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Hitting lowlight: Stop us if you've heard this one before: The Nationals couldn't deliver a clutch hit in several big spots in the
game. It's a nightly story for this team, and it keeps repeating itself. Harper's third-inning solo homer produced the Nats' only run of the game, though they had other opportunities. They had two on and one out in the fifth after Harper's plunking, but Ryan Zimmerman flied out and Jayson Werth popped out. And then they loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, only to watch as Adam LaRoche grounded a 2-0 pitch from left-hander Luis Avilan to first to end the inning and leave the crowd of 30,875 muttering to itself yet again.
Pitching highlight: Lost amid the mid-game fireworks was a very strong outing by Gonzalez. Six days removed from his disaster of an outing in Detroit, the left-hander dominated early, retiring the first eight batters he faced, three via strikeout. Gonzalez did slip up in the fifth, and it proved costly. With two outs and two out, he served up a 2-run single to Evan Gattis, giving the Braves their only two runs of the night off him. Gonzalez did bounce back after that, holding Atlanta scoreless through the seventh and departing with a quality start on his ledger. He certainly deserved a better fate, not to mention some run support.
Key stat: Harper's 23.66-second home-run trot tonight was the slowest of his career, though still considerably faster than Justin Upton's 27.36-second trot from Monday night.
Up next: The series concludes at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday when Jordan Zimmermann seeks his 14th win of the season and Kris Medlen seeks his ninth.
149 comments:
Well,Ian Krol looked good.
Embarrassing
Same script. Tons of opportunities, don't cash in on any of them. Poor fundamentals (Gio not dropping the bunt). We've pitched well enough to win both of these games. It's a shame. It really is.
Just not our year... I mean the ineffectiveness of the offense is baffling..
This is painful...
Yes, Joe.
Way to go Nats. Watching those punks celebrate and embrace each other on the Nats field. Look in the mirrors and do the little things.
Less mistakes tonight but you didn't capitalize on Chris Johnson's throwing error. That was the opening.
I feel like every loss this year plays out exactly the same. I get a strange feeling of deja vu every time I watch this team.
Nats couldn't even challenge the poor defense the Braves had in LF since they didn't hit it out there.
Good players aren't playing good. Good coaches aren't coaching good. D
Yawn, same old same old. The sweep I predicted will happen tomorrow. Nats are just a bad baseball team. As Rizzo says, you are your record. Watch as attendance, already low for what should have been a huge series, plateaus. Washington baseball = perpetual disappointment. Game 4 will be this group's high water mark, sadly.
I can't complain about Davey tonight except where was the plunking?
I disagree with FP, to an extent....
The beat form of retaliation would have been to win the game...
Best *
Good points by FP. The season is gone. They better nail somebody soon. My gosh if they beat you they beat you. But don't take it lying down.
But mrs B this team can't win the game. Who cares if you do win? The braves don't. They are 14 games up. One game doesn't matter.
FP was fired up all game... Lol... I just knew that he was gonna go on the field and run some one over...
FP is right that no one had Bryce's back there. Soft team is just the bottom line.
Ray is fired up.
The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. And that's exactly what this team and Rizzo need to do.
Fact of the matter is Nats are still in contention... Play smart, anything can happen...
Nats should have won tonight... Simple as that...
Ray makes a good point.., what happens if they rush and someone gets hurt.... Teheran will get his... Gotta keep it in your pocket for the prime opportunity...
No heart. Last six at BATS K,K,K,K,K,K on a pitch twenty feet out of the strike zone when a take brings the winning run to the plate No. Brains. At. All on this sorry arse team. They just plain stink and won't finish 500 and likely in fourth place. Oh, well, it means a higher draft pick next year. At least the minor league teams will have post season baseball.
