All Stories
A Moneyball World Series proves that money isn’t everything!
Many have been conditioned to hearing that the Washington Nationals seven consecutive losing seasons (2020-2026) were based on not spending enough on player payroll. That certainly wasn’t the case in 2020 or even 2021 when the Nationals were still a Top-10 spender to start each season. A lack of spending could have been the case in 2026 if you want to conveniently use hindsight. The Nats were supposed to be in another rebuild in 2026. It turned out that they were actually in contention for more than half the season. Shoulda. Coulda. Woulda. Fact is, the Nats were terrible and aged out in 2021 and began their rebuild in July 2021. The Los Viejos just got too old; Patrick Corbin stopped being good, and Stephen Strasburg was paid $35 million a year for seven years through this 2026 season while he was injured for all but six partial games of what should have been at least 210 games. Combined through most of those losing years, the Nats were wasting nearly $60 million a year on Strasburg and Corbin that was not spent on high-producing players. Again, tough luck. The Nats won a World Series with that duo, and then spent the following years watching consistent losing. Add to that, the coaching was suspect, the farm system was poor, and the technology was not upgraded. That was then and this is now. Before this year, the Nats were still operating like they were using an outdated philosophy on building a roster…
Inside the Owner’s Box Came with a Snub!
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday night, The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. hosted a high-profile panel titled “ Inside the Owner’s Box,” but Mark Lerner, the principal owner of the Washington Nationals, was noticeably not invited per a source. The name of the event comes from David Rubenstein’s book, “ Inside the Owner’s Box” that was recently published. Rubenstein appeared on the event panel (he is both the chairman of the Economic Club as well as the owner of the regional rival Baltimore Orioles), specifically brought together with four major Washington, D.C. sports franchise owners. While the majority owner of D.C.’s Major League Baseball team, the Lerner family, was left off the guest list, the panel featured several other prominent local sports owners: Josh Harris: Washington Commanders (NFL) Ted Leonsis: Washington Capitals (NHL), Wizards (NBA), and Mystics (WNBA) Michele Kang: Washington Spirit (NWSL) Mark Ein: Washington Kastles (World Team Tennis) In addition to being the principal owner of the Nationals, the Lerner family also holds a minority stake in Leonsis’s Monumental Sports & Entertainment, making Lerner’s exclusion from the city’s sports owner lineup even more conspicuous. Prior to purchasing the Orioles, Rubenstein joined Leonsis, reportedly in advanced talks, to purchase the Washington Nationals from the Lerner family. The deal failed to cross the finish line, and Rubenstein pivoted to a purchase of the Baltimore Orioles in a deal that closed in 2024 for $1.725 billion. This year, the Orioles grew their payroll to a team record of $166.7 million. The…
Game #7 Terps have a must-win game on Saturday!
College Park, MD — We seem to say this every week that the Maryland Terrapins have a must-win game on any given Saturday. Okay, we did not say that last week since the Terps were playing a very good Ohio State team, but we sure said it when the Terps got beat by Nebraska the week before. Head coach Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins have Rutgers in SECU Stadium for a Big-10 showdown of the bottom teams in the conference. Look, there is no sugarcoating it. A four-game skid has left the Maryland Terrapins (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) in a position nobody in College Park wanted to see at the midway point of the season. After a rough road trip to Columbus, the frustration among the fanbase is palpable. But college football is a season of chapters, and this Saturday presents the ultimate opportunity to flip the script against…
NL East Should be Opening Up!
The NL East has three teams that could be aging out, and they all have poor farm systems. The Washington Nationals are aging in as the youngest team in baseball, and they have an excellent farm system. Today, Bryce Harper turns 34. Father time is undefeated. Baseball years are kind of like dog years. On this day in 2027, he will be 35. Harper’s OPS is down nearly 18 percent from 2021 and while his numbers are still good, at some point age regression could hit hard. His own team president, Dave Dombrowski, called him ❝ NOT ELITE ❞ in a troubling statement on the day of Harper’s 33ʳᵈ birthday, a year ago. Maybe Dombrowski learned on how to talk to his players as he said he talked to Trea Turner recently and said, “ He did not have a good year. He needs to fix things with his swing. He knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him that is mandatory.” But why the need to publicly discuss private conversations? While Harper is a future Hall of Famer, he has played on some stacked teams that have severely under-achieved in his career with both the Washington Nationals and the Phillies. He will be known for signing with the Phillies in March 2019, and watching the Nats immediately win a World Series less than seven months later — without him. It just goes to show you that talent alone doesn’t win championships nor does the size of…
“The payroll isn’t really the issue. … It’s just the commitment to winning.”
