tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post5487233821870774590..comments2024-02-15T05:42:18.307-05:00Comments on Nats Insider: Two decent games, but two lossesMark Zuckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13525315258889435961noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-47383774495525734112010-05-16T12:31:53.161-04:002010-05-16T12:31:53.161-04:00As expected, Dunn gets a rest after more than a fe...As expected, Dunn gets a rest after more than a few fielding gaffes in recent outings. Plus a left-handed starter. Morse will bat sixth today behind Pudge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-50755426815820907032010-05-16T12:28:48.913-04:002010-05-16T12:28:48.913-04:00Mench and Duncan look like the better choices over...Mench and Duncan look like the better choices over Lambin. Lambin has 8 walks against 27 strikeouts already. Not the sign of a mature hitter. Perhaps a streaky one. He has an OBP of .319. Mench with 13 walks against 4 strike outs has an OBP of .375. Duncan has 10 walks against 23 strike outs plus 3 homers. He appears to be progressively improving. Even though he is hitting .265 Josh Whitesell has an OBP of .396 and an OPS of .812. He has walked 23 times against 29 strike outs. Plus, Lambin already has 5 errors. <br /><br />My guess is that Lambin will eventually get surpassed by Mench, Duncan, Maxwell, Whitesell and Marvin Lowrance as the season progresses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-85005471425777617492010-05-16T12:07:50.726-04:002010-05-16T12:07:50.726-04:00Bruney is a hard thrower but has never been able t...Bruney is a hard thrower but has never been able to throw strikes in his whole career I dont see any reason to believe he is going to learn now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-70897044479652153502010-05-16T11:58:32.391-04:002010-05-16T11:58:32.391-04:00No need to fire Bruney (imho) . . . just have him ...No need to fire Bruney (imho) . . . just have him work some at AAA and see if he can get straightened out. He has the stuff -- he just doesn't have any control.<br /><br />When's the earliest the Nats can bring up Storen?<br /><br />And, two other questions: <br /><br />What's the future for Chase Lambin -- hitting like .320 at Syracuse, yet I see he's turning 31 in July; and also Kevin Mench, also hitting over .300, age 31. Are these guys "organizational" types, or might we see them spend some time in the Nats outfield this year? (or in the future). (Yes, I see Lambin plays 2B, but I also noted he played LF in the game Strasburg pitched)A DC Wonknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-6466056750856632972010-05-16T11:50:42.173-04:002010-05-16T11:50:42.173-04:00Mark, have the Nats fired Bruney yet?Mark, have the Nats fired Bruney yet?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-23150766088531754502010-05-16T08:43:46.937-04:002010-05-16T08:43:46.937-04:00JT - Yep, overall solid play in game 2. Bullpen d...JT - Yep, overall solid play in game 2. Bullpen did OK. The Rockies bullpen just did much better. <br /><br />With Riggleman stacking Nyjer and Willie Harris in the 1-2, it gave the Rockies late in the game the opportunity to bring in Beimel to go Lefty/Lefty although Willie has hit Beimel well in the past. Nyjer went 0-4 with 2 strikeouts.<br /><br />Zim of course singled with nobody on base in the 8th and 2 outs and Dunn struck out in the Righty/Lefty matchup you would want.<br /><br />Mark Z. pointed out no walks by the Nats in the 2nd game then you look back at the very 1st inning when Willie Harris went 3-0, to 3-1 and then popped up ball 4 and there were other opportunities to layoff pitches early in counts. They let Hammels stay in the game too long and not get into the bullpen earlier which you have to do in a doubleheader.<br /><br />The double switch late in the game where they took Bernadina out, took a hot bat out of the lineup as he was 2 for 3 (BTW, he is hitting .304 now).Anonymous8noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-29529969816063042532010-05-16T07:51:45.143-04:002010-05-16T07:51:45.143-04:00So you lose a pair of games playing pretty good ba...So you lose a pair of games playing pretty good baseball in a place thats hard to win. They can still salvage the series with a curly W sunday. Split with the Cards and this will be a dandy road trip. JTinSCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-82312467250062174792010-05-16T03:11:04.563-04:002010-05-16T03:11:04.563-04:00Well, at least Willy Mo Taveras has been DFA'e...Well, at least Willy Mo Taveras has been DFA'ed. Morse may not be the second coming of Willie Mays, but at least he has the potential to provide some offense.bdrubenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-43037848982399297802010-05-16T01:24:44.418-04:002010-05-16T01:24:44.418-04:00Great writeup, Mark, and I'm glad that you foc...Great writeup, Mark, and I'm glad that you focused on some of the things Desmond did right on that play. He also bailed out Guzman earlier in the game on the low double play throw. Dunn had a bad game in the field on this one with the dropped ball from Desmond, a tough time running out some balls that dropped in foul ground. Did Dunn play a role in that high throw to Guzman that should have been called safe that played a part in the late innings as well?<br /><br />I take the second game as the Nats paying part of their dues to Pythagoras. As you've said here before 4-5 or 5-4 on this road trip is a good effort given the quality of competition that they've faced. Win 2 out of the next three by any means necessary and they'll have 5-4 on the road trip. Win one out of 3, and they'll still be above .500 heading to the homestand. <br /><br />I think the other part of the equation here is that Wil Nieves is a major offensive liability and that we could really use Mr. Jesus Flores at some point this season. I like Nieves personally and I appreciate what he's brought to the team defensively and chemistry wise, but we're a better squad with Flores and I'd love to see him by July if at all possible as another part of the healthy reinforcements given Pudge's balky back and Nieves' offensive struggles.<br /><br />No Hammer and no Nieves were a large part of what made Hammels look better than he's been.Souldrummernoreply@blogger.com