Monday, March 5, 2012

Nats vs. Mets - 3/5/12

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
Digital Domain Park, spring training home of the Mets.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Davey Johnson wants no part of any questions right now about the battle for specific roster spots, especially the final spot in his starting rotation. The Nationals manager says it's too early to worry about that kind of stuff.

Well, we'll just have to worry for him, because the competition for the No. 5 starter's job is one of the biggest questions in this camp. Chien-Ming Wang made his first claim for the spot this afternoon when he tossed two strong innings in a minor-league intrasquad game.

Tonight, John Lannan gets a chance to open his case when he faces the Mets. All indications continue to suggest Lannan will be the most likely odd man out when camp closes (provided Wang is healthy and Ross Detwiler is moved to the bullpen) but Johnson gave something of a vote of confidence to the left-hander before tonight's game.

"He led our team in in wins last year," the manager said. "I like him. I think he's only going to get better."

If you're interested in watching tonight's game, MLB Network is scheduled to pick up the Mets' feed from SNY. Charlie and Dave will also have the call on 1500 AM and 1580 AM...

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. NEW YORK METS
Where: Digital Domain Park, Port St. Lucie
Gametime: 6:10 p.m.
TV: MLB Network (Mets' SNY feed)
Radio: WFED (1500 AM), WHFS (1580 AM)
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees, Wind 8 mph in from CF
STARTING LINEUPS
NATIONALS
LF Roger Bernadina
2B Steve Lombardozzi
3B Mark Teahen
1B Chad Tracy
CF Rick Ankiel
RF Bryce Harper
C Jesus Flores
DH Xavier Paul
SS Andres Blanco
(P John Lannan)

METS
CF Andres Torres
2B Daniel Murphy
3B Justin Turner
1B Ike Davis
LF Jason Bay
RF Lucas Duda
DH Valentino Pascucci
C Josh Thole
SS Ruben Tejada
(P Dillon Gee)
5:30 p.m. -- You'll notice Bryce Harper is in the lineup for the third time in four days. And tomorrow, he's scheduled to come off the bench against the Braves. I asked Davey if he plans to give the kid a day off anytime soon. His response: "[Shoot], he's 19! I asked him the other day in the seventh inning: 'Are you tired?' And he said: 'Do you see the girl with the red lips over there?' I mean, he's just got a lot of energy. I remember when I was 19, I never got tired. I can't remember when I was 19, but I get tired now."

6:11 p.m. -- We are underway with a strike from Dillon Gee to Roger Bernadina.

6:15 p.m. -- A quick, 1-2-3 top of the first for Gee. Bernadina grounded out to short. Steve Lombardozzi flied out to left. And Mark Teahen swung and missed three times. That's not a good way to try to make a ballclub as a non-roster invitee.

6:25 p.m. -- Here's another thing you don't want to do when you're trying to make the club: Issue a leadoff walk, then allow a stolen base, then serve up an RBI single to center. Not a good start to the spring for John Lannan. He did, however, rebound to get Justin Turner to line out to right and then broke Ike Davis' bat in inducing a 4-6-3 double play. Mets up 1-0 after one.

6:33 p.m. -- Rick Ankiel grew up in Port St. Lucie, and he's got a bunch of friends and family here tonight. You probably heard them cheering after he clubbed an opposite-field homer in the top of the second. Nice sign for Ankiel, who in the past has had a tendency to try to pull everything. Another nice sign: Bryce Harper chopped a base hit up the middle. So he's now 3-for-6 in the Grapefruit League (all singles) and 3-for-8 with a walk overall this spring when you include the Georgetown game. Harper also showed nice hustle going from first to third when Turner let Jesus Flores' grounder go right through his legs. With a chance to do some real damage, though, Andres Blanco grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning, so it's 1-1 headed to the bottom of the second.

6:40 p.m. -- A very quick second inning for Lannan, who retired the side on a pair of weakly hit fly balls and a little nubber to first. He's only thrown 23 pitches (13 strikes) through two innings, and there's no action in the Nats' bullpen yet, so it looks like he'll come back out for the third.

