Monday, July 4, 2011

Game 86: Cubs at Nats

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
Jordan Zimmermann faces Casey Coleman on Independence Day at Nationals Park.
It's the Fourth of July, and where would you rather be than at a ballgame in the nation's capital? (Well, maybe you'd rather be in Harrisburg for Bryce Harper's Class AA debut tonight, but that's another story.)

Here in the big leagues, the Nationals host the Cubs, who have dealt with all kinds of injuries to their pitching staff. Ryan Dempster was supposed to start today, but he was scratched with flu-like symptoms, so Casey Coleman (son of former Senators pitcher Joe Coleman) was called up from Class AAA for this game.

The Nats are dealing with their own nagging injuries, not on the pitching staff but in the lineup. Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse are both out today. Zimmerman has been experiencing what he called "general soreness" in his abdominal area, where he had the surgery, though he insists it's just a matter of getting himself back into midseason form, not a recurrence of injury.

Morse is still bothered by a badly bruised forearm. Team officials were worried at first Morse had suffered a hairline fracture (an X-ray suggested that could be the case) but an MRI revealed no fracture or other structural damage. Jayson Werth, meanwhile, is back in the lineup despite taking a fastball off his wrist yesterday.

Plenty of game updates to come here, and be sure to check the earlier Harper story for more details, including quotes from Mike Rizzo and Davey Johnson...

CUBS at NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 187
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 87 degrees, Wind 5 mph in from LF
STARTING LINEUPS
NATIONALS (42-43)
CF Roger Bernadina
3B Alex Cora
2B Danny Espinosa
LF Laynce Nix
RF Jayson Werth
1B Matt Stairs
C Ivan Rodriguez
SS Ian Desmond
P Jordan Zimmermann

CUBS (35-50)
RF Kosuke Fukudome
2B Darwin Barney
SS Starlin Castro
3B Aramis Ramirez
1B Carlos Pena
CF Marlon Byrd
LF Alfonso Soriano
C Geovany Soto
P Casey Coleman
1:06 p.m. -- We're underway, and Jordan Zimmermann very quickly gets Kosuke Fukudome to line out to left for the first out of the afternoon.

1:09 p.m. -- Please make sure to read my updated version of the Bryce Harper story, with quotes from Mike Rizzo and Davey Johnson, and speculation about how today's move affects his eventual timeline to make his big-league debut.

1:28 p.m. -- The Nats jump out to a 2-0 lead after one inning, thanks to a string of clutch hits. Danny Espinosa (hitting third for the first time with Ryan Zimmerman getting a day off) sent a double to left-center. Laynce Nix then drove in a run with a sharp single to right. And then Jayson Werth -- yes, Jayson Werth -- sent a broken-bat, RBI single to right to bring home another run. Hey, the way things have been going, Werth should be downright giddy right now with that result.

1:34 p.m. -- Oof, an unfortunate misplay in center field by Roger Bernadina. Carlos Pena hit a drive to the wall, and Bernadina backtracked and set himself up to attempt a leaping catch. Except he probably never needed to leave his feet. The ball glanced off his glove, and Pena was credited with a generous triple. I guess you can't give him an error there, because it was by no means a routine play. But Bernadina could have gotten set under the ball better without needing to make that play more difficult. Marlon Byrd followed with a single, so it's 2-1 in the middle of the second. Jordan Zimmermann, however, already has five strikeouts and looks strong.

1:56 p.m. -- Three innings in the books already. It's still 2-1 Nats, and Zimmermann is on cruise control. Working very efficiently, having allowed only the Pena triple off Bernadina's glove and Byrd's subsequent single. Coleman has been effective himself, retiring eight straight since the Werth RBI single.

2:08 p.m. -- Oof, again, with Bernadina involved. Routine fly ball to shallow right-center field should have ended the top of the fourth with nary a run across the plate. But Bernadina and Werth each pulled up short and let the ball fall harmlessly to the ground. By the time they got the ball back in, two runs had scored and the Cubs had taken a 3-2 lead. Roger and Jayson have not exactly played alongside each other seamlessly this season. That's got to be addressed.

