There are three teams in the National League with a worse record then the Washington Nationals (22-30), all of which play in the NL West. The San Diego Padres(19-33) are in dead last of them, and are set to host the Nats for a three game series. The Padres have quietly self-destructed at an alarming rate this year, fallowing what was statistically a worse collapse last season then the Mets suffered. They have preformed awfully, taking a playoff caliber team to have the second worst record in baseball in just one season. The Padres are currently in panic mode, and need to turn their season around.
The Nats on the other hand are playing .500 baseball since their terrible nine game losing streak earlier in the year. While their line up is banged up, and their bullpen is slumping, the once depressingly bad line up is starting to show signs of life. Lastings Milledge is hitting the ball, Ryan Zimmerman is batting .300 this month, and Elijah Dukes is actually making contact! The Nats will need this improved hitting against a solid pitching club in the Padres.
Padres Last Series
The Padres are coming off a series that held an 18 inning thriller in the finale. The Padres had lost two of the first three games against Cincinnati at home, but it took a three run walk off homer from Adrian Gonzalez in the bottom of the 18th to be able to split the series with the 
Reds. It was a much needed victory for San Diego as they had seen more then their fare share of struggles in the last week.
The Padres saw two of their players go on the DL at the hand of Albert Pujols. A line drive of his bat connected directly with Chris Young’s face forcing him to go on the DL, and in the same inning Fat Albert took out the Padres catcher Josh Bard putting him on the DL as well. These injuries put a serious strain on San Diego as they had a long, personnel consuming series with the Reds.
Who’s hot:
Adrian Gonzalez- 7/19, 3 2B , 2 HR, 6 RBI
Kevin Kouzmanoff- 7/18, 5 R, 3 HR, 4 RBI
Who’s not:
Khalil Greene-4/20, 10 K, 0 BB, 2 HR
Probable Starters
Shawn Hill (0-1, 4.08 ERA) vs. Randy Wolf (3-4, 4.76 ERA)
Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.13 ERA) vs. Shawn Estes (1-0, 2.33 ERA)
John Lannan (4-5, 3.57 ERA) vs. Wilfredo Ledezma (0-2, 4.65 ERA)
Meet Adrian Gonzalez
Adrian Gonzalez was the first overall pick in the 2000 draft by the Florida Marlins out of high school. With his draft status he became the first infielder to be drafted number one overall since 
Alex Rodriguez in 1994, and was hoped by many to be the face of a new rebuilding Marlins franchise. However a wrist injury in 2003 led the Marlins to trade him to the Texas Rangers for the now in jail Ugueth Urbina.
Gonzalez played part time for Texas in 2004-2005 until he was traded in one of the more lopsided trades of the decade. The Rangers shipped off All-Star caliber Gonzalez and Cy- Young caliber Chris Young to the Padres for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. This put Gonzalez in a situation where he could play behind a solid veteran Ryan Klesko, however a shoulder injury to the former All-Star trusted Gonzalez in the starting position. The Padres have never looked back…
In his first full season as Padre, at the age of 24, Gonzalez batted a cool .304 with 24 homers, 38 doubles and 82 RBI. While his batting average dropped to .282 in 2007, his power again improved with 30 homers, 46 doubles, and 100 RBIs. His combination of youth and success at the major league level has impressed many who believe he can be a cornerstone of this franchise for years to come. His gold glove caliber first base and his smooth swing brings excitement to baseball in Southern California, which has needed it for years.
What makes Gonzalez home run count even more impressive is that he has averaged 27 homers a year in extremely pitcher friendly PETCO Park. His high double count also excites scouts who believe that those gapers will turn to homers as he matures. With this he reminds me a lot of former slugger Rafael Palmeiro. Palmeiro too had struggles with his first team (the Cubs) but found his niche when he got the starting job in Texas at the age of 24. Also like Gonzalez, Palmeiro started to show solid power between the ages of 25-26, but still had more doubles power until he matured. If the Padres have a Palmeiro in the making, we may see a future hall of famer in the works who will annually bat .300 with 35 home runs.
Gonzalez at age:
24- .304, 24 HR, 38 2B, 82 RBI 
25- .282, 30 HR, 46 2b, 100 RBI
26- .282, 14 HR, 13 2b, 43 RBI (on pace for 43 HR, 40 2B,133 RBI)
27- ?????
