Yesterday there was a summit of D.C. sports owners, and the Nationals representatives were impressed with Ted Leonsis, but that isn't the important news. What is important is they gave away when the Nationals will win their first championship, "The Year of the Bear*." --Kristen Hudak at masnsports.com
*Now while it is true there is no year of the bear in the Chinese Zodiac bears are central figures to Finnish, Russian, and Native American legends, and the constellation Ursa Major is present in the night sky year round. My theory however is that a bear is an apex-predator, and when Bryce Harper gets to the big leagues he will devour pitchers, fly balls, and base runners without mercy. In other words the year of the bear is the year of Bryce Harper, and we all know people with bear nicknames have a history of doing damage with a baseball bat.
Is it too early to start making fun of Jim Riggleman? I think it is but I can't resist. I was surprised he wasn't listed at least once on a list of the five worst bunts of 2010. --Matt Klaassen from fangraphs.com
Mr. National, Livan Hernandez, likely to be Opening Day starter. --Bill Ladson at nationals.com
My three favorite artist are Francis Bacon, Jackson Pollock, and Caravaggio, but this guy might be in the running for fourth favorite. Let's face it anyone whose subject matter is Ryan Zimmerman is awesome. --cincysportsart.com
Now that the off-season is winding down people are ranking how the off-season went for various teams. --the common man at platoonadvantage.com
Jonah Keri thinks Jonah Keri is full of crap, or just slightly misguided in thinking there was a pattern to how teams improved. --Jonah Keri at fangraphs.com
The Nationals have yet to announce any details on a Winter Caravan, but the Harrisburg Senators are having a Hot Stove Dinner on January 22nd. --Cheryl Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com
Stan Kasten can no longer be found wondering the halls of Nationals Park, but he can be seen on a T.V. set near you as long as you have MLB Network, and if you don't you should be bugging your satellite or cable provider more often. --Pete Kerzel at masnsports.com
More info on T.V. analyst F.P. Santangelo, and I agree the Giants are spoiled with Jon Miller, they should share. --WFY at yurasko.net
Nationals still looking to add middle infield depth. If David Eckstein would settle for a back-up role he would be the best option. In case of emergency I would much rather have Eckstein starting instead of Bloomquist, Harris, or Gonzalez. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com
Forget the draft pick, forget the money, and just ask yourself this. Would the Nationals be a better team with Rafael Soriano? --Mike Harris from natslooser.com
Unless you are willing to make a deal with the devil your chances aren't good of playing for the Washington baseball club, or giving Lola what she wants, but you can still get on the field if you are 1 inch taller than me by being a racing president. --nationals.com
Spring Training is coming up and anyone looking to go is also looking for a way to cover the cost and one Nats blogger ain't too proud to beg. --DangerNat at natsnq.com
General Baseball
Trevor Hoffman retires as the all-time saves leader with 601 career saves. Bill Center at signonsandiego.com
Starting pitchers are fragile creatures and some are more at risk than others for injury. --Tom Verducci at si.com