Nats’ Dukes Talks About Changes – The Post
Dukes debuts his ‘breakthrough’ – The Wash. Times
Dukes’ introduction not the stuff of kings – The Free Lance-Star
Dukes says he’s a changed man – AP/Florida Today
Dukes: No beef with Rays – The St. Pete Times
A Changed Man? – The Tampa Tribune
With Dukes Comes Outfield Competition – The Post
THOM LOVERRO – Smooth landing at Space Coast – The Wash. Times
OF Elijah Dukes arrived at Jim Bowden’s halfway house spring training yesterday and spoke to the media, dawg. He says he’s hardheaded , but is now a changed man, blah, blah, blah. He better have changed, because leaving messages on girlfriends voicemail that say “Hey, dawg. It’s on, dawg. You dead, dawg. . . . Your kids, too.” are uncool whether you can hit a baseball or not.
Dukes also has something like five children by four different mothers, I cannot remember specifically. He has also liked the wacky tabacky
I wasn’t thrilled with his acquisition, but I don’t want him to fail, because we have seen what happens when he does.
Dukes is expected to be the fourth outfielder if he can adhere to the club’s zero tolerance policy.
Lo Duca aspires to play in opener – The Wash. Times
Catching becomes an early concern – The Free Lance-Star
Catching is a problem because both Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada are ailing right now. Lo Duca is targeting March 15 for his first spring training game with hopes of playing in the opener. Estrada is having some issues with his elbow following surgery to remove bone spurs. This could be good news for Jesus Flores, last year’s #2, who was expected to spend the majority of the season in the minors.
Closer seeks strong finishes – Florida Today
Chad Cordero wants to return to his 2005 form when he led the majors with 47 saves. That may be hard since Nationals Park will not have fences as deep as RFK Stadium did and Cordero does give up the long ball. He lost ten pounds in the offseason with a new diet though. Will the Nats sill be fun without a lot of fat guys?
Luis Ayala to Jon Rauch to Cordero still looks pretty good for getting through the last three innings of a game.
PETE KERASOTIS – Nationals’ Bacsik showed class, sportsmanship despite having thrown Bonds record HR pitch – Florida Today
Another column about what a great guy Mike Bacsik is and how easy it is to root for him. Sure, he is a great guy, I like him, but he is probably no better than an AAAA pitcher.
Picking Splinters: A Few Nats Notes – Falls Church News-Press
Season preview from an area weekly.
The WWWT radio (1500 AM & 107.7 FM) pregame show will originate from Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center (aka National Harbor) according to Washington Business Journal. The broadcast will begin at 5:30 p.m. I guess you can stop by it after visiting The Awakening
It seems like every spring training, a Space Shuttle returns from orbit to land at nearby John F. Kennedy Space Center. I enjoy reading about the D.C. beat writers reactions to the two sonic booms.