Curse of Calvin Coolidge

Not much to say about our hometown Nats. Despite the heroics of Bryce Harper our disappointing hometown team was undone, in my opinion by: 1. a severely underperforming starting pitching staff; with 2. some help from genius Mike Rizzo.

1.  Our starters were supposed to be the Nationals' strength. But outside of Scherzer's first half, Strasburg's second, and Zimmermann all season they have stunk; Gio has been Gio, too many walks, and Fister completely lost it.  So for most of the season we had the equivalent of 2 reliable starters, not 5.  That's on the players.

Number 2 is on Rizzo (Matt Williams too) for the way he constructed then deconstructed the bullpen. Coming out of spring training we were too dependent on guys like Treinen and Barrett. In my opinion Rizzo made things worse by adding Papelbon and shifting folks' rolls. The lack of confidence in Storen ruined his season, and certainly didn't help the team. Hind sight is 20/20, but it can't be a coincidence that since adding Papelbon the bullpen has gone from iffy to horrendous.

Of course, the injuries to Craig Stammen and Denard Span were two killers. No one, not Treinen nor Roark, could replace the steady Stammen. And our record with Span is that of a World Series-bound team.  Without him we're a team 7 games back of the Mets with 20+ games to go.
  
But I think everyone is avoiding THE real reason the Nats have under performed - the literal elephant in the stadium - and that's the lack of bipartisanism in the Presidents Race! 

The addition of a reformist Republican like Taft didn't hurt the Nationals last season but Coolidge is THE Curse of Lez Nationals! 

Not only was he a terrible and tone-deaf President, one not worthy of a giant puppet head and tiny-in-proportion-T-rex arms, he makes the President's race as unbalanced (FOUR Rs, 0 Ds) as the Texas State Legislature.

The obvious win-win - and win a World Series - solution is to subtract Coolidge (and not for Harding) and replace him with inarguably one of the 3 greatest Presidents of all time, Franklin Roosevelt.

The first win: not only is he a Democrat that would make the race bi-partisan, he's a Democrat who successfully fought polio, the Depression, Tojo and Hitler. Think he couldn't help the Nats fight off the Mets and Barves?

The second win: he would be in a wheelchair, thus reminding us that even folks with disabilities can race and win. Who knows, seeing a guy with polio compete in a wheelchair could even toughen up guys like Strasburg, Werth, Zimmerman, etc.

Come on Nats! End the Curse of Coolidge! Give us a Democrat!  Give us a racing Roosevelt and Happy Days Are Here Again!

Two Big Questions - DC sports edition

DC sports fans will soon learn the answers to two burning questions.

1. The most immediate one is, do the Wizards have the fortitude to overcome their recent tailspin? The 'Zards have lost 6 straight, including two in a row to bottom feeders, and have gone from an ascending Eastern Conference power led by an emerging MVP candidate to a dysfunctional unit struggling to hang on to a playoff spot.*

Two related issues have emerged for our Washington basketball team. One, unlike every other NBA power, the Wizards do not make a lot of three-pointers or free throws. For a while Rasuel Butler papered over this problem, but the 'Zards clearly miss Trevor Ariza and his three point shooting. The Wizards' problems correspond with Bulter's recent frigid shooting, and Martell Webster has been just as cold since coming back from this third back surgery in four seasons. 

Compounding that problem has been the injury-plagued season of Bradley Beal. But even when he has been on the floor Beal has struggled. His scoring is down, in part due to 'competition' with veteran leader Paul Pierce. It appears that those two occupy the same spaces on the floor and have yet to learn how to play off each other.

Washington fans may recall that when Pierce was originally signed he was supposed to come off the bench. Ironically, he became a starter when Beal was injured in the preseason.  

As the losses have mounted there have been lot of complaints about Randy Wittman's coaching, offense and rotations. One solution may be, once Beal returns from his latest injury, to go back to the 'original' line up and start Gortat, Hilario,** Otto Porter, Beal and Wall, with Pierce coming off the bench.  Pierce is a pro and can handle any scenario thrown at him. Beal - and Porter - are young and their development should be a priority. Starting them with Pierce coming off the bench could be a win-win situation - that gets our Wizards some actual wins.

2. The other DC sports question relates to our Nats. Is this the year we finally decide if GM Mike Rizzo is an actual genius? He's been given that title mainly due to trades where he picked up Gio Gonzalez, Wilson Ramos and Doug Fister for a hill of beans and some worn out resin bags, drafted Anthony Rendon when other teams thought he was injury prone, and signed important free agents such as Jayson Werth and now Max Scherzer. 

Of course, stinking enough when Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper were draft eligible also helped.

Bottom line, if the Nats win the World Series this season he will be a certified genius for constructing this team. But if they don't, and stalwarts like Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann leave via free agent, how good will his tenure look? 

Scherzer and ZNN are similar in many ways, except that Zimmerman is younger and cheaper (and home grown). If you don't win a World Series and lose with older and more expensive players*** you can not be called a genius.

GO Wizards, GO Nats!

Hot Stove-itude

I have to interrupt this Carolina basketball blogging to comment on how nice of an off season the Nationals have had.

The Doug Fister move was very nice.  Any time you can add a durable, play-off tested pitcher with a sub-4.00 ERA in the American League as your third starter* you are having a good off season. The Nats' rotation will once again be one of the best if not the best in the National League, with Strasburg, Zimmermann, Fister, Gio (*anyone who walks that many batters has to be our fourth starter) and either Ross Detwiler, Taylor Jordan or my personal favorite, Tanner Roarke, as our fifth starter.

