Friday, May 31, 2013

Game 55: Nats at Braves

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
Stephen Strasburg faces the Braves tonight at Turner Field.
ATLANTA — Hello from Turner Field, where tonight the Nationals and Braves open what has to be considered a very important series for the visiting club. Yes, the calendar is only about to shift to June, and far greater deficits have been overcome, but psychologically you have to think the Nats need to come out of the weekend at least winning two of three from the team that at the moment leads them by 5 1/2 games in the NL East.

The bad news: Neither Bryce Harper nor Jayson Werth is in the lineup, despite varying degrees of hope for each outfielder. And the only change made my Davey Johnson from last night is a swap of left fielders, with Steve Lombardozzi in and Tyler Moore back on the bench.

The good news: Stephen Strasburg is on the mound, and he's been on a roll, allowing only one earned run in each of his last three starts, averaging 7 2/3 innings and only 4.33 hits per outing.

Plenty of updates to come, so please check back...

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Where: Turner Field
Gametime: 7:35 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 186
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, Wind 8 mph out to LF
NATIONALS (27-27)
CF Denard Span
LF Steve Lombardozzi
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
RF Roger Bernadina
2B Danny Espinosa
C Kurt Suzuki
RHP Stephen Strasburg

BRAVES (32-21)
CF Jason Heyward
SS Ramiro Pena
RF Justin Upton
1B Freddie Freeman
LF Evan Gattis
C Brian McCann
2B Dan Uggla
3B Chris Johnson
RHP Julio Teheran

UMPIRES
HP Tony Randazzo
1B Larry Vanover
2B Brian Gorman (cc)
3B Manny Gonzalez

7:37 p.m. — We are underway and already the Nats are in business. Denard Span drills Julio Teheran's second pitch into the right-field corner and races around to third with a leadoff triple, his fourth of the season.

7:42 p.m. — And just like that, the Nats give Stephen Strasburg a 1-0 lead. Steve Lombardozzi did his job following the Span triple, lofting a flyball to right, deep enough to bring the run home and put the Nats on top early. Nice job there by the top two guys in the lineup, setting the table and then putting together a productive at-bat. Here comes Strasburg.

7:49 p.m. — Nice job by Strasburg in the bottom of the first. Though he gave up a one-out single up the middle to Ramiro Pena, he kept the ball on the ground to all three batters faced and got Justin Upton to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning on 11 total pitches (7 strikes). Nats up 1-0 after one.

7:59 p.m. — Make it 2-0 thanks to some rare contributions from the bottom of the lineup. Roger Bernadina, who quietly has gone 6 for his last 17, roped a one-out single to right. He then took third on Danny Espinosa's bouncer through the right side hole. Kurt Suzuki rapped a grounder to third, forcing himself to turn on the afterburners and try to get down the line faster than the Braves could turn the inning-ending double play. And he did it, just narrowly beating the throw to allow Bernadina to score. So now Strasburg has a 2-run lead at his disposal heading to the bottom of the second.

8:12 p.m. — Apologies, but I have to toot my own horn here for a second. On last night's Baseball Show, we listed our top five position players under 25. I included Freddie Freeman on my list and said he doesn't get enough credit for how good of an all-around player he is. Well, he just showed it, battling back from an 0-2 count to ultimately crush a 97 mph heater from Strasburg way back into the right-field bleachers. Just a really impressive at-bat there from Freeman, trimming the Nats' lead to 2-1 after two.

8:20 p.m. — Uh-oh, Stephen Strasburg is out of this game and Craig Stammen is in. Not sure what exactly happened, but he was talking to Steve McCatty and Lee Kuntz in the dugout and he was not happy with whatever he was told. Check the homepage for updates when I get them.

8:32 p.m. — No information yet on Strasburg, but here's the quick article I posted, which I'll be updating whenever there's new information. In the meantime, Stammen tossed a scoreless third. It's still 2-1 Nats entering the fourth.

8:48 p.m. — Obviously the Strasburg situation is first and foremost, but there is a game still being played, and Stammen has done a fine job in emergency duty so far. He's retired all six batters faced, preserving the Nationals' 2-1 lead through four.

9:06 p.m. — Make it nine up and nine down for Stammen, who has done it on only 36 pitches. I don't know how far he can go in relief of Strasburg, but I would think he's good for at least one more inning.

