Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Game 42: Pirates at Nats

File photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
The Nats and Pirates will try to wrap up their two-game series today.
Though it seems highly unlikely Mother Nature is going to cooperate, the Nationals and Pirates are holding out hope they can play baseball today. The forecast is not promising: Heavy rain and thunder all afternoon, continuing into the evening. If they have to postpone this one, the Bucs do return to D.C. the first weekend in July. I smell a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, July 2.

If they do manage to play today, Jordan Zimmermann will be on the mound for the Nationals, looking to pick up where he left off last week in Florida (he struck out a career-high 11 in only 6 1/3 innings). Zimmermann will be opposed by right-hander Charlie Morton, a hard-throwing sinkerballer who is enjoying his own breakout so far this season.

I'm off today, and unfortunately need to post this before the lineups come out. I'll try to insert those before gametime (if there is a game). Rich Dubroff is covering the game for CSNwashington.com, and I'll be sure to link to his stuff later. I'll be back to work tomorrow, coming to you live from Citi Field in Queens...

PIRATES at NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m.
TV: MASN2
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 189
Weather: Thunderstorms, 68 degrees, Wind 11 mph in from RF
STARTING LINEUPS
NATIONALS (20-21)
Lineup TBA
P Jordan Zimmermann

PIRATES (18-23)
Lineup TBA
P Charlie Morton

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mark

I know this isn't really your issue but I reda three blogs each days, yours, the Nationals Journal and NATS320. Is there an issue with Nats320? I know he has a non-baseball related newspaper job but his last post was April25. This is not usual. Do you know anything?

Thanks, Mike

Tcostant said...

Isn't the move to buy the $2 tickets and maybe end up with a rain check for another game???

Mark'd said...

ALREADY CANCELLED

Nattydread said...

Also wondering about Nats320. His rah-rah posts are always nice to read after a win.

Steve M. said...

I am in the opposite corner on Nats320. To me,it is self-indulgent egotistical "look at me" garbage especially after their rant about "what a fan is" and how Clint gives away fan prizes. It went from borderline journalism to an accusatory piece on Clint and being a fan. Also, how many pictures do you really need to see of the SBF and the AQ with Ryan Zimmerman?

I would much rather follow The Nationals Enquirer and Nats Fangirls for the lighter side of the Nats and see more stories like Mark Zuckerman did on the Bryce Harper and the eye Doctor piece.

Steve M. said...

Mark'd said...
ALREADY CANCELLED

May 17, 2011 9:56 AM

Another classy move by ownership cancelling hours before the "faithful" make their way to the ballpark!

Grandstander said...

Nats320 is garbage and I'll say it to their face. The fact they get special treatment from the Nats PR staff makes it reek even worse of pure sycophantism (is that a word?). I'd rather be forced to read Chris Needham and Kevin Reiss for the rest of my life than be subjected to unbridled optimism and total self-indulgent, mastibatory posts that riddle that blog.

Oh, and the game is cancelled today.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

I have tickets for July 2. If it is a day night doubleheader I will only be a the second game a 2 for 1 I will be at both

Coverage is Lacking said...

Who's Kevin Reiss?

Steve M. said...

http://nats320.blogspot.com/2010/09/disgraceful-simply-not-right.html

If this is the type of Blog you like, then I am surprised you read NatsInsider. Just sayin'....

PAY TO PLAY said...

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/09/13/nats-blogger-whines-about-not-gettin-free-stuff/comment-page-1/#comments

Still laugh every time I read this piece and the comments.

That was at the end of last season so is this the reason they aren't around as much or is it that Stan is gone? They were so far up StanK's backside it reminded me of the brown-nosers back in Middle School.

