Wil Nieves News

After having conversations with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman, Randy Knorr has decided to become the manager of Double-A Harrisburg, replacing John Stearns.

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

With a 59-103 record, things were ugly again for the Nationals this year. But within baseball's worst record, there were bright spots -- and areas in which a large share of the blame wound up.

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

ATLANTA, Oct. 4 -- Unwatchable at the beginning, unbeatable at the end, unorthodox without interruption, the 2009 Washington Nationals finished their poorest season with their best effort. On Sunday, before the Nationals split for the winter, they set one final ambush on conventional expectations, turning a meaningless game into a compelling one and concluding their season with a 15-inning, 2-1 victory against the Atlanta Braves.

Nothing, really, hung in the balance Sunday afternoon at Turner Field, but somehow, the game became a loopy delight. A bullpen that earlier could only blow leads on this afternoon couldn't let up a run. Fielding a starting lineup composed entirely of players who'd seen time this year in Class AAA, the Nationals, who started the year with a seven-game losing streak, ended it with a seven-game winning streak.

If one looks at Josh Bard's offensive numbers this year, they are below average.

Harris - 8 Desmond - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Willingham - 7 Dukes - 9 Morse - 3 Burke - 2 Gonzalez - 4 Hernandez - 1 Among the news you won't find on ESPN's "The Lead" ticker: * Catcher Wil Nieves pulled his left hamstring on Sept.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo acknowledged recently that the team plans to add catching depth to the Minor League system after the season.

This past Thursday, catcher Jamie Burke was at his offseason home with his family, believing that his season was over.

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 -- As a major leaguer, Pete Orr has played second base, third base, shortstop, left field and right field. In the minor leagues, he's also pitched and played center field. But Orr figures that adding one more position to his repertoire -- yes, an eighth -- will help his chances of sticking with the Washington Nationals next season.

When the regular season ends, Orr will be sent to Viera, Fla., to learn how to catch. He will play in the Florida Instructional League, perhaps even catching Stephen Strasburg. ('Oh yeah, no problem,' Orr said, grinning.)

Catcher Wil Nieves read a report that the Nationals needed to go out and get a defensive backup catcher who could block the ball better than Nieves and Josh Bard.

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.

Phils pitcher Joe Blanton and rightfielder Jayson Werth celebrate the end of the sixth, when Werth caught a fly by Wil Nieves and doubled Jason Maxwell off first.

The groundwork was laid hours before, when Charlie Manuel's real emotions about Brad Lidge seeped through in a 22-minute dugout conversation.

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 2 -- Since mid-July, operating with a new manager and a renewed ability to play baseball without causing abject self-humiliation, the Washington Nationals have done much to foster an updated identity. They've committed fewer errors, clawed back for comeback wins and reclaimed a little respect -- all in an energized bid to avoid baseball's worst record.

Only in the latest week, though, have the new-and-improved Nationals encountered a hitch. On this road trip -- and most especially in Wednesday afternoon's 7-0 loss to San Diego at Petco Park -- the Nationals looked only familiar and flawed, issuing a reminder that newness and improvement can sometimes hit an expiration point.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Great, "[Hernandez] threw a lot of pitches that were right around the plate that I think he generally would get people to swing at." -- Jim Riggleman, on the small strike zone in the first inning, Sept.

It isn't surprising when they fall despite getting four hits from the likes of Pete Orr, Wil Nieves and Livan Hernandez, and it certainly isn't surprising when Hernandez throws a complete game that nonetheless results in defeat.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Nats, again looking punchless/hapless/toothless , lost to the Padres 7-0. The updated math is pretty depressing.

It took five months, 133 games and a bevy of roster changes -- remember Duaner Sanchez? -- but the Padres secured their first winning month of the year Monday by winning yet another game that was essentially defined by their defense.

Milton Bradley and Koyie Hill helped the Cubs avoid falling to .500 for the first time since the All-Star break.