9:16 p.m. — Props to the Nats for battling their way through this one so far. Span led off the sixth the exact same way he led off the first, with a triple into the right field corner. And once again, Lombardozzi drove a flyball to right field, bringing Span home. So it's now 3-1 Nats as Stammen returns for the bottom of the sixth, his fourth inning of relief.

9:27 p.m. — Here's your Strasburg update: He left tonight's game with a "muscular issue in his lower back," not any kind of arm injury, according to a source familiar with the situation. Full update here. Meanwhile, Stammen has retired all 12 batters faced. Nats still lead 3-1 after six.

9:39 p.m. — Tyler Clippard in for the bottom of the seventh, so Davey can use his bullpen how he normally would protecting a late, 2-run lead.

10:01 p.m. — Well, that was quite an eventful bottom of the seventh, no? To recap: Clippard gave up an infield single, uncorked a wild pitch, struck out Justin Upton, gave up an RBI single to Freeman, plunked both Gattis and McCann in succession to load the bases with only one out in what was now a tie game ... and then struck out Uggla and Johnson to escape his self-made jam. If Bill Raftery was calling this game, I believe his analysis of Clippard would be: "Onions!" Nats clinging to a 3-2 lead as we move to the eighth.

10:15 p.m. — And Drew Storen pitches a scoreless eighth. He did issue a two-out walk to Pena, bringing Upton to the plate in a huge spot. But he got the slugger to ground out to Desmond, who earlier made a spectacular barehanded play on Heyward's bouncer up the middle. Still 3-2 as Rafael Soriano warms for the ninth.

10:26 p.m. — We go to the ninth. It'll be Soriano vs. Freeman, B.J. Upton and McCann, protecting a 3-2 lead.

10:36 p.m. — That's it. Soriano closes out a tense, stress-filled, satisfying 3-2 victory, though it included a Freeman flyout to the wall in right and Suzuki going down in a heap after taking a foul ball off his right shoulder. ButtThe Nats are back over .500 and draw to within 4 1/2 games of the Braves. Now we find out how serious Strasburg's back issue is.

316 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   1 – 200 of 316   Newer›   Newest»
«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 316 Newer› Newest»
Exposremains said...

Wow big changes. Completely unexpected. I can't wait to have Tracy or Moore pinch hit with the game on the line.

REW said...

Pathetic

David Proctor said...

Well Davey did say "that's for another day" about the changes.

David Proctor said...

Christan Garcia joined the Senators for his rehab assignment. That's a positive.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

I wont be surprised if when Werth or Harp come back, Espi will be placed on the DL list...

Anonymous said...

Anthony Rendon #1 in AA in OPS. He's stranded in AA so we can watch Tymo flail at that low curve in the dirt and Chad Tracy do that classic spin himself into the ground K he always does. Or Danny swing before the ball is released. Davey's gone senile and Rizzo is already planning his exit. Every top team sends their struggling players down, yet we let them work out their struglles during a pennet race.

JD said...


NatsJack,

I kind of agree with you. I think the other reason to play Espi is that Davie has probably seen enough of Moore in left field so if Lombo is in left Espi gets a few more games. Once Harper returns and especially if Lombo hits a little it may be curtains for Danny boy.

EmDash said...

Not that I don't think the bench needs improving in a big way, but Rendon's not being brought up unless he has a place to start or they start feeling desperate enough. Teams don't generally impede the development of their top prospect by letting him sit on the bench while he should be learning.

(Yes, they've done that with Tyler Moore. But he was never exactly a top prospect.)

Eric said...

"Every top team sends their struggling players down, yet we let them work out their struglles during a pennet race."

Pennant race? Are you talking about last season?

Eugene in Oregon said...

For what it's worth, Julio Teheran threw 123 pitches in this last start (career high pitch count).

baseballswami said...

Have you been watching the games or just looking at season stats? Moore just had a five game hit streak, has recent RBI and has gone yard. Look at recent games. Same with Lombo. If you just look at ALR average the you would think he is awful. All the regulars were awful in April, the bench players are farther behind-- of course they are. Bernadina has found his stroke-- but it's recent. You won 't see it if you look at averages unless you are looking at the direction the average us going. It takes forever for thst needle to move. Look at whether or not it is going up or down.

NatsLady said...

swami, I don't look at season long averages usually (though I do post them). I like to look at last 7 days, last 14 days, last 30 days. You can do that on Fangraphs.

