Washington Nationals Featured Media Clips – 2015 Table of Contents • Article #1 – Wilson Ramos again eager to prove he can stay healthy – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 2/19/15 • Article #2 – Janssen using spring to adjust to life in National League – Jamal Collier (Nationals.com) – 2/19/15 • Article #3 – Max Scherzer starts to settle in – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 2/20/15 • Article #4 – Ahead of new season, Stephen Strasburg keeps same approach – Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) – 2/20/15 • Article #5 – Drew Storen is ready to close again – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 2/20/15 • Article #6 – Coming off career year, Span seeks more – Bill Ladson (Nationals.com) – 2/22/15 • Article #7 – Matt Thornton finding new ways to keep in shape as career winds on – Tom Schad (Washington Times) – 2/24/15 • Article #8 – Harper’s confidence a good sign for Nats – Mark Zuckerman (CSNWashington.com) – 2/26/15 • Article #9 – Mike Carp sets sights on bench role – Tom Schad (Washington Times) – 2/26/15 • Article #10 – Heavy expectations, light hearts – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 2/28/15 • Article #11 – Nationals reliever Casey Janssen relies on guile, not velocity – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 3/6/15 • Article #12 – Have glove, will play (Kevin Frandsen) – Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) – 3/7/15 • Article #13 – Fearless Aaron Barrett takes the mound for Nationals – Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) – 3/8/15 • Article #14 – Pitcher Max Scherzer has changed cities but is an unchanged man – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 3/10/15 • Article #15 – Werth's arrival pivotal to changing Nationals' direction – Bill Ladson (Nationals.com) – 3/14/15 • Article #16 – Injuries, talent give Michael Taylor an opportunity to make impact with Nationals – Todd Dybas (Washington Times) – 3/16/15 • Article #17 – Strasburg: ‘I love the city of D.C.’ – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 4/2/14 • Article #18 – Clint Robinson’s strong spring could land him on Nationals roster – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 4/2/14 • Article #18 – Yunel Escobar on playing third base: ‘I’m doing this for the team’ – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 4/3/14 • Article #19 – Uggla seeing offseason work pay dividends – Bill Ladson (Nationals.com) – 4/7/15 • Article #20 – How the Nationals found Clint Robinson – James Wagner (Washington Post) – 4/8/15 • Article #21 – In high-leverage situations, Blake Treinen continues to impress – Tom Schad (Washington Times) – 4/8/15 Article #1 Wilson Ramos again eager to prove he can stay healthy By James Wagner – Washington Post (2/19/15) It feels like a rite of spring: Wilson Ramos, built like a tank and fresh off an offseason of training, reporting to camp healthy and declaring his desire to stay that way. But after recovering from a knee injury in 2012, the unlucky catcher suffered multiple hamstring strains in 2013 that made him miss significant time and then he broke his hamate bone and re-strained his hamstring last season. Ramos certainly can’t be faulted for a lack of resilience. As pitchers and catchers officially reported to Viera on Thursday, Ramos, 27, again proclaimed his grand goals. He wants to catch 120-130 games, a bar he has yet to reach in the majors (113 is his career high, in 2011). “I think this is the year to do that,” he said. He believes he has found the right workout regimen to keep his legs intact. “I’m working with my legs a lot,” he said. “The last three years I had problems with my leg. But this year, the offseason I worked a lot with my legs. I was really working on my agility. This year, I feel 100 percent. I feel like I’m running without problems. When I feel 100 percent when I’m running in the field, that’s when I don’t have any problems behind the plate. I ran 100 percent down in my country and it feels great.” While rehabbing his hamstring last season, Ramos learned from team doctors that perhaps he was lifting too much with his legs and his muscles were too tight, which led to injuries when he ran. So he stopped trying to get his lower body so strong and instead more flexible. He did more stretching and agility training late in the season and even more in the offseason. He ran a lot, with cones, in zig-zags, sideways, backward. Ramos said he still weighs the same — his upper body, however, looks stronger – but admitted his body and legs feel “a lot different right now.” Different for Ramos means better. He still plans on approaching baserunning the same way: running 100 