When Nathaniel Lowe speaks, it’s time for me to plug my ears. Heard it before. The same guy who dissed the Uncle Sam home run celebration hat in his brief stint with the Washington Nationals. After he showed his disdain for it, the team stopped doing it. Lowe must be a lot of fun at parties. But he does seem to enjoy winning. “There’s not a competition issue. There’s truly not. If owners wanted to spend, they would, and teams that might not spend the money on a roster still find a way to win. So look at the four [teams still in the MLB playoffs]. It’s not a payroll issue. It’s commitment to winning. And now being on this side of it, having spent time in Tampa, the payroll isn’t really the issue. It’s just the commitment to winning.” — Lowe said to ESPN The problem is the word “commitment” is not measurable. It’s an intangible and subjective. Are you telling me that the Mets weren’t committed to winning with the second largest payroll in baseball? Winning is a combination of factors — and you could say the same about losing. Most believe losing is easier to analyze as to the reasons. Nathaniel Lowe ‘s quote was from a piece in ESPN about competitive balance and spending in MLB. His perspective represents a classic, player-centric defense of MLB’s structural balance for those who oppose any spending cap in baseball, but it highlights a complex tension between financial investment and…
Game #7: Caps Look to Snap 2-Game Slide
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Capitals (3-3-0) return to home ice tonight to host the Montreal Canadiens (3-2-1) at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM EDT. Tonight marks the second half of a grueling back-to-back set for both franchises. The Capitals are fighting to snap a two-game skid after a disappointing 4-2 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Habs roll into the District with serious momentum, fresh off a thrilling 4-3 shootout victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Game Day Information• Matchup: Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals• Time: 7:30 PM EDT• Venue…
First Base is Once Again a Need
Ever since Ryan Zimmerman officially retired, the Washington Nationals have had a revolving door at first base. The team went with internal candidates for the 2026 season. That worked as Luis Garcia Jr. made a position switch from second base to first base and put up good defensive numbers after about six weeks of full acclimation to the position, and the his offense took off at the same time. From May 9 until the time that Garcia was traded, he was one of the hottest hitters in baseball. The lefty hit.305 and slugged.659 with a.996 OPS in that 70 game span. When Garcia was traded, his lefty bat was replaced internally by Abimelec Ortiz. But Ortiz after a scorching first two weeks after his MLB debut just forgot how to hit. For his final 30 games, it was painful to watch. He hit.136 with a.371 OPS with no power. The team was also giving him almost all at-bats against right-handed pitching and pulling him for pinch-hitters late in games against lefty pitching. The good news is that both Yohandy Morales and Andres Chaparro were hitting well from the right-side as first baseman. However, the Nats like platoon matchups whereby they started Ortiz against right-handers, and Chaparro and/or Morales against lefty pitchers. As the Washington Nationals look ahead to the 2027 season, the front office faces an intriguing puzzle at the cold corner. First base and the designated hitter spot have become a revolving door for years. While the second half…
…If You Will
If you are old enough then you may have watched “The Twilight Zone” on TV. Rod Serling was the show’s creative genius. Famous for his taciturn delivery between clenched teeth and his skinny black ties Serling had the knack of altering reality just enough that it didn’t elicit dismissal. His twists and turns at the end of episodes were dizzying. Rod had seen heavy fighting in the Pacific as a member of the 511th Paratroopers. It was labelled the “Death Squad” for the high number of casualties. When taking back Manila his regiment suffered 50% casualties. He himself was wounded. Combat impacted him immensely as he fought with flashbacks and what we would now call PTSD for the rest of his life. It showed in his writing. Sunday’s WFT football game ending was pure Rod Serling: A sharp and unexpected twist at the end that had a foot in reality and one in the ethereal at the same time. Rod Serling would have been proud of that one. “Imagine if you will…” indeed. Left to our imaginations not 2-people out of a million would have picked the ending for last week’s uber-important game with the New York Football Giants. Maybe not even one. It was that weird. It was that unthinkable. It was beyond what would be considered conceivable. You saw it. You can not un-see it. Bewilderment ruled the late afternoon. That sensation has set up shop. It will take more than a few days for its reign to end. Nixing Zapruder If you want to watch the whole spectacle of that last 50-seconds the links are out there in force. If you want the Zapruder tape frame-by-frame breakdown then sorry to disappoint. That stuff is out there in inconceivable volume. “Attaboys last a minute. (Screw) Ups last a…