I read here and believe that a great many of the people that post here do know baseball. I have watched these last two games in depth and I wonder how or why so many of you talked on and on about the flaws in the Braves lineup. Their starting pitching looks pretty damn good. Their bullpen is outstanding. They catch the ball and they hit with runners in scoring position. I go position by position and since I can't stand Uggla I will say we have an advantage at 2nd. Harper will always start on any team for me but would you really want Werth and his contract over Heyward and his youth and potential. SS might be another spot but that is about all I can find in the 8 position players. The other comments made early in the season were how their manager was incompetent. I certainly have not seen that in this series. Our manager is the one who seems to be making (or not making) moves that hurt his team.
I will be there tomorrow. I will enjoy major league baseball, enjoy my son, enjoy a good beer before the game and pay ridiculous prices during the game and hope that Jordan continues to pitch well. I am also pretty damn sure that unless he pitches a shutout we will be swept.
I just hope somebody approaches Bryce and says, we got you kid. We will take care of it.
Its no question whether that was an intentional hit by Teheran...
Peeps would be cruxifying our players had someone pulled a Greinke (I think it was him that got hurt in that dumb brawl)....
Wow, I am all for root root rooting for the home team but how can anyone say we are still in contention? If we were playing well, I might agree but we are now 5 games under .500, we can't hit and we can't field. I said this over a month ago that you just can't hit a magic switch. This is how we are going to play for the rest of the year. We as fans have to support our team but I am not going to get delusional that we have any kind of chance at the post-season. I just want us to play well, play hard and maybe, just maybe get back to .500 by the end of the season.
From CBS:
After getting hit, Harper barked at Teheran and pointed at him.
The Braves tweeted: “Clown move bro,” tweaking Harper’s famous retort to a reporter, “That’s a clown question, bro.”
The Nationals replied: “Which part, giving up the home run, or drilling the 20-year-old on the first pitch his next time up?”
The Nationals later deleted the tweet.
I sure hope ALR is out of the lineup tomorrow. He really stinks.
Nats certainly aren't playing well enough to be score board watching...
Even if they are still in it.., gotta take care of business themselves first, which they haven't done at all..
Ray is a Davey apologist....FP better watch out or he will get Dibbled
Sjm - until the Nats are mathematically eliminated, you can't fault folks for having hope... Its that simple...
Doesn't matter, right now the Braves are laughing at us
Question: lets say, just for hypothetical purposes that in the first inning Jordan drills Upton. Nails him right in the hip. There will of course be warnings but could the ump eject him? If not, I say fire away.
MrsB, I agree with you. Beat them in the game.I disagree with you regarding not swinging on a 2-0 count. That is a hitter's count. ALR has hit that inside pitch out many times before. Like everyone else on this team, he didn't come through when the money was on the line.They say that hitting is contagious. So is not hitting.
Ghost - why did the Nats delete the tweet... Its true...
MrsB. I absolutely love your passion and hope, but the reality is, we are not in contention. We are not mathmatically eliminated but we are not contending right now. We are sliding down.
I do not fault you but I am trying to keep my sanity and to do that, I will concentrate on watching major league ball. Sort of the same strategy I used while we were losing 100+ games for two years in a row.
If Upton is not hit tomorrow I will not attend another Nats game this season. Your star player got hit on purpose and you do NOTHING?
Wake up, Davey and do your darn job! Just pathetic.
Atlanta is a terrible sports town. I say we wait until we are in Atlanta. Then plunk somebody hard. But make sure your wearing your helmets. The fans will throw bottles for sure.
JoeS - 2-0 is a tricky count to me.... I think you let it go and make the pitcher throw your pitch...
What really got me about AdLa's at bat was the pitcher was inside the whole time, make him throw outaidee, and you need to see more than 2/3 pitches for that...
Fruatratsing.... And I'm getting sick and tired of them swinging from their knees...
I don't want to be a hater. I want to continue to analyze and the Nats are playing poorly overall and Davey has been managing poorly.
I can say almost anything here but when I point out objective stats on Ryan Zimmerman and give my subjective thoughts I was belittled.
