Unlucky nights for the nats

The nats lost another unlucky game against the fish today, losing 3-2 in the 10th inning. John Lannan had a great game, striking out 8 in 6.1 innings and giving up 1 run. The nats got their offense going in the bottom of the 1st, with Nick Johnson singling to right field for Ryan Zimmerman. Zim hit one that looked like a 2B at first, and it was slicing away from Cameron Maybin in CF. He then dove out full extension and somehow caught the ball, saving at least a 3B and a run. The fish took the lead in the 4th on a solo HR by C John Baker. Then the nats took the lead in the bottom of the 4th by RBI singles by Jesus Flores and Alberto Gonzalez. That is when the fish started to become really lucky. The home plate umpire Tim Timmons was very inconsistent today- of course only to the Nationals. Even Manny got ejected on a heck of a pathetic called 3rd to Elijah Dukes. Jim Rigglman then became the manager for the rest of the game. The nats really got Rick Nolasco and started crushing baseball after baseball- later to become outs at the warning track. There were something like 3 innings where the nats had a runner on 3rd, and failed to score. In the top of the 9th, up 2-1, Hanrahan gave up a solo shot to Cody Ross, and the game was into extras. Nick Johnson crushed a line drive, caught by 1B Jorge Cantu, and then Zim hit a fly ball to right field which looked like a walk-off HR at first- only to be caught at the warning track. Then Jim Rigglman really made a bad call, bringing in Saul Rivera in the 10th, even though he wasn't that bad at all. He gave up a harmless ground ball and 2 little blop shots- which turned into a run somehow. Elijah Dukes lead off the ninth with a long fly ball almost a game-tying homer which turned into a double that hit in between 2 advertisment signs in left field. Then the nats went harmlessly in the rest of the inning.

The next day the nats also lost the next game 9-6 in another extra-inning-marathon. I didn't see the game but Austin Kearns had a grand slam in the 1st inning and the nats were up 6-0 early. Scott Olsen had a great performance, going 7 innings and giving up 3 runs, 2 earned. With the nats up 6-3 going into the 9th, Hanrahan faltered AGAIN. He blew another save, giving up a game tying 2 run shot by Jeremy Hermida to tie the game at 6. Then in the top of the 11th Jeremy Hermida hit another 3 run HR, this time giving the fish a 9-6 lead. For the 2nd night in a row, a great starting performance, a good offensive show, and a late breakdown by Joel Hanrahan occured.

In other news, SS Cristian Guzman has been placed on the 15 day DL, and IF Alex Cintron will be called up to replace him. Also Roger Bernadina is now on the DL. The injuries although haven't been as bad as last year, as long as starters are fine, and Alberto Gonzalez has done a great job replacing Cristian Guzman at SS. There is no recent news on Ryan Zimmerman and his long term deal.

Tomorrow there will be another day game, Daniel Cabrera VS Chris Volstad.

Hill might miss beginning of the season

Nats righty Shawn Hill might miss the beginning of the '09 season, feeling pain in his right arm during a bullpen session, before his scheduled start against the Tigers today. He was a late scratch, and Gustavo Chacin got the call. Hill, who pitched one inning Friday against the Astros, started to feel pain Sunday when he threw a bullpen session, but he didn't inform the team until the last minute. Hill wanted to pitch against the Tigers, but the Nats know what has happened in the past when they have been even the slightest risky when it comes to Hill. "Shawn was willing to throw, but we decided to send him over to see Dr. Andrews, who will give us an indication on what to do from now on," Manny said. "The good thing about it is it's early in camp. We still have four weeks to go. If it's not serious, Shawn will be ready to go for us." Even though Acta believes that Hill will be ready before April sixth, I wouldn't that surprised if he's gone for the year. "Obviously, I feel bad for the kid (37 games played in the last four years), because he has gone through it for a while now. Hopefully, he will come back with good news from Dr. Andrews," Acta said.

Even if he is healthy, Hill is not a candidate to make the rotation. Hill who has never been in the bullpen (37 G, 37 GS), I have always thought that he would be a good closer with his nasty slider, and possibly make a Kerry Wood-type transition. Manny also said if Hanrahan can't handle the closer's role or gets traded (good thing Bowden's not GM), they might look to Hill.

So far, the Nats are 3-4 in preseason play. The first game was an exhibition against Italy, in which they won a thriller, 9-6. I thought it wouldn't even be close, Italy only has a few players on its roster that are in the big leagues. Before the game, Elijah Dukes saw Roger Bernadina taking batting practice. Dukes noticed that outfielder Roger Bernadina was gripping the bat too tight and his elbows were too close to his body. Dukes wanted Bernadina to keep his hands back. The way Bernadina was holding the bat in the past had given him trouble hitting inside pitches. Then lator Dukes and Bernadina were in the starting lineup against Italy. In the game, Dukes had a 2-run triple, and a crushed solo homer to left. With two on and two outs in the ninth inning, the game tied at six, Bernadina, keeping his hands back, crushed a walk-off 3 run bomb. Bernadina went 3-5 in the game.

