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US Presswire photo Jordan Zimmermann lowered his ERA to 2.48 with six scoreless innings. |
The other is Jordan Zimmermann.
Zimmermann has no hardware on his mantel. He's never been named an All-Star. He's not even considered one of the three most-accomplished members of the Nationals rotation.
Make no mistake, though, the 26-year-old right-hander is plenty appreciated inside his own clubhouse, especially when he throws six scoreless innings and leads the Nationals to a 5-1 victory over the Marlins like he did Friday night.
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53 comments:
He's a horse, plain and simple. Most underrated pitcher in baseball. Glad he's appreciated by those who count the most, his teammates. His responsibilities will only grow into September and October...
Next to Strasburg, HRod is the youngest pitcher on the active staff. And as we all know, he has tremendous upside. But how much longer can we stash this guy on the roster, especially when Storen comes back?
Farid @ Idaho:
(Sorry, can't get the comment selection to work)
On the day that Bryce Harper was called up, I sat down and penned my prediction for his 2012 season: .255-9-45 with a .315 on-base percent playing 80% of the time.
I keep waiting for him to hit a skid and end up somewhere around those numbers, but I'm beginning to think it's not going to happen.
Now, I wouldn't be surprised if he ends the year .280-18-60 or so, excellent numbers for a 19-year-old.
I wrote a story for bleacherreport.com six months before the team drafted Harper imploring the Nationals not to draft Harper and gave 1500 impassioned words as to why I was right.
I could not have been more wrong.
For my "eating crow" trip down memory lane, take a peek here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/336214-bryce-harper-nationals-cant-take-chance-on-second-best-ever-prospect
Sigh .... the internet is a lot like my wife: neither lets you forget when you were wrong.
Mark Z. writes...Zimmermann has no hardware on his mantel. He's never been named an All-Star. He's not even considered one of the three most-accomplished members of the Nationals rotation.
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Mark, don't you mean he isn't one of the two most-accomplished members of the Nationals rotation? I would expect he is of the three unless you think Edwin Jackson is before him? I will also take umbrage for Jordan Zimmermann here and I was one of a few who complained about the poll you had. A couple of weeks ago you had in the upper lefthand corner here 6 or 7 names for Nats All Stars in a poll. I don't know who put the poll together, but Jordan's name wasn't even on it. He was clearly an All Star snub and so was Cueto, Ryan Vogelsong, and James McDonald, but I would have expected on a Nationals blog to see Jordan on it and not snubbed in his own backyard.
With last nights performance, Jordan is now 8th in all of baseball in ERA and of course top 10 to 15 in most pitching categories.
When McCatty this week called Strikeouts bulls**t, it was a clear compliment to Jordan Zimmermann and a clear and distinct message to Gio Gonzalez about his pitch efficiency.
Before anyone complains, you can have your K's and a complete game too. Verlander has thrown 4 complete games this year. Pitch counts were 109, 115, 117 and 131. In his 109 pitch count game, he had 12 K's and averaged only 12 pitches per inning.
Strasburg pitches more to Verlandian style. Gio pitches to a nibbling style. Jordan Zimmermann pitches to the McCatty style. It has been part of his maturation process and it has been working almost perfectly. The missing ingredient is the Wins. Unfortunately JZ is 2nd in the Majors in taking Tough Losses which is a Sabrematician's stat for a Sure Win taken away. Jordan has 4 of those.
Farid, how's about how Bryce crumbled in Spring Training this year while most of his accomplishments were seeing eye groundballs and 2 hustle hits? While most guys were hitting those Jet Stream HRs in Spring Training (see Jayson Werth), Bryce wasn't getting under balls. He was topping almost everything. He ended Spring Training in unspectacular fashion.
Then you had his lukewarm AAA stint with Syracuse. .243 BA with 1 HR and a .325 OBP He wasn't close to the best in Syracuse, but Rizzo is the GM for a reason. He knew Bryce's previous numbers were just numbers that meant very little compared to his potential.