6:48 p.m. -- Another swinging strikeout for Teahen. Yikes. He does not look good. Neither did Bernadina getting thrown out trying to steal second after drawing a leadoff walk. Still 1-1 as Lannan retakes the mound for the bottom of the third.

7:00 p.m. -- Three innings in the books, and this turned into a typical John Lannan outing. Not spectacular. Not horrible. His final line: 3 ip, 3 h, 1 er, 1 bb, 1 k, 43 pitches, 27 strikes. He allowed a couple of singles in the third but got Murphy to line out to left and Turner to ground out to second. Still 1-1 heading to the fourth.

7:15 p.m. -- Not a good night so far for the guys trying to make the club as the 25th man. Teahen is 0-for-2 with a pair of swinging strikeouts. Blanco and Paul have each grounded into inning-ending double plays, Paul just going 4-6-3 to end the top of the fourth. The Nats had loaded the bases when Mets prospect Matt Harvey walked Ankiel and Harper and then drilled Flores in the left hand/wrist with a fastball. Flores appears to be OK. We go to the bottom of the fourth, with Craig Stammen now in to pitch.

7:25 p.m. -- Brief scary moment as Stammen drills Lucas Duda with a high-and-tight fastball. Got him in the back, though, not higher up, which was a good thing. Valentino Pascucci (what a name!) then destroyed a pitch from Stammen that looked to everyone here like would leave the park. But it hung up enough for Ankiel to make the catch at the warning track, keeping this game tied 1-1 after four.

7:34 p.m. -- Teahen redeems himself with a sac fly to left, scoring Eury Perez (who, by the way, can really fly around the bases). Chad Tracy, however, is now 0-for-3 and remains hitless for the spring. Nats lead 2-1 midway through the fifth.

8:03 p.m. -- Just got back from the clubhouse, where Lannan talked about his start (he was a little out of sorts when he first took the mound but was glad he settled down after that) and Ankiel talked about homering in front of his hometown fans (did you know he's in the Port St. Lucie High School Hall of Fame?). Meanwhile, it's still 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, but Ryan Perry is in a jam, with runners on the corners and nobody out.

8:06 p.m. -- Oh, I just realized Harper had another hit, beat out a grounder to third. So he's now 4-for-7 this spring and 2-for-2 with a walk tonight. Not bad at all.

8:11 p.m. -- And Perry gets out of the jam, striking out Adam Loewen, getting Lucas May to line out and getting Mike Nickeas to ground out. So it remains 2-1 Nats through six.

8:48 p.m. -- Make it 3-1 Nationals as Jhonatan Solano drives in Brett Carroll from third with a little bouncer over the mound. Carroll was only on base because of a dropped pop-up to shallow center, not to mention a dropped throw as he tried to reach second base. Not the cleanest inning there for the Mets.

8:58 p.m. -- Wow, spectacular play at shortstop by Zach Walters in the bottom of the eighth. He went way to his left and made a full-out, diving snag of a hard smash, then hopped to his feet and fired to first for the out. Walters, for those who don't remember, is the guy the Nationals got from the Diamondbacks for Jason Marquis last July 31. Still 3-1 heading to the ninth.

9:00 p.m. -- Oh, and if you're wondering why Walters is wearing No. 11, no nothing happened to Ryan Zimmerman. Walters is officially in minor-league camp and was called up just for the day. That's the uniform he wears down there.

9:09 p.m. -- I love Miguel Batista. Just not for the eighth and ninth innings of a spring training night game. Hey, Miss Iowa, pick up the pace! I gotta drive back to Viera tonight!

9:18 p.m. -- Ballgame. Nats win 3-1 as Waldis Joaquin gets a 5-4-3 double play to end it. First win of the spring.

113 comments:

ztown17 said...

It's pretty bush league that lannan always gets written off. like davey said, he led the team in wins last year and has been the only consistent pitcher over the last few years for the nationals

NatsNut said...

agreed, ztown.

