H-Rod's Wild Bounce

You don't see this every day.  A pitcher throws a wild pitch so hard to the backstop that it bounces almost all the way back to the mound.  Nats reliever Henry Rodriguez did it on Sunday afternoon and almost was hit in the head by the rebounding baseball.

The batter's reaction is pretty funny too as he gets scared the ball is gonna hit the pitcher.

Reds Crush Nats, NEXT GAME!

Nationals 0, Reds 15

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Nationals	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	5	2
Reds	0	2	3	1	1	0	7	1	x		15	19	0

Read the full box score at ESPN

Welcome to Washington Dan Haren!  With the Nats new starter on the mound on Friday night, the Cincinnati Reds destroyed Washington at Great American Ballpark in a 15-0 beat down shutout.  The Nats didn't have much of a chance with the pitching staff giving up 19 hits and 7 homeruns to the Reds.

There was little to be exited about if you are a Nationals fan.  In their first true test of the season the Nats were embarrassed.  Haren only survived 4 innings giving up 9 hits, 6 runs, and 4 homers.  I'm not sure if he watched any of DC baseball last season, but that ain't gonna fly here.

Zach Duke was the only kind-of-bright spot out of the bullpen (5 earned runs lol) eating up 2 2/3rds middle innings after Haren's early exit to save some of the Nats pitchers.  But with Dukes departure in the 7th inning, in stepped Henry Rodriguez who gave up a walk followed by a grand slam.

Jayson Werth shows Davey Johnson that a fan reached out and touched a homerun to interfere

It is questionable that Rodriguez is on the roster, let alone being placed in actual Major League baseball games.  How can Davey have confidence to put this guy in anything that isn't an 8 run ballgame?

The recently shaved Danny Espinosa finally picked up a hit (LOL), and finished with a single and a double and the struggling Ian Desmond picked up a double on his final at bat.  Denard Span was on base 3 times with a single and two walks, and Lombardozzi came into the game to hit a double late.  Other than that, there was no offense whatsoever.  The Nats couldn't even muster a single run.

Game 4 of 162 isn't a time to panic.  These types of games happen, and a 15-0 blowout is the same as a 3-2 squeaker.  Tomorrow the Nats will have a chance to show the Reds that Friday night was a fluke.  But when this series is over we will know a little more about the Nats...

Henry Rodriguez Is Mr. Henry

After a 1-2-3 scoreless inning of relief on Thursday against the Marlins, Henry Rodriguez was given a new nickname by Nats announcer F.P. Santangelo.  

"There is an establishment around the corner from 6th and Pennsylvania called Mr. Henry's, and if he goes 1-2-3 right here, and he has a clean inning, he's gonna be Mr. Henry the rest of the year"

Still sad that Larry Leadoff is now Tommy Two-Spot...

Bad Night For Nats

Nationals 0, Brewers 6

Tonight wasn't pretty as the Nationals saw their winning streak end at 6.  They lost to the Brewers tonight, giving up 6 runs without scoring a single run.  Detwiler didn't pitch that bad, but he did give up 4 runs over 4.2 innings.  Craig Stammen came in from the pen and proceeded to give up 2 more runs to get the Brewers to 6.  Cory Hart and Aramis Ramirez both homered for the Brewers.

Their isn't much to talk about on the offensive side of the coin.  Lombardozzi, LaRoche, Morse, and DeRosa all recorded 1 hit on the night, and that was all she wrote.

"Michael Morse gets what you call a thing" -Bob Carpenter

H-rod pitched well in the 8th and Storen had a solid 7th inning, although both had zero pressure on them.

Can't win them all.  The Nats are at it again tomorrow for the third game of four against the Brewers. 

Edwin JacKKKKKKKKKson Wows, Offense Doesn't

Braves 4, Nationals 0

Edwin Jackson did everything he could to help the Nationals win, but the offense wasn't on the same page as the Braves shutout the Nats on Saturday afternoon at Nats Park, the first game of the doubleheader.

After a night when the Nats bullpen was decimated, Edwin Jackson pitched a 111 pitch 7 inning gem, the only run a solo homer by Brian McCann.  Jackson struck out 9 batters and only gave up 5 hits.

Unfortunately for the Edwin, the offense was non-existent.  The Nats only had 6 hits on the day, left 6 guys on base and were 0-7 with  runners in scoring position.

Henry Rodriguez came in for Jackson in the 8th in another terrible outing for the fastballer.  H-Rod gave up a single, walked a guy, and after a double steal and a wild pitch it was 2-0 Braves.  After a 2-1 count to the next batter Davey had seen enough.  The pitcher was pulled mid-batter and Mattheus came in with 0 outs and a runner on 3^rd.

