Nats Enquirer

Jesus Saves Bullets

 

(Photo of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff. Stephen Strasburg finally gave up his first AAA runs Monday night.)

He's human.

Strasburg's line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 52 pitches-36 strikes.

52 pitches...Must be saving those bullets for bigger and better things? The Washington Post's Dave Sheinin points out:

He has now thrown 45 1/3 minor league innings. One more five-inning start, presumably this weekend in Syracuse, would put him almost exactly at the 50-inning threshold the Nationals targeted for him at the start of the season. (via Washington Post, 5/24/2010)

On that note, good luck buying tickets to a certain game at Nationals Park on June 4th. Plenty of good seats still available -- if you like dealing with scalpers and ticket brokers.

Meanwhile...

Carlos Maldonado to be called up from Syracuse to back up Wil Nieves. The thought of Carlos Maldonado catching Stephen Strasburg's Major League debut feels similar to Odalis Perez starting the first game ever at Nationals Park.

The Oswalt-for-Strasburg discussion is so dumb even we're refusing to acknowledge it. That doesn't count as acknowledgment, does it?

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"I'll be okay in the next couple of days."

(Pudge Rodriguez won't be flying West with the Washington Nationals for their 10-game roadtrip. Photo by Getty Images.)

"It's just tight in the lower back. It just got me a little bit. It's a little tight right now, but I'm just going to take a few days, and I'm sure, 100 percent, I'll be okay in the next couple of days...You don't need to worry about me."
(Pudge Rodriguez, via Nationals Journal, 5/22/2010)

"Next couple of days" = "Enjoy your trip out West, I'll see you suckers in June!"

Surprise. Pudge's back is worse than he said it was on Saturday. MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported Sunday night that Pudge didn't get on the flight to San Franciso  with the rest of the team. MASN's Ben Goessling says  Pudge is "not expected" to make the 10-game roadtrip  at all.

So what time today should we expect to read the press release announcing that Pudge has been placed on the15-day DL, and a corresponding roster move has been made to make room for another catcher to the 25-man roster? The thought of Wil Nieves starting for 10 games straight is scary enough: but backed up by Michael "Don't Call Me Mike" Morse for an entire West Coast swing? God help us.

Paging Carlos Maldonado? Devin Ivany? God help us. Is Wiki Gonzalez still alive?

Meanwhile...

• Hard to argue with FJB's take that the Roy Oswalt rumors are intriguing. Of course, Rizzo's not saying much, but, come on: Oswalt wants a shot at a World Series ring -- not a shot at playing for a .500 team who will be hanging around on the finges of the Wild Card race all summer. No way he waives his no-trade to come to Washington.

• DC Sports Bog breaks down the Julio Lugo dirt-kicking "incident" after Hammer's walk-off. See, this is exactly what this "rivalry" needs -- someone needs to drill Lugo the next time the teams meet at the end of June.

• Nats helped heat up the Dave Trembley Axe Watch by taking 2-of-3.

• MASN's got Baseball Jesus's latest and greatest AAA start in Syracuse vs. Toledo, live at 7PM tonight.

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Josh Willingham earns back-to-back Silver Elvis treatment.

 

(Image via CSN Washington. Josh Willingham earned the rights to the Silver Fox for the second game in a row,  thanks to his walk-off heroics in the 10th on Sunday. By our count, he's the first Nationals player to earn back-to-back Silver Fox honors.)

"Going into a big road trip like this, you always want to win a game like this. Hopefully you can carry the emotion into the road trip."
(Josh Willingham, via The Goessling Game/MASNSports.com, 5/23/2010)

Hammering it home!

Nationals 4, Orioles 3: Capps finally blows one, but Hammer picks him up with walk-off homerun in the 10th.

Nats take D.C. leg of 2010 Battle of the Beltways, 2-1.

Poor John Lannan deserved a W for the effort. Lannan's line: 5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

Drew Storen picks up first hit in first AB. Also throws 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

Nyjer Morgan gets the start in center, doesn't cost any runs this time out -- scored one, in fact -- although he had his adventures: on a collision w/Willingham, near crash into Maxwell. Meanwhile, from the day-late-dollar-short department, Riggleman considered benching him today:

"I thought about it. I got to do what's best for the ball club. And I've got to keep in mind that Nyjer has been struggling. I don't want to kick him while he's down. He's a vital part of this ball club. He plays hard. That's what I ask - play hard, give me a good effort. He always does that. He made a mistake. He misread where the ball was."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 5/23/2010)

Onward (and hopefully upward) to California.

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Wonder if Mike Rizzo is still just not prepared to commit to any player yet?

"A lot of things can happen -- injuries, poor performance. Something else could happen. We are just not prepared to commit to any player yet. We are scouting them up to June 7 and probably will not make a decision until soon before that. I wouldn't say we are leaning toward anybody. We are leaning toward a handful of people." (Mike Rizzo, via MLB.com, 5/15/2010)

*wink* *wink* Sure, Mike.