A Tough Night for Washington, but a Promising One for Bilal Coulibaly
For much of Bilal Coulibaly’s NBA career, Bilal offensive development has been a major talking point among Washington Wizards fans. While his defensive potential has been evident, questions have remained about his ability to contribute consistently on the offensive end, particularly as a perimeter shooter and a player capable of creating his own shot off the dribble. In Washington’s preseason matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on October 12, Coulibaly showed an encouraging glimpse of what that improvement could look like. He opened the game with nine points in the first quarter, knocking down all three of his attempts from beyond the arc. After going 0-for-3 from three-point range against the New York Knicks on October 8, his early shooting display against Brooklyn was a promising response to one of the biggest questions surrounding his game. Coulibaly finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point…
Game #6: Caps are back at Carolina
RALEIGH, NC — The Washington Capitals face off against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in a high-stakes Metropolitan Division showdown at Lenovo Center. This is the Caps second road game in this early season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Puck drop is scheduled for an early 6:45 p.m. ET. The matchup carries immense weight for both clubs early in this 2026-27 regular season. The Capitals enter the contest with a 3-2-0 record after a tough 5-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes sit atop the division at 5-1-1, riding a dominant five-game winning streak…
Toboni Hints on the Bullpen; Could Need a Baker Move!
Modern baseball is far different from the days when a starter might pitch both ends of a doubleheader. Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox famously started both games of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on July 20, 1973, but he couldn’t match the feat of Jack Scott who pitched two complete games on June 19, 1927. These days, and especially in the postseason, the bullpens are asked to cover more and more innings as analytics has changed the strategy in the game. The Washington Nationals did not make the postseason due in large part to their poor bullpen. This offseason, the bullpen will be a major focus of the Nats’ president of baseball operations, Paul Toboni. He got an early start on improving the relievers in the farm system by moves in his first draft and signing undrafted amateur free agents. He then added more relievers at the trade deadline for the farm system and the MLB roster. Toboni specifically targeted acquisitions of relievers. Recently, he said that his strategy isn’t necessarily to go after high leverage closers this offseason. “I wouldn’t want to pigeonhole us into just going after [relief pitchers] that have 9ᵗʰ inning experience. Not to say it’s not important — it’s just that there are countless relievers across the league that aren’t throwing in the 9ᵗʰ inning that are really good arms that we’d love to have.” — Toboni said at the end of the season There are numerous examples of finding set-up…
Anthony Davis sits as despite the efforts of George, and Coulibaly the Wizards fall 131-122 to wrap up home preseason schedule
Riding the hot start in the preseason that has them set up at 2-0, the Washington Wizards were back at it at home on Monday Night when they faced off against an Eastern Conference team looking to get out of the basement themselves in the Brooklyn Nets. Despite the Wizards’ arguably best player in 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis being out for this one, it left a lot of space for others to step up in his absence. One of them is 4th-year wing Bilal Coulibaly, who many Wiz fans are excited to see take the next step this season. When asked about whether Coulibaly could be the odd man out with all the additions to the roster this season, Head Coach Brian Keefe immediately shut that down, saying: “We don’t view Bilal that way at all. He’s super valuable to our team.” And that he was tonight…