The Nats start a three game series with the Cubs at Wrigley this afternoon at 2:20. Alfonso Soriano (ESPN) will be the talk of the series (The Post) because he played his contract year in Washington last season and had one of the best contract years of all time, joining the 40-40 club and so on. So far, the $10 million the Cubs are paying him this season has netted them 2 HR 4 RBI.

RHP Jason Bergmann is starting to come into his own (The Wash. Times) after shuttling back in forth between AAA and the Nats last year.

Pitching coach Randy St. Claire wants more first pitch strikes (The Post) from his pitchers.

A Cincinnati Post columnist is trying to defend the trade with the Nats from last season. Yawn.

2005 draft picks, pitchers John Lannan and Craig Stammen have been roommates since week 1 of their pro careers. They may be “two best chances for the Nationals to see any returns from that draft class beyond Ryan Zimmerman (The Wash. Times).”

More on Ryan Langerhans from The Free Lance-Star.
Chad Cordero’s season has been the “road less traveled.” (Express)

Scott Miller of CBS Sportsline says the Nats won’t lose 119 games this year like the 2003 Tigers did because the NL is mediocre. Current Nat 1B Dimitri Young, a member of that Tigers team says the Nats have more talent as well.

According to Ryan Zimmerman “life on the road is hard and awfully lonenly. That’s why I love por…”

Whoa! I got him confused with Neil Diamond there for a second. Anyway, Zimmerman has another column in The Wash. Examiner today.