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US Presswire photo Bryce Harper had a pair of sacrifice flies and drew a walk last night. |
-- Bryce Harper bounced back from his rough Houston series with a productive game at the plate, even though he didn't produce a base hit. The rookie went 0-for-2 with a pair of sacrifice flies and a walk and generally looked more relaxed than he did Wednesday in Houston when he twice argued with umpire Angel Hernandez over called third strikes and then made an ill-advised throw from center field.
Davey Johnson decided to give Harper the final game of that series off, citing his need for a mental break after that difficult game (not to mention a difficult stretch since the All-Star break). Well, the manager is giving the 19-year-old another day off tonight, but not as a reaction to anything he did last night. Instead, Johnson wants to find a way to give Tyler Moore a start in the outfield.
"I might as well tell you now, I'm going to get Tyler Moore in the lineup, because once [Jayson] Werth got here I haven't had that opportunity," he said. "There's nothing wrong with Bryce. He played a good game, and he'll play the day game against the left-hander [Sunday]. I'm just telling you up-front now so I don't have to hear all this crap tomorrow."
So the outfield alignment tonight should have Moore in left field, Werth in center field and Michael Morse in right field. Johnson also said he plans to hit Werth leadoff for the first time, with Danny Espinosa batting second.
-- The baseball world was abuzz yet again yesterday with Stephen Strasburg Shutdown Fever after a Yahoo! Sports report citing GM Mike Rizzo saying the right-hander won't pitch more than 180 innings this season. All of a sudden, media members and fans alike wondered whether Rizzo was suggesting Strasburg could be allowed to pitch deeper into the season than everyone originally thought.
Well, here's the lowdown, straight from Rizzo: Nothing has changed at all. The Nationals' plan for Strasburg has been consistent from the first day of spring training. There is no exact number of innings. It's a broad range, probably no fewer than 160, almost certainly no more than 180.
That doesn't mean Strasburg is going to get to 180, though. Rizzo is going to watch him closely over the next several weeks and make the decision when to pull the plug based on what he sees, not based on what the precise innings count is.
Point is, the Nationals will shut down Strasburg before the end of the regular season and he will not pitch in the postseason. That plan hasn't changed one bit since February.
-- Steve Lombardozzi quietly put together a four-hit, four-run game last night, impressing his manager.
"He had a heck of a game today," Johnson said. "He's been actually getting more aggressive at the plate. He's had a tendency to take everything the other way, and Rick Eckstein's been working with him on getting the head out, hit the ball more where it's pitched. He got that double yesterday down the right-field line, and then today the first time up turned on one inside and then the triple. That's who he can be, because he's right on top of the plate and they pound him. He doesn't get to extend very much. But he's another one, he's just a babe in the woods."
81 comments:
Thanks for clarifying the Strasburg situation Mark.
So lets see he'll have about 6 more starts, maybe 7. Assuming 40 more innings, he'll no doubt top 200 Ks. That's a big accomplishment, and something to be proud of.
This bodes well that we have so many young guys doing well and contributing to our successful season.
Here's a question, and I realize I'm getting way ahead of myself :-)
If Strasburg is shut down before the playoffs, and the Nats win the World Series (yay!), will he still be eligible to get a WS ring?
Shout out to DeRosa, who has had as big an impact on Nats hitting as anyone this year. Using his knowledge of something called "Physics", a marginal science oft-overlooked by many a hitting instructor, DeRosa suggested that using a lighter bat might help Bernadina get the bat around faster. (Sounds crazy, but many a Physicist has assured me that it's true.) Shark switches to a lighter bat and BOOM, he can finally catch those fastballs. Didn't Zimm move to a lighter bat as well, which combined with the magic of cortisone (when administered to the right spot), got him hitting again? And the Harper using a different bat last night? Who wants to bet it is lighter than his normal bat?
TY Mr. DeRosa! Your contributions to baseball will not be forgotten! And Physicists around the globe salute young or brining their ancient craft out of the shadows!