That's a shame that we still play this game here where "favorite" players are protected. Desi is one of those players to me but there's no sugarcoating the "clutch" slump he is in. The lack of Hi Lev hits is maddening.
I'd rather blame the high priced guys who are here to be stars and the 2 corner infielders are just not doing it. Plain and simple.
Just looked it up. This was the 11th time the Nats have scored two or fewer runs since the ASG, which was less than three weeks ago.
Ugh.
Unknown dont hold your breath. They will not do a thing. A bunch of selfish gutless babies they are. I don't know if I can root for wimps like this too much longer. And it's not about the losing. I've been here from the beginning.
Sjm - if we aren't mathematically eliminated then that means we are still in contention, right?
Or is this the part where befuz we disagree I scream you are attacking me...
*snickers* I joke, I joke....
But I completely understand your view... I'm just choosing to keep hope alive until the numbers tell me otherwise....
Good piece ghost. Zimm Desi and ALR just doing nothing.
sjm308 said...
Question: lets say, just for hypothetical purposes that in the first inning Jordan drills Upton. Nails him right in the hip. There will of course be warnings but could the ump eject him? If not, I say fire away.
Exactly my thought, sjm. I suspect two managers and four umpires will be considering just that tomorrow.
Bench is some slum.... BP is uneven... Regular line up is underwhelming and underperforming...
And a manager who checked out a while ago...
Kinda summarizes this season so far...
Ghost - that's not being a hater... That's the truth... The leaders of the club are just off... I mean something has got to give...
Papelbon comes in with a 4 run lead and gave up 3 runs to the Cubs!
MrsB - If I ever yell at someone on a blog, please come and have me put away. I will keep rooting as well but do not think we are in contention. By your reasoning, the Cubs, Phillies, San Diego and San Fransisco, Colorado and even the Mets are still in contention.
Deja vu all over again?
Of all the things that disappoint this year, to me, Davey is the biggest disappointment. I defended him against Mick and others who were chanting for his firing or for him to step down time and time again. I still do not want him removed but he certainly has not done what I think needed to be done this year. He has had company (Espinosa, Haren, Span, Storen, LaRoche the entire Bench etc etc) but Davey just disapoints me the most.
Red win - we are now 8 back of the second wild card.
Correct.
We are not in contention presently, but not eliminated. Why would I give up?
I hated math - I had to take statistics over while earning my Masters but I can do this math. We have 49 games left, as do the Reds. If they go 25-24 that will be 87 wins. For us to reach 87 wins we would need to go 33-16. Good luck lads!
If the pitch was a fsstball over tge plate and he grounds out to first, i would be mad but livid.
When you swing 2-0 bases loaded at a pitch 6 inches inside, you need to re-evaluate your strategy as it is not a good approach at all.
Manassas - as Teddy Roosevelt said, Never Never Never give up!! but we are not in contention.
RZim to his defense has well over a .300 RISP tops on the team.
That's a good way to put it MNF. We're not in contention, but we're not out of it. Of course, I see nothing that shows we're going to move into contention. But I'll keep hoping.
Wouldn't you guys have rather seen Wilson up there in that spot? I wonder how long Davey will stick with LaRoche in a spot that is screaming for something he just can't deliver this year.
DP - agree with that
The approach with RISP for the team in general is not well thought out.
Tomorrow is yet again "another day"
Carry on good people
Tomorrow I expect JZim to plunk JUp
He gets ejected so what. Start Friday night and call this a side session.
We need to do what tge Braves have done. Win 13 in a row.
Sorry... Internet went out... But yeah, regardless of who my team is, I wouldn't give up hope until the numbers tell e otherwise...
hell, we just saw a Rays team get hot as lightening and move from 4th to 1st.... Same with the Rays... They went from slum to decent...
But I understand your sentiment s... I'm just choosing to keep hope alive....
I was just kidding about the attack park, of course... Still laughing at the whole if we disagree then obviously you are attacking me...
Davey just seems so passive to me. Now I understand his idea is keep a steady hand and let the talent on the team "express" itself. It's just not working.
