Vote For Orioles? No Chance. Vote For Nats? No Chance.

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) (Owned by both teams) has an interesting idea for getting local players voted into the All-Star game.  They want Washington Nationals fans to team up with Baltimore Orioles fans in order to help the other team's cause.  They are dubbing it "The Beltway Ballot" as in if you vote for President Harper, you also vote for Vice-President Hammel.


Two Opposite Parties?

Well Earth to MASN, I don't think you are thinking straight.  I don't think that the 'beltway teams' are one big happy family.  This isn't one ballot.  This is an American and a National.  A Democrat and a Republican.  A Washingtonian and a Baltimorian.  The two do not belong on the same ballot.

One Sided?

First of all, this is not a 2 sided idea.  The Nationals don't need help from Orioles fans to get Bryce Harper voted into the game.  Harper is one of the biggest names in baseball, and the All-Star vote is a popularity contest.  Bryce Harper is a national story, a national player.  Q-Rating = Votes.  Having a few people that are fans from a team an hour away N.E. Votes.  Throw performance out the window.

The NL vote is going to come down to Chipper Jones and Bryce Harper, and with Matt Kemp out of action with an injury, both players can conceivably end up on the roster.

The Orioles are the ones who are going to need the help from the Nats fans.  People outside of Baltimore or Colorado are unlikely to have ever heard of Jason Hammel.  Maybe if dyslexic Phillies fans think they are voting for Cole Hamels he will get some votes.  But other than that, Nats-only fans aren't going to vote for an Oriole because they are a "family".  They will do it for other reasons maybe.


The AL vote is going to come down to Yu Darvish vs Jake Peavy.  It isn't necessarily fair, but it is a popularity contest.  Jason Hammel will be left out.


Why Would Either Fanbase?

I'm wondering why Orioles fans would want to help out the Nationals.  I don't see what is in it for them.  Do they want to help out a team that came into town and stole many of their fans away.  Maybe to stick it to Peter Angelos.

And why would Nats fans vote for the O's.  If they were true Orioles fans they wouldn't have jumped ship as soon as a team came to DC.  If they weren't Orioles fans then they probably could care less what happens to a random organization that happens to be nearby.

Do Dual Fans Exist?

Yes.  There are plenty of people who like both of the teams.  These people are the ones who would vote for Jason Hammel and Bryce Harper...without MASN needing to prompt them to.  That is why this idea is so stupid.  MASN is asking the NON dual fans to vote.  You may as well ask Mets fans to vote for Yankee players.  It will never happen.

So?

So get the Orioles announcers out of the booth during interleague play.  Get the Nationals announcers out of the booth during interleague play.  Fans from DC will drive up to B-More to watch games anyway.  Fans from Baltimore will drive down to DC to watch games anyway.  Stop trying to make 2 opposites attract.  Stop trying to create a "family".

Nats fans vote for Nats.  Orioles fans vote for Orioles.  We'll come to your city, you come to our city, we will all have fun.  But will will all root for our respective teams.   MASN should know better...

Burnett Gives Up Homer, Series

Orioles 2, Nationals 1

Matt Weiters hit a 2 run homer off of Sean Burnett in the 8th inning to help the Orioles defeat the Nats and win the series on Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards.  Neither team had much offense and any scoring opportunities they did have were wasted, so the Orioles 2 run homer was all they needed for the win.

Ryan Zimmerman reappeared for the Nationals, getting 2 hits and driving in the Nats only run.  Bryce Harper also had a decent day with 2 hits, including a single to the outfield that he hustled into a double.  Fun to watch.

The Orioles efforts were led by starter Jake Arrieta who pitched 6 innings of 5 hit baseball, only allowing one run.  The Nats got a typical 5th day outting from Detwiler who lasted only 5 innings, getting out of several jams to keep the O's scoreless.  Ross gave up just 4 hits while striking out 3 Orioles.

The game ended on a strike'em out throw'em out double play which is just terrible.

If the Nationals want to win ballgames they are going to have to score more runs.  It was inevitable that the power-hitting O's would knock one out of the park, and they just happened to have a man on base when they did it.

