Brad Peacock will probably start one of the Nationals' games next week in New York, manager Davey Johnson said today.Peacock -- who earlier today was named the organization's minor-league pitcher of the year after going a combined 15-3 with a 2.39 ERA in 23 starts at Class AA Harrisburg and Class AAA Syracuse -- made his big-league debut out of the bullpen Tuesday and proceeded to blow the 3-0 lead the Nationals had built for Stephen Strasburg.
Johnson had initially said he planned to have Peacock pitch in relief on the same days Strasburg starts, but today the manager said he doesn't want to do that anymore.
"No, I do not," Johnson said. "I think that was unfair to begin with."
Johnson hopes to have Peacock throw a bullpen session tomorrow and then not use him out of the bullpen. That would set him up to start at some point during the Nationals' upcoming four-game series against the Mets at Citi Field.
For the moment, the Nationals list Ross Detwilter, Chien-Ming Wang, Tommy Milone and John Lannan as their starters for the series in New York.
In addition to Peacock earning organizational pitcher of the year honors today, the Nationals also named second baseman Steve Lombardozzi organization player of the year. Lombardozzi, who also made his big-league debut this week, hit a combined .309 with eight homers, 52 RBI and 30 stolen bases at Harrisburg and Syracuse.
6 comments:
I think it's time for Wang to give up a start - we are just not seeing anything new from him at this point. He appears to have hit the level of play where he is going to stay for now. Having been a very vocal critic of the manager, I am glad to see the course reversed on Peacock.
Congratulations to Lombardozzi for his excellent year in the minors. Perhaps the most remarkable Nats farmhand from a statistical standpoint was the 2/3rds of a season turned in by Hagerstown reliever Chris Manno. I am a casual fan rather than an expert observer and realize that low A stats should not be given too much weight. On occasion, however, a player's stats are so impressive that they make you scratch your head and Manno's qualified here. He's continued to be very solid as he's moved up to Advanced A level in the Reds organization (31 K's in 17 innings and a .71 WHIP). Overall, he allowed 26 hits in 60.1 innings in 2011. I hope that this seemingly insignificant deal involving a 22-year-old reliever does not come to be regretted by Nats fans.
"No, I do not," Johnson said. "I think that was unfair to begin with."
Hilarious.
When I, and others, called it unfair, we were disparaged like dopes who were too shallow to understand the genius of Davey Johnson.
Sunderland, that is hilarious.
What made it really unfair was dumping him into the middle of an inning with the task of cleaning up Slaten's mess.
Great call by the Nats. Let's see what Peacock can do. It would sure brighten a dreary September if he could put in a good performance. It would also be nice to see Lombardozzi get the first couple of major league hits under his belt.
While we are at it can Davy change his mind (gasp) on a couple of other topics. Please let Pudge catch Peacock in New York, maybe a Milone start too. Utilize your bench Davy, his talent is more than a pinch-hitter just like using Bixler for speed. It won't hurt Flores or Ramos to lose a start for a couple of games.
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