Morning Mound Visit: Nationals exploring alternate home sites

R.J. Anderson | CBS Sports: Opening Day is less than a week away, and the Nationals still aren’t 100 percent sure they can play their home games in D.C. Local regulations dictate that any individual exposed to COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days, and that would mean that just about every team coming into the nation’s capital would have to quarantine. The Dodgers and Blue Jays are also uncertain where they’ll play this year.

Matthew Trueblood | Baseball Prospectus $: Every baseball player steps up to the plate with their back foot on the back line of batter’s box. Every baseball player except for Tim Anderson. Anderson employed an antiquated tactic last year by standing at the opposite end of the batter’s box, and Matthew Trueblood explains why that worked for him.

Tony Wolfe | FanGraphs: Even the most casual of baseball fans knows it’s important for pitchers to get ahead in the count. It’s a maxim uttered in every broadcast. Gio González, however, may have been falling behind on purpose. González leaned more on his changeup when he was behind last year, and, for a season at least, it appeared to work.