Tarasco added to 2013 staff

Davey Johnson and hitting coach Rick Eckstein talk during a 2012 batting practice. (Photo by US-Presswire)

The Washington Nationals have announced the addition of Tony Tarasco as first base coach to Davey Johnson’s 2013 staff. Trent Jewett will transition from first to third base coach next season with the departure of Bo Porter to manage the Astros.

The bench coach will remain Randy Knorr, Steve McCatty will stay on as pitching coach, Jim Lett will coach the bullpen, and Rick Eckstein will be back once again as hitting coach.

Tarasco joins the Nationals at the major league level after seven seasons in various roles in the organization. He spent the last two seasons as the outfield and baserunning coordinator after serving three years as hitting coach of the Hagerstown Suns. Previous to his time in Single-A, Tarasco was the hitting coach for two seasons for Vermont of the rookie-level New York-Penn League.

Tarasco played under Davey Johnson for the Baltimore Orioles in 1996 and 1997 and was the right fielder on Derek Jeter’s controversial home run in the 1996 ALCS. He was under the ball at the warning track when Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier reached over and interfered to make the catch.

Porter's focus remains with Nats

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Bo Porter played a key role in Bryce Harper's development as an outfielder.

PHILADELPHIA -- On the day he was officially named manager of the Houston Astros, Bo Porter found himself in an unusual, yet familiar place: The third base coaching box, wearing a Nationals uniform.

That will remain the case as long as the Nationals are still playing ballgames in 2012. Once their season ends, Porter will head home to Houston and turn his full-time attention to his new job. Until then, he insists his head and his heart will be entirely in Washington.

"Right now," Porter said, "all I really want for Christmas is one thing: a World Series ring."

"My focus is on the Washington Nationals and our quest to win the World Series title," Porter added. "I don't want this to be anything that distracts from what we're doing here. We have a chance to really do something special. The guys in the clubhouse, they know that I'm committed. Davey Johnson, the rest of the coaching staff, Mike Rizzo, the Lerner family, they know that I'm

Porter to be named Astros manager

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Bo Porter will leave the Nationals after the season to take over the Astros.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Houston Astros will name Bo Porter their new manager this morning, though the 40-year-old will finish out the season as the Nationals third base coach before officially taking over.

A club source confirmed the hiring, which was first reported early this morning by Foxsports.com.

Porter, who was in the coaching box at Citizens Bank Park for last night's Nationals victory, will be in Houston today for an 11 a.m. EDT news conference where he will be named the 21st manager in the Astros' 51-year history.

It's not yet known if Porter will be back in Philadelphia in time to coach tonight's series finale against the Phillies, but he will finish out the season with the Nationals in his current capacity before leaving for

Reports: Porter interviewing with Astros

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Bo Porter has previously interviewed for jobs with the Marlins and Pirates.

Nationals third base coach Bo Porter has long been considered a potential big-league manager, so it's not surprising that multiple reports out of Houston say he's interviewing today for the Astros' job.

According to MLB.com and the Houston Chronicle, Porter flew to Houston today (an off-day for the Nationals) and is meeting with new Astros owner Jim Crane and general manager Jeff Luhnow.

Porter, 40, lives in Houston in the offseason, though he has no previous connection to the Astros organization. This isn't the first time he's interviewed for a major-league managing position, though: He was a finalist for the Pirates' job in 2010 and the Marlins' job in 2011 before ultimately losing out to Clint Hurdle and Ozzie Guillen, respectively.

Porter also was considered by the Nationals last fall, though Davey

Delivering the KO punch

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Benches and bullpens emptied twice during the Nationals' 9-2 win over the Cubs.

It had only been 48 days since the Nationals carried a nine-run lead into the sixth inning of a crucial game against the Braves and watched it all crumble away in horrifying fashion. So when they entered the fifth inning Thursday night against the Cubs, leading this time by five runs, they weren't about to ease off the gas pedal.

Thus, Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa each stole second base off Chicago rookie reliever Lendy Castillo. And later Jayson Werth was given the green light to swing away at a 3-0 pitch with the bases loaded.

It all seemed fairly innocuous, just another example of the Nationals steamrolling the Cubs during what wound up a 9-2 victory and a four-game sweep by a combined score of 31-9. Except for Jamie Quirk, Chicago's normally mild-mannered bench coach, who started jawing at Werth and third base coach Bo Porter and in the process prompted both clubs' benches and bullpens twice to empty and engage in a mild fracas that resulted in the ejections of Quirk and three players.

"I mean, if they get mad at my guys in the fifth inning swinging 3-0 or running, they better get used to it," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said.
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