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Wire Taps: Nationals' skipper Matt Williams looks back; Nats links + more...

Washington Nationals' manager Matt Williams talked to the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore about the season that was and his bullpen decisions. Seriously is it still October? It feels like months since the Nats were eliminated. Whatever, here are some links...

By Patrick Reddington
Rob Carr

The 2014 campaign isn't even officially over yet and already the winter has gone on too long. Is it wrong to be angry at the teams that are still playing right now?

There was no "World Series or Bust"-ish stuff to blame for the Washington Nationals coming up short of expectations this season, no "country club atmosphere" to pin it on. Just a lack of offense when it mattered and some questionable decisions in terms of bullpen usage.

Nats' skipper Matt Williams addressed some of those decisions in a conversation with the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore for an article that was published today...

• THE BIG STORY!!!:

• "Williams has heard – and understands – the criticism of his handling of the bullpen in the Nationals’ decisive Game 4 loss to the San Francisco Giants..." - "Matt Williams reflects on first season, looks ahead" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

There is not a whole lot of Nationals-related news out there right now, but we did what we could to collect what links there are in one place so you can start your morning right and catch up on the last 24 hrs in Nats news.

Info on the Nationals' search for a Spring Training home, Tigers' GM Dave Dombrowski on the Fister trade, some Nats' 2014 reviews and a rumor about where recently-departed Assistant GM Bryan Minniti might be headed.

All that and a lot some more in today's link post... links and lots of them, starting... RIGHT NOW!!!:

• I thought he was headed to a non-baseball job?:

• "Bryan Minniti, who resigned last week as the Nationals' assistant GM, is one possibility — he worked for Dodgers president Stan Kasten in Washington, and Friedman interviewed him for a position with the Rays five or six years ago, according to major-league sources." - "New Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman finally getting freedom" - Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports

• This list is not impressive:

• "Despite what some Indians' fans think, the switch-hitting Cabrera, 28, will draw interest as a shortstop and second baseman this winter." - "MLB free agent class 2015: Shortstop market far from star studded" _ Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com

• This is not going to quiet the "He's inevitably going to the Yankees" narrative...or...  Wait is Harp a "Vegan":

• "Washington Nationals star and Las Vegan Bryce Harper, who grew up idolizing slugger Mickey Mantle, has plans to incorporate nods to the late Hall of Famer in Harper’s January wedding." - "Las Vegas violinist lives his dream on ‘MNF’" - Norm Clarke, Las Vegas Review-Journal

• "After an injury-plagued 2013, Harper entered this season determined to stay healthy and keep himself in the lineup the full six months. It didn’t happen." - "Nationals Roster Review: Bryce Harper" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• Tigers' GM regrets nothings:

• "But this was a terrible move for the Tigers, as Fister went 16-6 with a 2.41 ERA while none of the pieces Detroit got in return had a positive impact." - "Tigers offseason: 5 surprises from Dombrowski's press conference" - Derick Hutchinson, ClickonDetroit

• "Cabrera hit just .229 in 49 games with the Nats, but he had a .700 OPS, hit five homers, and delivered quite a few big hits, all while playing a really solid second base." - "Nationals Pastime: Looking back on Nats' late-season roster additions" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• Where does Souza rank on this list?:

• "The catch from the fan's angle below just continues to amaze me, especially considering its timing." - "The Lineup Card: Eight of the Best Defensive Plays of 2014" - Baseball Prospectus

• DY! DY! DY!! DY!!!:

• "Everything Dmitri Young thought he knew about baseball changed over the course of two weeks in Phoenix earlier this month." - "Nationals Buzz: Former National Young hopes new vision leads to new career path" - Pete Kerzel, MASNSports.com

• Colin Balester = Good Dude. Best of luck:

• Positional Review:

• "The 2014 Nationals were strong across the board, but their strongest piece was their rotation." -"Nationals positional review, part 1: Starting rotation" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• Spring Training home search... Can't they just use Zillow? (None of those ads are reals!!!):

• "The Nationals’ years-long search for a new spring training home was dealt another blow this week..." - "Nationals dealt another blow in Palm Beach spring training site search" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

• "The Washington Nationals and Houston Astros were eyeing some land near 45th Street and Haverhill Road, but will have to look elsewhere." - "Baseball Could be in Trouble in Palm Beach County" - 1230 WBZT

• NatsTown:

• "Ranking All 40 of the 2014 Washington Nationals" - Jamie Mottram, Mr. Irrelevant, a D.C. Sports Blog by the Brothers Mottram

• "Offseason Position Discussion : Catcher" - Harper, Nationals Baseball

• "Season ticket holders who bought entire playoff strips, of course, will not receive refunds; their credits will be applied to their accounts for use in 2015." - "An update on Nats playoff refunds" - Dan Steinberg, The Washington Post

• Blake Treinen Talks:

• "Treinen talks about that and offers his favorite memory of the season in this week's Too Much TV podcast." - "Too Much TV podcast: Treinen recaps MLB rookie season" - Terry Vadrovec, Argus Leader

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Braves: "Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports that John Hart has declined the Atlanta Braves’ offer to remain their permanent-if-only-for-a-while general manager." - "If John Hart won’t be the Braves’ GM, who will?" - Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• Phillies: "Needless to say, a rotation in need of fixing a year ago needs even more fixing this winter." - "Fixing the Phillies: The rotation" - Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Daily News

• Mets: "What Markakis does offer, the Mets need and — by the way — Sandy Alderson likes. He can hit leadoff." - "Why Nick Markakis would be a good fit for Mets" - Joel Sherman, New York Post

• Marlins: "How the Stanton saga plays out will be one of the most followed stories of the Hot Stove season." - "Inbox: When will Stanton talks begin?" - Joe Frisaro, marlins.com

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