PAY TO PLAY said...

sycophant [ˈsɪkəfənt]
a person who uses flattery to win favour from individuals wielding influence


Grandstander said...
Nats320 is garbage and I'll say it to their face. The fact they get special treatment from the Nats PR staff makes it reek even worse of pure sycophantism


brown-nose   /ˈbraʊnˌnoʊz/ [broun-nohz] verb, -nosed, -nos·ing, noun Slang .
–verb (used without object)
1. to curry favor; behave obsequiously.
–verb (used with object)
3. Also, brown-nos·er. a toady; sycophant.

Yep, a brown-noser

Mark'd said...

So a sycophant is just a fancy name for a brownnoser! I learn new stuff every day at this blog.

I am also in the camp of sending Nats320 to the curb. I wish Mark would remove them from his Blog Roll. It's just an embarrassment for people for ethics in journalism. I am hoping Feffer is aware of these trouble makers.

Softball Girl said...

Blogs are a form of communication. That's it. People like Mark use it for journalism. People like Nats320 use it for fanboy homerism. If that's not your thing, don't read it. But don't drag the guy through the mud. He's got the right to write what he wants to. He's in the tank for the Nats and that's something we can all understand.

natsfan1a said...

I second what Softball Girl said. I've always tended to read the beat writer blogs rather than the fan blogs, but I do follow the occasional link from Mark's blog roll. There's a difference between a fan blog and a journalistic blog, imo, and I associate the beat writer blogs with the former category. If you don't like a given blog, fan-generated or otherwise, then don't read it. It's a matter of personal preference, imo. (And, as Stan might say, a blog gets the readership it deserves, or something like that. :-))

Re. Nats320 specifically, I've read the blog on occasion, and I don't mind his point of view. I have also always appreciated that he gives full transcripts of interviews, rather than taking quotes out of context as some are prone to do on the Interwebz. I believe that the team now gives access to other bloggers as well, so I don't get the ire on that front. Perhaps some of the anonymous critics could be blogging competitors. Who knows?

Last but not least, if you really want to go there, it's "masturbatory."

natsfan1a said...

I'd also opine that blogger/team relationships are symbiotic. The team can generate buzz in online venues and the bloggers can have their platforms associated with the team.

(Why do flame wars start on Mark's off days? Separation anxiety, I guess. :-))

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

I don't find 320 interesting, either, but there are millions of blogs I *don't* read. Ranting about how one particular one isn't cool enough to merit your favor?!
Wow.
And then to call HIM middle school?
Man, that's ... just ...
Wow.

PAY TO PLAY said...

Sec 3, My Sofa, I just said they reminded me of Middle School brown-nosers...

That's what I observed, and I agree, you can read it or not.

UnkyD said...

Well I read linked posts, and...... Best laugh in weeks!!! Thanks for flashing back to last year, before I was paying much attention. Life is SO full of these kinds of characters- I call them "real-life cartoons"- and you absolutely HAVE to laugh at them! I find the "lookit me's" to be among the most amusing accidents that happen to us, on a nearly daily basis. While I try, as a rule not to laugh "at" people, I consider many of these types (T.O.... The Hattiesburg Kid,... Charlie Sheen... it's a loong list!) a lot of these bring it on themselves: they know people are watching, and listening to everything, and THIS is how they choose to present themselves! So if they wind up being mocked, it's on them, IMHO. Still no call to be mean, of course, so please... never let "The Ridiculous" spoil your buzz: Accept them as Bonus Entertainment!!

Doc said...

Research seems to suggest that Middle School Brown Nosers, as a group,frequently grow up and become politicians' assistants, and sometimes full-time politicians.

Some politicians, like Indiana's Mitch Daniels (the right size for Brown Nosing at 5'4"), have had a tendency to segue into drug dealing before segueing into politics and a career of Brown Nosing.

Once the nose is so-stained it's hard to restore, even with plasic surgery.

Nats Insider, is the Anti-Brown Noser!!

UnkyD said...

BTW.... Anybody heard from Natsjack?

UnkyD said...

LOL, Doc!! That sounds like the kind of research that costs millions in federal grant $$, only to have the results suppressed....giggling out loud, over here...;)

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