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| Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER |
The good news: Jordan Zimmermann starts for the Nationals in his final tune-up before next week's All-Star Game. The right-hander has been brilliant all year, of course, though his last two starts haven't quite lived up to his usual lofty standards (seven runs, 14 hits in 11 1/3 innings).
I am not in Philadelphia for the series finale at Citizns Bank Park. Had to hoof it back to Bethesda for tonight's episode of The Baseball Show, which airs at 11 p.m. on CSN. Hope you'll tune-in, and hope you'll enjoy the conversation here as always...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 187
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees, Wind 7 mph LF to RF
NATIONALS (47-44)
CF Denard Span
SS Ian Desmond
LF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Jayson Werth
1B Adam LaRoche
2B Anthony Rendon
C Kurt Suzuki
RHP Jordan Zimmermann
PHILLIES (45-47)
CF Ben Revere
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
LF Domonic Brown
3B Michael Young
RF Delmon Young
1B Darin Ruf
C Carlos Ruiz
RHP Kyle Kendrick
UMPIRES
HP Kerwin Danley
1B Lance Barksdale
2B Vic Carapazza
3B Gary Cederstrom (cc)
537 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 537 Newer› Newest»Denard Span sucks
You can't squander opportunities at the rate the Nats are and make it easy on yourselves.
Just looking at the replay again, think about how awful that call at the plate was considering where Ruiz tagged Harper. It is physically impossible for Bryce to be out if the tag was made on his waist (which is where it was). The only way it could possibly be an out is if Harper was tagged on his feet in front of the plate. You would think an umpire major league umpire could logically figure that out.
Revere doing it and our centerfielder is embarrassing himself.
Even if we win this game, we'll have gone 9-5 against the Mets & phillies (away) and the brewers & Padres (home)....and it's the best ball we've played since the first week of the season.
ok, now this game is really ticking me off.
and pedrocerrano, span does not suck.
That folks is what a well executed bunt will do for you
sorry, denard span sucks (except at home against RHP)
I assume Barbaro is tge one who cant teach bunting.
Phillies execute the bunt correctly, and Zim throws a fsstball down the middle and Revere hits the otger way and a run scores. Small ball works.
As for Span take note, nitice most of Revere',s hits go to center or left. Bsrbaro needs to ride him.
Who the heck is Barbaro. Did I miss something?
Obviously he used neitger his eyes or logic making the call.
Tyler Moore just hit a Grand Slam at Syracuse.
agree with some prior posters, Davey needs to get out there and kick some tires...umps know when they make mistakes and have a way of evening it up but it's the manager's role to remind them of that...happens almost every other play in the NBA...not saying he should get tossed but be more visible on some of these garbage calls.
David you missed the message yesterday on Barbaro .
Not sure which of suggested the name.
Small ball is just not a priority to DJ and the Nationals. I'm not saying it should be the focus of their offense however when the bats are sleeping, like they have often this year, small ball getting a run here and a run there could turn some of our losses into curly W's.
David, can the Chiefs send a little Offense to the MLB club?
Dont have to stress small ball, just do it when tge situation calls for it.
Phillies more errors than Nats have hits.
Aww I thought Harper got all of that.
Now get Harper home
Thought that was gone....
Thank you David for the triple.
nice job Zim
Thank you David for the Sac Fly.
Good job Ryan...
I fully supported Span but my patience is running thin.
Had to get Harper in. Delmon Young hands us one.
He was just as out the second time as the first
Great salvage job of what started out as a wretched AB
Glad he was called safe.
LOL Amr!
Bad break for Werth. He's really barreling everything up.
What are the Phillies 4 errors?
Bad luck. We hit one off Kebdticks and its an out, they hit one off zim and tge hitter eventually scores.
We dont advantage if thir issues, they took advantage obe bad luck play
MrsB loves the Nats said...
What are the Phillies 4 errors?
I know 1 was signing Ryan Howard to that long-term contract.
MNF, the way the ball bounces some nights......
David you missed the message yesterday on Barbaro.
Not sure which of suggested the name.
