As reported by Bill Ladson on Nationals.com. Our guess is that Matt Chico gets DFA’d if his next start (Saturday against Pittsburgh) is as much of a disaster as his season has been so far.
Lannan and Chico to swap rotation spots
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Matt Chico, Nationals
Nationals Postgame: 5/1 vs. PIT
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
The Nationals defeated the Pirates 3-2 tonight winning their fourth in a row, and are just a game in back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Odalis Perez had his finest start of the year, going 7 full innings giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, 0 BB, 4 SO). Both runs came off of solo shots, one from Freddy Sanchez (his first of the year) in the top of the 4th and the other from Ryan Doumit in the 7th.
The Nats rode on the bats of Wil Nieves, who drove two runs on a single in the bottom of the 2nd and Austin Kearns, who broke the 2-2 tie open with an RBI single in the 8th.
The Nationals bullpen continued to roll despite the injury to closer Chad Cordero. Luis Ayala picked up the win, pitching a scoreless 8th, and Jon Rauch notched his 6th save of the season.
Zach Duke pitched well for the Bucs, going 7 full innings and receiving a no-decision (5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO). The loss was charged to John Grabow, his first of the year.
The Official Ryan Zimmerman Watch: 0-4, 2 LOB
By the way, Perez’s ERA is down to a very respectable 3.18 on the season. Not bad at all.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Austin Kearns, Chad Cordero, Freddy Sanchez, John Grabow, Jon Rauch, Nationals, Odalis Perez, Pirates, Ryan Doumit, Ryan Zimmerman, Wil Nieves, Zach Duke
Jroll? Jroll? Bueller?
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
From David Murphy
…[Rollins'] sprained left ankle, however, continues to cause him pain, meaning he won’t be on a minor league field tonight making his first rehab assignment. In fact, the Phillies still don’t have definite plans for Rollins, other than the day-to-day game of wait-and-see that has lasted more than 3 weeks.
There is some doubt about whether the shortstop will be ready to rejoin the team on Monday, when he is eligible to be activated from the disabled list…
…”I can do the drills all day,” said Rollins, who has been sidelined since April 8, when he sprained the ankle sliding back into second base against the Mets. “They don’t bother me at all. But when you are running full stride and all your weight is coming down and you change directions, that’s a little different story. Once I am able to do that, I am able to play.”
Rollins, who has already had an X-ray and an MRI, said no further tests are planned. He said sometimes the pain in the ankle is sharp. Other times, he said, “it’s just there.”…
…But both the player and the organization continue to proceed with caution. Manuel said he will feel comfortable sending Rollins out on the field when Rollins says he feels 100 percent.
It’s important that the Phillies don’t rush this one. They already screwed it up once.
This news is certainly frustrating. I’d say by next Wednesday we’ll be hearing about Rollins going to James Andrews in Birgmingham, Alabama. That’s always the death knell.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Charlie Manuel, David Murphy, James Andrews, Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
Phillies pregame - 5/1 vs. SD
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
The Game: Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres
The Matchup: Adam Eaton (0-0, 5.08, 17 SO, 1.41 WHIP) vs. Randy Wolf (2-1, 3.68, 28 SO, 1.06 WHIP)
The Story: The Phillies look to take their late April surge into May by winning the deciding game of the series against the Padres. Adam Eaton has been strong for the Phils thus far, although he only lasted 3 and 2/3 in last week’s start at Pittsburgh. Eaton still does not have a decision on the year. Rumor has it the Wolf-pack will be back at CBP tonight, referring of course to Randy Wolf’s famous fan fan group during his nine year stint in Philadelphia. In turn, Eaton spent six years with the Padres to start his career.
Phil’s hitters are looking to get back into form. Despite Chase Utley’s two-run shot in the first, his eleventh on the season, the Phils failed to put any runs up the rest of the day. Certainly Ryan Howard will be looking forward to May. The first baseman has had historically slow starts in his 4 year career. Hopefully a turn of the calendar will do him well.
Nonetheless, the Phillies go into May with their first winning record since 2003, at 15-13.
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Adam Eaton, Chase Utley, Padres, Phillies, Pregame, Randy Wolf, Ryan Howard
Nationals Pregame: 5/1 vs. PIT
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
The Game: Pittsburgh Pirates (11-16) at Washington Nationals (11-17)
The Matchup: Zach Duke (0-2, 5.34) vs. Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.31)
The Story: The streaking Nationals look to push their win streak to 4 in a row as they open up against the mediocre Pirates. Perez looks to regain form after starting the season slowly, and if recent times have been any indication, he should get more run support this time than in his previous starts. The Nationals bats are starting to heat up on the backs of Ryan Zimmerman, who is slowly improving from his slow start, and Felipe Lopez, who has been a key part of the Nats offense.
The Nats have been riding on their bullpen, especially on the backs of Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch, and it should be interesting to see how much longer those workhorses can hold up, especially tonight in relief for Perez.
The Bucs are coming off of a 13-1 whopping of the New York Mets, but look for their bats to quiet down significantly this weekend barring any Nats pitching meltdown.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Felipe Lopez, Jon Rauch, Luis Ayala, Nationals, Odalis Perez, Pirates, Ryan Zimmerman, Saul Rivera, Zach Duke
A Sabermetrics look at Ryan Zimmerman
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
Beyond the Box Score, which is a very insightful blog about Sabermetrics takes a look at Ryan Zimmerman’s struggles at the plate so far this year, and makes the case that he is just getting unlucky at the plate.