Not many kids raise their game when they get to the big leagues in the long-term. Most get a quick week or 2 boost before scouting catches up with them before they fade because they can't make adjustments. Its usually a huge letdown when Phenoms like Mike Trout in the 2011 season couldn't hack it.
Bryce was the right draft pick and I didn't think he was ready for the callup but with all the injuries Rizzo needed the spark. Who would have thought that spark would ignite a national phenomenom in a few short months? Call it XFactor, call it fate, call it divine intervention, or call it a Clown Question, Bro.
Gonat, I don't presume to speak for Mark, but I believe when he used "accomplished", he was referring to All Star nods and World Series rings, both of which Edwin has and Jordan does not (yet).
Grandstander said...
Next to Strasburg, HRod is the youngest pitcher on the active staff. And as we all know, he has tremendous upside. But how much longer can we stash this guy on the roster, especially when Storen comes back?
July 14, 2012 12:37 AM
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Playoff contenders make tough decisions. The Yankees are a prime example of some of their DFAs. The SF Giants left Barry Zito off of their World Series roster and he never pitched a pitch for the Giants in any of their post-season games.
Henry's performance last night may have sealed his fate. I thought it was going to be Mattheus who would be optioned to 'Cuse only because HenRod needed a few more appearances to show he was a changed man.
Our Cat (McCatty) doesn't give 9 lives. I think Henry has run out of time -except- I don't think Storen is near ready himself (see Potomac results).
Henry Rodriguez is out of options, and there would definitely be some other team willing to try his 100 mph stylings. He can't go down to Syracuse without being lost completely. I don't believe that the Nats are willing to do that, so I would expect Mattheus to go down.
This, of course, assumes that the Nats are not active between now and the trade deadline.
+1/2St.
Grandstander said...
Gonat, I don't presume to speak for Mark, but I believe when he used "accomplished", he was referring to All Star nods and World Series rings, both of which Edwin has and Jordan does not (yet).
July 14, 2012 6:35 AM
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Another one who is late to bed and early to rise! On your comment, that's a possibility that Mark was referring to their hardware. Certainly open to any type of interpretation since it is open-ended.
Positively Half St. said...
Henry Rodriguez is out of options, and there would definitely be some other team willing to try his 100 mph stylings. He can't go down to Syracuse without being lost completely. I don't believe that the Nats are willing to do that, so I would expect Mattheus to go down.
This, of course, assumes that the Nats are not active between now and the trade deadline.
+1/2St.
July 14, 2012 6:54 AM
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I don't think many think Henry would be DFA'd. A trade? What would you get in trade? Don't you think Rizzo has attempted that.
I think he would be back on the DL and brought back on September 1st when rosters expand and sit like Livan did last year.
Davey had Henry's back once again:
“I always have a little concern with Henry,” Johnson said. “The layoff probably affected him more, a power pitcher. He wasn’t as sharp as I’ve seen him before. … I’m counting on him to get like he was when he was closing. He had a really good run there.”
HRod's splits show that if you are going to try and ease him back into the bullpen you should do it at home.
Home: ERA .66 IP 13.2 Avg. .070
Road: ERA 10.80 IP 10.0 Avg. .293
Yes I know his problem is control and maybe he can't right the ship this year but I'd put him in the most favorable position before I gave up on him.
His stuff when on is just electric, some of the nastiest stuff I've every seen from a closer. Still young and has the potential to be one of the top closers in the league.
That said, sometimes a change in scenery is the only things that helps, see Joel Hanrahan.
Re:Henry--maybe a sports psychologist? Head wise he is the 180 of Jordan.
Agree with swami, 'shrink' might be the answer for this guy.
btw is anyone else having problem with gameday? at mlb.com when I click wrap, i get nothing. just blank.
Poor Henry needs an exorist to rid him of his demons. The guy has unbelievable talent, but is so afraid of failing. Like some else sid, you can see it in his eyes when Bad Henry has moved in.
Meant to say "Like some one else said". dang hangover.
