Kudos to the Capitals for not panicking. Yes, their recent playoff failures have been disappointing and disheartening. But with today’s announcement that Brooks Laich won’t be leaving via free agency, instead signing a 6-year, $27 million deal, the Capitals made a statement that they still believe in the nucleus of this club. And make no mistake about it, Laich is not just a phenomenal player, but also one of the “glue” guys in that locker room. If it weren’t for hockey’s fascination with giving the captain’s “C” and the alternate “A” out to the best players, almost regardless of leadership ability, then Laich would certainly have an “A” on his chest (I mean, seriously, I think Nick Backstrom is a tremendous hockey player, but is he really the guy who is going to pick everyone up in the locker room when things are going bad? He couldn’t even dig himself out of that awful rut against the Lightning. Is it so wrong for someone to just be a good player, and not have to have this burden of leadership shoved on them? I understand Ovechkin, because your best player HAS to be your leader. But your second and third best players? I’m not so sure).
Now I understand that this is just the first move of the offseason. They could certainly go out and trade Alex Semin and maybe others. But I’m glad they realized that there is a certain core group of players that HAVE to be kept around. And I think Laich certainly qualifies for that group. How many players in the league have the all-around skill-set that Laich has? He isn’t just a top-six forward, but he also is a regular contributor on the power play and penalty kill units.
I think it’s clear that the Capitals management believes in what they’ve built. They know they have a good, but flawed, group of players right now. Maybe they are banking on the last few top prospects in the system (players like Dmitri Orlov, Cody Eakin, Evgeny Kuznetsov) being the last little nudge to complete this team. Maybe McPhee really believes that all the Capitals needed to beat the Lightning was a puck-moving defenseman (since Mike Green, Tom Poti and Dennis Wideman all were either out or missed time during that series). Maybe McPhee believes they just need a little bit of veteran grit (i.e. Troy Brouwer, although at age 25, I’m not sure whether he can qualify for “grizzled vet” status yet). But I think it’s clear that he isn’t going to blow up everything that he has built since the lockout. Caps management has put up with a couple awful seasons after the lockout, and then the well-documented playoff failures. For better or worse, I think they have hitched their wagon to this core group of players and they’re only going to go as far as that group of players wants to go. If they were going to blow up the team and try a new avenue for success, I think Boudreau would have been fired within a week after they were bounced from the playoffs. But that’s not this management team’s style. And in a couple years, I bet we will be thankful for their patience in not mortgaging this team’s bright future for a sideways step in the present.
Nats Notes
How does this team keep winning? Somehow the Nats won the finale of their series with the White Sox, after being pretty much blanked for most of the game. Then one swing of the bat from Danny Espinosa, who quietly has become a top-three candidate for the N.L. Rookie of the Year (he would be the leader if it weren’t for the batting average he is currently sporting, which I realize is a misleading stat, but hey, voters are stupid), and the Nats find themselves in the driver’s seat. A clean outing from the bullpen, and the Nats take two out of three in Chicago.
Then we turn to last night against the Angels, when it looked like the script was going to repeat itself. The Nats battled to stay in the game all night long (how John Lannan made it past the third inning last night is beyond me), and after wiggling their way out of jam after jam, a clutch home run from Espinosa tied up the game. Unfortunately, the magic ran out in the 10th, when Sean Burnett looked like the Sean Burnett from the beginning of the year. Look, teams can’t win consistently with as little offense as the Nats have had. Sure, you can go on a run like the Nats have, but it’s going to catch up to you after a while. If only, we had another big bat in the lineup, like someone we had spent $128 million on. Oh wait…
(By the way, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how sweet that 5-4-3 double play was in last night’s game. Zimmerman made a great diving snag on a hotshot to his left. But with Zimmerman we almost take this for granted. The more impressive part for me was Espinosa making a sweet turn and strong throw with a runner barreling down on him, and Michael Morse making a difficult pick at first base. It’s really amazing how good defensively Morse has been at first. I think you could easily make the argument that he has become a league-average or maybe even above-average defensive first baseman. And considering he is doing all of this on the fly, while carrying the Nationals offense for the better part of a month, well I think the man deserves some credit. The more I think about it, the more I think that Morse ends up as the Nationals all-star this year. Tyler Clippard has been great, but set-up men just don’t make the all-star game. Life’s just not fair.)
