Sunday, June 26, 2011

Game 78: Nats at White Sox

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
The Nationals try to win their fifth straight series this afternoon.
CHICAGO -- A weekend of transition for the Nationals comes to an end today. Davey Johnson will be in the building, but not in the dugout. John McLaren will manage, then leave his position on the coaching staff for a non-uniformed scouting job within the organization. A new bench coach will be named.

McLaren's third and final Nationals lineup has Jayson Werth (hitting .171 with a .316 slugging percentage this month) in the 2-hole, behind Roger Bernadina. Ryan Zimmerman returns to play third base after serving as DH yesterday. Laynce Nix is today's DH. Ian Desmond gets a day off, with Alex Cora filling in at shortstop. Matt Stairs (who has yet to appear in this series) remains on the bench.

Livan Hernandez starts for the Nats. He labored through his last start but at the time insisted an easy mechanical fix -- he was trying to throw his sinker from too much over the top -- should get things back on track. We'll see.

Game updates to come here, and any other news (including the expected official Davey announcement) can of course be found on the homepage...

NATIONALS at WHITE SOX
Where: U.S. Cellular Field
Gametime: 2:10 p.m.
TV: MASN, Ch. 50
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 180
Weather: Partly cloudy, 72 degrees, Wind 14 mph in from LF
STARTING LINEUPS
NATIONALS (39-38)
CF Roger Bernadina
RF Jayson Werth
3B Ryan Zimmerman
DH Laynce Nix
1B Michael Morse
2B Danny Espinosa
C Wilson Ramos
LF Jerry Hairston
SS Alex Cora
(P Livan Hernandez)

WHITE SOX (38-40)
LF Juan Pierre
SS Omar Vizquel
RF Carlos Quentin
1B Paul Konerko
DH Adam Dunn
CF Alex Rios
C A.J. Pierzynski
3B Mark Teahen
2B Gordon Beckham
(P Philip Humber)
1:49 p.m. -- If you haven't seen it yet, the Nats officially named Davey Johnson manager for the remainder of this season. They also announced he's signed a three-year consulting contract that runs through 2013. What this means: The club is required by MLB to conduct a full managerial search after the season. Johnson will be a candidate (and the obvious frontrunner). If he returns, the Nats already hold a 2012 option on him. So his contract terms are already established. Full story here, and I'll be updating it shortly...

2:10 p.m. -- We're underway with a strike from Philip Humber to Roger Bernadina.

2:28 p.m. -- Big spot for Adam Dunn in the bottom of the first, with two on and two out. But the big guy was caught looking at an offspeed pitch from the other big guy, Livo, to end the inning. Sorry I can't be more specific about it than referring to it as an offspeed pitch. The press box here at U.S. Cellular Field is way down the right-field line, so we have no perspective on pitch location or movement at all.

2:42 p.m. -- Two scoreless innings in the books, though there was a bit of a scary moment to end the second. Gordon Beckham popped a ball up in front of the pitcher's mound. Livo, Zimmerman and Morse all went for it, with Livo standing in the middle looking straight up. Morse eventually called for the ball and made the catch, but only after Zimmerman barreled into Livo. Hey Ryan, not the guy you want to do that to!

3:01 p.m. -- The White Sox get on the board in the bottom of the third, in part because Roger Bernadina could not catch a fly ball straight over his head. Not the easiest play in the world, but a major-league center fielder needs to look better trying to make it than Bernadina just did. The inning could have been worse, though, had Dunn not struck out again. He's now whiffed in five of his last six plate appearances, with the other one being a walk. Fans here are all over him. Nats trail 1-0 after three.

3:25 p.m. -- Four innings in the books, and the Nats do not yet have a hit off Philip Humber. Only guy to reach base was Bernadina, who was hit by a pitch. But he was quickly erased on a double play off Zimmerman's bat. Still 1-0 Chicago.

3:35 p.m. -- Five innings down, Humber's no-hitter is intact.

