162 games in one night

That sound you heard last night was an entire, 162-game season, passing by in one night.  The Nats' 2-3 loss to our new archrival Braves encompassed a season's worth of frustration and sadness - and frustration. Let us count the ways.  

• The game featured another wasted start by Stephen Strasburg. Stras struck out 9 in 7 innings as he had some nasty off speed stuff working.  The Braves tied the game at 1-1 on back to back to back bleeders, and probably had two good swings off of Strasburg all night.  Once again that effort was not good enough thanks to an anemic offense.
• No loss is complete without a wasted key at bat from Jayson Werth. Pinch hitting for Strasburg in the seventh with the go-ahead run on second Werth's strike out was practically pre-ordained. The only surprise is that he went down swinging. Despite being the July Player of the Month Werth and his $14 million-a-year salary is still unreliable in the clutch, and his dramatic game-winning homer in game 4 last year increasingly looks like a case of the blind squirrel finding an acorn.
• Last year, Natitude translated into lots of good luck: walk-off wins due to wild pitches; game-winning pinch hits from Chad Tracy or Tyler Moore; Harper taking baseball by the throat, etc. etc. This year's declaration of 'World Series or Bust' broke one of the cardinal rules of baseball: you have to be humble - or else. Davey Johnson forgot that the greatest sin a human can commit (at least to the ancient Greeks, who have been validated by 3,000 years of history) is hubris. 
• Last year, Natitude also translated into hard hit balls finding gaps and driving in runs. This year, as it was last night, it seems like 90 percent of our line drives find gloves. Case in point is the seventh. Harper hits the ball on the screws right to Heyward. Of course, that line-drive out would have scored the go-ahead run IF Werth had moved the runner to third instead of striking out.  There were numerous line-drive outs last night: Rendon's sacrifice fly could have been a double to the gap; Uggla robs Desmond, etc.
• Last night's loss even featured a bull pen melt down even when Davey made the right move. Clippard has been lights out all season but even he faltered last night, giving up the game-winning homer.  #snakebit. 

I guess to be more precise, I should blog that last night's loss means the passing of the NL East. Catching the Braves, even if we someone sweep the remaining 8 matchups, is unlikely but the wild card is still an option. The Nats are 'only' 7 games back of the Reds and only have to pass one other team, the Diamondbacks, to get there. But as many have said, before the Nats can realistically make ANY run to the playoffs they have to start hitting.  

That brings me to our ray of hope: kudos to Bryce Harper for calling out the team, from the manager on down, last week. Last September he carried us down the stretch and he can do it again. Unless he does, it will be a long, long off season.

Go Nats!

Why We LOVE Sports

Last night's incredible come-from-behind 8-4 win by the Nationals, capped off by Ryan Zimmerman's dizzying 2-out, full-count, bottom of the ninth, half-past midnight, against the hated Phillies and their fanatics blast was out of this world!  I urge everyone to check out the video, especially Charlie Slowes' radio call that starts at the 35-second mark.

Unbelievable!

Everything about the night was unbelievable.

1. I can't believe it was actually played.  It rained HARD for an hour and half, but the grounds crew did a great job taking care of the field.  And I NEVER gave much thought to this before, but the field at Nats Park really drains well! 
2. And kudos to Evan, for doggedly believing that they would play, and that the Nats would eventually win.
3. On a bad note, it was depressing and unbelievable how many Phillies fans were in the our house.  The ratio was at least 4-1, obnoxious fans to local and loyal fans.  Of course, that made screaming 'Go back to Philly!' that much sweeter after Zim's blast.
4. Also unbelievable, how sooooooo many Phillies fans bought tickets in right field just to heckle Jayson Werth.  Those sections were sold out last night. He may be worthless to us and them, but fans who buy a ticket just to be ass holes are below worthless.  Those folks have got to be the most pathetic fans in sports.  
5. Zim's unbelievable blast got the attention it deserved but it was a great team win by the Nationals over the best team in the National League.   Tom Gorzelanny and Sean Burnett were fantastic in holding down the fort and pitching 4 scoreless innings against the Philllies' lefty-heavy line up. 
6. Before Zim stepped up Johnny Gomes and Ian Desmond rapped RBI singles, Desmond's with 2 strikes.
7. Finally, kudos to Werth for getting the comeback started.  The former Phillies player fell behind 0-2 against Philadelphia closer Ryan Madson, but fought back during the 11-pitch at bat to stroke a single to left to start the rally.  Unbelievable.

