Nats Enquirer

John Wall custom Nationals jersey

 

Wizards get their Strasburg.

Welcome to Washington, John Wall.

No surprise: Wizards select John Wall with #1 pick in 2010 NBA Draft.

In order to properly welcome The Great Wall of Chinatown to Washington D.C., head on over to the MLB.com shop and get your own custom John Wall Nationals jersey (or you could just get one of these). With apologies to Nyjer Morgan, we ordered ours as #1. You might want to wait to see what number Wall chooses, since he can't wear #11 (Elvin Hayes). Maybe Nick Young gives up #1?

Note to Washington Nationals Marketing Department: Please get on the phone with John Wall's people immediately and extend an invitation for Wall to throw out the first pitch at Strasburg's next scheduled home start at Nationals Park. That would be July 3rd against the Mets; game will be televised nationally on FOX.

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About Roger Bernadina being safe at home

 

(Roger Bernadina beat Jose Guillen's throw in the sixth inning on Strasmas. He was called out. Grainy photo of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

"I was shocked."
(Roger Bernadina, via Washington Post, 6/24/2010)

Yes, no matter what angle you watch the replay from, Roger Bernadina beat Jose Guillen's throw to the plate in the sixth inning Wednesday. Should've been a 1-1 tie. Strasburg off the hook. But Hunter Wendlestedt blew the call. The Nats seem to be on the receiving end like that far too often this season.

But the fact that we're still agonizing over a single run in the sixth inning against Brian Bannister and the Royals just amplifies the Nats' offensive woes. The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore points out that they've scored four runs or less in nine straight games, hitting .203 with a .248 OBP. Chances are if Wendlestedt got the call right and the Nationals tie that game yesterday, we'd probably find ourselves here this morning complaining about a 2-1 loss and a no-decision for Strasburg.

And let's say that run scored and the floodgates opened and the Nationals exploded for, like, another run or two, it's possible we would have been deprived of the Great Ray Knight v. Rob Dibble Catfight of 2010. Score another one for Ray, by the way.

So what's the answer to the Nats' offensive woes? Continue to mix and match and move the deck chairs around until the bats come around? Josh Willingham sort of threw Nyjer Morgan under the bus after the game in his postgame comments. There might be something to it:

"We have a good offense on paper. We've got to start from the top. When Nyjer plays well, it helps our offense. We've just been really inconsistent."
(Josh Willingham, via Nats Insider, 6/23/2010)

We have the answer:

Make Strasburg hit leadoff.

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Strasmas is ruined!

 

(Another great start by Stephen Strasburg, another pathetic offensive showing by the Washington Nationals. Getty Images photo via Daylife.)

"I hate to, and I won’t, make excuses for anybody, but sometimes you’ve got to tip your hat to the opposition. I’m not trying to rationalize too much, but we’ve run into a lot of well-pitched ballgames against us."
(Jim Riggleman, via Mark Zuckerman/CSNWashington, 6/23/2010)

Strasbummer.

Nats wilt in the heat. Another wasted start by Baseball Jesus.

Royals 1, Strasburg 0: Heat Wave, Cold Bats. Stephen Strasburg's 6.0 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K, performance would've been good for a win if he pitched for the Kansas City Royals.

Unfortunately, Stephen Strasburg pitches for the Washington Nationals...

...the same Washington Nationals who made the awful Brian Bleeping Bannister look like Cy Bleeping Young.

Another strikeout record falls (most Ks in 4 career starts), first major league hit, and first major league loss for Strasburg. 

Ex-Nat Jose Guillen gets revenge on D.C. for that time in 2006 when his girlfriend got robbed outside a check-cashing joint in Northeast after cashing one of his $10,000 paychecks: kills his former team with an RBI single in the 5th, and throw to catch Bernadina at the plate in the 6th. Doesn't matter if Bernadina was actually safe and homeplate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt blew the call -- something tells me the Nats would've eventually lost a 2-1 game anyway.

So much for going for going for the jugular with a 3-game sweep there for the taking. What a bummer.

Bring on the O's and the Battle of the Beltwayzzzzz.

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On the Fourth Day of Strasmas...

(Stephen Strasburg makes his fourth start this afternoon. AP Photo via Daylife.)

All I want for Strasmas is a win. And not to die of heat stroke this afternoon at Nationals Park.

Strasmas Heat Wave: Baseball Jesus in 95+ degree heat with heat index in the triple digits? Seems oddly fitting.