Palmeiro at age:
24- .319, 14 HR, 35 2B, 89 RBI
25- .322, 26 HR, 49 2B, 88 RBI
26- .268, 22 HR, 27 2B, 85 RBI
27- .295, 37 HR, 40 2B, 105 RBI
What to look for
The Nats are coming off of a four game series with Milwuakee, and has only had one day off since May 5th. They are traveling 3000 miles to San Diego for a 3 game series without a day of rest. I’d be very surprised of the Nats (especially the older ones) will be ready to play tonight after such a long road trip. Expect the Nats to be a little tired, and a little jet lagged for their first start. The good news is Shawn Hill took his last start off so he should be as fresh as anyone.
Elijah Dukes is, “Hot,” batting 3/10 in his last three games. The Nats Blog predicted that he may perform better with higher Job security now that Kearns is out. Hopefully this trend continues, if the young Dukes and Milledge could start playing to some potential, it could really energize the Nats into a summer run. Talented youth is always a feel good bonus for a team that is struggling, and even if it doesn’t produce more wins, it will give Nats fans comfort that the team is moving in the right direction.
The Nats are only 3-10 at PETCO Park in their short history. The Nats are only 9-15 on the road this year and are traveling 3000 miles for this game. Shawn Hill is 0-1 on the road this year with a 6.46 ERA and a .358 batting average against.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Nats vs. Padres series preview
Friday, May 23, 2008
Nats vs. Brewers Series Preview
Last season the Milwaukee Brewers (22-25) recorded their best start in years putting many Brew Crew Fans into an early frenzy. The young team faltered down the line and missed the playoffs, leaving many hopeful that this season with some added maturity they could make a run at the post season. Things haven’t gone as planned, the Brewers have hit but not pitched, and the owner has put manager Ted Yost on the hot seat.
The Washington Nationals (20-28) are coming into this series after a disappointing stint against the Phillies where they lost two of three. The Nats had looked to continue playing .500 baseball since their early 9 game losing streak but got pounded back into place by the Philadelphia line up Tuesday night getting obliterated 12-2. The Nats need to take the better end of this four game series to save their season, they can’t fall 10 games below .500 if they want any amount of respect or to be attractive to free agents.
Brewers Last Series
Milwaukee pitched well this week en route to taking two out of three from their division rival 
Pittsburgh. Manny Para and Ben Sheets both recorded good starts for the Brewers, while sub Mendoza Line Rickie Weeks woke up in the leadoff spot and helped the team produce runs. Even in their loss last night the Brewers previously slumping hitters got involved as Bill Hall and Prince Fielder woke up. The Brewers have a scary line up if they ever start to work on all cylinders together with a more then able pitching staff, they could do good things.
Who’s Hot?
Rickie Weeks- 5/12, 2 HR, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 SB
Bill Hall- 5/8, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB
Who’s Not?
No one…
Probable Starters
Jeff Suppan (2-3, 4.78 ERA) vs. Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.34 ERA)
Seth Mclung (1-1, 3.54 ERA) vs. John Lannan (4-4, 3.40 ERA)
Manny Parra (2-2, 4.40 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (6-3, 3.16 ERA)
Ben Sheets (5-1, 2.92 ERA) vs. Jason Bergmann (1-1, 5.47 ERA)
Get Out to the Ball Park
Everyone should make an effort to get to the ball park this long weekend. The Brewers are an exciting young team and should be a lot of fun to watch, I know I’m always intrigued by young all stars and always want a chance to get to see them play. They’re obviously fronted by last years rookie of the year Ryan Braun, the 24 year old hit .324 last year with 34 homers and is fallowing it up with a solid sophomore year. They also boast the Cecil Fielder upgrade, Prince Fielder. Prince has been struggling this season but last year earned some MVP votes batting .268 with 50 homers and 119 RBI’s.
A notch below the Brewers boast Corey Hart, is a 6-6 right fielder with speed and potential power. He’s batting a solid .305 this season. The Brewers also have the fast and dynamic Bill Hall, Mike Cameron, and Rickie Weeks.
While these players will be fun to watch it will also be essential the Nats pitchers find ways to 
neutralize them. The hitting for Washington has been way too poor to get into a slugfest with this team and the Brewers are too deep to pitch around just one batter.
(The Milwaukee sausages may make the trip to Washington to race the presidents!)