The nats then beat the Mets, 6-4. The nats had a couple of three run innings, and Johnson hit his second of the spring. The highlight of the day was Jordan Zimmermannnnnnnn, who threw three scoreless innings, and he has yet to give up a baserunner. Batters against him are 0-15 with 6 strikeouts and no walks. What happened to Bally-Star??? (3 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, BB)

The nats also lost that game against the Tigers, 10-2. Both Washington runs came in a three-batter stretch during the second inning, capped by a two-run single by Anderson Hernandez which scored Javier Valentin and Joel Guzman. Valentin and Elijah Dukes both had a hit and a walk.None of the people who pitched are going to make the 25-man roster anyway, except for Terrel Young who pitched a scoreless inning and has a ERA of 1.80.

The Nats will play the Orioles tomorrow, and Daniel Cabrera will start against his former club, at Camden Yards. The game will be televised on MASN, where new vision analyst Rob Dibble will make his Nats debut, I think... I'm not sure if the regular Nats-O's announcers will be broadcasting it.

There is no news on who the new GM will be, although Stan Kasten said that the Nats would be in good hands with Mike Rizzo, who will take over most of the GM job until a replacement is found. Getting rid of Bowden looks like Cordero will consider going back to Washington. Cordero was upset that Bowden announced last May that he would be non-tendered. Such an announcement is not made until the offseason. Cordero vowed not to come back to Washington if Bowden was the GM.

Last year at around this time I made a prediction of what the Nat's record would be. last year I said it was going to be 86-76, but I also said if all of their key players stay healthy. This year I think the nats are going to be 83-79, third/fourth in NL East.

Johnson won't accept backup role

Nick Johnson said recently that he will rather have a trade than accept a backup role. There are still five men (Dukes, Willingham, Milledge, Johnson, and Dunn) competing for four spots, which is the outfield and first base. I've decided that they have to get rid of either Lastings Milledge or Nick Johnson. Milledge would be hard to get rid of, considering Bowdon said he is in our long-term plans and Acta recently said Lastings would be our center fielder. Dunn and Dukes are already guaranteed a starting spot. Each of the five are too good to be a backup, yet Milledge is the worst. I hate how the Nats, to them, Milledge is a young, great slugger all-star, and Dukes is what? A nobody who's got arrested twice? Dukes is a stud, and they don't realize it. If nobody leaves, I can't imagine Lastings Milledge (below, on his check-swing) mis-playing another ball while a healthy Nick Johnson or Josh Willingham sitting on the bench. Also they're treating Austin Kearns as if he deverves to even compete to start? Kearns over Dukes?Kearns over Dunn??? Nick Johnson has a higher chance of getting traded, as for the second year in a row he said he will start or he will accept a trade. The Nats are starting to get really mad at him, as he has made eight major trips to the DL in his career. Reportedly, three teams looked at his medical record, including the Oakland Athletics, who have extreme interest in him. They also might actually mean it, because Jim Bowdon isn't their GM...

Even with that, it wouldn't be too bad to keep Milledge as a backup and if they keep all five, remembering that this is still a young team that is the most injury-prone in baseball. Not only if someone gets injured/traded in the outfield or first base, Milledge could step in but also at catcher. If Flores goes down, I don't see Montz or Nieves being able to be a starting catcher. Then, you could put Willingham at catcher and have a outfield of Dukes, Milledge, and Dunn. Although, Flores has never been injured in his career, excluding a cruel play by Chase Utley ( He dove into home, spikes up, on-purpose, after the game: "I didn't do anything").

That looks like it in the offseason for the Nats. Jim Bowdon said yesterday that they no longer had interest in Orlando Hudson. They still should have got a couple of stud relief pitchers. In the bullpen the nats are putting way too much pressure on Hanrahan, Shell, Mock, and probably Terrel Young. They need one more old (28-34 years old) relief pitcher, and maybe even Juan Cruz could help. You can tell that Chad Cordero is not coming back, because Dunn took his old number, 32. Dunn didn't say much while at his press conference, but some bad news is that you can tell Dunn is really disapointed that he came to Washington (59-102) instead of a contender. So pretty much the only other move this offseason for the nats would be a trade invlolving getting rid of Nick Johnson.

