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The Nationals have no one to blame but themselves for this predicament, and they better be careful not to overlook the Marlins, who may own the NL's worst record but who have been playing much better baseball of late. Did you know Miami is 20-16 since May 31, tops in the NL East? (The Nats, if you're wondering, are 20-18 since then.)
The good news: Stephen Strasburg is on the mound for his final start of the first half, and he's facing his favorite opponent. In 10 career starts against the Marlins, Strasburg is 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA, including a dominating performance against them this year on Opening Day.
I'm not in Miami this weekend, taking a couple of days off before heading up to New York for the All-Star festivities. Please enjoy the conversation as always here...
WASHINGTON NATIONALS at MIAMI MARLINS
Where: Marlins Park
Gametime: 7:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500), XM 185
Weather: Indoors
NATIONALS (47-45)
CF Denard Span
SS Ian Desmond
LF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Adam LaRoche
RF Jayson Werth
2B Anthony Rendon
C Wilson Ramos
RHP Stephen Strasburg
MARLINS (33-57)
LF Justin Ruggiano
3B Ed Lucas
RF Giancarlo Stanton
1B Logan Morrison
OF Marcell Ozuna
2B Derek Dietrich
SS Adeiny Hechavarria
C Rob Brantly
RHP Nathan Eovaldi
UMPIRES
HP Jerry Layne
1B Hunter Wendelstedt (cc)
2B Al Porter
3B Mike Estabrook
445 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 445 of 445 Newer› Newest»Mlb network just revieeed giants game and didnt talk about or show the play.
Looks like chase hudley up men on first and third..... but then .....
MNF, #5 of the SD padres hit the ball...i just went back again and tivo'd it so you won't think i am crazy...am sure they will show it multiple times ...good nite.
I just gotta say I am a Nats fan but I really hate this group of players. They just rolled over tonight. Played a half inning of baseball.
Something has to change before next year.
Jayson Werth will get them straightened out. Just seemed another night of trying to hit 'em 500 feel and got nothing but K'd.
Finally saw it. The ball should have been called fair. The baater walked later.
Of course Timmons was in the way, but umps are part of tge field, and though getting in the way, he made a second mistake by calling it wrong.
I hate Timmons.
In these risp situations, they need to stop trying to hit it out and just knock one run in at a time. It's not going out in that stadium. But anyway- my new mantra is -- well at least we are not as bad as the Giants( yet). Seriously, the Barves are just trying to give us an opening...
Yeah but the Nats couldn't see an opening if it it them in the face. Wow last night might have been the lowest night for this franchise. I keep thinking this can't get worse.
It was just 10 days ago when the Marlins beat Mike Minor, and then the next night they stole a game from Craig Kimbrel. Last night, they jumped all over Stras. You just can never tell in baseball.
Which means we'll probably win tonight's game with Jose Fernandez facing Dan Haren!
I am going to rant at the end of 410 posts on a game played last night. The rant has nothing to do with last nights game.
I do understand that if you are 40 or under, you probably grew up with only the Orioles as your major league baseball team and I do understand people staying with them. I started as a Washington Senator fan a long long time ago. I suffered twice as two different teams were taken from this city. I did go see the Orioles both at Memorial and in their new digs and it was OK. When Angelos did what he could to keep a team out of Washington I was furious and will continue to be so. That is not my rant.
A couple of days ago Boswell wrote about the Orioles and how much "fun" was being had at Camden Yards. I doubt that any Baltimore Sun columnist penned a similar article last year when we were on the way to achieving the best record in baseball. Now today I open my Washington Post and what greats me but a half page picture of an Oriole pitcher and a large article with graphs etc. What the hell is this!! You are the WASHINGTON POST not the Baltimore/Washington Post. I dare you to do the same thing during football season! Its bad enough the team I love is under achieving but now the Post has jumped ship and will be a front runner as well. I am pissed.
Go Nats!!
I am Faraz Shaikh and I approve this rant.
Kolchak.....bringing up the "prospects" I was being a smart ass. I know we don't have a lot down on the farm.