Wizards clarification
In my last post, I mentioned how I wasn’t enamored with the Vesely pick, in part because of the failures of Oleksiy Pecherov. However, I want to emphasize the “in part” part. My general feeling of angst over this pick goes back more to the history of failed European big men in the NBA, not necessarily the one that the Wizards had. Think about successful Euros in the league. For every Dirk, there are ten Nikoloz Tskitishvilis. Name me the last successful Euro big man. Gallinari? Bargnani? Both are talented, but clearly flawed, players. All-stars? No way. So maybe if we have those expectations then I’m okay with that pick. I guess I just would have rather had a flawed player with good defense (Kawhi Leonard), then a flawed player whose strength is running and dunking (Vesely). But hey, I hope he proves me wrong.
Your one stop shopping for coverage of Nationals, Redskins, Wizards, Capitals and whatever else I feel is topical.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The DC Sports Dread
I’m creating a new term today. I’m going to call it the DC Sport Dread, for lack of a better phrase (if anyone else has a better idea, please let me know in the comments section). It refers to that point in a game when a play happens that could only happen to a Washington sports team. Or even more generally, it refers to an event that makes you think, “Why am I a D.C. fan again? Why do I put myself through so much agony?” An easy example of this is after the Capitals lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs after being the top seed. Or that awful day when everyone woke up to see that Stephen Strasburg needed Tommy John surgery.
Unfortunately, we had another moment of the D.C. Sports Dread this past week. Just as the Nationals are looking to turn a corner in their perpetual rebuilding process (as I wrote about earlier in the week), they are dealt this gut-punch: the resignation of Jim Riggleman. My immediate thought was, “Only in DC would we finally get a winning manager, only to have him resign as SOON as the going was good because of a contract squabble.” I was frustrated not so much because I think Jim Riggleman is a great manager (I don’t, and his 662-824 career record would seem to offer support for that claim), but rather because I was concerned over how the clubhouse would handle such a shocking development. With such an influx of young players on the team, I was worried how their potentially fragile psyche would handle this twist of fate.
Well, if Friday’s marathon game against the White Sox (which I had the good fortune to attend), where the bullpen blew the lead THREE times, only to finally recover and scrape together a 9-5 victory is any indication, maybe that clubhouse isn’t so fragile. I have to admit, I thought the game was over when Drew Storen was brought into the game to close it out in the ninth. The game had followed the Nationals’ winning streak script so closely: no offense from either squad for most of the game, then beat up on some sorry reliever from the other team near the end of the game, and use our dominant bullpen to close out the game. Unfortunately, Storen, Toddy Coffey and Tyler Clippard all blew leads. So much for that theory.
I definitely thought the game was over when Coffey blew the lead on a wild pitch, then loaded the bases with one out, the Sox only needing one more run to end the game. Yet somehow Coffey came up with a clutch strikeout and groundout to allow the Nationals to fight another inning. The offense roared to life in extra innings, aided by the back end of the White Sox bullpen. Laynce Nix continues to have a very respectable season, smoking a home run to right-center. Back and forth the teams went, and with each White Sox rally, more and more of the DC Sports Dread crept into mind. Even when the Nats assembled a four-run lead in the 14th inning, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But it didn’t, and the Nationals came up with another victory, their 12th out of the last 13, pulling them to within 3 ½ games of the wild card. Yes, I know this is crazy talk. But it’s fun to think about.