4:05 p.m. -- Jerry Hairston to the rescue. Base hit up the middle to lead off the sizth and break up Humber's no-hitter. The shutout, however, remains intact. It's still 1-0.

4:12 p.m. -- Danny Espinosa to the rescue! Two-run homer to right in the top of the seventh, and all of a sudden the Nats have a 2-1 lead even though they've only got two hits today. The JuggerNats are back in business.

4:31 p.m. -- Job well done by Livan Hernandez, who departs with two outs in the seventh. He allowed one run on eight hits but struck out nine(!) on an astounding 123(!) pitches. Tyler Clippard on to face Paul Konerko in a big spot.

4:36 p.m. -- You know, they don't call this the Windy City for nothing. Konerko absolutely crushed ball off Clippard, only to see it caught at the warning track by Hairston. Would have been gone in any other town. Not in Chicago when the wind in coming in off Lake Michigan. It's still 2-1 after seven.

4:42 p.m. -- Livo's nine strikeouts, by the way, were his most in seven(!) seasons. Hadn't done that since Sept. 26, 2004 against the Phillies.

4:45 p.m. -- Adam Dunn with his seventh strikeout in two days. The fans here are, um, a bit displeased with their $56 million DH. Mike Rizzo, on the other hand, couldn't be happier.

4:55 p.m. -- We go to the bottom of the ninth, and interestingly, Sean Burnett is back on the mound. Left-handed-hitting Mark Teahen will lead off, but he could be pinch-hit for. Actually, he will. Brent Lillibridge is announced as the pinch-hitter, and now John McLaren will summon Drew Storen. Johnny Mac: Savoring every last minute of his three days as manager.

5:05 p.m. -- It's over. The JuggerNats win another 2-1 game. That's incredibly the eighth time this month they've won when scoring two runs or fewer. Also, they've now won 13 of 15, sending John McLaren out in style.

107 comments:

Gonat said...

Matt Stairs (who has yet to appear in this series) remains on the bench.

____________________________

That is a good thing!

natsfan1a said...

Let's go NATS!!!

Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_For_Me said...

Like the lineup. GYFNG!

End the Johnny Mac Era (OK, three games) in style.

Doc said...

Can't wait to see what Davey, the original sabernut does with the lineup...if anything! Given the Nats recent success, will he take a 'if it's not broken,...don't fix it' approach.

Also, like to see if he can get JWerth on the right track.

Seems like the Nats have been making a few more errors since the great 13 game errorless streak ended.

A new and better era! Goooooooooooooo Nats!

JaneB said...

I like Bernis in the one hole.

Just came from watching a documentary about Steve Bartman (and Bill Buchner) at Silver Docs film festival at AFI. There is no question that the vibe in the stands impacts the game. I love that our fans are growing wiser, more devoted and greater in number.
GYFNG!

Bzl. said...

@Doc, this lineup *is* broken. In the last five games, we have scored exactly 1 earned run in the first 7 innings! Yes, 1 earned run (3 runs total) in 35 innings. That we've been able to win 4 of those 5 games borders on miraculous.

Go Nats!

LoveDaNats said...

Granted I'm not sabermetric savvy but I'd like to see Jason werth in the 5 hole after morse. No one knows better than he that the way he's playing is unacceptable. He was brought here for his bat and defense. I think athletes have better luck rising to expectations than meeting the minimum. At least the decent ones do. Just an opinion.
All you sabermetric people, go easy on me.

Sunderland said...

And I thought we had problems at the top of our lineup. Juan Pierre, .310 OBP, stole 10 but caught 9 times. And a lousy arm in left to boot.
Then Omar Vizquel with a .306 OBP. Hate to say anything negative about Vizquel, he's had an amazing career, should get some chatter about HOF in 5 years, but the dude is 44 years old now.

Will be interesting to watch Humber pitch. Last 4 seasons in AAA, 90 starts to an ERA of about 4.60. Now in 13 MLB starts this season, he's got a 2.76 ERA. A run and a half better than his best season in AAA! What gives?

I don't remember who offered the over / under of 5 K's for Dunn this series, but he's sitting on 5 going into game 3. Most took the over if I recall...

