UPDATE- Thursday, 12:25 P.M.- Dibble opened his radio program this morning by reading a brief statement about his dismissal, in which he called his comments about Strasburg "inappropriate and disrespectful." The full text can be found here.

Rob Dibble has analyzed his last game for the Washington Nationals. The team announced that the controversial analyst had permanently departed the MASN broadcast booth prior to the start of tonight's game against the Florida Marlins. Neither the Nationals nor MASN would offer any further comment on the matter, though MASN spokesman Todd Webster did confirm to TBD that Dibble would no longer broadcast Nationals games. Mark Zuckerman is reporting that the decision was made by the Nationals, not by MASN, which is owned by both the Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles.

Dibble had requested time off after the August 24 game against the Chicago Cubs, and it was originally announced that his absence would only be for two games. Pregame and postgame analyst Ray Knight has filled in alongside play-by-play man Bob Carpenter ever since, and will continue to be Carpenter's partner through the team's current road trip, which ends this Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Dibble signed a three-year contract as an analyst with MASN prior to the start of the 2009 season. He had come under heavy criticism twice over the past few weeks, most recently for comments made about Stephen Strasburg on his Sirius/XM MLB Network August 23, two days after Strasburg exited his scheduled start against Philadelphia with what was later revealed to be a torn UCL in his right elbow.

"Suck it up, kid," were among Dibble's comments. "This is your profession. You chose to be a baseball player. You can't have the cavalry come in and save your butt every time you feel a little stiff shoulder, sore elbow."

The next night was Dibble's final broadcast. When Nationals President Stan Kasten was asked about Dibble's absence at the time of the initial announcement, he told the Washington Post, "Rob asked for some time off. Perhaps he's not feeling well. But I'm not a doctor, nor have I seen his records. So I shouldn't say anything more about it."

Kasten was referencing another part of Dibble's comments on Strasburg, when the former major league closer with the Reds, White Sox, and Brewers admitted that he hadn't seen the results of an MRI Strasburg had undergone the previous day, but that he was "pretty sure [Strasburg]'s gonna come back fine."

Dibble had previously come under fire for remarks made on an August 11 telecast in which he called out two women sitting behind home plate for being in constant conversation instead of paying attention. Dibble later apologized for his remarks.