With the 2010 MLB Draft starting June 7th, it's probably worth mentioning that Bryce Harper went 6-for-6, with 4 HRs, a double, a triple, and 10 RBI in leading College of Southern Nevada to Junior College World Series on Saturday.

"I felt really comfortable up there, and I knew they were going to come at me. Those kids are competitors, and they want to blow the ball past you.To have a team come at me like that, it was awesome."
(Bryce Harper, via Las Vegas Review-Journal, 5/23/2010)

That same LVRJ article linked above mentioned high winds (and more importantly, aluminum bats) as contributing to the 20+ run softball scores the last couple of days in Lamar, Colorado, where the NJCAA Western District Tournament was taking place, but still...

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Nyjer Morgan's Temper Tantrum

(Photo of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff. Nyjer Morgan slams his glove to the ground while the ball sits in play next to his hat.)

"It was just one of those things where I let my emotions get to me out there, which I normally never do. It cost the boys a little bit. It's just one of those things."
(Nyjer Morgan, via The Goessling Game/MASN, 5/22/2010)

Another day, another couple of runs Nyjer Morgan costs the Washington Nationals.

Let's let MLB.com's Bill Ladson describe the scene in the fourth inning of Saturday's game, when another dumb play by Nyjer Morgan cost his team again:

In the fourth inning, with the score tied at 2 and Matt Wieters on first base, Baltimore's Adam Jones took an 0-1 pitch to deep center field. Morgan jumped as the ball hit the wall, but as he missed the catch and it caromed into left field, Morgan thought the ball was gone and threw his glove to the ground out of frustration.
(via MLB.com, 5/22/2010)

Next, Morgan shouts an expletive or two, walks away. Josh Willingham runs over and retrieves the ball. Wieters scores. Jones scores. Inside-the-park homerun. And scene.

That he thought the ball was gone is no excuse.

Morgan shouldn't have batted in the bottom of the inning; nor should he have trotted back out to center to start the fifth. Regardless of how thin his bench is/was at the moment, Jim Riggleman should have pulled him from the game when the inning ended.

Riggles' explanation?

"My first instinct was: Take him out of the ballgame. And then I realized, you know what, he thinks the ball went over the fence. He thought that he knocked it over the fence and it's a home run, so he's showing frustration. That doesn't excuse it, and I don't want it to be perceived as an excuse. But it explains it."
(Jim Riggleman, via NatsInsider, 5/22/2010)

Interestingly, from reading the various post-game accounts (WaPo, Nats.com, NatsInsider, MASN), it doesn't sound like his teammates were all that upset -- that the clubhouse has Morgan's back, ready to move on. Zuckerman got some good quotes from Dunn, Willingham, in particular.

So Morgan will no doubt be back out patrolling center field for the finale of the D.C. leg of the 2010 Battle of the Beltways. God only knows what he has in store for NatsTown today.

Meanwhile...

• Scott Olsen to 15-day DL with a bum shoulder. No way the Nats start Strasburg next Saturday on the road in SD in his place, right?

• Pudge says not to worry about his back. Okay, Pudge.

• DC Sports Bog has photographic evidence of fans wearing Silver Elvis wigs at Nationals Park during Saturday's game.

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Josh Willingham as Silver Elvis, again

(Photo of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff. Josh Willingham dons the Silver Fox after homering in Saturday's 7-6 Battle of the Beltways win.)

Nationals 7, Orioles 6 (Saturday): Nyjer Morgan should be thankful for that big four-run comeback in the sixth after his hockey mentality and temper tantrum cost another inside the park homerun. Nats back to .500. Nyjer Morgan is killing this team - more on that later.

Orioles 5, Nationals 3 (Friday): Scott Olsen's shoulder is toast. Birds take advantage. Nats drop below .500.

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Peter Angelos Loves the Nationals!

 

(Peter Angelos is smiling all the way to the bank, thanks to the Nationals. Angelos all smiles in the photo above during the Mitchell Report hearings on Capitol Hill in January, 2008. Photo by Reuters, via Daylife.)

"I'm sure the Washington team will continue to improve, and I made the side comment that I'm hoping the Orioles will get their act together."
(Peter Angelos, via Baltimore Sun, 5/20/2010)

Bring on the Battle of the Beltwayzzzzzz.

It's the .500 (21-21) Nats vs. the .310 (13-29) Orioles.

[Insert the sound of crickets here.]

Rivalry? What rivalry?

"What's good for the Nationals is good for MASN. That makes me happy, and that makes Mr. Lerner happy. They are partners in the MASN network. The better they do, the more interest it generates."
(Peter Angelos, via Baltimore Sun, 5/20/2010)

So, you're telling me MASN is partially responsible for killing the buzz around the Battle of the Beltways?

Maybe. Because Peter Angelos is getting paid -- handsomely -- as the Nationals stock goes up. Angelos isn't worried about Ted Lerner eating his lunch anymore. What this "rivalry" really needs is both owners coming out lobbing verbal grenades at each other through the media. Instead, it sounds like there's a good chance we may see Peter Angelos suiting up in a Nationals uni and shagging fly balls with Mark Lerner this weekend (be careful, boys).

