Washington Nationals In The WBC Spotlight...

by Ed Chigliak on Mar 18, 2009 2:59 AM EDT Comment 11 comments

In The Spotlight? Under the Microscope?

Adam Dunn...

Bottom of 2nd...1-0 Puerto Rico...

The United States vs Puerto Rico in a WBC Elimination game. David Wright stands at first after a leadoff single. Washington Nationals' outfielder (IF?) Adam Dunn hacks at a fastball from PR starter Jonathan Sanchez, strike one. A fastball inside evens the count at 1-1. Dunn watches an offspeed pitch float wide, 2-1. Dunn two-hops a fastball wide of first, foul ball, 2-2. Slider! Dunn K's as Sanchez's locks up the U.S. slugger...

(ed. note - "Continue reading after the jump...Check back later this afternoon for tonight's game thread, and at 7:05 pm EST it's the Washington Nationals and Florida Marlins live from Space Coast...Who's Watching The Nationals Tonight?")

Adam Dunn...

Bottom of 3rd...Dunn up with a man on again, takes two, and then takes a fastball that finds the outside corner, 2-1 count. A slider from Sanchez backs Dunn off the plate, and falls back in, 2-2. Dunn rips a 2-2 slider, straight back, count holds at 2-2. Sanchez drills Dunn in the spine with a fastbal. Dunn winces. Dunn heads to first as the PR Manager comes to the mound with the quick hook...

"Wild" Joel Hanrahan...

Top of 4th...3-1 U.S. lead...

DC closer and U.S. middle reliever Joel Hanrahan replaces starter Ted Lilly after Lilly had allowed a two-run HR to Carlos Delgado, tying the game at 3-3 with one out in the fourth. Hanrahan gets Alex Rios on three pitches, but walks the next batter, catcher Geovany Soto to put a man on with 2 outs in a tie game. Puerto Rico's 3rd baseman Andy Gonzalez hacks at a 1-0 fastball away to even the count. Slider inside, 2-1 count. Gonzalez pops up a 2-2 fastball. Brian Roberts catches the third out.

Adam Dunn...

Bottom of 6th...4-3 Puerto Rico.

Adam Dunn vs Javier Lopez, a side-slinging-lefty. Lopez gets ahead as Dunn fouls off a first pitch fastball. Slider away, 1-1. A side-arm-slider makes Dunn look awkward. 1-2 count. A slider away from Lopez evens the count at 2-2. Dunn K's looking at a 2-2 slider...

Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera...

Bottom of 7th...4-3 Puerto Rico.

Saul “Sa-ool” Rivera comes on with men on first and third and two outs in the US 7th. Rivera starts The Sox' Kevin Youkilis with a fastball for a strike before dropping a bender a few feet out in front of the plate, under Youk’s bat. Rivera tries the old fake to third, fake to first, but doesn’t throw to first, go figure...Youk fouls off a fastball outside. Rivera leaves a fastball a little up in the zone, but Youk just hammers down on it and grounds out to third. Saul Rivera’s perfect WBC continues...

Bottom of 8th...4-3 Puerto Rico...

The Puerto Rican team brings Saul Rivera back out for the 8th (Really?)...Rivera starts David Wright off with a slider outside. Rivera drops one off the plate for a ball, and then comes back over the plate with a tight bender outside that sneaks under Wright's bat. Wright fouls two more off, one over first, and one into the catcher's chest...another 2-2 fastball gets fouled off. Rivera tries to come inside and hangs a slider out over the plate that Wright rips to left for a single...

Nationals vs Nationals...

...Ball inside to Adam Dunn. Saul Rivera gets a big swing from Dunn with a sinking fastball. Rivera finds the zone with a low slider, but it’s called a ball on big tall Dunn. Rivera gets a sharp grounder to first, Delgado fields, throws to second, gets back to the bag, but gets pulled off by the throw, allowing a hustling Dunn to reach safely...

...Rivera vs Mark DeRosa, Granderson on to run for Dunn, Rivera checks him twice at a 1-1 count, then backs DeRosa off the plate witha bender inside. 2-1, fastball high gets popped out of play. Ball three high, full count. Granderson’s running as DeRosa grounds out to first...Rivera's replaced by JC Romero...

US Wins 6-5 on 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth.

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The announcers spoke highly of Dunn, Rivera and Hanrahan. Every little bit helps in improving our team's reputation.

"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backwards in a mirror." George Carlin.

by RoscoeNats on Mar 18, 2009 7:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry for the brevity here...

…just spent the last five days helping an old friend gut his new house…actually fell asleep in front of computer last night…mid-sentence…full-on obsessive coverage of the Nationals resumes tonight…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Mar 18, 2009 8:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Our old buddy, Aaron Boone...

That guy’s a class act. I hope all goes well for him.

Astros’s Aaron Boone to have open heart surgery
By KRISTIE RIEKEN – 42 minutes ago

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Boone of the Houston Astros will have open heart surgery to replace an aortic valve.

Boone made the announcement Wednesday, saying he has known about his heart condition since college but tests done after his routine physical determined he needed surgery. It is not an emergency, but doctors indicated the procedure was needed.

He said doctors told him he could play baseball when he recovers, but he’s not sure if he will.

An emotional Boone delivered the news flanked by general manager Ed Wade and manager Cecil Cooper and in front of a somber room filled with teammates and Astros officials.

“It definitely hits home, but I’m doing well with it,” Boone said. “I feel like I’m fairly educated on it now. I have a strong faith and a great family and friends and teammates. I really am doing well and I’m ready to tackle this thing and get it behind me and get on with life.”

Wade said a local doctor who did the team physicals and team doctor Jim Muntz worked together to conduct tests on Boone because they knew of his condition.

“Unfortunately the test results came out indicating there was an acceleration of the condition that Aaron has been dealing with for a number of years,” Wade said.

He has a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital defect where the valve has only two cusps to manage the flow of blood through the heart, as opposed to the normal three. The surgery has not been scheduled, but Boone expects to set a date for the procedure later this week.

Cooper rubbed Boone’s back as he expressed his concern for the player.

“As a baseball family we’re here to support Aaron, as you can see by all the teammates and front office personnel we have here,” Cooper said. “And anything he needs we’re going to be there to help him out.”

Boone said he feels fine, but that he’s never had symptoms of the problem.

The third baseman signed with the Astros in the offseason after spending last season with the Washington Nationals. Now, the 36-year-old isn’t sure if he’ll ever play for Houston, or any other team, again.

“I think about it a little bit, but at the end of the thought or the end of the day it’s about getting this and we’ll see where I am a month from now, two months from now, three months from now,” he said.

He’ll make decisions on his future after he recovers and can research and talk with athletes who have returned to play after heart surgery. He mentioned getting in touch with Golden State’s Ronny Turiaf, who had a similar procedure and currently plays in the NBA.

Boone has also played for Cincinnati, the New York Yankees, Cleveland and Florida in his 12-year career.

"Baseball is the only major sport that appears backwards in a mirror." George Carlin.

by RoscoeNats on Mar 18, 2009 12:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs