A Rising Tide in Washington
June 13, 2012 by Ted Leavengood · 2 Comments
The Potomac River is near flood stage as it boils through the rapids at Great Falls, a crescendo of roaring noise. Further downstream from that much photographed natural beauty, at Nationals Park, a wave of human noise has not even begun to crest as fans of the Washington Nationals cheer a team that has risen […]
Clearing The Bases
May 10, 2012 by George Kurtz · Leave a Comment
As Fantasy owners we have been complaining all season about one of three things. Players who are off to slow starts (Albert Pujols, Jose Bautista), injuries (Jacoby Ellsbury, Chris Carpenter, Carl Crawford), and the weekly merry-go-round that has been the closer situation throughout baseball (half the league). This week however, we are starting to get […]
Why Davey Johnson Is So Unhappy
May 10, 2012 by Ted Leavengood · 4 Comments
One thing about Bryce Harper’s steal of home a few days ago, it brought a smile to the face of his manager Davey Johnson. Johnson has otherwise found too little to smile about during the first month of the 2012 season, despite the overall good performance of his team. Davey was a hitter. That is […]
Batting Practice with the Z-Man
March 30, 2012 by Ted Leavengood · Leave a Comment
There are so few players who can lift the average fan from his seat during batting practice. It most commonly takes one of those leviathan sluggers like a Frank Howard or Mark McGwire to send ball after ball rocketing into the stands. So I was taken aback when in Kissimmee, Florida for a game between […]
The Impact of Prince Fielder in Washington
January 20, 2012 by Ted Leavengood · 5 Comments
Prince Fielder was always one of the impact players in this year’s free agent class, but he is still out there and according to the “industry analysts” the table continues to tilt increasingly toward Washington as his landing spot. This morning Adam Kilgore in the Washington Post summarized the case, saying he is “Washington’s to […]
Know When to Hold Them, When to Fold Them
August 1, 2011 by Ted Leavengood · Leave a Comment
Last year at this time the Washington Nationals were patting themselves on the back about reeling in Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps. It was a good trade because everyone was a winner. Fishing for Denard Span off the same pier in July 2011 has proved not as productive. The Twinkies wanted the keys to the […]
Clearing The Bases
June 16, 2011 by George Kurtz · Leave a Comment
Last week we discussed the most disappointing players at each position, this week we’ll go with the most surprising, players who are playing well and above what we thought they might in spring training. Some of the players listed are no longer playing at that position but that is where they qualified at coming into […]
Turning the Corner in DC
March 28, 2011 by Ted Leavengood · Leave a Comment
The future for the Washington Nationals is about to arrive. Â The major league team looks vastly improved from the ones that finished dead last among the 30 teams two years in a row. Â But Baseball America’s new rankings put the Washington development pipeline at number 13 among MLB organizations. Â That climb from the bottom may […]
Closing Arguments in Washington
March 31, 2010 by Ted Leavengood · Leave a Comment
The Nationals have played their last 2010 spring game in Viera, FL and are headed north. Â The jury is still out. Â They have won a few more spring games, but benching Cristian Guzman for Ian Desmond will make speed and athleticism a big factor for the 2010 Nationals. Â The move is exhibit A in a […]
