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Wire Taps: Nationals claim Eric Fornataro; Name Bob Miller VP and Asst. GM

The Washington Nationals claimed right-hander Eric Fornataro off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. Bob Miller finally joined the Nats after weeks of rumors he would. Will Leitch feels your pain. Q: What will it cost the Nats to trade for Howie Kendrick?

By Patrick Reddington
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

If you have been around long enough to be a fan of the second Washington Senators, then you can probably claim to be long-suffering. If you suffered through 30+ years without a local team in the nation's capital, you likely know sports-related "pain."

"The Nationals are loaded with talent, so the odds are excellent they'll be back in the postseason next year..." - Will Leitch, Sports on Earth.com

If you were a fan of the original Senators, you surely have had your share of suffering in terms of sports fandom, of course, since they won their one and only World Series in 1924 and hadn't been to the postseason in 27 seasons when they left for Texas in 1960-61.

Montreal Expos fans who have struck with the franchise like myself have waited for years to even see a postseason game after their one run in 1981 and the what-could-have-been frustration of the 1994 team and they've never seen a World Series...

Sports on Earth.com's Will Leitch focuses more on the recent postseason failures in writing about the "pain" D.C.-based baseball fans have dealt with in today's BIG STORY!!!:

• How many years does it take before you're really "long-suffering?":

• "17. Washington Nationals. Last title: Never. World Series appearances: None. The Nats are shooting up this list with a bullet. They had another painful postseason flameout..." - "Which MLB fans have dealt with the most pain?" - SportsonEarth.com : Will Leitch Article

• Bring your best "Taylor Swift" reference/joke:

• "Sorry, Swift, but we are never ever ever becoming part of Maryland." - "Taylor Swift Will Play 'Washington, D.C., Maryland' In 2015" - Sarah Anne Hughes, DCist

• "Taylor Swift, who recently ruined a lot of people’s days by removing her new album from Spotify, is performing next summer at Nationals Park as part of her tour." - "Even Bryce Harper is excited that Taylor Swift is performing at Nationals Park" - Nina Mandell, For The Win

• "The most expensive date across the tour came at Verizon Center in Washington D.C. with an average price of $372.29. It will be a venue that gets passed over for this tour as Swift will play her D.C. date at Nationals Park." - "Tickets For Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour Likely To Exceed $200 Million In Gross Sales" - Jesse Lawrence, Forbes.com

• Your Daily Message from the Dalai Lama on Twitter (@DalaiLama):

• Fangraphs stuff:

• "Denard Span was going to have a triple either way, but Springer gave him an extra base with a weird divefall and a complete lack of hand-eye coordination." - "A Season Recap of the Little League Home Run" - August Fagerstrom, FanGraphs Baseball

• "The headline on this column may not feel particularly bold, seeing as Ian Desmond finished 2014 as the No. 1 shortstop in fantasy." - "Making the Case for Ian Desmond as Fantasy’s Top Shortstop" - Scott Strandberg, FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball

• Bob Miller to D.C. Stories:

• "To fill the front office vacancy, Rizzo turned to a former colleague. Miller spent seven seasons with the Diamondbacks..." - "Nationals hire Bob Miller as VP, assistant GM" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

• "Miller and Rizzo worked together for seven seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They were both in the front office when the D-Backs won the 2001 World Series." - "Nationals add Bob Miller as VP and Assistant GM" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "In his recent role with the Reds, Miller had a hand in all aspects of baseball operations, including arbitration cases, contract negotiations, rules, player evaluations and departmental budgeting." - "Nationals Pastime: Nats hire Bob Miller as vice president and assistant GM (Fornataro claimed)" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• "After nine seasons with the Reds, Miller will assist in all facets of baseball operations as he is reunited with general manager Mike Rizzo." - "Nationals name Miller VP, assistant general manager" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• Nationals' 40-Man Roster Full:

• "Fornataro thrives with a heavy fastball that produces few strikeouts but prevents home runs and induces grounders in droves." - "Nationals add Eric Fornataro from Cardinals on waiver claim" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "Fornataro will be 27 on Opening Day. He throws a fastball that averages 92.8 miles per hour and a curveball that sits in the high-70s." - "Nats claim RHP Eric Fornataro from St. Louis Cardinals" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "The Nationals added to their 40-man roster Monday, acquiring right-hander Eric Fornataro on a waiver claim from the Cardinals." - "Nationals claim righty Fornataro off waivers from Cards" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• NatsTown:

• "Buried in an August Washington Post report about the NHL's search for a 2015 Winter Classic venue was a mention that the league had informally reached out to the National Park Service about using the National Mall." - "Designing the perfect outdoor NHL venue in Chicago" - SportsonEarth.com : Joe DeLessio Article

• "Boosting the 2015 Hurricanes will be the return of Andrew Suarez, who opted to return to school after being drafted in the second round by the Washington Nationals." - "Baseball: Hurricanes 2015 recruiting class ranked No. 2 by Perfect Game" - Matt Porter, Canes Watch

• "A while back, I postulated that the Nats were going to have a 'roster crunch' this coming off-season thanks to the litany of new-adds and 60-day DL shuffling." - "Nats 40-man Option status for 2015" - Todd Boss, Nationals Arm Race

• Nats Free Agent/Second Base Talk:

• "They traded for Asdrubal Cabrera at the deadline rather than hand the position to Danny Espinosa..." - "Washington Nationals’ options at second base" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post

• "Two years ago they signed eight free agents and traded for Denard Span in late November. On Dec. 5 of 2010 they shocked the baseball world by signing Jayson Werth away from the Phillies." - "MLB free agency officially begins tonight" - Chase Hughes, Nats Insider

• "The bullpen should largely look the same next season, minus Soriano. And we'll likely see a few of the same bench players return..." - "Nationals Pastime: What's the area you'd like to see be Nats' biggest focus this offseason?" - Dan Kolko, MASNSports.com

• NL East Updates:

• Braves: "Given that their farm system is weak and they are more than a minor tweak or two away from being a legit pennant contender again, it might be in the Braves' best interest to begin focusing on the future..." - "Inbox: Could Uptons, Heyward get traded?" - Mark Bowman, braves.com

• Phillies: "Burnett received a $1 million buyout from the Phillies for declining their half of a mutual option." - "Burnett declines to exercise option to stay with Phils" - Todd Zolecki, phillies.com

• Mets: "Michael Cuddyer all but fell off the Mets’ radar Monday when Colorado made him a qualifying offer of $15.3 million, so the team that is in dire need of an outfield bat and shortstop was forced to keep its options open." - "Rockies offer for Michael Cuddyer takes Mets out of bidding for outfield bat" - Kristie Ackert, NY Daily News

• Marlins: "Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported in the middle of last week that the Marlins are 'fully committed' to signing their star right fielder long term..." - "Marlins want Giancarlo Stanton signed by Winter Meetings" - Scott Gelman, Fish Stripes

• A: The Angels wouldn't take Tanner Roark and Ross Detwiler would they? A 27-year-old, long-shot success story with multiple years of control and a 1st Round pick without a role for a 31-year-old second baseman coming off a 4.6 fWAR who has one year of control remaining before free agency? Too much not enough? Who's going to be the first to yell for even thinking about trading Roark? Would it have to be Jordan Zimmermann or Doug Fister? Whichever one won't sign long-term? And then a left-hander like FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal mentioned?

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