2:14 p.m. -- By the way, betting tip for July 4, 2012: They always let Jefferson win the Presidents Race on Independence Day. Bank on it. And yes, I'm ashamed to admit I know that.

2:27 p.m. -- Still 3-2 Cubs through five innings. The Nats have done very little at the plate since that first-inning rally. Zimmermann should hold a 2-0 lead, but shoddy defense leaves him in line to take the loss right now.

2:43 p.m. -- Make it 4-2 Cubs after a rally in the top of the sixth. It could've been worse, but Zimmermann came through by getting Alfonso Soriano to fly out to shallow center with the bases loaded. (Side note: Remember the Nats drafted Zimmermann with the compensation pick they got for losing Soriano to Chicago as a free agent.) Geovany Soto did single to right to bring one run home, but Werth gunned down Pena trying to score a second run.

2:57 p.m. -- Well, Werth has two RBI today, even though he hasn't made solid contact. Drove in his second run with a weak grounder to first. Fortunately, Nix was standing on third after legging out a triple on his bad Achilles' tendon, and thus scored to make it 4-3. We now go to the seventh, and Zimmermann is done. It wasn't entirely his fault, but his string of consecutive quality starts ends at 11. Bunch of changes from Davey Johnson results in Ryan Mattheus pitching, Roger Bernadina in left field, Rick Ankiel in center field and Laynce Nix at first base for the first time in his career.

3:07 p.m. -- And Nix makes a nice scoop of Cora's low throw to end the top of the seventh. He's a natural!

3:15 p.m. -- Today's official paid attendance: 32,937. Honestly, I can't find 8,000 empty seats here. Must have been a lot of comps or something.

3:30 p.m. -- Well, on the bright side, the Nats have tied this game 4-4 thanks to Kerry Wood's utter lack of control. He walked Ryan Zimmerman (pinch-hitting for Cora), then plunked Espinosa, then walked Nix to force in a run. That left the bases loaded for Werth. And what happened? He struck out on four pitches. The real problem with the at-bat was Werth swinging at a 1-0 fastball. Not that it wouldn't have been a strike. But given Wood's extreme wildness, you HAVE to take everything until he gets one strike on you there. With the count now 1-1, Werth took a called strike, then swung and missed a 1-2 breaking ball to end the inning. The crowd, needless to say, was not happy.

3:38 p.m. -- Stat of the day: With runners in scoring position this season, Jayson Werth has more strikeouts (24) than RBI (23). He's the only regular on the Nats roster who can say that.

3:54 p.m. -- Ugh, another squandered opportunity in the bottom of the eighth. This inning included Jason Marquis pinch-hitting (and striking out), Ian Desmond striking out, Rick Ankiel beating out an excuse-me roller to third and then Roger Bernadina grounding out with two on and two out. Over the last three innings, the Nats have hit only one ball out of the infield: Nix's triple. Yet they've put eight men on base during that span. And only scored two runs. Just a weird afternoon. It's 4-4 going to the ninth, and Drew Storen is in.

4:07 p.m. -- We go to the bottom of the ninth. It'll be Bixler, Espinosa and Nix ... and if anyone gets on, Werth.

4:15 p.m. -- And we go to extra innings, where the Nats have gone 8-5 this season and outscored their opponents 26-7.

4:30 p.m. -- Wow, so Werth leads off the 10th by drawing a walk off Marcos Mateo. Davey then sends up Livan Hernandez to put down a sac bunt, and the big guy gets a standing O after executing perfectly. And now Mateo is being pulled with an injury, so Carlos Marmol has to enter the game ice-cold. Where have we seen this situation before?

4:37 p.m. -- Whoa, Nats win, and all the credit goes to Jayson Werth. He bolted for third on Marmol's first pitch, stealing the base without the Cubs even attempting a throw. Then he bolted home on a wild pitch, scored the winning run and was mobbed by his teammates. Nats win 5-4 in 10 innings.

