Its one step forward and two steps back for the Washington Nationals right now.
Positives:
Strasburg is back from Tommy John surgery and is still lights out
Bryce Harper is playing well and has not been rattled by the media or the major leagues
They have the lowest starting pitching ERA in all of baseball
ESPN was in town last night to broadcast their game in prime time
Negatives:
Ryan Zimmerman has been on the DL
Michael Morse has yet to play in a game this season due to injury. He was arguably their best hitter last year.
Jayson Werth broke his left wrist last night and there is no timetable for his return
Although they were playing in prime time last night, the Phillies reigned supreme
Adam LaRoche has missed three of the last four games with injury
The Washington Nationals looked to be the real deal and it appeared to be their year to possibly make a run at the division title with the Phillies having injury problems of their own. Now both the Phils and Nats are both dealing with major injuries. Maybe the Nationals need to hire a new trainer.
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Nationals. Show all posts
Monday, May 7, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Bryce Harper
The Washington Nationals brought Bryce Harper to the major leagues to play in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night. The previous day, he was playing for the Syracuse Chiefs and the game was snowed out. The very next day was spent flying over to Los Angeles and arriving at 2:00 A.M., then preparing for his major league debut the same day. Harper went 1 - 3 with an RBI. He also displayed his arm strength by throwing an absolute bullet to Wilson Ramos. The runner would have been out, but Ramos dropped the ball.
This should be the beginning of a very successful career for Harper. Its hard to believe that he is only 19 years old. Most people at that age are almost ready to finish their freshman year in college. He is playing in the MLB and needs to make sure to enjoy it and have fun. If he puts unecessary pressure on himself, he will not succeed. He has a long career ahead of him and needs to play the game for the right reasons.
Here is the link to the amazing throw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGj8dwlMUo
This should be the beginning of a very successful career for Harper. Its hard to believe that he is only 19 years old. Most people at that age are almost ready to finish their freshman year in college. He is playing in the MLB and needs to make sure to enjoy it and have fun. If he puts unecessary pressure on himself, he will not succeed. He has a long career ahead of him and needs to play the game for the right reasons.
Here is the link to the amazing throw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyGj8dwlMUo
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| He also made an amazing catch against the wall while playing center field. |
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Wright brakes his pinkie
David Wright of the New York Mets broke his pinkie finger on his right hand sliding back into first base in a game against the Washington Nationals. This is the worst news possible for the Mets at this point. Wright has been on fire this season. A broken pinkie would mean adjustments to a swing that is perfect right now. The Mets superstar played through a stress fracture in his back last year and only batted .226.
Mets fans are finally excited and this is not what they needed. Terry Collins said he is not sure if Wright will go on the DL or not. Hopefully he can play around the injury. When he is at the plate, he could leave the pinkie extended off the bat and that should not be to difficult. The problem will arise when he is playing defense. All of your fingers are needed when throwing a baseball and if the swelling goes down, he should be able to play. Wright is being fitted for a specially made splint for the pinkie in Manhattan. Lets hope he will be able to play through this injury.
Mets fans are finally excited and this is not what they needed. Terry Collins said he is not sure if Wright will go on the DL or not. Hopefully he can play around the injury. When he is at the plate, he could leave the pinkie extended off the bat and that should not be to difficult. The problem will arise when he is playing defense. All of your fingers are needed when throwing a baseball and if the swelling goes down, he should be able to play. Wright is being fitted for a specially made splint for the pinkie in Manhattan. Lets hope he will be able to play through this injury.
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| As you can see in this picture, the ball is resting on his right pinkie finger. |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Mets Are Undefeated!
That's right, my New York Mets are undefeated four games through the season!
