Stephen Strasburg Nats $15 Million Bonus

IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT OF MONEY compared to what CC Sabathia got last winter, but $15.1 million is a boatload for a phenom who has only pitched competitively at the college level. Yes Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jose Contreras landed at least twice that amount, but for all competitive purposes they were much more seasoned than Strasburg and were either entering or in their prime, even if never having pitched at the big-league level.

Josh Willingham's Grande Double Latte

COFFEE IS MY CHOICE OF PICK ME UP, but the other evening when I ordered a medium (or grande or whatever you want to call it) cup of coffee at the local bookstore the cashier asked me if I wanted the large for 10 cents more. I declined by telling her that I didn't want to drink that much coffee. Now I don't know what Josh Willingham drank prior to hitting those two grand slams last night, but if he drank coffee, it must have been a customized Grande Double Latte. And if I were the marketing department for the Nats, I'd immediately rename the largest drink The Josh Willingham.

Survivor Washington...and the Winner Is...

IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME before Nationals manager Manny Acta got the boot. The original sketch was posted back in March and it looks like team president Stan Kasten is THE WINNER...well, okay, not really. With the Nationals on pace for a paltry 48 wins this year, the dog days of summer will be long and hot in D.C.

Boras' New Stephen Strasburg Shades

TUESDAY IS THE FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT, but it'll only be the tip of the iceberg for the team that selects phenom fireballer Stephen Strasburg. The real fun won't start until negotiations begin. While the average Joe may balk at Scott Boras' $50 million dollar bonus suggestion, the real question is whether Washington Nationals' owner and billionaire Ted Lerner will balk at that figure? Lerner has the money, but there's also the question of whether it sets a very dangerous precedent for the rarest of talent. SI's Jon Heyman breaks down the options in his article.

Ryan Zimmerman Walks Away with 30

RYAN ZIMMERMAN'S HITTING STREAK ENDED yesterday at 30 games and I couldn't help but notice the 2 walks. Some say a walk is as good as a hit, but not this streak. Still 30 games is a nice run, but I'm sure Zimmerman would trade it for 10 more wins.

The Big Unit: A Giant Among Giants

IT WASN'T PRETTY but Randy Johnson picked up his 298th career win on Monday over Daniel Cabrera and the Washingon Nationals. Turns out it was one of the tallest matchups in baseball history with Johnson at 6'-10" and Cabrera at 6'-9". That's a whole lot of tall!

Statues at Nationals Park

IT FEELS LIKE THIS IS TURNING INTO a Washington Nationals blog, just that you really ought to see these recently unveiled statues of Walter Johnson, Frank Howard and Josh Gibson outside of Nationals Park created by sculptor Omri Amrany. Make your own judgments about them. Love, dislike or apathy? Yes, those are multiple limbs, balls and bats.







(Photo credits: flickr/Shelley935)

Little League Lemonade

SOME DAYS BASEBALL IS JUST WEIRD like when Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo and manager Manny Acta, seeking to change the team culture, fined Elijah Dukes $500 for being five minutes late to the clubhouse, only to find out later that his tardiness was a result of attending Great Falls Little League's season opening event. So the Little League organizers decided they would pay the fine for what was deemed as community involvement by Dukes. But now I'm reading that Dukes was actually paid $500 to attend the event. Throw sympathy out the window. The real loser here is Great Falls Little League, voluntarily forking over $1001 total (that extra $1 for administrative fees) for this mess. So much for changing the team culture.

Final Payday
Washington Nationals: $501
Elijah Dukes: $500
Great Falls Little League: -$1,001

A Washington Protest: Bring Our Boys Home!

THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS SCORED FIVE RUNS on friday, losing 6-5 to Atlanta in extra-innings, but they should have scored a lot more. Having loaded the bases four times, the Nats just could not manage to break open the game. It's only one of many issues the team needs to address as they begin a long season.

Survivor Washington

Nationals Player to Be Named Later