Section 222 said...

Very glad that Mac is smart enough not to waste a lineup spot on Stairs. Query what Stairs is doing on the team if he's not going to be the DH vs. a RH pitcher. If Mac prefers JHJ in the lineup over Stairs, it's clear that Stairs has to go.

Grandstander said...

Stairs is just hanging around until they activate Ankiel off the DL. I just can't see the justification of cutting any of the other 24 guys to keep him. He doesn't have a single RBI. Every starting pitcher has at least one except Lannan, who has no hits. Lannan and Gorzelanny are currently the only players he's outhitting. But enough about that, we all know how bad Stairs is.

@LoveDaNats - The sabermetric justification for batting Werth leadoff is that he has a high OBP. But his performance lately has tailed off significantly while Bernadina has been getting on base quite a bit, so it makes more sense for Bernie to go leadoff, especially with his speed.

CBinDC said...

To Jim Riggleman... I heard all of the local interviews you did on radio ....also a few of the national ones as well ....if really did not like the terms of the contract at the outset and it really bothered you in this ST ......why did you not press the issue then ???? .......You have an agent ?? what was he doing? .....I am sad you have left and I wanted you to get fair treatment as I wish for all people....but if you and Rizzo were talking then you should have pressed then not now it did you no good. BTW if people do not remember that Rizzo was interm and the talk of unfair treatment that surround him until he and Kasten announced his 5 yr contract .......no no one remember that the Lerners and Kasten were the evil people who strung Rizzo along until he had Strasburg under contract ......well enough on that topic on with the SHOW

FS said...

Make him a special adviser whatever that post is or one of those coaches that can hang out in the dugout. Guy has not produced at all, but he might be an impact in the clubhouse. Fantasy-wise he is the worst hitter in the two leagues besides Wil Nieves, averaging 0.1 points per game.

Anyways let's hope we can take today's contest. Need the boost.

natsfan1a said...

Test

CBinDC said...

Ohh on Johnson please tell me he hates Angelos PLEASE ohh that would so great .....

Mark Zuckerman said...

natsfan1a: For some reason, your test comments were showing up as spam. I made sure to note that each wasn't actually spam, so hopefully you're able to get comments to post now. Email me if you still have problems.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Win for Johnny Mac and he can leave with a .667 record unless that first one goes to the interim interim manager

We can make this 5 series wins a row. A series win is always my goal.

Note to Werth. If it is in the strike zone swing. If it is not don't. (anyone else this applies to may listen too. )

Sunderland said...

Poor Dunnkey. Hope he breaks out of his funk next week,

Grandstander said...

Looking at that replay, I think Zim would've ran right through Morse if Livo didn't block him there. Get your head in the game, buddy!

JaneB said...

We got the new TV set up in time cor the first pitch. Phew.

I'm with you Sunderland, especially on the timing.

So ready to be done with the Riggleman/Rizzo/Johnson talk.

What's the over/under on people, especially the anonymous kind, calling for Johnson's removal? Think we even make it to the AllStars break?

FS said...

My God get something going guys. Put this game away so I can go out and chill. I don't want how Nats doing in the back of my head while I do other things. Are we getting no-hit tonight?

CBinDC said...

Dunn's situation reminds me of how much the DC fan will put up with ......it is so rare for any of the sports teams fans to start the boos until the person is perceived as a jerk and unproductive, and you need both for the boos to start ...does a certain Czech hockey player come to mind ?

My leading nomination for the all Bowden Fail Team is Wille Moe Pena....and do not care what he is doing now. No body has really put together quite the "I could careless" I am here for the money career here in DC like he did.

JaneB said...

We need to get MASN to send out a text message that the Sox have a no-hitter going and BOOM, that'll take care of THAT.

CBinDC said...

JaneB what is the over/under on the "see how they wilt fail with out Riggleman" talk if the Nats lose this game?

So what happened to the bats again ????

Sunderland said...

More evidence that our best defensive arrangement includes Ankiel in CF. Nice swing by Konerko. Let's keep it at 1 Livo.

