Entries categorized as ‘Nationals’
This is tough. The Nationals have been playing some pretty bad abysmal baseball lately. But there must be one person who gets the Beast of the Week honor, and we give this week’s award to…
Elijah Dukes, OF. The man who has been so troubled off the field has found lots more trouble on the field this year, batting below the Mendoza line. But Dukes seems to be prospering in the two-hole (give credit to Manny Acta here). For the week, Elijah hit .286, .375, .571 with 5 RBI and a home run (a game-winner Thursday night against St. Louis). He certainly has a lot of upside, and any offensive production from the replacement right-fielder will be a huge boost to the team with the worst combined batting average in the majors (.231).
Runners-Up: Jesus Flores, Cristian Guzman, Saul Rivera
The Nationals least of the week is…
Jason Bergmann, RHP. We thought that Bergmann had turned the corner after a terrible start to the season, but he reverted to his old self Friday night against the Giants, giving up 5 earned runs on 10 hits in just 3 innings of work, walking 2 and striking out none. That’s a WHIP of 4.00 and an ERA of 15.00. On a team that’s not hitting, he has to be better than that.
Runners-down: Wily Mo Peña, Felipe Lopez, Luis Ayala
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Cristian Guzman, Elijah Dukes, Felipe Lopez, Jason Bergmann, Jesus Flores, Luis Ayala, Manny Acta, Nationals, NL East, Saul Rivera, Wily Mo Peña
Nationals RHP Odalis Perez left the mound early Tuesday night with pain in his left shoulder. According to MLB.com, he has been diagnosed with tendonitis, and will likely miss his next start. This comes as yet another blow to Washington, who already have Ryan Zimmerman, Ronnie Belliard, Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns, Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada, and Chad Cordero on the Disabled List.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Austin Kearns, Chad Cordero, Johnny Estrada, Nationals, Nick Johnson, NL East, Odalis Perez, Paul Lo Duca, Ronnie Belliard, Ryan Zimmerman
Big blow for the Nationals as Ryan Zimmerman takes a trip to the 15-day DL. Kory Casto will be called up in his place. According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals have requested opinions on Zimmerman’s shoulder from several doctors, including Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, Alabama. Doesn’t sound all that good for the Nationals’ franchise player.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham Alabama, Kory Casto, Nationals, NL East, Ryan Zimmerman
Completely worthless to interpret anything from. But the Phils are #2, behind the Cubs. The Marlins are 7, the Braves 10, the Mets18 and the Nats 26.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: Braves · Marlins · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Braves, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Power Rankings
That’s right, while Don Sutton sits out with laryngitis, the injured Paul Lo Duca takes his place in the broadcast booth. How did Paulie do? We’d say stick to your day job, Paul, but, well, that’s not going so well either now is it?
Categories: Mets · Nationals
Tagged: Mets, Nationals, Paul Lo Duca
Ryan Zimmerman is still day-to-day with a sore shoulder, and sat out his fourth-straight game today as the Nationals were defeated by the San Diego Padres by a score of 5-2. Aaron Boone has been an adequate replacement, but the Nationals are obviously missing one of their most dynamic players in the lineup.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman, Aaron Boone, NL East
Ryan Zimmerman was held out of the lineup tonight as the Nationals take on San Diego. Here’s what Zim said about his apparent shoulder injury, courtesy of Chico Harlan’s Nationals Journal:
“It’s just soreness. It’s been checked out, and they said there’s nothing structurally wrong with it. Basically just wait for [the soreness] to go away. I mean if I had to play today I probably could, but we’ve got the hottest guy playing. (A reference to Aaron Boone.) But no, it’s good. I think it just makes sense. There’s no reason to rush it. If it was August or September and we had made a move and were competing for something, there’s no doubt I would have played. But it’s kind of a risk-reward kind of thing. Do I really want to play now and risk hurting it more, or take two or three days and get it better and then have four months to play? So it just makes sense.”
Mark Kotsay missed a start tonight for the Braves with back pain and, according to Braves.com, might be placed on the DL. Kotsay, of course, has suffered from back pain many times in the past.
The Mets placed RHP Matt Wise on the DL today with right rotator cuff tendonitis, according to Mets.com. Taking his roster spot will be Carlos Muniz, the young closer for Triple-A New Orleans.
And, as reported earlier on NL Beast, Pat Burrell missed tonight’s start with apparent neck stifness.