What to look for:
With Kearns out for a while, Elijah Dukes will get the permanent nod in right. It’s possible that with that bit of confidence that he may perform better, which wouldn’t be hard to do. Elijah however has never had great success at the major league level, batting only .190 last season in 50 plus games for Tampa, and less then .100 this season, which may mean he’s just not ready.
Odalis Perez has been struggling recently. He can’t make mistakes and hope to beat this Brewers line up tonight, they’re too solid all the way through and like to get out early. If he masters the focus and control he had at the start of the season he will be able to pull out the victory tonight.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Phillies vs. Nats series preview
The Washington Nationals (19-26) on the other hand are struggling for consistency. However it looks that after a rough first two weeks of the season, which included a 9 game losing streak, the Nats have played around .500 baseball going 16-17. If The Nats can jump start their slumping (or maybe just bad) bats, they could find themselves back at .500 for the whole season. They will need to get through an extremely talented Phillies team to get there first.
Phillies last series
The Phillies are coming off of a three game interleague series with the Blue Jays where they
dropped two of three. Poor pitching allowed the Phil’s to give up 15 runs in 3 games and rain delays forced the team to wear out their bullpen. In the game last night a rain delay forced starters Kyle Kendrick and Shawn Marcum out after the first inning, which means the bullpen was on the hook for 8 innings of work.The first and second games of the series for the Phillies only found their starters pitching 5 innings a piece. Leaving the bullpen on the hook for even more work early in the series.
Who’s Hot:
Jimmy Rollins- 8/14, 4 2B, 2 SB, 2 RBI (11/25 in his last 5 games)
Who’s Not:
Chase Utley-2/12, 1 2B, 3 K’s, 0 BB
Probable Starters:
Brett Myers (2-4, 5.91 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (5-3, 3.55 ERA)
Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.89 ERA) vs. Jason Bergman (1-1, 7.45 ERA)
Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89 ERA) vs. Shawn Hill (0-1, 4.08 ERA) *maybe
Keep the big 3 quiet
The Phillies may have a better collection of three elite batters then any other team in major league baseball. The combination of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins give them a battery of three potential MVP winners who can all hit for power and average. While they have
other solid position players, these three sluggers are the lifeblood of the team and with their success goes the Phillies season.Utley is in the midst of a career season. Through 45 games this year he is batting .306, has 14 homers, 31 RBI’s and has an OPS of 1.024. The presidents favorite player is having his best power season yet despite his batting average being down from .332 the year before. Utley, who only hit 22 homers last season is currently on pace to hit 50 this year. This is all more impressive with the poor plate protection from the slumping Ryan Howard.
Howard was the NL MVP in 2006 after putting up Ruthian numbers. He batted .313 with 58 homers and 149 RBI’s, recording a 1.084 OPS. Howard has slipped since then, hitting only .268 last season while still putting up impressive power numbers, and this year hitting under the Mendoza line. If he can turn it around the Phillies will again have the most dangerous line up in the National League.
Jimmy Rollins never felt he got the respect he deserved until last season. He was always a very good, border line all star shortstop for the Phil’s. Last season he reached the next level though, showing that in the division of great shortstops he would come out with the greatest accolades. Batting .292 with 30 homers and 41 stolen bases, Rollins carried his team to the playoffs and earned his first MVP. Rollins also recorded 38 doubles and 20 triples to bring his extra base total to 88.
The Nats will need to keep these three quiet in order to win this series. They are the catalysts of the offense and can change the course of a game with one swing. The Nats need to focus on making Jason Werth and Pat Burrel beat them.
What to look for:
Cole Hamels is quickly becoming one of the top aces in the game. The 24 year old lefty has nasty stuff and great control to get batters out at a high rate. Last season he recorded a 15-5 record with a 3.39 ERA. In 183.1 innings Hamels struck out 177 batters while only walking 43 batters. This season he has continued improvement with a 5-3 record so far and a 2.89 ERA. Through 65.1 innings this season he has 54 K’s and only 19 walks. We may get a chance to see one of the great pitchers of the future in his youth here at Nats Park this weekend.Thursday, May 1, 2008
Nats vs. Pirates, Series Preview
The last time the Washington Nationals (11-17) won three games in a row was the first week in April. In fact, it was the first three games of the season. The 17 games fallowing were ones Manny Acta’s club would likely wish to forget, winning only two in that span. The Nats now have a three game winning streak once again, and do not want history to repeat itself.