Even if you look at the last 7 days, Tyler Moore is hitting .208. The same as Desi, but you have hope Desi will pull out of it and plus he is a better fielder. :)

Work. Gotta go there. Later, folks. Go NATS!

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2013&month=1&season1=2013&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=6885,9219,11579,1904,5422,7244,1433,8347,8259,1327,4220,6421

natsfan1a said...

Go, SS! Go, NATS!!

No more mixed booth = WoooooooooHoooooooooo! (hope that was worthy of one, Michele)

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

So much for changes. TyMo gets benched. Danny gets another start. I'm glad Bryce isn't playing as he needs to be running without pain.

Les_in_NC said...

I have to agree with swami, Tymo has been hitting lately so WTF?! Lombardozzi should be playing over Espinosa, higher potential or not.

MicheleS said...

1A.. A Very Worthy WOOOO HOOO! Just say NO to the joint broadcasts.

Well at least Lombo is getting at bats.

NJ.. OH Lord will Espi here it next week if he still is slumping

CN said...

I've always been opposed to booing a home player. As long as they are giving effort, then I'm ok with that. This does not mean I don't agree with the decision to play said player. Always irrates me when I'm at a game and fans boo. The last few weeks frustrate the hell out of me too.

CN said...

Fans pay the players' salary... I get it.

baseballswami said...

I just hate to see a player who was struggling and then puts it together get just those couple of days off that might interrupt progress. Lombo was just getting it down, then sit. He was getting his timing down with Desi. Too much moving around on the field and in the line up!!! It's just so very ADD. No chance to settle in. No chance for the defense to learn to read each other. I am actually glad Bryce is not playing. It is not in him to try to save this season for the rest of the guys. It's on them. Let's try to preserve his career.

baseballswami said...

And I also am so glad to see the joint broadcasts go. Do you think we could stage a fan revolt at some point? Use the radio, social media, etc. I would be so up for that!

baseballswami said...

Adam on IT soon!!

A DC Wonk said...

>Anthony Rendon #1 in AA in OPS. He's stranded in AA....

He's played, what, 80 games in his _entire_ minor league career?

nats guy said...

Why in the hell is Espinosa even on this team.

nats guy said...

Is Mike Rizzo even paying attention to what is going on. The crowds at the games are going to go away. It took so long to get them and now throwing it all away. Maybe the Lerners need to start paying attention to the management of their team. Somebody needs to.

A DC Wonk said...

CN said...

I've always been opposed to booing a home player. As long as they are giving effort, then I'm ok with that.


A hearty "hear hear" for that comment!

All we can ask of any human is to try their best. If they are, and not succeeding, what else are they supposed to do? If they act like a jerk, or are lollygagging in the field -- that's worthy of booing. But if they are trying hard and failing . . . nobody feels worse about it than they do.

Anonymous said...

Do the Rendon whiners know that he's back in the lineup for the first time in a week today and is DHing, presumably because he's still not up for playing any position in the field, let alone one at which he has no experience?

Once again: lots of complaints, very few suggestions.

Get Your Re(n)d On said...

Lombo's a utility guy. Utility guys don't get to "settle in." That's just how it works.

Anonymous said...

CN said...

"Fans pay the players' salary... I get it."

Not Espinosa's, at least not really. He makes $500,000 for the 2013 season. The Lerners could pay that with the money under their couch cushions.

Joe Seamhead said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe Seamhead said...

I won't boo any of our players. They are all trying their best.

Swami, you say say Tyler is looking so much better with his recent 5 game hitting streak and one homer. Look at his stats on the link that NatsLady put up for the last 7 days. "Better" is a relative term, but the stats over the last 7, [or worse change the chart to the last 14 days]. Either way, the stats don't back up Tyler as looking good, no matter how you slice,dice and arrange them. And yes, he made a few routine catches, but he really looks like a right handed Duda out there. Look, man, I like the kid, and I think he has been put in a no win situation. You and I will disagree about it, but I think he has shown absolutely no aptitude for playing the outfield at a major league level. He gets terrible reads, runs worse routes, and he's going to get Span hurt if he doesn't defer to Denard on the in between fly balls. Let Span catch them! You want to teach him to be an outfielder? Starting on a ML team is the wrong place to teach him. Give him a year in the minors, after a season of winter ball, and see what you got. Meanwhile, give us Brown or Perez. Everybody has their pet peeves. I hate lousy outfielding.

Anyway, GYFNG!!!

nats guy said...

