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Washington Nationals: June 2011

Bringing Winning Back

Posted on June 20, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Apparently, I'm just not supposed to be on the wrong side of the Mississippi when it's baseball season.  The Cards went out and dropped the seven games I missed while spending time in Ohio, yet won two dramatic ones when I was back ensconced in my home this weekend.  Let's do the wrapup of the last half of the week, then get into some of the more current topics.  Remember, I didn't watch much of any of these games (even this weekend was sporadic) so if I'm completely off base, be sure to let me know in the comments.


Hero: Jon Jay.  Two of the team's three hits, and since nobody walked in the game, it was pretty much all that the Cards could muster.

Goat: Ryan Franklin.  Kyle McClellan didn't pitch all that well, but Franklin made sure there was no rally to be had, completely blowing up with four earned in his inning and a third.

Notes: McClellan had some defensive problems behind him, including two errors from Albert Pujols at third base, and was limited in his pitch count in his first start off the disabled list.  Hopefully he'll be stronger tomorrow against the Phillies.


Hero: Yadier Molina. His home run in the ninth gave the team some hope, pushing it to extra innings.

Goat: Fernando Salas. Salas gave up the game-losing long ball.  While Danny Espinosa has a number of homers this year, he's a guy that you probably should be able to get when the game is on the line.

Notes: The team rallied, which was nice to see.  Homers by Pujols and Molina erased the deficit, but they never could get over the top.  A strong game from Matt Holliday as well in his first game back from the land of the injured.


Hero: Lance Berkman. Only one hit, but a big one as he drove in three of the four runs.

Goat: Albert Pujols. No hits for Albert (though he drew a walk) and had the error that allowed the go-ahead run to score.

Notes: Tough game for Chris Carpenter to lose, apparently.  Lots of raves over how he pitched, but he did allow 10 hits.  I know one of the major tenants of modern sabermetrics is that a pitcher has no control of where the ball is hit or if it falls for a hit, but still, that's a lot of dinks and dribblers.  Still, I didn't see that one and it may have been that he was much more effective than the stat line indicates.


Hero: Matt Holliday. Game winning home run in the eighth will do that for a guy.

Goat: Jake Westbrook. There wasn't an obvious goat in this one.  Westbrook did well, but that last home run to Alex Gordon almost added to the losing streak.

Notes: Great work by Colby Rasmus to get on base in the eighth against a lefty.  Good night for Ryan Theriot as well, with two hits in the leadoff slot.  Bullpen did a very solid job as well, with Salas coming in and locking things down.


Hero: Skip Schumaker. Game winning home run in the ninth will do that for a guy.

Goat: Fernando Salas.  Giving up a game tying home run to Alcides Escobar?  I know Escobar's been hot, but he's not a home run hitter.  Salas couldn't hit his target at all in that at-bat and finally paid the price.

Notes: Pujols was having a stellar day until he had to leave (and we'll get to that).  Andrew Brown had a nice day also, with a couple of hits and two RBI.  Jaime Garcia was inefficient, though he left with a lead.  The problem is he left with one out in the sixth, which left a lot of innings for the bullpen.  I want to talk some more about the pitching, but that may have to wait until tomorrow's post.

In the last week, there have been a lot of roster moves. To sum them up, besides the activations of McClellan and Holliday, Tyler Greene, Mark Hamilton, Lance Lynn, Matt Carpenter have been sent down to Memphis, while Maikel Cleto and Pete Kozma have come back up.  The Cards are back to the 13 pitcher roster makeup, but with the starters not going deep in games, it's more of a necessity now that it was last time.

Now we get to the really big story.  Pujols left yesterday's game with a wrist injury after being run into by Wilson Betemit.  I didn't see that play, being out at my parents and following the US Open with my father, but noted on the box score that Pujols had gone out of the game.  As Bernie Miklasz writes, it was a very scary moment.  I'm sure so many people flashed back to Scott Rolen and Hee Seop Choi and we know how bad that situation was.  Right now, the positive news is that it looks like it's just a sprain, though there will be more evaluation done today to see how severe it is.

The Cards are in a better position to replace Pujols's production than in some years, with Holliday continuing to hit and having Berkman slide into the first base slot.  That said, Pujols has brought the mystique back, causing pitchers to focus on how they are pitching and who they want to beat them.  A little bit of that swagger, that intimidation, is gone without Pujols.

You hope it's a mild thing, where he can miss the Philadelphia series and have no lingering effects.  Even a 15-day DL stint would be better than him playing through it with sapped power and the potential for a long-term issue.  However, it's not broken, so we have to be thankful for that and hope the team can come together and play good baseball for however long he's off the field.

