Alright, who are these guys, and what have they done with my baseball team? The Nats put up 11 runs on 12 hits to beat the Phillies 11-6 on opening day. At 2-0, the Nationals are currently the winningest team in baseball. Suck on that, sirs!
Matt Chico pitched alright, giving up 3 runs in 5.1 innings, but didn't look bad. Considering I still think of him as being our fifth starter, I don't have any real complaints about his performance. Joel Hanrahan struck out two but gave up two runs in .2 innings, and Ray King gave up a two run shot, on which one of the runs was Hanrahan's, in an inning of work. Saul Rivera picked up the win with a scoreless inning, and Jesus Colome pitched a scoreless ninth.
Lastings Milledge went 3/4 with a HR and two RBI, and everyone and their mother hit at least one double, I think. Invader Zim picked up a RBI but went hitless, Austin Kearns picked up a pair of RBI, while Nick Johnson, Ron Belliard, Paul LoDuca, and Dmitri Young each had one.
A good start indeed, if not for some real lackluster bullpen work, I'd be peeing myself with joy. But that offense was absolutely glorious.
On an only sort of related note, Ray King looked terrible today, as previously mentioned. If he continues to struggle, is there a chance we'll see Lannan up as the lefty out of the bullpen any time soon? I really don't know whether the team's issue with him is that they feel he needs more experience, period, or whether they just don't think there's any room for him. Well, we'll see.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Pearls of Wisdom from Bob Carpenter
"Isn't it interesting that the 3, 4, and 5 hitters, Zimmerman, Johnson, and Kearns, have all of the Nationals RBIs this season?"
No Bob, it's not. The team has four total RBIs. We're a game and a half into the season.
Update: Make it six total RBIs. Byaaah!
No Bob, it's not. The team has four total RBIs. We're a game and a half into the season.
Update: Make it six total RBIs. Byaaah!
Opening Night!
Took that picture right off mlb.com, but what the hell do you people want from me?
That's a hell of a way to open a new stadium. O-Diesel Perez pitched five good frames, which should have been good enough to get him the first win of 2008, but for Paul LoDuca's godawful defense. Zimmy with the walk off shot in the ninth made it all okay for now, however. Jon Rauch, the Nats pitcher with the most wins in 2007 (with 9, ugh) gets the first curly W of 2008. Beautiful stuff. Matt Chico will face Brett Myers tomorrow in Philly.
In the meantime, Elijah Dukes is headed to the 15 day DL with a nagging hammy injury. It's not supposed to be too bad, but he wants to give it some time to heal up. And Chad Cordero had a cortisone shot following some pain in his right arm during warm ups and in the 'pen. He's not going on the DL, but he'll take a few days. Rauch will close in his absence.
Okay, stuff I missed:
John Patterson gets released. This was like a late installment of Christmas for me. That much should be apparent from any of my other entries. I don't like John Patterson. My only question mark was whether or not he was hiding another injury, because I found it funny we didn't even trade him for a bag of balls, just an outright release. Whatever, it makes me happy to see that the team will cut dead weight when necessary. But let's hope...
Shawn Hill can bounce back from his phantom injury and prove he's not dead weight. He's becoming our Carl Pavano. Should have started opening day, but if he can't stay healthy, he's going to get overtaken by plenty of other guys in the organization like...
John Lannan, who was optioned to AAA after having a phenomenal spring training. He'll be on the roster in no time, especially if Hill can't get healthy. I understand why the club went with Chico for the rotation, the kid was a horse last year, but Lannan is truly an exciting prospect, unlike...
Paul LoDuca, who, if I need to say it again, sucks. I love how the team is determined to start anyone except Jesus Flores. You know where Jesus could pick up some experience? In Nationals Park. He's the presumptive catcher of the future, so let him be the catcher of the present, too. I don't need to point out that Paul Lo Duca, one of whose most attractive characteristics is supposed to be his bat. Well, his OBP last year was .311. Jesus Flores, whose bat isn't ready for the Majors, put up an OBP last year of .310. Now, to be fair, Lo Duca struck out every 13 or so at bats last year, and Flores struck out every four, but Lo Duca hits nothing but singles and doesn't walk, while Flores hits singles and walks. I mean, it's not a big gap. But I'm just whining at this point, the team has made it very clear they're going to start that asshole for this year, so I suppose I'll just have to accept it. But I won't have to like it.
Well, that's it for tonight. The Washington Nationals are on top of the NL East, baby. More tomorrow after the Philly game.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Glass Houses and Whatnot
I've been railing about the stupidity of giving these young players small renewals for a couple of weeks now, arguing that these guys are the exact people you don't want to piss off. The idea of giving Prince Fielder $600,000 when he'd be thrilled by $1m is complete idiocy in my eyes. Ditto for Papelbon, Cole Hamels, all those guys. Young, proven players are not the kinds of guys you want to plant the seed of discontent within, especially when they fit squarely into your idea of where your franchise is going. Penny wise and pound stupid is the classic expression, and I think it really fits in most of these cases.