All 3 games in this series were extremely "boring", with both teams struggling on offense.  The way each team is hitting does not look good for each team's playoff chances.

Nats head to Colorado to hit some homers in the thin air tomorrow night...

Nationals @ Orioles: Game Preview (6/23)

Nationals vs. Orioles

7:15 PM Orioles Park at Camden Yards

FOX

Story Lines:

• With their win last night, the O's are 3 for 4 in this years Beltway Series.
• The Nat's lineup continues to waste quality starters by their pitchers.

Pitching Match Up:

• Edwin Jackson
• 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA.
• Only 2 players on the Orioles are batting above .200 lifetime against Jackson.
• Has given up the 2nd most homers (8) and walks (25) on the team.

• Wei-Yin Chen
• 7-2 with a 3.36 ERA.
• First year in MLB/America in general.
• Gave up 6 runs in 4.1 innings last time out against the Nats.

Guys to Watch:

• Bryce Harper
• Went 2-3 with a triple and 2 RBIs in the first game vs Chen.
• Only Strasburg has a better average against Chen, he went 2-2 that game.
• Will be pressing to break an 0-8 slump at the plate.

• Brian Roberts
• Faced Jackson 21 times with a .200 average.
• Has also walked 6 times against Jackson.
• Is batting .270 since returning from his lengthy DL stint with a concussion.

Keys to the Game:

1. SOMEBODY show up in the 2-5 spot.  The lack of mid-lineup production is killing us.
2. Swing away.  Chen is a contact pitcher who frequently gives up 6+ hits a game.
3. Limit the Walks.  Free passes will make the homeruns hurt much worse.

Zimm Can't Buy a Win in B-more.

Nationals 1, Orioles 2

The Nationals dropped the first game of their three game set in Baltimore tonight despite a strong performance from Jordan Zimmermann.  The game was delayed an hour because of rain, but the park was still packed when the first pitch was thrown out.

J-zimm didn't have his best stuff tonight, but he limited the Orioles lineup to 2 runs and pitched 7 good innings.  He gave up 1 run on a Mark Reynolds homerun and another on a J.J. Hardy double.

Unfortunately for the Nationals, Jason Hammel pitched even better for 8 innings.  He recorded a career high 10 strikeouts.  The Nat's only run came off of a throwing error in the 5th.  Hardy made a couple of leaping catches at shortstop to rob the Nats of base runners that are so hard to come by these days.

Ian Desmond was about the only Nat to have a decent night at the plate, going 2-3 and scoring the only run of the night.  There were no signs of life from Zim, Laroche, or Harper tonight.  Jim Johnson came into the 9th to close things out for save number 21.

Nationals @ Orioles: Game Preview (6/22)

Nationals vs. Orioles

7:05 PM Orioles Park at Camden Yards

MASN and MASN2

Story Lines:  

• The Orioles have lost 3 straight games and fallen into second place in the AL East.  
• The Nationals rebounded from their 4 game losing streak with two wins against Tampa Bay.  
• Both teams are having difficulty putting up offensive numbers right now.
• The last Beltways series the Nats only won 1 game out of 3 in Washington.

Pitching Match Up:

• Jordan Zimmermann
•  3-5, 2.92 ERA
• Cannot buy a win despite solid pitching.  
• All his wins have come on the road.

• Jason Hammel
• 7-2, 2.87 ERA
• Frequently pitches deep into games, last time out he went all 9 innings.
• Has lost a No Hitter in the late innings multiple times this season.

Guys to Watch:

• Ryan Zimmerman
• Get it going!  Only hitting .125 since June 15th.
• Has faced Hammel more than any other Orioles pitcher (19 at bats).
• Bats .412 vs Hammel with 1 homerun.

• Adam Jones
• Get it going!  Hitting .250 with 0 RBIs since June 15th.
• Has faced Zimmermann the most out of any Orioles (9 at bats).
• Bats .222 vs Zimmermann with 1 homerun.