JaneB said...

Roger has been prettybdarn good in CF, Sunderland. And his bat is way better than Ankiel's.

Anonymous said...

Werth knows the object of the game is to actually swing the bat correct?

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Honestly has anyone in the press asked the team if Werth needs contacts? Those three strikes were all good pitches to hit. he swung at none of them. He needs corrective lenses it appears to me.

Zimmerman has hit into way too many double plays and that is with missing 57 games.

Anonymous said...

I took Sunderland's post to mean just that Ankiel was better defensively, not that he should be playing.

Grandstander said...

Werth's Swing % is 37.3%. The only "position player" with a lower rate is, who else? Matt Stairs (37.0%). The hottest hitters on the team?

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Just for the record. Zim is 1 behind Ramos in hitting into double plays. Almost the team leader already. that is not good.

CBinDC said...

Carpenter talking about corrections on reports ...well I am always struck at the snark and bile that passes for reporting .....there were more then a few reports that did not cover the Riggleman situation but just repeated the same old tired and wrong impressions of the Nats, the city and the stadium. Just so they can keep the snark alive. There is one on yahoo a Jeff Passan that really added nothing but to prove that at yahoo all you need to be is a yahoo.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Cy Humber at work. Who said the hitting was better? The team average is headed right back to .230

Anonymous said...

Can we all agree that the jury is in on F.P. and he's awesome?

Drew8 said...

I've had enough of this Humber-whelming offense.

P.S. Somebody tell Espinosa and Werth what happened when they shaved Samson's locks.

Bring back Jeremiah Johnson!!!

Color me unimpressed said...

SInce June 15 Werth is under .170 BA. Multiple errors. Not exactly a key member of the team during the hot streak.

Sunderland said...

Did ya hear FP talking about Dunn? You could easily have thought he was talking about Werth. Base hit JHJ.

Dave said...

And...Jayson Dunn grounds out to end the inning.

Thank you, Jerry H., for ending the no-no and getting to third.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Cy Humber still at work.

Jayson Werth obviously didn't hear FP. Bunt the ball we score. No can't do that he has to ground out instead. Come on guy be a team player.

imjustlikemusiq said...

Way to go Werth... what a loser you are. Who are you going to throw under the bus next, now that Nyjer Morgan and Jim Riggleman are gone? Perhaps you'll look in the mirror, though somehow, I doubt it.

Grandstander said...

There's no guarantee a bunt works there. If it goes foul now you're down 1-2. Plus, Werth never bunts, so it's unlikely he's able to get it down cleanly.

At least he swung...

Harper is Awesome said...

Does anyone know where Chad Gaudin is along with Doug Slaten?I know they were both put on the 15 day DL. But where are they now? Mark?

Joe Seamhead said...

Jason Werth has got to be past talking to himself. I doubt if his self is talking back to him about now.I honestly feel that he will soon snap out of this funk, though if we honestly had somebody to take his place I'd sit him down for a couple of games.

Sunderland said...

I think I just figured out the little things that were holding up the Davey Johnson contract. Unconfirmed of course, but my money says DJ insisted on a clause that he would not have to record any MASN commercials this season.

OK. How do we get Humber out of there?

Exposremains said...

Zim is lost too

Ernie said...

I've been away from the blog for a while, but I am loving this winning tear and as a season ticket holder root for these guys all year long. That said, am I a terrible person for starting to think it's time to bench Werth for a while and let Hairston/Bernie/Nix roam the outfield when we get back to NL opponents? There sure seems to be a lot of non-loving feelings for him on here today.

Grandstander said...

Gaudin is on a rehab assignment at Potomac. He's pitched in 2 games, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 K 0 ER.

No word about Slaten.

Grandstander said...

SEE.YOU.LATER!!!

Navy Nats Fan said...

ESPINOSA!!!!!

2 Run jack, Nats up 2-1

Harper is Awesome said...

THAT JUST FIRED ME UP HELLYEAHHHHH!!!! GYFNG

Joe Seamhead said...

Too, bad that Danny can't hit from the left side, eh?

Drew8 said...

OK Danny! That's one clean cut!

Sunderland said...

Not that it matters, but I think Gaudin is in Syracuse. His opponents recently have been AAA clubs.

Grandstander said...

You are correct, sir.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t552&t=p_pbp&pid=429985

JaneB said...

Anon at 3:41, I agree. Love him. And I am sure he was talking Werth as he was using the name Dunn.
Love Jerry Jr.too. You can always count on him.
And Danny! Made 'em pay. Take THAT,
I wonder if Zimm and Werth were embroiled in the Riggleman hate in the clubhouse (we know Werth was) and haven't focused yet. That's my hope. I also wonder if Werth gets better when Stairs goes away. He apparently sees Stairs as his mentor. In fact, I'm wondering if the reason we still have Stairs is Werth, not Rizzo or Riggs. I bet so. Anyway. Another reason to cut Stairs when Ankiel comes back: kick start Werth.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Espinosa swings at a breaking pitch that is up. Those are good pitches to hit. Breaking balls that are at the waste of below bad ones as they fall out of the strike zone (Are you listening Desmond?)

Does Eckstein go over this at all with the guys? These are things that have been true about baseball since I have been watching over 50 years now. It is not new information.

JaneB said...

JuggerNats! Brilliant, Mark!

GYFNG!

Grandstander said...

I can't believe that didn't go out the way it came off the bat. That was a no-doubter that just died. Clipp obviously needs another day of rest. He could not through a heater to save his life.

Dryw said...

I'm only watching on gameday live, but it sure does look like we got Good Livo today! I love good Livo.....

Drew8 said...

Wow. Thank you, Windy City.

George Brett said...

Can someone please go slap Werth and Zim to wake them up/

FS said...

Add to the lead please.

Tim said...

Still love Dunn. It's hard to watch him struggle like this, although we saw it plenty ourselves. We know he can explode for 10 HRs in 15 days. Just hope he waits til we're in Anaheim.

Anonymous said...

I've seen Espinosa talking with Stairs quite a bit. If that is a key to Esp's growth as a left hand hitter Stairs has earned his place on the team.

Sunderland said...

Do people really go to an MLB game and yell "hey batter, batter...swing!"? I thought not, but ChiSox fan has corrected me. His seat neighbors must be so pleased.

JaneB said...

What is with this umpire crew? Is there recourse for the way they keep overruling correct calls to get them wrong?

Exposremains said...

Zim and Werth talk a lot about leadership but right now Espinosa and Morse carrying the team

Nattydread said...

How many 2-1 games have been in this year? What's the record for 2-1 games in a season?

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Clippard (with help from the wind) and Burnett did their jobs. Come on Storen do yours (do it grandmother's honor ).

waddu eye no said...

i think this ump crew is competing with joe west for stupidity. could be a close contest

JaneB said...

Thank you John McLaren. I hope we don't end up having to say goodbye to any other coaches.
Hurrah for another seies win! Sleep well on the plane guys,

Drew8 said...

Another series win!

Back to two games over!

Congrats to Mac and Godspeed.

Welcome Davey.

Onward and upward!

Grandstander said...

They've played 19 games with 3 or less total runs. They are 11-8 in those games. In the month of June, they are 8-2 in those games.

FS said...

Congratulations. I can finally breath normal. Good to win in Chicago. Congrats guys.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Heroes today Espinosa and Livo.

Updated pitching numbers

Livo ERA 3.81

Starters 3.65

relievers 3.05

Overall 3.46

The hitters need to swing at hanging curves and lay off low ones and swing at low strikes and quit swinging at high ones. And if not over the plane of the plate forget it.

baseballswami said...

FP -- agreed , he is terrific -- Werth,whatever , but am pretty much figuring he doesn't listen to Eckstein, Zim still has an excuse. Love me some Danny Espinosa - have you noticed that he and Morse are always right in the middle of things when they happen? Lots of respect for JHJ at this point - does whatever you ask of him, is passionate, starting pitchers- awesome - my heart hurts for Drew losing his grandma - glad to see him back in the w column. Way to go boys, but maybe tomorrow you could start a new tradition and score in the first couple of innings?

