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Wire Taps: Nationals celebrate Presidents' Day; Chia Jayson Werth + Nats links

A weekend's worth of Washington Nationals-related links all in one place. It's our daily link post: Wire Taps. All the Nats links, tweets and quotes we could find. Jayson Werth Chia pet. Spring Training stories. MASN Update. And more!!

By Patrick Reddington
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

It's Presidents' Race Day or Presidents' Day or something like that, but more importantly it's another day closer to the start of Spring Training for the defending NL East champion Washington Nationals. Just three days left until pitchers and catchers report, at which point we can all start waiting for Opening Day, the next big day on the calendar. Maybe the first Grapefruit League game is another milepost? Until then, however, we'll have to just do what we can to get by. For now, we'll settle on the usual lunchtime fare of links and lots of them... or as many as we could find at this time of year...

Hey, did someone say it's Presidents' Day?

NATS BEAT: Metal Detectors in Nats Park; Chia-bears; ST Storylines

• "The Nationals have a bunch of prominent players entering the final year of their respective contracts, which means time is running out if the club still has any hope of signing any of them to an extension..." - "Nationals spring storyline No. 5: Last shot for contract negotiations?" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "Anyone attending a game at Nationals Park this season will head through a magnetometer, or walk-through metal detector, before heading through the turnstiles." - "Walk-through metal detectors to bolster Nationals Park security this season" - Chelsea Janes, The Washington Post

• "It's fair to expect another Silver Slugger for Rendon in 2015 and if he continues on this pace, he may need to make room for even bigger awards sooner rather than later." - "Nationals Pastime: Nats positional preview: Third base" - Chris Johnson, MASNSports.com

• "Ranked by MLB.com as the club's top prospect, Giolito showed he fully recovered from Tommy John surgery last year while playing for Class A Hagerstown." - "Nats prospects aiming to push for Majors jobs" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• "Kieboom’s best trait is his bat. Offensive catchers are hard to find and Kieboom had a fine all-around season in 2014, his first back from Tommy John surgery." - "An intriguing non-roster invitee: catching prospect Spencer Kieboom" - James Wagner, The Washington Post

• "Scialabba said the organization's coaches, including ex-major league catcher Michael Barrett, have done a nice job preparing these younger prospects for the next step." - "Severino, Kieboom and Read highlight strong crop of catchers in Nationals system" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com

• "Sure enough, the time has come. When Zimmerman reports to Viera for his 10th spring training with the Nationals, he’ll do so with a first baseman’s mitt, his old infielder’s glove left behind for the first time." - "Nationals spring storyline No. 4: Ryan Zimmerman moves to first base" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "Span committed just four errors in 377 chances last season in center field. More importantly, his speed and instincts saved countless runs..." - "Nationals Pastime: Whose glove do you love? (plus Werth Chia Pets and Rendon gnomes)" - Chris Johnson, MASNSports.com

• "In May, the franchise will honor first Washington manager Frank Robinson, putting his name in the ring of honor and inviting back several of his former players." - "Nats promotional schedule includes Star Wars day, a Anthony Rendon gnome and a Jayson Werth chia-beard" - Dan Steinberg, The Washington Post

• "Saturday will be a special Valentine's Day for Nationals outfielder Denard Span. He is engaged to Shadonna Copeland, who is from the Tampa area." - "Span pulls off very special Valentine's Day plan" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

• "No question, Max Scherzer was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Nationals, but the second most important move came in January..." - "Nationals Pastime: Nats positional preview: Second base" - Chris Johnson, MASNSports.com

• "The Nationals won’t make that move official at the outset of camp. Roark, along with Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez, will work as a starter for now." - "Nationals spring storyline No. 3: What’s Tanner Roark’s role?" - Mark Zuckerman, Nats Insider

• "I'm sure Nats manager Matt Williams would be thrilled if Span could recreate his 2014 season." - "Nationals Pastime: Nats positional preview: Outfield" - Chris Johnson, MASNSports.com

• "It has been quiet regarding contract talks with those four players, but last month, Rizzo sounded as if the team would be intact -- at least for the start of Spring Training." - "Spring fever: Nats ready to begin next chapter" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com

NATIONAL(S) BEAT: ST Rants; More "W" legal talk; NYT absurdities

NATS - SPRING TRAINING:

• "There is probably nobody as bummed out as I am about the Washington Nationals leaving town, heading south to build a new stadium for spring training." - "The Rant: When Nats bolt, March will never be the same" - Michael Parsons, Florida Today

• "Washington Nationals lobbyist Mark Foley said the stadium will attract members of Washington’s political class. Why? They’re from different states who have their own teams." - "Letters" - www.palmbeachpost.com

• "The Astros and Nationals moving to West Palm Beach -- the teams hope to begin play in the facility in 2017 -- means five teams will be on the Treasure Coast or in Palm Beach County." - "MLB: Astros, Nationals celebrate new deal at Governor's Baseball Dinner" - Jon Santucci, TC Palm

WHO OWNS THE "W":

• "According to MLB's claims, WalletHub's representation of the letter W may confuse fans of the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals, who own brand-based trademarks of the same letter." - "MLB battling finance website over trademark of the letter 'W'" - Mark Townsend, Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports

RANDOM NATS MENTIONS: MASN UPDATE

• "The Nationals now contend that this delay has imposed a real hardship on the team, depriving it of the full broadcast rights fee determined by the RSDC for a much longer period of time than the court had originally envisioned." - "Nationals Ask Court to Modify Injunction in MASN Dispute" - Nathaniel Grow, FanGraphs Baseball

• "Oct. 2 — No player hit more than 40 home runs last season, but the WASHINGTON NATIONALS’ Bryce Harper blasts No. 50 against the Mets at Citi Field." - "The Coming Silly Season: Baseball’s 2015 Calendar of the Absurd" - Tyler Kepner, NYTimes.com

• "'He showed my luggage to his kids. But, when I was getting ready to leave, he wrote me a check and said, ‘Man, get you some new luggage.’" - Denard Span - "Torii going on 40: Hunter still has ball to be played" - La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune

• "Starting pitcher Andrew Suarez, who decided to return after being drafted in the second round by the Washington Nationals, got the win in five innings." - "Canes start season strong with sweep of Rutgers" - Victoria Hernandez, The Miami Hurricane

• "'[Clippard] has a changeup that comes out of the same (arm) slot as his fastball. They say it’s just like a Bugs Bunny changeup." - "Five questions for the A’s entering spring training" - Matt Kawahara, The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee

• "Did the Nationals give Max Scherzer a seven-year, $210-million contract in order to create a super-sized rotation for 2015? Or was it for the flexibility to trade one of their starters for another roster need?" - "Spring training's hot topics" - David Lennon, Newsday

• "But off the top of your head, list the favorites to win the 2015 World Series. Right now. The Los Angeles Dodgers. The Washington Nationals. The St. Louis Cardinals. In some order, right?" - "With Nationals, Dodgers and Cardinals all clear World Series favorites, National League holds the edge in intrigue" - Barry Svrluga, The Washington Post

• "Soriano, meanwhile, had a 0.97 ERA for the Nationals before the All-Star break, then collapsed in the second half — perhaps from overuse?" - "What's left for Boras' top free agents?" - Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports

NATSTOWN: FBI HQ; Fat Presidents and so much more

• "Members of five development teams confirmed their submissions. One is led by Theodore Lerner, owner of the Washington Nationals and founder of Lerner Enterprises, which built much of Tysons Corner, Virginia." - "Real estate firms vie to acquire prime FBI headquarters site in D.C." - heraldstandard.com: Business

• "Taylor was named the 2014 Eastern League Rookie of the Year after hitting .313/.396/.539 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs during 98 games with Double-A Harrisburg." - "Five Things To Know About Nationals Prospect Michael Taylor" - Justin Silberman, Pressbox DC

• "The Washington Nationals have the highest projected win total in 2015, according to the first sportsbook to release MLB regular season win total odds." - "Nationals Projected to Win MLB-best 93 Games in 2015" - Chris Lingebach, CBS DC

• "If the Nats don’t have a photo of Taft outside of snowy Nationals Park tomorrow, it’ll be a social media fail." - "Here comes the Fat Presidents storm!" - Williams F. Yurasko, William World News

• "With spring training upon us, I thought I would take stock of the club’s roster and how they got here." - "How The 2015 Washington Nationals Came To Be" - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog

• "What might get unnoticed is that the Nats offense finished third in the N.L. last season in runs scored, fourth in on-base percentage and fifth in slugging — and should be better." - "Washington Nationals laundry list short for spring training" - Dave Nichols, District Sports Page

• "As far as I can figure, the 2015 Nationals will head into Spring Training with at least 23 of their 25 slots filled and ready to go." - "Nats Spring Training Question #5: Is the 25 Man Roster Already Set?" - Nationals 101

NL EAST UPDATES: Simmons' D; Mets on Opening Day; Trading Cole

• Braves: "With spring training fast approaching, it's time for one of our favorite new traditions here at Big League Stew. The viewing of Andrelton Simmons' defensive highlight reel from the previous season." - "Watch Andrelton Simmons' best defensive highlights from 2014" - Mark Townsend, Big League Stew - Yahoo Sports

• "As mentioned a time or two, the Atlanta Braves have changed. By design, they’re no longer Frank Wren’s team." - "Some chilly projections for the new-look Braves" - Mark Bradley, AJC.com

• Phillies: "You can’t miss on this, Howard [Eskin]," Bowa said on Monday of trading Hamels. 'You got to make sure you get the right kid here when you trade him.'" - "Bowa: ‘You Can’t Miss’ On Trading Hamels'" - Howard Eskin, CBS Philly

• Marlins: "Under the direction of president of baseball operations Michael Hill, the organization has made a number of significant upgrades that should vault the youthful club into playoff contention." - "Hill has three messages for Marlins fans on Presidents' Day" - Joe Frisaro, marlins.com

• Mets: "All winter we've been tracking how the Mets lineup could look that day in Washington against the Nationals." - "Is this the Mets' lineup on Opening Day vs. Washington Nationals?" - Mike Vorkunov, NJ.com

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