Mattheus escaped the jam, but gave up a 2 run homer to Chipper Jones in the 9th and the Braves won the game 4-0

The game was a rough one for the Nationals who lost Bryce Harper after he bunted off his ankle in the first, an injury that caused him to leave the game in the 3rd inning.  X-Rays showed that it wasn't broken.  Jesus Flores also looked hurt, a possible back issue.  Both players will be out of the starting lineup for game 2.

John Lannan to pitch the next one...

Wake Up Davy!

Good Mornin, Good Mornin!  And what a lovely morning it is!  The sun has come up. Tomorrow is now today. Davy Johnson told us last night that he needed to sleep on his decision about the Washington National's closer position.  Well...

 WAKE UP DAVY!

The birds are chirping.  The sun is out (for now).  The Nats won last night.  Everything is sunshine & rainbows.  Well everything except that pesky closer position.  So who's it gonna be Davy?  You have a few choices:
Henry Rodriguez - Tyler Clippard - Sean Burnett - Craig Stammen - Committee 
Say Henry Rodriguez.  I dare you.  After H-Rod gave up a walk-off grand slam to Joey Votto and the Reds a few weeks ago, the young pitcher's time was up.  But as Davy does to a fault, he stuck with his guy.  "Yes, he's my closer."  It was too close a call on Monday night against the Phils.  He fooled you once Davy, shame on him.  If he fools you again, shame on you!
You've got Sean Burnett, but he is your only lefty (besides Gorzelanny) in the bullpen.  You are possibly going to have to use him for a matchup before the 9th inning.  But with three right handers coming up in the final frame, perhaps Burnett would fare well.
You've got Tyler Clippard, but you love having him pitch the 8th inning.  Plus he isn't pitching as well as he has in the past.  Clip has 1 career save under his belt.  Give the guy a chance!
Then you've got Craig Stammen, who has been having a career year this season.  Stammen's ERA is 1.44 and he has struck out 23 in 19 innings.  He's been pitching the 6th & 7th inning, but maybe you can leapfrog him over Clip.
I think you like your 3 inning plan.  The starter pitches 6-7 strong.  Guy C in 7th if needed.  Guy B in 8th.  Guy A in 9th.  But if you really want. you can throw out a committee.  You could Alternate Clippard & Stammen and toss in Burnett to face righties.  You could keep Clip in the 8th slot and alternate Stammen & Burnett.  Or you could just flip a three sided coin?
So as you read the morning paper today, think it over.  Think long and hard.  Because if you put in Henry to close one more time, and he can't get the job done, then your managerial skills need to be questioned.
Who's it gonna be Davy...Who's it gonna be...?...

Job Opening: MLB Closer

When Drew Storen went down with an injury before the season started, the closer job was going to be shared by the shaky veteran Brad Lidge and the unproven young heater thrower Henry Rodriguez.  Because neither one of these guys was the perfect option, it looked like Davy Johnson was going to go with a closer by committee until the return of Drew Storen.

Well with Brad Lidge leaving for the DL with a sports hernia until June at the earliest and Henry Rodriguez losing his ability to handle the pressure, Davy Johnson has to make a choice.

Rodriguez has walked 5 straight batters and one night after giving up a game winning walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning he couldn't get more than one out before loading the bases and putting the game winning run up to bat.

Davy Johnson most certainly will demote H-rod and replace him with either the setup man Clippard, or a guy like Craig Stammen to finish games.

Clippard has been very consistent over the last several years, but his strength has been in the 8th inning.  This season he is 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA.  Stammen has been much stronger, striking out over 1 guy per inning with a 3-0 record and a 1.29 ERA.  Burnett and Mattheus could also be options.

Just looking at the numbers, I would lean towards Stammen taking over.  Stammen has more "closer type stuff".  That would allow Clippard to remain where he is comfortable in the 8th slot.  Then H-Rod could fill the 7th inning role that Stammen has been so good at and gain back some confidence.

Davy J may also try more of a committee approach with Tyler & Craig, and throw H-Rod in the 8th here and there, but one thing is certain.  Henry Rodriguez is not the answer to close games.

UPDATE:  Really Davy, Still gonna go with him?

Nats End Shaky, But Pick Up A W

Nationals 8, Padres 5

The Washington Nationals escaped with a victory against the Padres on Monday night after Henry Rodriguez almost blew the game for a second straight night.  Rodriguez walked 3 out of 4 batters he faced and Davy Johnson finally pulled him with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 9th.  Sean Burnett came in and promptly turned a 1-2-3 double play to end the game and secure the win.

