(Wil Nieves hit an absolute bomb into the upper deck in left field at Sun Life Stadium on Wednesday night. Serious fun, like the sign says. Screengrabs via mlb.com)

The most notable item lost in the Nyjer Morgan brouhaha last night in Miami? Not the fact that Scott Olsen likely pitched his last game as a National with another stinker of a performance (1.2 IP, 8 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 1 K), clearing the way for the arrival of Yunesky Maya. And no, not Danny Espinosa's Major League debut and first hit. 

In fact, it was Wil Nieves absolutely crushing a Jorge Sosa pitch into the upper deck at Sun Life Stadium. MLB.com video here. And with that swing, Wil Nieves now has more home runs on the season (3) than Pudge Rodriguez (2). Sweet revenge for Wil Nieves, who must've still been pissed off after being hit by Chris Volstad earlier in the game. Maybe Nieves should have showboated a little bit as he made his trip around the bases -- or better yet, dropped his bat and charged the mound after depositing that ball into the upper deck?

Anyway, the Nationals' clubhouse reaction after last night's "events", captured by Mark Zuckerman at Nats Insider, makes for an interesting read. Miami Herald has reaction from the Marlins.

 

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(Nyjer Morgan incited a brawl and got his butt kicked by the Marlins - and his life saved by Pat Listach -- but  still celebrated as he walked off the field on Wednesday night. Screengrabs of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

"I'm a hard player. It's just going out there and playing the game. ... I'm just sticking up for myself - and defending my teammates. ...I'm a hard-nosed player. I'm grimy. ...I'm a hard-nosed player ...."
(Nyjer Morgan, via MASN, 9/1/2010) 

Forget firing Rob Dibble, who is was the color guy on TV/MASN, and certainly said some really dumb things in his time on air (both on and off the MASN payroll), but still didn't do anything on the surface to warrant a firing (unless those no-shows on Saturday and Sunday count):

If Mike Rizzo and Stan Kasten really care about character -- and that's kind of what has been suggested in the past when discussing the "aura" of certain players and inexplicably releasing Elijah Dukes during Spring Training, and shit-canning the former GM who will not be named here (yeah, yeah, yeah, he "resigned", *wink* *wink* we know)  -- then Nyjer Morgan needs to be released immediately. Let him go. Make a statement.

Nyjer Morgan not only embarrassed the Nationals (again) tonight by charging the mound when the Marlins threw behind him, but he put his teammates -- many of whom, unlike Nyjer Morgan, will be important pieces on this team in the future -- in harms way. Nyjer took his medicine in the fourth inning, trotting down to first base after getting hit by a pitch - but then spit it back in the face of the Marlins by immediately stealing two bases down 14-3.

Fire Nyjer Morgan.

Here's the pitch that launched a thousand hits:

 

(Screengrab by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

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(Nyjer Morgan opted for a body check, rather than a slide, in the 10th inning. Screengrab of MASN/TV by Nationals Enquirer staff.) Nyjer Morgan strikes again!

"I don't want to be perceived as a dirty player. It was just an intense play. I kinda grazed [Anderson], which wasn't in my eyes intentional. I guess I should have slid, next time I'll slide." 
(Nyjer Morgan, via Nationals.com, 8/30/2010)

So, those comments were made by Nyjer Morgan on Monday, talking about his boneheaded play at the plate on Saturday when he crashed into Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson and forgot to touch home plate. On Tuesday night, Nyjer Morgan forgot he said he'd slide next time. 

