The Nationals lost the second game of their doubleheader 5-3 against the Cardinals last night. I caught bits and pieces of the game but was glad to see the Nats came from behind twice to tie the game before giving up the final two runs. And once again, the Nationals' starter Zimmermann gave another 6 innings start. These guys need to start giving 6-7 on a constant basis, but I'll take it.
One thing I noticed is that the Nats continue to score runners in scoring position. They're okay about not leaving too many men on base (only a total of 8 the entire day yesterday compared to the Cardinals 19), but the players that get left on base are generally always on 2nd or 3rd base. I think once Ryan Zimmerman comes off of the DL, GM Riggleman needs to make a lineup change. Here's what I would propose:
1. 2B Danny Espinosa - Gets real good hits and is very speedy. However, doesn't walk often.
2. SS Ian Desmond - Desmond gets on cold and hot streaks, not just days.
3. 3B Ryan Zimmerman
4. RF Jayson Werth - We spent a ton of money for his power. Why does he not bat 4th already?
5. 1B Adam LaRoche
6. CF Rick Ankiel - Ankiel has a lot of speed. Think of this as a second leadoff spot.
7. LF Michael Morse/Laynce Nix - Morse hasn't been hitting well as of late, but Nix has. Expect these 2 to continue to take turns in the field for awhile.
8. C Wilson Ramos - Ramos has a lot of power. I put him in the 8th spot only to spread that power, and bring guys like Ankiel and Morse home.
9. Pitcher
I think by spreading the power, this lineup can be a lot better. The way I set it up above splits this team into almost 2 separate lineups, instead of putting all of the weaker hitters at the bottom of the lineup.
Today's game is at 1:45 in St. Louis, and we'll see Tom Gorzelanny against Kyle Lohse. I'm not a big fan of Gorzelanny, and I hate to say it, but Lohse has pitched 2 straight good games. Both teams will be tired and won't want to play a day game after yesterdays doubleheader, but they have Pittsburgh to look forward to starting tomorrow night.
Showing posts with label nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nationals. Show all posts
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Nationals win first game of Doubleheader 8-6
The Nationals won their 4th straight game by winning the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6.
The Nationals looked like they were going to blow out the Cardinals in the first game of today's doubleheader. They went into the bottom of the 3rd inning with a 7-0 lead. With the help of Pujols' and Colby Rasmus' solo home runs, the Cardinals came back to within 2 runs at 7-5. Lance Nix gave the Nats an insurance run in the 8th with a solo blast to right field.
John Lannan had another solid start going into the sixth inning. The Nationals have had 16 straight games with their starting pitcher giving at least 5 complete innings.
Unfortunately, this game went longer than it needed to. It's too bad the Nationals relief couldn't keep the Cardinals offense down, because they had to bring in some of their relief stars: Clippard, Burnett and Storen. Let's see how game 2 goes, and hopefully they won't have to make a 2nd appearance.
Lineup changes for the 2nd game include Wilson Ramos in for Pudge Rodriguez at Catcher. At time of writing, I'm not sure of who else is going to start.
I'll post a writeup tomorrow about game 2 and some thoughts about the day in general.
On another note, Caps/Rangers game 4 at 7 pm! C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!
The Nationals looked like they were going to blow out the Cardinals in the first game of today's doubleheader. They went into the bottom of the 3rd inning with a 7-0 lead. With the help of Pujols' and Colby Rasmus' solo home runs, the Cardinals came back to within 2 runs at 7-5. Lance Nix gave the Nats an insurance run in the 8th with a solo blast to right field.
John Lannan had another solid start going into the sixth inning. The Nationals have had 16 straight games with their starting pitcher giving at least 5 complete innings.
Unfortunately, this game went longer than it needed to. It's too bad the Nationals relief couldn't keep the Cardinals offense down, because they had to bring in some of their relief stars: Clippard, Burnett and Storen. Let's see how game 2 goes, and hopefully they won't have to make a 2nd appearance.
Lineup changes for the 2nd game include Wilson Ramos in for Pudge Rodriguez at Catcher. At time of writing, I'm not sure of who else is going to start.
I'll post a writeup tomorrow about game 2 and some thoughts about the day in general.
On another note, Caps/Rangers game 4 at 7 pm! C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Nats Weekend Roundup (Winning! Duh...)
Great weekend for the Nationals and their fans. Saw a lot of great things this weekend from the whole team. In the first game of yesterday's double header, every starter got a hit, including the pitcher. Pudge hit his first home run of the season, and it was a sweet 3-run shot. Danny Espinosa had 6 RBIs with a 3-run HR, and a bases loaded, bases clearing triple yesterday. And Jayson Werth ran hard on the bases to score the winning run in the 10th inning on Friday. A sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers came at a beautiful time in the season: the beginning. Let me show you what I mean.