JZim, so happy for him.
Henry needs a sports psychiatrist. Where did I read that before? smh
... and on another note, "[The] attitude, that human error is an essential part of baseball, permeates the sport." So says Joe Torre, now of MLB, in an attempt to defend the league's lack of interest in allowing game officials to use replays. And it is the most ludicrous statement ever.
… the only time that human error can be seen as a viable part of the game is when those errors occur with the 'perfect' framework of the game itself, i.e., the rules. If the very game becomes imperfect, there ceases to be any point to it.
… until then …
Go Nats!!
From Kilgore's Journal...
Johnson said Burnett felt tightness in his left arm afterward. He did expect it to turn into anything serious, but the Nationals will monitor it.
I have a feeling we have our candidate for the DL.... Sigh...
Michele
MicheleS, "he did" or "he did not"
Ghost Of Steve M. said...
MicheleS, "he did" or "he did not"
July 14, 2012 8:56 AM
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MicheleS copied exactly the paragraph about Burnett "He did expect it to turn into anything serious" then with the word BUT seemed to contradict it.
Should we assume Kilgore made another error and failed to include the word "not"?
Gonat/Ghost, yup, cut and paste from Kilgore, Sigh..
A nice link from the Herald.
Fish Recap
Happy 18th birthday to new Nat Lucas Giolito.
The intriguing thing about this draft is whether the Nats -- with all the cap limitations -- found a second big leaguer.
Is there a Stammen, a Norris, a Lombo somewhere in the agate type? I'll bet there's another player here somewhere. Rizzo and Clark are pretty good at finding players with that special blend of talent, character and moxie.
Drew.. I hope they found another Jordan Zimmermann somewhere in the later rounds.
Nice win against the Fish - let's have another one! Missed the middle innings because of cat-sitting duties. May try to watch those at some point today. My fave part was when Zimm hit the Carmen Miranda Memorial Home Run thingy. That was awesome, and, having just read the game post (but not yet comments), also loved Mark's line about the teddy bear. Got back home and turned on the tv just in time to see the replay of the LaRoche/Desi footrace. Whew. Fish for dinner? Sounds good to me. :-)
Grandstander said...
Gonat, I don't presume to speak for Mark, but I believe when he used "accomplished", he was referring to All Star nods and World Series rings, both of which Edwin has and Jordan does not (yet).
That's exactly what I meant with that line. Wasn't suggesting any of those pitchers are actually better than Zimmermann, just saying they've all been recognized in some way for their performance while Jordan hasn't ... yet.
I've never been an Oriole fan, but always was a great admirer of Mike Mussina. Jordan's lack of support reminds me of so many of Moose's starts... I wonder how many low-scoring, one-run wins are among his total. I think Moose had more variety of repertoire than does Jordan, and famously made astute adjustments, when his stuff wasn't all there... qualities that Our Zimnn would do well to emulate. I don't guess I really have a point, here...just popped into my mind...
I guess if some kind of boo boo can be found, to put Henry in mothballs, until Sept, I wouldn't mind, but if he was DFA'd, next week, I wouldn't com
....plain, at all.....
Not surprising that Kilgore, a writer who could benefit from a replay review or a do-over of virtually every article he writes, comes out so strongly in favor of replay in baseball.
I wouldn't mind at all if we swept because I can't pick out a pitcher that I want to hang a loss on! Gio needs to win because he's in his hometown. Stas needs to get his mojo back. So does Edwin. Fishing is a good sport--just ask JZ!!!
except one quality UnkyD, leaving his first team for the highest bidder.
tonight root for Mets, if they win then Sunday root for Braves.... this is fun!
Maybe its just me... but I am always more nervous when we play Marlins over the other division teams
Win every series is my motto. Need to win 2 of 4 now.
UnkyD said...
