for the Nationals to pick him up? --Joe Pawlikowski fangraphs.com
Who exactly is the best player in baseball, and what does one good season mean? I agree with the stance here that one good season doesn't make someone the best in baseball. Pujols might not have the best numbers year in and year out but he is always near the top. This column also contains interesting mentions of Ryan Zimmerman. --Joe Posnanski at si.com
Matt Chico has been looking good at AAA, but will we ever see him again? --Byron Kerr masnsports.com
It is always interesting to learn more about our prospects. Tom Milone might not have the best stuff, but he gets strike outs and has good control. Could he be a pitcher for the future that has flown under the radar? I would also like to know the answer to this. --Kevin Goldstein BP Podcast
Wil Nieves likely to return to the Nationals Saturday as he and his wife have welcomed the newest Nat into the world. --Cheryl Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com
I seem to remember being at this game and I don't remember seeing this there. While I feel sorry for the statue and the guy that brought it I don't think it is the Nationals responsibility to reimburse him because of the actions of one stupid fan. --Roberto Baly vinscullismyhomeboy.com
Right now we think the Nats had a good draft, but we thought this before in 2006. Could this draft be different and become one of the best talent grabs of all time? --Chris Needham at dc.sbnation.com
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a baseball player nursing an injury? If you have this is an interesting read as one person struggles to deal with injury in a softball league. --MissChatter at csnwashington.com
Do the Nationals have a real rivalry yet? Was the embarrassment of openning day enough to start one? A look at DC sports teams and the rivalries that are, that are perceived, and that should be. --Ken Meringolo dc.sbnation.com
Around the NL East
The Braves owners find themselves on a list of companies that sells banned substances. --Maury Brown from bizofbaseball.com
Phillies fans do strange things. Like proposing with cardboard signs. --Barry Petchesky deadspin.com
General Baseball
You knew it was coming, but it isn't here yet. The biggest news has to wait just a bit longer since Jamie McCourt might actually own the Dodgers or be a forger. --Jon Weinbach at mlb.fanhouse.com
Vin Scully's voice is a smooth creamy drug that creeps into your brain and makes everything better. It really doesn't matter what he is talking about. Even if it is trying to figure out what a mullet is besides a type of fish. --David Mathews from deadspin.com
We got to see the Nats debut of Wilson Ramos last night, and he handled the pitchers well. Do you believe in Catcher ERA? Maybe Tim Lincecum does as he might miss Bengie Molina and that might be the cause of all his troubles. --'Duk at yahoosports.com
If i was a headline writer I would have been very sadistic with this headline. Carpenter traded to Astros for Pedro Feliz. --Ben Nicholson-Smith from mlbtraderumors.com
Why should we have any hope that Rizzo is drafting or aquiring the best players possible. Maybe because he has done it before. A look at the season that CarGo is having for the Rockies. --Tim Brown yahoosports.com
Ray King had the heart of a champion and so does this young man. He also has terrible form doing arm curl, incline bench, and squat, and a person should be able to squat A LOT more than they can incline. This is interesting to see the determination this young man has to prove himself and I do hope someone gives him a shot. It would make a great story. --Barry Petchesky deadspin.com
Roger Clemens
You knew it was coming and it gets its own section. First and formost this tweet from Clemens himself is some great accidental humor because of where it cuts off. What governments does Clemens look forward to taking on? All of them of course. All hail supreme ruler The Rocket. --Roger Clemens via Twitter
Thomas Boswell thinks Clemens is a swell guy that just keeps making mistakes, and that it might just be the personality of a pro-athlete to go down swinging and giving it all they got. --Thomas Boswell from The Washington Post
All of us here follow baseball on a daily basis. We see things as they unfold, and while Feinstein has writen books about baseball (Living on the Black is an excellent read) I still consider him an outsider. An outsiders perspective on steroids and the Clemens situation it is important. It is important to know how others view the sport we hold so dear. --John Feinstein The Washington Post
Right after I hit schedule for publish Joe Posnanski tweeted his latest column on Clemens. It is funny his lasting image of Clemens is probably the same as a lot of people. That fued with Piazza will go down in history as one of the strangest ever. --Joe Posnanski at si.com
My wife is very excited about tomorrow. It is the first Saturday in a long time we both are free, and not going to baseball games. i have been trying to figure out what to do. I am thinking of either a day trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, or of going to Baltimore to watch the Orioles take on the Texas Rangers. I have a feeling she wouldn't like this last option. When I watch baseball I just zone out and stare at the happennings on the field. She has tried to talk to me while I am watching or listenning to baseball and five minutes into her conversation (usually when a commercial comes on) I turn to her and ask what she said. This doesn't make her happy. She doesn't like to be ignored. She doesn't consider being near me to be spending time together, and if we go to a baseball game my focus will be on baseball. When my mind is occupied with baseball I simply am not there.
I hope everyone here has a fun and safe weekend, and hopefully there is good news to link to on Monday.