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US Presswire photo Derek Jeter slides in safely on Mark Teixeira's game-winning double in the 14th. |
Hitting lowlight: Bryce Harper was 2 1/2 years old when Andy Pettitte made his debut for the Yankees in 1995, so he had plenty of time to study the left-hander before finally getting a chance to face him today. Not that the scouting report did him any good. Harper struck out in his first three at-bats of the afternoon, flailing away at Pettitte's slider with almost no hope of making contact. During those three at-bats, Harper saw 11 pitches, nine of them strikes, seven of them swings and misses. He did manage to connect at last on a 2-0 pitch in the seventh inning, drilling a line drive to deep left-center. Unfortunately, it was hauled in by Curtis Granderson to continue a frustrating day for the 19-year-old outfielder, which was only made worse by two more strikeouts (looking at an outside pitch from Clay Rapada in the 10th, then swinging at a pitch from Freddy Garcia in the 12th) and then the game-ending groundout to leave him 0-for-7 with five strikeouts on the day.
Pitching highlight: It might have been lost in the shuffle, but major props to the majority of the Nationals' bullpen for a fantastic performance. Ross Detwiler, Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett and Craig Stammen combined to toss seven scoreless, hitless innings against one of the toughest lineups in baseball. Lidge might have gotten beat up in the 14th, but those other four guys gave their teammates a chance to win, and their dominance shouldn't be overlooked.
Key stat: After an 0-for-3 afternoon, Xavier Nady is now hitting .143 for the season. That's 11 points lower than Matt Stairs' batting average last year.
Up next: The series concludes with a Father's Day matinee. Edwin Jackson faces Ivan Nova at 1:35 p.m. at Nationals Park.
55 comments:
Sloppy defense, POS umpire. At least they held 'em for 14 innings.....when does this team leave with their entourage? Can't be soon enough. Wonder how much Timmons is getting paid by Girardi?
I fail to see how this can be seen as Jordan struggling. Two earned in six innings against a juggernaut lineup and errors and bad calls to contend with? All the pitchers , well except one, really battled professional hitters today. Three given up in 13? That is quite a performance.
Disappointing loss, hope they don't over party at the gala tonight we need them tomorrow
Will it be a happy, fun gala that goes into the wee hours? After a 5.X hour, 14 inning game? So they will be flat as pancakes tomorrow. Sheeesh
The real question should be, just why is Xavier Nady still on the team??
The whole platoon argument is nonsense, when Nady is only batting .156/.191/.356 vs lefties. Lefty match ups is the only reason we have him, and he's batting friggin .156! Anyone has to do better than Nady...
How about Mark Teahen: a major league career .250/.307/.382 hitter against lefties. He's currently wasting away in Syracuse. And Teahen has more versatility than Nady, and can play 3B, RF, LF and 1B in a pinch.
But I guess that still doesn't solve the problem of how to get back from Nady those incriminating pictures of Rizzo....
I missed Davey's press conference, would love to know what he said about 2 things. What did he see on the play at the plate and why didn't he get thrown out of the game because I would have, Second what poccessed him to think Lidge would pitch differently then he did last night. Just as bad. See and eye singles killed him last night killed him again. can't have that as bullpen guy.
The rest of bullpen was great.
Waiting to hear if a pool reproter talked to Timmons. I am guessing not, as the press rearely makes the umpires accountable (We know MLB doesn't make them accountable). As we get better TV technology, the umps need to step up and get better. W MLB needs to step up and make umps accountable too. I have decided long ago MLB believes umpires are good so they cover for them. I believe they are good sometimes, and are bad sometimes, and everyone MLB, and the press cover for them.
The Yankees are good. When you're good the breaks go your way. Now to avoid a sweep and we'll be ok. Harper will break out of his "slump".