Other Nats Notes
One big reason why I think the Nats don’t have enough steam to pull off a playoff push is Jordan Zimmermann’s innings limit. Zimmermann has developed into a true ace (yes I know Marquis has a better win-loss record, but let’s be real here. If you have one game to win, you are sending Zimmermann to the mound). Because of Zimmermann’s Tommy John surgery a couple of years ago, Zimmermann will probably be cut off around the middle to end of August (which incidentally is a pretty important time for teams if you want to make the playoffs). But if you are a Nats fan, you know that this isn’t THE year, and Zimmermann’s results this season are encouraging for the future. I have to be honest, I was always a little skeptical that Zimmermann could be a true No. 2 behind Strasburg. But after this season, I think he can be a top of division No. 2, no questions asked. If he had any sort of run support and bullpen help, Zimmermann would be an all-star this year. However, because of voters’ fascination with win-loss record, he won’t be. If you’re a fan, you have to like Zimmermann’s style. He pitches fast, he pounds the strike zone with heat, and he has an arsenal of nasty breaking pitches. He also isn’t a head-case (which, after years of following Daniel Cabrera on the Orioles, has taken on more significance for me in how I look at pitchers). I think the Nationals future rotation with Zimmermann and Strasburg at the top (and then some assortment of A.J. Cole, Alex Meyer, Sammy Solis, Robbie Ray, John Lannan, etc.) is shaping up very nicely.
After a game like last night, it might be instinct to be discouraged about the bullpen, given that they did blow the lead THREE times. However, I actually took the opposite away from the game. Yes, the Nationals’ best relievers didn’t come through in the clutch. But the fact that guys like Ryan Mattheus and Collin Balester were forced into action and were able to come up with valuable innings makes me feel better about the bullpen. And aside from an atrocious call at first, Henry Rodriguez would have had an easy 1-2-3 8th inning in a high-pressure situation. Look, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen can’t pitch EVERY game. At some point, other relievers are going to have to step up and pitch in (forgive the pun). And judging from Friday’s game, there should be enough candidates. And don’t forget that Cole Kimball could be back up in a few weeks.
Wizards Draft Notes
I have to admit, I had a little of the DC Sports Dread when the Wizards grabbed Jan Vesely also. And before everyone starts talking about how awesome his kiss and draft interview was, remember that Oleksiy Pecherov was a hoot also. Almost as comical was his attempt to play professional basketball. I know that Vesely is supposed to be the “anti-Euro,” in that he attacks the basket, can play average to above average defense, and can’t make an outside shot to save his life, but I’m still skeptical. If you’re telling me that we couldn’t find an American guy to run fast and catch alley-oops from John Wall, I’m calling bullshit on that. I love the second pick in Chris Singleton, because the Wizards defense was a sieve last season. Singleton can defend four positions, and better yet, he takes PRIDE in doing so. My dream scenario would have been pairing Singleton with Kawhi Leonard to form a dominant defensive tandem. I think Leonard might have been the steal of the draft, falling to No. 15. He can defend, rebound, he plays hard, and by all accounts is a great locker room guy (which reminds me: I’m so glad we took Shelvin Mack instead of Josh Selby. Mack might not have the upside of Selby, but his locker room presence will more than make up for it in my mind. The last thing the Wizards need is another nitwit). And what’s so bad about a solid rotation player? Given that this draft was awful, I would have looked not for the superstar, but for the 6th-10th man on a championship team. I think Singleton and Mack certainly fit that bill, but I’m not sure about Vesely. He could easily be just another Euro out of the league in a couple of years. But I will say this: I like him better than either of the Lithuanians, so if we were going to venture down that avenue, Vesely was one of the better options.