Fun Fact:
New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers: 7 - 1
Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies: 3 - 9
They moved the fences in at Citi Field and its their pitching that is winning them ball games. Here are the scores of their games:
vs. Atlanta: 1 - 0
vs. Atlanta: 4 - 2
vs. Atlanta: 7 - 5
vs. Washington: 4 - 3
Even in the game that was 7 - 5, Jonathon Niese took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Mike Pelfrey pitched decently well last night in their win over the Nationals. He was bending, but he never broke. He allowed 10 hits and walked only one batter. That turns out to be a WHIP of 1.94, which is a very high WHIP. Daniel Murphy, whose defense was being questioned, made a great diving play right behind second base to prevent the Nationals from scoring late in the game. He then came up and delivered the game winning hit, a line drive into right field. Mets fans left Citi Field chanting, "Undefeated! Undefeated!" showing that people are still excited about this team, which is what is needed after years of not being competitive.
Fun Fact:
New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers: 7 - 1
Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies: 3 - 9
They moved the fences in at Citi Field and its their pitching that is winning them ball games. Here are the scores of their games:
vs. Atlanta: 1 - 0
vs. Atlanta: 4 - 2
vs. Atlanta: 7 - 5
vs. Washington: 4 - 3
Even in the game that was 7 - 5, Jonathon Niese took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Mike Pelfrey pitched decently well last night in their win over the Nationals. He was bending, but he never broke. He allowed 10 hits and walked only one batter. That turns out to be a WHIP of 1.94, which is a very high WHIP. Daniel Murphy, whose defense was being questioned, made a great diving play right behind second base to prevent the Nationals from scoring late in the game. He then came up and delivered the game winning hit, a line drive into right field. Mets fans left Citi Field chanting, "Undefeated! Undefeated!" showing that people are still excited about this team, which is what is needed after years of not being competitive.
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| Mets fans finally have a reason to smile. |
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Opening Day (Technically) and player rankings
Here is your list of players from 151 - 200.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7740507/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-151-200
Who do you think will come in at number one? Or are there any suprises on this list? Bryce Harper is ranked at 190 and hasn't played in the major leagues. Fair or foul?
On a real baseball note, today is Opening Day! Kind of. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners played the first game of the season over in Japan today. Ichiro went 4 - 5 with an RBI in the game. Not a bad start for the Japanese player. Felix Hernandez was strong in his first outing. He threw eight innings while allowing only five hits. He struck out six and allowed one earned run. They went on to win the game in 11 innings thanks to Dustin Ackley. The final score was 3 -1.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7740507/ranking-top-500-major-league-baseball-players-2012-nos-151-200
Who do you think will come in at number one? Or are there any suprises on this list? Bryce Harper is ranked at 190 and hasn't played in the major leagues. Fair or foul?
On a real baseball note, today is Opening Day! Kind of. The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners played the first game of the season over in Japan today. Ichiro went 4 - 5 with an RBI in the game. Not a bad start for the Japanese player. Felix Hernandez was strong in his first outing. He threw eight innings while allowing only five hits. He struck out six and allowed one earned run. They went on to win the game in 11 innings thanks to Dustin Ackley. The final score was 3 -1.
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| Ichiro in Japan. |
Monday, February 27, 2012
Zimmerman Gets Paid
Ryan Zimmerman has signed a six year, $100 million extension with the Washington Nationals. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause. He has now become one of six players that has a contract through the 2019 baseball season. "I've wanted to be the guy that everyone looks to. I've wanted to be the so-called leader. I relish being that guy. I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way," said Zimmerman. This all but guarantee's that Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, and Bryce Harper will all play in the same game, at the same time, on the same field, on the same team.
Most deals that guarantee one player so much money and are for long amounts of time are not reasonable and they are ridiculous (See Albert Pujols). But Zimmerman is a complete player in every sense of the word. He is easily one of the top three defensive third baseman in the game, if not the best. He can also do some real damage with the bat. He is a career .288 hitter, which is impressive for a guy who hits about 20 - 25 home runs a year. Another great thing about Zimmerman is his durability. In his seven year career, he plays in about 120 games a season. That number is misleading though because in 2005 he only played in 20 games because he was a late season call up. Its also lower because this past season he only played in 101 games because of an abdominal strain. Either way, at only 27 years old, Zimmerman deserves this deal and will earn every penny.
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| Ryan Zimmerman |
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