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• STOP FIGHTING!!: If you felt a little bit like Staci Keanan playing Nicole Bradford while her parents argued over the last few days, the Washington Nationals want to be sure you know that the only thing unusual about the shouting match between manager Davey Johnson and GM Mike Rizzo on Sunday in Citizens Bank Park was the fact that reporters overheard the exchange. The Nats went to great lengths yesterday to assure everyone that there was no rift, I repeat, No Rift! None. The Nats' general manager and skipper were just hashing things out after a frustrating weekend and were loud enough with the door open and reporters within earshot that it became something of a story. So, and phew, now that we've all worked past that...Can Ross Detwiler play the stopper role? Can the Nationals avoid a season-high losing streak? Will they get swept in the second-straight series? Where's the middle of the lineup thunder? Can the Nats please sit _____ since it's ____ that's really the problem and not _____! When will this losing stop? When do the links start? I have the answer for that one... RIGHT NOW!!!!
• THE BIG STORY!!!:
• "The Johnson-Rizzo relationship has been rock-solid even since [Mike] Rizzo hired him as a consultant "to make me look smarter" three years ago." - "Mike Rizzo-Davey Johnson spat: Only mistake was letting people hear it" - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post
• NATS BEAT:
• "Both [Davey] Johnson and [Mike] Rizzo acknowledged that the timing of it was poor and Rizzo admitted to being 'a little frustrated' when he entered Johnson's office to talk..." - "Davey Johnson, Mike Rizzo address overheard spat, call it 'business as usual'" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "On Tuesday, both [Davey] Johnson and [Mike] Rizzo reassured that their relationship was fine and the animated conversation was the result of frustration following a stretch of uneven play." - "Davey Johnson and Mike Rizzo reassure all is fine: ‘We probably could’ve picked a better time to go talking’" - James Wagner, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "[Mike] Rizzo reminded reporters that he meets with [Davey] Johnson every day, discussing the positives and negatives of each game." - "Nats' Rizzo, Davey downplay postgame talk" - Adam Berry, nationals.com: News
• "Mike Rizzo wasn't going to prolong Strasburg's season based on one dominant start, and he's not going to cut it short based on one lousy outing." - "Bad time for a clunker" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "Indeed, it was probably "just one of those days" for the righthander, though that's probably not going to stop people who support Operation Shutdown from using it as ammo in their case." - "The Juice: Stephen Strasburg routed by Marlins, Kris Medlen keeps dominating for Braves" - Kevin Kaduk, Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
• "'All year we’ve been able to take a bad beating like tonight and come back and win a couple games and put it behind us,' said first baseman Adam LaRoche..." - "Marlins rough up Strasburg, send Nationals to fifth straight loss" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "Justin Ruggiano jumped on the first pitch he saw from [Stephen] Strasburg, the righty's sixth pitch of the game, and took it out to left-center for a solo home run." - "Nationals Pastime: A couple of streaks snapped for Strasburg (Nats drop fifth straight)" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "The first-place Washington Nationals have reason to start sweating." - "Strasburg, Nationals lose to Marlins 9-0" - Steve Wine, AP/WTOP.com
• "John Lannan was named the International League Pitcher of the Week for Aug. 20-26 after a three-hit shutout Saturday..." - "Sharp Lannan ready to fill in for Strasburg" - Adam Berry, nationals.com: News
• "When the rosters expand on Saturday, the Nationals’ most pressing roster moves will be activating Mark DeRosa from the disabled list..." - "Immediate September additions: Mark DeRosa, a catcher and a pinch-runner" - James Wagner, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• "Meanwhile, Ross Detwiler will be on the hill for the Nats, ready to help them end their five-game losing streak." - "Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins - August 29, 2012" - Quinn Roberts, MLB.com Preview
• "Health has been an issue all season for the Nationals. Just when the team thinks it has all of its pieces in place something else comes up." - "Desmond, Morse return to Nationals' lineup" - Brian McNally, WashingtonExaminer.com
• "Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson was thrilled to hear that left-hander John Lannan had earned Triple-A Pitcher of the Week honors..." - "John Lannan to join Nationals after Sept. 3, eventually assume Stephen Strasburg's spot in rotation" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• "For the first time in a while, the Nationals wake up this morning no longer possessing the best record in baseball. That mark now belongs to the Reds." - "Nationals Pastime: The slide reaches five" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com
• "As Stephen Strasburg's dominance of the Marlins came to an end, the Nationals' losing streak stretched on." - "Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins - August 28, 2012" - Adam Berry, MLB.com WSH Recap
• "The losing streak — a three-game sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies sandwiched by a losses to the Braves and Marlins — matched a season-high for the Nationals." - "How much does a five-game losing streak hurt the Nationals?" - James Wagner, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "In our quest for happiness and the avoidance of suffering, I believe we are all fundamentally the same, and therefore equal."
