Wire Taps: Washington Nationals Opening Day Links, Quotes, Etc.

• Programming Note: What do you mean there's no game today? The Nationals and Braves three-game season-opening series picks up again tomorrow at 1:05 pm EDT live from Nationals Park, til then you'll have to get by reliving Opening Day through the eyes (and words) of those who witnessed it.

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• Nats Help Relief Effort: "Beginning on Thursday, the Nationals launched a "text to give" initiative to support UNICEF's relief efforts after the recent earthquake in Japan. Fans can donate $10 by simply texting JAPAN to 864233." - Nats support UNICEF efforts in Japan" - Kristen Hudak, Nationals Buzz, MASNSports.com

• NATSBEAT: 

• "'You’re going to see a lot of that this year,' Zimmerman said. 'We’re getting deep into at bats. Jayson and Adam and I are veteran guys, and if a pitch isn’t where we want it, we’ll take a strike.'" - "Opening day 2011: Nationals have added gloves" — and strikeouts - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post

• "'It's only one mistake that I can say,' Hernandez said. 'It was a slider hanging, he hit it out. If it was in, it might be a ground ball to first base.'" - "Braves 2, Nationals 0: Second Look" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "'That's probably the best I've seen him pitch in a long time,' Werth said of the 37-year-old sinkerballer.'" - Werth on Braves' starter Derek Lowe  - "Nats squander chances in Opening Day shutout" - Mark Zuckerman, CSN Washington

• "'It will be a little strange. However long it has been, you are used to seeing Bobby Cox with the Braves,'" Ankiel said." - "Ankiel, Riggleman note Cox's absence" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com

• "'The offense is going to come and go,' second baseman Danny Espinosa said. 'When it’s there, we’ll win.'" - "Nationals vs. Braves: Washington shut out on opening day 2011" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "The Double-A Harrisburg Senators today announced their 2011 roster..." - "Double-A Harrisburg releases 2011 roster" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "The question was posed in the pressbox -- and I'm sure in many living rooms in the MASN broadcast sector: Why not use Matt Stairs here?" - "Why Laynce Nix got to pinch hit over Matt Stairs" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "The Nationals clearly overpaid to get Werth, but that doesn't mean they're obligated to hit him third or fourth when he's not that kind of a hitter." - "Washington Nationals understand Jasyon Werth's value, more strikes" - Tom Verducci - SI.com

• "Riggleman didn’t say it, but another factor may have also been in play. Looking ahead, he would have noticed the likelihood of Ivan Rodriguez coming to the plate during a potential ninth-inning rally." - "Why Laynce Nix pinch-hit instead of Matt Stairs" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "'They were just standard plays,' Werth said. 'The second one, I was trying to keep the ball out of the lights. I kind of overran it a little bit in between steps.'" - "Jayson Werth makes strong impression in Nationals debut" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com

• "As Ryan Zimmerman put it, 'If we can win over 50 percent of these games, we’ll have a good year. If we don’t, we’ll have a bad year.'" - "A preview of coming attractions for Nats" - Dan Daly, Washington Times

• Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama on Twitter (@DalaiLama): "It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible."

• NATSTOWN:

• "Last year, Livo made quality starts in 67% of his games started. That was his highest percentage since 2003..." - "Livo and the Quality Start" - Charlie, The Nationals Review

• "2011 Opening Day Thoughts and Photos" - MissChatter : The Chatter Files

• "Unfortunately, the Nats hitters weren't up to the task today.  Only twice did they have more than one runner on base in an inning, and only twice did they have a runner reach third." - "GAME 1 REVIEW: Nats Hitters Frozen By Lowe, Braves and Mother Nature" - Dave Nichols, NatsNewsNetwork

• "Players of the Game: Danny Espinosa.  Hear me out – there were no outstanding offensive plays, so you go with the guy who did get on base (twice)..." - "March 31, 2011: Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves (Opening Day)" - Maggie, First Ladies of Baseball

• "Laynce Nix whiffed in a big situation, why they probably should have gone with Matt Stairs..."- "Thoughts from last night, the positives, and why Riggleman went with Nix over Stairs" - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog

• "An Opening Day Loss" - Tom, Center Field Gate

• "Sean Burnett made the Braves batters he faced in the 9th, lefties and righties alike, look silly." - "Recapping 1 of 162: Opening Day" - Joe Drugan, Capitol Baseball

• Presidents Race Video: "Nats roll out the red, and Teddy falls on wet, cold opening day" - Presidents Race Fan, Let Teddy Win!

• "Nats Opening Day Has Flames And Flair But Little Else" - DangerNats, Nationals Inquisition

• "Harrisburg Announces Its 2011 Roster" - Sue Dinem, NationalsProspects.com

• SharkNatsTown

• "Sharks in King Arthur's Court (I mean Nationals Park)" - Sharkadina, Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog

• NL EAST UPDATES: 

• Braves: "There was no such thing as a no-doubter," Heyward said of Thursday's conditions. "Mine was more of a line drive. I didn't think it was going out right off the bat." - "Heyward hits another Opening Day homer" - Mark Bowman, MLB.com

• Mets: "Amazin' Avenue 2011 Season Predictions" - James Kannengieser, Amazin' Avenue

• Phillies: "Once ridiculed in town for his Southern drawl and seat-of-his-pants managerial style, Charlie Manuel has become a beloved fixture as Phillies manager." - Q & A with Charlie Manuel - Kevin Cooney, phillyBurbs.com : Phillies

• Marlins: "Marlins LF Logan Morrison didn’t hesitate when asked how his team will finish the year. 'Our expectations are nothing short of a World Series title,' he said yesterday." - "Predictions wanted: How will the Florida Marlins do this year?"- Joe Capozzi, Fish Tank blog: Florida Marlins | The Palm Beach Post 

• Twitter: Joe Posnanski (@JPosnanski): "Live chat today at 3 p.m. to talk baseball, Final Four, Masters, infomercials, Springsteen, you name it. http://wp.me/pVBCv-1QU"