Don Henderson

@TalkNats Thanks for posting this. They are very popular. We have a Catholic school in northern Virginia who ordered 800 of them for their student body. filipposdeli.com

Anyone near Wheaton, Maryland should check out Filippo's Italian deli. They are a top rated deli for sandwiches, subs and Italian deserts. @hcsbi's family bought it a year ago. Support small business and #Nats fans!

@TalkNats @jasonsinnarajah We need a picture to properly name him or her. And is it a him or a her?

Was this the "some very very exciting news" that #Nats President of Business Operations @JasonSinnarajah was talking about?

@TalkNats You can thank the MLBPA for blocking the full ABS.

Limited ABS under the new rules might not have helped tonight if you lost your 2 challenges early. If you don't like it, change the system. The technology exists.

@TalkNats @PowerBoater69 MLB and the Umpires Union both wanted all balls/strikes called by technology. The MLBPA rejected it, supposedly to not eliminate framing as a skill.

@PowerBoater69 I think MLB might get there eventually, but for now, they want the added intrigue.

Yes, 3 calls were challenged and overturned in just the 1st inning. It could have been 5. The ABS challenges are adding a new layer to baseball, but are 2 challenges for the whole game enough? Seems to me I'd add an extra challenge for the 9th inning.

@MarkZuckerman It was worth trying. No need to save them. I suspect he was also trying to give the pitcher a time-out.

Drew Millas just attempted the Nats' first ABS challenge. He had a very good reputation for this stuff at Triple-A ... but he got this one wrong. Pitch was 1/2-inch below the zone, called correctly by Tom Hanahan.

@PowerBoater69 @TalkNats I don't believe that rule applies to a split-squad game.

@TalkNats You picked the right game, that line up in Jupiter seems to violate the rule that teams need to take four starters on road trips. By my count they are short by four.

🚨 OPENING DAY SPRING TRAINING 🚨 And @TalkNats will be in CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches 📷 🤳 📹 🎥 📸 🌴

@TalkNats @TheKingOfClubs1 @NationalsSource Yup. Joining a group that is all the games gives everyone on the group 30% off. And no limits on exchanges. So you can trade for any other game (except opening day) and only pay the difference of the season ticket prices

@TheKingOfClubs1 @NationalsSource Right. Nats want to give enough benefits to season plan holders and their partners. Even if you were attending 5 games a year, you should hook up with a season plan holder who was willing to designate you as a partner. Right @hcsbi

This is an added option and almost 100% beneficial for fans even before you count the better broadcast and people are still complaining like it’s the end of the world. They’re a couple updates away from covering “will my volume buttons still work?” In the FAQs.

@TalkNats @SleeperNats Probably grates him internally that he would be financially better off if he’d taken the Nats offer (which included at least 1 opt out). His desire for the biggest contract, which he held for figuratively seconds, cost him big time. I admit I wanted him back. Glad he left.

@SleeperNats Harper's love of Philly and claims "I said this numerous times" about wishing he started his career there, but what happened to "I love Washington D.C. and want to play here forever"

Exhibit 168 why we don’t like you. #Natitude

Absolutely no doubt.

@TalkNats Good. Not sure how long the contract with Levy is or if there is a buyout. The sooner they replace Levy with someone like Delaware North, the better. Levy is simply awful.

Mazzeo writes, "[Jason Sinnarajah] plans to work on improving the in-game experience and concessions (via partner Levy)." "The Nationals have averaged fewer than 25,000 fans for three straight seasons, and Sinnarajah plans to evaluate all the spaces in the ballpark. He also believes he can grow the fan base, emphasizing the younger demographic and tourism." “This experience should be part of your Washington experience,” Jason Sinnarajah said. “Give us a chance. Come to the ballpark. I think you will see some incremental improvements in 2026, and for sure in the future.”

@TalkNats @ender_kenobi Indeed I do. I offer Max an incentive package that includes both games started and games appeared in.

@ender_kenobi @hcsbi probably agrees with you.

The #Nats have at least 10 starting pitchers in camp. My 4 locks: 1. Cade Cavalli 2. Foster Griffin 3. Miles Mikolas 4. Jake Irvin Pick a 5th starter from: Andrew Alvarez Riley Cornelio Josiah Gray Mitchell Parker Ken Waldichuk Who are your 5 starters?

@chelsea_janes I will truly miss you covering DC sports. Best of luck in your new endeavors.

So grateful for my time at the Post and in the DMV. The WaPo and Nats communities have been such gifts in my life. So grateful for the chance to join SNY and cover New York baseball with so many people I have respected from afar. More on both later. But mostly, thank you.