Maybe Espinosa s/b a utilty guy at Syracuse or lower. Cannot believe how long his leash is.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Agree 100% Joe S... I've been saying for weeks Tyler needs to go down and develop his skills on offense and defense... He looks absolutely lost at the plate and his OF isn't that good... He reminds me of Morse without the injury history and a lot of upside...

It's nothing wrong with going down to the farm(s) and working on things....

Rabbit34 said...

I don't feel good about this game either. Biggest mistake is leaving Espinosa in. He is good for 2-3 strikeouts. That's three outs without giving the ball a chance. No Harper, no Werth, the shark is in, Espi, what a bummer. Good luck to SS. Better put up zero's buddy.

Anonymous said...

Pretty funny that people have spent the last week, including this thread, demanding the immediate callup of a player who hasn't been healthy enough to play in a week. And still isn't healthy enough to play a position in the field. Says a lot about the amount of thought and research people are putting in before they make those demands.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Espi's D saves him every time... That awesome catch in the 1/2 inning that he jumped on and the double play/ strength of his arm to get Adam Jones last night are prime examples...

DJ doesn't want to give up on him and wants to work him back into his 2nd half 2012 performance....

David Proctor said...

Fun interview with Adam on Intentional Talk.

nats guy said...

Nobody is calling for Rendon. He isn't hurt he had wisdom teeth removed. Let him play in minors for awhile. He can show Espinosa how to hit.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

I've not seen too many people call Rendon up... I know a lot (myself included) want to see Kobernus...

David Proctor said...

Davey: "Probably out of the question" that Bryce Harper plays this weekend in ATL. DL a possibility.

At least it can be backdated.

David Proctor said...

Dan Kolko ‏@masnKolko 1m
Harper worked out yest. & Davey saw him limping last nt. Knee isn't swollen enough to drain it but "he's not going out there til he's ready"

DJB said...

Beginning to worry about Harper's long-term viability. He swings so violently and plays so recklessly. A 20-year-old on the DL is not a good long-term investment. Luckily, he's under team control for a while. If next year is like this, we may need to pull the trigger on a very tough trade and re-stock with bats and arms.

David Proctor said...

That is ludicrous. He's under team control until 2019 and you want to trade him in 2014 if he's a little banged up? He's our best player. Thank god some of you people aren't GMs.

whatsanattau said...

Bench Danny or trade him. Play Rendon at second in the majors or OF in the minors (AAA). Give the Shark and Tracy more time. Trade HRod now ... At max value.

CN said...

Interesting that Mark thinks Werth & Harper trading spots on the active roster & DL is a possibility. I would prefer to DL Harper now and play with a full 25 man for the next 3 games. The player called up can always be optioned back to the minors, in 3 days.

That has been the most puzzling part of the injuries, holding off until 1 week to put players on the DL, seen it with Werth & Detwiler, and possibly now with Harper.

whatsanattau said...

Also ... Take 3 in Atlanta.

JaneB said...

I kinda thought "that's for another day" meant today, that he wasn't going to start talking change last night. But maybe they mean CHANGE changes, like roster moves. I don't know what to hope for. Except that Stras is lights out and our guys end up with at least one more run than the Braves do.
GYFNG!

EmDash said...

The DL management is the most frustrating thing about Rizzo's style this season so far for me. Not calling up players because you want to trust established guys to get back to their career norms - questionable, but you can understand the thought process, and trades are tricky this early in the season because everyone's still in the race except the Marlins so that's not a great option either.

But this continual playing short because they want to let players "rest" potentially serious injuries for a few days, and letting them play too soon and reinjure themselves...I don't get it, at all. And it just keeps happening.

baseballswami said...

I keep thinking something has got to give. And then it doesn't. It's Groundhog Day . Just enough good performances here and there to give you hope and then right back. I have been not just disappointed at the resulrs, but at what looks like a lack of cohesion as a team.I am serious. How are we at .500??? We look worse. Hoping for a good result this weekend. Hoping Werth and Harper heal. Hoping for a magical calendar effect. Hoping and praying they dig deep and overcome.

Eric said...

Harper ran full speed into a wall and then repeatedly played hurt and aggravated related injuries multiple times.

Why does this cause anyone concerns about his long term viability? It'd be different if it were a recurring structural injury...

baseballswami said...

And I agree that injury management has been pretty bad. Playing short way too many games.

JD said...