Simply an unbelievable and exhilarating night at the ball park.  A night capped off by a grand slam - AND lots of cheering, hollering, smiling, high-fiving Evan and strangers alike, and overall happiness. 

That's why we like sports.  Where else do you go to smile and high-five strangers?  Where else to you go to CHEER?  GO NATS!

Excellent Sports Weekend on Tap

I don't think it's hyperbole to call this weekend's series between the Nats and Braves make or break.   Our hometown Nationals are only 8 games back of the Braves in the wild card race. 

An Atlanta sweep would practically put us out of contention.  Being 11 games out could THEN lead to GM Mike Rizzo turning the page to the 2012 season and trading veterans like Jason Marquis or Jason Coffey or Tom Gorzelanny. 

Come to think of it, no matter WHAT the Nationals do against the Braves, I'd trade those 3 in a heartbeat if given the chance.  With Jason Peacock (just called up to Triple A Syracuse), Ross Detwiler and even Chein-Ming Wang available or on the horizon those guys aren't worth keeping if the Nationals get a decent offer.

But back to the Braves.  It will be mano a mano, with our top 3 starters - Livo, Zimmermann, and Lannan - versus theirs - Hudson, Hanson and Jurrjens.

However, if the Nats take 2 of 3 from Atlanta it would be HUGE.  One, they'd pick up a game on a rival. Two, Washington would bolster their confidence by doing so on the road. And three, winning the series could provide some positive second-half ju-ju for first half flops like Jayson Werth. 

GO NATS!

Of course, the second half of this potentially excellent sports weekend is Sunday's Women's World Cup final between the U.S. and Japan.  The U.S.'s wins over Brazil and France were riveting, as should the final.

We're supposed to be there but Japan has been a surprise.   However, they are not to be taken lightly, having clearly earned their berth in the final by taking down hosts and favorites Germany in the quarter finals before rolling over Sweden - a team that beat us in group play.

I like our chances mainly because I love Abby Wambach.  What a great competitor and teammate.  I love the casual way she describes her accomplishments - which have been significant and game-changing - in contrast to her more animated and excited descriptions of her teammates and team.   She's a leader AND a play maker.  Her skill - and height as she has scored two impressive headers in our last two games - have been key, and will be again against Japan.

Go National(s) team!

He's a baby

I couldn't tell what to title this blog, but the more I thought about Jim Riggleman's surprising and selfish resignation, I kept returning to the B word.

Riggleman practically said as much, saying at one point "It's about me. It's about looking in the mirror and feeling like I've got to answer to myself." To me, when an adult says 'It's about me" that equals to "I am a baby."

I imagine it's stressful working under a series of one year contracts - though Walter Alston did it for 30 years - but does Riggleman think he will ever be offered ANY kind of contract after leaving his team mid-season and mid-hot streak?  I can't imagine he will EVER work in baseball again.  Who would trust him?

Isn't a one year deal to be one of the 30 big league managers on the planet, for your hometown team, better than nothing? Or better than burning every single bridge you've ever crossed in baseball?  It would be different if this were Joe Torre or Tony LaRussa, guys who've won a few title, walking away.  Those kinds of guys could walk out on a team and still hope to be rehired in the future.  But not Riggles.

The resignation takes some of the bloom off the Nationals rose. This team is young and fun to watch.  The funnest thing about this team, besides the winning, is that you never know who is going to step up for our hometown team. One night it's Morse, another it's Espinosa - or Ramos or Clippard or Marquis or ZImmermann or ZImmerman or Nix or Bernadina or Pudge or Storen or Livo.  

[One guy who is NOT is Jayson Werth, doing his best to prove that he is not a star without Ryan Howard and the rest of Phillies to protect him.]

