I normally find baseball a very meditative experience. You just sit in the stands staring at the ballfield waiting for something to happen, and that wait can take awhile. Then with every pitch, with every passage from the old moment to a new moment the entire situation is transformed. I one time listed every possible outcome of an at bat and found there are just a lot of different things that can happen. If you add baserunners to the mix it only adds to the possibilities. Just think about how much the pitch on 1-1 can change the entire at bat. There is a mass amount of difference between a 2-1 count and a 1-2 count, and those are just two examples of what can happen wih that one pitch. Every pitch has the chance to change the outcome of the game. Baseball is truly a sport that lends itself to deep thinking.
Back to my original point on the meditative nature of the sport. Last night was more jarring. It was more an exercise in pain tolerence than anything else. My first analogy was a little vulgar and since we want to keep it clean here I won't go there. The second analogy I thought of are those people that stick hooks in their skin and suspend themselves and then are forced to go to a happy place in their mind. They find their power animal and see how long they can take the pain. That is kind of what last night's game was like.
The true beauty of the internet is everyone has an opinion and now everyone can share it. The internet loves debatable moments, and the introduction of a Ring of Honor at Nats Park is more debatable than I thought it would be. Let's start with the outright negative and I would like to know from some former Expos fans. Is this really an insult? --Thom Loverro at espn980.com
Other opinions don't go as far as talking about how the Lerners just don't understand anything, but still have thoughts and answer the question who should have been included? -- Mark Hornbaker natsdailynews.com
More thoughts on the ring. Looking at if the questionable character of a person should be enough to keep them out of a Ring of Honor. This game has been played for so long and the entire thinking of our nation has changed many times since it began that it is probably not right to keep someone out of any type of enshrinement due to a line of thinking that while mostly deceased now was highly prevalent when they were alive. Really baseball was ahead of society on ending racism as Jackie Robinson debuted in 1947 and Brown vs. the Board of Education wasn't decided until 1954. -- Chris Needham from Capitol Punishment
Here are even more thoughts on the ring this time with a strong anti-Expos sentiment. --DangerNat at natsnq.com
I promise this is the last link on the Ring of Honor. Some still waiting for Frank Robinson Day. --nationalsenquirer.com
I noticed two things about the ring. First thing was that there is a good amount of empty space to the right, and it is probably at the least going to be five, ten, or even fifteen years until a current Nat is ready to be enshrined. Secondly at some point last night I heard that the criteria was only for the first wave of people, and this makes perfect sense. How many people would show up for even a Walter Johnson night. Guys like Frank Robinson and Frank Howard are fresher in people's minds, and I am willing to bet a Frank Robinson night would draw quite well, and what about a Camilo Pascual night when Maya debuts.
There was also a game last night and now we must wait and see how Strasburg responds. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com
Boswell plays the role of Morpheus and welcomes Strasburg to reality, so I have to guess at some point Strasburg swallowed the red pill. The Boswell column is well writen and typical Boswell, but i have to say in comparing the two columns I like Goessling's more, but Boswell's is still a great column. It is probably the second best of the 50 columns writen about the exact same thing. I am not kidding about that number either. --Thomas Boswell
This mornings blog from Adam Kilgore looks at managing expectations. It compares how the expectations for Zimmerman were nowhere near what they are for Strasburg. I think it shows something of Strasburg's personality that he hasn't caved to the pressure yet, and last night's bad start was mostly due to the long lay off with no rehab start. I believe Strasburg will bounce back fine and his next start might be the best we have seen. Remember what happenned in his first start after the homer was hit off of him? He has the competitive nature of a true superstar. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com
Here is some Strasburg news on a lighter note as Strasburg attempts to fix economy. I mean seriously he brings in extra people when he starts on the road, his jersey is selling like hot cakes, and he is single handedly reviving the baseball card industry. The oddest part about this article is a guy traveled all the way to Baltimore for the Strasburg card and his hope is that he can get $300 to pay for the trip. so his how point of making the trip was to get something and then sell it to pay for that trip. Why even make the trip then? --Ryan Petzar yahoosports.com
What do we get out of this deal? I mean really. Wang had been rehabing all year and still has a long way to go. The Nationals are paying him $2 million to rehab. I doubt his contract is renewed next season since he hasn't even made one start, but who knows. --Byron Kerr from masnsports.com
The amount of players this team has sent to the DL has been startling, but Nyjer Morgan will be back soon. He was just starting to get hot when he went on the DL so hopefully he can come back and prove he is a worthwhile contributor. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com
Yesterday by twitter we recieved the expected news that Atilano out for season. It isn't really suprising with Zimmermann about to make his return and the expected debut of Maya. I just wonder if we will ever see Atilano again or if he has gone down the Martis path. --Bill Ladson via twitter.com
More fuel for the fire for those that want to have an Expos throwback night. --Li Phil uniwatchblog.com
Many People here have speculated on this very thing. Now here is an outsiders opinion on what our rotation might look like in 2011. I try to remain level headed as best I can, but when outsiders start getting excited about our rotation I sometimes can't help but feel a little bit of excitement creeping in. --Tim Dierkes mlbtraderumors.com
Part two of Brian Oliver's look at High School picks and the Nats as the view of them changes under Rizzo. --Brian Oliver from natsfarm.com
In other minors news Lombardozzi promoted to AA Harisburg. This is another exciting middle infield prospect to watch and our solution to our second base problem might be closer than we think. I doubt Lombardozzi can add his name to the mix this season, but it is great insurance if Desmond or Espinosa can't make the transition to second. --Byron Kerr masnsports.com
What does it take to sing the National Anthem? Apparently talent. --Drew Magary at deadspin.com
General Baseball News
These little subcatagories don't really have any defined name, but I am thinking of sticking with Around the NL East and then going with General Baseball News just so I don't need an extra catagory if I find something interesting that happenned in Japan or Latin America.
It was either this or the TV Guide page, but this looks like a very interesting documentary on the season that is thought to have killed the Expos. Jonah Keri is a contributer to ESPN as well as the great baseball magazines of Playboy and Penthouse (do you think I can convince my wife of this?). Also his upcoming book on the Rays sounds very interesting, and if he sends me a free copy I will be happy to review it. --Jonah Keri from jonahkeri.com
It took this long? I mean not only was the guy hit in 2007, but it really took this long for a lawsuit to come about. --AP via si.com
Brandon Philips has learned a valuable lesson. That sometimes "little bitches" fight back. This is really turning into a fun rivalry for the rest of the season. i have always thought Brandon Philips was kind of a jerk, but most people tacted it up to him being an emotional player. --The Sporting News staff reports
That is all for today. Enjoy your baseball tonight and hopefully the Nats make it more enjoyable.