"I got to hit him there. I think if I try to slide there, I probably hurt myself. It's just a hard a play. Just baseball."
(Nyjer Morgan, via Washington Post, 9/1/2010)

Just baseball? Or just another reckless play by Nyjer Morgan hurting the Nationals? Had Morgan opted to slide in the 10th inning on that close play at the plate, he probably would have been safe. Instead, he decided to show what a tough guy he was and take out Marlins catcher Brett Hayes. Morgan was out. Hayes hurt his shoulder. But at least Nyjer Morgan's reputation is still intact; remember, he said on Monday he doesn't want to be perceived as a dirty player. But the horses might have already left the barn on that one:

"Obviously, his track record doesn't help himself. Somebody who does that is looking to hurt somebody. But, you know, it's baseball."
(Brett Hayes, via Marlins.com, 9/1/2010)

"I would say it was clean if I hadn't seen what he had done earlier in the week. I think he would have had a better chance to be safe if he was sliding. It fires you up when you see the way he's been playing the last week or so." 
(Chad Tracy, via Washington Post, 9/1/2010)

More from Tracy:

"Anytime one of your players get hurt and it comes at the expense of the other team, it fires you up. We were upset. You saw Hayes on the ground hurting. This is a guy you come to work with every day and bust your butt with every day."
(Chad Tracy, via Miami Herald, 9/1/2010)

And here's Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez:

"If he would have slid at home plate, he would have been safe. Hayes was more on the right side of the plate."
(Edwin Rodriguez, via Marlins.com, 9/1/2010)

...but at least Jim Riggleman has Nyjer Morgan's back, agrees with his decision not-to-slide. Or does he?

"When I saw it live, I don't know. And even as I watch it there, I don't know. Hindsight's 20-20. I don't know if he should've slid or not. As it happened live, I didn't know how much the catcher's blocking the plate. As Nyjer's going in there and as he's making his decision, he doesn't know that maybe the ball's going to be up a little bit. He doesn't know that. He's got to make his decision before that. So I don't have any problem with his decision."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nats Insider, 9/1/2010)

Enough. Memo to Mike Rizzo: Time to call an end to the TonyPlush/Nyjer Morgan Era in Washington. Can you just leave him behind in Florida after tonight's game -- after he takes the fastball to the ribs that's coming his way?

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(Jordan Zimmermann's performance offered a glimmer of home in NatsTown on Tuesday. Screengrab of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

"I felt great. That's probably the best I've felt in a long time." 
(Jordan Zimmermann, via Washington Post, 9/1/2010)

Marlins 1, Nationals 0: Tough loss in 10. But Jordan Zimmermann is back and that's all that really matters, right? (Why didn't Nyjer Morgan slide in the 10th!?)

Meet the New, Temporary Ace (again): Jordan Zimmermann faces the minimum (18 batters) in 6 dominant innings: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K.

Stephen Strasburg to have his Tommy John surgery on Friday. See you in 2011? 2012? Remember J-Zimm.

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(Was that a lightning strike on the field at Sun Life Stadium on Monday night? No, just Ray Knight's telestrator pen. Screengrab of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

Not nearly as compelling as the first time around, but during the second inning of Monday's Nationals-Marlins game, MASN's Ray Knight broke out his telestrator pen and started drawing...something...to make a point about...oh, I forget what it was. Crap like this happens after a 3 hour rain delay. Hey, Knight even admitted he messed it up, laughing: "Wait, I messed that one up!" Rob Dibble could learn a little something about owning up to his mistakes with a little humor and humility from Ray.

And Ray's been filling in quite admirably while Dibble remains in exile; and the more he keeps hanging around in the booth, the more his laid back, folksy style is growing on us. Part of the Dibble "charm" was tuning in to see what he'd say next. Part of Ray Knight's charm is wondering what the f*** is going to appear on the screen when he breaks out his telestrator pen. Nothing against Ray, though, but we sort of (*gasp!*) miss Dibble on the broadcast.

But we're still left trying to figure out why Dibble's Strasburg comments would be a fireable offense - and why the Nationals (not MASN?) are now letting him "twist in the wind" as the Washington Post's Leonard Shapiro put it.

So when is Dibble coming back, anyway? Is he coming back? Parsing words, the Nationals.com story about everybody's favorite heel missing this week's 6-game roadtrip put it this way:
 
"Dibble was expected to return to the Nationals' booth on Saturday, but he was a no-show for Saturday and Sunday's game between Washington and St. Louis."

So, does that mean Dibble was a no-show, like, he didn't call his bosses to tell them he wasn't showing up?

