Wire Taps: Washington Nationals Have Another Monday Off Before Series With Atlanta Braves.

by Patrick Reddington on May 9, 2011 10:45 AM EDT

• Programming Note: Don't worry, don't worry, this is the last Monday this month with no Washington Nationals baseball. The early season scheduling and the rainouts have led to a choppy start to the Nats' 2011 campaign. The Nats had no chance against Anibal Sanchez yesterday, who credits his success to the pancake breakfast his mother made him. Pudge Rodriguez donned the pink attire which apparently distracted Henry Rodriguez, who scared a few Marlins and frustrated others with a slider that worked when his fastball wouldn't...Enjoy your Monday off, Braves vs Nats for three games starting tomorrow night...

• LINKS AND LINKS AND...

• NATS BEAT:

• "In the eighth inning, Rodriguez walked three batters, nearly beheaded two Marlins and reduced poor Ivan Rodriguez to a hockey goalie..." - "Henry Rodriguez’s difficult day ‘part of the package’" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "The Nationals expect Espinosa to come around at the plate at some point, and they love his gritty approach to the game..." - "Danny Espinosa shows his value on defense" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "Eleven struck out, 10 swinging, and none was able to get a hit through the first six innings." - "Nationals' bats go on strike in 8-0 loss" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "'We were aware of it,' Nix said of the no-hit bid. 'He had really good stuff today. All of his pitches were working, he had really good command and he was a good competitor.'" - "Washington Nationals at Florida Marlins: Nats' bats held in check by Marlins" - David Villavicencio, MLB.com WSH Recap

• "The Nationals are hitting .220 as a team, and entered the day with the third-worst strikeout rate in the major leagues, at 24.1 percent of their at-bats." - "Nationals' offense goes back into hibernation in 8-0 loss to Marlins" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com

• "After whiffing 13 times yesterday against Anibal Sanchez, the Nationals have struck out 270 times through 34 games." - "On the Nationals’ many strikeouts and home run shortage" - Adam Kilgore, Nationals Journal - The Washington Post

• "His best year was 2008 when, as a rookie, he played in 144 games for the Atlanta Braves and hit .251 with a .366 on-base percentage." - "Nationals pick up outfielder Blanco" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times

• "'I've never seen the shoes and stuff, so that's new to me,' Espinosa said. 'It's just another game where I'll go out there and make mom proud.'" - "Nats embrace chance to honor mothers" - David Villavicencio, nationals.com: News

• "It's still an eye-opener to see that the Nats are essentially breaking even through the first fifth of the season without Ryan Zimmerman or any semblance of a sustained offense." - "Optimism gauge inching north" - Phil Wood, MASNSports.com

•"While Hairston Sr. balanced major league travel with fatherhood, Esperanza made sure sure her children finished their homework and made it to Little League games or basketball practice." - "Esperanza Hairston, the heart of baseball's storied family" - Kristen Hudak, MASNSports.com's Nationals Buzz

• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "A holistic view brings realistic action."

• SHARK~~Nats~~Town:

• "The rest of the Nats, inspired by the Shark's return, helped out as well, with Daddy Desmond and Jerry Hairston each contributing 2 hits." - "SHARK IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE" - Sharkadina: Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog

• NATSTOWN:

• "You saw the stories around three weeks ago. The future right-fielder was over-matched by the older pitchers, struggling to hit the breaking balls, and seeming to be lost at Low-A Hagerstown..." - "Harper-Watch" - Mac, Capitol Baseball

• "Blanco is no star, and not quite a prospect anymore, but he is a good young player who had been boxed out by a bad situation in Kansas City..." - "Nationals Trade For Speedy Minor Leaguer Gregor Blanco" - Will Yoder, The Nats Blog

• "The wins improves the Nats record to 16-18, keeping them ahead of the New York Mets in fourth place in the N.L. East." - "WEEKEND REVIEW: Nats Take Two of Three in South Florida" - Dave Nichols, Nats News Network

• "Bryce Harper Is The Dread Pirate Roberts" - DangerNat, Nationals Inquisition

• NATS MINOR LEAGUE UPDATES:

• Class-A Hagerstown: • Your Daily Message From Bryce Harper On Twitter (@BHarp34): Little angry a couple weeks ago!hah sorry marucci! yfrog.com/gzfinvsj

• Class-A Hagerstown: Bryce Harper 2 for 5 with a doubles, RBI in a 12-11 win - Hagerstown Suns Scoreboard

