Nyjer Morgan

Tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers (7-5) come into Washington, D.C. to face off against the Nationals (5-7).

Opening Day 2011 is less than a week away, and the Washington Nationals have yet to officially name their starting center fielder. Unofficially, the Washington Post is reporting that Rick Ankeil will get the nod, essentially banishing Nyjer Morgan to Syracuse to start the season.

This spring, there has been plenty of consternation in the Phillies organization and around the Phillies fan nation.

Seemingly everyday a new concern arises, whether it’s Chase Utley’s knee, Dominic Brown’s hand, Placido Polanco’s elbow, etc. Adding Luis Castillo will certainly give depth to the infield, but what about the outfield?

It was 60 degrees in DC Monday, and on Tuesday Washington Nationals pitchers and catchers reported for Spring Training.

It’s official: Baseball’s back.

The Washington Nationals have a lot riding on the upcoming season. Though 2012 is supposed to be the beginning of the team’s window of contention, a bad 2011 would be devastating. Every last bit of fan good will—if any remains—would be forever lost.

Six years of losing ugly is too much. A seventh year would end the Miracle in Washington before it ever started.

It won’t be too long now before Nationals’ General Manager Mike Rizzo has completed the revamping of the team’s lineup.

Whether or not he succeeds in finding that top-of-the-rotation starter, that extra reliever or a thumping first baseman, won’t be known for some time yet.

For the most part, Nationals’ fans are a forgiving lot. Over the years, both Rizzo and former GM Jim Bowden have made some pretty bad personnel moves and they all were taken in stride.

Last Night Rewind

The Washington Nationals have 19 games remaining in the 2010 season.  If they win three of them, they will avoid losing 100 games for the third straight season.  It's little solace for Nats fans that harbored illusions of a wild-card berth when the team got off to a 20-15 start.

Nyjer Morgan's latest suspension for charging Marlins P Chris Volstad for throwing behind him drew a ludicrous eight game suspension from Bud Selig, in addition to his previous seven game suspension currently under appeal.

Volstad allegedly threw behind Morgan in retaliation for a heinous crime: Stealing two bases in a row when his team was down by 10 runs.

Oh no. He's lucky he doesn't get suspended for that, too.

The Florida Marlins have publicly stated that whatever media sources are reporting a brawl during their game last night are false. Major League Baseball says that since there were no fans at the Marlins game last night, there are no witnesses to prove otherwise. 

The Marlins have become synonymous with having a very low attendance average. On television, there are not any fans in the seats and thus a ton of orange seats are left exposed to the cameras. Last night was no exception.