113 comments:

Doc said...

No RZim or Mickey Morse!

Let's hope the Cubbies can't figure out JZim.

Another low scoring game, likely.

Gooooooooooooooo Nats!!!!

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Werth is in, after all. I guess the alternative would have been Bixler.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

The captcha is making fun of me again!

It called me "nonsinso" there.

Jim Webster said...

From Sporting News: "Chipper Jones believes today's major league umpires are doing a poor job."

Ya think?

Anonymous said...

Zimmerman and Morse (and Desmond) need to be on the DL and Antonelli and Marrero (and Lombardozzi) need to be called up.

natsfan1a said...

Chipper Jones, master of the obvious. :-)

(Back at ya, captcha! "Trable" is my middle name...)

Anonymous said...

Again the Nats Manager throws J Zimm under the bus with the worst lineup possible. Starting to feel bad for J Zim.

baseballswami said...

No MM -- sad, I hate to see him lose momentum hitting and I also hate to see him lose time after his one piddly error. I would rather see Bixler anyday, than any of the old guys because he is fast, smart and has more of a future with the team than any of the others. Zim has really pushed his recovery too fast - major abdominal surgery is no joke. One more week guys - then you can kick back and hugs your kids!

gonatsgo said...

Poor JZim - our sp's have had a rough road this year - always in close games, never any breathing room. We need a nice offensive explosion to give the pitchers a break.

Anonymous said...

What a motley, punchless lineup! Zimmerman better pitch a shutout. Riggleman got out at the top.

Anonymous said...

The Tigers just fired their pitching coach , Rick Knapp, due to the pitching staff sporting a 4.39 ERA. The Nats are batting just north of .230, worst in the NL, yet Rick Eckstein hangs on. Amazing!

Anonymous said...

I'd almost rather have Bixler in RF than Werth.

masnstinks said...

I like the way Bernie is playing with the pitcher. Nyger used to cause havoc by doing that - I think it tires the pitcher out on a hot day. I also think it gets in his head. I think Bernie could do that more often. Way to go Danny!

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

I DON'T LIKE THE FACT THAT Pirates pitchers hit our two best hitters, one friday and one saturday (yeah, I know werth's #'s are not great, but he CAN rake) and no National pitcher retaliated..the score was 10-2 on Saturday..they can't have been worried to put a runner on...that's soft. Defend your guys!

Sec3MySofa said...

N-Y-JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ-E-R.

Speaking of Nyjer...

Sunderland said...

Been several plays over the last couple weeks that Ankiel (likely) would have made that Bernadina did not. From what I saw, all 3 runs the Cubbies have so far are a gift from Benadina.

JaneB said...

That was horrible. Looked like Werth called off Bernie and then neither one caught it. No offense is no offense, but that inningbis an example of why we HAVE to keep defense a priority. Ugh.

Wally said...

Bernie is having a very poor defensive game today. There should be no runs for Cubs. Instead, there are 3 and all earned. He really owes JZ today.

Anonymous said...

How long until the sloppy defense is blamed on Davey Johnson's looser clubhouse? Instead of the fact that Bernadina is just playing the way he has always played? Games like today's just trigger so many flashbacks...

Cwj said...

I'm predicting that Werth will hit a homer today...I can feel it.

Bernie is struggling in the outfield today, but everyone has an off day.

Come on Nats. No excuse losing to the Cubs today.
Go Nats!

bgib said...

I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but a new manager takes over and makes a point of saying that he's not so concerned about defense, and suddenly we're back to the old Nats with balls clanking off gloves and throws being offline. To me,there's been a perceptible drop in whatever you want to call it, intensity or energy or whatever, and it's translated into lackadaisical play in the field.

Anonymous said...

...and the answer would be one minute after my posting...

Cwj said...