• "Monday’s News & Notes" - April Whitzman, NationalsProspects.com

• Double-A Harrisburg: "Tyler Moore also homered for the Senators and Stephen King had hit first two-hit game with the Senators." - "Reading finishes sweep of the Sens with 15-6 win" - Terry Byrom, Harrisburg Senators News

• Double-A Harrisburg: "Tyler Moore kept his hot bat going as he has now hit safely in the last 7 straight games and has raised his average to .281 on the season." - "Game 29: Phillies 15, Senators 6" - Mick Reinhard, The Sports 'Burger

• Double-A Harrisburg: "Metro Bank Park is very beautiful and has an extremely unique setting. It is located on the 62 acre City Island in Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Yes, on an island!" - "Metro Bank Park, Home of the Harrisburg Senators" - Stadium Reviews and Sports Travel Community at stadiumjourney.com

• Triple-A Syracuse: "A three-run seventh for the Bulls broke the game open and ended an otherwise solid start for Chiefs lefty Ross Detwiler." - "Chiefs shut out in Durham" - Syracuse Chiefs News

• NL EAST UPDATES:

• Mets: "And when there is news, I like to think about Gary Cohen as our Cronkite. It's up to him to really give the facts because any editorializing by us on someone's personal finances is in bad form. I think it's rude, personally." - Ron Darling - "Baseball Prospectus | The Week In Quotes: May 2-8" - Alex Carnevale, Baseball Prospectus

• Braves: "When the Braves needed a spot starter on Saturday, they turned to 20-year-old rookie Julio Teheran." - "Prospect of the Day: Julio Teheran, RHP, Atlanta Braves" - John Sickels, Minor League Ball

• Marlins: "Sanchez credited the home cooking of his mother, Evelia, who has been visiting from Venezuela and made him pancakes." - "The Juice: Mom’s pancakes fuel no-hit bid by Anibal Sanchez" - David Brown, Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports

• Phillies: "While the Braves have the Phillies beat in ERA by 12 points as of this writing (prior to the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN), the Phillies lead in the "performance" categories..." - "Better Starting Rotation: Phillies or Braves?" - Bill Baer, Crashburn Alley

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Comments

does anyone else feel like

that was not just a 3-1 series win the team had?
maybe it’s just because that last game was brutal and the nats struck out 17 times in one of the wins

by JordanH on May 9, 2011 10:59 AM EDT reply actions

2-1*

by JordanH on May 9, 2011 11:00 AM EDT reply actions

That was a 2-1 series win. It was just one SPAD style.

Also, we went with scores of 3-2, 5-2, 0-8, right? Well, that means that in series run production the Fish won 12-8.

That’s probably where the feeling comes from.

"I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you."
-Leslie Nielsen, Airplane

by Jorgath on May 9, 2011 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions

The Shark may not have eaten Anibal Sanchez

But the BRAVES will make a tasty snack…

Every shark needs a fin.
Bernadina's got a fan.
Sharkadina:Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog

by Sharkadina! on May 9, 2011 11:17 AM EDT reply actions

Boz sez...

in response to a question I posed in today’s chat along the lines of Saturday’s discussion on Harper…

Even with the best prospects, you try to give an 18-year-old 75-to-100 games at his first stop so he can establish a statistical base line (and the confidence that goes with it) and get his own personal feel for playing everyday for months at a time. Also, the jump to AA in the minors is the BIG jump. AA is where the talent is. Often AAA players are really AAAA players who aren’t quite good enough for the majors, but are needed as inventory in case of injuries. But AA is where you send the Fast Track guys as soon as you think they are ready for it _ especially in all the non-baseball ways. Social skills. Controling temper. Coping with failure. You name it.
But if Harper keeps hitting .480 as he has since he got those contact lenses _ can that story really be true? I want to hear more on that __ how long can he stay at Hagerstown? I’ll get there to see him. Maybe I better hurry.

75-100 games seems like a long time. Late July or August before a promotion?

Rob

-- In baseball we trust.

by RobBobS on May 9, 2011 11:49 AM EDT reply actions

I agree.

On the FAST Track, it should be 50-75 games. Try mid-June. Then an early-August move to AA (actually, if Harrisburg is doing really well, we move Harper up before the cutoff for him to play in AA postseason).

Then either bring him up to majors on OD 2012 or have him come up in late May 2012.

"I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you."
-Leslie Nielsen, Airplane

by Jorgath on May 9, 2011 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Good stuff, RobBob and in keeping with what Rizzo/Riggleman have been saying...

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 May 9, 2011 12:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Great stuff..........

except for the FACT that Harper as you have stated, should have started in Woodbridge in the first place.

