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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER Stephen Strasburg takes the mound in scorching-hot Atlanta today. |
We'll see how Strasburg deals with the scorching heat, and we'll see if the Nationals' lineup can continue to produce the way it has the last four days. Through the first 71 games this season, this team averaged eight hits. Through the last four games, it's averaging 16 hits.
If you're able to watch the game today, enjoy. If not, I'll have plenty of updates and analysis right here...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ATLANTA BRAVES
Where: Turner Field
Gametime: 4:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 184
Weather: Sunny, 104 degrees, Wind 3 mph out to RF
NATIONALS (44-31)
2B Danny Espinosa
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
RF Michael Morse
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
LF Tyler Moore
C Jesus Flores
RHP Stephen Strasburg
BRAVES (40-36)
CF Michael Bourn
LF Martin Prado
RF Jason Heyward
1B Freddie Freeman
2B Dan Uggla
C Brian McCann
SS Andrelton Simmons
3B Juan Francisco
LHP Mike Minor
UMPIRES
HP Marvin Hudson, 1B Tim McClelland (cc), 2B Brian Runge, 3B Ted Barrett
4:08 p.m. -- 104 degrees as Mike Minor delivers a strike to Danny Espinosa. Yes, 104 degrees.
4:15 p.m. -- A nice start to the afternoon for the Nats. Espinosa led off the game with a double into the left-field corner. (Did we mention he's batting right-handed today?) Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman then each grounded into productive outs, bringing Espinosa home with the day's first run. Michael Morse absolutely smoked a ball to center field but Michael Bourn snagged it above his head, his left arm nearly getting pulled out of its socket due to the force with which that ball was struck. 1-0 Nats as Stephen Strasburg takes the mound.
4:29 p.m. -- Uh-oh, is something wrong with Strasburg? He threw only four of his first 12 pitches for strikes, walking both Michael Bourn and Martin Prado. Nope, it appears he's perfectly fine, because he then threw nine of his last 12 pitches for strikes, blowing away Jason Heyward with a 95 mph fastball and Dan Uggla with a 96 mph heater to end the first inning.
4:40 p.m. -- What's the dumbest move in sports right now? How about intentionally walking whoever's batting in front of Stephen Strasburg. Fredi Gonzalez just learned that the hard way when he held up four fingers with Jesus Flores stepping to the plate, two outs and a man on third. That brought up Strasburg, who of course roped an RBI single up the middle. Seriously, this guy is a REALLY good hitter. Babe Strasburg is now batting .375 with a 1.067 OPS. And the Nats lead 2-0 in the second.
4:52 p.m. -- It would appear Strasburg is good and warm now (not that it took much today). He's retired six straight, three on strikeouts, and he's dialing up his fastball to 97 mph now.
5:16 p.m. -- Strasburg may be good and warm, but he's also drenched in sweat and looks completely fatigued out there. His third inning was difficult to watch, as he took his time between pitches to gather himself. He wound up allowing three runs on two hits (both RBI doubles) and two walks (to Bourn and Prado again). Through three innings, Strasburg is already at 67 pitches. And honestly, he doesn't look like he wants any part of taking that mound here again today. Braves now lead 3-2 heading to the fourth.
5:23 p.m. -- The last place Strasburg wanted to be in the top of the fourth was the batter's box. And the last thing he wanted to do once he was there was actually swing the bat. Which he didn't. Except Minor still walked him, forcing Strasburg to have to run the bases. At this point, he's trying to conserve every ounce of energy he's got. It ain't pretty.
5:29 p.m. -- And as the top of the fourth begins, Strasburg does not emerge from the dugout. Davey Johnson eventually walked out to talk to plate umpire Marvin Hudson and then signaled for Chien-Ming Wang out of the bullpen. Wang was allowed to throw as many warm-up tosses as he needed, which you can only do if the previous pitcher was pulled for a physical reason (or was ejected, which obviously didn't happen here). I would not be surprised at all if we find out Strasburg had heat exhaustion. His final line: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, 67 pitches, 36 strikes.
