Wire Taps: Washington Nationals Weekend Links, Tweets, Quotes, Etc.

• What day is it? With no Washington Nationals games to schedule my life around I find it difficult to stay focused. In case you missed it, we wrote about the Nats' search for a starter v 2.0, Ross Detwiler's rapid aging and the logjam in the middle of the infield this weekend. Then we went to sleep. My plan to store up hours of sleep so that I don't need to sleep at all during the season is underway. The Nationals haven't finished their search for a manager yet. The Arizona Fall League starts tomorrow. Here's what other people were writing about the Nationals this weekend...But first, the big news of the day from our friends at the Nats News Network:

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• Big News For Dave from NNN, Congrats: "After five seasons and 1,472 posts, I am retiring Nats News Network.  I've decided to combine my two blogs, pick up coverage of the other sports in town, and start an on-line sports page covering all of D.C. sports.  You can find the new site at http://www.districtsportspage.com/.  It's a monumental challenge for me, but I won't be alone." - "A New Challenge Awaits..." - Dave Nichols, Nats News Network

• District Sports Page — Comprehensive coverage of Washington, D.C. sports by local writers

• NATS BEAT: 

• "Based on conversations with a few people familiar with the Nationals’ thinking, I believe the Nationals will not reach out to [Terry] Francona..." - "Terry Francona, Davey Johnson and the Nationals: Some thoughts" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "The team went into the year hoping Michael Morse, Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, Jordan Zimmermann and Drew Storen would take some steps forward; instead, all five of those players surpassed expectations." - "Grading the 2011 Nationals" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "The date was Oct. 3, 1951, 60 years ago Monday, and Russ Hodges‘ famous broadcast echoes through the baseball ages..." - "HELLER: Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca linked by epic homer in classic rivalry" - Dick Heller, Washington Times

• "With a solid rookie season, Ramos firmly established himself as the Nationals' No. 1 catcher entering 2012." - "Position analysis: Catcher" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com

 • "The intructional league season, which continues for two more weeks at the Nationals complex in Florida, benefits players who have not had much time in the Nationals' organization..." - "Nationals' instructional prospect updates: Walters, Leon, Skole" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "Once they are properly developed, the mind's good qualities increase indefinitely." 

• "While in Hagerstown to see Stephen Strasburg rehab, one of the outfield stories that really caught my eye was the power displayed by Kevin Keyes." - "Instructional prospect updates: Keyes, Hood, Perez, Goodwin" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "'It’s not my job to be in the news. My job is to analyze a baseball game,' Santangelo told me this week from his California home...'" - "F.P. Santangelo on his first year with MASN" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post

• "I expect there will be countless teams lining up to hire Francona, and I wonder if one of them won’t be the Washington Nationals." - "Terry Francona and Tampa Bay Rays pitching: A newsy start to the postseason" - Dave Sheinin, Baseball Insider - The Washington Post

• "Even this week, six months after [Nyjer] Morgan's departure from the Nationals, there were still signs his bravado didn't play well in the Nationals' clubhouse..." - "Nyjer Morgan finds a home, heads to the playoffs" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "Anyway, SMU's researchers matched up the QuesTec data with demographic data about who is pitching and who is umpiring, and their conclusion was not one to trumpet in a positive way..." - "Do umpires need diversity training?" - Phil Wood, MASNSports.com

• "My daughters love to compliment strangers. Maybe this is true of everybody's daughters, I don't know, but ever since our oldest, Elizabeth, was about 2 years old, she has spent most of her disposable hours telling people that they have lovely earrings, or nice watches or pretty dresses." - "I Hope You're Happy With Your Husband" - Joe Posnanski, SI.com

• NATSTOWN/NATS MINORS: 

• "I went through this exercise last year with pretty good success, so we'll do it again.  Let's take a look at every player on the 40-man roster and evaluate if/how they fit in for 2012." - "2012 Nats Roster: Who Should Stay and Who Should Go?" - Dave Nichols, NatsNewsNetwork

• Stephen Strasburg signed ball, signed cap and signed jersey available...part of proceeds go to charity and there are too many bidders if you want something....Syracuse Chiefs - Syracuse Chiefs Official Online Auctions

• "Earlier this year we put our money where our mouth was. We were stupid enough to make some predictions on the season, and as you see below - we made complete fools of ourselves (mostly)." - "Pre-Season Prediction Mania pt. 1" - Mac, Capitol Baseball

• "When Terry Francona resigned as manager of the Boston Red Sox, some folks started talking about whether he'd be a good fit for the Nationals. I say why bother?" - "Terry Francona: Why Bother?" - Steven, FJB

• "Just one Nationals player appears among the major league leaders for most of the major statistical categories for his position, and his initials aren’t MM, RZ, JZ, or DE." - "Fireman extraordinaire" - Nat Anacostia, Nats Noodles

• "Which bring us to why we are talking about this: if Francona had handle those kinds of players, what could he do with a group of relatively low-key guys in the Nationals?" - "Beat Up Francona Should Consider Healing With Nats" - Keara Dowd, Win for Teddy

• "Back in February, Ashley and I made some predictions about how this year would turn out.  We did a mid-season re-evaluation of those predictions, and now present our final scores." - "2011 End of Year Prediction Round-Up" - Maggie, First Ladies of Baseball

• "On Thursday, the DC Internet Baseball Writers Association released its 2011 player achievement awards. Below you will find the results as well as my votes and analysis." - "2011 DC-IBWA Awards and my votes" - Sean Hogan, DC is for Baseball

• SHARKNATSTOWN: "Additionally, guess who had the final hit of the 2011 season?  The Shark. Guess who had the final RBI?  The Shark." - "Last Shark Standing/Hitting" - Sharkadina

• NL EAST UPDATES: 

• Mets: "Personally, after scouting [Jose] Reyes and the Mets for many recent years, I would let Jose go and let him hit the market..." - "New York Mets Should Say Goodbye To Free Agent Shortstop Jose Reyes" - Rico Brogna, CBS New York

• Phillies: "La Russa was booed when he complained about the strike zone. He was booed when he took trips to the mound to give his bullpen time to warm up. He was booed when he argued with the umpires." - "Easy to dislike Cardinals' La Russa" - John Gonzalez, CSNPhilly.com

• Braves: "The Arizona Fall League, baseball's premiere finishing school for top prospects, begins tomorrow, and the Atlanta Braves will send seven prospects out west to suit up for the Surprise Saguaros..." - "Atlanta Braves Arizona Fall League Preview" - cbwilk, Talking Chop

• Marlins: "Finalizing [Ozzie] Guillen's coaching staff could take about another week, although there is no set timeframe." - "Marlins working to put together new manager Ozzie Guillen's coach staff" - Joe Frisaro, marlins.com: News