They will welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates (11-16) to Nats Park for the first time this week who will look to try and gain some consistency after a very inconsistent start. The Pirates have had many pleasant surprises in their line up, with a pair of 27 year olds finally making their stamp on the big leagues in Ryan Doumit and Nate Mclouth. But to the Pirates disappointment, their young starting pitching staff has not only not developed, but has regressed greatly.
These are two teams who both need to jumpstart their season. Neither are out of the playoff hunt this early, but with a four game sweep both have the potential to fall in a hole that is too deep to dig out of.
Pirates Last Series
The Pirates are coming off of a series with the New York Mets. The three game series
included one rain out, a close loss, and a blowout over the orange and blue. Despite the disappointing loss, which included an 11th inning homer to the slumping David Wright, the Pirates pitching staff preformed well in the two game set. Aside from Ian Snell’s early woe’s the pitching staff clamped down after the fourth inning of game one and only allowed one more run the rest of the series.
The second game made up for the disappointing loss from the night before. The Pirates scorched their former teammate Oliver Perez for seven runs in the second; they never looked back. Equally important for Pittsburgh, the game saw last years first half standout, Tom Gorzelanny, return to form by allowing only one hit in five innings of work.
Who’s Hot: Freddy Sanchez- 4/11, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R
Who’s Not: Jason Bay-1/8, 1 HR, 4 K’s, 1RBI
Probable Starters:
Zach Duke (0-2, 4.93 ERA) vs. Oliver Perez (0-3, 3.31 ERA)
Phil Dumatrait (0-1, 3.92 ERA) vs. Matt Chico (0-5, 6.68 ERA)
Paul Maholm (2-2, 3.26 ERA) vs. John Lannan (2-2, 2.64 ERA)
Ian Snell (2-1, 4.93 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (3-2, 3.55 ERA)
Get to them early
The Pirates pitching staff has been absolutely awful this season. Comprised of former prized prospects of Tom Gorzelanny, Zach Duke, as well as former staff ace Matt Morris, this should be collection of good arms can’t seem to record many wins much less make many outs. It’s really been a mystery for Pittsburgh with young starting pitching. Oliver Perez showed great promise his first two years in PA, but then completely lost all concept of the strike zone. Since his trade however he has been a very solid major league starter.
Pirates Starting Rotation”
Tom Gorzelanny (2-3, 6.91 ERA)
Zach Duke (0-2, 4.93 ERA)
Matt Morris (0-4, 9.67 ERA)
Paul Maholm (2-2, 3.26 ERA)
Ian Snell (2-1, 4.93 ERA)
Whatever the reason for the inability for Pittsburgh pitchers to develop, it leaves the team extremely vulnerable in the first several innings for teams to put up good numbers. If the Nats want to win this series, they will have to exploit the Pirates downright awful starting pitching. If they don’t get ahead early, they may get hit with the door as the Pirates surprising bullpen has a tendency to slam shut when they come in with the lead. While the bullpen on the whole has not been excellent, their top three relievers have been very lights out. John Grabow has pitched 13 scoreless innings in his 14 appearances; allowing only 8 hits, 2 walks, and recording 12 strikeouts. Pirates closer Matt Capps has been extremely solid as well recording 6 saves with an ERA of only 2.31.
Get them often
The Pirates two best hitters should be former batting champion Freddy Sanchez, and former 
Rookie of the Year Jason Bay. They are only hitting .232 and .253 respectively. The real story of this Pirates line up that recently scorched the Mets for 13 runs has been the unknowns and the unaccomplished. These players are carrying the Pittsburgh club and can put runs on the board in a hurry. It’s important for the Nats to get out early as mentioned, and make sure the bullpen has a big enough lead to close these guys out.
Lets me introduce you to:
Nate McLouth- Drafted in the 25th round of 2000, McLouth has never been more then a spot 
starter in the outfield for the Pirates. Last year he played 137 games, batted only .258 and hit only 13 homers. Fast forward to this season and the 27 year old is putting up great stats early on this season. Here’s his line:
.347 BA, .425 OBP, 1.083 OPS, 7 HR, 25 RBI
batting .326 in April and May last season. He however tapered off and finished the season at .274 with 9 homers and a .341 OBP. Doumit is at it again this April, and the Pirates are hoping it keeps up as the young catcher has a full season already under his belt in the big. His Line:.356 BA, .392 OBP, 4 HR, 9 RBI
Xavier Nady-30 year old Nady was a huge prospect coming out of the Padres system several
years ago but never really put it together. After a string of unsuccessful seasons in Cali he moved to the Mets where he disappointed a little bit more. He was traded to the Pirates and since has actually played marginally better coming into this season. He has exploded so far this April however, and has really helped the Pirates lineup. His Line:.337 BA, .380 OBP, 4 HR, 26 RBI
What to look for
Matt Chico has had several bad starts in a row, and opponents are hitting well over .300 against him. If he doesn’t improve this could be his last start for the lefty before he either gets moved to the bullpen or reassigned.