It was me, and he's not the one who whooshed on that, MNF. Sorry. I get a two-minute minor for Unsportsmanlike Subtlety.
Barbaro is a dead horse. The dead horse being beaten in that case was Werth's contract.
Speaking of balls bouncing, JZim's failed bunt.
Utley causing 1b to drop Span's pop, utley kicking ALR. hit, tgemn Utley tossing ball away so runner went to third, m.young throwing Suzuki's hit to 3rd away.
What a time to pull out the changeup JZim!
Whew, I thought Brown hit that one out.
thank you Delmon...big inning boys.
I was off eating dinner, so I missed it, but Span not running out a foul-whoopsie-fair ball! bunt is a fine-able offense, tho I doubt I'd bench a vet for one misjudgement. On the other hand--I LOVE watching him play center. Even on that double, he knew immediately where that ball was going to hit. He gets the best reads of anybody I've seen. If only he could do that when HE was hitting.
3rd time through the order, Nats need to take advantage.
It appears LaRoche has suddenly gone cold again, although he is still hitting over .300 since May 1.
David, can you send some more Chief runs to the Nats?
We cant hit off speed pitchers. Well
bring in Ramos right here.
Well Danny Espinosa also hit a solo homer for the Chiefs. They're up big.
Let's see if that works?
Zuk needs to make it happen here.
i agree. Ramos PH would be my play
NatsJack, maybe the Nats didn't have an aggressive BP today.
I just want Zim to get on base here so we can "turn the lineup over" and avoid span leading off next inning
Happy Bday NatsJack!!!!!!
No, Bob, they are NOT "saying he held it long enough." There is no such rule in baseball. The 2nd base ump is saying he dropped it taking it out of his glove, which was the right call.
Chase Utley, next time, let the ball hit the back of your closed glove. Deadens it just fine, never gets called.
Because we swing too hsrd.
Hey Eugene in Oregon,
I live in Corvallis. We are probably the only Nats fans in Oregon.
If Cholly brings in the lefty Diekman, I wouldn't be shocked to see Davey go to Hariston for Span and then move Harper to center.
Bad Stat in the series Nats are 2 for 20 in RISP. The one was Werths hit where Harper was called out at home.
I am not sure our rank in RISP in the league, but i am guessing not near tge top.
I guess we will see Hairston to leadoff the 8th.
is there a reason Zim isn't playing the line there? give him a single, not a double!!
This is beginning to look like another Nats pooch job. Too many missed opportunities. Too much bad base running.
Phoolies going with small ball here?
Watch out for the squeeze.
I guess the no doubles defense by RZim not in effect yet.
Small ball works again.
When we learn to bunt that well.
It rediculous we cant bunt.
Pitch out?
Nats don't do well when they get in a close low scoring game. A
And there goes the game!
Span refuses to dive for balls. Come on.
Needed to k. Why a slider. Fsst ball low inside. Bad pitch selection by Suzuki.
So done with Span. He was a mistake. Either way the run scores but now a guy on second.
The 500 team keeps playing like it.
"Nats don't do well when they get in a close low scoring game. "
The Nats do VERY well in 1 run games. They're like 10 games over .500. What are you talking about?
You have Frandsen 0-2, hows about a slider in the dirt if you have faith that Suzuki can block it.
Frandsen shortens his swing and credit to him.
Ghost, it hit him in the glove, no reason to dive, just catch it.
Terrible game for Span.
Can't hit when it matters. Can't run the bases. Can't hold runners on base. Can't bunt.
Fielding leaves a lot to be desired. Make bad pitchers look like Cy Young. Too bad.
79 pitches and we yank JZimm. Who we got coming in.....Gossage?
Span gotta get that ball
Span's obp back down to .312. That just isn't going to work. He needs to be at .330 or we need to platoon him.
Had Zim been playing the line, we wouldn't be having this convo.
Which our batters are terrible at doing.
paul, you get down on it not a backhand shoestring attempt. You can't see the ball. Easier to dive and get it.
Span just not getting it done tonight.
the pain that this season has caused....
One day they will compare the Alex Meyers trade to the Mets trading Nolan Ryan....but one blogger will remember we go a pretty good center fielder in the deal
The Nats make all the mediocre pitchers in MLB look good.
Not Span's best game but that was a sac fly either way....
When they are losing by one run or more at this point in the game they usually use.
I agree
I don't care if it was a sac fly, He turned it into a double. It was just as bad as the ball Harper dropped and for which he was ridiculed....
pedrocerrano said...
the pain that this season has caused....
Tell me about it. This has to be just 7 innings of frustration but again not helped by the ump.
Ghost, one way or another, Span needs to make the catch but the run still scores but we agree that he has to make the catch...really hope he is not leading off the next inning, don't care who is pitching.
Seems like an early hook for Zim based on merely following the box score. Was he getting hit hard/laboring?
Rzim, WTF
Whew. I think Rollins beat that out. First bad throw by Ryan in a while.
Zim, Zim, Zim...make up call?
Stupid Phillies fans. They only recognize the calls that go against them. The game should be 2-2 but they want to bitch and moan as is their wont....
4 errors and the Phillies are leading? Who is the Cy Young Candidate pitching tonight for the Phils?
That was a make up call....
All that aside, the run scores from third in any event. How that wound up a double, I'm not so sure, but you don't hold him to first with a diving catch, and there's no percentage in risking the ball getting through.
And I do believe Jimmy was in fact out.
on a positive note, Krol is impressive...7th inning, difficult spot, good for him.
The right call made but RZim throws another rainbow lollipop. What the?
We beat cy young candidates (Cliff Lee)...It's the other guys that is the problem.
Replay shows out.
I don't get this. Why not Scott Hairston for Span?
Zimmerman was getting hit a bit in the 7th but deserved better. We might as well play the bench against Kendrick and Lannan.
On cue, Span is out. Why do you give up an out there as almost an automatic out? What am I missing?
why the heck was Span leading off Davey? makes zippo sense...so frustrating!!
how much longer do you go with span leading off.
he looks like a good number 8 in this series
.257 and .311 for Span's hitting and batting averages, with an inability to bunt for hits or to sacrifice hitters and very few stolen bases of any consequence. You need to catch every single ball to offset that sort of offensive incompetence....
wow a weak grounder from Span? Can't blame Davey for that, I was certain he'd put one in the gap.
That missed catch in center field was huge. Even though the run scores anyways, Jzim would have been able to pitch all 8 innings tonight and rest the bullpen for Miami (who are off right now)
Does the Harper missed call at the plate count for .7?
Nah, didn't think so.
Desi has cooled off too it seems...
It looks like we are going right back down to six back.
Well. We've got RZimm, Werth and ALR up against Papelbon. We've gotten to him before.
OK, well, hold 'em here and maybe Cholly will bring in Papelbon. We can always hope.
You trade for Hairston for that exact situation, why don't you use him there.
Is there a worse offensive lead-off guy in major league baseball than Span?
Be nice if any of the beat writers had the guts to call out Davey for his awful managing. Takes our hottest hitter out for Zuk. Keeps Span at lead off when he can't buy a hit.
*sigh*
1 -> DP.
agreed...we hit formerly good pitchers well and currently bad pitchers poorly
Yeah, the failure to pinch hit for Span is hard to figure.
He needs to be dropped down. You can't have Span getting more at-bats than anyone else. This "prototypical leadoff hitter" stuff is nonsense. I'd prefer Rendon up there given his selectivity.
Span is supposed to excel at hitting righties, but not tonight. They have to start platooning. He has sucked up four at bats tonight and each one has been horrible in its own special way....
Ghost I don't want to hear about the umps; 4 errors and we have 1 run. Top of the lineup in the eighth and bastardo barely breaks a sweat. This team just keeps looking like one that expects to win based on last year.
Scott Hairston 0-5 lifetime against Bastardo. Is that too small a sample size? I say yes. You got Hairston for a reason and Span is batting a buck 50 against lefties and lower against lefty relievers.
Davey already cost this team wins by waiting for Espinosa to snap out of his slump. He can't afford to do it again.
And we need to find where RZ gets moved because clearly his shoulder woes or yips are here to stay. Maybe move him to the OF, move Rendon to third and (I can't believe I am saying this) let Espi return to 2b. Span does not win games for us.
Span had one year where he was the proto-typical lead-off hitter. I don't know if it was the concussion but he isn't the same player since. He doesn't get on by getting hit like he used to, 7-10 times a year. He rarely walks. He isn't effective on the basepaths. His moderate power has turned to no power and his bat skills are not very good.
In sum, in spite of all the apologists who say over and over, Span is fine, or Span will be fine, when will that be?
The inconsistent hitting is a mystery that's going to take them away
The "Ryan to OF" contingent sounds suspiciously like the "Desi to CF" one.
I miss the Wasian man......
Davey's BS of an aggressive BP yesterday like I bought that crap. Just more of the same today.
Your starter gives you 7 innings of 2 run baseball and you don't get the offense going against a lousy pitcher supported by 4 errors.
Rizzo f'd this team up but Davey does the lineup. No reason Span has to lead off. What a joke. I hope the Lerners clean house after this disappointing season.
You guys who keep harping about the errors. They weren't that kind of errors that guarantee a win or anything. We got a couple of bases here or there, but the main problem is no extra base hits except by Harper when the bases were empty since Span never gets on base....
Beginning of the week lots of people here were saying Nats take 3 of 4 from the Phils, it's not happening people.
That's a big run. Rendon tried.
great play, good throw gets him but can't pick on the kid for that.
well wrong team, right numbers
Expos, you needn't. Seems the regulars have taken his job off his hands.
Notice how the Phillies always advance their guys. Span bunts into double plays, sigh....
WODL, to be fair, the lack of hitting tonight has been a team effort
OK, two to tie. Let's go get 'em.
The saddest thing is that I wish I thought we had a chance to come back here, but it seems so remote as to be a whim.
I say lets go with the double solo hr strategery
I guarantee that if we get runners on Zuk still hits instead of Ramos.
Swing for the rooftops boys
At least we have this series to thank for the homer-to-the-dome .gif.
Every time I think Span is finally about to show us something he comes back with something like this series. Is he pouting from being benched? He and Revere were similar going into this series and Revere has looked much much better....
Why Ryan? 2-0 and you swing at that low in the zone strike?
liking this papelbom guy....wonder why you swing at the ball low and away
2-0 count and Ryan does that. That is why people criticize him. He appears to have many at bats that are simply not well executed.
2-0 and he's swinging down 2? so dumb...high school teams don't do that.
Well, even worse, FP says that was ball 3. smh
Ryan Zimmerman just gave Papelbon confidence.
That is on Zimmerman. Firing Eck is not going to get Ryan to change what Ryan wants to do....
ok, he's looking wild again...be agressive and swing and miss
That is the slider pitch in the dirt that JZim has to throw.
Team schitzo is alive and well....
I wish Mark would have an instant review even when not at the game.
When we score 1 we are now 1-14
When we give up 3 we are 5-8.
Bottom line is simple. Our pitchers are not good enough as a team to make how poir our hitters are in scoribg runs. This game was won if zJzim throws a shutout. We did have 1 run.
So I see Span is the whopping boy tonight....
Ugly at bats all night...
Nats just made the Phillies buyers...watching them is just maddening.
Dang, I hate losing to the Phillies.
This season was ruined when Zim threw that ball into the outfield against atlanta. We were 5 games over .500 until that moment. Haven't made it back there since.
I'm not going to stop being from being negative, because it's warranted after this performance. But keep in mind the Phillies beat us around some last year. Just one of those teams that always has our number.
Still hurts though.
1 step forward, 1 step back. Once again a .500 team. And Davey said they had another "aggressive" BP. Guess that isn't the ticket after all. Span is losing me. What a horrible game for him.
Meh.
They're back.
Mrs B. unable to provide an defense of Span's poor offense the whole year, so she attacks others for noting it....Ad hominem attacks are not cool....
Mrs. B has not used ad hominems.
Its looking like the Nats "resurgence" was little more than catching a Padres team that was in the midst of a long losing streak.
be patient against mediocore pitching with less command of the strike zone and foul off the junk
be agressive against good pitchers with good command.
Agression doesn't work with pitchers who don't throw strikes.
Eck must go
pedro, I have to agree with you. That game was a turning point. We never really recovered our mojo after that game, or that sweep.
Tonight's throw was an unwelcome reminder of Zim's erratic play. So much for him being ok by June, or by mid- June, or by the end of June.
I wanted to know where Michael Young was during ALR's at bat. If nowhere near 3rd bunt was neccessay, but since those who could see didn't bother to tell us.
He needed to be on bet.
I mean really, having Span lead off the 8th after a crap game and vs. a lefty is just mind numbing! I know Mark isn't there but someone needs to ask Davey what the heck was he thinking...makes no sense at all!!! I need to go to bed before I break another remote...like Ray just said...I'm baffled!!!!
I haven't attacked anyone... I've seen Span play great ball for a stretch and then go thru a slump... He is in a slump right now...
I saw some pathetic at bats by EVERYONE tonight...
But imma let you keep making Span the whopping boy for tonight...
Oh come on people. Every 3B makes a wild throw sometimes. Ryan is still going to do it from time to time. He's been making his throws fine for over a month until today.
It is an attack on the people making the argument and a failure to provide any evidence against their point.
Thanks Ray for speaking the truth on Denard Span.
I'd sell at the deadline. Offer up Span and Laroche. They are not part of this team's future. Better to build for next year. Need another power bat either in the OF or first base. Losing Morse was just killer to the offense. Span has been just awful. Can't keep trotting him out to get the most AB's. Laroche doesn't justify his contract and should be unloaded.
Jeff @ 9:49 - spot on with some of it...
All I kept thinking when we faced Lannan - look at the junk and we can't do nothing... Lee threw fastballs and we all of a sudden was giving out souvenirs...
But tonight, we had our chances... Situational hitting wasnt there...
Davey made his own mistakes tonight. Boggles my mind that he didn't pinch-hit for Span in the 8th.
Once, again, no evidence or data. He has been around the same obp for several weeks. He needs to be dropped in the line up and all the apologists need to either provide evidence as to why he should lead off...
And the term whipping boy is a ridiculous, charged metaphor to use, even though I know she didn't mean it that way....
One thing about Ray - he generally speaks the truth most times... He seems kinda angry tonight and I can understand why...
Facts show that several players did not get hits tonight
Oh come on DP. That was a routine throw. Every 3B does not make wild throws on those kinds of plays. That's b.. unk. I was willing to think that Zim had worked things out, based on his play over the last month, but apparently he hasn't.
It didn't cost us tonight because of ALR and the ump. But it's a concern. If you don't see that, your rose colored glasses have frosted over.
It's also not why we lost the game.
Disagree with Ray....the Phils are better than us right now, kinda amazing we are still ahead of them.
Section 135, if the Nats fall much further back, they should indeed offer up Laroche. Not because he isn't pulling his weight (he is on pace to have a very solid season), but because he isn't the future first baseman so might as well replenish the farm system. They should also listen on Span, but only trade him if a good offer comes in. Then you can move Harp back to center and get some more power in the outfield.
The scariest thing about this season isn't that this particular Nats team might miss the post season. Its that it is becoming obvious that this team, which has almost all of its positions locked up for the foreseeable future, isn't good enough offensively. Rizzo;s ability to accurately assess that problem and fix it will be his legacy here.
For the series 29 for 131. About .225.
Our pitchers are simply not good enough to ovrrcome inconsistant hitting.
We need to decide either pitch better or hit better.
No Jeff - Span is the reason we lost this game....
Sec 222, yes every 3B makes that throw. Every single 3B in the league has made a wild throw on a play like that. Obviously, Ryan has done it WAY more than usual this season. But his trend is still very positive. One wild throw doesn't offset a month plus of good throws.