Yeah MnF - we need a streak where we play error free, smart baseball...
Stop swinging for the fences every single at bat... Get on base, take walks...
Just play a good game... Hopefully luck will be on our side finally too...
Make McCatty the batting coach.
He could tell the hitters what the other pitchers are throwing. They haven't been able to figure it out themselves.
Tomorrow I expect more of the same
On the bright side: A J Cole pitched another great game in AA. 7 innings 4 hits 1 run (home run) 0 walks and 10 Strike outs.
Got to find something positive.
Ghost, I've not belittled you for what you've said about Zimmerman, just the redundancy. We got it. We also all see that Ryan is struggling.Same with ALR. I still won't throw either of them under the bus. Until I see Zimmerman at first, or hear it conclusively from management that he's going over, I assume he's the third baseman. "If" and "yet" were operative words in Johnson's quotes. I also agree with you that LaRoche has a back issue that is affecting his defense.
I no longer say "we got this" but I still try to relax. I also still cheer our boys, and try to dwell on as many positives that I can see.I speak only for myself when I say that I think too much venom and blame is directed at one guy, or another, while others seem to get a pass for their poor production. Desi's slumping, as is Span, Rendon has been, etc.etc.etc. I seriously believe that this is a collective team failure, but I also firmly believe that every guy out there is busting their ass. It ain't our year, but it's not not all on any one guy, from Rizzo down to Eckstein/Schu. I'm bummed, but still happy to have a team to cheer for.
I missed Davey did he say anything reporting.
On that front did anyone ever read what he said about not batting for Hairston.
Davey was masterful last season, but lostthetouch. Too much bragging before even one game played. Maybe being humbled will. Help next season
We can rarely get 2 hitters hot at the same time. Usually have 1 at a time.
Throughout a season, every player goes through peaks and valleys. Desi is slumping now, but he carried this team for a period of time. I think it's unfair to lay the blame on him. His teammates should be picking him up. That's what happened last year.
Part of carrying is accumulating wins.
Even as hot as Werth was after the ASG he didnt carry the team as they lost.
Except the first week and Harper we have had no carrying by my definition.
As to Davey, I have gotten royally baffled and pissed with his moves his year, but never really angry with the man.Every manager gets second guessed, even when they're winning, but especially when they're losing. That said, again, I speak for myself, I'm looking on turning the page, but I am forever grateful to what Davey Johnson brought to this organization. And I honestly hope that he finishes this year. Just wish his finale had worked out better.
MNF, as I pointed out in table form last week, Ryan Zimmerman is the Nats best hitter with runners on base.
He just is no longer a good 3rd baseman. For all the crap spewn on Michael Morse and his defense, even Morse wasn't that deficient as an outfielder and some said he should be a DH. RZim can probably be a Gold Glove 1st baseman I believe since he can play back and not have to worry as much about making throws and its become much easier to make the decision as LaRoche just isn't earning his spot as a better than replacement 1st basemen.
Just got back. two revelations from the past 2 days:
1) Braves fans are bona fide assholes. Down 1-0 not a peep. They go up 2-1 and the tomahawk BS start right up. What a bunch of feminine hygiene products. At least with Phillies fans you know who they are-behind or not.
3) I, Nats106 have diagnosed the Nats problem. It is a matter of inards. They have no heart, no guts, no balls and certainly don't have Bryce's back. I don't give a damn if Gio gets a 5 day suspension or not. That's what? 1 start? And they could have thrown at McCann, who was first up and probably called for Teheran to hit Harper.
UFB. For the first time in years I wish we had Elijah Dukes and some of his cronies. At least he would have been out of the dugout as fast as the Braves bullpen came trucking out.
Just embarrassing to lay down like that.
Desi gave us numerous wins. I remember a week where he single handedly gave us like 4 wins against the Rockies and Phillies.
" I don't give a damn if Gio gets a 5 day suspension or not. That's what? 1 start?"