Davey "......so I don't have to hear all this crap tomorrow." Gotta love ol Davey. "He's a weird wuss." That was a classic
Cwj. Yes.
Thanks NatsLady
I love Lombo... under rated player and rookie. Reminds a lot of BJ Surhoff. Even in a slump, Bryce produced 2 RBI's. i think Davey has a good formula mixing and matching Bryce and Shark
Nice post about Davey by one of my favorite political bloggers (who happens to be a big Giants fan):
http://plainblogaboutpolitics.blogspot.com/2012/08/friday-baseball-post_11.html
ehay2k your point on DeRosa is excellent... this are the little things winning teams do
ehay, true on DeRosa as I discussed before on the DeRo help with Bernadina. What's odd is DeRo himself went to a heavier bat.
I think even Nady and Ankiel get WS rings.
'babe in the woods', where does he come up with these quotes?
I'm all in for the shutdown because I'm selfish fan and I want to see Stras for years to come, all the way to the Hall of Fame.
But I do see that it will be very, very hard for him to sit on the sidelines if the Nats win a WS (or not be contributing, if they don't). It was hard on JZ to sit out, and we weren't going anywhere. Something in me--hate me if you want--wishes it were going by the "plan" and this was the 88-win season and next year is the 100-win season.
However, Stras will pitch for another 10-12 years, one hopes, and make the millions to set up his grandchildren in affluence. Hard to imagine he won't get another shot at getting that ring. But it could happen. We had this discussion a while back--would you trade the Hall of Fame for one WS ring?
Mark, i would love to hear over the next few days what Suzuki's impressions are of the Pitchers, I think after tonight, he will have caught everyone but Det (I have a feeling the JFlo will catch Det for the rest of the season).
Nice to see Davey's 3 'babes in the woods' contributing to MLB's best W-L record.
The line continues with the September call-ups with the long-awaited arrivals of Eury Perez and Cory Brown. Hopefully Christian Garcia's lights out slider makes the scene, along with Carlos Rivero's bat!
Gooooooooo Babes In The Woods GooooooooooNaaaats!!
Morse going for his 20th game in the hit streak world tonight (People already putting pressure on Torre to reverse back. JRol is not to pleased either.
Harper not going against a soft tossing lefty, a good move they are the ones who have given him the most trouble.
It Roger against Scott Hairston in the web gem vote. I already voted so he took an early lead 7 to 3 after 1- botes. Last I saw the score was 72-28.
Here is the linkk. You know the exercize.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/baseballtonight
Of note Doc......Rendon is back in action at Potomac. Playing 3B. In 6 games he's 6 for 18 with 2 doubles and 2 triples. Hopefully he'll stay healthy for the rest of the year and we can get a feel for wwhat he's gonna do. Tell ya...the kid has a nice swing. Theres a video of him legging out a triple on the minor league web. Also, Alex Meyer is kicking butt at Potomac. Would like to see him in the Sept call up.
Yes, that Garcia guy has put together some scary stats in AA and AAA. I don't know how hard he throws or what, but Henry better get his s in gear
Rendon's on the 40-man so I find it hard to believe he won't be called up in September. Probably won't see too much action, though just being around all the players will be good and fun for him.
Combined stats for Garcia this year.
2-0 in 37 games...43 innings 21 hits 14 BB's and 59 k's with 15 saves and a 0.83 era. He has not given up a run in his last 10 games at Syracuse!
Did you see that Lucas Giolito is making his first (pro) start on Tuesday? You can wish him good luck.
@LGio27
Brian Goodwin burnt up Hagerstown at .324 in half a season but has struggled in AA. Still, that is understandable. First year player, probably getting a little tired.
Was tracking Cole Kimball. Went thru Potomac and up to Harrisburg. Has thrown 1/3 of an inning up there. Don't know if his arm is acting up or what. Does anyone know. Rotator cuff is not a good thing
Natslady - thanks for confirming what I thought was correct - Its amazing that people thing that "shuting SS down" means he is banished from the clubhouse, dugout etc. He will still be a member of the team, just not on the 25 man playoff roster and can even be in the dugout during games as far as I know.