Even though baseball isn't football, you still want guys that are competitors, guys who "burn" to play, guys who will throw their helmet, guys who might get tossed. Guys who throw the f-bomb when provoked. A guy who will get in another teammates face when need be. Don't get me wrong, there is a fine line between this and a "bad attitude" like Albert Belle or a Milton Bradley. I know Mick and some of these other coaches on here know what I'm talking about. Guys you don't have to try and motivate. Guys who show up to kick someones ass. Now you look at our bunch of choir boys and you have Laroche, Rendon, Zim, Bernadina, Tracy, Moore, Lombo and Ramos. I would rate these guys as "front row" church boys. Where is Span you say? Well, he's the Pastor. Barely awake on his feet. So who does that leave in the foxhole as the grenades are being lobbed? We have Harper, Werth, Desi and Susuki. So now you throw in a 70 year old fatherly type manager and what do you get? A bunch of cupcakes where the "air comes out of the balloon" repeatly. We score a couple of early runs and they assume the fetal posistion. More than once FP has said we need a brawl or something to get these guys going. What kills me is when Davey comes out to argue an obvious umpire mistake. He ambles, or should I say "sneaks" out to the ump....mumbles a little and then heads back to his perch on the step. I don't know what to call it. Maybe heart is the word. This team has no heart. I don't know
Well said 308. I'm sorry to tell you that I care very little about the Senators, but I could care even less about the Os. That their owner conspired for years to prevent my city from having its own team adds insult to injury. It's pathetic that the Post gives them as much ink as it does. Blech.
one guy I wish was young and could still play is Rizzo. He burns. I thought he was gonna go after Hamels last year.
sjm, I'm not there to see the paper but that turncoat crap from Boz is sickening. That team by the way is in 3rd place and their refusal to spend money on top players may cost them.
The Nats have a strategy of long-term winning and they are built for pitching and defense.
Nats Park isn't a HR hitters paradise and we all know OPACY is and fans dig the longball.
This competition between 2 teams seperated by 30 miles while sharing a TV Network that is run by a tyrant a-hole is very distressing. To have WaPo shove it in the Nats fan faces is disgusting. WaPo runs with the flavor of the day for their own greedy money grab of viewership. Maybe Kilgore will start writing OJ.
I was impressed with the Marlins last night and the strides they have made from the beginning of the year. Where did they obtain some of these guys? It is testament to their scouting and player development.
If I read right I think the Marlins have the best record among the Eastern Division teams since May.
I have a few questions and I know I have the benefit of 20-20 hindsight but I am surprised by our inability to build bench or to sign any of these Cubans. If I am Rizzo and I know I am limited in my ability to sign first year players I would really focus on the Cubans who are outside of draft regulations. I know we missed on Maya and tried for Chapaman but we need position players . Where were we with Soler, Cepedes or Puig. Are there any more position players coming?
I am impressed with the Mets signing of Young and Byrd. These are good platoon players which would help our bench. We can never seem to sign any of these real good bench or platoon players.
m, yep hindsight. Rizzo had his bench set. I questioned the re-sign of Tracy from the start and there was nobody to challenge him in ST as the bench was set. Bernadina's wrist injury in the WBC didn't help and Lombo is just weak and TyMo just couldn't get it going.
I've said for some time that the Nats need a RH 4th outfielder. It could've been someone like Alfonso Soriano but they would have to accept a platoon role. I still am concerned about the over-use of Jayson Werth and the ongoing health of RZim and ALR.
What they said.
Faraz Shaikh said...
I am Faraz Shaikh and I approve this rant.
NatsJack in Florida said...
sjm308...... Great Rant!!!!
Section 222 said...
Well said 308.
Ghost Of Steve M. said...
sjm, I'm not there to see the paper but that turncoat crap from Boz is sickening.
Sjm, et al-- I completely agree. I was furious when I opened my WaPo this morning!! But instead of ranting, is there someone we can email? An editor maybe? I still pay for this newspaper, and I am really angry. As for the Marlins and the NL East- it occurs to me that our division is going to be quite infuriating this season. I see the five teams beating up each other in a way that cannot be predicted from day to day. On any given day, any of the five teams can beat any of the others. It should make things interesting, I know that, but it just ticks me off.
I am with the well said sjm crowd. Of course I am well past that 40 age mark also.
I'm sorry WODL, I feel your comments are demeaning, and arrogant...I guess we can not have a meaninful discussion when name calling and hurtful comments are directed. In the future, I suggest keeping the personal attacks out of your blog.
Good luck in your future endeavors.
I have knocked Werth more than once over the last 2 years, but I've gotta say he is playing great ball right now.
Coach...great post, agree 100%
Mike Wallace says Nats will roll after break?...hope he is right, however, where s the evidence after almost 100 games?
i have lost a lot of respect for Bos today...but it is typical Post...I know many of these wormy bastards personally...when George Solomon was sports editor, he was notorious for being a turn coat and a back stabber and worst of all a liar. What he did to Lefty, UMD after Lenny Bias' death was so low down...the Post SUCKS and so does Bos
I would like to see the Lerners tell the Post to go to hell publicly
well, i grew up in new york...Shea was about 20 miles from the bronx...When the Mets were up, you heard about and same for the Yanks.
But, Sharing the same network, however, is a lose-lose proposition. That has to end.
Would love
coach is so right...balt Sun and not a single baltimore/dundalk trash news outlet NEVER did a story on Nats in 2012.
F the post and Bos
I gotta say, I was upset last weekend, when a bar/restaurant downtown about 1/2 mile from Nats Park had the O's game and a car race on while the Nats were playing. Management did change the car race to the Nats after I asked.
I guess we have to keep on speaking up. I have asked for the Nats to be turned on a several places and they have. But don't worry- it won't be an issue soon- it will be all NFL, all the time.
Same here, but I didn't grow up with the Senators, or the O's, and I didn't follow them after moving here from California. My family moved to the SFO Bay Area when I was a lass, and the Giants were the only local team then.
Of course I am well past that 40 age mark also.
Well, we have lots to be greatful for.
We have a team in playoff contention at the All Star break, with one of the best starting 3 in baseball, We also have young stars
Harper, Rendon and Ramos in the same lineup finally. Continued entertainment thru September.
Great analyses and discussion by our bloggers.
The Marlins will start Henderson Alvarez in Sunday’s first-half finale instead of Kevin Slowey. Alvarez will be pitching on regular rest…
Other Marlins notes here. Must be some bad situation with Austin Kearns.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-marlins/marlins-blog/sfl-marlins-austin-kearns-notebook-blog-20130712,0,6242179.story
Jeff- you know, we all talk as though we were in last place. There really are lots of positives. The changes that have been made since the season started are good ones. If people learn from mistakes and adversity, then our team should be amazing really soon.
Sounds like it, on Kearns. Hope things improve with his family situation.
Sjm308. Awesome. First of all I don't see why you would waste your time pulling the POST out from the bottom of your parrots cage. But that's beside the point. I too agree how despicable Boswells POS. T article was. That should be grounds for dismissal. I too was an Os fan. But stopped when the Ravens came here. When DC had no baseball most rooted for the Os. When Crapmore had no football did they root for the Skins? NFW. No way.
Mick I like you more and more every day. Of course I never read the post. Unlike a box of chocolates you DO always know what your gonna get.
People ranting about the Post seem to forget that they're in business to sell newspapers, not promote the local teams. No one can deny that there are a lot of Orioles fans who live in the DC area. When the Nats came to town, the Post covered the Orioles equally with the Nats. They had an Orioles beat writer Jorge Arangure to go along with Nats beat writer Barry Svrluga, and Boswell wrote half his columns about the O's, not just an occasional one like he does now. They did this in the hope that the O's fans in the DC area would buy their newspaper. When it became clear that their circulation was declining anyway, they quit doing it and just ran AP stories about the O's. But now the Post has its new paywall, and clearly they're trying to get O's fans to start clicking on their articles. They appear to have an O's beat writer now, Chelsea Janes, and Boswell and Sheinin are writing more about the O's than they used to. You might as well get used to it.
Of course anyone who actually pays money for Washington Post content is a fool anyway. The print edition is nothing but a day-old regurgitation of stuff that's already appeared online, and the online paywall has more holes in it than Danny Espinosa's swing.
I think Bob Short is stoking the fires for Peter Angelos, but I like Boz.
Apologies if someone mentioned this among the rants: Micah Owings will be a two-way player in the Milwaukee system. He'll play outfield and pitch.
One of my great pleasures, besides being retired, is taking the actual hard copy of the Post and leafing through it at my leisure every morning. I realize I can go online and get more indepth coverage etc. but I like doing the crossword puzzle, the sudoko, reading the comics and of course looking at baseball boxscores while holding the paper in my hands. I guess its a little like still liking to read an actual book instead of trying to read one on the ipad.
You can call people fools and I will chose not to call you something in return, but I chose not to accept that label since I feel I get a decent return for that money.
And Feel:
I obviously know why the Post does what it does even though you think I am a fool. The newspaper that I grew up with is slowly but surely dying. Remember when we had 3 papers in this town? That doesn't mean I have to like it. Again, want to bet we ever see a full color picture of a Raven on the front of the Post Sports page when football season is in full swing?
sjm, I don't think you're a fool...I like you and like your insight...keep reading the Post all you want.
I don't think paying for property you could easily shoplift necessarily makes one a fool, or a sucka, or unhip, or whatever. FWIW. IMO. YMMV. VWP.
TTFN. See you in the new post.
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