5:45 p.m. -- Well, this has turned ugly in a hurry. Wang gave up three runs in the bottom of the fourth, putting the Braves on top 6-2. For those wondering why this game was scheduled for 4:05 p.m., it's because Fox has the exclusive window for all games between 7-10 p.m. Really, there should be some kind of provision that allows for a starting time to be moved back to the evening hours in case of extreme heat like this. The locals tell me the Braves have never scheduled a Saturday afternoon game in the summer, not unless it was for national TV purposes.
5:48 p.m. -- And here's the official word from the Nats: Strasburg left today's game due to "heat-related issues."
5:59 p.m. -- Another inning, another run for the Braves off Wang. It's now 7-2 after five.
6:16 p.m. -- I'm curious which of these two developments is more pleasing to Nats fans right now: 1) They scored two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 7-4, or 2) Chien-Ming Wang is no longer in this game? I think I know the answer. Tom Gorzelanny on for the bottom of the sixth.
6:44 p.m. -- Big chance for the Nats in the top of the seventh, with LaRoche drilling his second double of the day to score Morse and trim the lead to 7-5. Chad Durbin (who failed to make the Nats' bullpen out of spring training) entered and immediately walked Desmond and Moore to load the bases for Flores. Pitching coach Roger McDowell went out to talk to Durbin and threatened to spit on him if he didn't start throwing strikes* and Durbin responded by getting Flores to ground into a fielder's choice. So the deficit is down to 2 runs, and this one isn't over quite yet. (*-Seinfeld reference.)
6:52 p.m. -- Nice job by Gorzelanny to toss two scoreless innings and keep the Nats in this game. It remains 7-5 as we head to the eighth, a pinch-hitter and then the top of the lineup due up against Durbin.
7:01 p.m. -- The Nats go down 1-2-3 in the eighth. So now they're down to their final three outs.
7:13 p.m. -- Here we go. It's Zimmerman, Morse and LaRoche against Craig Kimbrel in the ninth inning. Should be good stuff.
7:22 p.m. -- It's over. Kimbrel finishes this one off and sends the Nats to a 7-5 loss. We'll see how Strasburg is feeling when we get to the clubhouse in a few minutes.
141 comments:
Hope everyone is doing okay and staying cool!
Hope our Nats continue on their Hot Ways!! Go Stras! GYFNG!!!
Seconding, er, thirding Mark and MicheleS. Hope everybody (including Mrs. and Baby Z) is doing okay and staying cool!
On a game note: Go, SS! Go, NATS BATS!!
I watched Sandy Koufax, and Mike Minor is no Sandy Koufax!
GooooooooDavey!! GooooooooooooNats!!!!!!!
Well here we are again, at steamy Turner Field. No batting practice today. A bit too hot, I guess. Go Stras! GO Nats!
Sure don't envy them playing in the heat.
Go Stras, go NATS!!!
Well, you live and learn. What hit us yesterday is called a "derecho" because it is "straight" (unlike a tornado or hurricane).
his derecho event is likely to go down as not only one of the worst on record in Washington, D.C. but also along its entire path stretching back to northern Indiana.
Facts about derechos
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/misc/AbtDerechos/derechofacts.htm#historic
news, sports, weather on the eights - natslady.com
a true teacher at work ;-)
gyfng
Capital Weather Gang @capitalweather
Atlanta has tied the highest temperature ever recorded at 105 degrees! Still time in the day to break it.
waddu-- how was your trip??? Yeah, amazing that everything has a name!
NatsJack - don't you know that things are never normal in DC. Feeling kind of guilty here in the cool air with my cel phone and cable service.
Wow. Just heard about the storm in the DC area. My sympathies to those most affected and hopes that most of you don't fall into that category. Just back from a ten-day trip in the midwest, where I finally managed to visit Chicago when the Cubs were in town. And what did I get to see in my first ever game at Wrigley? The Mets beating the Cubbies 17-1. Hoping the Nats can keep scoring some runs, but perhaps not giving up as many.
Nats Lady -- Thanks! As long as you're in the teaching mode, do you know if "derecho" refers to the path of the storm being straight or the shape of the front being straight? Or both?
I'm wondering because hurricanes can though obviously don't always take a straight track, but their fronts are more or less circular.
