Nats Take Series Away from Braves!

When the Washington Nationals entered their series against the Braves, they were entering the biggest game ever played for the Nationals Franchise. No Nationals team has ever been where these Nats are, leading the NL East by 5 games and having a record 29 games above .500. Not even the 2005 Nationals got to that, yet here we are.

The series was pretty much a even match all around. Jordan Zimmerman faces Tim Hudson. Stephen Strasburg faces Paul Malholm and Ross Detwiler faces Kris Meldon. Would the Nats be able to continue there amazing success or would the Braves climb back into things?

Simply put, the Nats are amazing! Winning Game 1 was completely crazy. The game went into the 13th inning and the only reason the Nats won was because Dan Uggla's brain exploded and he couldn't decide where to throw the baseball (last I heard, as of this posting, Dan Uggla was close to making a decision on where to throw the ball) Credit has to go to Danny Espinosa for some good baserunning and to Kurt Suzuki, although if you watched the game he didn't even move an inch when everyone else was running on what would be ruled an infield single by Chad Tracy.

For Game 2, Stephen Strasburg does what he does best, pitch good ballgames. He went 6 strong innings, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits and striking out 10. He's officially the National League leader in strikeouts, moving ahead of the Mets R.A. Dickey. The Nats offense was lead by a solo home run by Ian Desmond (his 2nd in 2 nights) and Jesus Flores 3 run home run.

What's amazing is the attendance at Nats Park during these 2 games. Game 1 had an attendance at 32,000 and Game 2 had an attendance of 34,000. It's nice to see people fill this ballpark. In all fairness, the NAts haven't been good before. After taking the first two games of this series, the Nats are 77-46 with a 7 game lead over the Braves. They have a 20 game lead over the 3rd place Mets and Phillies and a 21 game lead over the Marlins. Remember how people at the begining of the year were convinced the Nats would be around 3rd or 4th place this year? Remember when they said the Phillies, Marlins and Braves were the only real contenders in the division? I love when they are proven SO wrong, especially when it comes to the Nats

Best Team in NL- How Washington is Blowing Everyone Away

The Nats are doing what no one ever expected them to do, wins a ton of games. Even with the lost last night to the Brewers (a 6-0 decision) the Nats are 59-40, 19 games above .500 and leading the NL East by 4 games.

With a win today, the Nats are setting a franchise record. The fastest the Nats ever got 60 wins was way back in 2005, when they beat Colorado on Aug. 12 on Game 117 on the season. The Nats were 60-55 at that time but this year is different. The Nats could get 60 wins on Game 100 (tonight's game) putting them 17 games ahead of the 05 Nats. This years Nats are something different all together.

A win today would put the Nats in a awesome position in July, becoming the only NL team to have 60 wins and being only the 2nd team in MLB to get to that mark (New York Yankees have 60 wins) The Nats aren't just good, they are amazing!! They have a better record than the Texas Rangers, defending AL Champions, St. Louis Cardinals, who were the World Series winners, the LA Angels, who spent a ton in the offseason to win, and plenty more teams. The point being made: the Nats aren't just good, they are doing what no other Nationals team has ever done. They have become a force in the NL, a team you have to fear playing. With Jason Werth and Chad Tracy coming back in a week, the Nats aren't about to fall anytime soon.

Delay in Updating Blog

I send my apologizes for not updating the blog very often. Between work and other things, I haven't been able to write on this blog. But that's about to change again. Thanks so much for your patience and DC Nats Blog is back!!

Lack of Offense Ruins Harper's DC Debut

The Nationals' offense continued to struggle on Tuesday night, as they lost to the D-backs, 5-1, at Nationals Park in front of 22,675.

The Nationals collected six hits against Trevor Cahill and scored their only run in the eighth inning, when Roger Bernadina scored on a single by Ian Desmond. Before that Washington was on a 17-inning scoreless streak. The Nats had a few chances to score early. Their biggest chance came in the sixth inning, when they had runners on first and second with no outs, but Rick Ankiel hit into a double play and Adam LaRoche grounded out to Aaron Hill to end the inning.

Bryce Harper failed to record a hit in his DC Debut, going 0-3. Harper nearly threw out John McDonald at the plate from left field in the seventh inning, but home-plate umpire Jeff Nelson called McDonald. The replay showed that McDonald was tagged on the leg before he touched home plate.

Jordan Zimmerman continued to get a lack of run support from the Nats. Zimmermann allowed four runs, three earned, in 6 1/3 innings.

With the loss, the Nats have lost 5 in a row and are 14-9. On the positive side, the Nationals still remain in 1st place in the NL East, only 1/2 game ahead of Atlanta. The Nats REALLY need their offense to come through

Rehabbing Nats- Day 2

Both Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel had great Double A stats today. Michael Morse went 2-3 with a HR, 2B and an RBI. Ankiel went 1-3 with a HR and 2 RBI. Both of these stats are promising because it shows that both the injuries these players were facing before are going, if not gone, away. Morse is hitting the bat well and his swings are looking like Morse from last year. Ankiel is seeing the ball well and is being patient at the plate. Both are good signs that these two guys will be with the Nats in this coming week.

John Lannan Requests Trade

    John Lannan has told Nationals GM Mike Rizzo that he would like to be traded according to an email he sent to the media, including Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. The left-hander was recently optioned to Triple-A despite his $5MM salary.