Speaking of injured players (which we've done a lot this season), it looks like the Cards may be getting a bit healthy.  David Freese will be playing for Memphis starting tonight and Nick Punto will be playing in Springfield this week.  Both hope to be ready next Monday and could really help out the team, especially if Pujols is out for an extended period of time.  It'd be nice to see this team at fairly full strength, wouldn't it?

Off-day today, so we'll take a look at the opener of the Philly series tomorrow.  Thanks to all of those that so capably filled in while I was gone and I hope you aren't disappointed by the downgrade in quality today!


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Doing My Part

Posted on June 15, 2011 at 9:28 AM
In my travels, I have noted that those that wear the Cardinal have not tasted victory since I crossed over the mighty river.  So I have brought my banner down from my redoubt to fortify the men and encourage them in their glorious battle for the divisional crown.

(Sorry about that.  I started Game of Thrones during this vacation and am about halfway through.  It's possible that's colored my thinking a bit.)

Before I get into my admittedly less-than-knowledgeable discussion about the recent four-game losing streak (and the win against Houston before I started my trip), I want to give my thanks to the guest bloggers that have filled in this week and express my appreciation to those that are coming the rest of the week.  My internet access has been irregular, but I've been able to use the UCB App (available for iPhone and Android--load it if you haven't!) to see the quality stuff that's been written here so far.

So, recap time:


Hero: Lance Berkman.  Tiebreaking single plus a long ball later.  I'm thinking Berkman wishes he could tow Minute Maid Park around and use it in every game.

Goat: Mark Hamilton.  Went 0-3, though he did score a run and drive in one.  Tough game to figure out a goat for.

Notes: Albert Pujols moved past Lou Brock for second on the all-time team doubles list.  Seriously, the man is passing legends and still has likely half his career to go.  Ryan Theriot went deep, which means you know it was a heck of an offensive night.  And, unlike some games we could name, the bullpen did fairly well, though Miguel Batista still allowed a run.  Also nice to see Lance Lynn get his first win, as he worked out of some jams to limit damage.


Hero: Ryan Theriot.  His two hits were about the only positive that could be taken away from this game.

Goat: Pick a pitcher.  I'll go with Kyle Lohse, since four runs in five innings is still tough to come back from, but Ryan Franklin and Brian Tallet both didn't cover themselves in glory.

Notes: Tony La Russa managed his 5000th game, which was neat.  Just another thing for the Hall of Fame plaque.  Otherwise, though, it was a miserable game made worse by the fact that, if the Cards really wanted a chance to win the series with Milwaukee's top two starters coming up next, they really had to beat Chris Narveson.  To be obliterated like that didn't set a great tone for an important series.


Hero: Skip Schumaker.  The offense was pretty spread-out, but Skip had two hits, didn't strike out, and scored a run.  Those kind of days have been few and far between for Schumaker so far this season.

Goat: Chris Carpenter.  I know he's pitching better than his record indicates, but to give up a 2-1 lead by immediately allowing four more runs is a tough thing to swallow.  You just feel like classic Chris Carpenter would have been a bulldog with that lead, leaving nothing to chance.  Now, well, the bulldog is there at times, but sometimes it seems to be napping.

Notes: Lance Berkman got a long ball off of Zach Greinke and the Cards did take a lead on him, so it wasn't like he completely dominated.  Still, Greinke is a tough one to completely take out.  On a personal note, I was able to see the first inning and a half of this one on MLB Network (my first ever glimpse at the station, wish we had it on our cable system), my oasis in time as sojourner from Cardinal Nation.


Hero: Colby Rasmus.  Two hits, a run, and an RBI.

Goat: Jake Westbrook.  Given a 3-0 lead, he still managed only five innings and didn't leave with it.  The bullpen did a superb job, but the damage had been done.

Notes: Extremely solid work out of Jason Motte, Fernando Salas and Eduardo Sanchez.  Are we getting back to the Young Pen/Old Pen split, where the youngsters are good and the oldsters, well, aren't?  Oh, and the Cards fell out of first place with this loss.


Hero: Albert Pujols.  Only one hit, but it was a two-run blast in the first that got things going.  Two walks later on also seem to indicate that we have the real Albert going now.

Goat: Miguel Batista. Jaime Garcia leaves with a 6-2 lead, but the bullpen apparently has a grievance against Garcia, as they've now blown 5 wins for him, the most in the bigs.  Will this be enough to crack TLR's loyalty to The Poet?  Kyle McClellan is due back today and I have not heard the corresponding roster move as of yet.

Notes: Another home run by Lance Berkman.  He's already put up more numbers than some of us thought he'd get all year.  Trever Miller was his normal, ineffective self (does anyone have more 0 IP outings this year in baseball?)