Ehay2k - most swimming coaches deal a whole bunch with Biomechanics/Physics/kinesiology etc.
Concerning Bernadina and the lighter bat it deals with acceleration which deals with mass x velocity. This is probably what made Babe Ruth so great. He swung a huge bat, swung it really fast AND he made contact. Isn't it funny that NO ONE wants our hitting coach to leave lately? Wonder what happened? Oh, we are winning and that impotent offense is not to shabby after all.
Just a great team!!
Go Nats!
Let's wait for the second season to begin before handing out any world series rings. There is still a good month and a half of regular season baseball and then it could get cold again as it was in the spring.
Be grateful for the season that has already unfolded. Its been far better than expected and a lot of the credit for that probably goes to Davey Johnson.
It'll still be a learning experience for Nats core of younger players including Stras. Dealing with the shutdown will be a part of that as it was for Jordan Zimmermann.
Yes Peric....last I looked we were only 4 games up over the Braves and they are playing good ball. Gotta stay focused. Edwin gotta tough matchup with Miley tonight. Says game on at 8:10 here. Thats good. Those 9:40 games are tough on me
NLady....where is Lucas pitching?
ROger is Up 71-29
This is what Giolito's father posted:
Rick Giolito@RickGiolito
Luc gets his first Pro start this Tuesday against the GCL Cardinals. @LGio27 #Nationals #proud
I really do not see ANY rationale to go against both medical and historical protocol with shutting Strass down. I love this team and Mike Rizzo, I would lose a lot of respect if they did NOT shut him down.
peric, I understand not to get ahead of ourselves. But a 98.6% chance to go to the playoffs and over 70% to win the division--hard not to think it really could happen. Just no Atlanta-type collapses, please. Trusting in Davey for that.
Will be interesting to see how the kid does. I'll bet that 100mph will actually be 94-95. Seems like it always is. Still not bad though.
Tiger tees in 5 minutes. Bye
Thank you NatsLady
Phil wood told the story of the 67 Senators who were 55-50 heading into August, when 5,000 fans showed up to greet the team at Dulles after returning home. What I don't know, is hoe that team ended up with only 75-76 wins?
any one know?
The line continues with the September call-ups with the long-awaited arrivals of Eury Perez and Cory Brown. Hopefully Christian Garcia's lights out slider makes the scene, along with Carlos Rivero's bat!
Don't count on it. This is not the same September it's been before. They're in a pennant race now. Teams in a pennant race don't call up lots of minor leaguers when rosters expand. And even if they do, those guys don't play much, if at all. Can you say pinch runner? In a pennant race you don't play a bunch of unproven rookies just to see what they've got. You stick with the big leaguers, the guys who brought you into the race in the first place. Yes, peric, that means DeRosa.
mick, I like the comparison to BJ Surhoff. that guy was such a gamer, I think he hit something like .400 with the bases loaded over his career.
I support the shutdown. I just think there has to be a more sophisticated possibility than an on/off switch. Shut him down as a starter at 150 innings and move him to the pen for the last 20-30 innings. I know. He's a starter. He's also a professional, and if you ask him, I'm sure he wants a role.
They can give a ring to anyone they want.
What the Nats do with Lombo over the winter is going to be very interesting. He has become a critical part of the team and clearly has starter potential--all things considered our best secondbaseman.
Harper should share starts the rest of the way. I want to see Brown and Perez in September. I also want to see Flores get more starts. Zuk was a good pick up, but he can't hit--didn't in Oakland and is not hitting with the Nats. If Flo gets a little relief, his bat can be helpful.
Maurymania at least in 1961 you got the expansion Senators and baseball continued in DC in the brand new DC Stadium (of course became RFK in 1969).
That is the team I grew up with until Bob Short screwed us all and moved to Arlington, TX
What I do know is that it must have been hard for DC baseball fans to lose this original historic team that had been there since 1900. I learned that the reason the team moved was because the Griffiths did not own a stadium as they owned 100% of Griffith Stadium. They went from owners to renting and therefore feared losing money. Couple that with Griffith's son's racist views, they moved.
