 |
US Presswire photo The always festive Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. |
Whether LaRoche is sidelined for a brief or long-term period, the Nationals are left without an established first baseman. Michael Morse will get a crack at the position, and he acquitted himself well there yesterday in Baltimore. It remains to be seen if he can produce as an everyday player, something he hasn't established when given the opportunity in the past.
Tom Gorzelanny gets the start for the Nats, hoping to cut down on his recent high walk totals (10 in his last 17 1/3 innings) while maintaining his high strikeout numbers (19 over those same 17 1/3 innings). Right-hander Yovani Gallardo, who got beat around by the Nationals last month in D.C., starts for the Brewers.
I'm not in Milwaukee for this series, so please keep up the banter yourselves...
NATIONALS at BREWERS
Where: Miller Park
Gametime: 8:10 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 183
Weather: Partly cloudy, 67 degrees, Wind 13 mph out to LF
STARTING LINEUPS5:38 p.m. -- Couple of news items to pass along: 1) Brian Broderick, the Rule 5 draftee who was designated for assignment nine days ago, has been re-claimed by the Cardinals. The Nats, who initially paid $50,000 to acquire the right-hander during the Winter Meetings, receive $25,000 back from St. Louis. ... 2) Rick Ankiel begins a rehab assignment tonight with Class AA Harrisburg. If Adam LaRoche ends up on the DL, seems logical that Ankiel would be activated to take his roster spot.
NATIONALS (21-25)
CF Roger Bernadina
SS Ian Desmond
RF Jayson Werth
LF Laynce Nix
C Wilson Ramos
1B Michael Morse
2B Danny Espinosa
3B Jerry Hairston
P Tom Gorzelanny
BREWERS (24-23)
2B Rickie Weeks
RF Corey Hart
LF Ryan Braun
1B Prince Fielder
3B Casey McGehee
C Jonathan Lucroy
SS Yuniesky Betancourt
CF Carlos Gomez
P Yovani Gallardo
6:09 p.m. -- It's official: LaRoche has been placed on the 15-day DL with a shoulder tear, though he's not going to undergo surgery at this point, hoping rest will help alleviate the problem. The Nats will make a corresponding move tomorrow, with Ankiel likely to come off the DL and take the roster spot.
6:25 p.m. -- It's not all bad news today in NatsTown: Stephen Strasburg threw off a bullpen mound in Viera for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September.
47 comments:
Hmmmm.....I think that Michael Morse, will do something closer to ST.
As far as not performing as a regular, not sure that has ever been established---since he has never been a regular over an extended period of time.
At the beginning of the season, before the injury, he was in the same hitting funk as most of the other guys. Since then, he has one of the better batting averages.
I'd rather count him in, as opposed to counting him out----time will tell, still lots of the season to go.
As a guy that came to The Bigs as a SS, I don't think that he will do any damage at 1B. Give Morse time to adjust, and we might see a better than average glove at 1B.
Gooooooooooooooooooooo Nats!
first... go nats!
oops
Morse will heat up and Nix will almost certainly cool off. He doesn't draw many walks. It may all just end up being a wash unless Morse becomes the terror to pitchers he was in ST.
Brue or a "Brue-like" poster went after Rizzo in his chat today. Boz did bring up some interesting points. If you consider Werth the right field and Willingham the left-fielder ... and not as one replacing the other it lends some fodder to the notion that Mike Rizzo is great at building organizations that accent excellence in player development, scouting and the minor league farm system. Whereas at the major league level his abilities and experience might seem less than capable at this point?
CELLAR DWELLER
So you're saying that Rizzo's setting up Riggleman to fail so he can use him as a scapegoat in order to buy himself another season of 100 losses, because Rizzo's certainly gotten a free pass from the media in this town. The guy can't put a roster together to save his life and it's the manager's drama? Rizzo talks about rebuilding and he tears his offense down out of principle. Trades 85 RBIs for a reliever who can't throw straight, then spends $126 million to replace that exact number. He's doing 'divide and conquer', pitting the players against the manager so nobody looks at how anemic the farm system is, and how timid he is in making trades. He falls in love with his prospects. He's a loser.
– May 23, 2011 10:40 AM
A.
THOMAS BOSWELL :
I think Rizzo does a good job and is a strength of the organization. But you put the negative (maybe even nasty) case out there. Fine. It's interesting.
I did some "unsettling" stats on Jayson Werth the other day. Werth is going to be the defining Rizzo moment from this period. He said This is the The Guy we need."