Capitals Draft Notes
Or lack thereof. The Caps traded their first-round pick to the Blackhawks for forward Troy Brouwer. Even though I have lived in the Chicago area for the last four years, I have to confess that I don’t have a great scouting report on Brouwer. From what I can gather from the internet, he is a strong power forward with a knack for scoring around the net (he sounds like a Mike Knuble/Tomas Holmstrom-type…Well, except for the fact that there is really only one Tomas Holmstrom). He is only 25, and he is set to be a restricted free agent. I’m really pretty ambivalent about this trade, but I trust George McPhee’s draft sense implicitly. He maneuvers the NHL draft the way that Belichick maneuvers the NFL draft. There’s a reason that the Capitals have been able to find players like John Carlson and Mike Green at the end of the first round. Braden Holtby was a later round pick. And it sounds like other later-round picks, like Dmitri Orlov and Cody Eakin, are set to make a big impact in Washington, possibly as soon as this season. So if McPhee says he wasn’t enamored with any player who could have been there at No. 26, then I believe him. We basically took a Redskins-style draft-punt this year, but because of the depth of our farm system (and McPhee’s restraint in not surrendering top prospects at last year’s trade deadline), I think we will be okay. On another note, if I were Eric Fehr, I would be a little worried by the acquisition of Brouwer. It sounds like they are basically the same type of player, and Caps management could finally be fed up with Fehr’s injury struggles. It’s not Fehr’s fault in the slightest, and he certainly is a talented player when healthy, and it sounds like he does great work in the community, but at some point he might be the result of a numbers crunch. Or it’s possible that Brouwer is an insurance policy in case Brooks Laich leaves via free agency. It’s a weak free agent crop, and someone might want to spend a lot to get Laich, a true top-six forward. Laich doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would bolt for the money, but you never know. Brouwer could end up playing an even bigger role in such a scenario.
Redskins News
Uhhhhhh……….
Until next time folks.
Unfortunately, we had another moment of the D.C. Sports Dread this past week. Just as the Nationals are looking to turn a corner in their perpetual rebuilding process (as I wrote about earlier in the week), they are dealt this gut-punch: the resignation of Jim Riggleman. My immediate thought was, “Only in DC would we finally get a winning manager, only to have him resign as SOON as the going was good because of a contract squabble.” I was frustrated not so much because I think Jim Riggleman is a great manager (I don’t, and his 662-824 career record would seem to offer support for that claim), but rather because I was concerned over how the clubhouse would handle such a shocking development. With such an influx of young players on the team, I was worried how their potentially fragile psyche would handle this twist of fate.
Well, if Friday’s marathon game against the White Sox (which I had the good fortune to attend), where the bullpen blew the lead THREE times, only to finally recover and scrape together a 9-5 victory is any indication, maybe that clubhouse isn’t so fragile. I have to admit, I thought the game was over when Drew Storen was brought into the game to close it out in the ninth. The game had followed the Nationals’ winning streak script so closely: no offense from either squad for most of the game, then beat up on some sorry reliever from the other team near the end of the game, and use our dominant bullpen to close out the game. Unfortunately, Storen, Toddy Coffey and Tyler Clippard all blew leads. So much for that theory.
I definitely thought the game was over when Coffey blew the lead on a wild pitch, then loaded the bases with one out, the Sox only needing one more run to end the game. Yet somehow Coffey came up with a clutch strikeout and groundout to allow the Nationals to fight another inning. The offense roared to life in extra innings, aided by the back end of the White Sox bullpen. Laynce Nix continues to have a very respectable season, smoking a home run to right-center. Back and forth the teams went, and with each White Sox rally, more and more of the DC Sports Dread crept into mind. Even when the Nats assembled a four-run lead in the 14th inning, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But it didn’t, and the Nationals came up with another victory, their 12th out of the last 13, pulling them to within 3 ½ games of the wild card. Yes, I know this is crazy talk. But it’s fun to think about.