LoveDaNats said...

Wow. Not one starter out there tonight.

Sunderland said...

Interesting that the Mets pretty much are playing their regular starting lineup, and we have not a single guy in the lineup projected to be an opening day starter.
90 minute bus ride I guess.

joemktg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sunderland said...

I (DaveyJ) asked him the other day in the seventh inning: 'Are you tired?' And he said: 'Do you see the girl with the red lips over there?' I mean, he's just got a lot of energy. I remember when I was 19, I never got tired. I can't remember when I was 19, but I get tired now."
This sounds way too much like Abraham J. Simpson.

Gonat said...

Looks like the Mets have their starters in tonight except David Wright.

I take it that Davey is sincere about his Lannan comments as I don't think he needs to BS for a trade, right?

joemktg said...

Is that a vote of confidence akin to a franchise owner giving the coach a vote of confidence? I've read better quotes.

Anyone know who else is pitching tonight?

Anonymous said...

Still no--"he's 100%"--Laroche. I think Rizzo poured another $16 million down the rat hole.

Cwj said...

Yeah this is definitely a B lineup, but that's needed to see what these other guys can do.
Just don't be shocked if they fall to 0-3 :-)

I'm rooting for Lannan. I think he's underrated by some and personally I would favor him over Wang for the 5 spot.

Cwj said...

Anon- LaRoche is apparently penciled in for Wednesday.

Natsochist said...

@LoveDaNats & Sunderland, either Bernadina or Ankiel is likely to be an OD starter. Could see Morse-Werth-DeRosa, but it's certainly possible that Anklel or Bernie's out there instead.

...That said, point taken.

Anonymous said...

Man there must be some "joiners" here as some r complaining already about "our" team. Suck it boys. Have your fun, let the coaches coach, players play and fans ???? Maybe there are some parents hanging around to stir things up. ......and the fun begins!!

NatsJack in Florida said...

It's the Mets first game and it's at home.

Why wouldn't they play most of their starters? With tommorrow being a day game, they'll start their bench guys.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Is it just me, or did I just totally misunderstand that Harper quote?

Cwj said...

The game is definitely on right now on MLB network.
Unfortunately, it is the Mets broadcast team.
I've always found it a little weird listening to or watching the Nats from the opposing point of view.
Not necessarily bad, just weird :-)

SweetBlues said...

Yay Jesus!!

Sunderland said...

See the girl with the red lips.
I remember when I was 19.
I can't remember when I was 19.
The whole thing made no sense to me.

Cwj said...

Sec 3- Yeah I didn't get that quote either...

joemktg said...

Davey channeling his inner Yogi.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

I'm trying to keep it clean, but I couldn't help wondering if her name is Millie, and her daddy donated the scoreboard.

joemktg said...

At 19, I'm fairly certain I wasn't focused on the red lips. But I can't remember when I was 19.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

We are getting dangerously close to invoking the Fest, here...

Anonymous said...

Poor Lannan...

Wally said...

Not a big fan of Flores blocking the plate in a ST game. That could have been bad.

joemktg said...

First week of ST games, Flores: get your damn left leg out of the way.

Wally said...

Hah. Lannan in mid season form. Walk, SB, 1B (run scores). Hard hit ball but out. DP ends the inning.

joemktg said...

Oppo boppo

MicheleS said...

ANKIEL!!! Woo hoo.. now there is how you make the roster. Sounds like a lot of Nats fans there

Wally said...

Nice. Ankiel goes yard to left. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks, after all.

Sunderland said...

Sounded like a number of Nats fans on hand cheering the Ankiel tater.

Cwj said...

Ankiel HR, Harper now 3 for 6. Awesome.

Wally- One thing I can't stand about Lannan, who I do like, is that for a low strikeout pitcher he walks WAY too many batters. He always has.

baseballswami said...