One of the great things about that list is the pitching.  Jordan ZImmermann has looked like a potential number 2 starter, with John Lannan the same as a solid number 3.  There is some there there on the mound.  And our bullpen, with Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett, and Drew Storen is solid, too.

But best of best of all, outside of Pudge, Livo and Marquis, that list of players is young. I don't want to get too excited - all that gets this franchise is Tommy John surgery and managers resigning - about the base of talent in Washington, a base that will grow larger once Stephen Strasburg returns and Bryce Harper is ready for the big leagues - but it's hard not to. 

Excited good, being a baby bad.

The Silver Lining

•  Lost among the Riggleman hubbub was another win, 1-0 today against the Mariners.  The win put the Nats - the Washington Nationals - above .500 at 38-37 in June.  The last time that happened was in 2005.  In addition to creeping above the 500 mark, the Nats are only 4 and half games out of the wild card race.
• The other silver lining today was a very, very good NBA draft for the Wizards.  With their 3 picks Washington drafted: Jan Vesely, a high-flying athlete from the Czech Republic who should thrive running and rolling with John Wall; the very versatile and smart Chris Singleton from FSU to play some D and be the glue guy; and Shelvin Mack from Butler, a tough guy to back up Wall.  Throw Jordan Crawford and JaVale McGee in there and that's a talented rotation of young players. If we could trade Andray Blatche tonight it would be perfect! 
• One final draft note.  Jordan Williams and Kyle Singler were both drafted in the 2nd round.  A first round pick gets a guaranteed, 3-year contract, so slipping a round has some consequences.  Those two players illustrate the need to be smart, not sentimental or emotional, in deciding to go pro or stay in school.  After leading his team to a championship as a junior Singler was a lock to go in the first round.  But he stayed in Durham, had a so-so season, and slipped to the second round.  Williams was just as dumb.  Gary Williams and others told him he needed another year of polish, but Williams told the Post his gut told him he was ready.  Leaving school early only to go in the second round is foolishness.  Singler should have left early, Williams should have stayed.

Big DC Sports Day

Hard to pick out the bigger story: Jayson Werth hitting a home run - with runners on base no less - or the Wizards changing their jerseys to look more like the old Bullets ones.

Werth was joined by Laynce Nix in hitting a three-run homer in last night's 7-6 win over the Braves in Atlanta.  The two three-run blasts helped Jason Marquis win his 100th career game. 

It may have also marked the first time that two players whose first names both include useless Ys have homered in the same game.  

As for the new Wizards unis, I'm not crazy about them.  On the plus the side, I like the new lower case font and that they kept a DC logo.  The one homage to Bullets that I do like is the hand reaching for or shooting the ball at the top of the lower case 'd.'  I also like the basketball logo with the Washington Monument in it.

Now I like the red, white and blue.  For instance, it looks awesome on a flag, particularly a waving flag with stars and stripes.  

But it looks cheesy on the old Bullets uni, and still looks cheesy now.  I think the main reason it looks so bad is the way the horizontal stripes dominate the top of the jersey.  It just looks bad, especially when it's worn by a player.

Want proof?  Check out the sullen looks on John Wall and Jordan Crawford at yesterday's unveiling.

Crazy DC Sports Weekend

Has there been a crazier DC sports weekend, or week, than this past one?

Consider what happened in the last few days:

• The Wizards trade Gilbert Arenas
• Maryland practically fires Ralph Freidgen
• Donovan McNabb is benched
• The Nats go nuts in signing Jayson Werth
• and the Caps keep losing

I guess DC United was out of town this weekend.

Hard to figure what the biggest story was.  Generally you go with the Offensive Nicknames, but Daniel Snyder has done something that even the most cynical, inside-the-Beltway hack thought was impossible: he is making folks in DC apathetic about their Offensive Nicknames.

The ONs look especially dysfunctional this season, with Albert Haynesworth failing to get in shape or play, and then the demoting of Donovan McNabb a few weeks after signing him to a lengthy contract extension (but since the NFL has a terrible, co-opted union most of the money is NOT guaranteed). 