I think there are some things that need to happen with this team - things that are building up. This weekend needs to smack our hitters in the face with the unproductive outs, bad swings, one pitch outs and other such nonsense. Some people will be returning from the DL and others will vacate the premises. I see the time between now and the second half as a transition time when things will start to shake out for the re-start. Some people have to be auditioning to stay right now - Nady , for one, Lidge, for another. Every pitcher in that bullpen needs to have value in order to take up a space - same with the bench.One thing that has not been going well is that the DL folks are returning before they are ready. Let's hope the rest of them really rehab before they return. The pitchers continue to carry the load - and , surprisingly, are getting picked at for not being perfect -- just really good. The hitters continue to frustrate. Maybe this series will be a wake up call that you can only go so far with duct tape and string.
I am really upset that the Nats lost a game that they had earned, but I still do not want instant replay to take over that call. They got screwed, and that is even part of the game. It evens out over time.
+1/2St.
Oh, and I second having Nady off the team. Baseball Reference has him at -1.0 WAR through yesterday. While he made a few plays which were game changing, an overall performance which cost a game in comparison to a "replacement level player" is unacceptable.
+1/2St.
Don't assume Harper will break out of his slump. He was completely exposed in this game. It may have been one of the most humiliating hitting experiences by a rookie in a long time. Yanks are beasts. Watching the pitching sequences on MLB.Com was very enlightening. He is in a lot of trouble if he can't lay off the slow slider.
Yea that bench Rizzo put together this past off season is really strong....Nady, Roger, Rick A, Mike Cammron.....really working for us....If they had just signed one bat...a real bat like Carlos Beltran for the OF and say Jason Kubel for DH games and pinch hitting.....oh wait that would cost more than DeRosa's 800K or Mike C.'s Minor league deal right?
Now I understand.
The Kid will learn. He made some good fielding plays.
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
Bryce Harper is the 6th player in Wild Card Era w/ 0 hits and 5+ K in 7 or more AB (Chris Davis also did it this yr)
Bryce Harper made 7 outs today. 5 of them came in at-bats ending in a slider. He is 4-27 (.148) in AB ending in a slider this season.
Bryce Harper is 1st teenager with 5 K in a game in Live Ball Era; and is 1st teenager to go 0-7 in a game in Live Ball Era
Harper will be fine. He is way better than exposed. He made adjustments in the game and almost hit one out of Andy P.
Lots of Hall of Famers have gone 0 for 7.....not a problem at all.
Even though Harper looked so bad at the plate - shockingly bad- he did not take it into the field. That's a plus.I don't think the umps will hold his chirping against him as the Yankees whine and moan on almost every pitch. The pitcher was already pitching professionally when Bryce was born -- he got schooled by a pro today. Poor Ejax - he might be awake all night trying to figure out where he can possibly throw a ball to get those guys out. Enough of a strike for the ump to call it a strike,but not enough that it lands in the seats. In between there - they foul them off in bunches. Hopefully our hitters were taking note of how to be a tough out and make pitchers work to the max. When you have great pitchers like Gio, Jordan and Clip needing to use maximum pitches in every inning , then you know they are trying everything they can possibly think of to get those hitters out. Clip needed 29.
Not sure about Harper learning. He will have to show the league first, and batting is going to get a lot tougher now that the pitchers know his out pitch. Plus he pissed off the umps with his tantrum. The rest of the year will be pivotal in his development. He could fade really fast. There's no way to sugar coat or minimize these losses. Rizzo needs to be held accountable if things go south. Pitching alone will not win with increased interleague play.
LIDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Have you noticed that we hit LA, Miami and NY when they were scalding hot? Bad timing. I am so glad that we have some wins in the bank for a rainy day. We really need to salvage one tomorrow before facing the Rays. When this interminable stretch of AL East is over, I will be interested to see how all ten of the teams did against one another.
Someone asked for this. Here is the Tyler Clippard interview on The Fan from yesterday.
Tyler Clippard replayed
http://washington.cbslocal.com/audio/356-the-lavar-arrington-show-with-chad-dukes/segment-9-daniel-jeremiah/
Early Father's Day gift enabled me to go to game today, I just got back and my observations begin with why Mark did not mention R Zimmerman's horrible at bats. If he is hurt, sit him, if not, he is letting this team down at the plate and for guy making the money he does batting third, his performance at the plate is unacceptable.
Bryce I have no problem with, he is 19 and simply it was not his day where as everyday is not Zim's day at the plate!! Let's hope Bryce learned something today from a 40 year old ace.