Other Nats Notes
One big reason why I think the Nats don’t have enough steam to pull off a playoff push is Jordan Zimmermann’s innings limit. Zimmermann has developed into a true ace (yes I know Marquis has a better win-loss record, but let’s be real here. If you have one game to win, you are sending Zimmermann to the mound). Because of Zimmermann’s Tommy John surgery a couple of years ago, Zimmermann will probably be cut off around the middle to end of August (which incidentally is a pretty important time for teams if you want to make the playoffs). But if you are a Nats fan, you know that this isn’t THE year, and Zimmermann’s results this season are encouraging for the future. I have to be honest, I was always a little skeptical that Zimmermann could be a true No. 2 behind Strasburg. But after this season, I think he can be a top of division No. 2, no questions asked. If he had any sort of run support and bullpen help, Zimmermann would be an all-star this year. However, because of voters’ fascination with win-loss record, he won’t be. If you’re a fan, you have to like Zimmermann’s style. He pitches fast, he pounds the strike zone with heat, and he has an arsenal of nasty breaking pitches. He also isn’t a head-case (which, after years of following Daniel Cabrera on the Orioles, has taken on more significance for me in how I look at pitchers). I think the Nationals future rotation with Zimmermann and Strasburg at the top (and then some assortment of A.J. Cole, Alex Meyer, Sammy Solis, Robbie Ray, John Lannan, etc.) is shaping up very nicely.
After a game like last night, it might be instinct to be discouraged about the bullpen, given that they did blow the lead THREE times. However, I actually took the opposite away from the game. Yes, the Nationals’ best relievers didn’t come through in the clutch. But the fact that guys like Ryan Mattheus and Collin Balester were forced into action and were able to come up with valuable innings makes me feel better about the bullpen. And aside from an atrocious call at first, Henry Rodriguez would have had an easy 1-2-3 8th inning in a high-pressure situation. Look, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen can’t pitch EVERY game. At some point, other relievers are going to have to step up and pitch in (forgive the pun). And judging from Friday’s game, there should be enough candidates. And don’t forget that Cole Kimball could be back up in a few weeks.
Wizards Draft Notes
I have to admit, I had a little of the DC Sports Dread when the Wizards grabbed Jan Vesely also. And before everyone starts talking about how awesome his kiss and draft interview was, remember that Oleksiy Pecherov was a hoot also. Almost as comical was his attempt to play professional basketball. I know that Vesely is supposed to be the “anti-Euro,” in that he attacks the basket, can play average to above average defense, and can’t make an outside shot to save his life, but I’m still skeptical. If you’re telling me that we couldn’t find an American guy to run fast and catch alley-oops from John Wall, I’m calling bullshit on that. I love the second pick in Chris Singleton, because the Wizards defense was a sieve last season. Singleton can defend four positions, and better yet, he takes PRIDE in doing so. My dream scenario would have been pairing Singleton with Kawhi Leonard to form a dominant defensive tandem. I think Leonard might have been the steal of the draft, falling to No. 15. He can defend, rebound, he plays hard, and by all accounts is a great locker room guy (which reminds me: I’m so glad we took Shelvin Mack instead of Josh Selby. Mack might not have the upside of Selby, but his locker room presence will more than make up for it in my mind. The last thing the Wizards need is another nitwit). And what’s so bad about a solid rotation player? Given that this draft was awful, I would have looked not for the superstar, but for the 6th-10th man on a championship team. I think Singleton and Mack certainly fit that bill, but I’m not sure about Vesely. He could easily be just another Euro out of the league in a couple of years. But I will say this: I like him better than either of the Lithuanians, so if we were going to venture down that avenue, Vesely was one of the better options.