AA is the big jump. And AAA is full of AAAA players.

by artistfork on May 9, 2011 2:08 PM EDT up reply actions

How has Strasburg been doing lately?

At the end of the first question on his chat, he says:
“Of course, the biggest piece is Strasburg. And that’s unknown now.”

— Boz seems to know a lot more about the Nats front office than other journalists do and saying it’s “unknown now” doesn’t sound like good news. Has Stephen been getting better in the last month? There’s not really any rush since he can rehab until March of 2012 but hopefully there hasn’t been some sort of velocity drop or anything.
Or maybe I’m just thinking too much.

"How the hell can I make my teammates better by practicing?" - Allen Iverson

by GetThatCurlyW on May 9, 2011 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Likely overthinking

I believe that what Boz is summarizing there is that the ultimate outcome of the rehab isn’t knowable. The majority (roughly 85% if I’m recalling correctly) of pitchers who go through TJ surgery are as good or better (scary thought) than they were before. There is also a minority of pitchers that don’t make it back. Boz’s point likely being that the outcome is literally unknown – and we won’t have any way of knowing for quite a while.

There’s no way to know whether there has been some sort of velocity drop at this point for the simple reason that he’s not yet throwing off of a mound, much less throwing 100%.

by d_c_guy on May 9, 2011 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Not throwing off a mound at least as of mid-April

I haven’t round any information more recent than this article from Kilgore on Strasburg’s recovery.

by d_c_guy on May 9, 2011 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions

"found" ... I haven't "found" any information more recent

Sheesh.

by d_c_guy on May 9, 2011 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, I hate to be a debbie downer...

but this currently puts Strasburg one month behind JZimm’s timetable(which seems to be pretty successful, btw). Maybe the Nationals are being cautious, or maybe it doesn’t really matter how long it takes for someone to get back as long as they get back at 100%.

"How the hell can I make my teammates better by practicing?" - Allen Iverson

by GetThatCurlyW on May 9, 2011 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions

If they weren't being cautious, they'd be idiots

Z(nn)‘s recovery was very much on the fast side of TJ surgery – he was on the “12 month” side of the 12-18 month recovery period usually given. While it would be nice to see Strasburg back in September, the difference between getting in 2-3 starts in 2011 with coming back in 2012 isn’t all that much; he’ll be innings-limited no matter what.

I won’t say that it doesn’t matter at all how long it takes – at his present rate, Chien-Ming Wang will be healthy by 2016 or so – but for Strasburg, a couple of months here or there ain’t no big thing. Really.

by d_c_guy on May 9, 2011 11:57 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

I would be disappointed but not discouraged if Strasburg doesn’t pitch at the ML level until the beginning of next season.

Brain: "Pinky, are you pondering what i'm pondering?"
Pinky: "Yes, but isn't a cucumber that small called a gherkin?"

by jbg2772 on May 10, 2011 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

McLaren asks Larry Bowa to help w/ Desi's D:

Desi working on D w/ L. Bowa: @Ken_Rosenthal: /tinyurl.com/42c8g88

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 May 9, 2011 12:29 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

So explain to me again why Desi is the most-favored son

at SS when he continues to struggle with his defense (and offense). I’d still rather see Spinner at SS and move Desi to CF since he can’t -or won’t – play 2B.
How long does the FO stick with him at SS before they are forced to admit he may never develop into the next Jeter? Or how many times do we have to hear that it took Jeter a while to become Jeter! ?

Plus he’s still chasing junk at the plate way too much for his experience and age.

"Baseball is a game played by the dexterous but only understood by the POIN-dexterous."
Professor Frink (from MoneyBart Episode )

by MissB on May 9, 2011 1:17 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

There is no room in the outfield

with Werth in RF, we have 2 spots for Ankiel, Bernadina, Morse, Nix, and sometimes Hairston there is no way we can put someone else in the mix. I’m still less than impressed with Espi’s arm especially since he had to load up so much on that throw that was a little past 2B, I highly doubt he can make the 3B-SS hole throws.
He’s still only a year older than Espi, and you can’t really develop offensively when you have such a bad hitting coach as our whole team has shown.

by Brotato on May 9, 2011 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

And Desi has been a little better about chasing junk, at least away.

He’s making adjustments, and I’m willing to see if they pay off as the season progresses. The balls dropping out of his glove make me cringe, but the range and the arm are still t3h aw3s0m3. Let’s reserve judgement until we get deeper into the season.

"I don't believe in luck, but it was just one of those things where it wasn't really skill, either." --Jerry, jr.

by Doghouse on May 9, 2011 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions