With last night's 6-2 loss to the Mets, the Nationals have dropped to 26-66, 40 games below .500 in 92 games. In 1962, the Mets were 40 below .500 (24-64) after 88 games. Although they may not break the Mets' record, this year will certainly go down in the history books as a close call.
But it's not all bad news! Tyler Clippard was amazing last night, easily his best start of the year. He went three innings, dropping his ERA to 2.13 and striking out out five. His delivery looks a lot like Tommy Hanson's, who just set a Braves record for most strikeouts as a rookie, eleven. Check out the unbelievable arm acceleration!
Welp, Scott Olsen is officially out for the rest of the season with a tear in his labrum. Unfortunate, but I hope this means the Nats will continue to try out their young pitchers.
Anthony Wilson, at Nationals Pride, has analyzed Ron Villone, and decided that he hasn't really gone downhill, but has rather just begun to play like he should have played all season.
I wasn't happy with the way Martin was pulled last night, and neither was FJB. He had a tough first two innings, but just as he started to figure things out, he was taken out of the game. If he can keep pitching the way he pitched in the third and fourth, he definitely has a future in the major leagues.
I find that whenever I get discouraged at the way the Nationals are playing, all it takes is watching some really good baseball to make me remember why I'm a fan. For instance, the Yankees-Orioles game last night was fantastic. Hit the link for a video recap, and remember why we love this game. Mark Teixiera is an incredible first baseman (0:55, if you're interested).
Manny Ramirez passed Micky Mantle in career home runs last night, hitting his 537th and moving up into 15th place.