Okay, I looked at Werth's ROAD stats from his 3 years in Philly, to get rid of the bias of that bandbox park the Phils play in. Then, on a whim, I lo0oked at Josh Willingham's stats in his two years in DC, just to see how much better Werth would be. I was stunned: The numbers are as close to identical as I've ever seen.
Werth on the road as a Phil: 781 abs-109 runs, 211 hits, 48 doubles, three triples, 37 homers, 122 RBI, 122 walks, 234 Ks.
Willingham as a Nat: 797-124-210-48-2-40-117-(128 walks-189 Ks).
As a slash line, it's Werth: .270/.376/.481. Willingham: .263/.377/.856.
Willingham gets hurt more and Werth is a much better outfielder. Still!!
___________________________________________________________________
Doc, good point. Not putting any trust in what sports people say, I guessed at the beginning of the year that LaRoche would miss half the season at best.
Anon- interesting. But who is "Brue"??
A pretentious AH over on BPG.
Not a bad lineup if we had Zim at 3B instead of Hairston and a good hitting coach in the dugout.
Whoa, Strasburg just tweeted that his first bullpen is in the books. Awesome.
Would have been nice if LaRoche's bat came around but here's hoping Morse gets hot. At any rate he can't hit a lot worse than LaRoche was.
Go Nats!
Anon- I see, thanks.
Interesting that Werth is still hitting his normal share (on pace for about 26-30) of homers even playing at Nats Park half the time this season.
Thank you CWJ and to the other "anon" who explained about Brue who also likes to post on NJ.
I've always been a fan of Morse, but I do believe LaRoche is clearly the better first baseman and the left-handed bat ... but the injury was clearly a serious problem from ST on. I never expected him to do as well as he did! It speaks volumes for the player ... cortisone shots inclusive.
I want the guy to be 100% when he plays. Natstown has already had too many experiences with guys who were bereft of the talent they once owned. I believe we (and he) deserve to see Adam LaRoche hitting on all cylinders.
Re: the Boz chat about Rizzo, I think that Brue or whomever posted it is wrong. I think his idea to transform the team was the right one, and I also think that we have encountered something of a perfect storm on offense. (a) their best player and hitter (Zim) has missed almost the entire season so far; (b) Werth and LaRoche, two big cogs on offense, have performed well below their career averages, and are young enough that it isn't reasonable to expect to see them decline yet; (c) the 'young' guys like Morse and Desmond have not only failed to maintained their levels from last year, they have taken a step back, and (d) Espy has struggled to adapt so far. Any one of these things would be reasonable to expect and plan for, but all of them happening at once? A little better luck, say (a) and (b) not happening, and we are probably 5 games or so better in the standings and generating some real excitement. So I don't think Rizzo was wrong in his approach to the lineup.
I do think his bullpen and bench construction could have been better, even a lot better, but I don't think that would have meant more than a game or two in the standings. And we'll get Zim back, Werth, Desi, Morse could all start hitting, and it could get exciting.
Another sweep here and we are back to 2 under .500
Manassas Nats Fan- actually a sweep would put them 1 game under .500 ;)
A sweep would be great!
Manassas Nats Fan- actually a sweep would put them 1 game under .500 ;)
A sweep would be great!
The point the Nats are at right now (as Ben Goessling pointed to, and Boz recently opined on ), is where the rubber hits the road. Typical, past AAAA Nats teams would begin to fold, the manager would (yes Riggleman too Rig lovers) begin to lose the clubhouse and well we know how the rest goes.
If it goes the other way, if they can't manage to get things untracked during what Goessling refers to as a pretty grueling set of road trips, a month in which they are mostly on the road and less at home? Series losses and sweeps against the Nats begin to happen with regular frequency.
As Boz put it we'll have to wait and see. Riggleman's future with the organization is now on the line.
I am not to worried about the upcoming road trips. Plenty of folks predicted lots of gloom and doom about our trip through the division, and that went ok. I think we have more players on this team used to winning, rather than those accustomed to losing.
The Q and A with Boz today did get me to thinking that the question on spending has not gone away (The Lerners are Cheap theory) since he pointed out that the payroll is still 25 million below what market our size should have. Also he defended Stairs and surprised at the level of hatred he has developed.
Gorzo gives up a 2-run homer and a solo shot in the bottom of the first, if anyone is "watching".
Looks like another long night...
Then Morse answers with his own solo shot!! Nats down 3-1 through 1 and half.
