Washington Nationals

The Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals engaged in a pretty ugly melee on Wednesday night, and the more I read about the events as they transpired the more I am beginning to think that something isn't right.

When Nyjer Morgan was hit in the hip by a fourth inning Chris Volstad fastball in last night's game, it was payback for Morgan running over Florida catcher Brett Hayes a night earlier. Late in the game a full-fledged brawl erupted when Morgan was thrown at again.

After Rob Dibble made these comments (on his XM Radio show) about Washington Nationals rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg—"Okay, you throw a pitch, it bothers your arm, and you immediately call out the manager and the trainer? Suck it up, kid"—it was conveniently announced that he was on vacation.

Wednesday night's Nationals-Marlins benches-clearing brawl, which could have arguably been started via the Marlins bench after Nyjer Morgan was "unsportsmanlike" in stealing second and third with a Nationals deficit, and Morgan's WWE-like exit from the field may have been the icing on the cake for Morgan's season.

by Brett Lay

The Washington Nationals announced in a conference call this morning that phenom rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s mutant right arm has lost its powers due to recent sunspot activity.

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said Strasburg realized there was a problem when he could no longer summon the powers of a Norse god of thunder to fling baseballs at his normal average speed of several hundred miles an hour in a recent practice.

Let's not anoint Stephen Strasburg the next Mark Prior yet. There's no need.

After the revelation that Strasburg needs Tommy John surgery, people are ready to compare him to busts just as quickly as they heaped praise upon him. When you are a pitcher of his magnitude, that is what happens.

Strasburg came into the major leagues with great fanfare. We all know that. Of course, when you have all this hype, you have the burden of living up to it. And for a short time this summer, he did.

Minus just one shaky outing, Strasburg pitched like an ace.

But now this.

When news broke last week that Nationals phenom Steven Strasburg needed Tommy John surgery and likely won't throw a pitch in the Major Leagues until 2012, the mood around D.C. was predictably apocalyptic.

For a team that hasn't finished better than .500 since their 2005 move to Washington, losing their crown jewel in Strasburg seemed like an unusually cruel blow to Nats fans. All hope is not lost however.

It’s time to continue our journey around the league, looking at each team’s closer situation.  

The AL Central is home to one of the most fluid closing situations and also one of the most stable options in the league.  Let’s take a look at their updated situation, as well as the other three teams in the division:

Chicago White Sox

I’m back after two exciting weeks in and around Dumaguete City in the Philippines.  An awful lot has happened since I was away: Lou Piniella’s decision to retire sooner rather than later, Roger Clemens getting indicted, the Giants’ vaunted starters posting the worst ERA of any starting rotation in the National League so far in August.

Almost three months ago, Nationals Stadium was filled for one of the only times in its existence. Not because the Nationals were playing well, but because the most sought-after prospect in baseball, Stephen Strasburg, was set to make his debut.

The day was June 8, 2010. The opposing team was the Pittsburgh Pirates. If the uniforms and players faces were unidentifiable, you would have thought that it was Game 7 of the World Series. And with all the excitement, nobody was let down.