Of course, the starting pitching was not the issue for the 2013 Nats but the bullpen was as Washington struggled to replace lefty set up man Sean Burnett. But this off season has solved that problem, too, as the Nationals acquired lefthander Jerry Blevins from the A's.  Not only does Blevins give the Nats a proven southpaw who should be just as good as Burnett was, it also means Washington's pitching staff includes the only two University of Dayton Flyers - Blevins and Craig Stammen - in the majors.  Book the UD Alumni Association night out at Nats Park NOW!

Not only did the Nats improve their rotation and the left side of their bullpen but our division rivals the Atlanta Braves have gotten worse.  They lost Nats-killer Tim Hudson to the Giants, but more importantly lost their heart and soul when Atlanta native and perennial all-star catcher Brian McCann signed with the Yankees.  

Sure, the Braves signed Gavin Floyd, and their remaining starters from last year - Medlin, Miner, Teheran - are very good. And they still have Craig Kimbrell, Freddie Freeman and Justin Upton.  But this off season our roster has gotten better, and their's has not.

Reignite the Natitude!

A few more Nats - and baseball - notes:

• Nate McLouth, meh. Then again, I guess GM Mike Rizzo is taking the safe bet that one of our outfielders will likely get hurt, and McLouth is a more than capable back up.
• It seems that the only remaining move will be adding a back up catcher.  Otherwise, the Nats' non-pitching roster seems set.
• I have no idea what the Yankees or Phillies have done this off season, but I think I would rather have Robinson Cano than Carlos Beltran**, Brian Roberts and Jacoby Ellsbury.  Adding McCann makes sense but the Yankees' other moves don't.  And the Phillies have signed older guys like Marlon Byrd while losing Roy Halladay to retirement.  Both those squads are way over the hill. 
• Great to see the Cardinals get worse, too, in losing Beltran!
• The length of Cano's contract is phenomenal.  I guess no one in the other Washington learned anything from the infamous A-Rod, Soriano, Pujols, Hamilton contracts.

Birthplace of our hometown team

Among other things - second largest French-speaking city on the planet, home of poutine - Montreal is the home of the Nationals, the city where our hometown team was born in 1969.

We visited the town where Jackie Robinson played his first season of professaional (white) baseball and Andre Dawson and Gary Carter became Hall of Famers last week, and surprisingly and happily found some lingering Expos love.  And some souvenirs.

One of the first places we visited was the Olympic Stadium, mainly to ride to the top of the tower that holds the roof of the stadium in place for the view. While in the observation deck at the top, Evan and I struck up a conversation with one of the guides there. He wistfully recalled many good times rooting for the Expos, and said Montreal remains a good baseball town with many fans still rooting for the Nats. He thought that most Montreal fans had switched their allegiance to the Blue Jays, but we did run into two local Montreal citizens/fans wearing Nats gear who yelled "Go Nats" when they saw Evan wearing a curly W.

Even though he worked at the Olympic Stadium even he called it a horrible venue for baseball (it hasn't aged well either; the concrete looks worn and crumbly and even the CFL's Alouettes play most of their games at McGill University). As you know, the stadium was built for the 1976 Olympic Games so most of the seats were pretty far from the field. He did say it was loud and had a great echo, so a small crowd could sound huge.

Finally, he knew a lot of the teams' history, both the Expos and the Nats.  He even apologized for the lack of talent that came from Montreal in 2005.  Evan and I defended that team, which after all went 81 and 81, and some of the players.

We expected a lot from our vacation to Montreal, but discussing the merits of Brad Wilkerson and Jose Vidro was not on that list.

Rue Saint Paul is the heart of old Montreal, and features lots of restaurants and tourist shops.  We found a decent amount of Expos gear for sale but all of it was old.  We saw a Gary Carter replica jersey at a few stores, but at each shop they only had 1 small size jersey left.  I was able to find a nameless Expos jersey in my size, a black Expos, and a fitted, authentic New Era hat for Evan. Both hats had been on the shelf so long that the New Era stickers on the bills were hard to remove. And the clerk told me that we bought probably the last, fitted Expos hat he would EVER sell.  He doubted he would ever order any more, or could even order more if he wanted to.  Once their stock is gone, memories of the Expos may disappear, too.

Evan and I wore our new Expos gear the next day, and got a few thumbs up and compliments from folks on the street. We probably had around a dozen Expos interactions with Montrealers if you include seeing 3 or 4 folks we saw on the street wearing their hats or shirts. It was enough to make me feel a little guilty for gaining from their loss

A Few Nats Notes

• The good news: the Nats have won 6 of 10. The bad news: we can't seem to beat the Braves!  What a frustrating series.
• The other good news: we take on the Cubs this week, so a 4-game winning streak may be on the horizon.
• Finally, I don't know what to make of Straburg on Saturday night. I hope he's not hurt, but the way be lost it in the second inning is a concern. He had pin-point control in the first, evidenced by the perfectly placed pitch that hit Justin Upton in the posterior. But in the second he practically beaned the mascot.
• Anyway, we're still 'only' 9 and a half back in the wild card. GO NATS!

You're Welcome (I think)

It took a few days, and some infuriating losses, but it looks like Natitude may be returning to southwest Washington.  A week after firing Rick Eckstein - 6 hours after I blogged about the need to do just that - the Nats' offense seems to have awaken.

Of course, we also thought that after the Nationals scored 13 runs in support of Stephen Strasburg to finish a four game sweep of the Padres.   So, in the words of the old Negro spiritual:* 'we will see.'

Last week's blog tried to end on an optimistic note, namely that things could change for this team if Bryce Harper got hot and rejuvenated our offense.  Thankfully, that seems to have started happening.  The Nats have won 4 of 5 to reinvograte the team's season, again, and Harper has gone 7 for 16 with two homers, one a walk off to win a must-win game versus the Pirates, and 6 RBIs.