@MarkZuckerman @Jake_Mintz @TalkNats reported this was being discussed yesterday morning. Mintz was first it was a done deal.

Nationals are in agreement with veteran RHP Miles Mikolas on a 1-year deal, pending physical, source confirms. 37-year-old workhorse has averaged 33 starts/183 innings last 4 seasons, something this rotation needed. (@Jake_Mintz was first to report deal) natsjournal.com/p/source-nats-…

@TalkNats @GeeMan1266 Not my experience even before the pitch clock. I drive to either Glenmont or Wheaton stations. Since the pitch clock I’m usually home around 10:30. Before the pitch clock, closer to 11:30-midnight.

@GeeMan1266 Is that accurate @hcsbi

Report: We did a #Nats attendance chart and analysis going back to the 8-years of consecutive winning starting in 2012. And it looks like the team's attendance has a bottom of 23,000 per game when the team is bad. But when the team is winning, the Nats have NEVER broken into the Top-10 in baseball -- even when the #Nats were the best in baseball and the team was spending at the top of baseball. So for myth busting, even when they win, the DMV population doesn't support the team enough despite being the 7th largest population. We constantly hear that DC is a large market team -- but the issue is they are small revenue team -- and currently 5th lowest in all of baseball. Why do you think attendance hasn't been better overall?

@trippwhitbeck @TalkNats Spot on about the generational issue. I was 18 when the Senators moved because of poor attendance in Baltimore and DC. Got married, had kids, they moved away before DC had a team again. It will take a few more years before the generational fandom kicks in.

And now, a detailed answer: I grew up in NYC, so I am familiar with rabid/happy/angry, family-line-based, high-attendance fan bases. I also went to high school and college in New England. DC has two structural issues: 1) It's a transient town. A lot has to do with administrations' changing every few years pull and push jobs. I go to a LOT of Nats games, and because of that, I am one of the few who has fully adopted the Nats, and left behind my prior loyalty. I can't tell you how many I sit near who root Nats UNLESS X team is in town, and then they wear those colors. There isn't that loyalty because not a lot of ticket buyers are born-and-raised in DC. I'm an anomaly in my completely changed loyalty. 2) Sports fandom is, in large measure, a generational and community thing. You tend to be what your Dad, say, was. I was a weird combo of Mets and Giants (not usual in NYC) because Dad was. The team has come and gone twice. The current iteration is only 20 years old. With SuperStation TBS, a lot of Virginia grew up Braves' fans (the South's team). The rest of the region had the Orioles, passed down for generations. You need only look at the relative loyalty of the Ravens and the Skins/Commanders to see this "generational" point. DC/VA/MD-area people had the Skins since 1932. Baltimore had a team for about 30 years. Then didn't. Then got a team 15 years later. Finally, and this is just a theory of mine: DC is a VERY white-collar town. My observation is that more blue collar populations (Philly, Boston, etc.) tend to view their sports teams as part of their identity. Again, just a theory, but Nats fans are about as low-key as any sports fans I have seen (growing up in Manhattan, schooled in New England). You see this in the no-standing, no-cursing, etc. rules. I think it's fine/elegant/great, considering what I have seen, but I think it betrays more of a staidness. I'm still a rabid fan who goes all the time, but again, I am not the norm. It may account for only a few thousand of attendance, but I don't think lawyers, lobbyists, consultants really BLEED sports teams as much as more blue collar guys who may not have as much disposable income. Sports is a great distraction and a great source of "I'm a part of an important community that is bigger." I happen to think that hits harder among blue collar populations.

@TalkNats Not yet. But I plan to. Have to check when my $25 annual membership renews.

@hcsbi Great question! Did you ask the MLBPAA?

There is now a season discount if you bundle Nationals.TV with MLB.TV for the 2026 season: mlb.com/live-stream-ga…

@TalkNats @b_hartland Yup. More options than can be discussed in Twitter comments. Need an article about it. For example, join a full season ticket group with say 2 seats, and a family of four can pick two games to trade for a game of their choice. And get 30% off concessions.

But families shouldn't be boozing it up, and every game has the $5 beers before 1st pitch. Also, full-season ticket holders get a 30% price rebate. And the team markets family friendly packages including food. I know people complain, but I don't believe that stuff about most expensive beer prices.

Now that MASN & WAPO are gone 😢will @NationalsComms finally credential @TalkNats @federalbaseball @TheNatsReport and other legitimate news sites and allow them into post-game press conferences? @TheRealVTK @KyleBrostowitz @jasonsinnarajah @LernerDC @nationals @JessicaCamerato is going to get very lonely in there.

@Markein Time to amplify the great writers who don't work in legacy media. There are stars out there working their butts off with great content who don't get enough mention. newyorker.com/culture/cultur…