Ryan has been solid lately... Besides that 1 throw tonight, I don't remember the last time he had an errant throw...
It's not just not getting hits. It is the failure to execute. It is the insistence on always pulling the ball. It is the failure to run out his bunts. It is his lack of infield hits. It is his lack of walks or hits by pitch to get on base. It is his lack of stolen bases except for more or less conceded ones, and it is the insistence by so many on here that Span is some sort of lead-off genius like Rickey Henderson or something.
He is not. He never was. He never will be. He needs to move to 8th in the line-up and only play against right handers until he can prove he can get on base again.
paul brandt said...
I mean really, having Span lead off the 8th after a crap game and vs. a lefty is just mind numbing! I know Mark isn't there but someone needs to ask Davey what the heck was he thinking...makes no sense at all!!! I need to go to bed before I break another remote...like Ray just said...I'm baffled!!!!
Nobody will ask so save your typing. Read my comment in the 7th inning when JZim made the last out. I knew Bastardo was coming in and I said then that Hairston would pinch-hit.
Even though Hairston was 0-5 lifetime vs Bastardo, Span was 0-1 vs Bastardo and batting under .150 against lefty relievers.
This just reminds me of Espinosa mentality with Davey and Rizzo with their refusal to make changes.
Jordan pitched well enough for us to win... We should have taken better advantage of our opportunities as we definitely had them...
Situational hitting wasnt crisp at all tonight... I'm actually also surprised (like Ghost) that DJ didnt pull Span for Hairston...
But we need to take care of business against the fish... Shame we didnt at least get the split tonight...
Ray just said a comment that was wrong. Zim did not pitch well enough to win.
Well enough to win some games ,but not this one. Kendricks out pitched him, so he didn't pitch good enough to win.
When we lose that usually the problem our pitcher was out pitched.
That blown call at home really hurt. I'd be more upset about it, but I think it only would have resulted in 1 run; I don't think there was any way LaRoche was going to extend the inning, unless maybe he worked a walk, because he's just not hitting this week.
Also, it's fair to say that this game was decided by bunt play. Span's hilarious bunt double play destroyed a huge opportunity, and a good bunt from jordan puts a runner on 3rd instead of 1st (which would mean an RBI grounder instead of a GIDP when span rolls his inevitable 4-3 chopper).
Conversely, the Ruiz bunt sets up the RBI single from Revere...and without bunting the runner over to 3rd, span probably dives for that ball with the runner on 2nd and makes the out.
Dan Kolko @masnKolko 1m
Jordan Zimmermann still dealing with a sore neck. Says skipping All-Star Game is "a possibility"
If there's even any chance of it getting worse, skip the game Jordan.
Why weren't we in the market for Choo?
Span is despicable. that play in center was nonchalant and lazy. And Davey is a fool for always leading him off. get him out of there. Werth o lead off. Let Bernie play.
no pitching staff is good enough to succomb that kind of unproductive hitting.
This is not 1911.
pitching is our strength esp with Zimmnn, Stras, gio...we have to take advantage of it.
The nats just need to play small ball sometimes but they're a little rusty...
have to learn how to shorten up and hit a sac fly.
stay out of double plays.
We don't need many to win with the big three on the mound.
I honestly don't understand why so many people have defended Ryan Zimmerman. He is clearly killing this team in both offense and defense. But I think Ray threw in the towel in his postgame. This is a fundamentally flawed organization. You can argue what we should do with players like Zimm, but it is the organization that gave him such a terrible long-term contract. Really, the heads that need to roll are at the top. We've built a team around the hunches of one scout, and that just doesn't work in modern baseball.
Ghost, I don't think Davey trusts Harper in CF.
Small ball? With whom? What fast guys do we have that get on base? What guys do we have who can reliably lay down a bunt or hit behind the runner or get a sac fly when we need one?
Turned it off in the 6th. Tired of the hapless pattern, over and over. The distinguishing characteristic of this baseball team is futility.
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