In addition to revisiting last week's blog, I also want to expand on today's Washington Post story by Nats beat writer Adam Kiglore.  The author examines a handful of reasons why this season has been so frustrating and disappointing.

One was the underperformance of the Nationals' left-handed hitters, in particular Adam LaRoche - who to be fair has always been a slow starter and could very well carry the team again as he did in August last season - and Denard Span.  Injuries in general have hurt, in particular to Harper who is also left-handed.

Another reason was the addition of Span turned the team from a bashing, slugging one to a more balanced nine that could manufacture runs with speed and small ball.The common denominator to both diagnoses problems?   No more Michael "Beast Mode" Morse.

Even though he hits from the right side, we do seem to miss his pop, and in hindsight it would have been great to keep him along with Span and not resign an aging LaRoche.  Of course, one can argue that with Zimmerman at third we need a Gold Glove fielder such as LaRoche at first.  And again, LaRoche could get super hot again and save his and our season (though he's 35).

But as much as we may miss the presence of another home run hitter, or if he would be that much better than LaRoche or Span offensively, I think we may actually miss Morse more in the clubhouse.

One other reason Kilgore lays out for the disappointing season is the pressure that comes with being a  'World Series or Bust' favorite.  No one can argue that any of the Nats, with perhaps the exceptions of the stoic Zimmermann and now-stoic Strasburg, and the carefree Gio, have handled that pressure well.   Tight play has defined this squad for most of the season.

One can safely assume that Morse could have helped with that problem. Or solved that problem. Or the personable and likeable and 'Take On Me" loving Morse would have kept that from ever BEING a problem in the first place.  

Beast Mode would have trumped World Series or Bust.

Natitudes and platitudes
* Maybe Mike Rizzo is not a genius.  Regardless of the Morse trade, the descision to not bring back Sean Burnett and rely on Zack Duke as our only lefty in the pen was a mistake. And Kilgore pointed out the the failure to resign Edwin Jackson does not look that good in the rear-view mirror AND cost the team a draft pick.
* Then there is Drew Storen.  Not sure how to assess how any pitcher could come back from the game 5 debacle, but save to say the Nats have not handled him well, and a pitcher who two years ago saved 43 games has regressed all the way to AAA.
*Finally, Kilgore did not mentin the bad ju-ju of picking William Howard Taft as the 5th

The Nats are killing me

As some of you may have noticed via social media, I've been a bit cranky when it comes to our hometown Washington Nationals.  Most of that crankiness was initially aimed at often ridiculous (the violence that pops up all to often during the Presidents race) and sometimes important (the stale and cheap patriotism of a standing ovation to honor convalescing veterans, an ovation that seems to absolve fans of actually helping veterans or thinking about our 13-year odyssey in Afghanistan*) topics.

But my crankiness is now metastasizing into full-on, Carolina losing to Dook after Zeller tipped in one of THEIR shots, depression.

The Nats are killing me.  

Two Sundays ago, Evan and I watched Washington complete a four game sweep of the Padres by scoring 13 runs.  THIRTEEN!  We had won 7 of 10 games, and were only 4 games back of the Braves.  Natitude was back!

But since then we've played our worst baseball of the year.  After this weekend's sweep to the Dodgers the Nats are now 2 and 8 in our last 10 games. Whatever good mojo the Nationals had has been eviscerated.  The Nats are now in 3rd place, half a game behind the Phillies for second in the East, and seven games behind the Braves AND the second wild-card spot.

It's hard to understand how a team that has Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez, Ian Desmond, and Ryan Zimmerman can be this mediocre, and unable to build up ANY momentum over the course of 100 games.

Injuries is part of the story, especially for the lack of momentum that has kept this squad from ripping off a few 5 or 6-game win streaks.  Two weeks ago the 7 out 10 streak coincided with Harper then Wilson Ramos coming off the disabled list. 

But what gives now?  The big 3 pitchers have been great (despite today's stinker from ZNN), and even Dan Haren (on the hill tomorrow looking to end a 3-game losing streak!) has pitched better since coming off the DL.

It's not news that the offense has been horrible, frustrating, depressing, you name it. Saturday night's game was indicative of one of the biggest issues: driving in runs. The Nats had 12 hits but only scored one run, driven in by pinch hitter Roger Bernadina.  Against the Dodgers the Nats batted .077 with runners in scoring position.  

When a team with so many good players underachieves, who is to blame?  Is it Davey Johnson, his line ups, the way he uses the bull pen?  Is it hitting coach Rick Eckstein?  The Nats rank near to bottom of almost every offensive category.

Is it underachievers like Denard Span or Jayson Werth, who had a great second half last year but is currently making almost $500,000 per RBI this season and is hitting less than .200 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs?

I'll offer two things that could help a now healthy squad play better, maybe catch the Braves, and/or secure one of the two wild card spots.  I'm not going to touch the pitching, which outside of 2 or 3 bad outings from Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano has been generally great.

One is a simple line up change.  I'd go back to the future, and move Werth and Harper back to the top of the order, Zimmerman, then my big move of Desmond at clean up, followed by LaRoche, Rendon, Ramos, and Span (who has played great defense but is simply not getting on base enough).

Werth seems to stink everywhere else, and excelled at lead off last year. The second slot is the new third; you want to put you best hitter there since that spot gets about 15-20 more plate appearances than the 3 hole does a year.

Desmond often rises to the occasion with runners on base, and moving him up two places gets him a few more - important - at bats.  He's a free swinger but drives in runs.  

