A bad week for former all star shortstops

All-star shortstop Miguel Tejada was charged today with lying to congressional investigators about his use and knowledge of steroids. The 2002 MVP is expected to plead guilty tomorrow in court and faces up to a year in prison. 

It has been a rough year for the former Baltimore Oriole slugger. In the last 12 months he has been named in the Mitchell Report, traded to Houston, and had his true age revealed on national television. He posted by far his career worst season in Houston this year as well and as he faces possible jail time, his career may very well be over. 

It's sad to see a player like Tejada fall from grace so quickly. He was always one of the most charismatic and exciting players on and off the field. He looked like he had a true joy for playing the game and while he was a ferocious competitor, there was almost always a smile on his face.  

Alex Rodriguez Update

A few hours after I posted on Alex Rodriguez's name being leaked for testing positive in a 2003 steroid test, he did something very surprising, he confessed:

Summary: Rodriguez took responsibility and says that he did in fact use steroids from 2001-2003. He said that the pressure to live up to his contract and the atmosphere in Texas were the contributing factors to his decision to take steroids. He did however admit that it was his decision and no one else's. 

Analysis: Well...A-Rod probably realized that of all the stars who had been busted for steroids the only ones who have come out looking good are the ones who admitted to their use. The one thing people hate more than cheaters is liars. I think A-rod came out and told the truth in order to maintain his legacy and probably in the hopes that people will be willing to move on.

I think his hopes will probably be realized. He will most likely still be a Hall of Famer and considered one of the best in the game. The one thing that will likely be harmed however is his legacy as one of the best of all time. People can forgive a cheater, but they wont embrace him as one of their heros.

And can anyone really forgive the man that looked Katie Couric in the face and lied?

Nats rally around Lannans arm, win 2-1

John Lannan may be young, but he’s not stupid. The pitcher who has played above his projected ability, and above his experience level all season long showed today that he also is mature beyond his years. Knowing the responsibility was on his 23 year old shoulders to stop the 4 game winning streak of the Orioles and to avoid the sweep, he came off his worst performance of the year and delivered a gem. They say one of the key jobs of an ace is to be a stopper by ending a losing streak before it gets out of control, Lannan filled the role today.

Lannan tossed seven and a third beautiful innings this afternoon, letting up only 5 hits and one earned run. He did an excellent job of locating all of his pitches and forcing ground balls. Out of 24 outs recorded, Lannan produced 11 ground ball outs and 5 K’s while letting up only one walk. That Nats fans, is how you win a game while only scoring 2 runs.

On the other side of the hill, former first round pick for the O’s, Jeremy Guthrie, also had himself a great day, allowing only five hits and only one earned run through seven innings. However for a change the Nats were able to turn their quiet bats into runs as they showed good patience against a good pitching performance. Washington drew 6 walks in comparison to only two strikeouts which allowed them to put that extra run on the board over the O’s.

Wil Nieves + Jesus Flores > Paul Lo Duca + Johnny Estrada

The sample size is still small, but it’s getting larger and larger every game and it’s becoming more and more evident that Flores and Nieves are the best catchers on this team. Damn the contracts and the big names, Nieves and Flores are playing like they want to be on the Nationals, as opposed to having to play for the Nationals. Lo Duca and Estrada are both former all stars, but its clear their careers are coming to a close and this is the only place they were offered a Major League job. The baseball gods are telling us something with these injuries, let the kids play.

Jesus Flores Season Stats: .367 BA (11/30), .500 OBP, 1.133 OPS
Wil Nieves Season Stats: .310 BA (13/42), .385 OBP, .788 OPS
Lo Duca Season Stats: .200 BA (10/50), .298 OBP, .558 OPS
Johnny Estrada Stats: .179 BA (7/39), .220 OBP, .298 OPS

Record with:
Nieves at catcher 7-8
Flores at catcher 3-8
Lo Duca at catcher 6-11
Estrada at catcher: 5-5, 4 broken clubhouse chairs

Game Notes:

Nick “Stone Cold” Markakis did not have a great game from the plate, but he did show Nationals fans his franchise talent from the field today gunning out two runners from right field ( Elijah Dukes twice). It’s players like Markakis, who always bring something to the table, that make Nats fans really frustrated with the disappointment of Austin Kearns, who brings nothing.

Going 0-2 today with 2 walks, Aaron Boone stopped his mini hit streak, but did continue his on base streak to 7 games.

GUZMAN WATCH: Guzman has a good game today and actually aided in a Nats winning effort. Guzman went 2-3 with 2 RBI’s and a solo homer. He also had a sacrifice bunt! Trade value: rising.

Question: Do you think the marlins would trade Austin Kearns for 1$?

(picture above is lucky jarmes behind an angry nats fan at camden yards)

Box Score

Photos courtesy of AP/Nick Wass

Turf War

Many of us Nats fans were strong supporters of the birds to the north before 2005. For some of us it was a bitter split when the district finally got our own team. Peter Angelos did everything in his power to keep our right of baseball away from us, and when it finally got here he made it almost impossible for us to enjoy it by buying out the broadcast rights.

When MLB approved the move of the Montreal Expos to D.C many anticipated a sort of turf war. However in the last three years it seems both clubs have been too apathetic to fight for fans within the beltway. It appears though that with the birth of Nationals Park the Nats may be making the first strike today as they sent Screech and the racing presidents up to the inner harbor today to make friends of enemies and perhaps build a new fan base?

Nats320 was able to get some great pics

Some history of the Orioles vs. Nats series

Nats all time record against the O’s- 16-11
Nats current streak against the O’s- 4-0
Nats record at Camden Yards- 7-8

Broadcasting fun

Because both teams broadcasting rights are owned and operated by MASN, the two’s broadcast teams will alternate giving fans of Baltimore a taste of the Nats and vice versa. This will go on throughout the six game season long series and may include mixing and matching of broadcasters in different teams.