• NATS MINORS:
• Class-A Short Season Auburn: "The Auburn Doubledays (41-27) continued their success at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park this season, routing the State College Spikes (31-36) by a score of 16-4 on Tuesday night." - "Doubledays rout Spikes again" - Eli Pearlstein, Auburn Doubledays News
• Class-A Hagerstown: Suns 8, Grasshopper 0 - Cutter Dykstra - 3 for 4; Wirkin Esteves - 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 Ks - Hagerstown Suns Scoreboard
• Class-A Potomac: P-Nats 4, Mudcats 1 - Matthew Skole - 2 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBIs; Matthew Grace - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks - Potomac Nationals Scoreboard
• "[Alex] Meyer had an amazing first season, combining to go 10-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 25 starts and 129 innings. Meyer struck out 139 batters and walked 45." - "Nationals decide to rest Alex Meyer with six games left; AFL next?" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• "Matt Skole, Adrian Sanchez and Kevin Keyes had two hits apiece. Keyes hit his 20th homer of the season and added a double." - "Skole reaches 100 RBIs, Ortega gets close to cycle in N.C. wins for Nats affiliates" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• Double-A Harrisburg: "Harrisburg struck first in the first when Anthony Rendon tripled with two outs and scored on a single by Justin Bloxom." - "Senators Snap Four-Game Losing Streak with 2-1 Win" - Harrisburg Senators News
• Triple-A Syracuse: "The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, are pleased to announce that outfielder Corey Brown and third baseman Carlos Rivero have been named to the International League Post-Season All-Star Team for 2012." - "Brown, Rivero named to IL Post-Season All-Star Team" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• "Wednesday’s News & Notes" - Luke Erickson, NationalsProspects.com
• NATSTOWN (Is awfully quiet?):
• "The best part of Stephen Strasburg's postgame interview..." - Nats Enquirer
• "The past week has been as good a time as ever to reflect on the 2012 baseball season." - "No matter what happens from here, Nats' season a success" - Nationals Buzz: Rachel Levitin, MASNSports.com
• "Oh. Right. There’s the Aug. 31 giveaway. First 20,000 fans get a "Nationals Wonk" t-shirt. Cool." - "Nationals giving away ‘Nationals Wonk’ shirts" - Dan Steinberg, DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post
• "It was an ugly game to say the least as star hurler Stephen Strasburg got tuned up on the mound and the Nats lineup looked helpless at the plate." - "How to stop the bleeding..." - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog
• "One Hundred and Twenty Percent" - ouij, Natstradamus
• "This Saturday, Washington Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman is featured on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on MLB Network." - "Nats: Ryan Zimmerman featured on My MLB Life this Saturday" - William F. Yurasko, William World News
• Zimmerman on MLB (preview):
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Phillies: "Vance Worley will have surgery to remove loose bodies right his right elbow after the season." - "Vance Worley will start tonight. But why?" - David Murphy, Philly.com
• Braves: "The undersized Braves right-hander who didn’t crack the starting rotation until last month pitched like a bona fide ace again Tuesday night..." - "Braves win, Medlen’s scoreless streak at 28-1/3 inn." - David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Mets: "The race for third place in the NL East could be just heating up." - "Mets rally past Phillies in 10, inch closer to third-place goal" - Mike Puma, NYPOST.com