Keys to the Game:

1. J-Zimm pitches 7 innings. Get the game to Burnett/T-clip 1-2 punch.
2. Get to Hammel early.  Hammel is good, but the O's have one of the best bullpens in baseball.
3. Keep guys off base.  The O's have homerun threats up and down their lineup and J-zimm has given up the most homers on the team (10).  Limit them to solo shots.

Battle of the Beltways: Pitching vs Offense

You know how they say "good pitching beats good hitting"?  Well they say it for a reason... 

Putting the 'O in Offense.  
During the first Beltways series I talked about how offensively the Orioles were a superior team.  Even in the darkest stretchs of the past few seasons of Baltimore baseball the team has always been able to put up runs.

This season, with the emergence of Adam Jones into a true superstar, there is no question about the offensive capabilities of the Orioles.  For a long stretch of this season the O's lead major league baseball in home runs and were among the top teams in terms of runs scored.

• MR. Jones Walk Off Homer.

Those Nasty Nat's Pitchers.

Starting pitching was the one area that I thought the Nat's had an advantage over Baltimore.  With Strasburg and Gio leading the way, and the potentials of Zimmermann and Jackson, everybody knew the rotation could be pretty good.  I'm not sure anyone thought it could be THIS good.

The Nat's lead all of baseball with a collective ERA of 2.97.  The second team on the list has 3.22.   Youth and injury have lead to questions about the consistency of the Nat's offense, but no one is doubting what they will get off the mound.

• Strasburg Making 13 K's Look Easy

The Dark Times...
The Orioles and Nationals started the season in first place as both teams were firing on all cylinders.  Life was good.  Then weaknesses for both squads emerged.  All of a sudden the Orioles pitchers, who had been exceeding all expectations, came crashing down to earth.

In Washington, the Nat's saw their offense dry up as key players like Zimmerman, LaRoche, and Espinosa got bogged down in slumps.  In the face of adversity, both teams relied on their strengths to carry them through.  The Orioles kept hacking away at the ball and the Nat's pitchers kept hurling.

And Here We Are.

The Nationals are still in first place, but the Orioles have dropped to third.  Even when it felt like the Nationals could only score 1 to 2 runs a game I wasn't worried because a lot of the time that's all it took to get a win.

On the flip side, I have to watch the Orioles play games were they put 6 runs and watch them lose because they gave up 9.  Sure, putting up all those runs is exciting, but I'm going to take the lights out pitching 100% of the time.  Wouldn't you?  

Battle of the Beltways: Lets Be Friends

The next two weeks are going to be rough.  We have to play against the Phillies, Pirates, Braves, and Mets.  This stretch of games could make or break the team.  Oh...did I mention I was talking about the Orioles?  That's right everyone, interleague baseball is upon us and Nat's and O's are switching places for the next couple of weeks.

Here We Go Again...
The second half of the Battle of the Beltways will take place two Fridays from now in Orioles Park at Camden Yards.  Last time the Nationals and Orioles met the O's took 2 games in Washington.  You can bet that the Nat's will be out for a little revenge this time around in Baltimore.  But hey, lets hold up on that for a second and take a look at where things stand for each team.

First Place for Everyone!
The Orioles are in first place.  The Nationals are in first place.  So neither team is worse the wear from their first meeting.  This is not the time for players and fan-bases to be worrying about each other because both teams are fighting for their first place lives everyday.  A bad series for either team could be enough to not only knock them out of first place, but send them hurtling towards 5th place.  Yikes, no pressure!

One Big Happy Family?
Remember during the first Beltways Battle how MASN combined the O's and Nat's broadcast crews so they could talk about how happy they were to be together and how the Baltimore/Washington area should be one big happy baseball family?  Sure it felt forced at times, but if you think about it why can't it be true?  I like both teams.  Why shouldn't I?  Are we really rivals?

We Aren't Rivals...
Anybody who says the O's and Nat's are rivals doesn't understand the meaning of the word.  Rivalries start when teams hate each other based on a history of meaningful games between them.  Frankly, who cares if the O's sweep the Nat's or vice-versa if both teams find themselves in last place at the end of the season.   When the O's and Nat's become perennial contenders then we can talk rivalry, but right now both teams are just fighting to be playing meaningful baseball games in September.