It’s interesting, but NL Beast is skeptical of BTBS’s logic here. The argument makes the case that Zim is hitting roughly the same percentage of fly balls as he always has, but that less of those fly balls are becoming home runs. It’s not as simple as that. Watch Zim for a game and you’ll see how he is overtrying at the plate, getting under balls (often with an 0-2 or 1-2 count) and popping them up to the shallow outfield. These balls have no chance of becoming home runs, obviously.
The BTBS post cites Zim’s increased contact as a positive but contradicts itself, saying that he is averaging fewer pitches at bat (3.70, compared to 3.98 last year). He is obviously more aggressive at the plate and shows none of the plate discipline that he must demonstrate to reach the same level as David Wright, with whom he is often compared.
Then again, as the post says, many of Zimmerman’s contemporaries are still finding their way in AA or AAA ball at this age. NL Beast agrees that as Zim sees less pitches to hit (as he continues to be respected more and more by pitchers), he will mature, show more discipline at the plate, and prove that he is the most valuable hitter in the Nationals lineup.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright, Sabermetrics
Nationals Notes: Dmitri’s Back Edition
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
According to Bill Ladson, Dmitri Young’s back isn’t getting better and he’s going to the Mayo Clinic for a second opinion. That doesn’t sound too promising. But on the bright side, it’s Dmitri Young bobblehead night tonight!
The same article says that Paul Lo Duca is progressing well in his rehab at class A Potomac and should be back after making one more rehab start. Elijah Dukes is progressing as well.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Dmitri Young, Elijah Dukes, Nationals, Paul Lo Duca
Do the Braves need to trade for a starter?
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
MLBTR says the Braves should start looking for starting pitching, with the latest injury to Mike Hampton and the possibility of John Smoltz rejoining the team as a reliever. They mention Kevin Millwood and Joe Blanton as possible pitchers for Frank Wren to trade for.
If the Braves want to contend this year, they’re going to need to do something about their pitching, as both the rotation and bullpen are heavily depleted at the moment. The question is, can they win with guys like Jo-Jo Reyes and Chuck James starting games, or do they need to trade away some of the great young talent in their farm system for a more established starter? Should be interesting to see how Wren deals with this quandry.
Categories: Braves
Tagged: Braves, Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes, Joe Blanton, John Smoltz, Kevin Millwood, Mike Hampton
Mets Notes: Valentino and Valentin Edition
May 1, 2008 · 1 Comment
The Mets announced the minor league signing today of Valentino Pascucci, a 1B/OF who was recently granted his release from the Phillies organization. He was hitting around .230 for the AAA Ironpigs (amazing name, by the way), but his numbers last year were impressive (.284, .389, .577 with 34 HR and 98 RBIs) for the AAA Alburquerque Isotopes. He’s 29 and has never made it up to the majors, but you never know with a guy like this. Could he be the Mets’ Chris Coste?
Meanwhile, the ‘Stache is on his way back. Jose Valentin began baseball activities in PSL and says he hopes to rejoin the big club by the end of May. Doubtful.
Brian Schneider might land on the DL this weekend, according to David Lennon of Newsday. This would allow the Mets to reactivate Moises Alou. Take your time Brian, Alou’s bat is much needed and the last thing we need is for another catcher injury later this year.
Speaking of injuries to catchers, it appears that Ramon Castro will not be rejoining the Mets anytime in the near future after suffering a setback in his rehab assignment. Remember when Mets fans were calling for him to be the team’s starting catcher?
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Brian Schneider, Chris Coste, Ironpigs, Jose Valentin, Mets, Moises Alou, Ramon Castro, Velentino Pascucci
Wagner criticizes Perez on radio show [Billy's Big Mouth]
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
We all knew that Billy wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut for very long on his weekly segment on 1050 ESPN Radio. Yesterday, he unloaded on Oliver Perez. “You’ve got to have that willpower to go back out there and fight,” Wagner said. “Perez has got to honestly step up and realize that we’ve just used every guy in our bullpen the night before. He can’t come out there and decide that gee, he hasn’t got it today, and so be it.“
There are two sides to this. For one, I agree with Billy about Oli’s performance yesterday. We all know that once Oli gets into trouble he loses it mentally and breaks down on the mound. I said in my pregame report yesterday that Oli needed to go 6 innings to take the stress off of the pen. 1.2 is not getting the job done by any means. Without these mental lapses, Perez is a great pitcher. I don’t know what the Jacket needs to do to fix this, but something has to be done–we can’t have these breakdowns every 5th start.
But as frustrating as this is, Billy should not have said this on the radio. As a leader in the clubhouse, your job is to support your teammates, not vocally criticize them on air. Maybe this isn’t a surprise, since Billy has always been known to think out loud, but it’s disappointing and classless.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Billy Wagner, Mets, Oliver Perez, Rick Peterson
SI releases ballpark rankings
May 1, 2008 · No Comments
The division did not fare very well at all, but then again, it probably shouldn’t have.
10. Citizen’s Bank Park
19. Turner Field
28. Shea Stadium
29. RFK Stadium (the survey was conducted based on last year)
30. Dolphin Stadium
That’s right, we rounded out the bottom three! At least Nationals Park should be in the top 10 now, although some would have thought that CBP would make it above #10. Progressive Field in Cleveland was #1, by the way.
Check out the full rankings for more detail.
Categories: Braves · Marlins · Mets · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Shea Stadium, Citizen's Bank Park, RFK Stadium, Nationals Park, Turner Field, Dolphin Stadium