Mets coverage on mlb network - ugh. Pulling for Lannan. He's been our guy for a long time. Some nice little hitting here. Hope it keeps up. Going to work now - hope it's on the radio...

Cwj said...

Swami- According to Mark it looks like the game is on 1500 AM and 1580 AM.

Wally said...

Cwj - completely agree. The shame of it is that with his GB%, if he cut his BB/9 by 1, he probably is a #3 and all this talk about getting rid of him stops. As is, he is still a good #5, but he is beginning to get expensive for that.

Gonat said...

Bryce Harper is batting .500 Put him in the Majors....NOW! Just kidding and I am sure some will use this to say he belongs on the Opening Day roster.

Wally said...

Does anyone know when "my guy" JZimm is going to pitch?

Wally said...

Hey Gonat - still down in Fla?

Harper may have 3 hits, but I didn't think any of them were well hit.

Anonymous said...

It's pretty bush league that lannan always gets written off. like davey said, he led the team in wins last year and has been the only consistent pitcher over the last few years for the nationals.

agreed, ztown.

Then can you please explain how this great reliable pitcher wasn't able to maintain his status of ace of the club? A guy 15-20 years his senior became the **reliable** ace while he was sent to the minors in 2010? And in spite of his ERA which is misleading ... he was statistically the worst pitcher 3 years running?

ALL OF THE PITCHERS in the first four slots had better years than Lannan over the past. Two managed to do far better after Tommy Johns? The other two pitched well over 200 innings, one three years in a row.

That should be Lannan given how everyone here extols him. He should be Mark Buehrle at this point. There should have been no reason for the Nats to pursue that left-handed soft-tosser not with the great John Lannan? Sheesh!

fpcsteve said...

Did Rizzo pour your money down a rathole? Nope, I didn't think so. Soft tossers are the worst. Like McNally, Glavine, Ford, et. al. The worst. Take it eay. It's ST. Let the manager sort it out.

Sunderland said...

I gotta say, I'm enjoying how SNY is doing this broadcast, with half the time with the sideline guy in the dugout having good conversation with players. Imagine MASN doing this with Debbi Taylor.

MicheleS said...

I am still not a Ron Darling Fan (although he was better than Dibble).

Gonat said...

I just tweeted this, Stammen looks like he added 10 pounds to his lower body from his gluteus maximus to his quads (not that I'm checking the dude's a$$ out)

Wondering if he spent a lot of time in the off-season doing squats and leg presses. Whatever he did I wish Ross Detwiler had joined him.

Anonymous said...

Do we really have to put up with Debbie Taylor for another season? That is depressing.

MicheleS said...

Gonat.. I will check it out for you... ;-)

MicheleS said...

Anon 7:34.. no Debbie this year.

Henryemo said...

Post from LoveBoatSports on the Nationals' Spring Training thus far: http://www.loveboatsports.com/2012/03/nationally-training-has-sprung.html

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

So the TV shows 5'6" Danny Herrera trying on Jon "Wookie" Rauch's pants.

Oh, and "Legs" Harper runs out another one on a too-casual third baseman! Good job, kid!

Grandstander said...

Can you believe Harper out ran that routine grounder? I'm beginning to love this kid!

Cwj said...

Haven't tuned in since 7PM.
Mark mentioned that Flores was hit, and then Stammen hit Duda.
Any indication that it was retaliation, or just a bad pitch?

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

MicheleS said...
Gonat.. I will check it out for you... ;-)

Michele, while you're at it, check out that woman in the red lipstick sitting behind home plate. I would, but I'm a married man.

Gonat said...

MichelleS, and? LOL

MicheleS said...

His booty is definetly bigger, His lower half looks like a hockey/soccer player.

MicheleS said...

And isn't a bigger lower half good for pitchers since most of their power is generated in the legs? (ie, like Nolan Ryan)..

Also.. he needs to show Ross those moves, Ross looks like a twig in comparison (and he still needs too EAT)

Cwj said...