And tornados have no real front, though they can take a straight track.
I don't think you really meant to get into it like this.... ;-)
Don't worry, I'm off to that wedding shortly (taking GameDay on my iPhone, much to my wife's distress).
Derechos come from a band of thunderstorms that are bow- or spearhead-shaped on radar, and hence are also called a bow echo or spearhead radar echo. The size of the bow may vary, and the storms associated with the bow may die and redevelop. These straight-line winds can exceed 100 mi/h (160 km/h) (in some cases, sustained wind) in these clusters and straight-line wind gusts of up to 200 mi/h (320 km/h) are possible in the most extreme cases
Well, that was nice and fast. A little derecho for the #Nats.
Two professional ABs for Harp and Zim.
OK, I officially like Michael Bourn. Don't know if we can afford him, but that was a nice catch. Not a bad hitter, either.
nats lady - trip was great. got to go for a run in rome and florence in my 2005 nats hat. and everything else was great, too. saw our daughter sing in florence at st petes.
and heared some charlie and dave on the wifi/MLB app during "day" games.
still no word from the anthem guy ;-/
gyfng
yo mick:
http://www.groupon.com/deals/g1gd-intoxicase-washington-dc?c=all&p=4
lol
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... Florence.
Freddy not a good manager, IBB our catcher to get to our best hitter. Got to love it!!!
It's 112 out there on first, Danny. Whatever you're going to do, hurry up and do it.
Boy, does the Braves' bench bother to read the stats on the other team? IBB to Flores to get to. Pitcher who's hitting .348 and a L-R matchup to boot?
Stras must have been so pissed and got his revenge.
See, I wasn't joking about Strasburg being a pinch hitter.
And a nice-looking hit, too--good swing on that.
Ghost.. only problem with that, Don't want him on the basepaths. Uggla would love to fall on top of him at 2B.
He's a ballplayer, Ghost. That's the story.
Ghost -- makes all the sense in the world from a hitting perspective and he'd absolutely enjoy it. They just don't want him running the bases.
Which is yet another weird symbol of how the game has changed since the pre-DH days when pitchers as batters, and occasionally PHs for the best of them, was just another part of the game.
Michele, I don't think Uggla is that mean, but even if he were, he's not that dumb. Rawlings doesn't make a batting helmet big enough for that next AB.
Same thought, MicheleS. I like the run, don't like Stras on the basepaths in the heat.
waddu--anthem might be next year. Will give us the winter to rehearse. :)
For those watching, is this HP ump squeezing Stras as badly as it looks on GameDay?
Steady, yes. Although he did give him that inside ball (it was right on the line, so it was a strike).
Sofa.. agree, I don't think Uggla would do it on "purpose" but he just doesn't seem all that graceful looking. He is built like a tank
Two innings, two runs. Let's keep it up!
I don't know how it looks on GD, but he seems to be an equal-opportunity guessing game. Not as bad as last night, or some other recent games, at least so far, I think.
Michele, if Stras were unthinking enough to go into second breaking up a double play, then maybe, yeah, but that's not the same thing.
I think the guys will need IV's by the end of the game.. I hate heat
Amanda Comak@acomak
True story RT @ajcbraves: Jumbotron just showed a temperature reading on the field here. it was pushing 120 degrees
Sofa.. actually if Stras did pinch hit, then Bernie could come in and pinch run. Jordan ought to be the designated bunter..
I love this Minor kid!
I hope they're keeping them nice and iced down in the bullpen--they're going to need them.
Amazing photo from the storm:
Storm photo
https://www.facebook.com/krisvancleavenews/posts/331714383577764
and the walks come back to bite him...
Strike zone?
On the Good News side: the bottom of the order is Moore, Flores, and Strasburg. That's better hitters than the middle of the order on some teams we've seen here.
I don't think you can pin this on the blue, DWS.
Strassie doesn't cope well when the strike zone is jello. Bob and FP said at the beginning of the game that this ump is statistically the hardest to get a strike call from. Young pitcher disease -- letting something get to you and then the game speeds up. Need more offense in a hurry.
I would walk Strass, get him on the base paths again.
And he does.