The Nationals finally scored 8 runs in a game behind 11 hits, one of those being Bryce Harper's first career Major League home run.  Chad Tracy hit a pinch hit home run in the 8th and Nady followed it up with a solo shot of his own to give the Nationals some insurance for the shaky H-Rod who was coming off allowing a walk-off grand slam for the blown save.

The game was back & forth all night with 6 tie/lead changes.  Detwiler gave up 4 hits and 4 of his runs were earned in just 5 innings of work, but Stammen (W, 3-0) pitched the 6th and 7th and Clippard (H, 9) locked up the Dres in the 8th.  One of these two guys is going to be the new closer named tomorrow.

Next up is a random Tuesday matinee against the Padres at Nats Park (1:05pm)...Nattys are back up half a game on the Bravos...

Nationals Lose to Joey Votto

Nationals Lose: 6-9 (Happy Mothers Day!)

Well the Nationals lost today.  Despite what the schedule may tell you, it wasn't to the Reds.  No, no, it was to Joey Votto.  Read on for some of my thoughts on tonight's loss:

• First off, MAJOR respect for the few (like 10) Reds fans who stuck out the rain delay and watched the whole game.  You deserved to watch your team win I guess.

• Jackson was decent against guys without the last name Votto.  He also out pitched Arroyo through 5 innings before they both got the hook, giving the team a chance to win.
• It was great to see Harper and Espinosa break out some offense tonight.  LaRoche also continued to be solid at the plate.
• Jesus Flores did great tonight at the plate and behind it.  He made a remarkable save on a wild pitch to save the game while H-rod was on the mound.  Keep this up Jesus cause Ramos is out for the year.
• Watching Bryce Harper lose track of that high fly ball in the outfield was painful.  At least it didn't hit him in his head.  You know, in the stitches area.
• H-rod blew another save.  The broadcasters tried to make say that the mound conditions were messing him up.  That might of been the case, but if you want to be a major league closer you got to get the job done.  He didn't tonight and gave up a grandslam walkoff homer to...
• JOEY VOTTO.  I mean, there was nothing we could do to stop him.  He went 4-5 with 3 homeruns, the last of which was a walkoff grandslam.  When I saw him step to the plate in the 9th, I turned to my roommate and said: "have you ever seen a walkoff grandslam?"  He has now, but I wish he hadn't.

This loss stings.  It always will when you lose a game in the 9th that way.  The team comes home tomorrow to start a long home stand and hopefully the guys can build on the offense produced tonight.

A couple questions for you all, feel free to answer in the comments or via twitter (@dru90):

1. Do you send H-rod out there the next time a save opportunity comes up?  If not then who?
2. Was this your first time seeing a walk off grandslam?
3. Were you digging the pink gloves, bats, shoes, sleeves from today?
4. Would you have stayed at the ballpark through a 3h 36m rain delay?

 

Season Preview: The Nationals Bullpen

This season the Nationals have three guys who have some decent closing experience.  The young starting pitching staff should be able to go deep most nights, and these guys will be available to finish games:

Drew Storen (Closer):  Storen has been the closer in training for the last few years.  In 2011 he ended the season with 43 saves as the Nationals official closer.  He got about 1 K per inning last season, but he starts the season on the 15 day DL with an elbow issue.

Brad Lidge:  Lidge will start the season out as the closer as Storen heals and will move to a 7th inning type guy (I think).  Lidge was known for choking away big games and has been demoted from his closer role on multiple occasions by multiple teams.  We can only wait and see if we signed the dominant Lidge or the not so great Lidge.

Tyler Clippard:  Clippard made the All-Star team last season as an 8th inning set-up man.  This is a fairly new and unique "position" and Clippard has been lights out leading the league last season with 38.  In fact the Nats like him in this position so much they are having him stay in the position despite the injury to Storen.

Henry Rodriguez:  This guy fires the ball to the plate like nobody else at freak speeds often hitting 100 on the radar gun.  H-Rod averaged over 1 strikeout per inning last year and is a young fireball throwing pitcher, which could be good in the middle innings, or possibly if he has to close out a game.

The pitching staff includes only two lefties, which isn't exactly great.  Tom Gorzelanny, a demoted starter, and Sean Burnett who is in the league mainly because he is a lefty.  The other two righties that will start the season in the pen are Craig Stammen, a minor league type that the Nats tried to use as a starter in the past, and Ryan Mattheus, who pitched well in his first season in the majors last year.