EmDash,

Your point is valid but there is another side to this story. Harper is so critical to this team that if you have an injury which the doctors say will heal in 3 - 5 days you don't want to lose him for 15 days. Likewise with Detwiler, the general thought is that whoever starts for him is a big drop off so you hope he only misses 1 start.

In fairness I don't think we lost any games because we have been short handed, heck Solano and Kobernus almost never play anyway so I don't know what adding a player from the minors will do.

JD said...


Swami,

'looks like a lack of cohesion' - if you look this up in Wikepedia it probably says lack of Werth and Harper.

sjm308 said...

Have not posted much as I take these loses much harder than I probably should.

Glad to see Lombardozzi back in the #2 spot. Thought it was a natural to put him there & have Moore dh these last 2 games.

Glad to see SS on the mound.

Even though Sunshine Bobby drives me nuts (not the poster, the actual announcer) I am glad that split announcing crap is over for another year.

I am also in the club of not glad how the dl has been handled. We should have 25 men available each game and there have been over 10 games where that is not the case. We could have had a reliever up for Det, it took days to place Werth, and now Harper is still in limbo.

OK, that is my negative for this post. Just have to think we will figure this kid out and if we win the first game we can go from there. I am also tired of changing hats on a regular basis. Can't remember the last time I kept the same hat on for more than two or three days.

Go Nats!! Start winning 2 of 3 right now!!

whatsanattau said...

Isn't the joint broadcast more about not having enough HD trucks & equipment. It's being cheap and having to double up. Nobody wins except Angelo's. ick...

NatsLady said...

When Ramos was injured they put him on the DL the next minute. When Zim went down you saw Rendon. It's partly the trickiness of the injury, but also the lack of immediate suitable replacements. You might have seen Corey Brown for Werth, but he was on the DL at the time and also a lefty. Now, if Harper has to go on the DL that is when you will see Corey Brown. So far, I was not that impressed with him, as he made mistakes in the outfield in ST which should not happen, and also major-league pitching is a lot different than AAA, it just is.

whatsanattau said...

PS, I still like Carp and I love FP.

whatsanattau said...

Brown has a long history of needing an adjustment period at each new level. Now would be the perfect time to find out if he can adjust.

DannyEllinosa said...

When I was 7 years old at my first ball game at Connie Mack Stadium, I joined in with the Philly boo birds cuz I didn't know any better. My father chastised me saying "only boo poor sportsmanship." I've never forgotten that and I grew up in Philly. And a big reason I choose to be a Nats fan. That said, my namesake Danny needs a rest. And thanks for the lesson Dad.

A DC Wonk said...

JD wrote:

In fairness I don't think we lost any games because we have been short handed, heck Solano and Kobernus almost never play anyway so I don't know what adding a player from the minors will do.

Ding ding ding - we have a winner.

All this grumbling/criticism of lack of a full bench, or against HRod, or Tracy's at bat last night -- that's all at the edges.

I mean, sheesh -- we all know what the real deal is: and that is: other than Zim and ALR, nobody's hitting their way out of a paper bag lately. The Nats as a team are 13th out of 15 NL teams -- and on top of that we're missing Harper and Werth. What do we expect?

The only solution: that our strong starters hold down the fort until the hitters show up. Until that happens, all the above suggestions aren't going to help a whole lot.

blovy8 said...

I was thinking the same thing about playing short a guy this weekend, but if Kobernus has been around this long with only one AB, it probably only matters if someone gets hurt. Apart from Rendon, you're left with only Marerro, Brown, and Perez really. So you'd get maybe a couple more pinch AB for Marrero. I guess that wouldn't hurt, but they probably need an OF more this weekend to caddy for a Moore start.

CN said...

Ramos was DL'ed immediately because they needed 2 healthy catchers in case of emergency. With Zimmerman, they did not DL immediately, I believe he sat for two games in NY, where Tracy filled in at 3rd before the team called up Rendon.

If the team feels that Harper will not play this weekend, why not call up another player & DL Harper, since it's already been a week? Waiting until Tuesday to swap Harper & Werth does not help the team in ATL. DL'ing Harper today for a Chief, then optioning said Chief on Tuesday when Werth may be ready would provide immediate benefit to the team.

Secret wasian man said...

After the 9 3 win and the 6 2 lead at Bmore I really thought the Nats were on there way. Then all heck broke loose. And unlike the blown 10 0 game blown to Atlanta we come back and couldn't hit the ball with a rowboat the next day. It is very disheartening. Gotta get 2 this weekend. That would be 4.5 games out. Anything else and it's a huge hill to climb. Mark uttered the same on 980 today.

blovy8 said...

