It was reported last week that the Washington Nationals had hired former San Diego Padres Manager Bud Black to be their skipper for the 2016 season. The announcement was never made by the Nats themselves, and today, an official announcement was made by the Washington Nationals naming Dusty Baker as their new manager. The deal with Bud Black reportedly fell through because the Nationals weren’t prepared to offer Black the contract he wanted. He declined a one year, 1.6 million dollar deal, and another one for two years with team options. Dusty Baker, 66, has managed 3,176 games, and the…

Major League Baseball 2014 Playoff Preview courtesy of Stuart Barefoot, with GreensboroSports.com: It’s October and that could mean a lot of different things depending on whom you speak to. But for our purposes, it means the MLB postseason is here and though its been a while sine we last spoke (right after the All-Star Break) it’s time to look ahead at the upcoming playoff matchups, to look back at the season that was and a recap the Wild Card games in both leagues. The Abbreviated Version of the 2014 Season NL East: Not that the Nationals didn’t play well or…