Categories: Braves · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Braves, Pat Burrell, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Wise, Mark Kotsay, NL East
Another week has passed and the Florida Marlins are still in first place. We’ve talked again and again about how surprised we are here at NL Beast that the Marlins have continued to overachieve as much as they have so far this season. We’ve said that the Marlins have the pieces to achieve and that they should be a real contender as soon as next year. We’ve said it can’t last this season, and that it’s a nice story until the Phillies, Braves, or Mets step up and regain the top spot in the division.
But every week proves us wrong as the Marlins keep winning. They’ve been criticized for beating up on the bottom of the barrel. Then they sweep the Diamondbacks. Their pitching has been criticized as young and inexperienced. Then Andrew Miller outpitches Brandon Webb. Their offense has been described as resting on Hanley Ramirez. But it is Dan Uggla who is setting the pace not just for Marlins hitters but for Major League Baseball. Make no mistake about it, the Marlins are a dangerous team.
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Categories: Braves · Marlins · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Andrew Miller, Brandon Webb, Braves, Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, NL East, Phillies
The Nationals Beast of the Week is…
RHP Joel Hanrahan. Joel had a phenomenal spring but suffered a rough start to the season. He’s been pitching very well of late, and had a great week for the Nationals, pitching 5.2 innings in 3 games, surrendering just one run on 3 hits, striking out 6 and walking one. His ERA for the week was 1.59, his WHIP was 0.71. Very impressive numbers for a pitcher who barely made the team in April.
Runners-Up: Lastings Milledge, Ryan Zimmerman, Luis Ayala
And the Nationals Least of the Week is…
2B Felipe Lopez. Look, it was a great story when Felipe won back his starting job at second base. But since then, he’s been extremely mediocre, to say the least. The former All Star hit .174 for the week, striking out 5 times. His OBP, extremely important for a leadoff man, was an awful .269. He doesn’t only deserve to be moved down in the lineup, he deserves to lose his starting job when Ronnie Belliard comes back from the DL.
Runners-down: Jesus Colome, Matt Chico, Dmitri Young
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Beast of the East, Dmitri Young, Felipe Lopez, Jesus Colome, Joel Hanrahan, Lastings Milledge, Least of the East, Luis Ayala, Matt Chico, Nationals, NL East, Ronnie Belliard, Ryan Zimmerman
NL Beast is really, really enjoying Ryan Zimmerman’s blog. Here’s an excerpt from Zim’s latest post:
So I have to get it out that there is a new lady in my life. She has even been staying with me for the last week or so. It has been everything I had wished for and more. Although I don’t know if it will lead to marriage like my Washington sports counterpart Chris Cooley (congratulations by the way) I have to admit it is going quite well so far! So I figured she could make her world debut on this blog right here. Ok Ok there is no girl, well no girlfriend just the new English Bulldog I got. Jokingly named Miley after the young pop culture princess of today, Miley Cirus. She is all white with a brown ear and has already started tearing stuff up! Although she does act better than some girls I have hung out with. So that’s been the excitement in my life for the past week picking up poop and trying to mix a few wins and hits in at the same time!
Priceless.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman, NL East
Bill Ladson reports that Chad Cordero played catch on Monday and reported feeling no pain. It was the first time Cordero has thrown since injuring his shoulder back on April 29.
“Everything felt good. I wasn’t trying to blow it all out,” Cordero said. “I was a little nervous, too. When you have [an injury] like that, you don’t know how it feels until you go out there. My first throw was kind of nerve wracking. I had no pain. The only thing I felt was not throwing for four weeks.”
Manny Acta has previously said that Cordero will get his closing job back when he returns, which could be by the end of June, but Ladson reports that there could be a “closing controversy” when the Chief is healthy. It’s highly possible that either Cordero or Jon Rauch could be traded by the July deadline; it’s a badly guarded secret that many teams have scouted both pitchers in the past.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch, Nationals, NL East
Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer gives a quick snapshot of every stadium around the league in yesterday’s paper. For the most part I think he’s right on with these reviews.
Maybe we’re getting spoiled.
During the last two decades, 18 new major-league ballparks have opened. They are all terrific places to watch a game - clean, modern and comfortable.
The downside of the stadium boom is that so many have come along that we get a little less excited each time one opens.
That was the case when the Phillies visited baseball’s newest stadium, sparkling Nationals Park, last week.
The place is beautiful. You can see the Capitol from the upper deck. It’s convenient and accessible. The concessions are superb, though not cheap. Players like it and fans should, even if that upper deck is a little far from the field.