The sorry umpire did not help Bryce either, his strike zone was all over the plate and changing each inning. This piece of garbage umpire needs to know that NOBODY is coming to the park to watch him grandstand and show up a good players. He deserved every bit of the verbal abuse he took, I stayed quiet and enjoyed the other Nats fans telling him what a piece of garbage he was to destroy a game among two top teams.
It is pathetic, that we could not get 1 freakin run. This brought back a flashback from July 27, 2005 when we played the Astros and lost in 14 because we could not score ONE run the whole game. Stammen was spectacular, Lidge is over and a joke and should be on a box of Lucky Charms, lol. Davey had to go with him, I understand that, but he is over, get him the heck out of here.
Again if our 3 and 4 hitters could hit, Lidge becomes irrelevant
HP umpire was a grandstanding creep. Not only the LOUSY plate call where his sorry ass was out of position, his strike zone was all over the place. Bryce had every right to talk back and I wish Davey had kicked dirt on him the way Weaver use to! MLB should can his ass.
Jordan Zim was excellent, Burnett, Clip and Stammen did their jobs.
Zim should be ashamed of himslef yesterday and today for his PATHETIC efforts at bat. Bernadina I expected to get the results we saw today because he is simply a player on a 100 loss a year team, another words, a loser.
Finally, sell out crowds deserve better from their so called over rated stars.
Anyone who thinks you get the close calls because you're "good" (looking at you silly rabbit) is naive in the extreme. Against teams like the Yanks or Dodgers,, MLB umpiring is corrupt in the same way NBA officiating is corrupt: any close call will favor the popular big market teams, because those teams in the playoffs mean more advertising revenue for the networks, and higher rights fees for the league at the next contracts. Instant replay was the only thing that tamed that corruption in the NFL, but it will take an alliance of competitive mid-market teams like the Nats and Cards if it's ever going to change. Supposed "traditionalists" who resist it are living in a game that died about the time that the DL and divisional playoffs began.
Now, if that ain't enough to provoke an argument, I don't know what will. Have fun discussing.
let me add, that we better win at least 1 game in this series and I would expect us too win 2 of 3 against the Rays. If not, then the 6-0 road wins and losing at homes is typical of teams who are pretenders. I don't think we are pretenders, i just think we have some VERY over rated players that should sit for a while and some young hungry talent that at the very least will give better efforts at the plate than what we are seeing now.
I have a student like Harper. Unbelievably--scary--talented, one of two I've had in my career as a teacher (20 years) who has a shot of making it. But her level of frustration when she can't do something is a mirror of his. Her temper inhibits her progress, and requires every bit of patience and "nursing" that I possess. It's worth it, though.
Remember this? I love his fire, but he needs to get it under control. Seriously. The good thing is he calmed down enough to make that Web Gem.
Bryce Harper's suspension
http://angels.ocregister.com/2010/06/03/bryce-harpers-college-career-could-end-with-suspension/58453/
Thanks for the Tyler Clippard interview link! He is so awesome and was one of the guys who just battled and battled today for every single out he got. Every out today felt like 10 today for me and I was only watching. Talk about must see tv - every single pitch was an event. I see two possible paths in the road ahead. The first is the veterans pick it up with the hitting and we continue to stay on top and go towards our first post- season. The second one is we fade and we trade some people and stack the dugout with the home grown talent and play them. They are getting some very valuable experience. The only silver lining to the rash of injuries has been seeing what some of these kids can do. They must have some very good coaching through the minors. Kudos.
Now, with typos corrected. Again. Trying for the best two out of three (stupid jet lag).
Ugh, definitely a frustrating loss. After the blown call at the plate, I mentioned to my husband that I was really starting to dislike the Yankees. I then said, "Oh wait. I already disliked them. Well, now I dislike them even more." :-) It was so much more enjoyable when our guys were taking series from them. Of course, back then it was something of a Pyrrhic victory given the Nats W-L record.
Anyhoo, was hoping that I wouldn't encounter broom-wielding Yankees fans at the game tomorrow. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. Hope that our guys can salvage one. (How long has it been since we said that? I hope not to say it again for a good long time.)