Two, fire Rick Eckstein for a number of reasons. One is admittedly cosmetic. Do something to get the team's attention/make them feel guilty/light a fire/insert sports cliche here. 

But others are valid.  The team is not hitting, and more importantly their approach to pitchers seems odd and confusing.  

Hitters guess and look for one pitch when they should be aggressive, take pitches when they should be expanding the zone looking for a pitch to drive.  

Or they frequently expand the zone at the wrong times, swinging at first pitches when it's actually time to work the count.  At bats look discombobulated; case in point was Harper Saturday night. He struck out LOOKING, taking all three strikes, when the situation called for looking for a pitch to drive no matter where it was (like Joe DiMaggio** or Tony Gwynn).  As much as I pick on Werth - ask Evan - we can not ignore that Harper has been swinging at too many bad pitches and taking too many 2-strike ones since he came off the DL; his pitch recognition - or approach - needs some improvement.

You can't fire the players so sadly have to fire the hitting coach. Bring in Frank Robinson, or Mrs. Robinson (the nation(als) turn their lonely eyes to you**) but do something.

These changes would work, or are at least worth trying, and I hope the Nats do something soon. It's past time to get hot. Going to last year's line up with Desmond at clean up and Eckstein at home could very well work.

GO NATS!

* One other thing I've been cranky about has been the generally lousy music the Nats play but that has gotten a little better. Positive developments include LaRoche using Steve Earle's 'Copperhead Road' as his walk up song; LCD Soundsystem's 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House' and Stevie Wonder's 'You Haven't Done Nothing' making appearances lately, and Chuck Brown's 'Bustin' Loose' is heard after most homers (but there is still too much modern shlock country, too much AC/DC).
* One ray of hope. Line up change or no line up change, Harper is capable of getting red hot and carrying a team as he did in May and September last season. The big 3 should continue to be awesome. And we play the Braves head to head alot; if we sweep those games we're in!

Two is the magic number

In case anyone WAS wondering, it looks like it took me two months to get over Carolina's loss in the elite 8 this year. In a related development, Kendall Marshall has also yet to fully recover from his wrist injury. 

Obviously, that makes two of us.

But there too many good stories - and one bad one - to keep Carolina Hellenic Blue from getting back on track.

The first and best one has got to be our hometown Washington Nationals (I'll blog the others: Greece; NBA playoffs; EURO 2012; etc. starting tomorrow). They are playing so well, despite so many injuries and bad luck, that my hopes and expectations are Carolina high.  All season long, I've found myself pacing and getting as nervous during Nats games, especially late, as I do during a Carolina game.  

How is that for perspective?  

It's hard to believe that the Nats are in first place without Drew Storen or Michael Morse having played a single inning, then losing Jayson Werth, Wilson Ramos, and Brad Lidge for most of the season so far.

But that's how good our starting pitching has been.  Our starters and Adam LaRoche did all the heavy lifting - with some help from Jim Tracy pinching hitting like Ted Williams - for the first month of the season and got the Nats off to phenomenal and exciting start.  Steven Strasburg in particular was lights out his first 6 starts.

In the last month however, the worm has turned as the starters - except for Gio 'Best Pitcher in the NL' Gonzalez - have returned to Earth. But now the offense is starting to produce and carry the squad.

Some of that productivity is due to the return of Ryan Zimmerman from the DL, moving Ian Desmond out of the leadoff spot and into more RBI-worthy situations found in the 5th or 6th hole, and Danny Espinosa finally staring to hit.  

But it's been two rookies who were not expected to help the Nationals this year, or at all, who are most responsible for the recent offensive surge of the Nationals.  

One, as we all know, is Bryce Harper.  He may be in over his head some times as he adjusts to life in the big leagues but Harper is a six-tool player, perhaps the first in baseball.  He hits, hits for power, runs well (an understatement), fields well, and throws exceptionally.  His sixth tool?  

Harper does something exciting every night; you can't take your eyes off of him.

One night, it's stealing home, another turning a single and a bobble into a double.  Or maybe it's scoring from second on a ground ball that ricochets off the second baseman's glove, or crashing into the wall in center.   Or running the bases in 17 seconds on a home run, Mickey Mantle style.

For me, the epitome of Harper - at least so far - was Sunday against old favorite(s) Livo Hernandez and the Braves.  The first time Livo faced him, he struck Harper out on a 64-mile an hour curve ball.  One inning later, Livo tried that again on an 0-2 pitch.  That time, Harper lined a home run the opposite way that got out of the yard in about 3 seconds and barely rose higher than 15 feet.  

To paraphrase W: 'Fool me once, shame on me.  Try to fool me twice, shame on you.'

But the other rookie that has helped the Nats stay in first place is Steve Lombardozzi.  Inserted into the lead off spot by Davey 'Yes, I still have it at 69 years young' Johnson, Lombardozzi is hitting 320 with an on-base percentage close to 400.  He's mainly started in LF, but also got some time at third when Zimm was hurt and at second spelling Espinosa.  I hope Johnson keeps finding him at bats when Morse (would could come off the DL next week) and Werth return.   Lombardozzi gets on base like a lead off hitter should.

Finding him ABs after Morse returns is a GREAT problem to have.  As I said at the top o' the blog, it's hard not to get excited about watching this team compete.  That's one of the greatest things about baseball - you get to follow your team every day for six month.  And if your team is good, that's hard two beat.

GO NATS!

A few more Nats notes, then it's off to the Mall for some CLAW softball.

