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USA Today Sports Images Ross Detwiler allowed two runs over six strong innings. |
Hitting lowlight: How much are the Nationals missing Ryan Zimmerman's presence in their lineup right now? A lot, especially with Adam LaRoche struggling as much as he is. The veteran first baseman struck out in all four of his plate appearances tonight and is now 0-for-10 with seven punchouts since the middle of Sunday's game in New York. LaRoche is a notorious slow starter, and he'll almost surely post his usual stats by season's end, but his lack of production is glaring right now because the Nationals need him to hit cleanup with Zimmerman on the DL.
Pitching highlight: Though he wasn't quite as dominant tonight as he was in his previous three starts, Detwiler certainly pitched well enough to win. His only real mistakes came in succession in the top of the fourth, when the Cardinals strung together four straight hits. Otherwise, the left-hander did his usual thing, pounding the strike zone with fastballs and making the opposition hit the ball on the ground. That led to an astounding four double plays in the first five innings alone. At 93 pitches, Detwiler certainly could have come back out for the seventh. But with the Nationals trailing at the time, Davey Johnson had no choice but to send up a pinch-hitter. Thus ended a strong-yet-frustrating night for the Nats' No. 5 starter.
Key stat: With a sixth-inning strikeout as a pinch-hitter, Roger Bernadina is now 0-for-16 with seven strikeouts this season.
Up next: The series concludes with a 1:05 p.m. Wednesday matinee at the ballpark. Stephen Strasburg will try to get back on track after three straight losses, taking on Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia.
79 comments:
This team has 1 (one) hitter.
Anemic offense: an Awesome Wainright on his game. Hard to win tonight.
In the immortal words of one Micheal Ray Richardson, "The ship be sinking"
I am sick of this
I just don't like it that Tracy is getting many AB's than Moore -- Moore can hit; certainly a superior hitter/slugger to .250 Tracy. But then Tracy is one of "Davy's Boy's" and Davy's boy's play!! go ask Lombo how he feels sitting behind the likes of Espinosa.
I heard the first boos tonight at the park -- Werth's pop out on the first pitch. More Boos to follow
ALR effort (I use the term loosely) at the plate was pathetic.
Lombo needs to play, Davey is being an ass about not playing him
Hard to blame the pitching staff anymore.
First time the Nats have been at .500 in over a year. No errors tonight? Nice double plays. Good pitching. For me, only the offense failed in this game. Lately it has been offense, defense, pitching and pen. That being said --the offense is making me puke. Seriously- look at Lombo's numbers. We need offense desperately. What is not adding up here ? Missing Zim in the lineup, Ramos, too. Hope they wake the heck up soon before they lose too much more ground.
I don't understand how Chad Tracy is better than Paul Ankiel. He just doesn't seem to be a real answer off the bench. Was he cheap?
Btw, this is the best comment, by far, that I have seen on this site. We could use more of these and fewer of the parrot ones:
John C. said...
taeyyenom said...
Get rid of the old man Davey.
April 23, 2013 5:29 PM
Won't solve the problem. Anyone named to replace him will simply become, like Davey, one of the 30 dumbest people in the world. It's a magical condition that descends inexorably upon every major league manager. Once you become a major league manager, all of deep wisdom, psychological insight and baseball acumen possessed by the any anonymous internet commentator or fan drains completely out of you.
It's as old as the sport, and incurable: the 30 managers of major league teams are the dumbest people on the planet. Followed, incidentally, by the 30 major league general managers. Pity them, too!
April 23, 2013 5:59 PM
Adam Laroche lost this game. His glove is great. But sure doesnt make up for his pathetic hitting. Sit ALR, Span, Espi, Rendon. Sickening. Davey finally getting mad. I don't blame him though.
Welcome Willie O Doug. Its not Davey. Guy in the 4 hole not batting his weight
At what point do we shutdown Strasburg to save him for next year?
The Nats have been shut out in 20% of their games in 2013. Ouch.
So what do we expect Wednesday afternoon? Assume Suzuki gets a day off. Lombo for Espy. Moore for LaRoche. Shark for Werth. Tracy for Rendon.
Swami. The problem is your cleanup hitter is hitting like Bob Ueker. Move him down or get him out of there. Name another teams whose 4th batter is hitting 170
Personalizedname. Looks like a good lineup to me.
Davey said postgame that he was mad and frustrated and promised lineup changes tomorrow. I expect to see Lombardozzi at 2nd and maybe Moore at 1st.
On the bright side, HRod had a good night. Good double plays.
Tomorrow is another day.
Many in this very forum were uber excited when Laroche was re-signed -- the same group thought nothing of letting our true slugger go -- (morse). Laroche is just being Laroche. A notorious slow starter, ALR just had his career year -- last year's early hot start for ALR was the anomaly. The Fan base shouldn't complain: they got what they wanted: Morse gone, laroche remains.
Of course, Tyler Moore has not been good either.
I honestly blame Ryan Zimmerman more than anyone one else on the squad. There is absolutely no reason for him to show up this season unprepared to play. There have been some good comments about his contract negotiations and if he doesn't turn things around, he will soon be about as popular as Arod currently is in New York.
I will say that we were not good offensively in the first third to half last year and really picked up with Morse, Harper, Espinosa, Zimmerman and La Roche doing better in the second half. The Nats could have kept Morse and worked things around if they had known that Ryan Zimmerman was going to be AWOL. Right now, they are missing Morse, Zimmerman and La Roche, fwiw, with Span no longer doing quite as well.
JaneB - I was saying earlier that the defense was better, Det good, HRod and Clip good. Just the offensive offense now. Not just unlucky either-- bad, bad, bad approaches. A 4 pitch inning? Still better than the 15-0 and 13-0 shutouts. Progress in baby steps. Time for Stras to step up.
Two weeks ago no was allowed to criticize Johnson -- now it seems chic to blast him. How the worm has turned.
And if Davey shakes up the lineup, let him do it in a smart, meaningful way. Just by clearing your bench for a game, and sitting 3-5 of your starters, only to see them back in there the next night is childish. Let Davey make solid changes like sitting ALR and moving Moore in there -- for a week or more -- sitting Espi's tired arse down and playing Lombo for the next month. And what are we going to do about super unproductive Tracy and Shark -- geez what a weak team
WOLD---- No reason for Zim to show up unprepared? He had major surgery! Couldn't have an earlier surgery because of--- you know-- we were in the post season. He was not even allowed to throw when spring training started. He rushed back. He has more reason to not be ready than any other player on the roster.
So that was all Henry needed--to pitch from the windup? LOL
The team doesn't have the talent to get us where we need to go this season. I enjoyed the pitching and Det is fast becoming my favorite player outside of Harper. We need to reevaluate a number of players after the season. Zimm is simply too unreliable, injury-ridden, and streaky to support Harper. If we can trade him for a good hitter and get someone to take the contract, I would go for it. Second, we need a contact hitter behind Harper. I know Cano is likely to stay in NY, but if you can throw the money, that would be the person to get. There are others that we could trade for in the four spot that would be an upgrade. Dump LaRoche and play Moore. Send Espi down and play Lombo. There are things we can do.
Morse is hitting .214 with under a .274 OBP. Yes, he's hitting HRs, but he's not vastly outperforming LaRoche. Especially when you consider the defensive difference.
William: Moore has had only 19 aB's -- hardly a sample to make the statement that he is not doing well -- he needs to play.
I guarantee he hits better than ALR, guarantee.
Gee Davey, why get mad now? Think of all the good golf you and "your boys" got in during Spring training.
I was driving all day and just got into the hotel in time to hear the last two innings. Yes, LaRoche is the main goat but I heard the Nats radio team talking the game over with Phil Wood and they say Desmond made four outs on only 6 pitches (or was it 7) and Espinosa made three outs on 7 pitches.
Boys, this ain't working for you recently and it certainly makes the opposing starters look like Cy Young staying around all game.
someone asked during the game asked what team average was without Harper. Answer .219.
Shark and Tracy wont play. Garcia is left handed. Moore and Lombo in.
