Harper belts a home run into the second deck at Nationals Park in early September.
After winning the first game of the doubleheader, tonight has the potential to be a very BIG night in Nationals history. If the Nats win the second game of the doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they can clinch a postseason playoff spot.
John Lannan makes the start. This season he’s 4-1 with a 2.64 ERA. Lannan was also the Opening Day starter each of the 100+ loss seasons.
The magic number to clinch the NL East division after winning game one of the doubleheader is 9.
Also notable: the 2012 Nationals are the first D.C. baseball team to reach 90 wins since 1933.
Other news & notes:
Everyone’s getting cortisone shots these days. Ryan Zimmerman got another cortisone shot with off-season shoulder surgery looking to be a possibility, and Danny Espinosa also received a cortisone shot.
Sean Burnett says he’s healthy, just trying to break some bad habits.
Start budgeting now! Postseason tickets go on sale Friday!
New to the Nats? The Washington Post has a need-to-know guide just for you.
Also, a very happy birthday to Gio Gonzalez.
But for now, don’t let the injuries worry you too much. Sit, back, enjoy the ride, and watch the Nationals (hopefully) clinch their playoff spot tonight.
On a hot, humid summer night (there’s no other type of summer night in DC), most fans were lulled to sleep, a languid relaxation or sheer boredom. There really wasn’t that much to cheer and celebrate, for Nats fans. ‘Turn Back the Clock’ night had been a fun promotion, but apart from that, the game had mostly been written off as a missed chance to sweep.
Of course, with this team, nothing is over until the last out is recorded and everyone has packed up and gone home. Last night in the ninth inning, as the Nationals mounted their comeback, in the middle of it all were Tyler Moore, Steve Lombardozzi and Bryce Harper–all direct rewards from the Nationals farm system. Also involved were Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche. The first three embody draft picks across the board. Moore was drafted in the 16th round of 2008, Lombardozzi was drafted in the 19th round of 2008 and Harper was drafted first overall in 2010. The later three encompass a mix of veteran experience and utility playing time.
Now, as the Nationals sit atop of the National League East and almost atop baseball in general (the only teams with better records are the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers), it’s even more increasingly obvious that the winning isn’t a fluke. Apart some sheer luck from the baseball gods (such as other teams in the NL East losing when the Nationals lost), this team is finally coming into what they were envisioned to be.
Most off days mean there won’t be much news. But today’s off day isn’t like other off days. Today, hundreds of prospects will desperately refresh their browsers and watch on television as they wait for their name to be called, making their life long dream come true.
That’s right, today is the MLB draft.
This organization built a team the old fashioned way. They got draft picks, a lot of them, and developed the players within their own system. They brought up their own players to improve the team long term, from the core, instead of getting veterans to put a band aid over the wound.
Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Drew Storen, Danny Espinosa, Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper…they were all drafted and developed by the franchise. All are now playing key roles on the team on a regular basis.
We’ve mentioned the offensive struggles that this team has faced time and time again. They can’t get runs home. They can’t get on base. They need someone with consistency to put them over the edge.
The funny thing is, they had that guy on their roster all along: Michael Morse. And with his rehab stint in Potomac almost over, the Nats will get their best slugger from 2011 back in the lineup soon.
Morse hasn’t blown anyone away in his rehab games, but most importantly he hasn’t suffered any set backs. When he does inevitably return to the Nationals (and this could be sooner rather than later) he will be 100% healthy and ready to go.
Last season, Morse batted .303 and hit 31 home runs for the Nationals. There had been some concerns about the hole that the departure of Adam Dunn created, but Morse was given an opportunity through various injuries and blew everyone away. He was easily the breakout star of the season, almost making it to the All-Star game.
There was a time when you had to be in DC to watch the Nationals play, whether you had a ticket or not. It was considered a small baseball market, and one that the national media didn’t feel was worth mentioning. Today, I will be able to watch the Nats/Phillies finale on the West Coast.
The Nats have been on ESPN multiple times this season. Their national audiences have seen them take on the Phillies and the Orioles, who are a surprising number 1 team in their own right.
Remember when we said that once the Nats started winning, the people would come? Well, it’s happening. The problem was never that the Nation’s Capital wasn’t a baseball town, it’s that it is a winning town. It is a city that continues to profusely support a team that hasn’t won in 20 years. Once it gets a winner, it hangs on tight.