SonnyG10 said...

Awesome! Won the game and the series. GYFNG!!!

Anonymous said...

And Dunn strikes out 9 times in the 3 game series...

NatsJack in Florida said...

JaneB.....the only coach that may move would be Trent Jewett but that probably would be his choice. Davey's fine with everyone on the staff as he's been able to observe them for over two years or as in the case of Bo Porter, been part of their recruitment to the team.

And I'm sorry but I have to admit that there is a smile from ear to ear on my face every time Dunn gets cheered for a foul ball.

natsfan1a said...

Thanks re. the comment flagging situation, Mark. Wasn't sure what was up there.

Anon & JaneB, I'm also liking FP's color commentary. Given his remarks about McLaren, I think he may be a mensch as well.

Tim, I really felt for Dunn, and I winced at each third strike. At the last one, though, I was also hoping he'd do so that we'd keep the lead ("I'm sorry, but I really need you to K here. I'm really sorry, and I hope your bat heats up starting tomorrow.")

Great game and series win, particularly given how well the ChiSox have done in interleague play the last few years. Livo, what can I say? Love you, dude. Another good inning from Burney, too. Maybe he's turned a corner.

Joe Seamhead said...

That's the fifth series in a row the Nats have won.Another impressive streak that is ongoing is Michael Morse still hasn't been charged with an error since 2005, at any of the positions that he has played. I'm not sure how many chances he's at now but it has to be around 700.Can anyone verify that?

Grandstander said...

I was really enjoying Dunn striking out until the last one, when he threw his helmet in the dugout. It's gotta be eating him alive. I really hope he figures it out, now that we're out of town.

I'd kind of like Davey to bring in Bo Porter as bench coach to groom him to manage in 2012. Werth is right on the edge of getting seriously on my nerves. It's not that he messes up, it's that he seems not to care, or he's blaming it on coaches. I haven't heard Bob or FP mention him working on things at all, and they seem to go out of their way to flout everyone's "putting in the work". Have their been any reports on Werth's work ethic? He just seems to be sleepwalking out there. Going through the motions.

Cwj said...

I don't like to see someone like Dunn get booed in his home park.
He's been atrocious this year for Chicago, but I like him for what he did as a Nat.

I apply this to the Nats as well.
I guess I'm just not really into booing a (favorite/home team) player who is struggling. If a player appears to be dogging it out there, then yes.

Anyway Go Nats!! What's cool about this team is that even when they appear dead for 6 or more innings, they just might come back and win!
Also, just about every backup player seems to come through when the stars struggle.
This team has some weird stats. The best though is their record: 40-38!

natsfan1a said...

Also, to the Nat who called out "We love you, Mac" during the skipper's postgame interview - attaboy!

Grandstander said...

@JoeSeamhead

If you take out all of 2005, he's had 695 chances. Very good guess.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Dan Radison (first base coach) will probably go also - Riggs' best friend.

Cwj said...

Nattydread- the Nats have played 10, 2-1 games this season. Their record is 7-3 in those games.

I have no idea what the MLB record for most 2-1 games is.

Gonat said...

The "Kardiac Kids" do it again with 11 K's by Livan, Burnie, and Store-n, 3 offensive hits and 1 of them the GW HR. Making the most of a little.

Also of note, the Nats won't face Weaver in Anheim in the Monday-Wednesday series.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, we weren't supposed to face Peavey either...

Gonat said...

Anonymous said...
Sounds like Dan Radison (first base coach) will probably go also - Riggs' best friend.

June 26, 2011 5:50 PM
______________________________________

I agree and maybe they do something
'out of the box' like make Stares the 1st base coach.

It is clear to me that Riggs didn't use Stares his last few games and McLaren/Jewett clearly bypassed him Friday night and haven't seen him since so I am more curious what the great Pinch Hitter will do going forward.