While you're pondering that, and pondering if there is still time to Save Rob Dibble, enjoy more Ray Knight Telestrator Art, with one fake included, of course:

 

 

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(Cameron Maybin wades through the water to field a base hit. AP Photo.)

"I was thinking [about] how much water was gonna be in my shoes. I've never seen a field like that. We were lucky not too many balls were hit out there."
(Michael Morse, via Nationals.com, 8/31/2010)

"It's fun to win, man. It really is. You can be as loose as you can, but you're still miserable if you don't win. When you win, it takes care of so much. Winning's fun. I don't know how else to put it."
(Adam Dunn, via Washington Post, 8/31/2010)

Nationals 9, Marlins 3: 2 hour, 49-minute delay, but well worth the wait.

Marquis, slogs through (5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 HR),  earns first win of 2010.

Ryan Zimmerman takes out scoreboard lights with 3rd inning homerun. Dunn adds another bomb.

Another 0-3 night for Nyjer Morgan hitting 8th. Time to move him to 9th? Or better yet, to the bench?

Meanwhile...

• Strasburg visited Dr. Yocum in LA on Monday for that "second opinion". Surgery reportedly this week.

• Uh oh, Nyjer Morgan isn't happy with Jim Riggleman for calling him out for his Saturday night antics: "He just basically did a Cardinal sin. You don't blast your player out in the paper. But it's all right." (Nyjer Morgan, via NatsInsider, 8/30/2010)

• Bryce Harper isn't on Nats' initial Arizonal Fall League roster, but that could change.

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(Welcome to Sun Life Stadiu. Screengrabs of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

Ryan Zimmerman's 3rd inning home run on Monday night -- an absolute bomb to left field -- took out part of the "M" on the left field scoreboard at Sun Life Stadium in Miami. Photographic evidence of before and after, above.

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(Nyjer Morgan flashed his "hockey mentality" again on Saturday night? Reuters Photo.)

Good for Jim Riggleman for benching and publicly calling out Nyjer Morgan on Sunday for his antics on Saturday night, after Morgan stupidly collided with Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson and forgot to touch home plate in the eighth inning. Chalk up another one in the Nyjer Morgan "taketh away" category. On Sunday, Nationals Journal had quotes from Riggles about the incident:

"I think it was just a culmination of Nyjer's anger that was brewing... I think he was just having a day like where he was upset about some things and did an unprofessional thing. He went after the catcher. So I certainly don't condone that, but we've all made mistakes. I think that's not Nyjer's style of play to do something like that. That's totally uncharacteristic. I think the culmination of the day, when I called him in, told him I was going to hit him eighth instead of leadoff, and I think it just was building up all day. I think he thought I was wearing that equipment there at home plate."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 8/29/2010)

Don't worry, Bryan Anderson, the guy wearing the equipment, was unfazed:

"It's going to take a little bit bigger of a guy than that to take me down... so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal.  I mean, it was, because it was a cheap shot, but not really, I guess."
(Bryan Anderson, via St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/29/2010)
 

And while we're piling on Nyjer Morgan, the Philly Inquirer caught up with the fan Nyjer hit in the head with a ball last Saturday night in Philadelphia. The fan describes the heckling being dished out by the a-holes in Philly:

"There were one or two guys in Section 148 that were riding him pretty hard for a couple of innings. Mostly they seemed to be heckling him about the way he wore his uniform. He was the only player on the field who was wearing his [uniform] old-style with the full stockings. They were screaming at him about looking like a jockey. ...Stuff like that."
(via Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/28/2010)

Tough week to be Nyjer Morgan, eh? Maybe he should consider joining Rob Dibble in exile for a few more games?

On Sunday afternoon, the Nationals announced that they would be bringing back Livan Hernandez for the 2011 season. So now we know who at least one of the five names will be in the Nationals 2011 rotation. Can we say the same about the name of the 2011 starting centerfielder anymore?

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(John Lannan sparkled against the Cardinals on Sunday. AP Photo.)

Nationals 4, Cardinals 2 (Sunday): Vintage Lannan. John Lannan leads the way with arm, bat (2-run double!), Michael Morse provides the other half  (2-4, HR #10, 2 RBI).