Ryan Zimmerman should be trade bait. By the way, FP raving about his fielding is wearing thin. You don't pay Zimm that kind of money to field.
JayB why is it you never post when things are going well? Only when this team hits a little bump in the road you come on and spew your venom? Would it kill you to admit Rizzo has done a pretty good job with this team? Probably so. Let me ask you something, do you remember posting this:
This team is going to lose 10 one run games scoring less that 3 runs this April and May. This is going to be the difference between a playoff run and another season of 80 wins.
That came in one of your rants about how poor the bench was prior to opening day? So how accurate was that prediction? Perhaps you aren't so smart as you think you are.
DJB Thank you, finally some one who sees the light on Zim. He is vastly over rated
Steady Eddie, why would comment cause an uproar?
Went to dinner flipping hte radio statio to hear updates etc. The three I heard TWEM, WJFK and the MLP network, all called it like I saw it, and didn't say possible bad call by the home plate ump, all said obvious miscall by the ump.
It is good to hear someone say it the way I see it.
Still waiting and looking online for an update on the presser with Timmens, not anywhere on line that I can find yet.
Tyler Moore won this game for us on ALR's hit.
Tim Timmons lost it for us on the same hit.
When a player screws up he gets sent to the minors or released. What happens to an incompetent umpire??? They get another assignment
Everyone in baseball is accountable except lousy umps like Timmons.
On the Clip interview he talked about how hard it has been to get that 4th or 5th run across to win games. Today - only 3. But - Tyler Moore was most definitely SAFE!!!
Speaking from a pure talent point of view, we are a 84-88 win team. I've believed that from the beginning. But the six-game win streak got me to dreaming. Rats, I have to remind myself that it is a 162 game season, and the record almost always matches the talent.
They showed that call on Fox during the pregame of the Braves/O's game--with the plate highlighted in glowing green. It was really, really obvious.
And not like the two games in April the umps (might have) cost us. This was clear-cut, because Clip would have pitched to exactly the same hitters in the top of the 9th and gotten his 10th save.
DJB, you may be right.
So what do we need to get to 90 plus
Is it just playing together one more year healthy, and maybe Rendon, Moore and Harper and Lombo play daily and Zim can be traded somewhere for another bat or pitcher
Let's face it - you have to have the talent and you also have to get some luck. The Nats have been getting by on talent and sheer determination without much luck. The injuries, facing teams just when they are peaking, bad calls - this has not been a piece of proverbial cake. I can think of more than one situation last night and today that could have gone our way but didn't. Eventually - don't a few things fall your way, don't some calls go your way? Were things falling our way in the 6 game streak? It usually seems like we are trying to overcome difficulties and win in spite of them. And maybe I am just feeling blue about the 5 hours of my life I lost today watching the Yankees win again. Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow -- etc. etc.
Well, if you ask Bobby V, the Nats got the calls in Boston...Of course, he might be the most objective person to ask...
Beachy coming out of the game in Atlanta, injured.
Ryan Zimmerman's throws are bad..his hitting is terrible..speed? none...i'm waiting for an early October "he was hurt all year...will be ready next spring training" verbiage...please
NatsLady - just saw that about Beachy? Did he get hit, hurt his arm - wasn't watching. Another broken pitcher. Someone will be calling about John Lannan eventually.
Manassas -- only because of the supposed traditionalists, or at least anyone who would oppose a fifth umpire in the replay booth.
I actually also agree with Valentine that they should have an electronic strike zone. Won't happen, of course, but should. No reason to have a "human element" prone to bias, arrogance and stupidity just because grandpappy did when there's a clearly better alternative. And the replay ump should be able to determine check swings, which can be done essentially in real time.
Of course, the irony with Valentine is that re the occasion for his rant, Pitch F/X clearly showed the called third strike to Youkilis WAS a third strike. But that just makes his broader conclusion even more right, not his determined indifference to the facts in that particular case.