You Help Me, I'll Help You?
Before the Nat's and O's face each other, they will have to face all of the others' actual division rivals.  So hey, why not help each other out.  O's fans...lets go out and show some Natitude.  Nat's fans...lets embrace a little Orioles' magic.  Even if you truly hate the other team for some reason, during the next four series the Orioles and Nationals really should be one big happy family.

See You in October! 
So lets hope each team goes on a 12 game winning streak.  That way when we get to the next iteration of the Battle of the Beltways the O's and Nat's will comfortably be sitting in first place and we can get back to our little local area "rivalry".  If we help each other out here and each team keeps doing what they've been doing, the next Beltways Battle could happen in October!

This is for You O's Fans:

Lets Here This Around DC Nat's Fans:

Battle of the Beltways: Harper vs Bundy

Each Sunday we like to take a look at both of the local area teams.  This Sunday we're talking about two young stars who their respective teams hope will become long term pieces of championship rosters.  

  

Bryce Harper:

19 years old, first round draft pick, "the chosen one".  Since being called up to the majors, this is his stat line:

 

Its hard to argue Harper wasn't ready for the big leagues.  Since the day he arrived in Washington, Harper has been contributing with his bat, his legs, and his fielding.  There are bound to be growing pains with a kid so young (like a bat-to-the-head), but it is safe to say he is no where near the threshold of his potential.  Getting Morse and Werth back in the lineup will also certainly help with his development.

Dylan Bundy:

19 years old, first round draft pick, "hope for the future".  Since drafting Bundy, this is his stat line from the minors:

There have been rumblings in Baltimore about speeding up Bundy's movement through the minors.  When you see that the kid has 46 strikeout in only 35 innings of work it is hard to argue with those rumbles.  However, the team is smart for taking their time with their number one draft pick.  Bundy has all of the tools to become a stand out major league pitcher, but until he makes his debut in Baltimore fans can only wait and hope.

Question:

Harper has proven that he belongs in the majors and it seems like only a matter of time before Bundy will get a chance to do the same.  Before teams have tons of great young talent that makes the future of local baseball extremely bright.  For the sake of discussion, who would you rather have in your organization right now Harper or Bundy?

My take:

I love what Harper has done so far and there is no doubt he is the safer pick at this point.  Still...the thought of a Strasburg-Bundy duo at the top of the Nationals rotation is to frighteningly awesome to pass up.

Let me know in the comments below, via email (dru@dcsportsnexus.com), or on twitter (@dru90), what you think!

The Battle Of The Beltways Should Be Fun

Two Baseball Cities Less Than An Hour Apart

Have you ever spent a weekend up in Baltimore for a baseball game?  It is amazing.  The stadium is nice, the fans are passionate, and the pregame & postgame nightlife is great.  I don’t care what team you root for, you will have a good time in Charm City.

The baseball experience in DC is slightly different, but you can still have a great time.  While the stadium may have been built with no charm at all, and our bars are a cab ride away, a baseball weekend in the Nation’s Capital is quite an experience.  

People that live in D.C. and Baltimore may be very fervent and particular about their home cities, but it doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy taking a short road trip for a new experience every once and awhile.  And as a baseball fan, who doesn’t want to check out one of America's baseball towns.

That is one of the things that makes the Battle of the Beltways series so amazing.  Two cities that are less than an hour apart, each with their own charm & uniqueness, coming together for some summer baseball.  You can grab your friends & family, drive a short ways, and have a baseball experience.

Non-Rival Rivalry

The other great part about the series is that you have a National League team playing an American League team.  That means that the games, while not meaningless, are not as important as most other games during the year.  That should lead to an environment where the rivalry is fun, instead of vicious as in division rivialries.

A “light-rivalry” such as this one, caused by geographical location, should be a time when fans of opposing teams jab and jeer each other in a friendly and...

The Strasburg Smash

Nationals 9, Orioles 3

The fans stood on their feet and applauded as loud as they could until Stephen Strasburg had no other choice but to come out of the dugout and take a much deserved curtain call.  Strasburg may have pitched 6 innings and struck out 8 to pick up his 4th win of the season, but that was not why the fans were up and rowdy.  This ovation was because of what the pitcher did at the plate.