• The return of Morse could give the Nats a stacked line up, and would keep Lombardozzi in the line up at least until Werth returns. I assume Johnson will go: Lombardozzi LF; Harper CF; Zimmerman 3B; LaRoche 1B; Morse LF; Desmond SS; Espinosa 2B; Flores C.
• Jesus Flores will turn out to be the unsung hero for the Nats, our savior in the wake of Ramos' injury.
• One last encouraging thing about the Nationals' season thus far? Not only have they flourished without Morse, etc. but they are off to a 6-4 start as the Nats enter the most brutal part of their schedule.  Those six wins have come against the first-place Orioles and on the road at Philadelphia and Atlanta.  It's a tough month of games, as the Nats are in Miami, home versus the Mets and Braves, then travel to Boston and Toronto, come home for the Yankees and Rays, then finish that stretch in Baltimore.  
• That's 33 games versus nothing but quality and pennant-worthy foes from the NL and AL East.  If the Nats are in first place by the time the Rockies come to DC on June 25th tell Mike Rizzo to start printing playoff tickets!

Nats Name George Allen New GM

The future is now at Nationals Park!

In trading four prospects, 3 of whom were among our top 10 according to Baseball America, for 2011 All Star Gio Gonzalez GM Mike Rizzo in NOT looking towards 2013.  In the suddenly competitive NL East Rizzo clearly thinks - as does Manager Davey Johnson - that the Nats can compete with the pitching-rich Phillies, the young Braves, and the renamed and restocked Miami Marlins.

The real loss in that trade is losing prospects - and pitchers - like Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole.  Peacock was the Nats' minor league pitcher of the year last season, and in 12 big league innings only gave up one run.  Tom Milone also looked good during a late season call up.  But the move reflects both a desire to get better now, and the fact that Washington has quite a bit of pitching depth in the minors.

In an end of the season interview with the Washington Post Johnson went so far as to say the Nats were only one player away from contending for a playoff spot in 2012. Most folks thought Johnson meant a center fielder or legit lead off hitter.  

We'll see if a 26-year old All Star who won 31 games, in the tough American League, in the last two years while pitching in the gargantuan Oakland Coliseum - who now is our number 2 or 3 starter after Strasburg and Zimmerman -  is that 'one player.'

A few Nats Notes:

• It will be - at least look like - a big league rotation next year, with Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez, Chien Ming Wang and John Lannan.
• Lannan was our number one starter in 2009 and 2010; now he's number 5.  Bad for Lannan but proof of progress in our pitching staff, right?
• The two other off season moves the Nats have made also fit the 'contending team' model.  Veterans like Mike Cameron, our new back up outfielder, and Mark DeRosa, who can play everywhere, are the kind of bench players contending teams feature.  Then again, you could probably say the same thing about Jerry Hairston last year.

Overdue Baseball Blog

I wish I could be happier about the ultimate outcome of this World Series.  The good news is it went a full seven games – 5 of which were very entertaining, not just the epic game 6 – the Cardinals are my dad’s favorite team, a National League team won, and St. Louis is a nice town with great fans.

As many of you know, I really do not like the way LaRussa manages and overmanages his team and bullpen. The only real blemish on baseball, the best sport or pastime ever invented, is the dead time. Some of that is pitchers and batters stepping out or off after every pitch.  But the worst part is changing pitchers and trips to the mound.  If I was commish I would ban visits to the mound by coaches or managers.  I would also cap the number of pitchers on an active roster at 9 or 10, or install some kind of ‘minimum batters faced’ standard to eliminate pitchers who only face one hitter (which of course means more pitching changes). 

Keep batters in the batters’ box and managers in the dugout and you’d speed up the games.

One of the reasons I was rooting for the Rangers – despite the presence of W - is the stark difference in the way they treat their pitchers. Nolan Ryan is working to instill that organization with the ethic that pitchers should pitch deeper into games and figure out how to get out of jams - on their own.  This DIY/punk rock approach teaches pitchers to get outs without always looking for help or getting bailed out by one - or two - relievers.  That’s better for pitchers - I assume a Hall of Famer who threw 7 no hitters knows what he’s talking about - and speeds up the game with fewer pitching changes.  And it keeps the game moving; you’re watching baseball – pitching, hitting and fielding – and not guys standing around talking to each other.

LaRussa and guys like Pat Riley are hailed as geniuses who are actually bad for their sport; LaRussa slows the pace of the game dramatically and fails to develop grit and resourcefulness in his pitchers, while Riley’s crime is turning a fluid and active game into a wrestling match and daring referees to call every foul. 

Then again, the difference in the Series was the Cardinals’ bullpen.  They got outs while the Rangers’ pitchers walked a ton of guys; walks and hit batters probably cost the Rangers game 7.  So in this battle of philosophies, LaRussa’s coddling and overmanging defeated Ryan’s DIY approach.

Anyway, it was a great series to watch.  Taut games, ridiculous comebacks and resourcefulness from both teams’ hitters (the Rangers in game 2, for instance, not just game 6), and entertaining baseball.  

Two more quick Series notes:

• TV ratings were up 19 percent from last year, game 7 was watched by 25 million people, and head to head game 4 defeated NBC’s Sunday Night Football last weekend despite the lack of Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies.  That’s good news.
• As it is with most sporting events, it was fun to be on Twitter during this series but in particular during game 6.   Fun and more fun.

Another overdue baseball blog topic is our hometown Nationals.  Even after a month to reflect I feel that the Nats’ 80-81 season was a fantastic accomplishment.

As I’ve blogged before, we had great luck and great times at Nationals Park.  I need to check with official statistician Evan Manuel, but I think the Nats were 13-4 when a Manuel was in attendance, including for Zimm’s 2 strike, 2 out, bottom of the ninth walk off grand slam versus the dreaded Phillies. 