It's that the margin of error is so tight when teams have less talent. This was a classic example of how the Yankees buy wins. How many of the pitchers in their bullpen were once good starters? How much of a premium did they have to pay for those guys, whereas we're stuck with someone who failed in other bullpens (yes, that's Lidge). How many bats can they buy in the middle of their lineup? So one is getting old, buy another. A-Rod one year, Granderson the next. Whereas, we're stuck with aging stars that we can't replace like Zimm and Larouche, and developing potential phenoms who may or may not pan out. You need a good a farm system, but its the money the Yankees are able to shell out to supplement the farm system that allows them to win these kinds of games. It's why they will always be playoff contenders.
Cheering for the orioles. How odd. Inter league play creates strange situations.
swami, Beachy pulled something or hurt something while pitching. He waved for the trainer and was taken out immediately. Yes, it is weird to root for the O's.
Is it just me or does FP get on your nerves as much he does mine? I get so tired of hearing every time there's a pitching change, how many type of pitches he has and his velocity. Where is Ron Dibble? FP can make some of the dumbest comments. "Like Michael Morse was ready to play defense and not thinking about his coming at bat, at the start of the game." When you take the field at the beginning of the game, what else would he be thinking. Bob Carpenter is still building houses with his announcing. He said there was a pitch under the roof, today. Also, what is the difference between a side door and back door pitch? I now turn the sound down and just watch the game! Too bad we can't turn on the radio and listen to Charlie and Dave while watching TV, but Janet Jackson took care of that during the Super Bowl, years past. Please next year get some good TV announcers!!
Swami, others-
I came back to NI to make the "Odd to root for the Orioles" point, and am happy to see I am not alone in that.
+1/2St.
one thing fp did today that annoyed me was when eric chavez fielded a grounder and looked to ump to see if it was fair..fp laughed and called it a 'veteran move'..i cant remember how many times a player fields a ball thats foul and throws to first and fp congratulates the player for not waiting for a call but making the play and leave it up to the ump to call it foul...hypocritical and shows an overwhelming desire not to criticize..even the opposition..he loves still being one of the guys...if he let that go he'd probably be ok
For the record it is ROb Dibble, who I really likeds, but Nats management didn't like his brash approach at all (which of course I didn't mind)
dibble was/is TERRIBLE
Scott-
Leaving FP out of it, I think that the kind of play you were talking about really would be the right one when computers aren't making the fair/foul call. Throw it to first, because if the ump messes it up and calls it fair, you look like a chump for just sitting there with the ball in your glove. That would be true for either team.
+1/2St.
he lookd at ump, who called it fair, and fired to first to record the out...dont like instant replay, but the home run is/isnt is appropriate because of fans reaching over and yellow lines painted on some walls (Houston)
Folks, the call WAS bad, but our hitters had 6 more chances to win the game and two ab's in the 14th even representing the winning run. The lack of offense was the culprit (and the bad call, but who says Clip does that and maybe ARod pinch hits - you have to if and but on both sides).
This club is good, but has much to learn about being a playoff contender - a lot of it, as all teams usually do, the hard way. Lots of little things today -- Desmond's error, failing to turn an easy DP before that, Moore looking at the ball rounding 3rd, slowing him down enough to make the play bang-bang instead of obvious, Harper swinging at 1st pitch in 14th, all add up to a loss against a VERY good team.
The one move I didn't like was having Ankiel sac against Garcia when a base hit puts Nats in great shape and a bomb sends us all home happy. I despise giving away outs for free - don't take the bat out of a power hitter's hands!
Anyway, all who would take a 38-25 record on Opening Day, raise your hand. 99 games to go, so lots more highs (and, yes, lows) to come! Enjoy it -- hate it , it's why baseball is THE BEST game!
ah, jayb with the "beltran and kubel" argument again.
neither of those guys was going to sign a 1-year contract.
neither of those guys wants to be a 4th OF.
both of those guys were smart enough to see that by the end of this year, with werth, harper, and morse, there wouldn't be room for them to start here.
wasn't going to happen. keep dreaming. you can want a guy to sign all you want, but they have to be interested, too. i would make no sense from their perspectives to sign here.
umpire Tim Timmons ruled Tyler Moore out on an incredibly close play at the plate (replays showed he should have been called sage).
Just don't call him rosemary. He hates that.
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