My question that no ask Davey at least I don't hear. Wh Lombo get so little playing time.
Dave Proctor gives us the daily stats on Morse in order to knock him and excuse LaRoche.
Is Davey P going to be keeping up updated when Morse is back up to .295 with 25 homers? I doubt it.
Baseball is a game of averages. Morse is a lifetime .295 hitter. Morse will be up there very soon.
I actually do think we should be playing Moore. He can make himself good 1b and his offensive numbers should be good with enough at bats. Tired of hearing about Danny's ceiling and potential and power. I will take Lombo's baseball IQ and smart hitting any day. Even though it's beat up on the offense night -- it is time for Stras and Gio to get it together.
If Strasburg performs to 2013 form, they will be swept by another good team. Assuming they can't beat the Giants and the Braves (lose both series), they'll be at least seven games behind by the end of the month. And there is a high likelihood that they will be behind by more than that. Stras, Gio, Haren have been less than impressive.
.219???? The Old Senators used to be at the bottom of the league with their .226 average. and this team sans Harper is worse? wow
When Harper was being stranded at 2b in the ninth tonight, it was easy to imagine him wondering what he would look like in pinstripes
Prediction: Strasburg finishes the year on the DL. HIs mechanics are so poor, he's in danger of blowing out his elbow again.
You heard it here, first.
Prediction: Davey finishes the year in the crazy ward of the local Sunrise Assisted Living. haha
Davey will be mute accept for the one word he can say 'I" 'I" "I" and he says it over and over and over
The heart of our order is just pathetic right now. Lead off Double in the bottom of the ninth and nothing at all to show for that?
Great night to be at the park. The President's race was hilarious!
Get em next time, Nats.
We already know we will have a new manager next season. Will it be that long? Davey Johnson does well with good teams- he just lets them play and " express their talents"" . Not so good with under performers or at motivating. He will throw the players under the bus and not once take any responsibility. Been doing it for years. Started last fall.
By the way, Ray Knight, I thought the team played up to its abilities today. The idea that this team has too much talent not to succeed is just laughable. I enjoyed the commentary better when the team was expected to be bad. At least you could enjoy the little successes.
As a teacher I give report cards every quarter and half way through the quarter I give an interim. Here is the grades so far.
Ramos. A
Suzuki B
LaRoche F
Espi F
Desmond B
Zimmerman D+
Rendon inc.
Harper A+
Span C+
Werth C
Tracy F
Shark F
Moore C
Lombo A
Solano inc.
Strasburg B-
Gio C-
Zimmerman A
Haren D+
Detwiler A+
Stay-Man B
Storen B-
HRod B
Duke. C-
Matthues B-
Clippard B-
Soriano B
I don't know , maybe a couple guys get a referral? Detention?
D goes up, O comes down. The woofer is out of phase with the mains.
At the park with Cunegonde tonight, a couple of good things.
1) Henry pitched two good innings. His ERA right now is lower than Matheus's.
2) Cunegonde and I got there a little on the late side, were going to our seats with our gelatoes and beer (!) when they did the color guard and national anthem. So we stopped, faced the field, and while we were watching the flags come out, I saw a guy ahead of us wearing a jersey that said, "NATSJACK."
I went down after the singing, and asked, "Natsjack in Florida?" and he said, "That's right..." Had Cunegonde come down to meet him. Hey, Natsjack, enjoyed talking with you!
Apart from that, pretty dismal. Good pitching effort by Det went to waste, along with some nifty fielding - Wainwright bunting into a DP was the highlight of the evening for me. Cunegonde was cheering hard for Rendon - she wore her Rice University cap - and was kinda bummed out that he went hitless.
It'll be too late by the time LaRoche gets started in the hot weather. Time to see what Tyler Moore can do.
And I can't believe Davey pinch hit Tracy for Rendon. Right now Tracy is just short of pathetic.
Is tomorrow soon enough? B team could hardly do worse.
why do they pitch to Harper. Until ALR beat me I would walk him every bat.
I am thankful they don't because watching his at bats is the only fun we having.
my bigger complaint was why Shark not Lombo adter Suzuki single in 6th
So that was all Henry needed--to pitch from the windup?
Interesting observation Natslady.
my bigger complaint was why Shark not Lombo adter Suzuki single in 6th
As he did before he is giving everyone equal play and then in May he'll start winnowing out the guys who aren't performing. Remember he even sent DeRosa to the DL although he did likely need to be there.
Eck has gotta go.....period
"The ship be sinking" Thank you Sports Illustrated, lol
"The ship be sinking" Thank you Sports Illustrated, lol
They are never sinking ... they do have too much young prospect and top prospects left to bring in. Albeit Skole is now out with the TJ surgery. They either win with the veterans or its time to bring in the youth.
Its their choice.
"Dave Proctor gives us the daily stats on Morse in order to knock him and excuse LaRoche.
Is Davey P going to be keeping up updated when Morse is back up to .295 with 25 homers? I doubt it.
Baseball is a game of averages. Morse is a lifetime .295 hitter. Morse will be up there very soon."
And LaRoche is a career .270 hitter/25 HR guy. Both aren't having great starts. Both will improve.
BTW, next time you insult me, get your facts straight. This is the first time I've mentioned Morse's average...hardly a daily thing.
Peric....whats up with your boy at 3B? I thought he was headed for the Hall of Fame. We need him to do something....anything....even if its wrong....do something dammit!
Big Cat we ave been in concurrance on the Eck not coaching bandwagon for 3 years.
I gotta say, I *really* enjoyed watching the fielding tonight, and the bullpen was fantastic. Det turned in another good one, too.
Yeah, the at bats were generally aggravating, but I was much more relieved and even excited by the defense tonight than I was frustrated by no offense.
Regardless, .500 is suboptimal... ;)
Manassas Nats' Fan said...
why do they pitch to Harper. Until ALR beat me I would walk him every bat.
That's exactly what they did in his next-to-last AB. Loaded the bases for LaRoche. House was going nuts cheering. I sat there glumly; it was obvious why they were pitching around Harper. Oldest rule in baseball: don't let their best hitter beat you.
And HRod did not implode and Clippard looking good. Drew last night. Only gave up 3 yesterday and two today-- won't take all that much offense to get past that. Not like we would have needed ten.
Nice defense from our infield and relief pitchers are getting better. Once SS and GG bounce back, we will back in it in no time. Bats will come around.
Hats off to Det. He pitched a good ballgame against a good hitting team. There hitters are disciplined in what they do, and they don't get cheated.
And yes Manassas, we won't be joining the Eckstein fan club anytime soon.
Agreed about the bats coming back around... they're the only reason we're not worse off right now...
If/when Gio and Stras hit their stride we'll be in good shape. At that point even mediocrity from Haren would suffice...
We miss Zim at 3B. This team has always gone as Zim goes.
I enjoyed watching the game tonight. Except for scoring runs and losing the game, we played very well. We will come out of this losing funk.
From Mark Z.:
#Nats offense thru first 20 games: .236/.301/.405, 74 R, 23 HR. Thru first 20 last year: .231/.309/.333, 71 R, 12 HR. It's still early.
In the postgame, Davey said he's making some changes tomorrow. It's a day game after a night game, so maybe it's just going to be for one game, but expect Lombo, Moore, and maybe even Solano to get a start.
The Shark is a big disappointment. Does Davey start him also and risk a golden sombrero in order to try to help him break out of his horrible slump?
Eric, I think that is why Rizzo gambled on Haren. He could count on four starters to produce that he was willing to gamble with Haren, hoping to find a steal. With GG and SS struggling, Haren move looks even worse than it actually is so far (he can turn it around too).
Jackson, if pitch f/x can be trusted, we've been getting robbed a lot lately...
Wouldnt it be great to cheer for a team where Harper the way he has played so far was your worse hitter?
We coyld have a team of Haren' s pitching and win.
Just getting home from a chilly but well played game.