Stras looks really tired, lips are dry. Be careful!!!
Still, Strasburg managed to clear the leadoff hitter, so it's not a total waste.
Wang coming in. Davey knew Stras was cooked in the 3rd, had CMW warming. The last straw was the walk.
Okay.. so NO complaining about today's game or the outcome. That heat is a killer. I would rather have Stras okay and not dropping from the heat, save the innings for later.
Agree. It's just one game.
I am guessing that SS is in uncharted waters at this point, games, innings, etc. One more start until the ASG? Then mental regrouping. This last month has been a grind, the pressure is huge every single day. 3 of our guys are so very young and even Gio and Ejax have shown signs of strain. I think a lot of the young pitchers we have faced are raw but rested. How many other teams have only used 6 starting pitchers? Our guys are pretty high in the innings pitched department -- I know it might now seem like it, but few of our guys have had the early heave ho. Combine that with the AL east and west gauntlet, Colorado and the heat - wow.
It's really crazy hot, but I hope this San Diego boy knows enough to stay plenty hydrated. I already thought he wasn't going past five just for the weather, but these guys need to stay careful. As do the umpires, who don't get to go into a dugout for half the game.
What do they do in the minors, especially in Texas? Besides play night games?
IV's all around after the game today.
In Texas they do Late starts all the time. Usually 7:30 pm starts. I think they even do Sunday Night games there during the summer regardless of ESPN because of the heat.
From Davey's perspective ... Strasburg has been described as looking "beat". Its super hot and humid. A pitcher gets tired. In other words: perfect weather for a ONE PITCH sinker ball like Wang.
As I;ve said from the beginning Wang is and was a MONSTER mistake by Davey Johnson. Major league and AAA hitters will continue to rake against him. Its the starters version of Lidge.
But, if Wang is going to be successful this is exactly they type of conditions you want ...
BUT I don't think he will. Prepare for fireworks.
This is one thing about getting Tyler Moore's bat in the game--he can't play right, but Morse really isn't ideal there, either, and they will run on his arm every chance they get. They bring more offense than they cost in D, I think, but it's there.
Did you hear the discussion about safety and this heat? At what point would they postpone? Hope STrassie is ok. I feel that CMW has been given so much by the Nats - he owes the team at this point. And if he cannot contribute when the team needs him - what good is he? I don't give a crap about his long warm up - adjust -- everyone else has to. Prima Donna.
At least Davey did us the favor of putting in Wang and conceding the game so we can do something else with our afternoon.
CM Wang DFA,
From Amanda
Amanda Comak@acomak
The MASN broadcast said that Stephen Strasburg was "overheated." From the way he was acting, that makes a lot of sense. Seriously labored.
Thanks Michele, but maybe I should rephrase the question.
What do they do in the minors, especially in Texas? Besides play night games?
Soul -- he CAN'T play right? or he never has played there? These guys are pretty good athletes. Morse has played more right for us than anyone else - he started there when he first came here.
Peric, just for today, can we not complain about a game or a player. If Davey is raising the white flag, so be it. Let's move on and be more concerned that we get out of this game without injuries or illness
They bring more offense than they cost in D, I think, but it's there.
Works with strike out/ground ball pitcher like Stras. If Wang;'s sinker ball actually sunk it would work with him too. But it doesn't' and likely never will again.
Chalk this up as a loss and blame it directly on Davey Johnson.
DFA Wang.
As for the minors - I have been to very many minor league games. The time between innings is a LOT longer. They have all those fan activities and such.
Wow, the Nats fall a couple of runs behind, early, and all of a sudden the Doom Squad's electricity gets fixed that same inning. What are the odds?
Tough to watch but I think Minor will still give up a bunch of runs unless Desi decides to help him out.
If Davey is raising the white flag, so be it.
ONLY a ONE run deficit? Against a major NL East divisional opponent?
Nope, putting Wang (and bringing him in in the first place) lies on Davey Johnson. Its a major mistake no matter how you slice it Michele.
blame it directly on Davey Johnson.
Because that's what's really important. Davey loses sleep over Interwebz finger-pointing. I know I do.