We already are short on starters. I don't think we can lose another one.
Starting now Rizzo must focus his full attention to 2014. Starting with making a list of potential managers and lining up the interviews for season end.we must hit the ground running for 2014.
This year is a colossal failure. There is no other way to explain how a team with 3 aces all pitching well can be 5 games under .500.
JD, thanks for some good news! AJ Cole!
Morse in left was not good, but agreed it doesnt cost you like a 3b that is fielding poorly.
I agree Gio had to hit McCann and didnt
Season's over, David P. Bring up some scrubs from Potomac. Somebody needs to be an Ian Kennedy on this team, like him or not.
If you're going to go down, go down fighting and not whimpering "Oh I'm afraid of an automatic suspension".
JD said...
Starting now Rizzo must focus his full attention to 2014. Starting with making a list of potential managers and lining up the interviews for season end.we must hit the ground running for 2014.
This year is a colossal failure. There is no other way to explain how a team with 3 aces all pitching well can be 5 games under .500.
Poor defense and 3.5 runs per game. There you go.
The good news is the team needs to stick with Taylor Jordan and turn their attention on finding a new 3rd baseman and leave Rendon at 2nd.
Try to trade LaRoche now in a waiver deal so that it's not hanging over the team in the off-season -- again, easier said than done as I don't think there would be a buyer out there for him which tells you what you got--nothing special.
David Proctor, I am not putting singular blame on Ian Desmond, but he shares the weight for this past month, too. My point is that the "blame" is on the entire team.
Earlier in the season I'll never understood why we kept putting minor league level infielders in the outfield, or why Espinosa was extended as much rope as he was.or how we were reduced to playing 3, and sometimes even 4, players with sub .200 batting averages.
June 19-21 homered in each game including 11th inning grandslam.
June 21 gomer 12. 4 in the last month and a half, he cooled quick,
The Espinosa crap got the team off to a poor start, and never got going.
Most of called for espi's removal way faster than tgey did it.
Amidst all the gloom, here's something that should make every Nats fan's visit to the park a delightful, if somewhat puzzling, experience.
http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/drboli/2013/08/06/advertisement-818/#respond
You know something else about the Harper HBP:
Harper missed 31 games with bursitis in his knee. This ball hit him in the thigh, but Teheran easily could have missed and hit him in the knee. That would have caused it to flare up again and cause Harper to miss who knows how much time. I'd be pissed if I were Harper too.
There is a good chance that ultimately Rizzo will come out smelling like a rose on the Morse trade.
If zimmerman doesn't put one between the numbers on the back of the Braves leadoff I'll lose total respect for the whole "Natitude BS".
Every time I've learned to adjust this year to reduced expectations on performance they seem to hit a new low that just sets me off.
Sorry-maybe I should just watch these games on TV
MNF, the Espinosa and LaRoche slumps were killers. LaRoche's was worse as he occupied the cleanup most of the month of April plus his defense (other than scooping RZim's bad throws) was not good.
Espinosa at least was near the top of 2nd base defense.
I want to wait til Justin Upton is up.
David P, Harper should be pissed because no one has his back. By the way, does anyone still awake think that it was an accident? Never saw any replays. Thx
Noooo I have Upton on my fantasy team. McCann-he's the guy to go after!
One thing I was dissapointed in was what Davey said in the post-game regarding Harp getting hit. He went into why he didn't want our pitcher to get ejected and so on, which was ok by me. But then he said it was marginal whether the pitch that hit Harp was intentional because it was down. That kinda pissed me off as everyone could see it was intentional. Davey did say we file that one away for later, so we'll see. He probably can't say anything to the media anyway, come to think of it.
Every one knows it was on purpose.
Just an absolutely loathesome, gutless performance.
They let the Braves smash Harper and did nothing about it but whimper. It was clear the Nats wanted to get the heck out of there in one piece with a nice, soft, warm loss.
Just a pathetic, pathetic baseball team.
Too much focus on plunking players. It will happen tomorrow.