   "I believe that I belong in a big league rotation," said Lannan in an email according to Comak on Twitter. The club's fifth starter job went to Ross Detwiler in the wake of Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury. A number of teams expressed interest in acquiring Lannan last month, but Rizzo held on to him while insisting for fair value in return. The Nationals are under no obligation to satisfy his request

Cubs interested in John Lannan

 


   The Cubs have inquired about John Lannan this week, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Cubs have talked to the Nationals about Lannan and another left-hander: pitcher Tom Gorzelanny. Marlon Byrd came up in discussions between the two teams, Wittenmyer reports.

   Lannan requested a trade after being optioned to the minor leagues earlier this week. GM Mike Rizzo said there's "mild" interest in the 27-year-old, but manager Davey Johnson said the Nationals are "not trading him."

   John Lannan is a good guy and has been with the Nationals for the REALLY bad times. He was the Opening Day pitcher for 2 years but let's be honest, he's not a great pitcher. Lannan posted a 3.70 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings last year. He's a good number 5 pitcher in an organization that doesn't have much pitching. The Nationals have a rotation with Strausburg, Gonzalez, Zimmerman, and Jackson. Those are 4 really good pitchers and Lannan doesn't fit the bill for the 5th man in the rotation. Wang is expected to be back in late April and he's a Cy Young runner up pitcher (he was a runner up in 2007 and 2008, losing by a few points) Lannan just doesn't fit with the Nationals anymore and until the team has an injury, Lannan will only pitch in Triple A. He’ll earn $5MM in 2012 and will remain under team control in 2013, so the Nationals don't have to trade him. The Nats will trade him if they can get something good in return and personally any trade that involves Gorzelanny going to another team is supported fully by me

Nats win Opening Day game against Cubs!

    Ian Desmond is in a tough spot. He could easily be replaced by Steve Lomardozzi or Danny Espinosa as starting shortstop. Davey Johnson wants Ian Desmond to be an on base, run producing leadoff man for the Nationals. He did exactly that today on Opening Day. 





   Desmond had three hits, and his RBI single in the ninth inning delivered the winning run as Washington defeated the Cubs, 2-1, at Wrigley Field. Stephen Strasburg pitched seven superb innings in his first-career Opening Day start, allowing a run on five hits and striking out five batters. The run scored in the fourth inning, when Ian Stewart scored on a single by Marlon Byrd.


  The Nationals were able to tie the score in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Kerry Wood on the mound after Ryan Dempster's exit with one on and two out, the Nationals loaded the bases. Werth came through for the Nationals, drawing a walk, and scoring Desmond. The score was tied at 1 when the Nationals rallied off Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. With two outs in the ninth, Chad Tracy doubled to right field. Desmond followed and singled to right field, scoring Brett Carroll, who pinch-ran for Tracy.


   Brade Lidge came out for the bottom of the ninth and gave up one hit and striking out two, earning his first Nationals save.




The Nationals take on the Cubs again Saturday afternoon at 1:05pm at Wrigley Field

Nationals Rehab Assignments- Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel

   If you ask anyone in the Nationals organization how important Michael Morse is in the Nationals current plans, they'll tell you. HES VERY IMPORTANT! Morse was acquired by the Nats in a trade with Seattle in June 2009 and his stats from 2009 and 2010 weren't terrific.

   However, that all changed in 2011 when Morse smashed 31 HRs, 95 RBI and a batting average of .303. Suddenly the Nationals found a big power bat in their lineup. Then he got injuried during Spring Training and didn't play. This years Nationals NEED that power because this is the first time the Nationals are actually contenders. With Morse currently "injured" it really created a whole in the Nats lineup. The Nationals had Mark DeRosa start in LF in today's opener and Morse started in LF in Double A Harrisbug.

  Rick Ankiel has a long history in baseball. He was originally a pitcher and made his debut in 1999 and pitched until 2001 and then randomly again in 2004. Ankiel lost his ability to throw strikes as a pitcher and converted to the outfield. The Cardinals had him as an outfielder for 2 years before he went to Kansas City for 6 months and then traded to Atlanta. Anyway, The Nats signed him in 201, hoping for him to turn into a great Center Fielder. Well, they were wrong. Ankiel got injured and 2011 wasn't a great season at all.

  So why does he factor into 2012? Well for one Ankiel is a great sport and a great clubhouse present. Two, he is willing to accept his role as a "poorer" Center Fielder. The problem is he's not great from an offensive standpoint. His defense is AVERAGE to ABOVE AVERAGE but not fantastic. The Nationals don't have a center fielder so Ankiel would fit in a platoon role with Roger "The Shark" Bernadina, who is equally as bad. With Ankiel injured in Spring Training as well, the Nats outfield looks pathetic. Until Bryce Harper comes up (which I'm guessing he'll be up on June 2nd) the Nats are going to settle for below average center fielders.

 So, how did Morse do in his first rehab game? Not terrific. He went 0-3 with 2 strikeouts.

 Did Rick Ankiel do any better? Not really. Ankiel went 0-2 with a walk and 2 strikeouts

  Now, these stats don't mean much but still they aren't impressive. The good news is Morse will be ready to come off the DL on Tuesday (April 10) in time for the Nats game against the Mets and Ankiel will be ready on April 13, in time for the Reds. Both these guys, especially Morse, are BIG for the Nationals. Having them in a game could be the difference between playing October baseball (the playoffs) or sitting at home, waiting for next year.