Positives:
1. Ride from door to Justin's was under 50 min. New Record!
2. Great Lakes Elliot Ness Lager for $3 & 2 dogs and fries for $5 - (ok, I had 2 beers)
3. Saw 3 brilliant double plays tonight that were all highlight worthy. Loved Danny flipping the ball to Desmond with his glove. Loved Suzuki having the smarts to fire to 2nd (not sure the runner was out but they would still get the pitcher at first), and the 3rd was the best of all. Great bunt but Rendon fired a bullet to 1st and Danny's throw to Detwiler was just as strong and for Detwiler to be in position to make that sweeping tag was just a play you don't see very often.
4. Our bullpen continues to improve. I was worried about sending Henry out for a 2nd inning but he stayed strong and Clip was efficient.
5. And this is the most important positive. I got to enjoy a game of professional baseball with my son.
There were a couple of negatives:
1. We did not score as many runs as the Cardinals.
2. We did not hit well nor hit with runners in scoring position.
3. My ride home was silly ridiculous (4 straight trains to Mt. Vernon followed by a train to Ft. Toten and then finally a Greenbelt train. The worst part of that was that I had to read all the rants and criticisms of people who either A. don't like baseball B. just care if the Nationals win or C. like to think they are smarter than everyone else. Lets fire Davey, send LaRoche back to the midwest never to play again, fire the batting coach, fire Rizzo, fire the entire bench, fire the people who book the anthem singers, Hell lets just start all over because we are obviously doomed.
Tomorrow is another day and I will be rooting for us to win.
Go Nats!!
Bryce Harper was great! Can we clone him?
Peric....whats up with your boy at 3B? I thought he was headed for the Hall of Fame. We need him to do something....anything....even if its wrong....do something dammit!
And Harper wasn't isn't piss and vinegar when he got to the majors either. Rizzo was probably hoping that Rendon the more mature and older hitter would be better prepared. And he be. He isn't striking out a lot and he is doing what he should do adjusting to major league pitching.
Rendon's job is to make Zimmerman's stay on the DL as long as necessary to get completely healed. We don't need him coming back and becoming the same sort of hole in the #4 spot that LaRoche currently is because he still recovering.
Golden Sombrero: The feat of going 0-for-4 in a ballgame, striking out each time. Could also be known as 'a day at the office for Adam LaRoche".
Looks like the doom and gloom squad has grown significantly from last year.
They aren't going to hit like they did last year. Rizzo pretty much admitted that losing Morse and replacing him with Span meant they would have to find ways to manufacture runs.
Its never going to optimal until more pieces are in place than are there now.
22 K's for LaRoche does not bode well for April.
Back from game, reading the whining on this site is neither edifying nor educational. I'm not happy either, but at least the pitching has been pretty solid, Henry even a big surprise, though bad Henry was briefly back in his second inning of relief, defense tonight was solid and superb. the offense sucks, but it did last year at this time, too, but the pitching overcame it.
Thanks, Manassas Nats Fan @10:31 for the succinct interim grading, seems eminently fair to me.
Not that I ever do, but no brilliant insights from me, except I will note that some very, very good teams, like Yankees and Lakers in bball, have often had slow starts and then revved up as the season progressed. Caps did it this year, though how good they are remains to be seen. Nats still a big question mark, obviously, but one silver lining, anyway--those overblown WS expectations have been punctured quickly, so maybe we can go back to being pleasantly surprised if/when things turn around in the next 30 games.
This offense looks like the pirates offense 1st half of last year....Our McCutcheon in Harper. The rest of their team is..well..the rest of our team.
I understand long seasons, bt remember Angels with all that talent let slow start last too long. Dont want to see the Natsdo the same this year.
Pitchers ERA finally back under 4
I thought FP said it was the chewing gum.
NatsLady said...
So that was all Henry needed--to pitch from the windup? LOL
April 23, 2013 10:14 PM
Someone can do the numerical comparison but I don’t remember at this point in the season last year the offense was any better. Same on-the-ledge comments about this same time in 2012. The difference was that last year the pitching was unbelievable the first month. AND there were always a couple batters that would string out something for a win in the 8/9th. A lot of cardiac games though. 2013: Pitching is coming around. Batting will to. My guess...the sky is still in place
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