Notice all the fly balls? That is not a good sign if your pitcher is a plus-plus sinkerballer.
There is no logical reason for bringing Wang in this situation against Atlanta even if its to justify putting him on the waiver wire.
Peric,
Someone had to take one for the team. Stammen just pitched 3 innings in Denver so if you use Gorzo here you have no one if Gio can't go long tomorrow,
I agree CMW is bad but there weren't many good options today.
And I agree with a lot of you .Today's goals -- get out of this with no one on either side seriously ill. And show CMW for the waste of a spot on the 25 man that he is. I hope everyone gets in the game today just like little league. We don't want to keep anyone in the game very long. Tomorrow could be worse with the earlier start. This kind of weather just screams out for a pitch to contact type pitcher. Unfortunately Stras and Gio are not that type. CMW is supposed to be. I would love to see him stay in this game, bear down and give something back to the team.
Doom Squad's electricity gets fixed that same inning. What are the odds?
I'm at the beach with plenty of power and no loss ... and ...
You're boring me back to death bed-bug ridden sofa. This was a definite mistake on Davey's part. But he has to prove he was right about Wang ... Davey sorry but you were waaaaay wrong. You can see his corollary in the minors in Cole Kimball. Neither will ever be the same unfortunately.
They need to move tomorrow's game to night. Ridiculous.
I question the trainers of this team. How can a guy get heat stressed this soon? Seems like a waste to me. I just don't know sometimes about this team. They look minor league to me
Look, if we get a bunch of runs, then I'll be upset. If we lose 19-3, then what difference does it make?
More seriously, Wang didn't help, but Strasburg wasn't going to pitch any better under the circumstances. Maybe Minor is just one of those guys who likes the heat, or maybe he's just drinking more gatorade. Certainly there's no guarantee they would win if the gametime temp were 75 degrees, and technically, they haven't lost yet. Even a game against the primary competition in your division is still only one game.
Give it at rest, peric. Davey manages for the season, not the game. Wang is EXACTLY the right pitcher to bring in in this situation. As you point out, these are conditions under which he should be effective if his sinker is working. If not, let him eat up innings and spare the rest of the bullpen.
Secret, it's 118 or whatever on the field. Some metabolisms handle that better than others.
I love hot weather, and I've still gotten close to heat stroke catching in this kind of stuff. The MLB rules clearly stipulate that the players have to be human beings. You could look it up.
Why is Wang in the majors? What a joke. I find it disgusting that a guy leaves because he overheats. It's not like 105 degrees came as a surprise. Who prepares these guys? Bringing in Wang is a giveup. THATS NOT FAIR TO THE OTHER PLAYERS> SHAME ON YOU DAVEY!!!!
This is going to be interesting. He just needs to stay in there. Who knows? Maybe he will figure something out.It's one game. I would rather lose and have everyone come out of it ok.
Why are you posting under different logins?
Wang is from Taiwan. If anyone can handle the heat, he can. He is starting to focus. Remember, he often had trouble with his first inning.
OK, spoke too soon. He threw a few good pitches, but not enough good pitches.
Bringing in Wang is a giveup.
Nope, I believe Davey was actually hoping that the combination of Wang's extra long warm up and the heat (making his arm feel tired) would make his sinker sink more.
Seems like a lot of fly balls and few grounders though.
Teach Wang the knuckle ball.
Swami I agree. 6-5 or 26-2 whats the difference. It just makes me angry that we basically lose a game because of heat. We lost one earlier because Stras put cream on his (you know what). Truly embarassing.
Lannan in his last 6 games has a 2.29 ERA. In his last 3 games, he's only given up 3 earned runs for a sparkling 1.40 ERA.
At this point it's clear to anyone paying attention Wang is being used as a mop-up innings eater, but he's not even doing that well. At this point in the game, he's at 40 pitches through 1.2 innings and has given up 4 runs. Add that to his disastrous inning of work in Colorado, and you have a totally ineffective pitcher.
I'm with Peric, DFA Wang.
FP and Carp brought up a good point. Apparantly, the CO Trainers look at the game after Denver to see how guys react. The results are usually not good. So we have broiling heat at high altitude and now broiling heat in Atlanta. Fun Times for the team.