Capitals Draft Notes
Or lack thereof. The Caps traded their first-round pick to the Blackhawks for forward Troy Brouwer. Even though I have lived in the Chicago area for the last four years, I have to confess that I don’t have a great scouting report on Brouwer. From what I can gather from the internet, he is a strong power forward with a knack for scoring around the net (he sounds like a Mike Knuble/Tomas Holmstrom-type…Well, except for the fact that there is really only one Tomas Holmstrom). He is only 25, and he is set to be a restricted free agent. I’m really pretty ambivalent about this trade, but I trust George McPhee’s draft sense implicitly. He maneuvers the NHL draft the way that Belichick maneuvers the NFL draft. There’s a reason that the Capitals have been able to find players like John Carlson and Mike Green at the end of the first round. Braden Holtby was a later round pick. And it sounds like other later-round picks, like Dmitri Orlov and Cody Eakin, are set to make a big impact in Washington, possibly as soon as this season. So if McPhee says he wasn’t enamored with any player who could have been there at No. 26, then I believe him. We basically took a Redskins-style draft-punt this year, but because of the depth of our farm system (and McPhee’s restraint in not surrendering top prospects at last year’s trade deadline), I think we will be okay. On another note, if I were Eric Fehr, I would be a little worried by the acquisition of Brouwer. It sounds like they are basically the same type of player, and Caps management could finally be fed up with Fehr’s injury struggles. It’s not Fehr’s fault in the slightest, and he certainly is a talented player when healthy, and it sounds like he does great work in the community, but at some point he might be the result of a numbers crunch. Or it’s possible that Brouwer is an insurance policy in case Brooks Laich leaves via free agency. It’s a weak free agent crop, and someone might want to spend a lot to get Laich, a true top-six forward. Laich doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would bolt for the money, but you never know. Brouwer could end up playing an even bigger role in such a scenario.
Redskins News
Uhhhhhh……….
Until next time folks.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Last Night's Improbable Nats Comeback
I was going to do a Wizards NBA draft preview today, but after last night’s incredible Nationals comeback, I thought it would be a disservice to you, the reader, if I didn’t share my thoughts on what was one of the better moments in recent Nats history (hyperbole? Maybe, but when you consider the team has had two No. 1 overall picks in the last three years, I think I deserve a little leeway). Consider that this was an AWFUL display of Nats baseball through eight innings. This was the kind of game that not only would the Nats of yesteryear lose, but they would lose in such a fashion that it might put them in a funk for a week or so.
Livan Hernandez wasn’t fooling people with his arsenal of trick-pitches, and when you don’t fool people and you’re fastball tops out around 88, well, it’s going to get ugly. Fast.
The Nationals certainly weren’t doing their part in the field either. Jayson Werth made and egregious error in right field, attempting to bare hand the ball on a lazy single for no reason. When the ball skipped by him, it allowed Mariners SS Brendan Ryan to advance to second, where he would eventually score on a single by Adam Kennedy (wait, THAT Adam Kennedy?!). Even when the Nationals did come up with some sort of rally off of Mariners LHP Doug Fister (he of the 3-8, 3.38 ERA statline), their rallies were spoiled when Mariners fielders gobbled up the Nationals’ sharply hit balls. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with one run in already, the Nationals brought their best hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, to the plate with runners on first and second. They had Fister on the ropes. That is, until Zimmerman smoked a ball at 2B Dustin Ackley, the Mariners new hot-shot prospect who is known more for his acumen at the plate than his prowess in the field, and Ackley proceeded to turn a brilliant 4-6-3 double play. Zimmerman slammed his helmet in frustration, and if this were either of the last two years, I would have bet the farm that the game was over. However, they put together a rally for the ages in the ninth inning, capped off by a bomb from Wilson Ramos (by the way, I love the gusto of Ramos. First, the slow trot around the bases in Arizona when the D’Backs were being punks and plunked Werth, and now the no-doubter stare after this moonshot of a home run. If you couple him together with Bryce Harper in a year or so, you’ve got the makings of an all-confidence team).
However, these Nationals have a resilience that past squads did not. Maybe it’s the addition of gritty OF Jayson Werth. Maybe it’s the influx of young players in the clubhouse, like 2B Danny Espinosa or the night’s hero Ramos, who simply don’t know any better. But this never-say-die attitude, as evidence by the club keeping its head above water during the 58 games that Zimmerman missed, has clearly begun to permeate the clubhouse.
Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves: are the Nats going to make the playoffs? Probably not. But there is something to be said for a team learning how to win. And while the victories might bring home a championship this year, they may prove to be a strong building block for next year. Maybe that’s why GM Mike Rizzo has held on to C Pudge Rodriguez, despite apparent interest from the Giants and Red Sox (http://bit.ly/kck6lN ). He wants to build a little clubhouse chemistry and camaraderie before to help these young players. Or maybe he is just waiting until the trade deadline to see if he can extract another young piece for a trade deadline rental (see Ramos for Capps last deadline; love when it all comes full circle). Hopefully, this Nationals can continue to show this fight in the weeks to come, and, given a relatively easy schedule, maybe keep their record above the .500 mark.
Other Nats Notes:
I thought Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post made a great point in his Nationals Insider blog (http://wapo.st/kFfTXm) today about just how important Ryan Mattheus and Collin Balester were in bringing home a “W” for the Nats last night. If that’s Brian Broderick or Craig Stammen, I think the game is over. But thanks to a phenomenal effort from Mattheus and Balester, the bleeding was stopped. I especially liked what I saw from Mattheus last night. His fastball sat at 94 (according to the MASN gun), and he looked in control the whole outing. Don’t forget that Mattheus was a legitimate prospect with the Rockies before he had Tommy John surgery in July 2009. I love seeing the power arms that Rizzo has acquired for the bullpen, and Mattheus could certainly be a valuable piece (or at least until fellow fireballer Cole Kimball returns).
News comes down that Bryce Harper is still being bothered by a jammed thumb (http://wapo.st/mkwba) , and was subsequently limited in the SAL all-star game (SAL is the South Atlantic League, a low-class A level league). If I were the Nats, I would keep Harper at Hagerstown for at least a little while longer after the break. I know they may feel pressure, since the Orioles announced they while promote SS Manny Machado, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, to high class-A. Both Machado and Harper have been dominant at low class-A so far. Both have also missed spurts of time due to injuries. I think it makes no sense for the Nationals to promote Harper while he is also trying to get healthy. Making the adjustment to a tougher level of pitching is hard enough without having to compensate for a sore thumb. Let him have a couple more weeks in Hagerstown to get himself right and then send him on his way to Potomac.
Livan Hernandez wasn’t fooling people with his arsenal of trick-pitches, and when you don’t fool people and you’re fastball tops out around 88, well, it’s going to get ugly. Fast.
The Nationals certainly weren’t doing their part in the field either. Jayson Werth made and egregious error in right field, attempting to bare hand the ball on a lazy single for no reason. When the ball skipped by him, it allowed Mariners SS Brendan Ryan to advance to second, where he would eventually score on a single by Adam Kennedy (wait, THAT Adam Kennedy?!). Even when the Nationals did come up with some sort of rally off of Mariners LHP Doug Fister (he of the 3-8, 3.38 ERA statline), their rallies were spoiled when Mariners fielders gobbled up the Nationals’ sharply hit balls. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with one run in already, the Nationals brought their best hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, to the plate with runners on first and second. They had Fister on the ropes. That is, until Zimmerman smoked a ball at 2B Dustin Ackley, the Mariners new hot-shot prospect who is known more for his acumen at the plate than his prowess in the field, and Ackley proceeded to turn a brilliant 4-6-3 double play. Zimmerman slammed his helmet in frustration, and if this were either of the last two years, I would have bet the farm that the game was over. However, they put together a rally for the ages in the ninth inning, capped off by a bomb from Wilson Ramos (by the way, I love the gusto of Ramos. First, the slow trot around the bases in Arizona when the D’Backs were being punks and plunked Werth, and now the no-doubter stare after this moonshot of a home run. If you couple him together with Bryce Harper in a year or so, you’ve got the makings of an all-confidence team).
