Dan and Kevin kick things off talking about all the changes they've seen from Butera and Toboni, which begs the question:
Mark, one name we have almost NEVER heard this sitting is Ani Kilambi. Where the heck is the GM in this narrative? Is the GM going to be the "behind the scenes" guy?
Kilambi is here. And yes, he is more of a behind-the-scenes guy. But also, I think it's important to remind everyone: While he has the GM title, Toboni is the one making the decisions that we typically associate with a GM. Kilambi is sort of the top-ranked of Toboni's advisers.
Not to stay on the topic too long, but Mike DeBartalo staying on was an interesting move, what has his impact been like in having that old guard but having been marketed during his interim as more analytics and new guard aligned
Was thinking further about this. Is it safe to say the title might've been the hook Kilambi asked for (and Paul and Mark agreed to) to agree to be printed away from Philly?
Let's play ball! It's 82 degrees here in West Palm Beach as the 2026 Grapefruit League season gets underway. (Apologies to everyone back home prepping for snow this weekend.)
What a throw from Andrew Pinckney to nail Zach Cole trying to advance from second to third. Pinckney has all the skills in the world, but obviously he's got a bunch of outfielders ahead of him on the depth chart. Even if he succeeds at Triple-A, it'll be interesting to see if the Nats can find a spot for him in the majors at some point.
Questions everywhere on the roster, but I really do wonder what the future holds for Hassell and Pinckney, and if they make Lile expendable. I'd love to know how the org. thinks of those three.
CJ didn’t swing first pitch, Keibert didn’t swing on an inside-down pitch and got an out on a hard contact inside the zone, already big changes one inning into the new guard 😂
The good: Jake Eder struck out back-to-back hitters on three pitches a piece to open the top of the second. The bad: The Nats defense was sloppy that inning. After Eder had Shay Whitcomb picked off first, CJ Abrams dropped Abimelec Ortiz's throw to second. Then Riley Adams was charged with a passed ball. Then Eder was late to cover first on a grounder to the right, with Ortiz making a nifty pick but then having nobody to throw the ball too. Not the kind of sequence anybody wants to see.
Play Ball!!!!!
LETS GO NATS!!!
Obviously looking forward to seeing how everyone performs, but will especially be interested in Ruiz and Ortiz.
Excited to see Willits get some time today
In game conversation let’s go
Sadly no pregame on the inaugural Nationals TV broadcast. I thought maybe they'd at least start by 12:45.
Great to hear Charlie & Dave again⚾️
Enjoying Dave pausing a beat every half inning about to say "Nationals Radio Network" and instead saying "Nationals... dot com"
Nats tv still does a terrible job synching the radio audio with the video feed. And the bump-outs still get cut off before they go to the music.
They are the dream team!
Will there be a pre and post game show during the regular season?
Yes, during the regular season but not during spring training.
Dan and Kevin kick things off talking about all the changes they've seen from Butera and Toboni, which begs the question:
Mark, one name we have almost NEVER heard this sitting is Ani Kilambi. Where the heck is the GM in this narrative? Is the GM going to be the "behind the scenes" guy?
Kilambi is here. And yes, he is more of a behind-the-scenes guy. But also, I think it's important to remind everyone: While he has the GM title, Toboni is the one making the decisions that we typically associate with a GM. Kilambi is sort of the top-ranked of Toboni's advisers.
Not to stay on the topic too long, but Mike DeBartalo staying on was an interesting move, what has his impact been like in having that old guard but having been marketed during his interim as more analytics and new guard aligned
Was thinking further about this. Is it safe to say the title might've been the hook Kilambi asked for (and Paul and Mark agreed to) to agree to be printed away from Philly?
Let's play ball! It's 82 degrees here in West Palm Beach as the 2026 Grapefruit League season gets underway. (Apologies to everyone back home prepping for snow this weekend.)
In NYC waiting for tomorrow’s blizzard…yours sounds better Mark!
First notice: the score bug in the bottom right is in a great spot! Upper left always bothered me.
I was just going to comment on that. It's a small thing, but I like it.
I like the production values, overall. Understated, but with the MLB transparent logo in the upper right,
the first Charlie “mic-breaker” of the season on that outfield assist from Pinckney— we are SO back!!
I noticed no pitch cast
I think I read that MLB said it's not allowed anymore because of the temptation by teamsto leverage it for challenging balls and strikes in real time.
What a throw from Andrew Pinckney to nail Zach Cole trying to advance from second to third. Pinckney has all the skills in the world, but obviously he's got a bunch of outfielders ahead of him on the depth chart. Even if he succeeds at Triple-A, it'll be interesting to see if the Nats can find a spot for him in the majors at some point.
Questions everywhere on the roster, but I really do wonder what the future holds for Hassell and Pinckney, and if they make Lile expendable. I'd love to know how the org. thinks of those three.
CJ didn’t swing first pitch, Keibert didn’t swing on an inside-down pitch and got an out on a hard contact inside the zone, already big changes one inning into the new guard 😂
The good: Jake Eder struck out back-to-back hitters on three pitches a piece to open the top of the second. The bad: The Nats defense was sloppy that inning. After Eder had Shay Whitcomb picked off first, CJ Abrams dropped Abimelec Ortiz's throw to second. Then Riley Adams was charged with a passed ball. Then Eder was late to cover first on a grounder to the right, with Ortiz making a nifty pick but then having nobody to throw the ball too. Not the kind of sequence anybody wants to see.
On the plus side, that was two nice plays by Ortiz. If he can hit...
CJ certainly not helping his trade value.
Do you mean by not hustling for his triple or did he botch a play in the field ?
I was talking about the dropped throw on the two-out steal
Yes, forgot about that