Wire Taps: The Weekend In Washington Nationals News, Links, Tweets, Etc.

• Monday, Monday: So...there wasn't a whole lot going on in NatsTown this weekend. Here at Federal Baseball we took a look at what one Boston-based writer heard about Jayson Werth's Allen Iverson-esque aversion to practice, we started the "Sign Yu Darvish" Movement. "Sign ダルビッシュ有!", and recapped the first week in AFL action for the Nats' prospects playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Other than that? Well, we're finishing off the next-to-last installment of the Top 5 stories of 2011 and waiting for the video of Bryce Harper's first AFL hit to show up on the YouTube. All Harper has to do is hit it...Sign Yu Darvish! Here are some links and stuff...

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• "MLBDD sits down to talk about Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, and all things Washington Nationals with Federal Baseball's Patrick Reddington." - "5 Questions with Nationals' Expert Patrick Reddington" - Jason Hunt, MLB Daily Dish

• NATS BEAT: 

• "On the postseason trail, you find folks from Chicago who think that, if Boston’s Theo Epstein doesn’t end up running the Cubs as president and general manager, then maybe Rizzo, who grew up in and loves the Windy City, will end up there. Very doubtful." - "What the Washington Nationals can learn from the Philadelphia Phillies’ mistakes" - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post

• "Ryan Howard's ruptured Achilles will have the Phillies looking for a short-term fix while he rehabs his injury, which could be most of the 2012 season." - "No D.C. solution for Phillies Achilles" - Phil Wood, MASNSports.com

• "It's likely the Nationals will be aggressive again in free agency this year - though that might not mean a blockbuster deal like the one they gave Jayson Werth last year." - "After Phillies' loss, change could be afoot in the NL East" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "After starting the season at Single-A Potomac, [Rafael] Martin rolled at Harrisburg, earning a spot on the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League." - "Martin's big leap earns ticket to Arizona Fall League" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Clearly, the Nats as currently constructed aren't on par with the Tigers, Rangers, Brewers or Cardinals." - "What would make the Nats a playoff team?" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

• "If we go back four years, the Capitals ratings were lower than the Nationals. But that changed once the Caps developed a winning team behind one of the biggest stars in the sport." - "Nats should follow Caps to gain better TV ratings" - Jim Williams, Washington Examiner

• "How good was [Drew] Storen in 2011? Only two other big league closers saved a larger percentage of his team's wins than Storen." - "Deal not made working out in Nats' favor" - Phil Wood, Washington Examiner

• "The Scottsdale Scorpions, the Arizona Fall League team partially stocked by the Nationals, has won two in a row over Phoenix as the hitting has come around and the pitching has improved." - "Scottsdale rebounds with two wins, Harper still hitless in AFL" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• Your Daily Message From Matt Purke On The Twitter (@mattpurke47): "One more day than it is off to Az to join up with the scorpions for the #fall league #LETSGO"

• NATSTOWN: 

• "The day after, and our hearts go out to all the broken hearted Phillies fans out there. Welcome to the offseason. There's always next year..." - "So sad." - Nats Enquirer

• "Today, we're going to discuss the position players on the Washington Nationals 40-man roster that are on the bubble." - "Next Season's Roster: On the Bubble - Position Players Edition" - Joe Drugan, The Nats Blog

• "Today is the Beginning of our 44-part series where we are going to take you through each member of the 2011 Washington Nationals." - "A Few Good Men: Prologue" - Mac, Capitol Baseball

• "AFL Update: October 10, 2011" - NationalsProspects.com

• "The other day I asked about who’s contract you’d rather have between two guys with 6 year deals – Jayson Werth and Alex Rodriguez." - "Which Contract Do You Want?" - The Nationals Review

• "ALCS/NLCS predictions..." - Nationals Arm Race

• "There are few magicians in professional sports who are able to do so many indecent things while still getting people to love them again.  Nyjer Morgan is one of those players." - "That Time Everyone Forgot Who Nyjer Morgan Was" - Keara Dowd, Win for Teddy

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "Whether or not we follow any particular spiritual tradition, the benefits of love and kindness are obvious to anyone." 

• NL EAST UPDATES: 

• Braves: "This is part two of a five part series of posts that will examine the most pressing questions for the Atlanta Braves this off-season." - "Top-5 Off-Season Questions For The Atlanta Braves: #2" - gondeee, Talking Chop

• Marlins: ed. note - "$2.5M?" - "Marlins home runs at their new ballpark next season certainly will be frenetic, if for no other reason than the spectacle they will ignite in center field." - "Florida Marlins center field home run sculpture an eyeful; Guillen enjoying Spain" – Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun-Sentinel

• Phillies: "An MRI on Howard's left foot confirmed what doctors suspected after the first baseman crumpled to the baseline during his season-ending groundout in Game 5 of the NLDS." - "Howard's injury presses Phillies' lineup issues" - David Murphy, Philadelphia Daily News

• Mets: "'Who knows, in the future I could be wearing a Mets uniform,' he said. 'I don't have no hard feelings for nobody.'" - "With Milwaukee Brewers in NLCS, Francisco Rodriguez says he would return to NY Mets as free agent" - Andy Martino, New York Daily News

• Zack Greinke Shares His Thoughts: "'There’s other pitchers in the league that do it, but, I don’t know,' Greinke said, 'a lot of guys on our team don’t like Carpenter.'" - "Brewers' Greinke says Cardinals' Carpenter has 'phony attitude'" - Chris Jenkins, AP/Washington Times