Wire Taps: Washington Nationals Start Second-Half In Atlanta vs Tim Hudson.
by Patrick Reddington on Jul 15, 2011 11:41 AM EDT
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Print• Programming Notes: The Washington Nationals, with Livan Hernandez on the hill, take on the Atlanta Braves, who throw Tim Hudson in the first game of the so-called second-half. The Nats ended the first half at 46-46, 11.5 games behind the NL East's first-place Phillies, 57-34, and 8.0 games behind the Wild-Card-leading Braves, 54-38. Livan's given up 16 hits and eight earned runs in 12.2 IP in July, earning no decision in either of his two starts, both of which Washington lost. Tim Hudson's (1-1) in two starts against the Nats, but the Braves' right-hander hasn't faced the Nationals since he gave up 5 hits and 7 runs, 3 earned in a 7-6 Atlanta loss to Washington on May 10th. Hernandez vs Hudson. 7:35 pm EDT from Turner Field. MASN HD, MLB.tv, 106.7 the FAN in D.C., 1500 WFED, Sirius/XM ch. 184. Who's Watching The Nationals?
• LINKS AND LINKS AND...
• NATS BEAT:
• "Imagine Fielder hitting cleanup between Ryan Zimmerman and Werth in 2012. There might not be a better heart of the order in the league." - "Prince Fielder positioned for massive payday" - Dave Sheinin, Baseball Insider - The Washington Post
• "A common refrain for the first half of the season was that the Nationals were going to be dangerous - as soon as they started hitting." - "Wins of change on horizon for Nationals?" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• 1. "In the last 10 years, as the statistical revolution has washed over baseball, Nationals manager Davey Johnson has probably received less publicity for his role in it than he should." - "Talking statistics with Davey Johnson" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com
• 2. "Now that he's back in the majors, Johnson has a vast array of information at his disposal - and new technology to get it - that wasn't there for most of his career." - "Talking statistics with Davey Johnson, Part 2" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com
• "The Nationals granted J.C. Romero his unconditional release, ending any possibility of the veteran lefty joining their bullpen." - "Catching up on Thursday's news" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "'A smart guy told me that only thing you can control is your effort and your intent,' he said. 'I'm going to hustle every day and I have good intentions.'" - "Werth focused on putting struggles behind him" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News
• "dc_Roach asked about the pressure of closing. I always tell people that relieving late in the game is a high-risk/high-reward job." - "Drew Storen: Catching up with the family over All-Star break" - MASNSports.com
• "The two weeks of games coming out of the all-star break could sway General Manager Mike Rizzo’s thinking with regard to the July 31 trade deadline." - "Nationals’ top questions for second half of the MLB season" - Adam Kilgore, The Washington Post
• "The Nats’ first-half performance excites newcomers more than long-sufferers because the latter are conditioned to losing, just like the team." - "SNYDER: Nats fans can look at glass as half-full" - Deron Snyder, Washington Times
• "The Nationals begin the second half of their season tonight in Atlanta, facing old nemesis Tim Hudson in what could actually be classified as a meaningful series." - "Five stories to watch in the Nationals' second half" - Ben Goessling, MASNSports.com
• "Rodriguez is planning to hit off a tee Friday. If things go well, Rodriguez will then try to take batting practice the next day." - "Pudge feels strong, will hit on Friday" - Bill Ladson, nationals.com: News
• "The Nationals have gone 23-15 since June 1, their best prolonged stretch of baseball in quite some time, yet they've actually lost two games in the wild-card race." - "Series preview: Nats at Braves" - Mark Zuckerman, NatsInsider.com
• "The Democrats and Republicans in Congress haven't been able to agree on much in recent days, but they won't argue on one point -- Rep. Cedric Richmond sure knows how to pitch." - "Democrat throws near-no-no in win over GOP" - Jeff Seidel, nationals.com
