District Daily: 3/9
By Pablo Roa
Mar 8, 2014; Jupiter, FL, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman
Anthony Rendon(6) makes a play against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. The game ended in a 4-4 tie after 10 innings. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Here are some great Nationals articles from around the web to start off your Sunday morning:
Fister not worried about elbow inflammation
VIERA, Fla. — A day after the Nationals scratched him from a start with right elbow inflammation, right-hander Doug Fister expressed no concern about his health.
“It’s typical inflammation, so we’re treating it day by day,” he said in a brief meeting with reporters.
Fister has been icing the elbow and going through other regular usual anti-inflammatory treatments, according to manager Matt Williams, who reiterated that an MRI showed there are “no structural issues.” Read full article here.
Future of Washington Nationals’ Pitching in Good Hands With A.J. Cole
In just a few years time, the Washington Nationals’ pitching staff will look very different. Mike Rizzo will be working to negotiate contracts with many star players, several on the starting pitching rotation. While stars will be lost, A.J. Cole has proven this spring that the future of the Nationals’ pitching is in good hands.
Following this season, Ross Detwiler, Doug Fister, Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasburg will all be eligible for arbitration. In 2016, Fister, Detwiler and Zimmermann will all be free agents. In 2017, Strasburg and Gonzalez will be both be free agents. As you can tell, this rotation won’t be together for very long. Realistically, the Nationals will get two solid seasons.
Financially, it just won’t be possible to keep them together for a long time. While having a great staff is al luxury, the amount of money it takes to keep them together is not. Expect two or three of them to be gone two-to-three years from now. Along with the pitchers heading toward the negotiating table, Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper will be looking for new contracts.
While that seems like a devastating outlook for the franchise, minor leaguer Cole is proving in Spring Training that there’s nothing to worry about. Read full article here.
Detwiler pleased with his outing (Nats win 8-2)
VIERA, Fla. – You’ve heard that spring training stats lines can be deceiving.
Your latest example: Ross Detwiler’s line this afternoon, which shows that the left-hander went just two innings plus one batter, allowed six hits and a run, with a strikeout and a hit batter.
Seven baserunners allowed and 51 pitches thrown in two innings is by no means ideal, but Detwiler says he was fairly pleased with his outing. He allowed three infield hits during a long second inning, which helped quickly elevate his pitch count.
“I think I made progress,” Detwiler said. “Made a few good pitches. Kind of a weird day. That second inning was just, I don’t even know what happened there. Three infield hits. I thought everything was coming out well. They only really squared one ball up, which means I had decent movement. They didn’t really swing at the curveball too much, so they either saw it out of the hand or whatever. Overall, I thought it went well. Read full article here.