I agree, you're not losing Harper for much longer than the estimate anyway by doing it retroactively. And we know how accurate the medical predictions have tended to be...

David Proctor said...

" And unlike the blown 10 0 game blown to Atlanta we come back and couldn't hit the ball with a rowboat the next day."

We lost the first game of the doubleheader the next day. :)

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

This knee 20 year olds should heal faster than this. Acting like he is my age wich is closer to 90 than 20

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Braves score first and they are 20-3. The Nats 20-5 when they score first.

First key of the game.

phil dunton said...

Nats killer Brian McCann has not played in previous Nats/Braves games this season.

EmDash said...

Bursitis is going to be chronic no matter how old you are, unfortunately.

It's true that playing short is less of a factor considering how Davey is managing playing time. It's just that they tend to rush players back if they don't DL them, and that causes problems in the longer term.

David Proctor said...

Bursitis can be surgically repaired, but that's something that will be done in the offseason. It's not going to go completely away during the season. It's going to have to be where it's at a tolerable level. It won't be perfect, but it should be better so he's not limping around.

phil dunton said...

B.J. Upton has been a big bust for the Braves, hitting just .148. He's the CF Rizzo wanted to sign as a FA but he was too expensive.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

It is not a ligiment injr fron what I understand, it is just pain on the knee? Players have pains all the time. Hiw long until constent pain should be gone?

Never heard of player having this?

hallwagner said...

Where is FP Santangelo? Vacation or something?

MrsB loves the Nats said...

FP will be out until July 4....son graduated...

Well let's hope for a win and a good game.

Go Nats!!!

Just wonderin' said...

Where is FP Santangelo?
===============
Extended Spring Training in preparation for taking over at 2B?

David Proctor said...

Bursitis is when the bursa sac around the knee swells with fluid. It's common among car accident victims and things like that. Not surprising Harper got it after crashing into that wall.

There's really no risk of further damage by playing with it. It's all about pain tolerance. He can be fine for months and then a bad slide can cause it to flare up again. It's not going away this season.

hallwagner said...

Ah thank you

David Proctor said...

A leadoff triple that was nearly a home run. Not a bad way to start the game, Span.

Candide said...

Is it my imagination, or was Upton kinda lollygagging after DSpan's shot?

David Proctor said...

Good job Lombo.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Span triple and lombo SF

MicheleS said...

HEY WE GOT A RUN!!!! SWEET

Eugene in Oregon said...

MNF @ 7:09 p.m.,

Let's hope you're right.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Candide Upton looked lost for sure.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Productive out... Love me some Span...

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Way to go Lombo. I haven't seen a well executed Sac Fly swing like that in a long time.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Sweep please.

Last 2 K RZim swung at crap. Get out that habit immediately

David Proctor said...

I sure hope Stras can make that run stick...

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Laroche swings at the same crap. Thank goodness first two batters swung at strikes.

UnkyD said...

Love to see Stras chalk up a quick 1,2,3 1st inning.....

David Proctor said...

Ray Knight is awful.

Michael J. Hayde said...


MrsB loves the Nats said...

FP will be out until July 4....son graduated...

PLEASE say you meant to type "June 4." No way can I take Ray Knight for a month +! Oh, he was awful last night... the "When I was playing (or managing) yak-yak was incessant!

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Good play Desi

Candide said...

It's June 4

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Squeezing low I see.

David Proctor said...

Nice first inning Stras!

Candide said...

Not sure Stras has complete command of his fastball tonight.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

11 pitch first inning helped by inducing a dp ball.

UnkyD said...

BOOM shakalakalaka....

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Best part of being partially deaf I can tune Ray out.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Nice inning guys... Foot on necks.. More runs please!

EmDash said...

Upton hasn't been great defensively so far this season. And BJ's been hitting like Espinosa, despite not being injured so far as they've said. It's odd.

Candide said...

Teheran doesn't look Iranian to me...

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Sorry... Yes, I meant June 4...

EmDash said...

Yeah, Stras's command didn't look quite there that inning. Hopefully that was just his first inning settling in thing.

Candide said...

Espinosa gets a seeing-eye hit!

And the crowd goes wild!!!

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Seeing eye hits. Not used to that.

MicheleS said...