Those Twins teams, 1965, 1969 and 1970 could have been ours
pRAA
Brown will be called up, for sure, even if they only call up one guy. If Davey wants a LH power guy off the bench, he's now got Tracy and nothing else. If he wants a late game defensive replacement, Brown is the best OF defender in the entire system. And he can pinch run. Tell me which of those you would use DeRosa for.
Perez is likely, too, as he can pinch run, if nothing else. There will be some guys who might see action as relievers, too, like Garcia, Perry, and maybe a few others.
DeRosa did next to nothing on the field all year long. He is lousy on defense and mostly added to his lifetime K stats on offense. His main contributions came from the bench, not on the field. Last I checked, they play the game on the grass, not on the pine.
Davey will take the 25 guys who will help him most in the post-season, on the field, whoever he thinks they will be, except, of course, for Strasburg.
T-Rex... right on!
Everyone likes DeRosa--but everyone liked Rick Ankiel, too. I doubt DeRosa will be on the 25-man for the playoffs, but he can play in September if he comes off the DL, can't he? Could be an extra inning game or doubleheader or something, half to allow for all contigencies. If I understand correctly, anyone on the 40-man can play in September. We usually think of it as calling up rookies, but it could be DeRosa off the DL.
Whew, my typing is shot. ..."have to..." Teaching my student "Over the Rainbow." I always forget how great Judy Garland's voice was when she was young, before the drugs and alcohol got her. Incredible.
BTW, Joey Votto had another surgery yesterday, a minor surgery but it will keep him out another couple of weeks. STAY HEALTHY, EVERYONE!
I see almost no votes today. ROger needs the votes. Up by 20, and NY is the cuty that never sleeps so they might start voting soon.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/baseballtonight
I am still in the wait and see camp on Suzuki - too short a time so far. It must be brutal to come to a different league without knowing the pitchers on our staff or any of the hitters being faced. That being said - this must be catcher heaven with the guys he has to work with. I would also love to hear his take on things. As for the rookies? TyMo steps out of the dugout and gets a hit, just like that. Lombo with four hits, he is fast, switch hits, has played outfield and infield, smart baseball guy. And yet I am still reading some posts that he won't ever amount to much. That just surprises me. Harper contributed a lot without getting a hit in his personal stat column - he is much more unselfish and team oriented than most people thought he would be. Stras was sweaty, even indoors, red-faced, twitchy - other words, himself - but yet his enormous talent just makes it work. What is he going to be like when he settles down and gets it as a pitcher? I nominate DeRosa to be coach in the Nats organization. Sooner rather than later.
Anyone hear any reports on that umpire that to a ball to the face?
It is entirely possible that the September callups will be limited to Corey Brown, John Lannan and maybe Solano or Leon as a third catcher. Beyond that, guys like DeRosa and HRod will likely be taken off the DL and placed on the active roster in September. Depending on how things play out in September, any of these guys could find themselves on the active roster for a playoff series. And that includes DeRosa.
Atlanta has won 13 of 16 but gained nada on the Nats.
Incredible pace. Hard to see how it keeps up, I'm out of breath!
Manassas Nats Fan - how do you actually cast a vote on that page?
swami, look over to the right (about center). Check off one of the bubbles.
Swami (and all), go to the BBT home page here and scroll down a screen or so, and look on the right for the poll.
Some disreputable posters might clear their cache and browser history, refresh the page, and vote multiple times.
Or at least vote from multiple browsers. Or different computers. Or phones.
pRAA, I would add Eury Perez just for pinch running in the late innings and Perry as Davey may ROOGY him or spot start him.
Davey really liked the expanded bullpen last September.
I am reading the stories about the officiating blunders in the NFL pre-season due to the lockout. There, the issue is money--puzzling that the NFL would impair the integrity of the cash cow for what seems like a relatively small sum.
