Austin Kearns News

The strangest thing just happened to me. A few minutes ago, I received a call from Nationals' team President Stan Kasten.

The Minnesota Twins announced yesterday they have picked up outfielder Michael Cuddyer's $10.5 million option for 2011.

The day after the end of the World Series marks the unofficial beginning of the offseason and the official start of free agency, which means it's decision time for Major League clubs.

Adam Dunn was the big news of last off-season, and should be a big focus of this one.

The Washington Nationals have in their farm system no more than a handful of true position prospects, and of them, only two seem to be of the "can't miss variety." One, Chris Marrero is the club's first baseman of the future and will take his place in D.C. just as soon as he's ready, probably 2012.

The brand-spanking-new Nationals Park has just about everything you could ask for in a modern ballpark.

Why should the Nats consider Jim Riggleman for the permanent job as manager? -- Billy T., Washington The Nationals played much better baseball in the second half, and it's the first time in a long time a manager has made the players accountable for their actions on the field.

NEW YORK, Sept. 19 -- Part of it seems to be circumstantial. When John Lannan faces the New York Mets, his sinker always works, his location is always pinpoint. 'That's just how things have worked out,' he said.

But Lannan also takes a certain pride in his recent success against the Mets -- particularly because a lineup's familiarity tends to work against a pitcher. Lannan has proven to himself, based on his three previous starts against New York, that he can adjust to a lineup before a lineup can adjust to him.

The Washington Nationals ' catching situation has reached a dire point, so much so that an injury to Wil Nieves sent general manager Mike Rizzo scrambling for his phone Thursday night.

J.D. Martin may or may not ultimately prove to be a successful big league pitcher.

During the 5-1/2 months where he auditioned for the general manager's job, Mike Rizzo was actually performing two jobs.

Ah, the baseball-wife stereotype -- vapid, idle beauties. They sling their Louis Vuitton purses atop peanut shells and during the seventh-inning stretch schedule brunch and waxing appointments.

These women -- so glammed up they make you wonder whether the Diamond Club seats they sit in are named for the eight-carat rocks that adorn their manicured fingers -- boast tight and toned bikini bods. They're not afraid to strut their stuff in racy men's magazines and they're not above using their husbands' transgressions as bargaining chips for tennis bracelets and sports cars.

Will the Nationals sign right-hander Stephen Strasburg? Why isn't Josh Bard on the disabled list? Those are two of the many questions Nationals fans have been asking.

After 12 years in the minor leagues -- after 1,165 games; after spending full seasons in destination sites such as Martinsville, Va., and Binghamton, N.Y.; after being flushed from three organizations; after watching peers not only make the Show, but retire from it -- Jorge Padilla finally made it to the major leagues.

The outfielder got the call late Tuesday. He hardly slept. He arrived at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Nationals Park. The Washington Nationals were placing Austin Kearns (right hand contusion) on the 15-day disabled list, opening the door for a 29-year-old, drafted in 1998, who reported to spring training stuck behind at least 10 outfielders on the depth chart.

Saturday, August 8, 2009 Article ) Jordan Zimmermann won't return to the Washington Nationals' rotation Sunday, and it's possible he won't be pitching for a while because of lingering elbow soreness.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is still waiting for additional information regarding a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

After being hit with a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was out of the lineup Tuesday, getting a rare night off to treat and rest his sore left shoulder.

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 2 -- When the Washington Nationals traded first baseman Nick Johnson to Florida on Friday, they also relinquished all stability at his old position. Johnson, at the time of the deal, had started 92 of Washington's 102 games at first. He had played 90.2 percent of the innings. Now, to fill the innings that remain, the Nationals must pick from a trio of players -- Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham and Ronnie Belliard -- who are better suited for other positions.

The Nationals will use the season's final two months to test Dunn (primarily) and Willingham (more sparingly) at first. Willingham, who has played exactly four career innings at the position, was supposed to get his first career start at first on Sunday. But when Austin Kearns was a last-minute scratch from the lineup because of a right thumb contusion, Willingham was shifted to left field, and Belliard received the start at first.

PITTSBURGH, July 31 -- In the frantic, final afternoon, with hours remaining until Major League Baseball's 4 p.m. trading deadline, Washington Nationals acting general manager Mike Rizzo kept placing phone calls. He was back in his office in Washington, where a flowchart of the organization -- a map of every prospect -- hangs on the wall. Friday was his best remaining chance of the year to revise the map. Eventually, he'd deal two players, free-agents-to-be Nick Johnson and Joe Beimel, in separate trades that netted three minor league pitchers. The deals, from Rizzo's seat, improved the team's future.