percent when needed but, if not, running casually down the baseline. “I have to play smart,” he said. As he always does, he played winter ball in his native Venezuela, mostly as a designated hitter, and his legs responded well to running at full speed. A highlight of playing in Venezuela for Ramos was being on the same team as his younger brothers David, 23, a pitcher, and Natanael, 21, a catcher. With their entire family watching, they all played in a game for the Tigres de Aragua. David pitched, Natanael started behind the plate and Wilson played first, a position he hasn’t played since a handful of games in 2006 in the low minors. “That was a little bit scary, because I never played first base before, not since the [Gulf Coast League],” Ramos said. “That was a long time ago. It was good. I got two groundballs. That was fun. Easy position,” he added with a laugh. From Venezuela, Ramos also followed news of the Nationals’ busy offseason, including the addition of Max Scherzer. Ramos said he was surprised at first at Scherzer’s signing but is thrilled to have the 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner as a teammate. He hasn’t caught Scherzer yet so spring training is the time to learn about each other’s’ tendencies. “With this guy, it feels really good to have the best rotation in baseball,” Ramos said. Article #2 Janssen using spring to adjust to life in National League By Jamal Collier – Nationals.com (2/19/15) VIERA, Fla. -- New Nationals reliever Casey Janssen reported to a new Spring Training home for the first time in his career, after spending his first eight seasons with the Blue Jays. "I'm still learning names, stumbling over names, trying to figure out which field is which field," he said Thursday, the first day Washington's pitchers and catchers reported. Janssen signed with Washington near the end of January to serve as one of the club's late-innings relievers, likely as a setup man for closer Drew Storen. Janssen was enticed by the chance to join one of the favorites to win the World Series in 2015. "We've been offseason paper champs before in Toronto," Janssen said. "I want to win and experience the postseason." The Nationals will be a popular pick to win it all because of their stacked rotation and deep lineup, but their bullpen has some roles that are up for grabs. Rafael Soriano, last year's closer, decided to test free agency and Tyler Clippard, their setup man who became a fan favorite, was traded to the A's last month. Janssen has been pegged as a likely replacement for Clippard, who posted a 2.18 ERA and 0.995 WHIP in 70 1/3 innings for the Nationals in 2014. "Big shoes to fill if that were the case," Janssen said. As Toronto's closer last season, Janssen finished with 25 saves and a 3.94 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 45 2/3 innings, but spent time on the disabled list with an oblique strain and lost nine pounds in one night after experiencing food poisoning. "It's a clean slate over here," Janssen said. "It's a new league for me, so I've got to learn the hitters, but they're going to have to learn me a little bit as well." Article #3 Max Scherzer starts to settle in By James Wagner – Washington Post (2/20/15) VIERA, Fla. — By Friday morning, most of the Washington Nationals’ rotation had been here for at least a few days. Doug Fister drove cross-country from California in an RV earlier this week. Gio Gonzalez was bouncing off the clubhouse walls Tuesday. To escape the Wisconsin cold, Jordan Zimmermann came down weeks ago. Stephen Strasburg played catch on the main field Thursday. But the face everyone was eager to see arrived Thursday and made his first formal appearance the following morning. At 9:34 a.m., the Nationals’ splashiest offseason addition sauntered into the home clubhouse at Space Coast Stadium. Max Scherzer, the $210 million hired gun the Nationals hope will help them win a World Series, had returned from his mandatory physical with team doctors. His oversize golf club bag and four suits were already waiting for him at his locker, which sits between Zimmermann’s and an empty one. The former Detroit Tiger changed out of jeans, a T-shirt and a white jacket and into a red Nationals shirt and shorts, his workout uniform for many years to come. “It’s different,” Scherzer said with a smile a few hours later, in front of a horde of reporters and television cameras. “But it’s exciting at the same time. There’s a couple faces I know around here, but at the same time you get to meet whole new teammates. It’s just a fun day.” Scherzer’s tenure as a Nationals player won’t feel real until he goes through his series of firsts on the field: first bullpen (Saturday morning at 10:45 a.m.