So when I saw today that the Nationals had renewed Ryan Zimmerman for $465,000 this year, I almost shit a brick. Ryan, because he's a true class act, hasn't been whining about wanting more money the way some of the other young players have, but this gets my dander up. The persistent discussions about renewing him long term are this same brand of idiocy, with the front office vowing not to "break the bank" on Zimmerman. Zimmerman wants more than Troy Tulowitzki's 6 years and $31 million, and personally I feel like he should get it. Zimmerman's offense has been solid, his defense is exceptional, his leadership appears to be growing, and the most important factor, Ryan Zimmerman IS the Washington Nationals.
I know I'm spending the Lerners' money here, but give Zimmerman 6 years and $40 million if that's what it takes. I am absolutely convinced that without Ryan Zimmerman, this franchise is the same sad sack Expos who played half their home games in Puerto Rico. There are no other hallmark players on this team yet. There are guys you want to get behind, guys like Shawn Hill and Jay Bergmann who've had some impact on the team, and you'd like to see that continue, but you're not attached in the same way. Dmitri Young is a great story, but he's old and slow. He's a veteran presence for sure, and he'll be good for Elijah and Lastings Milledge, but he's not the kind of guy you build a franchise around. Chad Cordero has inexplicably good numbers when you look at what he throws, and part of me thinks without Schneider's excellent game calling, he'll fall apart this year. Additionally, the Chef (see what I did there? Because he serves up meatballs!) has been responsible for most of the heartbreaking single moments so far in the Nationals history. He too, while he may remain a perfectly good Closer for years to come, is not the kind of guy you build a team around.
When you look at the Nationals, there is really only one person who fits that bill, and the front office just decided to low ball him. Since Ryan is too much of a class act to complain, I'll do it for him.
So when I saw today that the Nationals had renewed Ryan Zimmerman for $465,000 this year, I almost shit a brick. Ryan, because he's a true class act, hasn't been whining about wanting more money the way some of the other young players have, but this gets my dander up. The persistent discussions about renewing him long term are this same brand of idiocy, with the front office vowing not to "break the bank" on Zimmerman. Zimmerman wants more than Troy Tulowitzki's 6 years and $31 million, and personally I feel like he should get it. Zimmerman's offense has been solid, his defense is exceptional, his leadership appears to be growing, and the most important factor, Ryan Zimmerman IS the Washington Nationals.
I know I'm spending the Lerners' money here, but give Zimmerman 6 years and $40 million if that's what it takes. I am absolutely convinced that without Ryan Zimmerman, this franchise is the same sad sack Expos who played half their home games in Puerto Rico. There are no other hallmark players on this team yet. There are guys you want to get behind, guys like Shawn Hill and Jay Bergmann who've had some impact on the team, and you'd like to see that continue, but you're not attached in the same way. Dmitri Young is a great story, but he's old and slow. He's a veteran presence for sure, and he'll be good for Elijah and Lastings Milledge, but he's not the kind of guy you build a franchise around. Chad Cordero has inexplicably good numbers when you look at what he throws, and part of me thinks without Schneider's excellent game calling, he'll fall apart this year. Additionally, the Chef (see what I did there? Because he serves up meatballs!) has been responsible for most of the heartbreaking single moments so far in the Nationals history. He too, while he may remain a perfectly good Closer for years to come, is not the kind of guy you build a team around.
When you look at the Nationals, there is really only one person who fits that bill, and the front office just decided to low ball him. Since Ryan is too much of a class act to complain, I'll do it for him.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Man Down!
Oh, what a shock! Sean Hill has been shut down because of arm pain! I love Sean Hill, I really do, but you had to see this coming.
The Nats lost their third game of Spring Training to the Marlins 4-1. Dennis Tankersley got beaten up, and because he's Dennis Tankersley, no one cares. Patterson gave up one run in his two innings, John Lannan (editor's note: Joel Hanrahan is not John Lannan. I will probably continue to confuse these two) looked strong, and both the Chief and the Wookie got to kick the tires, and both did fine.
On the batting side, Jesus Flores went 2/2 with a triple, and Elijah went 2/3 with a pair of singles. Bret Boone recorded his first hit since 2005.
Also, Humberto Cota is in camp with the Nats? Was he on Steroids? I think he was, but I don't remember, and I'm too lazy to check. One thing is for sure: Jesus Flores isn't our every day catcher, but any number of people could be! Old Humbie went 2/2 as well today, in an attempt to make himself look anything other than useless, a task with which the rest of the Catching staff has struggled so far in camp.
The Nats lost their third game of Spring Training to the Marlins 4-1. Dennis Tankersley got beaten up, and because he's Dennis Tankersley, no one cares. Patterson gave up one run in his two innings, John Lannan (editor's note: Joel Hanrahan is not John Lannan. I will probably continue to confuse these two) looked strong, and both the Chief and the Wookie got to kick the tires, and both did fine.
On the batting side, Jesus Flores went 2/2 with a triple, and Elijah went 2/3 with a pair of singles. Bret Boone recorded his first hit since 2005.
Also, Humberto Cota is in camp with the Nats? Was he on Steroids? I think he was, but I don't remember, and I'm too lazy to check. One thing is for sure: Jesus Flores isn't our every day catcher, but any number of people could be! Old Humbie went 2/2 as well today, in an attempt to make himself look anything other than useless, a task with which the rest of the Catching staff has struggled so far in camp.
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