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The Starting Nine: Nationals Week In Review, Links, Tweets, Etc.

So you're not sitting around monitoring Twitter, searching #Nats, sifting through aggregators and sorting through hundreds of random blog posts and stories about the Washington Nationals? We try to make it easy for you with "The Starting Nine," a collection of the stories you need to read...

By Patrick Reddington
Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

We understand, sort of, not really, that not everyone can spend their offseason waiting around for some news on the Washington Nationals to break. So if you find yourself wondering what you missed in the last week, catch up every Monday with The Starting Nine. Nine topics/stories that will keep you in the know as far as what's going on with the nation's capital's Nats. We're also including "The Rotation" below, the Top 5 Stories from the last week on Federal Baseball...

1. WaPost columinst Thomas Boswell on Nats' GM Mike Rizzo:

• "That ruled out southpaws Javier Lopez, J.P. Howell, Scott Downs and Matt Thornton, as well as catcher Jose Molina — all Nats targets and preferences — who got multiyear deals." - "Nationals front office puts work to good use, and it may have even more in store" - Thomas Boswell, The Washington Post

2. MASN's Kerr and BA's Fitt Talk Michael Taylor:

• "The bottom line is Taylor has a good shot to be the next top prospect for the Nationals at the center field position." - "No. 6 Nats Prospect: Michael Taylor" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com


3. Running Into Wall Jokes = New Natinals Jokes:

• "Arguably the biggest worry will be making sure Bryce Harper doesn’t overhustle his way into any walls as he did last season." - "NL's defensive winter moves" - David Schoenfield, SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

• "Please, I'm begging you, Nationals, if Bryce Harper might be hurt, please give him time off." - "We made New Year's resolutions for all 30 MLB teams" - SportsonEarth.com : Howard Megdal Article

4. Our No.4 Is Zuckerman's No.3 In NatsInsider.com's "Significant moments" series:

• "The end may have been disappointing, but there’s no debating Johnson’s positive impact on the Nationals during his 2 1/2 seasons in the dugout." - "Significant moment No. 3: Davey Johnson’s managerial farewell" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

5. Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama):

6. No #WSOB:

• "For the Nationals and Yankees, building blocks for success were in place after playoff appearances for both clubs in 2012." - "Postseason aspirations return with new year" - John Schlegel, nationals.com: News

7. "#StopmovingZimToFirst" But We Know Matt Williams Asked Him To Play Some First?:

• "The Nationals are thin on major league-ready candidates who can play third base in the pipeline." - "Nationals Buzz: Zimmerman may move from third to first, but when?" - Pete Kerzel, MASNSports.com

8. Some Minor Links:

• "The signing happened a week before Christmas, garnering no press release or announcement from the Washington Nationals, just a blip on the team’s transaction page." - "Nationals contract brings joy, opportunity for Emmanuel Burriss" - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

• "The rain this summer was not the Doubledays' friend. Four rainouts and 10 days in which it rained just prior to game time greatly affected our attendance." - "Doubledays Corner: Auburn Doubledays working hard to stabilize finances" - David Daum, The Auburn Citizen

• "I think they’re going to fulfill their lease through 2017. Beyond that, there are still a lot of unknowns." - "Matt Reed: Anderson's inside view of job deals" - Matt Reed, floridatoday.com

• "The Suns’ unbelievable run to the South Atlantic League playoffs was tempered when the Washington Nationals, their parent team, gutted Hagerstown’s talent before the championship series." -  "The past is a prelude of things to come" - Bob Parasiliti, Herald Mail Media: Sports

• "Yet even before the Jays pack their first pair of cleats, the Washington Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers, either unaware or undeterred, already are rumored to be interested in Dunedin." - "No crystal ball for future of District 13, Pier" - Steven Girardi, The Tampa Tribune

9. Good One:

• "Despite high expectations, the Washington Nationals became just one more underachieving institution in our nation's capital." - "This is what I have come to understand this year" - Bob Molinaro, HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

The Rotation (Top 5 Stories of the Week):

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