Two winning teams would certainly help the cause, too. The Nationals are sort of holding up their end of the bargain this season; but the Orioles stink. In years past, one or both teams have been playing sub-.500 baseball, and residing in their respective basements, when the two "rivals" meet up.

Alas, we'll have to settle for the "Battle of the Birds" at ESPN Zone in DC at 4PM today. From the ESPNZone Press release:

Screech and The Bird will compete in a series of challenges including horse racing, arm wrestling, basketball free-throw shooting, and more. The winning bird will receive a golden birdhouse trophy and bragging rights as the series between the regional rivals begins. After the contest, the birds will be available to sign autographs and pose for photographs.

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"We just played bad."

 

(An all-too familiar sight. Hate to say it, but Nyjer Morgan is killing the TrackNats these days. Photo by AP, via Daylife.)

"We just played bad. I feel bad that the fans who came out here and saw us play bad, because the fans have been great and we've been playing pretty good baseball. It's not always - I say that when we lose ballgames, we played good, hard baseball. Tonight, we played hard baseball. We just didn't play good baseball. And we had a nice crowd out there. I wish they had seen us play good baseball."
(Jim Riggleman, via MASNsports.com, 5/21/2010)

They just didn't play good.

Mets 10, Nationals 7: Bizarre game. This one had it all: Errors, shoddy defense, baserunning blunders, Zim falling down, bad pitching. 

Yet, depite being down 10-1 entering the bottom of the sixth inning, somehow the Nationals managed to have the tying run at the plate in the 8th inning with 2 out. These are the Mets, after all.

18 games into the season, we noticed a trend of reckless/over-aggressive baseball being played by Nyjer Morgan, so we asked the question on April 25th: "At what point does Nyjer Morgan become a concern?" Now 42 games into the season, color us concerned. Nyjer Morgan is killing this team.

Meanwhile...

John Maine isn't happy with Jerry Manuel's decision to pull the plug on his start just five pitches in.

"When you throw your first pitch and you...see a guy warming up in the bullpen, it's a lose-lose situation."
(John Maine, via NY Daily News, 5/21/2010)

And the NY Tabloids are sharpening their knives for Jerry Manuel's head.

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Get well soon, Mark Lerner.

 

(Mark Lerner in safer, happier times. Photo by AP, via Daylife.)

"I've never seen blood gush that fast out of someone."
(A Nationals Player, via Nationals Journal, 5/20/2010)

As reported by the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, Nationals owner Mark Lerner was injured shagging fly balls during batting practice before Thursday night's game against the Mets: hit in the face by a fly ball.

Who hit the ball, anyway?

Kilgore reports that Lerner received stitches and is "doing fine", which is good news. It also means open season for making fun of Mark Lerner for getting hit in the face shagging fly balls. In full uniform. It just seems so...goofy. And here's a rather ominous Tweet from Kilgore, posted mere minutes before the accident.

Owner Mark Lerner in full uniform at #Nats Park, ready to shag some batting practice. "Getting some exercise," he says. ( via @ AdamKilgoreWP, 5/20/2010)

Indeed. Here's an idea: maybe Lerner can suit up again tomorrow night for Game 1 of the Battle of the Beltways 2010 and take Peter Angelos out there with him?

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Stephen Strasburg still has a few things to work on....

(Video above of Strasburg in action Wednesday night in Rochester.)

...like, the way he chews his gum. And his socks appear to be pulled up just a little too high. And...there's something else, but only Mike Rizzo knows.

Ho-hum. Another dominating performance by Baseball Jesus, ups his pitch count to 90+:

6.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 K. 92-60 pitches-strikes 7-2 groundouts-flyouts.

"I was kinda maybe a little out of whack. But I kind of settled down and it started to click, and when it started to click it's like, let 'er eat."
(Stephen Strasburg, via Washington Post, 5/20/2010)

A little out of whack, huh? See, forget Super 2, there's good reason for him to still be pitching in AAA. How about this description of one of Jesus's curveballs, from SI.com's Joe Posnanski:

There's nothing else he can do while pitching for the Syracuse Chiefs. On Wednesday, he struck out former major leaguer Jacque Jones on a curveball that was so sick it needed to be hospitalized for three days after the game. But, yes, it was former major leaguer Jacque Jones.
(Joe Posnanski, via SI.com, 5/20/2010)

Sadly, Hideki Irabu's regular season attendance record in Rochester stands to live another day, should remain until Bryce Harper rolls through town in 2012 on his way to DC. A standing room-only crowd on hand, but only the 11th largest crowd in the history of Rochester's Frontier Field: 12,590.

Here's a link to some video footage of the Strasburg Effect in Rochester, via Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Our favorite part is around the 1:10 mark, where a kid says before the game: "I'm ready to pull out an overrated chant if we need to."

Finally, good for Baseball Jesus for *not* tipping his cap to the opposing crowd as they gave him a standing ovation as he made his exit from the mound in the 7th. He's saving that gesture for June 4th at Nationals Park. 

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