However, these Nationals have a resilience that past squads did not. Maybe it’s the addition of gritty OF Jayson Werth. Maybe it’s the influx of young players in the clubhouse, like 2B Danny Espinosa or the night’s hero Ramos, who simply don’t know any better. But this never-say-die attitude, as evidence by the club keeping its head above water during the 58 games that Zimmerman missed, has clearly begun to permeate the clubhouse.
Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves: are the Nats going to make the playoffs? Probably not. But there is something to be said for a team learning how to win. And while the victories might bring home a championship this year, they may prove to be a strong building block for next year. Maybe that’s why GM Mike Rizzo has held on to C Pudge Rodriguez, despite apparent interest from the Giants and Red Sox (http://bit.ly/kck6lN ). He wants to build a little clubhouse chemistry and camaraderie before to help these young players. Or maybe he is just waiting until the trade deadline to see if he can extract another young piece for a trade deadline rental (see Ramos for Capps last deadline; love when it all comes full circle). Hopefully, this Nationals can continue to show this fight in the weeks to come, and, given a relatively easy schedule, maybe keep their record above the .500 mark.
Other Nats Notes:
I thought Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post made a great point in his Nationals Insider blog (http://wapo.st/kFfTXm) today about just how important Ryan Mattheus and Collin Balester were in bringing home a “W” for the Nats last night. If that’s Brian Broderick or Craig Stammen, I think the game is over. But thanks to a phenomenal effort from Mattheus and Balester, the bleeding was stopped. I especially liked what I saw from Mattheus last night. His fastball sat at 94 (according to the MASN gun), and he looked in control the whole outing. Don’t forget that Mattheus was a legitimate prospect with the Rockies before he had Tommy John surgery in July 2009. I love seeing the power arms that Rizzo has acquired for the bullpen, and Mattheus could certainly be a valuable piece (or at least until fellow fireballer Cole Kimball returns).
News comes down that Bryce Harper is still being bothered by a jammed thumb (http://wapo.st/mkwba) , and was subsequently limited in the SAL all-star game (SAL is the South Atlantic League, a low-class A level league). If I were the Nats, I would keep Harper at Hagerstown for at least a little while longer after the break. I know they may feel pressure, since the Orioles announced they while promote SS Manny Machado, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, to high class-A. Both Machado and Harper have been dominant at low class-A so far. Both have also missed spurts of time due to injuries. I think it makes no sense for the Nationals to promote Harper while he is also trying to get healthy. Making the adjustment to a tougher level of pitching is hard enough without having to compensate for a sore thumb. Let him have a couple more weeks in Hagerstown to get himself right and then send him on his way to Potomac.
Labels:
Bryce Harper,
Nationals,
Ryan Mattheus,
Wilson Ramos
An Introduction
After two years (and countless Wizards losses), the blog is back. In an effort to class things up a bit, we’re going with DC Sports Stop (instead of Strucksports, which is just a little too self-serving). Hopefully you will tell your friends about this space, because I really do want to provide you with all of the need-to-know information and opinion about Washington D.C. Sports, in one place. This way, you don’t have to sift through boring NFL lockout stories about John Beck’s media tour or Justin Tryon working out with the Redskins during informal practices (gack). We know you are already a fan, so you don’t want to waste your time reading the game recap or box score, because you watched the game last night. And no, I can’t be everywhere at once, so I’ll be relying on the fine reporting of others on the internet. I’ll do my best to give credit where credit is due at every turn, and let you know exactly what we are talking about. So, without further adieu, follow the blog!
P.S. I thought about deleting my two entries from two years ago, but, after reading them over, I decided they were simply too ripe with inaccurate predictions to simply discard. So if you want a good laugh, I suggest you read through for my take on such D.C. legends as Dom McGuire, Javaris Crittenton and Jim Bowden (wow we really have come a long way in two years).
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