HEY HO.. Danny got a hit.. Thank you Dan Uggla

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Wow.... Don't leave my man stranded...

Unknown said...

Hope Eck got the ball for Danny.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Good hustle by Espi at second and Zuk at first

CN said...

good hustle by Espi, boo that! FYI,not an Espi-lover or hater. Just a fan of this team.

David Proctor said...

Espinosa with a great takeout slide there.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

That's nice Danny

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Stras swung at the same crap Zim and ALR did.

Another shut down inning please.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Danny trying to contribute early...

Candide said...

Stras still doesn't command the fastball.

David Proctor said...

Yikes, that was crushed.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Terrible pitch SS...

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Fastball in the middle of the plate what do you expect.

Had 0-2 count them scrrwed around. Quit screwing around, donr throw in the middle of the plate

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

That breaking ball great unlike the ones to freeman which were not near the plate.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Is nibbling again.

Candide said...

Not nibbling... he's all over the place.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

26 pitches that inning 10 balls to 4 batters and 4 strikes average to each batter.

Not good.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Get that run back

David Proctor said...

Uh oh. Stras okay?

CN said...

crap, stammen's warming up

Unknown said...

I didn't think he looked comfortable - SS was wincing, falling off, etc...not good.

Steady Eddie said...

MNF - Stras wasn't nibbling. He was trying to get a feel for his curve and change up. Which he did by the last two pitches against Uggla.

CN said...

stras and the ATL not a good combo, remember last yr, when he had heat exhaustion...

Candide said...

Oh, shit...

CN said...

they should get Julia Alexandria on NOW, she stood next to the argument the whole time

MrsB loves the Nats said...

What the hell is wrong with SS, Zuckerman??? Oh here we go...

Another_Sam said...

Time to panic!

Eric said...

What on earth is going on in the dugout?

MrsB loves the Nats said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
CN said...

wow, span spent a lot of time on the ground that whole sequence. wonder what the issue w/ stras is? kuntz doesn't seem to be examining anything. blister? muscle? what is it?

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

First basman not even on the bag. How is that an out?

David Proctor said...

Span was definitely back. Bad call. As far Stras...I'm scared.

Unknown said...

Davey & SS should arm wrestle...why isn't Julie old-town Alexandria reporting on this?? hello?

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Julie alexandria do your job.

Less Platu said...

Stras looked enraged -- hoo boy -- that clubhouse needs Werth to keep it from going terminally toxic

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Please lord..............

MicheleS said...

UMM..Okay, I am going to hide in a hole, this can't be good

DHamm said...

Sideline REPORTER. Useless.

Less Platu said...

Julie's got to move to another part of the park to stealthily report the drama -

Another_Sam said...

Julie. Julie. Julie.

Less Platu said...

Stammen has such good stuff

Less Platu said...

A wince will get you yanked now?

phil dunton said...

Kristina Akra would have had the Stras info by now! She was aggressive.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Maybe it is as simple as hot crap in his jock again (wishful thinking)

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Nice inning Stammen...

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Julie Julie Julie a song by Bobby Sherman 1970.

Another_Sam said...

Paging Debbie Taylor.

Candide said...

phil dunton said...

Kristina Akra would have had the Stras info by now! She was aggressive.


Gotta figure Julie's been told to hold off until they tell her what she can say. She's not Bob Woodward or Mike Wallace.

David Proctor said...

In better injury news Jayson Werth smacks a double to center. Has been on-base all three times tonight.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Maybe we should get some signals out of the Braves people instead.

Unknown said...

MNF - hope you're right, but seriously, why is old-town there if she is not going to report on something as significant as this??

EmDash said...

Jesus. Is Atlanta cursed for us? Injuries suffered there so far this season: Ramos (hamstring), Werth (hamstring), Harper (first wall crash), Strasburg (?). This is nuts.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Espn2 reported it already on the O's broadcast

phil dunton said...

Candide, You are right, I momentarily forgot the Nats like to sugar coat injuries.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Meant MASN2

EmDash said...

Bos reports Stras had his velocity drop over the game. That's generally bad...

DWS said...

"At his age" re: AL via Ray,C'mon back JP. And we meant June 4 right?
Word on our pitcher would be good.

Candide said...

Thomas Boswell ‏@ThomasBoswellWP 52s

In 2d, Strasburg FB went 98-97-97-98-98, then dropped to 94-93-94-93-95 as showed teeth 5 or 6 times. Davey/coach'd spot it. May be nothing.