The Maholm vs. Lannan match up on Saturday should be a fun one to watch. Both are young starters that came to the bigs without much fanfare and both have earned the right to call themselves the staff ace this season. Mahom is coming off a complete game 2 hitter, where Lannan has pitched 19 consecutive scoreless innings.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Braves vs. Nats, a choppy preview
The Washington Nationals (9-17) will again welcome the Atlanta Braves (12-13) to Nats Park for their second two game series in a week. This one will see Tom Glavine return to the mound for the first time since pulling his hamstring against the Nationals in the first inning in his last outing, causing him to have his shortest start of his career and go on the disabled list for the first time.
Braves Last Series
hot coming into their last series in Washingotn, having won 5 in a row but their spark was extinguished by John Lannan and the bullpen blanking the Braves offense. Who’s Hot: Mark Teixeira (Maryland’s Son): 5-12, 4 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB
Who’s Not: Matt Diaz: 1-7, 2 K, 0 RBI, 0 extra base hits
Probable Starters
Tom Glavine (0-1, 2.38 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (3-2, 3.67 ERA)
Shawn Hill (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. Jair Jurrejens (3-2, 3.45 ERA)
What to Look for
Chipper Jones back has been bothering him and has caused him to miss the last two games against the Mets in their last series. Chipper is one of the hottest hitters in the majors right now and his absence unquestionably played a role in the Braves dropping both those games. Chipper is supposed to be in the line up Tuesday so look to see if he looks healthy in his first few at bats…if he’s not it’s good news for Washington.Tom Glavine is coming off the DL for the first time in his career Tuesday, to face the team he hurt himself playing against. There is no way of knowing how he will respond after a stint on the DL seeing as he has never been there in his 20 year career, however for a pitcher that relies on accuracy and already has poor endurance…he may not exactly dazzle in his first start back.
Jair Jurrjens not only has a cool name, he is impressing many with his maturity and control for a pitcher of such a young age. So far in five starts he has struck out 25 but only walked 13, a virtue the Nats starters need to take on themselves. He also has a solid 3.45 ERA and is coming off three good starts in a row. Not bad for a 22 year old.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Nats welcome the red hot cubs, Series Preview
The Chicago Cubs (15-7) will visit Nationals Park for the first time this weekend to try and keep their hot streak alive. The Cubs have won nine out of their last eleven games, eight of which have come since the injury of all-star outfielder, and former National, Alfonso Soriano. Their winning streak has been spurred by doing all the right things; their starting pitching has been great (aside from Ted Lilly), six regular players batting over .300, and the team is getting on base .368 percent of the time.
The Washington Nationals (7-16) on the other hand have been playing much better baseball over the last week, but still have a long way to go. They have won three out of their last seven, which is an improvement on the nine game losing streak earlier in the year. The Nats line up seems to be finally producing with Lopez returning to old form, which is something baseball fans in Washington desperately need.
Cubs Last Series
The Cubs come to Washington coming off of a split two game series in Colorado which saw them end a six game win streak. The Cubs pitching cooled down a little bit in the Rocky Mountains as they let up 10 runs in two games after only allowing nine runs in the four games prior. The Cubs also recorded their 10,000 career win in the first game of the series. 
Who’s Hot: Geovany Soto:5-8, 1 HR, 1 2B, 1 R, 0 K
Who’s Not: Reed Johnson: 0-5, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Starting Pitchers
Rich Hill – 5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K
Jason Marquis- 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Probable Starters
Ryan Dempster (3-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.37 ERA)
Carlos Zambrano (3-1, 2.67 ERA) vs. Matt Chico (0-4, 6.04 ERA)
Ted Lilly (1-3, 7.30 ERA) vs. John Lannan (1-2, 3.42 ERA)
No Free Passes
The Cubs have the third best on base percentage in the Major Leagues right now, getting on base as a team at .368. If you take away Alfonso Soriano’s .230 OBP from when he was healthy, the Cubs would probably take over the Red Sox as having the best in the bigs. With top three in on base percentage in the league being the Red Sox, Cardinals and Cubs (all well over .500) it’s 
getting tough to ignore the importance of the stat. (The nationals are 5th to last with a .311 on base percentage).
