The biggest news from yesterday is only Nats related in the fact that the Nationals are going to have to face this guy in the division for years to come. Half way through the game I called my friend and told him what had happenned so far. How the Phillies were proving us right. The Reds let the bottom of the order get on base and before they knew it it was four nothing. We often joke that when your team plays the Phillies they start every game down by four runs. That is how deadly the Phillies offense is, and when they smell blood they come after it, but then I said, "And Roy Halladay is throwing a no-hitter. It isn't fair." With that type of quick strike relentless offense it just isn't fair to get that type of pitching, but it is what the Phillies have, and it won't be fun to deal with for the next few years.
Anyway, Roy Halladay throws first no-hitter since Don Larsen in his first post season appearance. --Michael Bamberger from si.com
Now for the Nats related news. Yesterday the news came out that the Nationals had doubled their ratings*. --Dan Steinberg in The DC Sports Bog
*This is good news, and like I have said before the Nationals lead the area in team gear I see at the gym. It is important to keep in mind that I do live in Northern Virginia. When I travel to the Eastern Shore of Maryland or to the Shenandoah Valley it is all Redskins. There are no such thing as the Nationals, Capitals, or Wizards in those areas. That is why the Redskins are so popular. They are a regional team while the three other teams are local teams.
Stan Kasten had his final press confrence as Nationals President yesterday. He says he is keeping his ownership stake for now, and thinks the team will spend money this off-season. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com
Chien-Ming Wang saw live game action for the first time yesterday and is optimistic a deal can be reached that would keep him a National. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com
More on the Nats, the post-season, and other baseball news after the jump.
Peter Gammons had an encouraging tweet about Bryce Harper yesterday*. --Peter Gammons via Twitter
*If everything they say about him is true and he really loves baseball and has the work ethic to go along with his talent then look out, because this guy is going to be an all-time great.
Ryan Zimmerman missed the last couple weeks of the regular season, but that helped him to take in more of the game and learn what he needs to work on. --Ryan Zimmerman at csnwashington.com
And here is a look at the most disappointing Nats this past season. I guess Brian Bruney wasn't disappointing enough to make the list. --capitolbaseball.com
General Baseball
I forget what year it was, but the Spurs lost to the Denver Nuggets in game one of the first round of the NBA playoffs and the media freaked out. They couldn't declare the Spurs finished quick enough. Of course the Spurs went on to win the NBA Championship that year. So, now I watch for this patern. The team that is declared dead the quickest will often have the best chance to win it all. The Rays lost yesterday and the world freaked out. As of right now I would like to go ahead and declare the Rays the 2010 World Series Champions. --Craig Calcaterra from nbcsports.com
And in the late game the Yankees come back and beat the Twins. --Ben Reiter at si.com
We all know about King Felix and his individual production not even being enough to help his team win in the games he pitched, but who else has suffered the same fate. A look at the 40 best individual seasons for terrible teams. --The Common Man at platoonadvantage.com