Strasburg hit his first career Major League homerun in the Nationals 9-3 victory over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon at Nats Park.  Stras went 2-2 and is now batting .375.  While he did give up 3 runs in the first 2 innings on tons of pitches, he settled in and cruised through the 5th inning leaving with a 6-3 lead.

Your Highlight Of The Game

Bryce Harper also was involved in the decision in the 3rd inning after hitting a hanging pitch towards the right field corner.  The Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis layed out to make an amazing diving ice cream cone catch.  However, as Markakis hit the ground the ball popped out of the glove, giving Bryce Harper a 2 RBI triple instead of ESPN a Web Gem.

Then in the bottom of the 4th inning the two least likely Nationals to go back to back pulled off the feat as the pitcher & catcher, Flores and Strasburg, each had solo shots.

The Nats tacked on even more runs in the 8th and scored a whopping 9 spot.  That is unreal for this team.  5 Nats had muliple hits.

The managerial headscratcher of the day was when Davy Johnson decided to go with Danny Espinosa as the leadoff hitter.  Espy did get a hit and a homer and struck out 2 times.  Is this the right strategy for this team?

FP quote of the game: "Tyler Clippard getting lubed up in the bullpen..."

The Nationals only ended up with 1 win in the series, but the Orioles may be for real this season.  The Nats head to Philly on Monday night for 3 with the Phils...

Battle of the Beltways: O's Take Game Two

 

 Nationals 5, Orioles 6

Well if you were bored last night, tonight's game provided you with some excitement of the offensive variety.  The O's locked up the series win with their win tonight, but the Nat's will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow behind Strasburg.  Here's your recap:

The big bats for the O's got it done again tonight, with Markakis and Jones driving in two runs a piece via the long ball off of Ross Detwiler.  As we said in the series preview, the major advantage the Nat's had over the O's was their starting pitching, but tonight Detwiler couldn't keep it together.  On the flip side, Jason Hammel cruised through the earlier innings tonight before running into trouble in the 6th inning when the Nationals bats came to life and made a game of it.  The bullpen, unlike last night, held the O's scoreless after Detwiler left.  H-rod was brought in during the 9th inning and worked a hit-less frame.    

After their shaky close last night, the Orioles brought in Jim Johnson to finish things off.  Ryan Zimmerman tried to upset Johnson's perfect save percentage by belting a homerun, but it wasn't enough to lead the Nat's to a late inning rally.  Lets hope that homer is a sign of Zimmerman breaking out of his slump.

Final game of the series is tomorrow afternoon.  If anyone on the Nat's can slow down Jones and Markakis, its Strasburg.  The Nat's lineup will have to get it done against Chen, who is a perfect 4-0 on the season.  Each team walked into this series sitting in first place, but it looks like only the O's will exit in the same fashion.  Lets hope the Nat's can avoid the sweep tomorrow!
 

Question:  Adam Jones or Bryce Harper?  As a National's fan, who would you rather have on the team today?     

 

Battle of the Beltways: O's Take Game One

Nationals 1, Orioles 2 (in the 11th inning)

What a way to start out this series.  Did I say this was going to be a high scoring affair?  Well what I actually meant was a pitching dual.  Here's the recap:

Edwin Jackson and Jake Arrieta were both sharp tonight.  Jackson went pitched 8 and Arrieta went 7, each only gave up a run.  Matt Wieters has been struggling at the plate and that continued tonight, but he showed why he got a gold glove last year by throwing out 2 Nationals trying to steal, one of which was Harper.  So maybe don't try and steal next game guys cause its not going to work.

The big guns for the O's were responsible for the damage tonight with Jones driving in the first run and Markakis hitting the game winning homerun in the 11th inning.  Harper and Desmond had a nice nights at the plate, with Desmond scoring the only run for the Nats tonight with a homerun.  Zimmerman hasn't quite broken out of his slump, but he made a handful of ridiculous plays in the field to make up for his lack of offense.  Wish the rest of the team would hit.

