Man, when I first read that the Nats would be facing the Georgetown Hoyas in their second, though unofficial, game of Spring Training, I had tragic visions of the Hoyas taking the Nats down, or keeping the game close, or doing something generally embarrassing. But they didn't, and now I feel bad, as the Red, White, and Blue Bombers put up 15 runs on 17 hits in what was, apparently, a video game set on Rookie.
The highlights included all the Nationals pitchers doing well, and most of the batters getting a hit, as the Nats batted around in the first inning. The Hoyas committed 8 errors.
Well, as my grandmother would say, there you have it. The Nationals are considerably better than a college team.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Nationals 3, Marlins 3
In the first game of Spring Training, our beautiful Natties tied the Marlins in a contest that I didn't see, but I can read a box score, so I can tell you what happened!
Here's the highlight reel: Matt Chico went 2 innings, 1 walk, 2 Ks, and no ER. Garrett Mock went 2 innings, 2 Ks, and one unearned run, which is very good news indeed. Rob Bell got eaten alive, which is completely unimportant. Joel Hanrahan struck out two of three batters in his inning, as well.
Chad Moeller and Wil Nieves split the catching duty. Thank god we picked up Estrada and Lo Duca. One assumes Flores wasn't in because he just got to camp.
L-Millz had a 1b, a 2b, and 2 SB, Wily Mo and Elijah each contributed a double as well.
Spring training doesn't matter, but it's nice to see the new guys getting extra base hits.
Here's the highlight reel: Matt Chico went 2 innings, 1 walk, 2 Ks, and no ER. Garrett Mock went 2 innings, 2 Ks, and one unearned run, which is very good news indeed. Rob Bell got eaten alive, which is completely unimportant. Joel Hanrahan struck out two of three batters in his inning, as well.
Chad Moeller and Wil Nieves split the catching duty. Thank god we picked up Estrada and Lo Duca. One assumes Flores wasn't in because he just got to camp.
L-Millz had a 1b, a 2b, and 2 SB, Wily Mo and Elijah each contributed a double as well.
Spring training doesn't matter, but it's nice to see the new guys getting extra base hits.
Monday, February 25, 2008
But He's a Monster!
The Post put up a cool video of Elijah Dukes at the driving range today, and he seemed strangely human. Obviously four minutes in front of a camera doesn't vindicate him at all, but it's a fun watch if you're bored.
In other Nats news, Matt Chico will start the Spring Training opener, and he's said that he wants to cut down on his walks, which is kinda obvious, because those were his achilles heel last year. And Ryan Wagner threw a few pitches in BP today, which is good news, though not super exciting. Wagner, you may remember, came over in the infamous Austin Kearns/FLop trade, and has been fine when he's been healthy, but hasn't been healthy much. A Nationals pitcher who's injury prone? No! Tell me more!
Additionally, Jesus Flores is in camp, and is the only healthy catcher at the moment. Yes, I see the logic with sending him down to the minors to play every day for a year, but if Lo Duca and Estrada prove to be sub par, which would surprise no one, the organization needs to be quick to pull the plug on that particular experiment. And if Flores plays exceptionally during Spring Training, they need to consider letting him start regardless.
In other Nats news, Matt Chico will start the Spring Training opener, and he's said that he wants to cut down on his walks, which is kinda obvious, because those were his achilles heel last year. And Ryan Wagner threw a few pitches in BP today, which is good news, though not super exciting. Wagner, you may remember, came over in the infamous Austin Kearns/FLop trade, and has been fine when he's been healthy, but hasn't been healthy much. A Nationals pitcher who's injury prone? No! Tell me more!
Additionally, Jesus Flores is in camp, and is the only healthy catcher at the moment. Yes, I see the logic with sending him down to the minors to play every day for a year, but if Lo Duca and Estrada prove to be sub par, which would surprise no one, the organization needs to be quick to pull the plug on that particular experiment. And if Flores plays exceptionally during Spring Training, they need to consider letting him start regardless.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Odalis Perez Signs
Well, apparently the Nats don't even want Josh Fogg, because when they want something, they seem to get it. Odalis Perez signed a minor league deal with the Nats today, which will give him a shot at making the rotation.
I like this move. He was an All Star not that long ago, and if he makes the rotation, he gets less than a million dollars. There's really no downside, so even if he's washed up, we've lost nothing, and gained some depth, in case of injuries, which, looking at our rotation, seem likely.
I like this move. He was an All Star not that long ago, and if he makes the rotation, he gets less than a million dollars. There's really no downside, so even if he's washed up, we've lost nothing, and gained some depth, in case of injuries, which, looking at our rotation, seem likely.