I've never been an Oriole fan, but always was a great admirer of Mike Mussina.
totally agree with you
I liked Flanagan,Boddicker, Palmer. McLucky, Cuellar, and Dobson too
I'm past talking about Rodriguez's "upside." He's the Andre Blatche of baseball. I'm sick of Johnson apologizing for him. He's uncoachable. I don't want to waive him, DFA him, put him on the 120-day DL. I want to trade him to the worst organization in baseball (Cincinnati? Orioles?) for a bench player in the Dominican Summer League. Or the Hiroshima Carp for a plate of yellow-fin tuna.
Every moment of good judgment Rizzo has shown in the last three years is wiped out by the humiliation (he should be experiencing) of trading Willingham (21 HR that would look pretty good on our bench right now) for this piece of trash.
It isn't Rodriguez who needs an exorcism, it's the Nationals.
Mike Mussing was roundly seen as a jerk by most who played with him. I often wondered whether that had something to do with his lack of run support.
I thought Davey used the bullpen brilliantly last night. With a 5 run lead it was a good time to give as many guys work as possible. Most of them hadn't thrown for 5-6 days and needed to get back in the groove. For those who wanted Zimermann to keep going because "he's a bull", so was Kerry Wood.
Oh, yeah. I forgot to add this: "WOOOOO HOOOOO!!"*
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*MicheleS. 2012. Natsinsider.
http://www.natsinsider.com/2012/02/pitching-plan.html (accessed July 14, 2012).
Mick -- You omitted, possibly because of space limitations, McGregor and Steve Stone.
Theophilus T. S.
you sound like me after my 12 or 13 Corona when the Nats lose, lol
I agree that HRod needs to go, but to bash Rizzo for one mistake when he has rebuilt this team is a bit harsh. I miss Josh W too, it was a terrible trade, but every GM makes a mistake. If we have an exorcism, I hope we can get Father Merrin and Karras to do it, lol
Theophilus T. S. yikes I hear ya about scotty M and Stone
Theo:
Every moment of good judgment Rizzo has shown in the last three years is wiped out by the humiliation (he should be experiencing) of trading Willingham (21 HR that would look pretty good on our bench right now) for this piece of trash.
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....(just when I thought I was cured of calling fellow posters stupid...).....
The Willingham trade was not terrible. JW is a nice player who is low-energy and injury-prone. He's the type of guy who bats in the middle of the order for a team that goes 76-86 every year. They got a couple of prospects for him. HRod might be a bust. Jury's still out on Brown.
Meanwhile, both CMW and Ryan Perry pitched for AA Harrisburg yesterday in a double-bill. CMW lost the first game, going 4 innings and giving up 3 runs (2 earned) in a first-game loss (3 Ks), while Perry went 5, giving up 1 earned run in 5 innings of solid work (6 Ks), keeping his ERA to 1.66, in a 2nd game win. If this keeps up, it could be Perry being called up in September for a shot at a starting gig, not CMW or Lannen.
HRod is the guy who should go - maybe bang up his other finger - when Storen comes back. He has too much stuff to DFA and would be picked up in a heartbeat if they tried to do that. Still, he drives me crazy. As soon as you see him pawing at the mound at his landing point, you can bet he is about to implode. Happened again last night.
Worried about Desi's oblique. Next to Zim, he has become the most important contributor to the Nats' offense. He, Harp, and Werth are 3 of the best and most savvy base runners in the game. It is worth watching those guys on the base paths. How many other teams have 3 guys like that?
I don't know if any of you have seen this, baseball humor at it's best:
The question is asked: What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?
Follow the link for an answer: Don't forget to read the last line :)
http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
MurrayTheRed
that was funny as hell, lol
Lol, Red! Thanks!
Excellent ! But if there is no ball left, how can it be called that way? Seems like WP is better option.
Right now we have Lombo, Morse, Moore, Harper all vying for time in the outfield. Not too mention Werth is coming back. Exactly where would we put Willingham if he were still here?
Josh was a true gentleman and is missed, but let's stop pretending that it was bad trade to get a flamethrowing righty plus young, speedy outfielder for an older, injury prone, defensively deficient one.
Rizzo will make that trade every time, as he should.
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