NatsFest

Yesterday, I went to the 1st annual NatsFest, held at Nationals Park. Overall, it was pretty good. I got a chance to get autographs from players, including Willie Harris, Garret Mock, Elijah Dukes, John Lannan, Terrel Young, Mike O'Conner, and Steven Shell. I also got a photograph with Ryan Zimmerman, and another one with Scotty Olsen and Hammer (Josh Willingham). It was cool to see the players, though the line was way too long. So, anyway, here was our day. So we arrive at Nats Park pretty early, and there is already a problem to be seen. They only have 2 check-in places, which means there were monstrous lines. So we (me, son, and friend) get in, and go immediatly to a talk by political writer George Will. This lady tells us the room is at full compacity, and we can't come in. I look inside. Maybe about 30 people, tops. So then at about 1:40 we go in line to have a autograph from Manny Acta, Scotty Olsen, and Josh Willingham. We waited forever, and eventually the Acta, Olsen, and Hammer session was over, at 2:30. Then Steven Shell, Willie Harris, Mike O'Conner, and John Lannan walked by us to take their place. All of the other nats fans couldn't care less, thinking it was some normal nats fans with jerseys on. Knowing Willie Harris is a really cool guy, as he goes by, I say "Hey Willie,". He turns around, gives me a sincere look, and says, " Hey, whats up, man." I get the autograph at about 3:10 ( an hour and a half of waiting) and go to a picture with Scotty Olsen and Hammer. We then went in the clubhouse, where everyone's locker and stuff is. It was very cool-looking, and right across the hall (but was blocked) was the conference room, which is where Acta spends his countless hours seeing if Dukes can calm down (never) and having a conversation with Kearns to see if he can actually hit a major league pitch.
Acta: "Austin, your 0-28, can you start hitting?" Kearnsy: " Sure. I will try my hardest every day. Notice how I'm not complaining and working hard?" Bowdon: "Well...Just because you were a Cincinnati Red and you didn't complain, I will sign you to a 6 year, 260 million dollar contract!" So Bowdon.
Then we went to a pic with Ryan Zimmerman, and I got a chance to shake his hand, his is about 3 times stronger than mine and his wrist was huge. I didn't say anything to him other than "Hey Ryan" and "Thanks". Now I think I should have told him about me calling his walk-off. Than I went to see and get a autograph from Garret Mock, Terrel Young, and Elijah Dukes. Dukes' arm muscle is huge. I didn't shake his hand, but now I wish I did. What I did do was ask him what outfield spot he prefers, and he replied a good attitude. " I don't even care where I play as long as I even can play," he said. So after that we left. Overall, there was a lot more nat's fans there than I expected. I proudly thought my son would be wearing the most Nationals, with a nats hat, a nats coat, and a Zimmerman jersey under the coat, but there were a lot of nats fans with gear on. This could mean a lot more nats fans in '09. I think a lot more players should come than just seven, but, overall, this is a great experience for fans to meet the players.

Outfield situation unclear

The Nats still are not sure who will be their starting outfielders in 2009, with spring training coming up shortly. Who I think will be their starters is Dukes in right, Milledge in center, and Willingham in left. They have a ton of righty outfielders, including Milledge, Willingham, Dukes, Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, Justin Maxwell, and if they sign him, Corey Patterson. Austin Kearns will compete for a outfield spot, although he is just a joke. He couldn't or wouldn't hit anything last year. It's ridiculous how the ownership, when being asked about Kearn's pathetic play, said he listens to his coaches and never complains. That absolute crap right there. So that means he is making four million dollars every year to be nice to the coaches, and make the Nats lose 10 more games? I've had enough with him. Every year they say he is going to post 20 home runs and 80 RBIs, and he's never close.Oh and yay, see that plan!(above) just stop right in front of the catcher! great idea! Just look at his numbers last year...... .217 average, .316 slugging percentage, only 7 home runs to go with 63 strikeouts... Wily Mo Pena is even less likely to win a starting spot, yet being a much better hitter than Kearns. Pena is a really underrated player. Going back to the last time he was healthy, he hit .293 with 7 home runs in 120 at-bats with the Nats at the end of the '07 season. Unlike Kearns, Pena actually does have an excuse for his poor play in 2008, playing with a shoulder injury the whole season. Even though the management hates him, I think they should at least him him a shot at starting, to see if he could do what he did in late '07, but I don't see that happening. Let's just hope the Nats don't sign Corey Patterson, as he has sucked in his career and is no more than a pinch-runner.
What looks like the three starting outfielders for the nats are all righties, so that means Willie Harris and Roger Bernadina will see lots of action. Thats just what I think the outfield will be going into spring training, but lots could happen, including still a possibility of signing a major free agent, such as Adam Dunn or Orlando Hudson. As I mentioned last post, they could've just said they had no intreast in him just to bring their price down, consitering Stan Kasten said recently Dunn and Hudson price was too much. Having a righty outfield means Nick Johnson has to stay healthy, or another righty in Willingham will take his place. The nats need another left-handed first basemen in case Johnson gets injured, consitering Da Meat hook gets released and Kory Casto is terrible. Overall, even if the nats don't get anybody, they still have a solid outfield for 2009. In other news.....................................

• I will be going to the first natsfest on sunday with my son!