I see that a few roster moves have been made, with Allen Craig hitting the DL and Andrew Brown getting the callup (and the start last night).  Brown is short-term, I'm sure, going back tomorrow, but it's nice that he's gotten a taste.  Also, Mitchell Boggs has returned with Lynn returning to Memphis.  The pen will need him.

So that's how we got to this moment.  Now we'll see McClellan make his return tonight and Matt Holliday his tomorrow, so the team is getting a little healther.  Will that be enough to snap this string?  The Cubs have been doing the Cards a favor and beating on the Brewers, but that won't last forever.

Hopefully when I return to you Sunday or Monday, we'll have much better things to talk about.

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Series Preview: Cardinals at Washington Nationals

Posted on June 14, 2011 at 12:26 PM

Continuing the theme of "Guest Blogger Week", my name is David Nichols, editor of Nats News Network, a credentialed independent website dedicated to the constructive criticism of the Washington Nationals. You can keep up with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter @NatsNewsNetwork.

The Washington Nationals host the St. Louis Cardinals for a three-game set this week from Nationals Park.  The Nats come off a grueling 11-game road trip to Arizona, San Francisco and San Diego, notching their first winning multi-city road trip since April 2008, going 6-5.  Washington plays 23 of their next 29 at home, and with a season record of 30-36 (fifth in N.L. East), hope to challenge the .500 mark, starting with a nine-game homestand with the Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners.

 

The Nats expect to welcome Face of the Franchise ™ Ryan Zimmerman back to the lineup, after a two-month lay-off following abdominal surgery.  He originally injured himself during spring training, but aggravated it making a head-first slide into second against the New York Mets on April 8.  The primary diagnosis at that point was a strain, and rest would take care of the problem.  Still shelved two weeks later, Zimmerman visited a specialist who recommended surgery.  Zimmerman, 26, has played in just eight games for the Nats this year but was hitting .357/.486/.536 at the time of his injury.

 

His return comes not a moment too soon, as the Nationals offense has struggled mightily this season.  They are 14th in the N.L. in runs per game (3.71), with a team slash line of .229/.301/.661.  The Nats are middle of the pack in home runs (55 - eighth in the league), but 13th in total base runners.  Washington has scored three or fewer runs in eight of their last ten games.

 

The offense was built around the veterans in the middle of the lineup: Zimmerman, Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche.  But Zimmerman's been out since the second week of the season, and LaRoche played on one arm (.172/.288/.258, 5 HR, 19 RBI) until it was revealed that the "minor" rotator cuff tear he was diagnosed with in spring training was really a significant tear of both the rotator cuff and labrum - he's been on the D.L. with no timetable to return since May 21. 

 

Werth's performance has disappointed with little-to-no protection in the lineup, hitting .236/.337/.406, and manager Jim Riggleman actually had Werth leading off during the recently concluded San Diego series to try to jumpstart the veteran.  The move was ineffective, as Werth was hitless in two games from the leadoff spot and is hitting .121/.302/.212 in the month of June with just two extra base hits and no home runs.  In fact, he hasn't homered since hitting two bombs against Baltimore May 20, his 32nd birthday.

 

The rest of the Nats lineup is comprised of journeymen and promising first or second-year players.  Former Cardinal Rick Ankiel (.204/.271/.276, 1 HR, 9 RBIs) splits time with Roger Bernadina (.246/.308/.320 with eight steals in 133 plate appearances) in center field.  Laynce Nix, with nine homers and 25 RBIs, has been a revelation in left field while Michael Morse continues to surprise at first base, hitting .300/.345/.517 with a team-leading 10 home runs and 36 RBIs. 

 

Washington is especially young up the middle with true rookies Wilson Ramos at catcher and Danny Espinosa at second base joining second-year shortstop Ian Desmond. Desmond is 18-of-21 in stolen base opportunities, Espinosa is providing some much-needed pop (10 home runs) and Ramos has caught half of all stolen base attempts against (12-of-24).

 

Your pitching probables for the mid-week series:

 

Tue:  Jaime Garcia (6-2, 3.20) v. Yunesky Maya (0-1, 5.40)

Maya, a 29-year old Cuban defector, started the season in the minor leagues and was recalled when Tom Gorzelanny went down with arm soreness.  He's been pretty good through the lineup the first time, but opposing batters are hitting .364/.440/.545 off Maya the second trip through the order.  He throws several breaking balls, but his 89-MPH fastball is flat and he needs to have supreme control over it to be successful.  Maya had a terrific start last time out against the Giants (one earned run on four hits and a walk in six innings), but is still looking for his first Major League win in ninth career start.

 

Wed:  Kyle McClellan (6-2, 3.86) v. Livan Hernandez (3-8, 4.15)

What can be said about Livan Hernandez that hasn't already been said?  He's the same old Livo, chucking up 83-MPH fastballs and 65-MPH curves as he always has.  Sometimes they get hit at people, sometimes they don't.  It's really that simple.  He doesn't walk too many hitters - though he will pitch around big hitters - and he doesn't strike too many of them out either.