Anon 2:10- I'm sure Davey Johnson knows how to manage a Team, inside and outside the clubhouse.

Even though their confidence may be lower than it was a week ago, I'm even sure the players could manage themselves.

Wally said...

Bernie is a good player, and I like him on the team. But while I know many people here think he is the answer, he is not a full time CF. He has speed and athleticism but poor instincts, and I don't think that you can learn the instincts part. At least not at 26. The athleticism will lead to some spectacular plays like robbing Dunn of a homer, but the instincts part will get exposed by prolonged use. Speed can cover for poor instincts at the corner, but not CF. He can play there for limited periods, but not full time.

Ideally he is the 4th outfielder for us.

Anonymous said...

injuries, Nyjer like play in centerfield....it's the curse of Riggleman I tell you

Anonymous said...

Davey has said we can get to the playoffs this year. Now he's got to back it up. It's seems like his decisions are win now at all costs and to heck with the future. Matt Stairs, whatever he is, is not part of the future of this ballclub. Bixler is. Does jumping BH to AA have anything to do with that? Good or bad as a manager, JR was building for the future, and it was working. Now Davey is trying to jump start a run this year and so far it is not working. The big question is, how long will Rizzo and ownership go along with Davey's program?
I keep wondering why Davey reminds me of Billy Martin.

Mark'd said...

Did Bernadina stay out to late last night? Should have caught the Pena triple and of course the pop-up.

Should be 2-0 now. JZim had gone 11 straight giving up 2 or fewer runs until today. It is a shame he doesn't get run support but the defense behind him hasn't helped today.

Then he has to provide his own offense.

Bryan said...

Bernadina has made a couple of nice plays in the outfield the last few days, which shows that he has got some talent (and definitely the legs). But his fielding today and his baserunning error on Saturday show that he doesn't always have his head in the game. Hopefully that will come with time.

TimDz said...

Debbie Taylor was just giving info about how to vote Morse into the ASG...then mentioned voting for Adam Jones as well...
I know Angelos holds the tv rights, but I wonder if the O's announcers are doing the same on Morse's behalf? I don't typically watch their games...anyone else have any info

Cwj said...

@Oldguy- Billy Martin? Haha you're showing your age. j/k :)

Cwj said...

TimDz- I remember last year there was an "alliance" between the Nats and Houston (or Arizona?) whereby both Teams' fans would vote for Zimmerman at 3B, along with whoever the other player was.

Anyone remember that?

gonatsgo said...

cwj - you are sure Johnson knows how to manage a clubhouse? Really? Why? Because he did it 15 years ago? He seems lost - at times he can't even call up the name of a player: in an interview he said "our closer, you know, uhuhuhuh - yeah, Storen". As a special consultant we were told that he knew the team - I see no evidence that he ever even watched a game. He is trying to bluff his way through with saying things people want to hear. Just like his comment about the pitchers going longer - our pitchers have been famous for going long this year, that hasn't been a problem - they are usually lifted for a pinch hitter, not because of pitch counts. Also - he seemed not to know that Rizzo had built a club for defense - why was that a surprise to him? He has taken apart the pieces that were working well - he is playing around trying to figure it out as he goes along. The team is suffering because two stubborn men could not step back from the cliff and have a simple conversation. McClaren should have been kept in there - he knew the team very well, was respected and knew what was working. This guy might have a great reputation, but if he did not have a celebrity name, you would all be calling for his head about now. Everyone is dazzled by his reputation.The difference in this team's intensity and concentration is glaring.

Jim Webster said...

Shameful performance. Unacceptable. Fire the defensive coordinator. Oh wait, this isn't the Redskins. Or is it?

baseballswami said...

No errors listed in the box score. Letting the ball drop is not an error? Did anyone actually see Werth call Bernie off? If Werth did - then we need to stop putting it on Bernie. The real problem here is still a lack of offense. A two run error hurts most decent teams - it is fatal to ours.