The O's decided not to go with Jim Johnson in the bottom of the 11th for because he was "tired".  You know what else he is...perfect in save opportunities this season.  Instead Pedro Stroop came in to close and I'm being kind when I say he struggled his way to a save tonight.  The Nats had a real chance to steal a comeback win against him tonight.

The difference tonight was the bullpens.  The O's pen kept runs off the scoreboard and the Nat's relievers did not.  It was really that simple.  Tomorrow the Nats will try to even this series up behind Ross Detwiler.

Question:  In the post game presser with Davy Johnson he said Arrieta seemed to imply he might of been throwing spit balls (aka cheating).  He also sounded like he was going to cry for most of it.  Having not seen a Johnson press conference until now is that par for the course with him?

Nationals & Orioles Positional Comparisons

Both teams are currently playing great baseball, but let's take a look at which team has the advantage at each roster spot:

Nats Epic Opening Day Song	O's Awesome Old Intro Song

=============How They Stack Up=============

Catcher: Matt Wieters.  Switch hitting, gold glove catcher who provides power at the plate and calls an excellent game from behind the it.

First Base: Adam LaRoche. Looks poised to have a big year.  Already twice as many home runs as he had for the team last year and his strike outs numbers and batting average are MUCH improved.

Second Base: Robert Andino. A guy I have wanted cut from the O's on multiple occasions, he is actually having a decent year at the plate, as well as being reliable solid in the field.  His numbers are slightly than Espinosa's right now, who is walking a lot but not producing much else on a consistent basis, though he could be poised to heat up any game now.

Battle Of The Beltways: O's @ Nats Series Preview

By Dru Montoya:  Head Baseball Writer

Its no secret that I love the O's.  This season I became a fan of the Nat's as well.  For the first time, the "Battle of the Beltways" comes at a time when both teams are actually good.  You know I had to go all out with this preview (more to come later):

• Friday: 7:05 PM, Arrieta (2-4) vs Jackson (1-1).
• Saturday: 7:15 PM, Hammel (4-1) vs Detwiler (3-2).
• Sunday: 1:35 PM, Chen (4-0) vs Strasburg (3-1).

Game of the week is setting up to be Sunday in which each teams best pitcher will go head to head.  If offense is more of your thing, Friday looks to be a high scoring affair.  

My Thoughts:

• The Nat's pitchers have to limit the home run power of the Orioles, who have been relying on the long ball for a lot of their offense this year.  
• The Nats will be helped out by the fact that the O's pitcher will hit instead of a DH.
• The Oriole's pitching is good, but the Nationals should be able to get their hits in and score some runs.
• Both teams are dealing with injuries right now, so look for a some lesser known guys to make an impact.
• Keep an eye out for current Oriole, form National, Nick Johnson to get a start at 1B at some point in this series.

Your sound of the series is a song I'll personally be blasting this weekend, Baltimore area band Clutch with The Mob Goes Wild:

Prediction Time: Nationals win the series 2 games to 1.

Battle of the Beltways

This was a strange week for Baltimore-Washington area baseball.  Both the Nationals and the Orioles have ended it atop of their respected divisions.  The only question that remains, who did it better?

ORIOLES: (5-4)  The Oriole's took their Opening Day win momentum and managed to sweep the Minnesota Twins.  People were riding high in Baltimore, so what if the Twins aren't a very good team?  Well expectations for the season took a big hit when the Yankees came into town and swept the O's in 3, with two of the games going into extra innings.  After that, the O's hit to road for and managed to take 2 out of 3 from Toronto to round out the week and wash out the bad taste of Yankee's series.

NATIONALS: (7-3)  The National's also won their Opening Day against the Cubs and went on to win the series 2 games to 3.  Then it was off to New York where the Nat's took 2 of 3.  Finally, the club won their home opener against the Reds and used that momentum to take 3 of 4 in that series.  Simply put, all the Nat's did during this opening week of baseball has been to win series, and that is what you have to do if you want to keep playing into October. 


O's MVP:  With such a good opening week a lot of players put up good numbers for the O's.  However, Adam Jones gets the nod for the MVP award this week.  Jones is hitting .348, has 4 RBIs, 3 HR, and has looked great in the outfield.  This is a big year for Jones to prove he can take the next step and be a star in this league.  If he plays well enough he may even be able to get out of Baltimore.  Say it ain't so!