• "Riggleman, who abruptly resigned as Nationals manager on June 23, has been good friends with Giants manager Bruce Bochy for several years." - "Report: Jim Riggleman hired by SF Giants" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• Your Daily Message From The Dalai Lama On Twitter (@DalaiLama): "If you have love and compassion towards all living beings, particularly toward your enemy, that is true love and compassion." -
• NATS MINOR LEAGUE UPDATES:
• Class-A Auburn: "On a night that saw a combined seven hits between the Doubledays and the Cyclones, it was Brooklyn who won the pitching duel in a 2-0 win at MCU Park on Thursday night." - "Cyclones Outduel Doubledays in Brooklyn" - Auburn Doubledays News
• Class-A Hagerstown: "The first game on Friday will begin with a 6:00pm first pitch which will serve to complete tonight's suspended game with the series game three postponed until after game one tomorrow is completed." - "Scheduled Doubleheader to be Played Friday, Suns Down 1-0 in Game One" - Hagerstown Suns News
• "'The Washington Nationals would never consider asking our players, or those of our opponents, to play on a field that we believe represents a safety threat,' Rizzo said." - "Potomac field conditions unplayable, unsafe" - Amanda Comak, Washington Times
• Double-A Harrisburg: Chien-Ming Wang - 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 K, 75 P, 51 S - Harrisburg Senators Scoreboard
• "Harper did tally an outfield assist, gunning down Akron Aeros second baseman Karexon Sanchez as he tried to score from 2nd base on a single to left." - "Bryce Harper 0-3 In Return To Harrisburg" - HarperMania.com
• Triple-A Syracuse: "The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, split a doubleheader with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Thursday." - "Chiefs split twin bill with IronPigs" - Syracuse Chiefs News
• "Friday’s News & Notes" - NationalsProspects.com
• "Senators pitching coach Randy Tomlin said one of the major reasons Peacock was on top of his game this season was his ability to not look ahead and wonder when he would possibly get his shot at Triple-A." - "Peacock focused on job at hand, earning promotion to Syracuse" - Byron Kerr, MASNSports.com
• NATSTOWN:
• "I said it at the beginning of the season and stand by it: Strasburg's rehab and return is the most important aspect of the Nationals season." - "Realistic Look at the Second Half" - Dave Nichols, Nats News Network
• "Recently I invited the 123 members of the Washington Baseball History group on Facebook to share their personal Washington baseball stories." - "Hearts and Diamonds" - Mark Hornbaker, Washington Nationals Daily News
• "Now Zimm could be injured and Werth could be broken, but I'd bet on big second halves for both." - "What to expect in the second half" - Harper, Nationals Baseball
• "For one night, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill set aside their political differences to participate in the 50th annual Congressional Baseball Game." - "Congressional Baseball Game: Rookie Congressman Leads Democrats To 8-2 Victory At Nationals Park" - Kristen Hudak, SB Nation DC
• Mid-Season Review: "Apparently we have a thing for pitchers" - First Ladies of Baseball
• "Everyone is familiar with the routine by now. Mr. Lerner, you might want to break out your check book a few minutes before midnight on August 15." - "Nats agree to terms with four more guys not named Anthony Rendon" - Nats Enquirer
• "This can’t end well. Unwinnable Staring Contest" - Washington NationLOLs
• NL EAST UPDATES:
• Braves: "Asking fans what the chances are that the Atlanta Braves will make the playoffs." - "Atlanta Braves Playoff Chances Poll" - gondeee, Talking Chop
• Mets: "'I’m still trying to find out what happened. I was told by my ex-agent about the 10-team list and Milwaukee was one of them,' Rodriguez said." - "Oops! K-Rod Says No-Trade Clause Snafu Led To Mets-Brewers Swap 'Shock'; Ex-Agent Never Sent 10-Team List To MLB When Closer Signed With New York" - CBS New York
• Marlins: "The Rangers have checked in with the Marlins about their pitching but no names have been exchanged, major-league sources say." - "Sources: Rangers have asked about Marlins’ pitching" - Jon Paul Morosi, Yardbarker
• Phillies: "Bothered by the ailing back, the slumping Polanco is hitting .274 this season with four home runs and 39 RBIs." - "Phillies place Polanco on DL, activate Madson" - CSNPhilly.com
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"In Atlanta versus Tim Hudson"
Words to make yer blood run cold.
"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers." - Earl Weaver
Hmmmm...