Harper hit for 23 seconds to run a home. Upton 29 seconds is my target. Screw the fatasy team.
Last night WODL claimed some weird stuff regarding both of the Uptons, but he insisted that Justin has played CF. I looked hard and can find no stats for Justin playing any centerfield in his ML career.
Another case of Davey being asleep.
Thanks-I just needed confirmation to substantiate my rant. Ugh. Did I mention I absolutely despise Braves fans?
3Rd batter Justin Upton.
Who is the Braves star? Freddie Freeman should be plunked.
One thing at least the side amps didnt pick up the chop crap.
They didnt hit Harper because he is the star, but because he ran to slow.
Joe, yes, but he knows it all. Just LF and RF. I stood up to him which he didn't like.
Sonny, I thought Johnson said that Joe West said it was "marginal" in response to Davey's questioning the warnings yet no ejection of Tehran.
Wasnt marginal. Why put warnings if marginal?
That was Davey's question, Manassas.
just got home and watched the dust-up...I cannot believe not one Nats pitcher stood up and threw at one of the Braves, I could care less if Gio would miss 5 games DP, its what you do, its what good teammates do for each other. FP had it right, you drill one of their studs, its just how it goes...I could not be more disappointed in our team.
tomorrow is too late!
how f-n pitiful, how do they not know to stand up for their star player after that clean as day bean-ball...pathetic!
I would like to see Tyler Moore brought up to play first base and sit ALR on the bench. Need to see if we have anything there or not.
I also believe Ryan Zimmerman is not 100% healthy and that his shoulder is still a problem for him. He may not be right for the rest of this season.
¿I think we should move second base in towards home plate about 5 feet so Wilson can get the ball there in the air¿
Joe Seamhead said...
Sonny, I thought Johnson said that Joe West said it was "marginal" in response to Davey's questioning the warnings yet no ejection of Tehran.
August 06, 2013 11:25 PM
Joe, maybe you're right. In fact, I hope you're right. I would be less disappointed in Davey if that's the case.
paul brandt said...
just got home and watched the dust-up...I cannot believe not one Nats pitcher stood up and threw at one of the Braves, I could care less if Gio would miss 5 games DP, its what you do, its what good teammates do for each other. FP had it right, you drill one of their studs, its just how it goes...I could not be more disappointed in our team.
tomorrow is too late!
how f-n pitiful, how do they not know to stand up for their star player after that clean as day bean-ball...pathetic!
Damn straight. Frankly, the bigger problem is that other than Harper, the fans are more pissed off than the players are. Oh boo hoo. I might get a 5 game suspension. Get over that-kids are taught in school is that you are only bullied if you allow yourself to be bullied. Well guess what? Baseball reflects life in more ways than we all realize. I am so f___g pissed that I continue to go to these games when it is clear this team is dialing it in the rest of the season.
I don't know how anyone can say the team is "dialing it in." It's pretty clear to me that everybody is trying too hard and baseball isn't a sport where trying harder = better results.
Extremely broken and ugly--a colossal failure as someone said.
When the Red Sox showed epic failure last season, I wonder how many of their fans blogged the entry, "I'm not worried about the losses. I'm just glad to have a team."
Answer: Not ONE fan post in millions of posts. But we get it all the time here. Folks it's time to get past the DC battered spouse syndrome. It is time for us to demand a WINNER.
When you whimper off the field, it makes it easier for the players to whimper on the field.
I do not think this season is a colossal failure. It fact I think it may be a blessing in disguise. It should clear all the fairy dust out of Rizzo's eyes re last year's team. Rizzo now knows he has a lot of work to do.
"Ghost Of Steve M. said...
I can't complain about Davey tonight except where was the plunking?"
Pay attention. Joe West warned both benches after the pseudo-brawl. If Gio had plunked anyone after that, it would have been an automatic ejection and a five game (one start) suspension. What good does that do?
SonnyG10 said...