NatsLady,
I too was hoping that CMW comes all the way back and maybe he will but I don't see how he retains a roster spot when both Henry and Storen are almost ready.
I think Davie and Rizzo were counting on CMW to start at least when SS is shut down. Now I think it will have to be plan B.
Someone had to take one for the team.
Wrong team and time to pick. This is an NL East rival who is right behind them. But yes its true the long-man contingent is all used up.
SS is 23 years old - first full major league season - Tommy John survivor - extreme conditions. Remember the interview Jordan did about his first season? He said there are days that nothing works during the recovery process. This guy is a number one starter on a first place team at his age. He is going to have ugly starts. Lincecum won a cy young and is just figuring it out this year. Cliff Less has zero wins this year. Being a big league pitcher is not easy. I think maybe in these conditions he should be instructed to strike out. A long first innings for him and on base twice - cuts in to the time for you to hydrate.
If Wang hits a 10 ERA its time to swap him out for H-Rod. H-Rod was a lot better ...
FP actually made a lucid point about the post-Coors Field recovery affect, and how it affects athletes. Apparently the Rockies track pitchers in their first start AFTER Mile High. It takes a lot out of them. Makes sense. As if Jesus needed it, it got even worse for him.
I hope Davey gets Dog Meat out of there for the bottom of the sixth 'cuz I sense our bats are breaking out. The heat's gotta be affecting the Atlanta hurlers too.
JD, I think M. Gonzalez will go first, but, honestly, you are going to tell me CMW doesn't have a higher upside than Gorzy? Tough call between those two.
I think that should hbave been post-Coors Field effect.
@peric: It's when CMW's ERA hits 10, not if.
Soul -- he CAN'T play right? or he never has played there? These guys are pretty good athletes. Morse has played more right for us than anyone else - he started there when he first came here.
Poor choice of words--I should have said something to the effect of "Davey can't put him there as a regular thing, given that he is a first baseman learning the outfield on the MLB job, and left is challenging enough." "Can't" is shorter, but not true.
Good to see the guys battle back. Love to see JFlo getting hits.
Looks like Gorzo is coming in anyway? They'd be winning over the Braves ...
And then Davey pinch hits Ankiel? A home run one of out 10 times or an sure strike out or double play?
Sorry, but, very poorly managed game by Davey Johnson.
"Can't" is shorter, but not true.
In Morse's case with the ham string and the recent oblique issues? IN right field. Closer to "can't" unfortunately. He belongs at first given the injuries, perhaps more than Zimmerman and I believe Zimmerman belongs there.
LaRoche has to be the odd man out. Corey Brown is raking. Time to bring the younger left-handed bat and see what happens. Definitely a better choice and gamble than continuing to try a 32 year old massive shoulder surgery sinker ball pitcher over-and-over again.
C'mon Davey!
ZIM!
Thank you Gorzo!
Jim THome Got Traded to the O's...
And the Fish just beat the Phils
Might have to rethink that Bourn Move.
Yes, Bourn should have got that one. Was the sun in his eyes or something? FP does not approve!
Peric,
I have a question for you. You criticize DJ for bringing in Wang yet you admit the long relief corps is used up. You also critizcize Johnson for PH with Ankiel. Criticism is fair play, I have no problem with that. But do tell, if you were tha manager of the Nats today, what moves would you have made in those same situations? Who would have come in to pitch in relief of Stras? Who would you send up to pinch hit?
The only thing I would have done differently is have Ankiel bunt. Gorzy could have just as easily given up 3 or 4 runs (see Colorado, Denver).
NatsLady.. definitely the sun, it also looked like he had a bad jump too, so that didn't help.
Rally Napkins, people!
Wang is making a strong case for the Nats to reinstate Henry Rodriguez.
Another pitcher in the minors currently under the radar but who could help is Christian Garcia in Syracuse, a one-time, highly regarded Yankee prospect coming back from TJ surgery. He could be the next Ryan Mattheus.
NL.. If not the bunt, then the old stand by for Ank.. Swinging and missing. ;-)
Sofa.. Got it...It's on the laptop righ now!