Nat's MVP:  The MVP for the Nat's this week in none other than Ian Desmond.  Desmond is hitting .354, has 4 RBIs, 1 HR, and 1 SB.  Desmond is showing that he can be a major offensive force on this team along with his defensive skill at short stop.  Desmond almost singled handily carried the offensive burden for the team earlier on in the week and hopefully he can continue his production as the rest of the Nat's lineup starts to wake up.

Woeful O:  Pretty clear cut choice here, Brain Matusz.  Matusz picked up where he left off last season and posted a 8.38 ERA on his way to 2 loses.  In fact, every other starter on the Orioles looked good besides Matusz.  There was a point in time when Matusz was considered the biggest hope for future success, but now it is becoming clear he won't live up to those expectations.

Woeful Nat:  It was really hard to decide who to place here.  Even players who started off slow, like Adam Laroche, picked it up and finished out this week strong.  For lack of a really "woeful" player Ryan Zimmerman finds himself here.  Zim is only hitting .179 and has only driven in 2 runs, although he does lead the team in walks.  This shouldn't be cause for concern, Zimmerman being here is more indicative of everyone else playing really well, instead of him playing poorly.

Winner:  The winner is, the Nationals.  Each of these clubs are playing quite well to open up the season.  Each is leading their division and really what more can you ask for?  However, as good as the Orioles record appears for now, everyone knows that the AL East crown goes through Boston and New York.  As such, getting swept by the Yankees at home was not a good sign.  For the Nat's, however, they showed that they know how to win a series.  They showed it 3 times without any signs of slowing down.  If I had to place money on which team would be around in October, my money is on Washington right now.  

Battle of the Beltway (Opening Day Version)

This is a little preview of something that I hope to do on a weekly basis.  Each week I’m going to try and review how the Nat’s and O’s did, point out which players played the best and worst, and say which team I think had the best week.  As the season goes on I’ll try to come up with pictures and graphics to make it more interesting to look at so bare with me!  I’ll also keep a running total of which team wins each week and which players win the MVPs or Woefuls.  Show me I made the right choice by switching teams Nationals!

O’s: 1-0. The Orioles won their opening day game.  They looked in control all game long behind a strong start from Jake Arrieta and jumped out to a 4-0 lead.  In the 9^th the Twins managed to get the lead down to two runs, but Jim Johnson came in to close things out.

Nat’s: 1-0.  The Nationals wont their opening day game as well.  They were kept in the ball game by a strong outing from Strasburg and managed to rally from one run down, thanks in large part to a great game by Ian Desmond.   Brad Lidge looked a bit shaky, but was able to close things out in the 9^th.

 

O’s MVP:  Everyone knows the major problem with the O’s is their starting pitching.  That is why the Opening Day MVP goes to Jake Arrieta who pitched 7 strong innings.  He gave up no runs on 2 hits and got the win.

Nat’s MVP:  The Nationals won their Opening Day game thanks to new Nat Ian Desmond.  Desmond had 3 hits, scored a run, drove in a run, and made several nice plays in the field.  He was clearly the best Nat in the field. 

Woeful O:  Troy Patton came into the game in the 9^th to finish up the game.  He got one out, walked a batter, and gave up a two run homer.  Then Jim Johnson had to come in to close out the game and clean up his mess.  Patton was a reminder today that pitching is still a major concern for the O’s.

Woeful Nat:  Adam LaRoche struck out 3 times, walked once, and didn’t score any runs.  While everyone is going to have days where they struggle at the plate we hope LaRoche doesn’t have too many, especially with Morse on the DL.

Winner is:  Nationals.  Honestly, it is hard to pick a winner base of one game, especially the first game of the season.  Each team got a win and looked strong throughout the day. However, the O’s showed signs of a weak bullpen by letting the Twins make it close in the 9^th, where as the Nat’s showed they have what it takes to come from behind and win a close game late.  For that reason the Nats get the win for Opening Day.