• Programming Note: The Washington Nationals dropped two of three on the road in St. Louis and now they travel to Pittsburgh to take on a Pirates team that just got swept in three-straight in Florida. Mr. National Himself Livan Hernandez takes the mound tonight in PNC Park. Just ignore all the weather warnings and hope they get to play. Sirius/XM ch. 188 at 7:05 pm EDT for subscribers, MASN 2 HD, 106.7 the FAN in DC and 1500 WFED. The Nats and the Pirates play the first of three tonight.
• LINKS AND LINKS AND...
• NATS BEAT:
• "[Yewri] Guillen’s death will spark changes in how the Nationals, and perhaps all of baseball, vaccinate players signed in the Dominican." - "Death of Dominican prospect Yewri Guillen prompts changes" - Adam Kilgore and James Wagner, The Washington Post
• "By the time Wilson Ramos is starting most games at catcher, the Nationals will have four everyday players (Danny Espinosa, Morse, Desmond and Ramos) who have yet to play a full season in the majors." - "Nationals' offense crumbles in 5-0 loss to Cardinals" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com
• "'Give Gorzelanny a lot of credit. Two outs, nobody on, a clutch walk and a big home run,' Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said." - Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals: "Nationals fall prey to pitching, homers" - Bill Ladson, MLB.com WSH Recap
• "'I don’t think there’s any doubt that [Lohse] had his stuff and we didn’t have ours,' said first baseman Adam LaRoche, one of just five base runners allowed by Lohse.'" - "Nats' bats fall silent in 5-0 loss to Cards" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "The club will promote another player before tomorrow night's game in Pittsburgh, and Syracuse infielder Brian Bixler is the likely choice." - "Flores optioned, Bixler likely coming up" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "The ageless wonder, Hernandez will be making his 450th consecutive start since debuting with his only career relief appearance with the Marlins in 1996. That leads all active pitchers." - "Washington Nationals at Pittsburgh Pirates" - Tom Singer, MLB.com Preview
• "...to consider [Zimmerman's] current injury an obstacle to signing him to a contract extension would just be short-sighted." - "Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun ... and Ryan Zimmerman next?" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "Single-A Potomac Nationals third baseman Steven Souza feels like he has a new lease on his baseball life and he is taking full advantage of it." - "Prospect Souza grateful for second chance, taking full advantage" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "Baseball's perennial losers for 18-plus years now, the Pirates got off to a hot start when they opened the season 5-3. Since then, they've fallen back into their usual ways..." - "Series preview: Nats at Pirates" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "'We’re carrying three catchers, and we just don’t really think it’s doing Jesus much good here,' Manager Jim Riggleman said." - "Jesus Flores optioned to Class AAA Syracuse" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• Nats Minor League Updates:
• Triple-A Syracuse: "Starting pitcher Garrett Mock labored through two-plus innings, allowing eight runs on four hits and seven walks." - "Chiefs fall behind early in loss to Red Sox" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Tim Pahuta hit a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the 10th for the game winner. It was the second time this season that the Senators won in walk off fashion." - "Tim Pahuta delivers a walk-off dinger in 4-3 Senators win" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News
• Class-A Potomac: "Danny Rosenbaum was in control for most of the night, worked out of trouble the very few times he encountered it, and the Nats' offense provided timely powerful hitting to spark Potomac's first two-game winning streak of the season." - "COMPLETE EFFORT GIVES P-NATS 5-2 WIN" - Potomac Nationals News
• Class-A Hagerstown: "'He's OK,' Hagerstown manager Brian Daubach told the Hagerstown Herald-Mail...'He probably had never run into a wall before since he used to be a catcher.'" - "Harper homers, crashes into wall" - John Parker, MiLB.com News
• SHARKNatsTown:
• "Roger Bernadina went 1 for 3 and now has a four game hitting streak. Also, he is now batting .290 on the season (69 points higher than RicK AnKiel)." - "Double Shutout, Oh My Gosh!" - Sharkadina, Street Shark: Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "Living a truly ethical life, putting the needs of others first and providing for their happiness, has tremendous implications for society." -
• NatsTown:
• "Did you notice how all during the Brewers series Santangelo was whining about all the shifts?" - "Happy Birthday Rome" - Ryan, Distinguished Senators
• "The Nationals never really had a chance in this one. Jayson Werth and Michael Morse were the only Nats hitters to scratch out singles against the Cards righty. " - "Nats Manage Just Two Hits in 5-0 Loss to Cardinals" - Dave Nichols, Nats News Network
• "Not many people thought that it would be the rotation carrying the team this season, especially without the presence of a true ace like Stephen Strasburg." - "Starting Pitching Carrying Nats, Need The Bats To Wake Up" - Ted Youngling, The Nats Blog
• "It’s back! Our weekly look at the leaders (good), trailers (bad), and outliers (interesting) in the Washington Nationals minor leagues." - "Good, Bad, Interesting – Vol. 1" - Sue Dinem, Nationals Prospects.com
• "Nats are taking the extra base 50% of the time, much higher than they ever have in the past. Thanks Bo Porter." - "Statistical Updates" - Mac, Capitol Baseball
• "Rainouts and doubleheaders can challenge the stoutest pitching staff. But the Washington Nationals' five starters seem not to have been daunted by the past week's scheduling bumps..." - "A peek ahead: Nats take durable starting pitching to Steel City" - Mike Henderson, Hendo's Hutch | Washington Nationals Daily News
• NL EAST Updates:
• Marlins: "If you’re starting a franchise, who’s your shortstop? Tulo or Hanley?" - "Florida Marlins host Rockies tonight: Who’s YOUR shortstop — Tulo or Hanley?" - Joe Capozzi, Fish Tank blog: Florida Marlins | The Palm Beach Post
• Phillies: "This is what GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and manager Charlie Manuel envisioned when the Phillies unveiled their new rotation during the winter -- one ace handing the ball to the next." - "Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres" - Jon Star, MLB.com Preview
• Mets: "In case you missed it, Rule 5 pick and Opening Day second baseman Brad Emaus was returned to the Toronto Blue Jays; he will report to AAA Las Vegas." - "Brad Emaus Returned To Blue Jays" - Joe Janish, Mets Today
• Braves: "The fan confidence has wilted from its high to start the season." - "Atlanta Braves Fan Confidence Giving Into Reality" - gondee, Talking Chop
• Joe Posnasnski, SI.com on Twitter @Joe Posnanski: "Have just read back-to-back columns trying to stand up for Frank McCourt. That seems to me an excellent final journalism exam."