The Washington Nationals Just Can't Win...Florida Marlins 9 Nationals 6.
by Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 5:47 PM EDT
Email
PrintQuick Take...
Elijah Dukes, in the midst of a 6-game hitting streak, shows up late to the park and gets benched. Scott Olsen has his best start of the year and the bullpen blows it. Roger Bernadina, filling in for Dukes, makes the best catch of the year, so far, and injures his ankle when he collides with the wall, and DC Closer "Wild" Joel Hanrahan, for the second-straight game, is handed a lead and allows a HR to tie it in the ninth...The Nationals lose for the fifth time in five games against Florida this season. 9-6 final.
Elijah Dukes...
Elijah Dukes was in the Washington Nationals' lineup when I originally posted it just before noon today, but by the time I got to work I had a message on my phone with an updated lineup that had Roger Bernadina starting in center for DC. When I logged on to the Washington Post's Nationals Journal to see what I could find, I read Chico Harlan's article entitled, "Dukes Scratched For Violating Team Rule", which simply stated that Mr. Harlan had heard that, "Dukes was five minutes late for the team's workout today, which prompted the punishment".
About halfway through the game, while I was at work and following along on the radio and GameThread, I read some posts about "Acting" General Manager Mike Rizzo's comments, and how some thought the team's reaction harsh, while some applauded the insistence on discipline, but when I found the quotes that were referenced, it was actualy an unattributed statement in MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article on Elijah Dukes entitled, "Nats discipline Dukes for tardiness", where Mr. Ladson had written:
"Both acting general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Manny Acta made the decision to let Dukes sit out the game, and the outfielder was warned that if he was late again, he would be optioned to Triple-A Syracuse."
Dukes, (who played late in the game when Roger Bernadina, starting in center in Dukes' stead, suffered what's now been diagnosed as a fractured ankle as he crashed into the wall while making a diving play you'll be seeing for years), was in the midst of a six-game hitting streak, having take over the starting spot when Lastings Milledge was sent to Triple-A Syracuse.
The latest word, in a post game article entitled, "Injury Problems, Closer Problems", again, by the Washington Post's Chico Harlan, is that Dukes arrived late "to work", as DC Manager Manny Acta put it in Mr. Harlan's article:
"...because he was doing something that we encourage our players to do: He was out in the community doing something for some Little League program and just showed up late..."
Five minutes late because he was doing charity wor...and Bernadina eventually gets injur...Whatever, next...
Why Avoid It Any Longer?
Is Joel Hanrahan fit to be a closer? I don't call him "Wild" Joel Hanrahan for nothing, and there is the whole running joke (which only I perpetuate) that there exists a DC Closer Tradition of "Making It Interesting", but it's supposed to wild as in wildly effective, and making it interesting as in, "Phew, that was close, but we escaped with the win,"...It's not supposed to be a 1-7 team suffering their eighth and ninth losses because the closer can't keep the ball in the park.
Last night it was Marlins' center fielder Cody Ross who tied it at 2-2 when Hanrahan surrendered a solo shot on a hanging slider. This afternoon, Hanrahan came on in the ninth with a three-run lead and alternated K's and singles, the second of which scored Alfredo Amezaga to make it 6-4 DC. Three fastballs later, Jeremy Hermida had launched a two-run HR to tie it at 6-6, and Hanrahan had blown his second-straight game.
Hanrahan's line: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 HR and 3 K's...
Since taking over as the closer following Jon Rauch's trade to Arizona last July, Hanrahan's blown 5 of 14 save opportunities, and these last two are the difference between a three game winning streak that leaves DC 3-7 and a two-game losing streak that finds the Nationals 1-9. So who's next in line as the closer if Joel Hanrahan can't hold onto the job?
Milledge Out, Bernadina In, Bernadina Out, It's Justin Maxwell's Turn...
Justin Maxwell was hitting .226 with 2 HR's and 4 RBI's, a .333 OBP, .493 SLG and .753 OPS in 8 games and 31 at bats with Triple-A Syracuse before being called up to back up in the outfied.
The Positives...A Quick List...
- Austin Kearns' Grand Slam.
- Nick Johnson was 2 for 4 with 1 RBI, now hitting .371.
- Ryan Zimmerman 2 for 5 with his 9th RBI, now hitting .277.
- Adam Dunn walked twice.
- Scott Olsen's line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 HR, 5 K's, 103 pitches.
- There's Another Game Tomorrow...
Tomorrow's Matchup...Marlins' starter Chris Volstad against Daniel Cabrera. 1:35 pm EST.
Final Score - 9-6 Marlins over Nationals.
Nationals now 1-9.
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
RZ
Ryan Zimmerman with more of his noted “face of the franchise” defensive play over at the hot corner, keeping NJ stepping lithely at first base.