The hometown team won 80 games despite Zimmerman missing more than 55 games due to injury (and Adam LaRoche for most of the season), Jim Riggleman’s petulant decision to quit during an 11-game winning streak, the lack of a lead-off hitter for the first two-thirds of the season and Jayson Werth’s failure to produce as expected (let’s just leave it at that, shall we?).

The season was saved by a pretty impressive bullpen led by Drew Storen and All Star Tyler Clippard, the emergence of Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos but especially Michael ‘I INVENTED beast mode” Morse, and unexpected starting pitching. 

If you look back at the season the starting pitching, from April to September, was phenomenal. 

• Livo Hernandez was not the prototypical number one starter, but he ate up innings and kept the Nationals in almost every game he pitched.  I hope he comes back as our number 5 starter and sage in 2012
• John Lannan was slow and steady all season in compiling another sub-4.00 ERA.  An excellent third or fourth starter.
• Jordan Zimmermann bounced completely back from Tommy John surgery to become our best pitcher.   Though he had a losing record his 3.18 ERA was spectacular.

Midseason the Nats changed up their rotation when they traded Jason Marquis and moved Tom Gorzelanny to the pen.  But the starting pitching continued to excel.  I’m not going to spend much time on Chien-Ming Wang since I doubt the Nats will bring him back.  But our other 3 second-half starters were as good or better as Livo, Lannan and ZNN.

• Ross Detwiler went 4-5 with a 3.00 ERA in 15 second-half starts
• Tom Milone sported a sub-4.00 ERA in 5 starts after a September call up; fellow September call up Brad Peacock was even better, with a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings.  Both of those guys could stick in 2012, though 2013 is more likely.

Oh yeah, Stephen Strasburg came back, too.  He was lights-out in five starts after returning from Tommy John surgery: 1-0, with a sparkling 1.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in as many innings. 

I feel almost giddy about the Nats’ future (for the record, I feel the same way about the Heels in 2011-2012 but don’t plan to jinx that with any premature blogging).  In 2012 we’re looking at a line up that could look like:

SS Ian Desmond

CF Werth

3B Zimmerman

LF Morse

1B LaRoche

RF Free Agent Pick Up

2B Espinosa

C Ramos

Or we could sign Prince Fielder at first, or make a big trade and swap free agent headaches; what do folks think about Werth for Carl Crawford for instance?  Either way, with a rotation of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Lannan, Detwiler, and Livo, backed by Henry Rodriguez, Sean Burnett, Clippard and Storen with that lineup, we could win 90 games next year.  When does 2012 start? 

GO NATS!

Letter to the Nationals

We closed up summer today by going to the Nationals game, an excellent 7-2 win, against the Dodgers.  It's been a good summer for us at Nats Park; I think the Nats are 12-3 with a Manuel in the building. And we've witnesses some exciting games, including the epic win over the Phillies that ended with the Z-man's walk off, two-out, full-count, bases-loaded grand slam.

The half-smokes have been consistently good this year, too. 

But some things at Nats Park have gotten worse to the point of unbearable.  It culminated today with a video honoring convalescing troops to Toby Keith's jingoistic and stupid 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.'  Perhaps Obama's recent caving in to the Rs fooled executives at Nats Park into thinking George Bush was still president and invading the wrong countries.  'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' is so 2003.


Anyway, that video prompted me to send the following email to the Nationals.  Let me know what you think.


*************


To whom it may concern:


I like the way the Nats honor veterans convalescing in area hospitals, but did you really have to play that horrible, jingoistic Toby Keith song today on Labor Day?  Honoring our troops is one thing, but that song is offensive and Keith is a right-wing nut. 

We love going to the games, usually 15 or so every season, but is seems that at times the franchise seems more like a Virginia team playing in the suburbs rather than a DC team playing in the District (whose government and taxpayers helped pay for your stadium, I might add).  As a District resident, I urge you to play less bad country music. Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn is one thing, but I think most fans don't like the 'wash my truck' song played during the seventh inning stretch, for instance.  What's wrong with simply playing Take Me Out to the Ball Game? 

On the other hand, playing Bustin' Loose after a home run is fantastic. I'd play that song instead of AC/DC when the Nats take the field.  DC has such a great musical legacy, from Duke Ellington to Marvin Gaye to Chuck Brown to Minor Threat/Fugazi to Patsy Cline to the Bad Brains to Shirley Horn to Seldom Scene - why play AC/DC or ugly Americans like Toby Keith?

Playing local music would help bond and brand the team to the region and to the District (at a time when baseball is working to increase appeal to African-Americans) AND get rid of some of the bad music currently played at Nats Park - win win!

Thank you for your consideration.  One more thing - resign Livo!

Athan Manuel
Tenleytown
Washington, DC

Another nice win

After a weekend of nail biters, loud fans and walk-off wins against the dreaded Phillies, things returned to 'normal' last night as our hometown Nationals calmly defeated the somehow-in-first place Diamondbacks 4-1.  It was a relatively ho-hum, by-the-book night of pitching, an excellent start from emerging lefty Ross Detwiler, defense, Ryan Zimmerman making 3 stellar plays, and timely hitting by Jayson Werth, whose three-run homer sealed Detwiler's win.

It was also a tidy game, as the Nats won in about 2 and half hours. It seems like every game Evan and I attend the Nats win and the game is quick (almost always 2 and half hour with not many walks or dead time).  Hard to beat.

Their recent streak - centered around Zimmerman's hot hitting and some nice found-money pitching from Detwiler and Chien-Ming Wang among others - have the Nats only 2 games under .500 at 62-64.  Washington has to merely go 19 and 17 the rest of the way to finish at 81 and 81. 