What’s scary about the Cubs is not only are they getting on base at a high level, they have the bats to hit them in. If the Nationals want to be successful against them, they need to cut down on the walks they let up. Free passes lead to easy losses. To beat the Cubs, the Nats need to make them earn their runs.
What to look for
Everything seems to be in place for the Nats to break out in a good way. The Nationals batters have all had good games in the past week, just not at the same time. The defense has clamped down and the pitching has always been in place. While the Cubs are a great team this season, the Nats can really turn it around if they take 2 out of 3 at home.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Mets vs. Nats series preview
The New York Mets (10-9) will travel to the new Nats Park for the first time to take on the Washington Nationals (6-15) in another short 2 game series. The Mets come into the series needing to capture a win having dropped three in a row, including one to Philly and two at Chicago. The Nats will continue their home stand also in desperate need of a victory, because…well they’re the Nationals.The struggling hitting won’t catch a break after an Atlanta series that saw the Nats face Hudson and Smoltz, as the they will have to face a pair of lefty’s in the Mets ace Johan Santana, and arguably the most effective starter for them so far, Oliver Perez. Look for another heated series between these two intertwined National League East teams who both have something to prove as both see themselves currently underachieving.
Mets Last Series
The Mets last series resulted in them being the victim of a two game sweep against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. The Mets combined to only score two runs and give up fifteen as both the
bullpen and the starting pitchers could not stay away from the big inningHot: actually…no one
Not: David Wright- 0-6, 2 BB, 1 K 0 RBI
Jose Reyes- 1-8, 0 BB, 1 K
The Starters/Losers
John Maine- 6IP, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Nelson Figueroa- 5IP, 3 ER, 5 BB, 2K
Probable Starters:
Tim Redding (3-1, 3.27 ERA) vs. Johan Santana (2-2, 3.25 ERA)
Shawn Hill (0-0, 7.20 ERA) vs. Oliver Perez (2-0, 2.49 ERA)
The Hefty Lefties
The Nats will have to go against two of the games best left handed pitchers in back to back nights in this series. Neither Santana nor Perez are prototypical lefties either, they both are power pitchers with lefty type movement which means when they are on…they are two of the harder pitchers to hit around. This is not a good sign as the team as a whole has done very poorly against lefties so far this season.
Good Nats vs. Lefties
Cristian Guzman- .462 BA, .464 OBP, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1/1 BB/K
Lastings Milledge-.370 BA, .414 OBP, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2/3 BB/K
Bad Nats vs. Lefties
Ryan Zimmerman- .192 BA, .222 OBP, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1/0 BB/K
Nick Johnson- .150 BA, .308 OBP, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 4/7 BB/K
Austin Kearns- .105 BA, .292 OBP, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5/3 BB/K
Overall vs. Lefties- .227 BA, .299 OBP, 4 HR, 24 RBI, 20/33 BB/K
What to look for:
The Nationals got outscored 14-4 in the last series against the Mets, but there have been some slight signs that their bats are starting to wake up. If the Nats can weather the storm against Santana and Perez and get to the bullpen, they may be able to match the Mets bats.
Tonight will Tim Redding (of the Redding Railroad express) will be going for his fourth win of the season. So far as long as he keeps his pitch count down he has been very effective regardless of whom he has pitched against. Shawn Hill will make his second start of the season Thursday as well. Look for Hill to improve upon his last outing in which he showed signs of fatigue after a great start. The bottom line is the Nats have the starting pitchers to win both games this series, but they will need to match the Mets great bats.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Braves vs. Nats Series Preview
The Washington Nationals will fly north to face an Atlanta Braves team that has won four in a row. The Nats(5-14) and the Braves (9-9) have split their season series so far 2-2, but the two teams have seen their squads go in different directions outside of the confines of Nationals Park. Both teams have their share of struggling hitters, but the Braves are managing to pull out wins.
The first month of the season can often define the tone and the character of a team for the rest of the year. The Braves, tired of hearing the talk of the Phillies and the Mets inside their division (which it has been for the last 20 years) do not want to be a .500 baseball team. The Nationals, having some sort of pride, don’t want to win only 42 games as they are currently on pace to do. Both teams need to win this series to try and turn their season around.
Probable Starters
Matt Chico (0-3. 4.81 ERA) vs. Tim Hudson (2-1, 3.37 ERA)
John Lannan (0-2 4.46 ERA) vs. John Smoltz (3-0, .056 ERA)
Solving Smoltz and Hudson
It’s just the Nats luck that in this two game series they will have to face both the hottest pitcher 
in the league and the most successful starter against Washington in franchise history.
John Smoltz has been smoldering so far, winning all of his starts and sporting a three to one strikeout to walk ratio. Allowing only one earned run all season, the 41 year old Smoltz is only getting better with age.
Season Stats: 3-1, .056 ERA, 21 K’s, 6 BB’s, 16 IP
Tim Hudson on the other hand has been good but not great this season for the Braves. He has suffered some drop in velocity (a growing trend in the MLB this season) and his last outing he only lasted three innings before getting run off the mound by Florida. However so far this year against the Nats Hudson is an impressive 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA, and his career stats against Washington are just staggering:
Career vs. Washington: 10 Starts, 6-1 record, 1.11 ERA,
Tex and Larry
Larry (Chipper) Jones is arguably the hottest hitter in baseball (.449, 6 HR, 18 RBI). He is hitting every pitch, off every pitcher, anywhere he wants. He is so in the zone right now, if you called him by his actual first name, Larry, to his face…he might not even notice.
Mark Teixeira on the other hand is struggling. A great hitter in his own right, the power hitting switch hitter (from the D.C era) can’t seem to find his stroke this season. Hitting only .221 with three bombs, he is far from his career .290 batting average and far off the power pace we are used to seeing. With Teixiera serving as the protection for Jones, I see absolutely no reason to give Larry a single pitch to hit…make the struggling guy beat you, not the supernova.
Wily Mo Pena was rushed back to Washington from Columbus. He is not healthy, and he is not hitting well. Don’t be surprised to see him benched in one of the next two games for Willie Harris. That's right a Willy, Willie, swap. Harris isn’t close to the hitter Pena can be, but the Nats cant afford to not be able to move base runners with golden sombreros and pop outs.Defense is killing the Nats right now, where last year it was one of their strong points. Don’t be surprised to see a shake up in some of the positions. Catching needs to improve, Belliard or Lopez need to learn how to play second base (Willie Harris also can play second), and first basemen need to be able to pick throws when Ryan Zimmerman makes an outstanding play.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Nats vs. Marlins series preview
Is Hanley Ramirez the best player in baseball?
In the NL east one of the hottest debates is over who is better, the Mets Jose Reyes or the Phillies Jimmie Rollins (its Reyes by the way). Often overlooked however is the actual best shortstop in the Division, if not the best player overall in baseball, Florida’s Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez, 24, has been surprising baseball fans with the quickness of his development since he was traded away by the Red Sox for Josh Beckett in 2006. That same year Ramirez beat out the Nats own Ryan Zimmerman to become the National League rookie of the year, and hasn’t looked back since.Probable Starters:
Game 1: Tim Redding (2-1, 2.25 ERA) vs. Andrew Miller (0-2, 11.37 ERA)
Game 2: Shawn hill (0-0, -- ERA) vs. Burke Badenhop (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
Game 3: Odalis Perez (0-3, 4.35 ERA) vs. Scott Olsen (2-0, 3.05 ERA)
What to look for:
In order for the Nationals to be successful and start winning ball games, the hitters need to wake
up. In the three game series with the Mets the Nats only scored 4 runs, only walked 12 times and left 44 runners on base. They struck out 26 times and only batted an awful .166. The Marlins starting pitching staff isn’t that established, and the Nats will be facing the back end of it, so there’s a possibility for their bats to come alive.The Nationals starting pitchers need to eat up some innings this series. While all of the Nats starters reached at least the 5th inning against the Mets, the 14 inning game and the questionable health of Cordero leaves the bullpen very overworked in a 3 game span. In the long run only one Nats starter, Matt Chico, has even reached the 8th inning yet this year. If a bullpen gets tired and agitated too early in the year, it can sometimes never recover.
Shawn Hill, the staff ace, will make his first start of the year Saturday after coming off of a sore arm. While he admits he is not at 100% yet, if he pitches well this weekend it can certainly be a moral boost for a clearly demoralized team.