Worse yet for the Nationals, it seems to be contagious to Alberto Gonzalez at shortstop. Perhaps he should have stayed on as attorney general.
The offensive is alive, but the pitching can’t keep them in the game.
I say Zimmerman has to make 100-straight clean throws to first before he's given $45M...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 6:19 PM EDT up reply actions
For all the attention he’s received for those bad throwing errors, Zimmerman would have been tied for 6th (out of 21) in fielding percentage at third if he’d played enough games to qualify.
Just joking about Zimmerman's occasional yips...he's an exceptional defensive third baseman...
…who has a tendency to sail routine throws occasionally…
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 19, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions
Did you hear Manny's press conference???
He said it’s sad they had to sit him down especially since he was doing charity work in the community and that’s what made him late. Ouch.
I really feel for Bernadina.
Justin Maxwell called up to replace Bernadina as the backup...
…what an unfortunate series of events…
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 8:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I couldn't have said it better than this........ Screw Rizzo and Acta....
http://firejimbowden.blogspot.com/
“Rizzo, I’m trying to be a fan here. Really I am. But you seriously threatened to send your most talented player, arguably the best player on the team right now, to AAA, because he hung around too long at a charity event for little leaguers?
Seriously? Really? No, come now. This is a joke, right? Look, benching him was overreacting. Fining him was silly. Sending him to AAA? That can’t be a serious threat. And throwing around completely idiotic, obviously hollow threats doesn’t usually command respect down the chain of command.
Hey, I care about punctuality as much as the next guy, but this is the kind of thing that you deal with by just pulling the guy aside and saying, “hey, don’t do that again please.” Imagine in your own workplace if you were 5 minutes late to a meeting—for whatever reason—and your boss said, “if you do this again, we’re going to demote you, cut your salary, and relocate you to a different city.” Unless your economic situation absolutely required you to eat the shit, every one of you would tell a boss like that to kiss your ass.
Serously, five minutes late? You never got stuck in traffic, Rizzo? Manny, you never lost track of time and arrived late to a function? Shoot, it’s not like he missed the first pitch of the game.
This team has big problems. A budding superstar outfielder being five minutes late is not one of them. If they really think that it’s in the best interests of this horrendous failure of a franchise to deprive itself of the most talented player they have, then THAT’S a far, far bigger problem than Elijah’s overzealous dedication to helping kids in the neighborhood.
Posted by Steven
by cat daddy3000 on Apr 19, 2009 4:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Dukes was at a Little League event...
before the game, and encouraged by the Nats to be there. So there’s no problem with Dukes. In light of all that, I’m not sure they should have benched him. It’s not like he was out partying or something.
I hope Hanrahan figures out his problems. The starting pitching is coming around and the offense continues to be good, but now the bullpen is falling apart. The Nats are close to being a decent team. I saw that the Nats have the 4th-highest average in baseball among the top 4 batting spots.
For 8 innings they were a good team, then it fell apart completely...
…but you can see it…now let’s see what Zimmerman(n) adds to the equation…but Hanrahan has me worried, giving up games like this is bad news for a closer who has to come in thinking he’ll blow everyone away…
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Dukes aside
Hanrahan shouldn’t be the closer. Personally, I think Beimel has the big league experience and has the poise. He hasn’t looked like giving much up in the last few outings…I would much rather see Hanrahan in earlier until he learns that one mistake can cost you the game.
"Baseball is like church. Many attend; few understand."
Dude's got a vicious breaking ball too!
" WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU'VE WITNESSED A GRAND HANDSHAKE PARADE? "
by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 19, 2009 2:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Dukes is a hitting machine... let him play
…………. I hope he’s benched when the Natinals play the Mts !
The Natinals...I just thought Dunn's barrel-chest had stretched it in an odd way...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 9:02 PM EDT up reply actions
and i don't really want to point out the obvious, but before those guys went out on the field at the Marlis game..
…. didn’t anybody, and I mean anybody, and not the guys wearing the “Natinals” jersey, because the probably can’t read upside down, but really , nobody on the Nationals team, coaching, press, or management, noticed for three innings the name was wrong ? That stuff won’t happen in Oakland, I can assure you !!
I assumed they noticed and they switched when they stitched them up some new jerseys...I have no idea...even the jersey maker is in a slump...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe they didn't have any other clean jerseys for them to wear...?
And the 3rd inning was the soonest the newly made/freshly washed jerseys were ready…I hope…
Beimel as closer, that would be good to see, it’s obvious that Hanrahan is a set-up man, even dating back to last year, and still needs to figure out his pitches to be a closer.
Man, nats used to have one of the best bullpen’s in baseball (mostly cuz the rotation only lasted 5 innings) now that the bullpen’s in a bust, the pitching on the team is just not coming around at all.
Cardwash Definition: Birds on the Nat.
OHHH YEAHHHH!!!!!!!
Ayala, Cordero, Rauch...Majewski...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions
I hate to say it, but Colome looked good this Spring.
Saooool and Hanny are terrible so far. Hanny really does need to go somewhere else and pitch five or six innings a week, save or no save. See what he has and work on his control and strategy.
Most of those guys were getting worse
The Nats got rid of most of them just in time. Ayala had an ERA around 5.60 last year. He has a 7.36 ERA with the Twins this year. Cordero signed with Seattle but he’s not on the major league roster. Rauch has been a disaster for the D-Backs. He had a 6.56 ERA in his time there last year. He has a 9.00 ERA this year. Majewski only pitched in 11 games for Cincy in 2006 after the Nats traded him. He hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since. So the Nats actually did good in getting rid of all of those guys, although maybe Rauch might be pitching better if he had stayed in Washington. None of the others are worth losing any sleep over. They wouldn’t have done much for the Nats anyway.
Agreed, I think they parted with the players mentioned right before they completely collapsed from overuse...
…but when they were all peaking, they were a legitimate pen, that’s been rebuilding since…
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 19, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
396 G, 467.2 IP, 262 K's...3 Saves...I keep on hearing let Beimel close, but...he's pitched an awful lot without ever getting that job...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 10:37 PM EDT up reply actions
I guess its an experience thing
Some young guys can do a good job of it if they have a gun arm (and Hanrahan has stuff). But I just think Beimel has near 400Gs up his belt and wouldn’t be phazed.
He’s clearly the best reliever we’ve got (at the moment at least).
"Baseball is like church. Many attend; few understand."
I think he's clearly had the best stuff I agree...and as for other closers right now...might be the only alternative...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 19, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
And the day started so well...
…Mrs. Doghouse bought beer for breakfast, it was a beautiful day at the ballpark, AK hit a grand slam… I’m just going to cling to those first 8 innings. Hanny has been… disappointing…
"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN
Zinicola? He's not ready...Colome...he's wild...Who's the next DC Closer?
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 18, 2009 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Beer for breakfast?
What do you have for a nightcap, Cheerios? Haha! I bet Mrs. Doghouse is one cool lady!
" WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU'VE WITNESSED A GRAND HANDSHAKE PARADE? "
by LOUtheMETandNATSfan on Apr 19, 2009 2:37 AM EDT up reply actions
With toast, milk and juice, part of this complete nightcap!
"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN
The real problem...
Look at all of our divisional rivals rotations…the only one of our guys who could even crack one of those rotations is Lannan, an he could probably only beat out Park. Our pitching staff is atrocious. Our pen doesn’t have many guys that could crack those rosters either…I think the 20 million spent on Dunn could have been better spent on the draft and international prospects. We need to develop pitching to have a remote chance at ever competing.
They're counting on Martis, Zimmermann, Detwiler, Lannan, Olsen, Mock, McGeary, Strasburg? ...being that next wave...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 19, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions
BOOOOOOO!
We have lower-bowl tickets tomorrow! Dang it! (On the other hand, considering our good record in the first 8 innings of games, a rain-shortened outing might be just the thing… If the game even starts…)
"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN
Some reasons for optimism, in the future
I think the Nats have the makings of a decent pitching staff down the road. Martis, Lannan and Zimmermann could become the foundation of a very good rotation, maybe in 2010 or 2011. They don’t look that bad right now. The problem has been with the bullpen this week.
If they can sign Strasburg and he is as good as everyone thinks he will be, then that’s 4 potential quality starters. Olsen could hang around as the 5th starter next year.
They’ll have to see if Hanrahan can work his way through his problems. I don’t know what’s going on with Rivera. Maybe he’s on the decline like the other former Nats relievers.
I don’t think the Nats will be that competitive this year if they can’t fix the bullpen but they can develop the young starters and hopefully watch them turn into a good set of pitchers.
by Potomac Fan on Apr 20, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm right there with you on the money spent on Dunn...especially if they somehow don't sign both the #1 and #10 picks this year...
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 Patrick Reddington on Apr 19, 2009 11:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
GAMETHREAD SPONSOR
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Ask Alex: Will Julio Teheran or Matt Moore win rookie of the year?
- Ku Klux Klan, umpires and bowling: Why the minor leagues tossed out Jim Evans academy
- The Cardinals Hall of Fame can now be found at Bill Clinton’s library in Arkansas (Huh?)
- Will Bryce Harper start the season with the Nationals?
- Mitch Mustain puts football behind him, signs reported rookie deal with White Sox
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