That is certainly doable since our Nats play 19 of those games in Washington.  Best of all, it's not exactly a Murderers Row of teams coming to South Capital Street, either.  We've got home stands coming up against the fourth-place Mets (3 games), fifth-place Dodgers (4 games), sixth-place Astros (3 games), and fifth-place Marlins (3). The only good teams we play are 3 more this week versus the Diamondbacks and 3 games in September versus the Braves. Assuming we win each series against the bad teams - not sweep, just win - and split the six versus the good ones, that get us 12 curly Ws.

On the road, the Nationals go to Cincinnati for 3, Atlanta for 3, Philly for 4, New York for 4 and Florida for 3. I feel good about splitting with Philly and the Mets, and not getting swept in any of the others so that gives us at least 7 road wins.

For a final total of - ta da! - 19 wins to close out the season, and a very satisfying 81 and 81 mark for 2011.  

Waiting for . . .

As some of you know, Evan has a blog called Waiting for 2012.  But recently the August 8th SweetSpot blog by David Schoenfield looked at a possible Nationals line up in 2013: 

2B Anthony Rendon
RF Jayson Werth
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Prince Fielder
LF Mike Morse
CF Bryce Harper
SS Danny Espinosa
C Wilson Ramos
 

Of course, the big news here is Fielder, news since everyone knows we are signing Pujols this winter (of course, Mike Rizzo will in reality sign whoever Scott Boras tells us to).  Espinosa to short stop is not news; he's historically been a short stop and assumes Rendon develops as expected and therefore pushes Desmond off the field.

The semi-big news is Harper in center field.  We know Werth has to stay in one of the corner outfield spots for the next 6 seasons, and Morse's emergence means he gets a corner too, so Harper gets center.  That issue will actually get settled this winter as the Nats are expected to sign a center fielder, with Morse moving to 1B in 2013 after LaRoche's contract expires.  So a more likely 2013 line up is:

CF Free agent 
2B Rendon
3B Zimmerman
1B Morse
RF Werth
LF Harper
SS Espinosa
C Ramos


I'd take either one, frankly.

In terms of pitching, it's exciting to think about Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, John Lannan, Detwiler, and someone like Brad Peacock (who'll get a call up soon; nice bit on him from Baseball America here) in 2012 or 2013. Add Tyler Clippard, Colin Balester, Ryan Matheus, Henry Rodriguez and Drew Storen and you have a legit, big-league staff.

So 81wins this year, between 85 and 90 in 2012, and who knows the limit in 2013!  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!

Another bad day in Washington

We've had lots of bad days in Washington since the Tea Party came to town in November, but today was a particularly tough one for our  sports teams (as the nation's capital we claim the national teams as ours).  Eerie to note the parallels between the U.S. women's national team and the Washington Nationals.

• Both teams played finals today - a World Cup final, and the final game of a 3-game series versus the Braves; granted the women's final was much, much bigger, but they were both finals.
• Each squad lost the lead twice in their games (the Nats led 6-2 and 8-7; the national team was up 1-0 and 2-1).
•  Both teams lost their lead late and in the eights; the 8th inning for the Nats, and the 81st minute for the women's national team.

There are other parallels I'm sure that perhaps involve Ichiro, but those 3 are enough. 

A tough couple of games.  But for the World's Cup the only comfort is that we lost to a team that relentlessly made plays.  The U.S. did pay for a sloppy clearance by Ali Kreiger late, but we lost mainly because of what Japan did - especially their goalie - rather than mistakes or errors by our team.

It was a great tournament to watch, and fantastic to watch Abby Wambach play, too.  Hope she can wait four more years for the 2015 World Cup (the year Ariadne graduates from high school, by the way!) and get another shot at a championship.  Wambach deserves it.

Big Weekend Redux

Excellent bounce back win by the Nationals last night against the Braves.  Timely hitting by Wilson Ramos and of all people John Lannan, plus nice defense in particular by Ian Desmond and a nice game from Lannan and the pen.

So we are half way there in terms of winning the series from Atlanta and thusly getting the second half off to a great start.  Today's game will be tough as we have 5 starter Tom Gorzelanny matched up against All-start and NL leader in Js Jair Jurrjens. 

GO Nats!

But the big story today will the women's World Cup final.  Great piece in the NY Times today on Abby Wambach and her proclivity with headers.

Not sure what this means, but interesting to note that the on-line version of that article is "Abby Wambach Stands Tall for U.S." while the print edition article's title is "Playing Head Games."

Finally, check out my latest blog: Fire Butch Davis (http://firebutchdavis.blogspot.com/).  I'm used to having a dozen readers for CHB, but am curious if FBD and the associated Facebook page will pick up momentum.

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!

Nationals Progress

Counting Tyler Clippard's win in last night's All-Star game, the Nationals head into the second half of the season at 46-45, only 8 games back of Atlanta for the wild card spot.

Competing for the wild card this season is probably a little too optimistic.  But for a team with our recent history of 100+ loss seasons actually competing and finishing the first half at 45 and 45 is significant.

Clippard is a great place to start since the Nationals' pitching has been the main reason the team is keeping it's head above water.  Their five man rotation has been in tact for most of the season.  

Number one starter Livan Hernandez was expected to be an inning eater, not a real number one.  In addition to eating up tons of innings Livo's pitched well and been consistent all year.   And he's my age (perhaps)!

The Nats are counting on Steven Strasburg to be their number one starter of the future.  The great news is Jordan Zimmermann is pitching like a number one THIS year.  In June he was as effective - and at times as dominant - as Justin Verlander or C.C. Sabathia.  In his last 10 starts (since May 22nd) in 67 innings, his ERA is 1.61. He's persevered despite not getting much run support, staying focused and positive and dominant.  By far the best first half story for the Nats is Zimmermann.