And try not to imagine Fielder and Werth in 2017, at ages 33 and 38, respectively, and pulling in something close to $50 million between them. With Fielder, as with all top free agents, the dream works better when reality is pushed aside.
…and Fielder likely pushing 300 lbs. Just sayin’
He's also pushing .300
(batting average). And 1.000 (OPS). Just sayin’.
Rob
-- In baseball we trust.
I was debating on going to the game Sunday in ATL
but just saw that the proj starters are Jurrjens vs Gorzy
Ew.
I try to catch them at least once a series when they come to ATL
I somehow only seem to catch pitchers im not as enthused with, like Lannan, Livo, Martis, Atilano, etc… I was really hoping for JZimm, never seen him live. He seems to always escape me.
I did catch that Stras/Huddy match up last year though, which was awesome until Yunel Freaking Escobar broke it open in the 5 run 8th.
by G8RB8 on Jul 15, 2011 2:15 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Like I've said
Jurrjens is due for a correction, and this weekend’s as good a time as any.
Rob
-- In baseball we trust.
I think he is too
I just wish it was vs JZimm instead of Gorzy. I bet the Nats are a 2:1 underdog that day
Braves aren’t really a “Mashing” team though, so maybe Gorzo can get away with a few bad ones and the Nats can get JJ off an all star hangover
by G8RB8 on Jul 15, 2011 2:10 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
On Desmond
DNNN discusses the need for Desmond to stop trying to pull everything to generate power and to try to go to all fields. Lots of folks (the MASN crew especially) make the same observations.
Trouble is, I don’t think this is necessarily supported by the facts. Desmond is a much better hitter when he pulls the ball. His slash line when he pulls the ball is .327/.327/.510. The line when he goes the other way is .184/.180/.204 — in both cases he has 49 ABs. He has 8 RBI pulling the ball, 1 when going opposite field (a sac fly). He also has 137 ABs where he went up the middle and posted a .335/.329/.460.
Now, of course, the main trouble he experiences is when he tries to pull the outside pitch — leading to lots of grounders to third/short. If there’s one thing he needs to work on, it’s not trying to spray the ball, it’s to lay off the bad pitches (or to fight them off when down in the count).
Rob
-- In baseball we trust.
Lay off the outside pitches when up in the count, take them the other way when down in the count
I don’t think that the message is “don’t pull;” rather, it’s knowing when it’s better for the ballclub to take a pitch, or to take it the other way.
Hey,
who built the “featured poll” and why doesn’t it include Jordan Zimmermann?
Rob
-- In baseball we trust.
Just an oversight...
He’s on now and you can vote for him…I’m going to enjoy every one of his 45.0 innings…
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 Jul 15, 2011 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
semi-interesting side note
Livo (171) and Hudson (173) are the third- and fourth-winningest active MLB pitchers (as defined by number of wins, not winning percentage).
Without googling (not that anyone could tell if you did), which two pitchers have more? I could have guessed one of them, but would have been wrong on my other guess.
Hmph
The top two pitchers on the MLB site aren’t really “active.” Just my $.02 :-)
I wasn't going by the MLB site either (which has Moyer and Petitte)
Because that truly would warrant a bit “hmph”! I also consider them not active.
The guys who are really “active” with more are Halladay, who you (and I) got right. Wakefield is the current active leader with 198.
Tim Wakefield got to be one.
Tim Wakefield, now 44 year old , is still pitching for Boston this year. He has been pitching since 1992. and is getting close to the 200 win.
Am I the only one who didn't know that we offered Grenkie a $100 million contract?
It makes his dis a little more insulting, but I think every Nat fan should feel much better about having Zimmermann for 4 years and next to nothing.
Skins rule
This was after it all went down, provides a quick wrap:
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 Jul 15, 2011 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow
“The Nationals indicated to the Royals that they were willing to part with Jordan Zimmermann, one of their top young pitchers, and discussed other names such as reliever Drew Storen and second baseman Danny Espinosa.”
I’d rather have Zimmermann, and the thought of losing Storen and Espi along with him is just scary. Thanks, Grenkie.
Skins rule
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