Anonymous said...

gonatsgo:

Agree 100%. As for McClaren, he said he'd go if Riggs went and then made it clear he wants no part of the dugout. West coast scout. That's as close as he wants to be. Sad.

Cwj said...

@gonatsgo- Those are good points, and I liked McLaren a lot as well.
But still it's too early to start calling for his head.
I didn't even do that with Riggleman. The team needs to hit, as Swami mentioned above.
No manager can make a difference when the players themselves aren't hitting.

Cwj said...

If I had, say, the Phillies and was hired as manager I'd likely finish the season in the playoffs.

And yes I would take that job :)

Sunderland said...

The Wave is a bad enough idea, but having the fans right behind home plate doing the Wave while our own pitcher is in a windup - that's just nonsense. Baseball people. Baseball.

Anonymous said...

This - is - just- so- frustrating!!! But then, that's the Nats, vintage 2011.

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

gonatsgo said... . Just like his comment about the pitchers going longer - our pitchers have been famous for going long this year, that hasn't been a problem - they are usually lifted for a pinch hitter, not because of pitch counts.

Before his last start Lannan had gone 5 and 2/3 two starts in a row…the first one fans gave him a standing O..for 5 and 2/3..o please

Wally said...

Baseballswami - nah, that was on Bernie. Werth maybe didn't charge it too hard figuring it was Bernie's ball, which can be criticized, I guess, but the CF has to direct traffic out there, and he never signalled that he couldn't reach it. He also reacted badly on a couple other balls that he recovered in time for. Looks like he may be having a problem picking up the ball.

Joe Seamhead said...

baseballswami said...
No errors listed in the box score. Letting the ball drop is not an error? Did anyone actually see Werth call Bernie off? If Werth did - then we need to stop putting it on Bernie. The real problem here is still a lack of offense. A two run error hurts most decent teams - it is fatal to ours.
July 4, 2011 2:42 PM

As someone that coached outfielders, I have to say that the center fielder always has the call in that situation. Bernie has to take control of his turf, I.e.
centerfield.

Anonymous said...

gonatsgo - I tend to agree. DJ also talked about not playing as much small ball, not giving away outs. As if maybe he thought we were sac bunting all the time. He just sent Akiel up to sac bunt Desmond into scoring position.

Anonymous said...

Well, I would've rather Nix hit a "Grand Salami" (what in the world FP?) but great job taking that and getting the walk to tie the game! Of course Jayson then strikes out but hey, now we're tied.

Tim said...

Hey Mark re: Presidents' Race 7/4/2012... The wild card is Teddy. Could be the perfect time for his first win!

JaneB said...

Sunderland, I'm behind home plate today and I was screaming at them. The wve needs to be banned.

Sunderland said...

JaneB - Awesome. Bringing decorum and baseball spirit to NatsTown. Thanks.
So how much does Marquis love it when he gets called on to pinch hit? He's got to really take some pride in that. Ah, but he struck out, ah well.

Anonymous said...

Anybody left on the bench if this tie continues? Seems like a lot of players have been burned already.

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

Not participating in the wave is decorum. Screaming at the fans to stop is the opposite of decorum.

Cwj said...

Wow what a double play!

BTW, the sabermetric folks think Storen is due to regress because of a low BABIP against him.
3.60 FIP

Prove them wrong Storen!

TimDz said...

I say Espy with the walk off jack...

TimDz said...

Or not...

Cwj said...

HRodriguez will pitch the 10th, if it goes that far.
Hasn't he pitched quite a bit lately?

Cwj said...

Actually I looked it up and he hasn't really.
Time for some antacids... HRodriguez is so fun to watch :)

Cwj said...

I won't mention that HRod has only given up 1 extra base hit this season (a double).
:-)

baseballswami said...

livo!!!!!!!!!! You gotta love it!

Anonymous said...

This game is getting weird, even for the Nats.

Cwj said...

Sorry to see Matteo injured.
Closer Marmol is of the HRodriguez mold, but I think throws a wee bit less hard.

Come on Nats! Walk-off time!!

pos anon said...

Is Morse's arm broken? I don't understand why they haven't used him as a PH.

Cwj said...

Yesssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!

Go Nats!!!! Back to .500!!!

baseballswami said...

Really? Again? Amazing!!! I think Jayson Werth looked better today in a lot of ways. We need him to show up every day. How about Livo playing his role and leading to this? You just never know what little thing is going to be the difference. I am so glad that the outfield mistake didn't lose the game. Once again, though - JZim does not get a w - but the team does!

pos anon said...

We used to be that team (i.e., the Cubs). They found a way to lose. We, on the other hand, keep finding ways to win. Nice.

Nats Outsider said...

Lesseee---

A walk, a bunt, a stolen base, and an opportunistic score on a wild pitch.

Small ball, anyone?

Sunderland said...

What pos anon said.
Shameful how the Cubs gave 3B to Werth.

PS - Scott / Burke - point well made.

Cwj said...

Swami- Oh yes Livo came up HUGE with that perfect bunt.

I hope the people booing Werth were Cubs fans.
Shame on any Nat fan who did that. He is NOT dogging it, he just hasn't lived up to expectations so far.

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

Bad managing from Quade. The pay there is to walk Pudge, and perhaps the following batter to set up the double play. This allows you to play the infielders furthur. Marmol has more pressure to get a strikeout as opposed to a ground ball, perhaps l;eading to the wayward pitches.

Anonymous said...

Our manager stole this game after the great relief pitching gave him the opportunity

Cwj said...

Anon- I think Quade was counting on Marmol to strike out Pudge.
But yeah, walking him would be the conventional philosophy.

But, who cares what the Cubs did. The Nats took advantage and won :)

Manassas Nats Fan said...

Ford drive of the game Livo's bunt. Werth still a great baserunner though it would be nice to hit some.

masnstinks said...

I think the cubs manager gave it away when he had to take out his pitcher and just did not have anyone ready. Marmol is usually nasty but was not prepared and was pretty wild. Kudos to Jayson Werth - he put his game together today.I don't care if he hits hr's, just base hits, throws from the outfield, run the bases. Quade also did not walk Pudge and his bunter did not bunt. He lost control of the game in the late innings. Veteran Livo - the player of the game and kudos to the nats fans at the game who gave him a standing o.

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

masnstinks (like the name): pitcher came out because of injury so the next pitcher gets as many pitches as he wants. Quade gets a lot of blame for this game, but not for that.

Sunderland said...

Glad to hear Davey J acknowledge Bernadina got bad jumps on balls hit to CF all day.

My hope would be Lombardozzi comes up, plays 2B and hits leadoff, Espinosa back to his natural shortstop, and Ankiel and his better arm and defense in CF and batting 7 or 8 along with the catcher.

Cwj said...

Davey Johnson just said there was no sign for Werth's essentially game winning steal of 3rd.
That tells me a lot about Jayson. He knew the pitcher was cold and took advantage.

Anonymous said...

to borrow from the SF Giants....Torture!....but such an improvement....this team could be 2nd best team in the NL(behind Phils) if they learn to hit..

masnstinks said...

yes, when the pitcher is injured they do get as many pitches as they want - but it was pretty obvious that their coaching staff was caught with their pants down. He took his pitches once he got to the mound but you could see that he was rushed - he is usually a flame thrower with nasty stuff. I have rarely seen a manager look so confused and take so long to decide who is coming in. Livo and Jayson stole this one away from the Cubs. I am very in favor of using pitchers to bunt people over ( oh, I forgot, we don't give up outs to move people over?). They are the ones who bunt the most and are the best at it - it saves the other pinch hitters for actually swinging away. In this game - the Cubs made more mistakes than the Nats. Whew!! Another adrenaline rush!

Sunderland said...

cwj, the pitcher being cold or whatever had nothing to do with the steal of 3B. Neither the 2B or SS was holding Werth close to the bag. He was 1/3 of the way to third by the time Marmol released the ball. It was a big mistake by the infield, by the coaching staff and ultimately on Quade.

FS said...

Zimmermann's final line should be: 6 IP, at most 2ER, 5 SO. First Desmond showed his range but messed up and could not throw out Ramirez. Then Espinosa trying to get two outs and drops a soft liner. Jordan still had some more bad luck left when Bernie dropped that flyout. None of those were hits.

However, Danny had couple of nice putouts, including that DP in the ninth (and Desi's quick throw to first). So yeah we probably should have won in ninth innings, but nice executions in the bottom of the tenth, first by Livo and then by Werth in stealing third.

Anyways, glad to win this one.

Cwj said...

Sunderland- But still, Marmol could have glanced back and stepped off the mound.
Aren't pitchers instructed to do that?

But yeah it doesn't matter. I'll take this win :)

Steady Eddie said...

I was sitting behind the Nats dugout w 2 of those comped seats (Red Carpet) Mark wrote about, and saw Livo laughing all the way down the first base line. How could we not give a standing O to someone who's a consummate pro at his work and is tickled silly to be doing it.

By the way, Marmol had been warming up in the top of the 10th while Mateo was (sign over the BP mentioned them both). He obviously had stopped when Mateo came in, but it wasn't as if he was really stone cold. Given the injury, he could have asked for mire warmup pitches but didn't.

Also, Wirth's steal was not a Cubs dugout blunder. Marmot has a weird and long delivery (for a pitcher from the stretch) and Wirth's steal was all on him.

Sunderland said...

Werth would not have tried to steal third in that situation unless he was 100% certain he had it. And he was certain he had it because Castro and Barney were both 50+ feet away from 2B. Those two gave him a huge running lead. It was all on those two.
Catcher should have noticed. 1B could have noticed. Coaches could have noticed. No one did.

eddie brinkman said...

It was on the first pitch....Davey called it

Anonymous said...

The steal? No one called it. Werth simply took what the Cubs gave him.

natsfan1a said...

Re. Marmol being cold, he'd been up twice in the 'pen.

Re. Bernie/Werth misplay, on the replay you could see Werth saying "I thought you were going to call for it" or something like that. I don't think either one called for it. Bernie didn't seem to be seeing the ball throughout the game and could have thrown his arms up to indicate he didn't see it.

Good for Werth for his two RBI (I don't care that they weren't well-hit), the gunning down of Pena, for drawing the walk to start the rally, and for his heads-up baserunning. Yeah, I'll admit it, I was saying "take that, Werth-haters" to my tv set. Nice to see him celebrating with his teammates after scoring on the WP.

natsfan1a said...

That said, great to get the curly w but maybe a little work on the situational hitting front could be in order for a number of players. Heh.

Tim said...

That gane-winning run is something we could and should manufacture every game. We have the speed to put pressure on the other team to make plays. I love this kind of baseball and hate the "wait for the 3-run bomb"-type team.

As the other team throws it all over the diamond, we take extra bases and it can lead to big innings.

GYFNG!

Anonymous said...

@JaneB were you at the game against the Mariners wednesday night? Lannan vs Bedard. There was a fat kid running around in the lower level on the right side. trying to start the wave and some lady screamed at him. Btw was that you???

Cwj said...

Anon 6:03- Fat kid? What the hell man?
There's no need for an adult to speak like that about a kid.

Manassas Nats Fan said...

@ Steady Eddie. How does one get a comp ticket. 50 years of going to ball I have never had one.

I believe had Werth knew Bernadina was as lost as he appeared on TV on Soriano's fly ball, he could have caught it on the run fairly easily, but the ball was the centerfielder's to take, and he just went over because that is what you are taught to do.

Werth had a good game, I hope it is a sign of things to come, I know people don;'t want to boo him, they want him to succeed.

JaneB said...