But when held up against some of the other baseball-only parks that sprouted since 1990, and even some older ones, Nationals Park lacks something. It doesn’t have that one signature feature, like the Green Monster in Boston or the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh. It doesn’t make you say Wow! like Camden Yards or AT&T Park did the first time you walked in those places.
This is not a slight of Nationals Park. It’s just that the competition is tough these days.
With that, we thought it would be a good time to rate the 30 big-league parks. These are just the opinions of one scribe who has been fortunate to see them all. The criteria are wide open, from atmosphere to fan experience. Here goes:
Premium seating
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore. The park that kicked off the retro-stadium boom in 1992 is still a standard-setter. From the smell of Boog Powell’s barbecue wafting over the right-field wall, to the iconic warehouse, to the skyline beyond the outfield wall, it is very pleasing to the senses.
PNC Park, Pittsburgh. It has all the player/fan amenities you’d want, but the surrounding ambience makes it one of the best. Beyond center field, the Clemente Bridge spans the Allegheny like a giant yellow welcome mat. At night, one of America’s most underrated cityscapes glistens in the distance. A must-see.
AT&T Park, San Francisco. Most picturesque, with the bay just beyond the right-field wall and the Bay Bridge hanging in the distance to the left. The seats are close to the field. Whether you liked Barry Bonds or not, there was no more electric setting in baseball than when he was hitting home runs there. The environment, a complete turnaround from blustery, uninviting Candlestick Park, once led a scout to say, “You used to go to the ‘Stick, nobody was there, and all you smelled was marijuana. This place is packed and all you smell are garlic fries.”
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Categories: Braves · General · Marlins · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Ballparks, Jim Salisbury, Stadiums
As a former Mota-Hater, I truly enjoyed watching Guillermo Mota blow today’s game for Milwaukee against the Washington Nationals. Mota came in for the bottom of the ninth with a 6-6 score to force extra innings in Washington. With baserunners on first and third with one out and Felipe Lopez up at the plate, Mota bounced a wild pitch allowing Elijah Dukes to score from third. I’d feel bad for the Brewers because of their awful bullpen but come on, when you sign Mota and Eric Gagne (among other mediocre relievers), you should know what you’re going to get.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets · Nationals
Tagged: Brewers, Elijah Dukes, Eric Gagne, Felipe Lopez, Guillermo Mota, Mets, Nationals, NL East
According to MLB.com, Ryan Zimmerman hurt the shoulder after sliding into second base last week in Baltimore. He has been one of the team’s hottest hitters of late, hitting .364, .417, .500 in the last seven days, so obviously it isn’t affecting him too much, although his power is down of late.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: Nationals, NL East, Ryan Zimmerman
Nationals 5-Brewers 1
Jeff Suppan pitched well for Milwaukee until the sixth, when the [long-absent] Washington offense came alive. After J.J. Hardy mishandled a double-play ball, the Nats broke through, scoring on doubles by Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores and on a Lastings Milledge sacrifice ground ball. Wily Mo Peña his his first home run of the year earlier in the first inning, and Suppan drove in the Brewers’ only run of the game.
Odalis Perez pitched well for the Nationals (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 84 P) but left with a no-decision. Brian Sanches, just called up from Triple-A Columbus, struck out the side in the sixth and was credited with the win. Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch closed the door for Washington.
Rockies 5-Mets 4 (F/13)
The Mets dropped their fifth straight game as Matt Holliday hit a walk-off single in the 13th off of Aaron Heilman after homering off of Billy Wagner in the ninth to tie the game (Wagner’s second blown save of the year). It was a back and forth game as neither team dominated on the mound.
Oliver Perez was all over the place for the Mets, going 5 innings allowing 6 hits for 4 earned runs, walking 8 and striking out only 2, and allowing a home run on 110 pitches (just 56 for strikes). Rookie starter Greg Reynolds never dominated for the Rockies, going 6 full innings allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits, walking 3, striking out 5, and allowing 2 home runs on just 84 pitches thrown. He left the game after allowing back-to-back home runs to Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis (who replaced the injured Marlon Anderson) in the 6th.
Driving in runs for the Mets were Luis Castillo, Delgado, Tatis, and Jose Reyes, who got in the home plate umpire’s face after being called out on a very low strike three in the 13th. Garrett Atkins, Clint Barmes, and Holliday drove in runs for the Rockies.
Astros 5-Phillies 4
Brandon Backe was superb for the Astros, giving up just one run in 7.1 innings pitched, striking out 6 and walking one. Adam Eaton didn’t pitch terribly for the Phillies (7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO,2 HR, 96 P), but couldn’t keep the ball in the park, giving up two home runs to Hunter Pence.