If there's such a thing as a must-win game against the Royals, this is it. And it sounds like the Royals are looking forward to seeing Strasburg in person. The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton checked in with the Royals before Wednesday's game:

"I know he's got great stuff. Everybody knows that. I've seen him on TV. Actually, we've been watching him quite a bit. It's a good challenge for our offense."
(Royals 1B Billy Butler, via The Kansas City Star, 6/22/2010)

"It's great for the game. There's a (Mark) Fidrych-type atmosphere to it. Or (Fernando) Valenzuela. Those are big moments in baseball history, and I think it's fun to be part of."
(Royals starter Brian Bannister, via The Kansas City Star, 6/22/2010)

And from MLB.com:

"As a group we're going to try to come up with an offensive game plan to try to put some runs up against him. It'll be fun to go out and battle arguably one of the guys that they say has some of the best stuff in the league."
(Royals LF Scott Podsednik, via MLB.com, 6/23/2010)

Charge of the Light (hitting) Brigade!

Meanwhile, Rustin Dodd of Kansas City.com's Royals blog caught up with former college player Corey Shimada, who faced Strasburg last year for the University of Utah. Shimanda describes what it's like to step into the box against Baseball Jesus:

"I don’t have any words to describe how fast it is...or how hard it is to hit. ... I don’t really remember pitch sequences...But I did realize that from his sophomore to his junior year, he started using his breaking ball a lot more"
(via Ball Star/Kansas City.com, 6/22/2010)

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Hammering Home the Point

(Josh Willingham mashed the 100th home run of his career in the 4th inning Wednesday. AP Photo via Daylife.)

"It was a good team effort. It got a little hairy there at the end, but we'll take that."
(Jim Riggleman, via MASNSports.com, 6/23/2010)

Hammer, Clipp, & Pray.

Nationals 4, Royals 3: That's more like it, Luis Atilano. And life is so much better when Zim, Dunn, and Hammer are hitting.

Atilano was solid, even with a ~45 minute rain delay thrown in the middle: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K. 84 pitches, 58 strikes.

Josh Willingham hits HR #100 of his career. Naturally, a solo shot.

Adam Dunn goes deep again. Just don't talk to him about being traded, okay?

Another heart attack save by Matt Capps in the 9th, but like Riggleman said, we'll take it.

Everything's lined up nicely for a Strasmas sweep today.

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For his next trick, Stephen Strasburg will render the entire D.C. Metro area into a state of gridlock?

 

(The Strasburg Effect, Exhibit 300a.1.4.2: Here's a shot of some A's players watching Stephen Strasburg's MLB debut in the clubhouse before their own game back on June 8. Photo by Getty Images via Daylife.)

"I have never seen anything like this. I have been to a lot of sporting events in this town and a lot of baseball games, and the only thing I can compare it to is an inaugural parade. We get that every four years, and now there’s Strasburg every five days. It’s just been amazing."
(Former Senators announcer Charlie Brotman, via Atlanta Journal Constitution, 6/22/2010)

More Strasburg Effect

A quick, unscientific check of Nationals.com at 9:15 tonight for tickets to Strasmas tomorrow at Nationals Park indicates that there are still plenty of good seats still available throughout the stadium. We were able to find pairs of seats in just about every section. Tomorrow's 4:35 start should be a good test of the Strasburg Effect in D.C. -- we're interested in seeing his drawing power for a mid-week game in 95+ degree heat at rush hour, and how the attendance figure compares to previous mid-week afternoon games (not counting Opening Day). We're thinking 37,000?

The Post's Dr. Gridlock warns of "Headaches on the Horizon" on the transit front for Baseball Jesus's fourth start, just in time for rush hour hell in D.C.

And the Nationals sent an advisory to ticket holders, warning of the potential for rush hour transit woes before Strasmas:

Here's hoping fears of transit woes and/or the scorching heat don't keep people away.

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All Jose Guillen needed to know about breaking knees he learned from Frank Robinson

(Jose Guillen, being restrained from giving Mike Scioscia a hug, during the great Frank Robinson v. Mike Scioscia Incident of  June 2005. AP Photo.)

Sort of lost in the shuffle with the news of John Lannan's vacation to Harrisburg yesterday (for us, anyway) was the return of old friend Jose Guillen to  D.C. Guillen, of course, was one of the original 2005 Nationals, whose career in Washington limped along for a few months in 2006 until finally ending with surgery on his right elbow in July 2006.

We always loved Jose because, well, you never knew what he was going to do next -- always volatile, always seemed ready to explode in a murderous rage at a moment's notice. And he always made opening the sports page the morning after a game worth your time, because every morning you were guaranteed a fantastic quote from Guillen, be it complaining about the fences at RFK Stadium or calling Mike Scioscia a piece of garbage.

Guillen reminisced about his time in D.C. in a piece on Nationals.com yesterday, and talked about his relationship with Frank Robinson. He didn't disappoint -- the story is chock full of great quotes. Like this one, describing how Old Frank told him to break a guy's knees, the old school way.

"He said, 'I don't ever want to see you jog into a base. Go hard. If the second baseman stays in there, break both of his knees. That's the way you should be playing the game -- old school. You don't want to see a shortstop standing there,'"
(Jose Guillen, quoting Frank Robinson, via Nationals.com, 6/21/2010)

So, a belated "Welcome back!", Jose. Thanks for the memories. And thanks for not trying to break any fans knees during your time in D.C., especially Nationals fans:

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Michael Morse, two-time Silver Elvis

 

(Michael Morse earned the rights to the Silver Fox after providing 1/4 of the Nats hits and 1/2 of the Nats runs with an absolute bomb of a HR off Bruce Chen on Monday night. Photo of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

Losing streak is dead at six.

Nationals 2, Royals 1: Morse and Guzman solve Bruce Chen with a home run each.

Livan Hernandez, the Big Stopper. Livo's line: 7.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, escapes big jam in 7th. All is forgiven after that last start, Livo!

Nationals Marketing Dept. breathes a sigh of relief: Clipp n' Save true to form (including a dicey 9th by Capps) just in time for T-Shirt Tuesday featuring Clipp & Save T-Shirts.

Michael Morse just keeps on raking, huh?

Meanwhile...

• Ross Detwiler, getting closer: activated from DL, sent to Harrisburg.

• Mark Zuckerman's CSN Washington story on Lannan's demotion is well worth your time. Good quotes from everyone involved (but Lannan).

• More Morse! We'd like to echo Mike from NFBL's plea to Jim Riggleman on DH this weekend in Baltimore:

Can we please pretty please extra pretty please not play fun with lineup cards this weekend in Baltimore, the last chance to use the DH this year? Can we please pretty please see Mike, uh, Michael Morse three games in a row? Maybe two at DH and one at first? Just for yuks?

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Nats option John Lannan to AA Harrisburg, replace him with SI swimsuit model Hilary Rhoda

(SI Swimsuit model and Chevy Chase, MD native Hilary Rhoda throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Stephen Strasburg's second start at Nationals Park last Friday. Getty Images Photo via Daylife.)

Lannan out, Rhoda in?

According to sources with no knowledge of the situation, Mike Rizzo and his entire scouting department were so impressed with model Hilary Rhoda's ceremonial first pitch before Stephen Strasburg's last start at Nationals Park on Friday night that the Nationals have signed her to a major league deal. Stan Kasten unavailable for comment. Sources say Rhoda will start in Baltimore on Saturday in place of John Lannan, who has been optioned to AA Harrisburg.

"I believe in John. John's been too good for us to let a few starts detour us too much, you know? We've got a lot of leash there with John."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 6/20/2010)

Boy, it seems like only yesterday Jim Riggleman was giving John Lannan a vote of confidence, saying he'd be staying put in the Nationals rotation for the time being. Wait, that's because it was yesterday! So much for that long leash!

Other more reputable sources confirm that Lannan has been optioned to AA to figure things out, but that reliever Joel Peralta has been called up from AAA 'Cuse to take his spot on the roster, not the supermodel Rhoda. Mark Zuckerman points out on Nats Insider that the Nationals won't need a fifth starter until Tuesday, and that Craig Stammen seems a likely choice to be called back up.

Let's face it: Lannan has been awful. We're actually surprised to hear the news is a move to AA and not a trip to the DL. But we're even more surprised to hear the news of the move a day after Jim Riggleman's proclamation yesterday about Lannan's job security.

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The Stopper?

 

(Maybe Bruce Chen can help the Nationals break their 6-game losing streak? Photo by Getty Images via Picapp)

Nationals turn to K.C.'s Bruce Chen to stop the bleeding.

Atilano, Lannan, Livo, Martin, and Strasburg couldn't do it. Can K.C.'s Monday night starter Bruce Chen help put an end to the losing streak?

Meanwhile...

Old friend Jose Guillen is healthy (with the exception of a blister on his toe) and raking in K.C: Jose brings a 15-game hitting streak to Washington.

DC Sports Bog transcribes the latest and greatest from the mouth of Stan Kasten: Stan doesn't like visiting fans cheering at Nats Park? Priceless.

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