Nats Enquirer

Gio Gonzalez suggests a bullet-proof vest when approaching Stephen Strasburg during a start

MASN's F.P. Santangelo sat down with Strasburg, Gio, and Zimmermann in a segment that aired before last night's Nats-Giants game. All smiles. Video here. Go ahead, watch this thing; we dare you to try watch this without smiling. Here's the part about approaching Stras on the day he's pitching:

Zimmermann: When Stras is pitching, like to stay away...
Gio: Bring a bullet proof vest,or...
Stras: They're intimidated by me. I get my game face on . They're just scared...Go to the end of the dugout.
Gio: Maybe we walk up to him with a baseball bat in my hand, just in case...

(Screencap via MASNSports.com)

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Football!

(Up above: Nats dugout salutes Kurt Suzuki after his 3rd inning double made it an 8-0 game. Screencap via MASN/MLB.com)

"It’s going to be hard to turn that music down. The boys are in a good mood tonight. Just like the skipper."
(Davey Johnson, via Washington Post, 8/14/2012)

Nationals 14, Giants 2: Two touchdowns, 21 hits, and Gio earns his 15th win the easy way.

Kurt Suzuki returns to the West Coast, collects 3 hits, 4 RBI.

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So, Hunter Pence, what makes the Washington Nationals such a good team?

"Pitching. Hitting. They're good at those."

{laughter}

No guys, wait, I'm totally serious. Like, their pitching and hitting is really good!

Well that was awkward. Here's to hoping Hunter Pence also weighs in on the Great Stephen Strasburg Shutdown Debate of 2012 while the Nats are in SF this week...

These A's fans in SF still love Gio Gonzalez

"HELLA GIO" says the sign. Wait, those are A's colors, and a guy in an A's jersey flanking them. Yet, the ladies are wearing Curly W's. Are these A's fans in Nats gear, just hating on the Giants? Or Gio fans loving Gio? Or all of the above?

(Screen cap via MASN/TV)

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"I guess it's a gutty move, a ballsy move"

...Stephen A. Smith would add "disgraceful" to that list.

Anyway, while The Great Strasburg Shutdown Debate rages on, we're just hoping Strasburg's sore back is OK and doesn't cause him to, you know, miss a few starts here and there as the clock ticks down to ~180.

Meanwhile, a couple of must-reads on the Strasburg Shutdown from last week: ESPN's Jayson Stark; and Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Here's Mike Rizzo, from Passan's piece:

"I guess it's a gutty move, a ballsy move. I'm a stubborn guy. I'm going to do this thing the way I want to do it. The plan since I took over three years ago has worked well for us. I have the trust of ownership that we're going to do this the right way. We believe we're right in this instance. We're going to implement it. That's not to say the industry's going to understand it or our right-handed starter is going to understand it. But what it does show is that we have a long-term vision, and I think it's going to show that we care about our players and we're going to do what's best for them personally.

We have pages and pages of evidence backing this. We have volumes of testimonies of doctors. We've got research and test cases and histories on guys. It's a small sample. This is a very unique pitcher. Tommy John surgeries before the age of 23 years old on power pitchers that average 95 mph on their fastball and 91 mph on their changeup – there's not a lot of those guys around." (Mike Rizzo, via Yahoo Sports.com, 8/11/2012)

(Screen cap via MASN/TV)

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Bryce Harper's first ever collision with an umpire as a Big Leaguer

You can cross "collide with an umpire" off the list of Bryce Harper's Big League firsts now. Of course, Harper has had run-ins with umpires before.

Until the seventh inning Sunday, Byrce Harper's infield hit in the first inning was the only hit registered by the Nats off the D-backs Patrick Corbin. That hit saw Harper crash into first base umpire Mike Muchlinski trying to advance to second on the errant throw. Harper's next attempt to advance to second was even worse: picked off first base moments later.

Turned out to be that kind of day for the Nats, but give 'em credit: through it all they still managed to get the tying run to the plate in the 9th. Onward.

(Screen caps via MASN/TV)

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Cheap knockoff version of Teddy loses race in Arizona

So the Diamondbacks do their own version of the Presidents Race after the fifth inning of every home game. Saturday night's Nats-Diamondbacks game featured the Diamondbacks big head legends (Grace, Williams, Gonzalez, and the Big Unit) vs. cheap knockoff versions of the Racing Presidents (some guys in bad costumes wearing wigs).

And what a surprise: there's Teddy, up above, losing again.

(Screen cap via MASN/TV)

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Uh oh: Stephen Strasburg's back is hurting!

(Up above, the lunging catch in the second that didn't help Strasburg's stiff back feel any better. Screen cap via MASN/MLB.com)

And so, with another stellar Stephen Strasburg start in the books, and 6 more innings checked off in Mike Rizzo's innings count ledger (133.1 for the season), we have officially entered the "savor every start" portion of Stephen Strasburg's 2012. (As an aside, it was probably a good thing that foul ball hit home plate umpire Dale Scott in the face, leading to a ~10 minute delay to knock Strasburg off his rhythm...imagine the uproar if Davey had to pull Stras with a no-no in the 7th with his pitch count soaring over 104...).

But here's good news for fans hoping there's some way to save some of those remaining innings into Ocotober: Strasburg's back is hurting him! Hmmm...

Strasburg actually pitched through a measure of pain. The middle of his back had stiffened from travel, sleeping on planes and such, a typical and minor ailment. To end the second inning, Strasburg made a lunging catch while covering first base. The play exacerbated the problem.

“It got a little stiff, especially standing out there for a little bit,” Strasburg said. “It happens. I wanted to go out there and grind through it." (via Washington Post, 8/11/2012)

Might want to have him skip an upcoming start, just to make sure everything's OK with the back?

(Screen caps via MASN/TV)

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Where Michael Morse's home run crash-landed in Arizona

Another game, another monster home run in a dome by Mike Morse. Last night, it was a 430+ foot bomb at Minute Maid Park. Tonight, that's what, a 425 foot 446 foot opposite field bomb up there to that concourse? We're just disappointed Morse didn't plop that one into the pool. (Video of the latest Morse bomb, here.)

More importantly: Morse has an eight game hitting streak. Thanks Cole Hamels, you a-hole.

Update: According to ESPN Stats & info, Morse's bomb travelled 446 feet, the longest opposite field blast in MLB this season.

(Screen caps via MASN/TV)

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Video of that mammoth HR Michael Morse hit last night

Previously, we provided some screen grabs of where the first of Mike Morse's two home runs landed last night. Up above, the MLB.com video of the one that can best be described as "mammoth".  Poor baseball.

18-game hitting streak for the Beast. Correction: Morse's hitting streak is dead at 10 games, effective August 2 vs. Philly, thanks to a scoring change (requested by the Phillies). WTF?

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