Also driving in runs for the Astros were former Phillie Michael Bourn (who also stranded three on base), and Carlos Lee (his 36th of the season). For the Phillies, Pat Burrell homered in his second-straight game and Pedro Feliz and Jimmy Rollins also drove runs in.
Diamondbacks 11-Braves 1
Doug Davis returned from cancer surgery in unbelievable fashion, shutting the hot-hitting Braves lineup down for 7 innings, allowing just one earned run on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4 on 89 pitches. His team responded, taking batting practice off of Jo-Jo Reyes (5.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 3 HR) and Chris Resop (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR).
Homering for the D-Backs were Stephen Drew, Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Chris Young, and Mark Reynolds. Whew. Kelly Johnson drove in the only Atlanta run of the night.
Giants 8-Marlins 2
Scott Olsen finally came back down to Earth, surrendering 5 earned runs off of 8 hits in just 3.1 innings pitched, walking 3, striking out 2, and allowing a home run on 81 pitches. Olsen drops to 4-2. He was relieved by Doug Waechter, Renyel Pinto, and Tyler Tankersley, who all pitched much more effectively. Dan Uggla homered for Florida (his 15th of the year) in the ninth, driving in both Marlins runs of the evening.
Barry Zito finally got his first win of the season, giving up just one earned run in 6.1 innings of work, walking 4 and striking out 5. Bengie Molina and Jose Castillo homered for the Giants. Aaron Rowand drove in three runs, and Rich Aurilia drove in two more for San Francisco.
Brett Carroll had to leave the game in the fourth inning after separating his right shoulder. He’ll be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Categories: Braves · Marlins · Mets · NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Carlos Delgado, Pat Burrell, Adam Eaton, Pedro Feliz, Diamondbacks, Ryan Zimmerman, Aaron Heilman, Billy Wagner, Jimmy Rollins, Lastings Milledge, Kelly Johnson, Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch, Jose Reyes, Oliver Perez, Chris Young, Jo-Jo Reyes, Odalis Perez, Stephen Drew, Eric Byrnes, Giants, Aaron Rowand, Luis Castillo, Dan Uggla, Bengie Molina, Doug Waechter, Marlon Anderson, Wily Mo Peña, NL East, Doug Davis, Brewers, Jeff Suppan, Scott Olsen, Conor Jackson, Astros, Jesus Flores, Carlos Lee, Fernando Tatis, Renyel Pinto, Rockies, JJ Hardy, Brian Sanches, Matt Holliday, Greg Reynolds, Garrett Atkins, Clint Barmes, Brandon Backe, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Chris Resop, Mark Reynolds, Tyler Tankersley, Barry Zito, Jose Castillo, Brett Carroll
Austin Kerns is off to Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, Alabama. Kearns has swelling in his right elbow, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com:
Nationals general manager Jim Bowden acknowledged that he is concerned about outfielder Austin Kearns’ sore right elbow.
The GM said the swelling had not gone down and the team had not ruled out putting Kearns on the disabled list. Kearns has loose bodies in his right elbow.
For now, the team will send Kearns’ MRI to Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., and Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati to get second and third opinions, respectively.
“We are hoping the swelling goes down and he can play this weekend,” Bowden said. “If he can’t play by Monday, we have to disable him.”
Hopefully Kearns won’t be a out an extended period of time. But a stint on the 15-day DL might do Kearns some good considering how bad he’s playing this season.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: NL East · Nationals
Tagged: Austin Kearns, Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham Alabama, Jim Bowden, Nationals
What a game last night. The Phils blogosphere was bashing Ryan Howard unendingly yesterday. I didn’t think the verbal punishment was necessary, and last night Howard stood up for me. He went 3/5, he two homers and a double, and knocked in four. Howard is now hitting .269 for the week with 4 dingers and 8 RBIs. Those are the kind of numbers to expect out of the big man. Last week I said Howard was back. I’m sticking by words.
Jamie Moyer continued to defy reality last night. He pitched 6 innings and allowed no runs and 7 hits. Cole Condrey contributed with a 3 inning save. But the pitching wouldn’t even matter last night. Evidently, the team decided they were sick of all the talk of slumps and followed Howard’s lead. Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz combined for 3 hits a piece, and Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Chris Coste all had two hits. Pat Burrell didn’t get the memo, he was O for 4.