With young stars in Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez, Bryce Harper, Danny Espinosa…ok you get the point. This city has embraced the team while they continue to march through first place in the NL East. Who woulda thunk it…winning changes everything!
With the loss last night, the Nationals officially lose their second series of the season. To the Pirates. The good news is that their next series is against the Reds, who they already beat this season. Hopefully it will allow the Nats to find their groove again, though they will try to avoid the sweep against the Pirates tonight. Here’s what’s going on.
-It does seem kind of absurd that Danny Espinosa has been so ineffective at the plate. Nats really need him now with injuries. [Wash Times]
-Chien-Ming Wang is slowly making his way back to the Nats with a start in Syracuse last night. [Nats Journal]
-The Nats have brought Tyler Moore in against to help fill in injuries, but how will he be used? [Nats Journal]
-More on Espinosa’s struggles, and how Johnson plans on sticking with him through the slump. [Federal Baseball]
The Nats will look to snap a 4 game losing streak today as they kick off a homestand against the DiamondBacks and Phillies. After a day off yesterday, the Nats are seeing a lack of offense finally catching up to them on the scoreboard. Here’s what you need to know.
-From us, the Nats losing streak is finally shining a light on the lack of offense this season.
-Closer Brad Lidge is going to have surgery to repair a hernia. Better get used to Rodriguez. [Nats Journal]
-Harper may have already made his major league debut, but he will face a new animal in his home debut today. [Wash Times]
-Here’s a look at how the Harper and Tyler Moore promotions affect the rest of the organization. [Nats Prospects]
-The Nats had a pretty successful April, but what specifically has it told us about this 2012 team so far? [District on Deck]
-The rotation of the outfield has been interesting, and will continue to be so throughout the year with various call-ups.[Nats Review]
There was a time when this was the norm, but anyone who jumped on the Nats bandwagon this season doesn’t know this team. This team is on…dare I say it…a losing streak. The Nats have lost four straight, including being swept by the Dodgers, their first series loss of the year.
It is a long season, and a losing streak was bound to come about sooner or later (though we were all hoping it would be later, or, ya know, never) but it is the way in which they lost all four of those games that is telling.
Including the 2-1 loss to the Padres to let the sweep slip away, the Nats didn’t allow too many runs. They allowed 3 in game 1 of the Dodgers series, 4 in game 2, and 2 in game 3 (in which they got shut out). This is no longer the defensively porous team that used to occupy Washington.
It is, however, the team that can’t seem to buy an offense. Jayson Werth was out with a migraine yesterday, and with Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse out of the lineup with injuries, the offense is becoming scarce.
In reality, most of the baseball world probably forgets that D.C. has a baseball team unless Stephen Strasburg is starting or Bryce Harper blows someone a kiss. Seven years has apparently not been enough to get the Nats recognition, and not without reason: they spent a lot of that time in the basement.
But his year is different. The Nats are first in the NL East, leading both the Phillies and the Braves, two teams many expected to be formidable. Not only are the Nats leading their division, but they also hold the second best record in Major League Baseball at 12-4.
Many have cast this early success aside. Some are categorizing it as a small sample size, inflated numbers that will regress back to the mean in a month. They look at the opponents the Nats have faced so far and have yet to see a challenging opposition.
The Nats have taken all 5 of their series so far in 2012. Sure, they may have been against the Cubs, Reds, Mets, Marlins, and Astros, (only the Mets are above .500) but there are characteristics in the play of the Nats that implies that this isn’t just a fluke.
First of all, there is the pitching. The Nats and the Cardinals are the only two teams with 3 pitchers in the top 10 in the MLB in OPS. Jordan Zimmerman comes in at 5th, Strasburg at 7th, and Gio Gonzalez at 8th. Ross Detwiler comes in at 20th, and Edwin Jackson comes in at 33rd.
With today’s Nats game being postponed due to weather, now’s as good a time as any to take a look at Jayson Werth’s early 2012.
At the very beginning, it looked like 2011 part 2. But a few weeks in, Werth has stabilized his play, making strides to erase that “fart in the wind” (yes, I’m going to use that phrase as often as humanly possible).
Of the regulars, Jayson Werth leads the team with a .322 batting average, bringing with him a .412 on base percentage. It’s not for lack of sample size either…Werth is second on the team in at-bats with 59 (trailing only Ian Desmond’s 68).
Werth has been opportunistic as well. He is second on the team with 7 RBI this season and a home run. Werth is also tied with Roger Bernadina with 2 stolen bases in 2012.
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