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Wire Taps: The Washington Nationals, the team the New York Mets beat out in the East

The Washington Nationals' search for a new manager continued on Monday with Bud Black and Dusty Baker both back in the nation's capital for a second round of interviews. Oh, and did you hear about the New York Mets being in the World Series?

By Patrick Reddington
Greg Fiume/Getty Images

The internet is a dispiriting place for fans of the Washington Nationals these days, with the Nationals reduced to a footnote in stories about the New York Mets' run to the World Series (which starts tonight, apparently). Story after story out there talks about how the Nationals were supposed to dominate the division after adding to an already-impressive rotation with the Max Scherzer signing, but it was the Mets' rotation that dominated the competition on the way to an NL East title and NLDS and NLCS wins. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz match up with the Kansas City Royals now. Enjoy baseball while you can, it'll all be over soon...

Meanwhile... as for the Nats? They're still looking for a new manager... with a second round of interviews reportedly taking place in the nation's capital on Monday:

• "The Nationals are expected to settle on a choice by the end of the week. Major League Baseball prohibits teams from making major announcements during the World Series." - "Bud Black, Dusty Baker getting second interviews with Nationals on Monday" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

BTW: Cal Ripken's not sore at the Nationals for not giving him a ring this time around...

• "Black and Baker, both experienced big-league managers, appear to have separated themselves from a larger pool of at least eight initial candidates who met with Nationals officials over the last two weeks seeking the job." - "Nationals narrow managerial search to finalists" - Mark Zuckerman, CSN Mid-Atlantic

• "So with San Diego battling to a disappointing 32-33 start, Preller fired Black on June 15. The move was considered a shock to most of the players." - "Nationals Pastime: Report: Bud Black emerges as frontrunner to become next Nats manager" - Chris Johnson, MASNSports.com

• "Harvey was in his third pro season, was 24 years old and had thrown 483 1/3 total innings. Strasburg? He was still in his first pro season, had just turned 22 weeks before blowing out his elbow and had thrown a total of only 123 1/3 innings." - "Point/Counterpoint: Does Harvey in WS change view on Strasburg?" - Mark Zuckerman, Chase Hughes - CSN Mid-Atlantic

NATIONAL(S) BEAT: Stories about the Mets that mention the Nats and more

• "In the bottom of the 12th inning, Wilmer Flores—remember him?—clouts a game-winning solo home run to lead the Mets past the first-place Washington Nationals." - "A Brief History of the Mets' Remarkable, Roller Coaster Season" - John Walters, Newsweek.com

• "Everyone was drooling over the rotation the Nationals had put together, after they signed Max Scherzer last winter." - "Mets make for compelling challenge for go-go Royals" - Tony Paul, The Detroit News

• "Since the Cubs are big Zimmermann fans, do they double down on that six-year, $155 million contract and offer something in Lester’s neighborhood?" - "Will Cubs double down with another Jon Lester-level megadeal?" - Patrick Mooney, CSN Chicago

• "If he lands the job, Black could take some of the Padres’ coaching staff with him. His longtime pitching coach, Darren Balsley, would appear to be one such candidate." - "Former Padres interim manager Pat Murphy to be named Brewers’ bench coach" - Dennis Lin, SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

AFL UPDATE: Kie-Boom! + Bostick + De Los Santos

• Scottsdale 10-3 over Salt River - Kieboom - 1 for 3, BB; Chris Bostick - 1 for 3 - BOX SCORE

NL EAST UPDATES: Phillies' GM + Donnie Marlin + Respect Bethancourt

• Phillies: "'I think as a rule of thumb the free-agent market is not the best place to invest your money . . . that's the last place we should focus,' Klentak said." - "Free agency not in Phillies' plans" - Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Daily News

• Mets: "Some of us outside the clubhouses listened a little too closely, however, ignoring the reality he hadn’t yet earned the right to be outspoken." - "Matt Harvey’s résumé finally catching up to his loud persona" - Ken Davidoff, New York Post

• Marlins: "Former Dodgers manager Don Mattingly interviewed for the Marlins’ managerial job Monday, and both sides are interested in striking a deal in the coming days, barring something unforeseen." - "Signs positive as Don Mattingly interviews with Miami Marlins for manager job" - Barry Jackson, Miami Herald

• Braves: "I did not agree with the decision to take the primary catching role away from Bethancourt less than two weeks into this season." - "Will Braves target relivers this offseason?" - Mark Bowman, braves.com

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