Notice the dates for those series sweeps. Except for their inaugural 2005 season, the Nationals never achieved their first sweep until at least a couple of months into the season. (Essentially when their season was already over).
Last year (2010), their first sweep wasn't until June against the Pirates, who at the time were essentially a minor league AAAA team. And the first game of that particular series? Stephen Strasburg's astonishing major league debut. So of course the team was clearly just riding along the awesome train for that sweep.
Also notice, all of their first sweeps are at home, except in 2008 against Seattle. But the 2008 Mariners team was the second worst team in baseball. Just slightly ahead of who? The Nationals of course. So that series doesn't even count as games played.
So here's what I'm getting at: getting this first sweep just 3 weeks into the season shows the turn around this team is going through. The Nationals may only have a handful of popular players, but they're the only team in MLB who has gotten 5 or more IPs from their starting pitchers in every game so far. They have 3 relievers contending for the closer spot. They have a clear candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2B Danny Espinosa (I used to watch him play in Potomac). Ryan Zimmerman is a back-to-back Silver Slugger (and should be back-to-back Gold Glover). Their only blowout this year was an 11-2 loss to the Braves in their opening weekend. But that's nothing to be ashamed about. They even had somewhat respectable losses to Philadelphia's kings Lee and Halladay.
Don't get me wrong, the Nats aren't making the playoffs this year or next, because as an NL East team, you have to win the division to make the playoffs since there are too many other good teams out west. But when Ryan Zimmerman comes off the DL, and Strasburg makes it back into the rotation next season, and big shot Jayson Werth picks up his bat some more, this team is going to be great. And they're going to be great quickly, and they're going to be great for a long time. Jump on the bandwagon now and start supporting the Nationals. Tickets to the games are fair priced (especially from StubHub) and the stadium is gorgeous, and it's a fun time for everybody, so go hit up some games (might I suggest April 30 for free umbrella day against the reigning World Series champs?)
The Nats are off today, with away series at St. Louis (where Carpenter won't be pitching this series and Pujols is in a slump) and Pittsburgh. Expect the Nationals to come back home next week to face the Mets with a positive attitude and a contending winning average.
| Year | First Sweep |
|---|---|
| 2011 | April 15-17 (vs Mil) |
| 2010 | June 8-10 (vs Pit) |
| 2009 | August 4-6 (vs Fla) |
| 2008 | June 13-15 (@Sea) |
| 2007 | May 11-13 (vs Fla) |
| 2006 | May 23-25 (vs Hou) |
| 2005 | April 14-17 (vs Ari) |
Notice the dates for those series sweeps. Except for their inaugural 2005 season, the Nationals never achieved their first sweep until at least a couple of months into the season. (Essentially when their season was already over).
Last year (2010), their first sweep wasn't until June against the Pirates, who at the time were essentially a minor league AAAA team. And the first game of that particular series? Stephen Strasburg's astonishing major league debut. So of course the team was clearly just riding along the awesome train for that sweep.
Also notice, all of their first sweeps are at home, except in 2008 against Seattle. But the 2008 Mariners team was the second worst team in baseball. Just slightly ahead of who? The Nationals of course. So that series doesn't even count as games played.
So here's what I'm getting at: getting this first sweep just 3 weeks into the season shows the turn around this team is going through. The Nationals may only have a handful of popular players, but they're the only team in MLB who has gotten 5 or more IPs from their starting pitchers in every game so far. They have 3 relievers contending for the closer spot. They have a clear candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2B Danny Espinosa (I used to watch him play in Potomac). Ryan Zimmerman is a back-to-back Silver Slugger (and should be back-to-back Gold Glover). Their only blowout this year was an 11-2 loss to the Braves in their opening weekend. But that's nothing to be ashamed about. They even had somewhat respectable losses to Philadelphia's kings Lee and Halladay.
Don't get me wrong, the Nats aren't making the playoffs this year or next, because as an NL East team, you have to win the division to make the playoffs since there are too many other good teams out west. But when Ryan Zimmerman comes off the DL, and Strasburg makes it back into the rotation next season, and big shot Jayson Werth picks up his bat some more, this team is going to be great. And they're going to be great quickly, and they're going to be great for a long time. Jump on the bandwagon now and start supporting the Nationals. Tickets to the games are fair priced (especially from StubHub) and the stadium is gorgeous, and it's a fun time for everybody, so go hit up some games (might I suggest April 30 for free umbrella day against the reigning World Series champs?)
The Nats are off today, with away series at St. Louis (where Carpenter won't be pitching this series and Pujols is in a slump) and Pittsburgh. Expect the Nationals to come back home next week to face the Mets with a positive attitude and a contending winning average.
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