 

Last weekend there were thousands of empty seats in 'Raljon,' and a quick glance at Stubhub reveals lots of seats on the market for the remaining home game versus the Giants.  Of late Offensive Nicknames games have resembled Nats and Wizards games, with a stadium full of fans from Philly or New York, or there to root for Kobe or the Knicks.  

As a result nd fans are staying away.  That's how far the Redskins have fallen thanks to Dan Snyder.  Fans are staying home and worse, have stopped getting their hopes up.

Of course, that was par for the course for years here in DC when it came to the Wizards.  That changed when Washington signed Gilbert Arenas. Granted, the Zards only won one playoff series with Arenas but he made pro basketball relevant in Washington, which is a grassroots basketball hotbed.  

It seem like decades ago, but as a Wizards fan it's easy to remember that month in 2003 when Washington has the best record in the Eastern Conference, led by Agent Zero.  In January that month Gerald Wallace fell on Arenas' knee, and the injuries started to haunt Arenas.


Injuries, then the incredibly boneheaded gun play in the locker room a year ago, sunk Arenas - and the Wizards, too.  They literally unraveled after the gun incident, and now Arenas has been traded to the Magic for Rashard Lewis.  


With Arenas - and Jamison, Butler and Haywood - it was easy to forget that since the early 80s the Wizards had basically been the Clippers East.  Well, dust off those memories DC sports fans: with Arenas gone, and even with John Wall, we're entering the Clippers East; Phase II era.


A few more low notes:

• Six months ago the town was abuzz with talk about Wall and Stephen Strasburg.  Now there are both hurt, proving once more than the Curse of Les Boulez is real;
• Can anyone name the previous coach of Maryland's football team? I doubt it.  Like Arenas, he made Maryland football relevant again - without the gun play! Friedgen has quite a trifecta this year: going to a bowl, named the ACC Coach of the Year AND being offered a buy out to leave town.  
• The Caps have lost 8 in a row and are now in third place.  At least that's what Evan tells me.  I do know that losing 8 in a row is bad.
• Still not crazy about breaking the bank for Jayson Werth.  And trading Willingham is not the worst thing in the world, but what is the plan after the first four spots in the order?  Lest I remind folks, last time DC imported a high priced player from Philadelphia he was benched. 
• Despite the platitudes offered by Nats management at the Werth press conference it's hard not the assume this team is waiting for 2012 (which is the name of Evan's new blog, by the way).

Clever Headline Here

Is Jayson really werth 7 years?  Werth while signing? 

There's got to be one that combines 'werth' and 'dunn,' right?  "Are Nats Dunn Increasing Their Net Werth?" or something like that.

I am not sure what I think about signing Jayson Werth, or anyone not named Pujols or Halladay, for 7 years - seven - years.  You know how long that is?  Uber fan Evan Manuel, who has known only baseball heartache with our hometown Nats, will be in college when Werth will come off the books.  

Most of all, I'm not sure I buy Mike Rizzo's line about this 'makes us look serious,' etc. especially in the wake of NOT giving Dunn a fourth year. Sure, he's a defensive upgrade, and he's a real corner outfielder and power hitter, a plus athlete who can run and steal bases and play center field, etc.  

But Werth has never been the man, the center of an offense. Not only was Adam Dunn good at that, he also seem to enjoy it and was never bothered by the pressure of hitting in the four hole.  Can Werth handle that responsibility?  Bottom line for me:  I'd rather have Dunn for four years than Werth for seven.

I am also not crazy about the Nationals courting Carlos Pena to replace Dunn.  Pena was productive last year despite hitting below - yes, below - the Mendoza line, mainly due to lots of walks and timely homers.  And he is a very good fielder.

However, Pena is no spring chicken (is there anything better than chicken in the spring?  I guess not since there is no other seasonal poultry phrase), and I fear that his .196 batting average (.732 OPS, with a .325 on-base percentage) this past season is an indication that his skills are starting to decline. 

Hope Rizzo only signs him to a six-year deal.