DC Starting Lineup...(courtesy of Washington Post writer Chico Harlan)
- J-Maxx!!! - CF
- Ronnie B. - 2B
- THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! - 3B
- The Big Walkee - 1B
- THE HAMMER - LF
- AK - RF
- WWJD - C
- The General - SS
- Zim(n) in the Big City... - SP
Can The Washington Nationals Avoid The Sweep?
Jordan Zimmermann, in just the second start of his MLB career, steps into Citi Field Sunday against New York starter Oliver Perez as the Washington Nationals and the Mets play the finale of the three game weekend series at 1:00 pm EST.
Oliver Perez vs The Washington Nationals...
Oliver Perez, the NY Mets' 27-year-old left-handed starter, is (3-3) in 8 career starts against the Nationals with a 6.53 ERA and 37 K's in 41.1 IP in which he's given up 48 hits, 30 ER, 4 HR and 20 walks. On the year, Perez is (1-1) with a 7.80 ERA in his first three '09 outings, and though he'd have to accept an assignment to the Minors, that threat is certainly on the table, according to numerous press reports about Mets' Manager Jerry Manuel's views on the Mets' starting rotation. (ed. note - "Who would've guessed that would be a problem...")
The Washington Nationals vs Oliver Perez...
Ronnie Belliard - 4 for 17, .235 AVG, 1 2B, 2 BB.
Alex Cintron - 6 for 12, .500 AVG, 4 RBI's.
Adam Dunn - 6 for 25, .240 AVG, 2 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI's, 9 BB, 12 K's, .417 OBP.
Anderson "Elvis" Hernandez - 2 for 3, .667 AVG, 2 RBI's.
Nick Johnson - 2 for 6, .333 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI.
Austin Kearns - 8 for 27, .296 AVG, 1 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI's, 4 BB, 8 K's.
Josh Willingham - 7 for 22, .318 AVG, 1 2B, 3 HR's, 5 RBI's, 8 BB, 6 K's.
Ryan Zimmerman - 6 for 17, .353 AVG, 2 2B, 1 RBI.
(ed. note - 'If the Nationals can't beat Oliver Perez with those #'s against him and the #'s he's putting up so far...forget it, they deserve to get swept...")
More On The Outfield Issues...Is There A Problem With Acta And Dukes?
I think Ben Goessling's Washington Times Chatter post entitled, "Nats lose 8-2" made an interesting point yesterday, when Mr. Goessling mentioned that when DC Manager Manny Acta was asked what he thought caused Dukes' dropped ball yesterday, the DC Manager responded:
"'Go ask him. He's out there (in the clubhouse). I can answer questions for me and my team. I'm not going to be answering everyone's questions.'"
(ed. note - "Now, not to parse off the cuff comments, but Mr. Acta does seem to separate Dukes from "my team" in what he's saying here...")
Acknowledging, it would seem, the harsh tone of Manny Acta's comments about Dukes, the Washington Times' Ben Goessling writes, "For a point of comparison, Acta talked at length about his impressions of the defensive problems Austin Kearns had in Friday's game."
Since Mr. Goessling didn't include a quote, I went looking, just a day earlier, in another Washington Times' Chatter post by Ben Goessling entitled, "Recovering from another downer", Mr. Goessling quotes Mr. Acta telling the media about Austin Kearns' play in the outfield:
"'We like the way Kearns goes about his business,' Acta said. 'That's a play where we appreciate that he wanted to play hard, but he knows better than that, and that's one of the mistakes that cost us.'"
Guess Kearns doesn't have to explain his own errors...
I Missed This The Other Day...
But the Washington Nationals' Acting GM Mike Rizzo told Washington Post writer Chico Harlan the other day, as quoted in Mr. Harlan's Nationals Journal post entitled, "Exploring Citi Field And The Pedro Possibility", that when it comes to veteran free agent Pedro Martinez:
"'Early on we had a mild interest,' Rizzo said, 'And I would say it's still a mild interest.'"
Of course, just a day earlier, MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported in an article entitled, "Nationals not interested in Pedro", that a "team source":
"...said the Nationals haven't had interest in Pedro since Spring Training."
"Acting General Manager Mike Rizzo and manager Manny Acta," Mr. Ladson wrote, "were not available for comment."
Sunday Reading...
Federal Baseball.com Regular ROSCOEtheNATSfan found this article about Future Nationals' Ace Stephen Strasburg by LA Times' writer Kurt Streeter entitled, "Stephen Strasburg brings the heat" which features commentary on Strasburg by SDSU coach Tony Gwynn, White Sox' scout George Kachigian and former big league Manager and occasional Nationals' employee Davey Johnson...ESTOPPEL.08 over at 1500 South Capital St. is keeping a close eye on Strasburg in a post entitled, "Strasburg Watch #10"...Kristen Hudak from We've Got Heart examines FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal's comments on the Nationals' interest in Pedro Martinez in a post entitled simply, "Pedro"...Over at Nationals Pride.com, Jim Kurtzke has his own prescription for the Nationals' woes in a post entitled, "A Change Is Gonna Come"...Still no word from Bad Nats...
Who's Watching The Nationals?