But, what concerns me is this. We are quick to say the bottom X% of umps should be dropped off. But if the umpires union objected and went on strike, the picture might not be pretty. There needs to be standards, better standards, but the union has to agree to them, IMO. I can't imagine that umps with seniority like Angel Hernandez will get fired, but they will retire. Hopefully younger umps with a sense that technology is looking over their shoulder will take their place.
I always thought players got to vote on who got WS rings and shares.
Laddie, I didn't read back far enough to see your last post before I posted above. Good analysis. Wish there were more guys to help in specialty roles which is what playoff teams do with many of the callups.
Two thoughts:
If the whispers circulating about Nats pitchers being dissatisfied with Flores' game-handling are true, then is it safe to deduce that Gio Gonzales is one of the leading dissenters? I recall seeing the two being not in sync over pitch selection on many occasions this year.
Is it planting the seed? Now that Strasburg has a minor back issue to contend with, I wonder if the team has an opening it was looking for to shut its ace down without the accompanying criticism. Hey, if using a nagging injury to manipulate the roster in Wang and HRodriquez's case, why not do the same here?
NCN--apparently ownership buys rings for all, everyone who was on the roster during the season, and the players vote on the money. Can't imagine they wouldn't vote Stras gets a full share.
rogie--said that a while back, about an "injured" Stras. Reduce the controversy/Controversy and distraction. If it is distraction for the players, which I doubt.
I'm very curious about the catcher story.
RE callups: Why wouldn't they call up a full list of fifteen? What's the downside? Surely they can afford the extra hotel rooms.
MLB guys, lead by Mitch Williams, of course - still blathering on and on about Stras - they even have a giant calendar with starts marked on it and a scheme to adjust starts, etc. They are just not going to give up on this and it's driving me crazy. They keep saying how the Nats just can't do that to the rest of the guys on the team. I think the guys already know. This season has never been about one guy being indispensable. They also said he is strong, free and easy, and they should think about it if he starts laboring. IF he STARTS laboring? They are obviously not watching. Sometimes, even when he is pitching a one hitter, he is painful to watch.
Heck, if the Nats win the WS this year, I'd vote to give Elijah Dukes a share. ;)
NatsLady,
Re: Strasburg. The script is certainly playing out that way, as you predicted.
As for Gio, me thinks Suzuki will be his personal catcher from here on in. By choice.
NCN, I don't think they called up all 15 even last year. Some teams do, and it can get really extreme with pinchhitters, relievers, etc. So much so that there was a proposal each team would have to submit a roster of which 25 guys they were going to use before each game.
I get the feeling Davey didn't like to have a lot of bit players running around. And if he didn't like it last year, he probably likes even less this year. So I would say, he will call up who he thinks he needs for the run, and maybe some other guys will be "on call."
Ok...who calls the pitches? Randy Knoor? You always see the catcher looking over at the bench. So I don't think the catcher is calling the game. Flores had gotten kinda sloppy with the glove and his throwing has no zip, but I don't think you can blame him for any pitch calling. Besides, the pitcher can shake off you know
I could be wrong about this but didn't the Nats cause themselves problems a few years ago when they burned an option calling up Detwiler for no reason in September. I think for that reason you don't bring up Goodwin and some of the other younger guys.
Also I like Lombo, but Surhoff had a lot more pop and was a much better athlete. He played both SS and C in college.
#4,
Detwiler had a provision in his contract to receive a September call-up the same year he signed. I believe only Rendon and Purke got a major-league deal last summer, but Goodwin and Meyer didn't.
Yes, I know. My point is that promoting them burns an option.
If Stras is injured, or even just "injured" that would NOT mean he could be saved for playoff innings
Rizzo and the doctors have said from Day 1 that shutting him down, then starting him back up was NEVER an option...
Good answer to my question, NL. All those kids bug the manager. That I get.
In the majors, catchers call the pitches. That's their job, and if they can't do it, they are not major league catchers. There are VERY rare exceptions. If guys are looking over to the dugout it's more likely for pickoff throws or field positioning.
All these TV dopes with their Stras Calendars are just not paying attention to the doctors and medical history...
They all say that the only thing more dangerous than over-working him in the 1st year back would be to shut him down, and start him back up...
And by the way, it's not his Elbow they worry about, it's the shoulder, rotater cuff, and yes, the back...
Eagle, right. I just meant, if Stras had an "injury" then it would cover the shutdown and people could shut up.
You're probably right Nats Lady, although I hate it when teams make baseball decisions based on PR...I'd be surprised if Rizzo would do that...
The example I remember most is when nobody would sign Barry Bonds in 2008 or 09 b/c of the PR hit! There were several teams that really could have used him...
In this case, I doubt Rizzo could get away with a fake injury, the scrutiny is just too intense. All these people with their clever "solutions," as if Rizzo and company hadn't been thinking about this since the day Stras tore his ligament--if not before.
BigCat, Gio, in particular, doesn't like to shake off pitches. It interrupts his flow and focus. Even when he wasn't in sync, he rarely shook off pitches, he would call the catcher to the mound. He wants to trust the catcher to call the right pitches so he can focus on executions. Not only does he want the catcher to know the hitters and their tendencies, but the wants the catcher to "sense" what's working for him on a particular day, for example, in Colorado when the curve wasn't working, he needed an alternative plan, and I think he was frustrated with not getting help from the catcher on it.
An extreme counter example to Gio is Clip, who shakes off a lot of pitches. In general, Clip has been watching hitters swing all game and has a sense of what they will go for, and he also has a sense of how his "stuff" is on a given day. It will be interesting to see if he shakes off less with Suzuki.
EJax shakes off pitches too, but he sometimes does it to mess with the hitter.
Goodwin and Meyer would have to be added to the 40-man to be brought up, and there is no need to bring them up, so it won't happen. Garcia also would need to be added, but he could be useful if the starters are still being yanked every time out after six innings. So him, I think we'll see. Someone will have to be moved to the 60-day DL to make room. They can do that for one player, not for more. As to Leon, Rendon, Rivero, Brown and Perez, they are already on the 40-man so can be brought up with the only consequence being a blown option if they don't make the team out of Spring Training.
But the bigger question is, what can they do?
Should they rust on the bench while the regulars battle for the pennant? The Nats are already scrambling to find ABs for Tyler Moore; how is anyone else going to squeeze into the mix? Are they really going to do much of anything to make themselves candidates for next year's team?
On the other hand, Rendon (especially), Rivero and Perez could really help themselves by spending September in the instructional league(s). Why condemn Perez to a half-dozen pinch-running appearances (and rookie mistakes on the bases) when he can get AAA+ experience in AZ? Maybe show Rivero off in AZ so some team will try to trade for him.
Being generous, I see the only call-ups being Garcia, Leon and Brown.
Hey, I resemble that remark! ;-)
Some disreputable posters might clear their cache and browser history, refresh the page, and vote multiple times.
New York has one vote per the map tally. That said, reprobate that I am, I've done my civic duty more than once. :-)
I see almost no votes today. ROger needs the votes. Up by 20, and NY is the cuty that never sleeps so they might start voting soon.
As to Leon, Rendon, Rivero, Brown and Perez, they are already on the 40-man so can be brought up with the only consequence being a blown option if they don't make the team out of Spring Training.
Any player who is on the 40 man roster and who has played in the minors at all this season (other than on a rehab assignment) has already used up an option. Doesn't matter if they're called up in September or not.
SJM - I have no issue with swimming coaches, especially the ones in the DC MSA. ( MSA? Google it with "Census".)
But hitting coaches? Hmm.. if DeRosa has as big an impact on Shark in a half season as the hitting coach has during Bernadina's entire career, then I question the effectiveness of the coach. Not his work ethic, not his character, just his results. And it's a very fair critique, isn't it?
We're winning, so no one is really complaining. But first pitch swings with bases loaded and other silliness is something that has been a long-standing issue with our offense. It needs to be addressed to make the Nats better, that's what i.'m looking for.
will not pitch in the POSTSEASON??????
if i was steve i would tell rizzo to avoid the rush and trade me to the yankees NOW
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