When a team has as many young players under team control that the Nats do, only an idiot (Boswell) would make such a shallow look at payroll.
His support for Stairs is confirmation.
BPG and NJ - the same AH (Brue).
OK, so I had an option tonight; Risk some rain & go to a P-Nats game, or stay home & listen/watch the WSH-MIL game. I chose the latter, only to hear/see Gorzelanny give up another pair of HR's in the first. I'm clearly brain-damaged; That is all.
And Werth struck out looking, again. Either Gallardo brought his A game or the Nats brought their D- bats. So far, there is no difference.
Nats still down 3-1 through 2 1/2.
Gorzelanny is warming up now! He just struck out the side! (and walked Corey Hart but he was left stranded after stealing second)
Still, a 2 run lead is a daunting obstacle for the Nationals...
Is is just me but this year Nats are a very boring team to watch. The record is not so bad but these games are so predictible and without any spark. No amount of defense or baserunning can overcome the sleepiness these games are bringing. I feel its already september and they are 30 games out of 1st place.
Ok game over tilt tilt .....they again have so little energy and it seems they expect to get out ......something that has been a plague for this team year after year after year ........ the losing never ends when your whole world depends on the turn of a friendly card
@BinM,
Milwaukee has a 16 - 6 record at home. Only Cleveland is better. What did you expect? The Brewers saw that Nats coming and their eyes lit up. It won't matter who is pitching. And so it begins the long slide toward complete mediocrity and last place. Veteran (read: winning) influence or not.
JaneB wants an "honor guard" for Matt Stairs? How about pall bearers for yet another Nats season, another lesson in futility for Nats fans.
Oh yezzzz, Milwaukee organ playing the Giggleman's Island theme! Perfect!
I know he's getting paid and he's not the best out there but it must be hard to be upbeat and finding positive things to say after doing the play-by-play for the Nats these past few years
Exposremain, I agree. Almost painful to watch; you know you're going to see 5-8 hits, 1-2 runs but many Ks and weakly hit balls and a well pitched game by our side. Its just so hard to watch players having so many bad ABs game after game, seeing players fail with RISP over and over. As a Nats fan its like watching the same bad movie over and over, knowing once the opposition scores that second run that unfortunately the game is probably over.
Crap. Now the damned sausages come out to stick it in our eye. I thought Cincinnati was all about the sausages not Milwaukee?
After another almost by Ramos to straight-away right. Brewers balls scream out of the park. Nats balls, except for Morse? Die at the track?
@BinM,
Well maybe we'll get to see H-Rod shut 'em down good. That slider is a really filthy thing!
I am sorry but how can you not say that the hitting coach or coaches do not bear some responsibility for this teams hitting .........and how can you not make changes
SCnatsFan,
I agree until the other team scores I have a bit of hope but once they score I know its over. Today I knew it was over in the 1st inning. How can you stay interested watching these games?
Yes, the nasty slider is working tonight! And Riggs may consider using him in key situations? Sheesh, this guy is way better than Clippard was last night.
Ok when does the bat phone to .........Bobby Valentine start to ring ......that is the question to ponder
Ok when does the bat phone to .........Bobby Valentine start to ring ......that is the question to ponder
Heck I'd be happy with Randy Knorr, the hitting coach, and even the pitching coach in Syracuse. Sure looks like they've right things there after suffering from exactly the same malady. Results speak.
Ankiel so far 0-4 and back to form. He must be ready for the Nats again!
http://harrisburg.senators.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t547&t=g_box&gid=2011_05_23_haraax_akraax_1
So, who will we choose with the first pick in the draft and is he a Boros client?
So there goes one of the few good things going with this team is now over .....Storen scoreless streak over .....destruction complete
Doug Slaten on cue blows up Drew Storen's ERA with letting his 2 inherited runners score.
And according to expert baseball man Riggs, H-Rod isn't ready for critical situations? Yeah right. Its way past time for Knorr ... welcome to Giggleman's Isle.
Thats about all Slaten is good for this year
"Expect it" : St. Louis Cardinal Riggleman guy Ankiel will start in CF in a week or so.
Tell me again why Slaten and Stairs are on this roster?
Riggleman has his work cut out for him ... if they drop to 10 under or more after this road trip I'm not sure how he survives.
Is somebody ever going to be fired in this organization? Ever???
Bring in George Brett to be the hitting coach.
Ankiel wasn't just 0 for 4. He was 0 for 4 with 4 whiffs.
I'd say he's already in mid season form. Bring him up!
Post a Comment