I loved that Livo came in to lay down that perfect bunt. Talked to the Cubs players chasing it the whooooole way to first base, too. Is there any player who gets more joy put of baseball than Livo? Rhetorical question, there.

Last year, they drop the ball in CF and leave as many guys on base but they do not play a tenth inning and they do not win. Davey was managing the heck out of these guys. But I wonder who it was whi said you could count on Livo for that bunt? He hasn't been paying THAT close attention.

JaneB said...

Anon at 6:03. It was me. Gulp.

JaneB said...

And actually I was yelling at his dad, not the kid. The dad was egging him on as he drank beer from glasses in both hands. And I didn't start yelling till the 8th and 9th innings. And he was certainly a plus sized kid.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

HEY, YOU KIDS!! Stop that waving!!

And sit up straight!

And don't fidget when I'm talking to you!

And STOP TRACKING MUD across my nice clean floor!"

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

"The dad was egging him on as he drank beer from glasses in both hands."

The dad was yelling "Chug! Chug!"? Little wonder the kid had a belly!

Cwj said...

*thankful I don't have kids*
But do wish I was a plus size. Nothing worse than becoming rail-thin do to illness.
Enjoy life. If some kid wants to do the wave then let them I say. Life is short.

But back to baseball.
Go Nats!

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

I was at the Wednesday night game...right in front of the woman screaming at the fat kid. The first time or two she yelled I looked back at her. Finally I had the two kids I was with follow me and we sat somewhere else. She was CRAAZY and loud...was taking away from the pleasure of the game. WHile I normally hate the wave the fat kid was HILARIOUS. Also he had great seats and a personalized info..me thinks there is no shortage of food at his house.

JaneB said...

I know! I know! A curmudgeon with bad sentence construction. That's me. But I will rail against the wave and look askance at people who boo our own guys. I yam what I yam.

Anonymous said...

personally uniform I mean

JaneB said...

Well, Anon at 7:21, I am truly sorry I ruined your game experience. I'm niot kidding. I will say I had a half dozen people thank me on the spot. It takes all kinds. At least now you know what I look like.

NatStat said...

@ JaneB 6:54

RE: Fat kid

It was the minature reincarnation of Harmon Killebrew. Ever since they hung Killebrew's uniform top in the dugout, the smaller version of the Fat Kid has been haunting the games!

Doc said...

As a member of the Mickey Morse Appreciation Society I just voted 50 times for the big guy.

Seems like the ASG is something that he would really feel honored to be part of.

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

Thanked you for what? The wave wasn't gonna stop because you were screaming at the 20K people in the crowd doing the wave...perhaps they thanked you in hopes you would stop yelling.

Stillwell said...

You're gonna lo-ose! You're gonna lo-ose!

Harper is Awesome said...

JaneB are you going to the game tommorow night? Because i hope you stop the wave, perosnally I don't care for it too much either. But i will be booing our own players including Desmond and Werth!!

Anonymous said...

Scott from Burke says:

Booing is part of the fun..and why not boo underperforming players? Are fans supposed to accept mediocraty?

Sec3MySofa said...

Geezers Yelling Finds Negligible Gratitude

Sec3MySofa said...

and the captcha was "mad at 'em"

Sec3MySofa said...

"Are fans supposed to accept mediocraty?"

Why not? Spellcheck does.

N. Cognito said...

GET OFF MY LAWN!!!

N. Cognito said...

If Jane B really hates the wave, she'll throw herself in front of it to save the rest of us.

At least they're not streaking.

Sunderland said...

OMG, this was such a great read. JaneB, you're sick, and I love you.

Alan_A said...

Count me in against the wave.

Clint is to blame.

natsfan1a said...

That was gold, Jerry, gold!

Sec3MySofa said...

"Are fans supposed to accept mediocraty?"

Why not? Spellcheck does.
July 4, 2011 8:05 PM

Drew8 said...

"HELLLLOOOOOO MR. WILSON!"

"Great Scott."

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