I'm DVRing the game and will watch it later, but just based on the 2 innings I saw and his final numbers for the day, Lannan was pretty solid.
First pitcher to make it fully through 3 innings.
And 43 pitches in 3 innings is pretty efficient.

Anonymous said...

Hockey players wear pads, right?

MicheleS said...

Anon 8:02, all that skating makes their thighs huge, but yes they were some padding.

JaneB said...

MichelleS...are you THERE? I missed that installment! If so, lucky you!

Scott from Burke said...

What a game for Harper...the second hit was amazing..so fast, and with his size? a beast..and i thought the HBP was retaliation...right in the middle of his upper back...batter jogged down to first without a look toward mound and game proceeded with no further incident...very professional all aroun

lannan labors every inning..a real bullpen killer...and the D must fall asleep behind him

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

I think that hand is starting to bother Flores. He's airmailed the last 2 throws to second.

MicheleS said...

No, not there, just watching at home on a big HD TV. So it's like I am there.

MicheleS said...

Sec 3.. I don't think that is Flores. I thought that it's Solano now

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

OK, now I'm paying more attention to how he's favoring the hand, and he is definitely in pain.

MicheleS said...

Tyler Moore, slick with the glove..

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Really? Uhh, I knew that!
I wonder how he hurt HIS hand.

Cwj said...

Thanks Scott!
Man oh man I hope Flores isn't hurt.

Didn't the Nats have a pseudo-brawl one spring?
Can't remember if it was them or not though.

MicheleS said...

The gas bag John Heyman is at the game tonight (from his twitter account). He has a serious man crush on Harper.

JaneB said...

Mark what can you tell about Flores' hand?

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Can't say as I blame him. Speaking of which, since someone brought up Debbi Taylor, that Mets sideline guy sounds pretty good.

MicheleS said...

Nice stuff from the SNY guys about Gary Carter.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Indeed, Michele.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Solano's hand seems miraculously healed. Nice throw there.

MicheleS said...

McCatty.. "Kid,I hate walks..

MicheleS said...

Miss Iowa on the mound...

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

AAAAAAAAAAAnd, Miss Iowa sighting!

MicheleS said...

Sec 3.. you owe me a Diet Dr Pepper

baseballswami said...

Checking in -- so Lannan did his Lannan-like thing, Stammen pitched, who else? Sounds like Harper is showing off the hustle and looking better than the veteran re-treads. Our offense looking any better in person?

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Michele, for what? You never reported out the woman with the red lipstick...

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Oh, she IS a former Miss Iowa? OK.

MicheleS said...

Miss Iowa..jinx, and i beat you. Too many Jersey girls back there, so I didn't know which one you were referring too...

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

So, did Corey Brown just get a bad jump on that?

baseballswami said...

Bautista is a met?

MicheleS said...

Swami.. game day has the stats on Perry and Martin (the pitchers). The offense.. a few too many GDP's with the bases loaded.. we have seen that before. But on the bright side, we are up 3-1

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Looks like Papa Mark bailed. No worries... probably needs the nap.

Nats scored an unearned run in the top of the 8th, lead 3-1 going into the bottom half. Joaquin now pitching.

Sunderland said...

I know which one he was referring to. I remember being 19.

Anonymous said...

WALTERS!!!!!! Ian who?

MicheleS said...

Someone explain to me why Walters is wearing Ryan's #11? Did they really run out of numbers already? Why not give him 99?

Cwj said...

Swami- Miguel Batista has a minor league deal with the Mets.

Navy Nats Fan said...

I am not even close to regular season form. I keep seeing and hearing the ball off the bat and expect it to leave the park - and then it's a bloop to shortstop. Maybe it's the grapefruit league cameras?

Navy Nats Fan said...

And by the way, wearing #11 obviously had an amazing effect on Walters' play on Batista's smash grounder that deflected off the mound and took a high hop. He snagged it on a full layout dive, got up and fired a bullet to first. Maybe we could go with 11 and 11a?

MicheleS said...

People on cell phones wavy to camera behind homeplate should be immediately escorted from the premises

Drew said...