I'm Having Trouble Really Caring
As Pokey pointed out in the comments of my last entry, the Nationals have assembled the Boone Triumvirate. Bret Boone, at age 38, has come out of retirement to come to camp with the Nats this year. The tone of Ladson's article about it is a bit more laudatory than I really feel like Bret Boone deserves, but perhaps the two brothers and their father can form some sort of Voltron-esque creature that'll be an absolute beast coming off the bench in late game situations? I don't know. But I guess if you're a Boone, you've got a shot in DC.
In other news, Paulie Dukes finally talked. Sorta. He apologized for "mistakes in judgment" and read a statement which included his assertion that he really supports what the Mitchell report is doing, and admires the cleansing of baseball. So if he was going to own up to it and support the report, why did it take this long? I don't know, I still don't feel good about it, but at least he said something. He was asked why he waited so long to talk about it, and remarked that he had other things he wanted to focus on. Uh huh.
Also, the Nats have made an offer to Odalis Perez. The 31 year old lefty has been up, down, and everywhere in between since coming into the league. An All Star in 2002 and largely ineffective in his most recent year and change in Kansas City, Perez could be a decent addition to the rotation if going back to the NL would drop his ERA down into the 4.x range again. I still like Fogg better, but I wouldn't mind seeing Perez in red and white.
In other news, Paulie Dukes finally talked. Sorta. He apologized for "mistakes in judgment" and read a statement which included his assertion that he really supports what the Mitchell report is doing, and admires the cleansing of baseball. So if he was going to own up to it and support the report, why did it take this long? I don't know, I still don't feel good about it, but at least he said something. He was asked why he waited so long to talk about it, and remarked that he had other things he wanted to focus on. Uh huh.
Also, the Nats have made an offer to Odalis Perez. The 31 year old lefty has been up, down, and everywhere in between since coming into the league. An All Star in 2002 and largely ineffective in his most recent year and change in Kansas City, Perez could be a decent addition to the rotation if going back to the NL would drop his ERA down into the 4.x range again. I still like Fogg better, but I wouldn't mind seeing Perez in red and white.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Groundhog Day: Part 2
Lo Duca Watch 2008: Holy crap, Paulie Dukes may actually talk on Saturday! But it's been so long, I kinda don't care what he says. I thought he was a waste of time when we signed him, and he's going to have to pull a Churchillian performance on that podium to convince me otherwise. But I'll keep you posted.
I Love Optimism Too, But...
Let's just try to keep it under control, alright fellas? Ladson reported from the first day of Spring Training today, and from most of what he shared with us, I have good news: the Nats are going to win like 120 games this season. In reality, the team keeps saying it expects to hit .500, which would be excellent progress, but the reports coming from camp are all sunshine and roses. One of Ladson's big points of excitement is that we don't have to worry about auditioning pitchers for the rotation this spring. What? Time for a rundown of just how solid our rotation is!
RHP Shawn Hill - Injury plagued, but when he's healthy, he's great.
RHP Jason Bergmann - Struggled some with injury, pretty good when he's healthy.
RHP John Patterson - This is broken. Did we keep the receipt? I don't care that he says he's healthy, I've heard that before, and you know how it ended? Surgery. In Canada, because it's not approved here.
LHP John Lannan - He was excellent in limited time last year, but he's completely unproven.
LHP Matt Chico - 150+ IP, 4.X ERA, I'm happy with this one. No one expects him to be the ace.
But this is it? This is our "set" rotation? I'm not unhappy with four of the guys on it, don't get me wrong, but these fellas don't exactly have the stalwart durability of Mount Rushmore. "If they can just stay healthy" is a huge "if" for this bunch. And John Patterson, well, I've said my bit about John Patterson. The fact that he's back this year, and the fact that his name was listed by Bill Ladson at the front of the list, with some implication that he's the presumptive ace? I don't like that AT ALL. Patterson has had one good season, in a Nationals uniform or otherwise. It's time to move on. We'll be seeing Garrett Mock and Tyler Clippard before too long, mark my angrily written words!
Also, Nick the Stick is apparently 100% ready to play. This is very good news, if it's true. There's a lot of speculation that Nick will be traded if he's actually healthy. I don't like this, because I love Nick and I don't like Dmitri Young especially, though I have nothing against him. Dmitri is apparently a big part of the "Keep Elijah From Killing Anyone" strategy, though, so it'd be surprising to see him go.
Felipe Lopez lost his arbitration hearing. Good. I don't know why he thought he deserved that much of a raise. He didn't deserve a raise at all, but that's how arbitration works, so whatever. Felipe could be traded, too, if there's any value to be gained from him. He's not in the starting infield this year, and I'm unconvinced that he's really worth it to keep around on the bench.