I also believe Ryan Zimmerman is not 100% healthy and that his shoulder is still a problem for him. He may not be right for the rest of this season.
I posted in the in-game thread the quotes from Davey today on RZim's defensive woes. When do the excuses stop?
watching Ray & FP go at it in the post-game (I got home late), good debate but I take FP's side...per FP, when one of your best players get hit, if he thinks he gets hit on purpose, you have to do something to have his back and if you don't, it can have an adverse effect on the clubhouse...and I agree with FP, you do it now, not the next day or next week or next year, damn, we need HRod back just for tomorrow.
I didn't like how McCann tried to get at Harper either after watching it x4, hope its him or Justin Upton who gets drilled tomorrow or both.
#drill a brave
There is only one thing to do now FIRE DAVEY JOHNSON and maybe you can get back to a foundation for next year
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/nationals-watch/2013/aug/6/davey-johnson-talks-about-ryan-zimmermans-arm-stre/
Johnson said, “I don’t know if it’s physical or mental. Because I see him throw pretty good and in the game he’ll want to get a lot of air under it. If that doesn’t get better, then obviously (third base) is not a good spot for him to be in. But at one time, he had a cannon, and we’re all waiting for him to come back and get over it. I still think it’s more mental. Not just trusting it and cutting loose. I see him getting his work in, and he throws it pretty good. And then you see him having to play real shallow, almost cheat in. It’s not all together there yet, is what I’m saying.”
Davey said exactly what I was pounding for the past few weeks. Davey knows it and said it. The "play real shallow, almost cheat in" has greatly affected his range and UZR to be worst in the Majors.
"sjm308 said...
Question: lets say, just for hypothetical purposes that in the first inning Jordan drills Upton. Nails him right in the hip. There will of course be warnings but could the ump eject him? If not, I say fire away."
The umps could place both benches under warning before the game even starts. Then one hit batter would lead to ejection. But since the Nats didn't retaliate tonight and since the brawl never escalated, they probably won't do that.
Braves fans are claiming Harper showed up Teheran/walked to slow (as is Chipper per twitter). Honestly, how bad was it? I've heard nats fans say it was no big deal. Didn't see it as game was blacked out on mlbtv down here in braves country and I don't have cable.
Nowhere near as showing up a pitcher as JUPton did to Clippard on Monday.
You never try harder you do better. Trying is a losers word.
MNF, tell that to Avis.
Does us a lot of good.
Hit em anyway.
It was 6 seconds faster than Upton last night. Did they bitch lsst night.
Tell Avis what?
Back from the game, not a whole lot to feel good about tonight. What a sad state of affairs. These last two games have shown us that the Braves are a championship caliber team, and the Nats are not. They steal bases, execute sac bunts, and get key hits. We don't. Their bullpen is lights out. Ours isn't.
Did anyone have any doubt that Chad Tracy would strike out in the 9th? Doesn't Davey want to get a runner on board (and probably to 2nd on defensive indifference) with Harper coming up? Chad Tracy is the guy he sends up? How pathetic is that?
As for the Harper drilling -- totally bush league. But spare me the macho retaliation crap. FP is an idiot. If this team needs a brawl with unforseen and possibly catastrophic consequences, followed by suspensions, to "come together" and win some games, they don't deserve to be called professional baseball players. And shame on everyone here calling for any Nats pitcher to throw at anyone intentionally. Didn't the Zach Greinke incident teach you anything? Do you want to see Gio or JZnn hurt? And for what? To show Harper they have his back? Come on. That's absolutely crazy. He didn't charge the mound and good for him. He understands he needs to stay in the game. Use some choice obscenities and starting hitting the cover off the ball. Maybe even win a baseball game tomorrow. That's they way to get back at the Braves.
The Braves know they are due one. No fighting just plunking tomorrow.
222,
Well said (i.e., the best way to get back at the Braves is to, you know, win a game against them).
Ghost Of Steve M. said...
SonnyG10 said...