Nationals 14, Cardinals 5 (Saturday): Strange night.Jim Riggleman's dartboard yields strangest lineup of the season yet. Dunn hits fifth, breaks out of slump with HR, 5 RBI. Livo hangs in there long enough to win. Nyjer Morgan reacts to getting dropped to 8th in the lineup with an 0-3 night and yet another boneheaded play - this time at the plate.

Cardinals 4, Nationals 2 (Friday): Right there, but Strasburg's wake inspires meager offensive showing. 1-12 with RISP, 14 LOB. Scott Olsen earns another $100,000, but at least he lasted 6 innings this time.

Nationals 11, Cardinals 10 (Thursday): Bernadina, Desmond, star on Bryce Harper Day. Jordan Zimmerman's not-so-triumphant 4 inning return (7 hits, 1 walk, 5 runs) is an afterthought after 13 inning thriller.

56-75. 17.5 back in the WC, Elimination Number at 15. Do they have a ~20 game winning streak left in 'em?

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(Stephen Strasburg put on a brave face at a press conference about his impending Tommy John Surgery. AP Photo.) "This is a new challenge. I want to be the best at everything. Right now, I'm going to be the best... ck

(Stephen Strasburg will probably have Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow. Photo by Reuters.) See you in 2012, Stephen. Stephen Strasburg, meet Tommy John. "We feel there is a significant tear and there is going... ck

(Blame Bryce Harper for all the eye black at the Little League World Series this year. Photo on left is via AP. Photo on right is via Reuters.) If you've flipped on the Little League World Series on ESPN these... ck

(Bryce Harper in NatsTown on Thursday, sans eye black. AP Photo.) No pressure, kid. The Nationals introduced Bryce Harper at a news conference in Washington on Thursday before the Nats-Cards game, a welcome distraction on the same day Stephen Strasburg... ck

(The hightlight of last night's Top Chef episode, filmed at Nationals Park. Screengrab via Walkoff Walk.com) The Nationals were front and center during last night's episode of Top Chef on Bravo: Adam Dunn, John Lannan, and ex-Nat Matt Capps sampled... ck

Above, video of Stephen Strasburg's pregame bullpen warmup last Saturday at Citizens Bank Park in Philly, most likely his last of 2010. Unlike Nyjer Morgan, Strasburg doesn't get heckled by any Phillies fans -- at least during this short clip.... ck

(Nyjer Morgan, taunting Phillies fans on Saturday by pretending to toss a ball into the stands at the end of the game.) Nyjer Morgan's hockey mentality strikes again: suspended 7 games by MLB for throwing a ball into the stands... ck

(That's Rob Dibble on the left in the MASN TV booth high above Nationals Park. Photo by Nationals Enquirer staff.) Score another one for the Internet. As reported earlier this afternoon everywhere, Rob Dibble will take at least the next... ck

(John Lannan had to look away when asked about the workload of the Nationals bullpen. Grainy screengrab of postgame video captured from MASNSports.com) So, did John Lannan disrespect Jim Riggleman in a postgame interview with MASN's Debbi Taylor after last... ck

(Fukudome! Ryan Zimmerman couldn't deliver another walk-off, flying out to Kosuke Fukudome to end the game.) "Anytime Zim comes up to the plate in a situation like that, you always think he's going to get a hit." (Ian Desmond, via... ck

 

(Stephen Strasburg put on a brave face at a press conference about his impending Tommy John Surgery. AP Photo.)

"This is a new challenge. I want to be the best at everything. Right now, I'm going to be the best at rehabbing and getting back out here."
(Stephen Strasburg, via Nationals Journal, 8/27/2010)

This much we know: His rehab will be the greatest rehab in the history of Tommy John surgery rehab.

Judging by his comments in an afternoon press conference at Nationals Park on Friday afternoon, Stephen Strasburg is looking on the bright side. So it seems only right we should all stop our whining, too, and just get used to a starting rotation in 2011 that doesn't start with Baseball Jesus.

Best wishes for a full recovery, Stephen. See you in 2012.

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