Lo Duca Watch 2008: Paulie Dukes isn't at camp yet, though he's expected to take a physical this weekend. Also, he still hasn't said a damn thing about the Mitchell report. I don't know why we, as the fans, or they, as the team are accepting this so readily. It's pretty much bullshit at this point. He did it, I think we all know he did it, but I feel like he's also losing his last chance to save any face by not talking about it. Pull an Andy Pettite, a Jason Giambi, or any of the other guys who've acknowledged it and come out and say "Yep, I did it. It wasn't illegal, and I was trying to win." Everyone seems to have accepted that just fine, and you know, we can all understand that on some level. But this Groundhog Day shit has got to go.
RHP Shawn Hill - Injury plagued, but when he's healthy, he's great.
RHP Jason Bergmann - Struggled some with injury, pretty good when he's healthy.
RHP John Patterson - This is broken. Did we keep the receipt? I don't care that he says he's healthy, I've heard that before, and you know how it ended? Surgery. In Canada, because it's not approved here.
LHP John Lannan - He was excellent in limited time last year, but he's completely unproven.
LHP Matt Chico - 150+ IP, 4.X ERA, I'm happy with this one. No one expects him to be the ace.
But this is it? This is our "set" rotation? I'm not unhappy with four of the guys on it, don't get me wrong, but these fellas don't exactly have the stalwart durability of Mount Rushmore. "If they can just stay healthy" is a huge "if" for this bunch. And John Patterson, well, I've said my bit about John Patterson. The fact that he's back this year, and the fact that his name was listed by Bill Ladson at the front of the list, with some implication that he's the presumptive ace? I don't like that AT ALL. Patterson has had one good season, in a Nationals uniform or otherwise. It's time to move on. We'll be seeing Garrett Mock and Tyler Clippard before too long, mark my angrily written words!
Also, Nick the Stick is apparently 100% ready to play. This is very good news, if it's true. There's a lot of speculation that Nick will be traded if he's actually healthy. I don't like this, because I love Nick and I don't like Dmitri Young especially, though I have nothing against him. Dmitri is apparently a big part of the "Keep Elijah From Killing Anyone" strategy, though, so it'd be surprising to see him go.
Felipe Lopez lost his arbitration hearing. Good. I don't know why he thought he deserved that much of a raise. He didn't deserve a raise at all, but that's how arbitration works, so whatever. Felipe could be traded, too, if there's any value to be gained from him. He's not in the starting infield this year, and I'm unconvinced that he's really worth it to keep around on the bench.
Lo Duca Watch 2008: Paulie Dukes isn't at camp yet, though he's expected to take a physical this weekend. Also, he still hasn't said a damn thing about the Mitchell report. I don't know why we, as the fans, or they, as the team are accepting this so readily. It's pretty much bullshit at this point. He did it, I think we all know he did it, but I feel like he's also losing his last chance to save any face by not talking about it. Pull an Andy Pettite, a Jason Giambi, or any of the other guys who've acknowledged it and come out and say "Yep, I did it. It wasn't illegal, and I was trying to win." Everyone seems to have accepted that just fine, and you know, we can all understand that on some level. But this Groundhog Day shit has got to go.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Livo to the Twins
Livan Hernandez is officially a Minnesota Twin. I really don't care much about this, because I hadn't been warming to Livan over these past few days, and while you want a guy pushing to get on your club, I felt like he was pushing to be a National again so that he could go back to being the presumptive ace, which he addressed by saying that he'd love to start on Opening Day in the new park. And I think some of the other guys deserve a shot, whether it's Bergmann or Hill.
I'd still be keen on the Nats picking up Kyle Lohse or Josh Fogg, but it's looking less and less like they're going to do that, which isn't a catastrophe, but having a veteran in the rotation might be of some use.
The Wookie, John Rauch, also got signed up through 2009, or 2010 with a club option last week. It's impossible to argue with this, because his top salary, as of 2010 will be $2.9m. He's way better than that. While not necessarily spectacular, Rauchie has been one of the most stable setup men/relievers in the league for a couple of seasons now, and it's good to lock him up.
I'd still be keen on the Nats picking up Kyle Lohse or Josh Fogg, but it's looking less and less like they're going to do that, which isn't a catastrophe, but having a veteran in the rotation might be of some use.
The Wookie, John Rauch, also got signed up through 2009, or 2010 with a club option last week. It's impossible to argue with this, because his top salary, as of 2010 will be $2.9m. He's way better than that. While not necessarily spectacular, Rauchie has been one of the most stable setup men/relievers in the league for a couple of seasons now, and it's good to lock him up.
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