I also believe Ryan Zimmerman is not 100% healthy and that his shoulder is still a problem for him. He may not be right for the rest of this season.
I posted in the in-game thread the quotes from Davey today on RZim's defensive woes. When do the excuses stop?
August 07, 2013 12:02 AM
Ghost, I have read very little of the in-game thread. I don't care what Davey said, and I don't care even what Ryan Zimmerman says. I am going by my observation of him and I stand by my opinion. Ryan Zimmerman is not 100% healthy and you can take that to the bank!!!!!
MZ - "Stop us if you've heard this one before: The Nationals couldn't deliver a clutch hit in several big spots in the game. It's a nightly story for this team, and it keeps repeating itself."
Well, it makes a good story line, but clutch hitting isn't actually the problem. Sort the team hitting stats on the MLB site -- http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/ -- and you'll find the following.
Nats' OPS (on-base plus slugging) with no runners in scoring position = .685
Nats' OPS with runners in scoring position = .688
That's right, the Nats are marginally better hitters with runners in scoring position that they are with no one on or a batter at first.
The problem isn't that the Nats have sucked at clutch hitting, but that Nats have sucked at hitting, period.
222, good post at 12:20 am
Deuces, concur in part and dissent in part. Yes, the effing Braves are playing better, and winning. But Gio absolutely has to drill Justin Upton in the ass.
These are the real Nats. Non contenders, deeply flawed, still lacking in talent in crucial places. Last year, many players had peak years that will seldom be repeated (especially simultaneously). Those who proclaimed these bunch to be WS contenders (Boz!) may yet be vindicated in the future, but for now, the team that Rizzo built is nothing but a mediocre, beaten team. There is always next year and although they are still in the running (theoretically), nobody really thinks that these bunch of players can actually mount much of a challenge to anyone. It's been apparent, for a while, at least to a few people, that this team isn't that good. Not terrible, just not very good. So Rizzo, go back to the drawing board and build a real contender, not an illusory one.
With Davey leaving and LaRoche and Werth in their mid-30's, and Zim's shoulder woes, I hope Rizzo is making plans that will give our new manager more options/flexibility with our lineup. A tough decision needs to be made now. Sept. will be too late. By then many teams will be calling up players from the minors and any evaluation of talent will be diluted by that fact. LaRoche and Zim both need to be put on the disabled list and Werth needs to play only sparingly. Let us see what Tyler Moore, Zach Walters, Eury Perez or Cory Brown or Brian Goodwin can do against with extended playing time against major league competition. Why not save Tyler Clippard's arm or Soriano's and see what Aaron Barrett can do? The Nats may make the wildcard but isn't it more important to give Harper a chance to rest that knee or if not have him and Desmond take more of a the leadership role/control of the psyche of the team in the field and in the clubhouse. I am sitting here watching Texas beat the Angels with speed (6stolen bases) and singles. Yes the Rangers have completely remade themselves. Why can't the Nats experiment and see what can be done with a little flexibility and looking to see what we have stored in the cabinet/minors? Thus any free agent signings made over the off-season would be based on some solid evaluations. I know this will mean waving the white flag and that Harper's tee shirts will lose their meaning but the Nats need to adopt a new philosophy the league has adopted a philosophy that exposes the Nats weaknesses the Nats therefore need to change what is no longer working. I know that Rizzo respects Davey and therefore he would never put him through this. Instead Davey will continue to look find the answer by rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Well, that's the thing about baseball. You have develop a tolerance, if not a taste, for horseradish.
Let me put it a different way. If the benches start to empty, and you are on the bench, do you sit, or go? Because going is totally a bunch of macho bull[stuff].
Zzzzzz.
This team would be worth following if it wasn't the same old story every night and day. Decent pitching and crappy hitting, day after day after day after day......
Lame duck manager, terrible situational hitting. It is amazing that around all this turmoil Rizzo got an extention when he brought in Span, signed back Laroche and broke up the bullpen, starting with the fatal error of not having a good lefthander there for the first few months.
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