Former number one starter John Lannan has settled nicely into his number 3 starter slot, and he too has excelled.  In HIS last 10 starts, his ERA is 2.95 in 61 innings.  After a rocky 2010 he's bounced back, throwing lots of ground balls and pitching with confidence.

Number four starter Jason Marquis has been solid.  After a great April he's had some tougher luck of late.  However, though he has missed a few starts, number 5 starter Tom Gorzelanny has been better than expected.   Like Zimmermann, he's lacked run support so is only 2-6 but he sports a sub-4.00 ERA and has done his share of inning eating.

Then there's All-star game winner Clippard, who is a league leader in holds and has a sub-2.00 ERA.  But a great ERA is not rare in Washington's bull pen. Ryan Matheus, Henry Rodriguez, and Drew Storen all have ERAs under 2.60.  And of course Storen has converted 23 out of 26 save chances, too.

The only under-performing pitcher in the bullpen has been Sean Burnett, who has been inconsistent and lacking in confidence at times.   He turned it around last year to finish strong, so hopefully that can happen this year, too.

Of course, when it comes to under-performing but hopefully bouncing back one can only think of Jayson Werth.  It's amazing that we are at .500 while Werth, our stud off season pick up, is at .217!   Unfortunately, Werth's terrible production has not been the only challenge this offense has faced.

Ian Desmond, who has improved his defense, was a wash out as a lead off hitter.  Our best hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, missed two months, and our clean up hitter, Adam LaRoche too was werthless and is now out for the season.  

So the Nationals got almost no production from their Opening Day 1 through 4 hitters in the first half. 

Their pitching - and an improved defense - is the main reason, but credit also goes to the bottom half of that opening day line up, especially Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, and especially Micheal Morse. 
 

Espinosa is a candidate for rookie of the year with 16 homers, 52 ribbies, and an 800 OBS - plus a flare for the dramatic hit and great defense.  Ramos too has had some big hits and is already a fantastic defensive catcher with great footwork and a great arm.

But after Zimmermann, Morse is the second-best story for Washington.  After a torrid spring, Morse flopped in April and May.  He was eventually benched in left field in favor of Laynce Nix, another revelation this year who has gone from the bench to the clean up spot in two months.  The same goes for Roger Bernadina, who started the season in Syracuse but now starts in center.  Though still not comfortable in the lead off spot the Dutch Master has been stellar on defense and had his moments on offense.

But Morse is THE story with the bat. After LaRoche got hurt Morse was back in the line up at first, getting so hot you would have thunk that he replaced Wally Pip.  He finished the first half at .304, 14 homers and 48 RBIs with an .886 OBS.

This team has competed so well so far this season that it's easy to forget that on June 23rd, after winning their 11th game out of 12, their manager Jim Riggleman petulantly quit.  There is no "I" in team but there is one in Riggleman.  

The Nats seemed to quickly turn the page, and GM Jim Rizzo facilitated a successful transition by hiring Davey Johnson, who had worked the last two years as an adviser, to take over.   

Hiring Johnson was a great move then, but looks even better now.  Hiring such a proven coach and winner must have helped quell any uncertainty or unease in the club house in the wake of Riggleman's abandonment of the team.

Every major league team has talent, but often the intangibles are necessary to make good teams into better - or in some cases great - teams.  

This team's intangible is resiliency.  Whether it's their record in one-run games, the way the Nats have outscored their opponents by more than 15 runs in extra innings, or in overcoming Werth's horrible first half AND their manager quitting in the midst of an incredible winning streak, this team has had to deal with lots of challenges and problems.  Thanks to their resiliency - and starting pitching - the Nationals had a successful first half and are poised to have an even better second.

And we still have Strasburg and Bryce Harper on the horizon, for 2012, too.

GO NATS!

More there there than I thought

Like most of the hundreds of Nationals fans in Washington, I've gotten excited by their recent hot streak.  Though they have a talented roster, I thought that it was merely a hot streak on the backs of surging players such as Michael Morse, Danny Espinosa and pitchers like Jordan Zimmermann rather than proof that this year's squad is a talented and legit team. 

But something in today's Post is making me rethink that position.  Adam Kilgore reports that the Nationals have outscored their opponents 26-6 this year in extra inning games.  And yesterday, as the Nats - the Washington Nationals - played on national TV in the Fox Game of the Week a graphic showed that 11 percent of Nationals games have gone into extra innings, the highest percentage in baseball in almost 50 years. 

Not sure if the extra inning-games percentage means much: it could be that our bullpen is NOT as good as we thought, blowing leads too often; or it could mean than this team never gives up and has a talent for late-inning comebacks. 

Either way, I think outscoring your opponent by 20 runs in extra inning games is impressive. It demonstrates both physical talent - making plays on offense, defense and the base paths AND making pitches - and mental toughness and confidence. 

A young, talented roster AND confidence - and now Davey Johnson?  Go Nats!

A few more notes:

• I love the Davey Johnson hire, in theory.  He's a great baseball man with an impressive track record.  But it has been 10 years since he managed.  But of all the potential managers available it's hard to quibble with a hire like Johnson.
• Also hard NOT to root for Equatorial Guinea in the women's World Cup.
• One potential concern for the U.S. team - not enough Tar Heels (or less there there than usual). Historically fellow alums have made up half the roster, but this year only 3 of the 21 players on the U.S. team are from Carolina: Tobin Heath, Heather O'Reilly, and Lindsay Tarpley.

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.