MLB News and Rumors

Washington Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper has been ejected by third base umpire John Hirschbeck for arguing a checked-swing third strike.

Harper tried to hold up on a 2-2 pitch from Pirates left-hander Wandy Rodriguez in the first inning Sunday, and home plate umpire Bob Davidson pointed to Hirschbeck for help. Hirschbeck ruled that Harper had swung.

Harper stood outside the batter’s box, stared at Hirschbeck for a few moments and dropped his bat. Hirschbeck then gave last year’s NL Rookie the Year the thumb.

It was the second ejection of Harper’s career. Harper was also thrown out of a game last Aug. 29 against the New York Mets by C.B. Bucknor for spiking his helmet after grounding into a double play.

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The Washington Nationals employed the double steal in the top of the ninth inning to defeat Pittsburgh 5-4 on Saturday.
After the double steal by Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche, Nationals outfielder Tyler Moore hit a sacrifice fly to score Zimmerman. In the bottom of the inning Rafael Soriano notched his 10th save of the season.
The win came hours after manager Davey Johnson held a team meeting aimed to alleviate any pressure on the Nationals players.
Stephen Strasburg started the game for the Nationals, his first start since experiencing arm issues against Atlanta on Monday. In a back and forth game, Strasburg allowed four runs over seven innings on five hits while striking out eight batters.
Playing in his second game since being activated from the disabled list Zimmerman finished the day 1-for-2 with a triple in addition to two walks. He was responsible for three of the Nationals five runs scored.

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Julie Alexandria’s first two night on the job covering the Nationals for MASN have been wet ones.
No, rain hasn’t been on the forecast, but Gatorade has. Alexandria has had the unfortunate luck to cover back to back one-hitters at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
She happened to be standing next to Gio Gonzalez when he received his Gatorade shower after a one-hitter on Thursday night, and it almost seemed like the sideline reporter was the target for the Gatorade dump Jordan Zimmermann earned for his efforts on Friday night.
Alexandria was a good sport on both occasions, but we have a feeling this may grow old (and cold) over time. Check out the Gatorade showers in the videos below.
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When Washington Nationals’ top prospect Anthony Rendon was called up from AA Harrisburg after Saturday’s win against the New York Mets, many fans and pundits across baseball wondered how the injury to Ryan Zimmerman could affect the Nationals and their “World Series or bust” proclamation by Manager Davey Johnson. While this injury seems like it could have a negative impact, Rendon’s call-up will allow Nationals’ management a glimpse into the future and see how their corner infield could shake out in the next two to three years.

While the Nationals will miss Zimmerman’s lifetime .282 batting average, Rendon may be a more than adequate replacement at third base. Recently, both fans and the media have questioned Zimmerman’s ability to play third base in the future and have speculated that Zimmerman could be moved to first base eventually to make room for Rendon at third. General Manager Mike Rizzo will now be able to evaluate Rendon’s abilities in his likely two-week stint with …

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Apparently, some Washington Nationals fans are really, really against The Wave. So much so that they even created this flier (seen above) to urge people to stop partaking in the stadium tradition.It remains to be seen whether or not the “Stop the Wave” movement will actually work, but at least Nationals fans have something to complain about other than the product on the field nowadays. Rumor has it that the leaders of this dubious protest are gunning to eliminate foam fingers from the confines of Nationals Park once their work with The Wave is finished.Via Big League Stew

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Baseball can be a rough game at times, especially during Spring Training, but Nationals reliever Will Ohman got a bit of a surprise on Sunday when Washington cut him…before their game with the Cardinals was even over. Will Ohman, who pitched the sixth inning today, was cut before the game ended. Tough day at the office. — Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) March 3, 2013 That’s a little rough, but understandable given that Ohman allowed two hits and two walks in a scoreless inning against the Cardinals, The 35-year old Ohman had a 6.41 ERA in 26 2/3 innings for the White Sox last season, striking out 13 and walking five. The team ended up releasing him in July and he signed with the Reds, pitcihng to a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings with AAA Louisville with 17 strikeouts and ten walks. In his prime, Ohman was pure death towards lefthanders, allowing a career .643 OPS against them.  Even wtih his poor performance in camp and last season, cutting him in the middle of the game seems…

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The Washington Nationals had their practice interrupted on Thursday after a large bird dropped a fish onto the field. Newly acquired outfielder Denard Span spoke about the unusual occurrence in this video clip, courtesy of The Washington Post.Apparently, the bird, which is believed to be an osprey, soared over the field while clutching something in its talons. As it flew over center field, the bird had a case of butterfingers and dropped what players soon realized to be a fish onto the grass.”As it closer we could tell it was a fish, or some type of animal from the water,” said Span, who was startled by the bird. “And then he dropped it. And that’s when everyone huddled around the fish and started looking up and it was entertaining.”According to a witness, the bird then began circling the field, perhaps weighing the risk of reclaiming its lost meal. That’s when Span allegedly started screaming and making noises at the bird to discourage it from returning.”I kept thinki…

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The Atlanta Braves have long sought after the Upton brothers, and this offseason they acquired both B.J. and Justin. But will Turner Field get to watch two of the most naturally gifted athletes in Major League Baseball, or two of the most enigmatic, frustrating players ever to step on the diamond?
The truth is a little of both. While Atlanta gave up a fair amount in terms of prospects — not to mention Martin Prado, the guy they projected to take over at third base for Chipper Jones – right now it gives them perhaps the second-best outfield in baseball, behind the Angels and whoever they team up with Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout. Combining the Upton brothers with Jason Heyward gives Atlanta of the most athletic, flatly talented outfields ever.
But it still won’t make them an N.L. East champion in 2013.
The problem is, as talented as we know the Uptons are, a large part of the infatuation with them is based on what evaluators think they’re capable of, not how they’ve actually produced…

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