Let's hope so.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Threw 2 97 to Uggla last batter.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Mine showed 94-97-94-93-97

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Desi... Why do you swing at that garbage....

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Julie do your damn job.

MicheleS said...

In Regards to JULIE.

Give her a break, she is a sideline reporter AND SHE IS BEING PAID BY MASN. as stated previously, she is probably be told NOT to say anything, it's not as if Mark, Amanda, or even Adam is sitting down there.

AND NO Kristina would not be doing anything differently

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Because hitting coach doesnt chew him out when he does.

Another_Sam said...

Where's Dibble? Suck it up.

DWS said...

Yeah, must be the velo. Might be a wake up call to the team. Don't depend on your pitching.
Interesting conference with Zuk, McCatty and Stephen. Davy might have pulled one of his own.
Anythings possible and we'll have to wait for answers no matter how implausible.

Manassas Nats' Fan said...

Woodward would have it.

DHamm said...

I don't really blame Julie. It's the whole sideline reporter concept that I dislike. They don't "report" anything of any significance! Perfect case in point!

DHamm said...

"Official" word? You were right there! MASN. UGH. Useless.

I

Unknown said...

way to go julie 30 mins after the fact...she could have said the same thing 25 mins ago.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

MicheleS, exactly and there is a protocol. She may know but wint say until officially told.

phil dunton said...

Dibble was entertaining---no sugar coating for him!

tayo said...

Thinking further about this though, I nowdon't think Davey should have pulled Stras now. If I remember correctly, Stras hasn't done anything like hiding an injury to make Davey not trust Stras assertion that he isn't injured. Tough call nonetheless.

Candide said...

What MicheleS said.

Julie was standing right there when they were talking. She KNOWS what was being discussed. She's not saying because she has strict orders to keep it zipped.

David Proctor said...

Julie definitely knows, but she doesn't work for us, she works for MASN and by extension for the Nationals. That's why we're only going to get official word. It's not her fault.

Candide said...

Meanwhile, the Barves are oh-fer-six against Stammen.

Just in case anyone was interested...

Eric said...

Ray Knight is on his game tonight. His commentary on the pitchers and how to approach at bats has been great, IMO.

David Proctor said...

Well it looks like shoulder not elbow. At the very least that means it's not SUPER serious. It could still be bad of course, but we'll see.

David Proctor said...

Wow that's poor luck by Espinosa. Can't catch a break.

Eric said...

Ugh! Poor Espi.

Candide said...

Danny finds new ways to impress me every day.

Unknown said...

Candide at 8:46pm, assuming you are correct, still, act like you are on top of stuff and say within minutes of SS being pulled that we will let you know as soon as we know but it appears "something is not right with SS." it ain't that hard...doing nothing for 30 minutes is embarrassing but at this point, we are used to it.

phil dunton said...

NatsJack..........Dibble always spoke highly of you.

Candide said...

Paul Brandt, again, she has NO control over what she says. She's been told exactly what to say, and if she deviates, she'll be looking for a job tomorrow morning. Blame MASN and the Nats.

And frankly, I think the sideline "reporter" thing is stupid, too.

Secret wasian man said...

Why all the injuries? Is it bad luck? Or is something wrong in this town with our trainers, doctors......?

Candide said...

If you're a second baseman named Daniel, you suck.

David Proctor said...

Craig Stammen has been fantastic.

Secret wasian man said...

Be great to hang on and get this. We sure could use it. Not even angry anymore. Almost feel sorry for the guys.

MrsB loves the Nats said...

Stammer is having a very good night... Low pitch count too....

EmDash said...

How long can Stammen go, do we think? 3-4 has gotta be the limit, right?

DWS said...

Ray Knight is an idiot. Calling ALR catching up to a fastball "for an ol' fella) did it for me.
Sideline, baseline whateverline reporters aren't reporting anything of substance. And Phil....who's Dibble working for? Follow them.

Unknown said...

Candide, thanks, I'm not familiar with the whole reporter rules but do have a daughter interested in getting into the business and can't believe they cannot be subjective but I get it...thanks...how dare they point out the deficiencies in their empire...silly! i guess that explains Dibble.

Candide said...

Freakin' DSpan!

Now don't get picked off!

Secret wasian man said...

Deja vu. LOMBO and SPAN

«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 316 Newer› Newest» «Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 316   Newer› Newest»

Post a Comment