Zach Walters flashing some leather. Wow!

And I loved how Harper beat out that grounder.

No sense of entitlement here folks. The Kid comes to play!

GYFNG!

Anonymous said...

In other news... Brad Peacock got his first loss with the A's...

MicheleS said...

Is Eury Perez our answer to Speedy McLeadoff/CF?

baseballswami said...

MicheleS - thanks - will check the stats. It's always nice to hear the opinions of those with eyeballs on the game, though. Especially the opinions and impressions of NI posters ;) I hate missing games!

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Walters flashes some nice reflexes at short in the 8th. One out, no on one, Baxter hit a sharp 3-hopper over the bag at second. Walters had dived for it already, but the ball took a hop and came up--a lot, about 18 inches higher than he seemed to be expecting, but flicked up for it while already horizontal, and came up with plenty of time for the throw. So with that behind him, Joaquin goes 1-2-3 in the 8th, with Miguel Batista back out for the 9th.

Walters struck out swinging to lead off. Eury Perez doubled down the line to left, and looked like he was thinking 3 if the left fielder hadn't come up clear and attentive.

Section 222 said...

Wow, Miguel Batista threw a 2 hit, 5K, 123 pitch, complete game shutout for the Mets against the Reds on the last day of the season last year. Who knew?

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Whoa, somebody needs to refresh more often. Sorry, Mark.

Anonymous said...

Section222 -as I recall, we were kind of busy crushing the Marlins at the time.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Did I hear that right? Jamie Moyer, who is 49 in human years, is in camp looking for a job playing baseball?

Anonymous said...

We have found our new shortstop.

Zack Walters!

Anonymous said...

And the Nats win their first Spring Training game. Nice. :)

MicheleS said...

Since we won our first game, can we put down the Lannen stinks comments for a few days?

Also, when did we win our first ST game last year? Wasn't it like 2 weeks in?

MurrayTheRed said...

MicheleS, agree 100%.

Just wonderin' said...

So, who were the Mets playing this evening? I caught the last couple of innings of the Mets game and didn't recognize any of the names on either team. I'm guessing it was the Reds given the uniforms. Anyone know?

Anonymous said...

Lannan stinks.

SCNatsFan said...

Just nice to see some young talent in camp. Pitchers nibbling today, would like to see them attack hitters more. Still, its a W and got to see it here in SC in hi def, so life is good.

natsfan1a said...

(Disclaimer: I've not yet read the comment thread, so pardon me if any of this has already been cussed and discussed.)

Nats win! Maybe it won't be so cranky around here for a day or two. Woohoo! Missed the late innings in real time, so I just finished watching the recording so I could see how the Nats scored the third run. Then I got caught up in the reminiscing about Gary Carter. Nice tribute to him by his former teammates, I thought. In other news, maybe the Mets could go over to their sideline guy a little less frequently? I'd rather see the game than him yakking it up with somebody.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see Ron Darling is still "master of the obvious". Now we all know what "crickets" refers to when describing the reaction to a joke.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

That was kinda funny. I was half expecting him to say "For you Little Leaguers watching at home, when you're telling stories to a sideline on-air reporter, remember to use idioms the non-players in the audience will understand."

sjm308 said...

Got to see R. Martin pitch a scoreless inning. Not thrilled with the walks but he did a nice job with a strike out to end the inning.

Realize its a long shot but I need a little something to spice up spring training since our roster is pretty well set.

Always nice to get that first win and Harper has done nothing but impress so far.

Go Nats!!

The Retired Journalist said...

Cwj wrote: "I've always found it a little weird listening to or watching the Nats from the opposing point of view."

You get used to it when you live outside the immediate DC area; I'm a Floridian now who usually listens to the Nats games on XM and they use the home team's broadcast.

NatsJack in Florida said...

For Section 3.....Flores got hit on his left hand so even if it had been him trying to air mail throws to CF, it wouldn't be because the hbp.

It was Perics new stud catcher, Jhonathan Solano .

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