Oh, the Nats? Matt Chico was out after 5. He only let up 4 of the runs. Jesus Colome was put in to endure a beating of his own. He let up 6 earned runs in the 6th inning. Chris Schroder let up two himself in relief of Colome.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Chase Utley, Chris Coste, Chris Schroder, Cole Condrey, Jamie Moyer, Jesus Colome, Jimmy Rollins, Matt Chico, Nationals, Pat Burrell, Pedro Feliz, Phillies, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino
NL Beast bloggers attended the game tonight, and what a great game it was. It didn’t have a ton of lead changes or great plays in the field; it was just a good old fashion pitchers’ duel.
Jason Bergmann pitched excellently. 7 innings, 5 hits, 5 strikeouts and 3 walks. The Phillies lineup couldn’t get to him and they remained cold after last night’s shutout. Bergmann has gone 7 innings and let up no runs in both of his last two starts. In his last game start ago against the Mets he picked up a win in a 1-0 decision. Tonight, he would not be able to secure the W.
Cole Hamels owned the night. 7 inings, 4 hits, 2 walks, and 11 strikeouts. Few times throughout the night did Hamels look shaky. When he did get in a jam, he calmly pitched his way out. There’s little else to say except that he now has 19 straight scoreless innings. His ERA is down to 2.69 and his WHIP is now at 1.02. He didn’t pick up the win, but he is coming into his own after a somewhat slow start. No longer does he have the one or two tough innings early in the game. Right now for Hamels, it’s lights out from the start. The only question is whether he’ll go 7, 8, or 9 innings.
After Tom Gordon got the job done for Phils in the bottom of the 8th, John Rauch came in for the Nats to try to keep the game scoreless. Pedro Feliz led off with a double, and then was pinch-ran for by Eric Bruntlett. Why, I ask? Is Bruntlett that much faster than Feliz? Feliz certainly is better in the field. Carlos Ruiz laid down a fabulous sacrifice to move Bruntlett to third and Greg Dobbs followed with the lone RBI of the night, a single to center. Dobbs was thrown out on the next play when Shane Victorino flied out to center. From where we were sitting Dobbs looked clearly safe, but it was a good relay and Charlie Manuel, standing right there, did not argue the call.
One run is all the Phillies would need. Despite a good effort by the Nats in the 9th, they could not get past Brad Lidge. A great pitching outing for both teams. Unfortunately both Bergmann and Hamels did not receive a win. They both deserved one.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Brad Lidge, Carlos Ruiz, Charlie Manuel, Cole Hamels, Eric Bruntlett, Greg Dobbs, Jason Bergmann, John Rauch, Nationals, Pedro Feliz, Phillies, Shane Victorino, Tom Gordon
The Game: Washington Nationals (20-26) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (24-22)
The Matchup: Jason Bergmann (1-1, 7.45, 21/4 K/BB, 1.40 WHIP) vs. Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.89, 54/19 K/BB, 1.04 WHIP)
The Story: The Phillies looking to break a three game losing streak, while the Nats look to create one of their own. Unfortunately for the Nats, they’ll be facing Phillies stud lefty Cole Hamels. Hamels is coming off his best game of the year, a complete game shutout at home against the Braves. For the Nationals, Jason Bergmann will try to notch his second win in a row since being recalled from the minors.
The Phillies have fallen to 4th place in the division after going 4-7 in their last 11. The Nationals remain in last.
Stat of the Day: The Nationals are 11-11 at home, the Phillies are 11-11 on the road. Both teams have played 46 games this season, 5 more than the Mets at the start of the day, and 4 more then the Mets after their loss to the Braves earlier today. The Braves have now played 44 games, and the Marlins 43.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: NL East · Nationals · Phillies
Tagged: Cole Hamels, Jason Bergmann, Nationals, Phillies
Beast: Finally, their star shows up for them: Ryan Zimmerman. Zimm hit .321 for the week, with 7 RBIs and 3 HRs. He’s done well in May after a horrid start and he’s one of the few things the Nats have to get excited about.
Runners Up: Cristian Guzman, Tim Redding, Aaron Boone
Least: Lastings Milledge. He hit .174 for the week. That’s 4/23 overall and it’s not going to get the Nats anywhere (not that we were expecting it). On the year he’s hitting .241, which is pretty much around his career numbers. Why is he a starter? Same question goes for Austin Kearns…
Runners Down: Austin Kearns, Elijah Dukes
Categories: NL East · Nationals
Tagged: Aaron Boone, Austin Kearns, Cristian Guzman, Elijah Dukes, Nationals, Phillies, Ryan Zimmerman, Tim Redding