 

Thu:  Kyle Lohse (7-3, 2.67) v. John Lannan (4-5, 3.60)

Like Livo, Lannan doesn't strike anyone out, but his sinker is one of the best in the league, and when hitters are pounding the top half of the ball into the dirt allowing the ground balls to be fielded by the Nats' increasingly excellent infield defense (no errors in last 11 games), Lannan can be successful.  He walks too many (3.7 per nine), but Lannan has been on a tear recently.  In his last four starts he's given up a total of two earned runs, lowering his ERA from 5.03 to his current 3.60.

 

BULLPEN:  The Nationals' bullpen is one of their strengths.  The closer is Drew Storen, a 23-year old in his first full season.  He was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2009 draft, signed quickly, and made an impressive and fast rise to the Major Leagues.  He's got a 96-MPH fastball that he can paint the black with, a slider that he bears hard inside against lefties, and an improving change. 

 

Tyler Clippard is the set-up man, and he uses a rising 93-MPH fastball and devastating changeup to be equally effective against righties and lefties, striking out 11.2 per nine innings.  Veteran Todd Coffey (2.13 ERA, 0.987 WHIP) is the seventh inning guy and Sean Burnett (5.96 ERA), who has struggled of late, is the Nats bullpen lefty.




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Heroes
Matt Holliday (5)
Matt Carpenter (4)
Rafael Furcal (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jon Jay (3)
Kyle Lohse (3)
Lance Lynn (3)
Yadier Molina (3)
David Freese (2)
Adam Wainwright (2)
Lance Berkman (1)
Allen Craig (1)
Shane Robinson (1)
Fernando Salas (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Hero: Lance Berkman (24)
2010 Top Heroes: Matt Holliday and Albert Pujols (24)
2009 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (28)
2008 Top Hero: Albert Pujols (25)

Goats
Matt Holliday (4)
Carlos Beltran (3)
David Freese (3)
Jaime Garcia (3)
Jason Motte (3)
Marc Rzepczynski (3)
Adam Wainwright (3)
Rafael Furcal (2)
Tyler Greene (2)
J.C. Romero (2)
Fernando Salas (2)
Mitchell Boggs (1)
Matt Carpenter (1)
Tony Cruz (1)
Daniel Descalso (1)
Jon Jay (1)
Erik Komatsu (1)
Kyle Lohse (1)
Victor Marte (1)
Eduardo Sanchez (1)
Jake Westbrook (1)

2011 Top Goat: Ryan Theriot (12)
2010 Top Goat: Brendan Ryan (14)
2009 Top Goats: Rick Ankiel and Todd Wellemeyer (13)
2008 Top Goat: Troy Glaus (13)

2012 Happy Flights
Happy Flights: 7
Happy Flight Opportunities: 12
Happy Flight %: 58%

Through 5/20

    Cardinal Nation Approval Ratings (March 2012)
    Adam Wainwright 91.9% (down 2.8%)
    Chris Carpenter 90.1% (up 3.2%)
    Lance Berkman 88.6%
    Tony La Russa 88.2% (up 17.4%)
    Yadier Molina 87.4% (up 3.7%)
    Matt Holliday 87.3% (down 3.8%)
    David Freese 85.5%
    John Mozeliak 85.4% (up 13.3%)
    Mike Shannon 85.3% (up 0.4%)
    Jose Oquendo 84.7%
    Derrick Goold 82.8% (down 5.0%)
    Mark McGwire 82.6% (up 20.1%)
    John Rooney 81.5% (down 2.8%)
    Mike Matheny 81.1%
    Bill DeWitt 79.8% (up 8.8%)
    United Cardinal Bloggers 78.9%
    Skip Schumaker 73.3% (up 9.2%)
    Jim Hayes 71.9% (down 4.2%)
    Jon Jay 71.1%
    B.J. Rains 69.5% (down 0.9%)
    Kyle Lohse 68.9% (up 13.8%)
    Dan McLaughlin 68.0%
    Joe Strauss 67.7% (up 10.2%)
    Ricky Horton 67.5% (down 1.6%)
    Al Hrabosky 66.4% (up 3.2%)
    Albert Pujols 54.9% (down 45.5%)
    Colby Rasmus 46.5% (down 35.3%)

    2011
    Dave Duncan 87.9% (up 0.9%)
    Matthew Leach 85.5%
    Pop Warner 76.7%
    Ryan Franklin 72.8% (up 3.1%)
    John Vuch 68.9%
    Jeff Luhnow 66.4%
    Dan Lozano 58.7%

    2009
    Rick Ankiel 83.9%
    Chris Duncan 69.1%


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