It being Stras with the "heat-related issues," might give MLB some pause on the Fox-exclusive afternoon games in the heat, etc. Mike Minor they wouldn't give 2 pins about.
What about Lannan for long relief? He's been pitching really well in AAA lately.
The Kid is discovering ML baseball is not as easy as he thought it would be. If Trout is any example, Bryce will be phenomenal next year.
great line:
The MLB rules clearly stipulate that the players have to be human beings. You could look it up.
no electricity since yesterday. weather was like an episode of x-files (the one where Mulder's sister gets kidnapped).
anyways good luck to Nats. Hopefully they can come back and win this one.
As for Harper - I heard of many instances in baseball history where 19yr olds were awful their first season and then terrific in their second. He is fully and completely holding his own in his first season - kind of like Griffey. That makes me smile. He really worries about not contributing to the team and holding up his end of things. What a good kid.
Nice job, Gorzo.
I am definitely not worried about Harper, "slump" or no slump. Good on Gorzy for two solid innings.
Well, I don't like that. Fredi is doing better than Davey. Now we don't have either Bernie or Ank for defense if we get the lead.
One thing that should be noted in Harper's current 0-fer streak. Several times he has made a productive out moving a runner over. I believe he contributed to that first inning run by doing that. Say what you will about what the Nats were up against today. They battle all the way and they never, ever give up. How good does the gorse hacking look these days?
Stay chill, FS. More storms tonight, but they're heading way south, more like Charlottesville, from the looks of it.
Here's another addition to our Sunshine-Bobby-to-English translator machine:
When he exclaims, "How far is that one going to go?"...
...Put in an F-8 on your scorecard.
New rally napkins. Rally litter. Rally wrappers. Papillotes de Rally.
NatsLady,
As of right now Gorzo > CMW by a good margin. I do feel that CMW will again be effective but I think that someone will have to put him in their rotation and just live with it until he regains the feel of his sinker and it's tough to do when you are competing for a playoff spot.
Gorzo no better than Wang, NatsLady??? I think that you have the Wong number!
We must be reading different stats.
Besides the stats, Gorzo is proven help coming out of the pen--not so with Wang.
Oh well. Go get 'em tomorrow, win the series.
The trick to beating the Braves is to stay away from Kimbrel; he is a beast.
On a normal day (under 100 degrees) we win this game going away,
Oh well,
Let's hope Gio is better in the heat than SS.
Mats Jack,
I noticed that about Peric. When he doesn't have a good answer he just turtles.
Saying that ALR should be the off man out is not serious. Rotating Brown with Moore and Lombo makes more sense.
They're short a pitcher. You can't use Wang unless its a 10 run deficit.
JD, I agree with you. CMW can't get back to form with one inning here or there--that's not the way he gets his sinker back.
The injury in spring training was just SO bad for him because he won't recover in one or two or three outings, and the Nats can't wait for him, because the race is too close. You can see flashes of his old brilliance, but no consistency at all.
I hate to say Rizzo will have to get what he can for him and then he will have to get another SP unless he thinks Lannan can do it (I don't but that's just me).
Replace SS with Lannan? that's a recipe for a meltdown. I don't want Lannan, Maya or Duke. There's a bunch of pitchers that will be moved at the deadline but I,m concerned that we can't get a good one (Dempster, Garza, Greinke, Rodriguez, Hammels) with the few prospects we have left.
These guys will cost all cost premium packages (I,m talkin at least Rendon + Goodwin) and I just don't know if it's worth the cost.
JD, I am with you. I have no faith in Lannan or any of the other guys in Syracuse. Rizzo will have to decide if this is the year or not. Personally, I don't think it is, and he should not blow a bunch of prospects, rather wait for a full year of Stras and a more mature Harper in 2013. I'm not giving up on this season, don't get me wrong, but it would have to be very lucky.
We could get lucky, though. All it would take is for the offense to keep hitting and the pitching staff as currently constituted to build us up a nice lead by the end of August, say 9 or 10 games, and then play .500 ball in September.
So you need Gio and Stras and JZ to keep up their level of work, and Det and EJax to step it up just a notch. It can be done.
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