Fan News

Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are the future of the Washington Nationals. 

Strasburg will be the ace of a formidable starting rotation for years to come, and Bryce Harper will anchor the outfield and the lineup with his five-tool talent. The future is in good hands. 

Here are seven reasons why the Washington Nationals need to quickly sign both players to long-term contracts to ensure the successful future of the franchise.

Adam Wainwright has gotten off to a pretty rough start this season, posting an ERA of 5.77 prior to Tuesday's action.

After Tuesday night's contest against the Padres though, it's safe to say that his ERA will see a nice drop.

Wainwright pitched a shutout against the Padres, throwing just 111 pitches over nine innings while allowing just five baserunners—four hits and one walk. He also struck out nine.

As a devoted Detroit Tigers fan and follower, I probably should not be discussing the Cleveland Indians. But sometimes my love for the greater game of baseball takes precedence over my own biases.

Tuesday night's victory over the Atlanta Braves proved to be an encouraging sign for the Cincinnati Reds.

The Washington Nationals are being cautious with Ryan Zimmerman since his DL stint earlier this season.

Zimmerman was originally in the lineup on Tuesday but was scratched after manager Davey Johnson forced him to sit according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.

Playing Rough

Something you hear a lot about from fans is the lack of an "old-school" mentality in the modern game of baseball.

Well, Joe Maddon has struck again.

Maddon is definitely known for some, well, different lineup decisions—catcher John Jaso leading off in previous seasons is a good example.

Tuesday night's contest featured an even more absurd move, as Maddon penciled in Carlos Pena's name in the No. 1 spot in the order.

Needless to say, I was confused.

Why would Maddon put his best run-producer in the leadoff spot of the order?

The Washington Nationals bullpen appears to be in trouble and Chien-Ming Wang is on his way to the MLB to provide some help.

That's gone by fast.

It seems as though just yesterday was the start of the 2012 MLB Season. Yet we find ourselves in the middle of May at the quarter-mark of the 162-game season wondering, "Where did all that time go?"

That's baseball for you, folks. The next quarter will fly by as quickly as the last, and soon enough, it will be September, in the heat of playoff races. And playoff time means time for awards. 

After holding relatively steady for the past couple of weeks, we have some shuffling in the NL Rookie of the Year rankings. 

There's a change at the top, due to the previous week's front-runner fighting through a slump. That's created an opportunity for others to move up, including one guy whose bat has stayed hot.