New activities for this year include clubhouse tours and photo opportunities with playersGETTY IMAGES
The Nationals' Winterfest will be held outside at Nationals Park for the "first time" since '11, according to Scott Allen of the WASHINGTON POST. Tickets for this year's "Home for the Holidays"-themed "event from Dec. 1-2 "went on sale this week." As usual, every player and coach "will be invited, but attendance isn't mandatory." Some of the new activities planned for this year include "clubhouse tours, photo opportunities with the Nationals' bullpen cart, a pitching station in the Nationals' bullpen, races against the Racing Presidents and curling" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/6).
PAY TO PLAY: In DC, Chelsea Janes wrote under the header, "Despite Sell-Off, Nationals Will Not Get Under The Competitive Balance Tax Threshold." The team "sold off veteran piece after veteran piece in a few waves of unofficial surrender." One theory for why the Nationals did this is that the front office was "operating to try to shed enough payroll to slide under the competitive balance tax threshold for this season." However, the payroll situation confirmed that the team will "eclipse the threshold" of $197M. The team just "did not offload enough" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/6).