Going back to Riggleman's "exit" speech that a few players will be happy to see him go I am thinking was partially pointed at Stares. I think Riggleman perfers to use an escape hatch in case of emergency and not Stairs.

Cwj said...

For anyone who cares, the Nats are now 13-13 in 1-run games.

And, while I'm looking at my (hand written, btw! :) win-loss sheet for some fun facts, the Nats have not given up more than 11 runs in a game this season. But it's happened twice (both losses).

Cwj said...

*given up 11 runs twice, I mean :)

Slidell said...

Grandstander: regarding Werth's work ethic, FWIW- he did get on Nyjer during ST for dogging it.

Cwj said...

Another interesting stat I found, (but I need to update my game log so it's not 100%)
It looks like Storen has a higher save pct. in 1-run leads than he has when he is protecting a 3-run lead...kind of odd.

Go Nats!

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Matt Stairs first base coach. That sounds better already.

Cwj said...

Manassas- Stairs hasn't really been on (or even seen!) first base much this season...

I like him though. Good coaching prospect.

Doc said...

McLearn retires with the best winning percentage of any Nats manager (.667). Let's see if Davey can beat it!

Seemed like a nice guy. Good luck Johnny Mac!

Anonymous said...

Don't you know who we are? Were the JuggerNats, b****!

Carl in 309 said...

I think the Nats series win over the White Sox breaks the pale hose string of series success again National League teams. When I was at a Cubs-White Sox last week, fans were bragging about their success.

Dave said...

And so the McLaren era comes to a glorious conclusion.

Nationals.com now has the MASN clip of the Friday night ejection. Worth seeing to hear Carp's reaction. Priceless!

Thanks for a winning weekend, Mac.

Ernie said...

It's a shame that all of McLaren's wins were on the road. It would be classy if the Nats brought him out before Friday's game against the Pirates for some recognition. I know it's only 3 games, but he never got an ovation as manager.

(Or maybe they'll just unveil his name as the newest member of the Ring of Honor or whatever they call those names over home plate. Winningest manager in franchise history.)

Sunderland said...

2 1/2 games out of the wild card?
Really?
GYFNG!

Stairs 1B Coach? What's he gonna do, help guys read pickoff moves? If Stairs coaches, he goes to rookie ball to start, not MLB on DJ's staff.

Cwj said...

Ernie- like you said only 3 games, but those were 3 HUGE games for the Nats considering what happened just prior.
Can anyone even imagine what people would be saying/posting had the Nats got swept by Chicago right after Riggs resigned??? I shudder to think :)

Agree also that McLaren should be given a nice "farewell intro", or whatever they want to call it when the team gets home.
And he did get a standing ovation from me in my living room today :)
Well done McLaren.

Anonymous said...

McLaren seems like a really good guy and has done this team a great service.

Anonymous said...

I want to say something about Storen's 3 "blown" saves. We won all three games. In every case, though he gave up the lead, he left with the score tied. I was at one of those--the 1-0 game. Yeah, the first guy up hit a HR, but Drew shut down the next three in short order and the next guy up, Morse, won the game. Even though he blew the saves, he limited the damage and gave us a chance to win.

Grandstander said...

@Sunderland

We're actually 3.5 games out of the wild card, behind the Braves, DBacks and Cards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk&feature

MikeH0714 said...

Wonder if Dunn remembers, as Chicago's "Boo Birds" serenade his every whiff, how we CHEERED his three strike-outs at the final home game last season, and left chanting "Sign Adam Dunn!"

Glad we won, but jeez I couldn't help rooting for the big lug. Gotta confess that part of me wanted Dunn to knock a few outta the park if only because Rizzo has been so smarmy and dishonest when discussing the Riggs situation on radio and TV.

natsfan1a said...

Was watching play of the week on MLB Network and Roger's catch (of Dunn) was the top play.

Also included were the Ramos and Nix walkoffs. The latter had both the DC and Seattle broadcasts - then they played the Seattle "no way" call in the background a time or two when other teams' highlights were shown. haha.

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