Welcome Cesar Izturis To The Nats

The Washington Nationals have acquired Cesar Izturis off of waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.  (no trade was involved). The Nationals need a utility man in the infield and the man with that job currently is Mark DeRosa who will head to the DL with an abdominal strain.  (Read more from the Washington Times)

Mark DeRosa was batting a horrible .152 before the injury, but the Nats needed utility help and they liked his veteran leadership.  That is most likely why they are replacing him with another veteran presence.  DeRosa makes Izturis' .235 batting average look like .400, but the main reason for the signing was defensive help.

This will be Izturis' 8th team in the Majors and the Nationals hope he can help fill in at different positions until Ian Desmond returns from injury.

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. 

Rockies @ Nationals: Game Preview (7/6)

Rockies vs Nationals

7:05 PM Nationals Park

MASN-1

Story Lines:

• The Rockies helped jump start the Nats offense, lets not return the favor.
• In the last two series that Nats haven't scored less than 5 runs in a game.
• Strasburg is trying to avoid watching the team lose 3 in a row on his starts.

Pitching Match Up:

• Drew Pomeranz
• 0-3 with a 3.72 ERA.
• The only Nat he has faced is Mark DeRosa.
• He has lost his last two games, both to the Padres, who are awful.

• Stephen Strasburg
• 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA.
• Only pitched 3 innings last start because of dehydration in the heat.
• Fun Fact: Stras has only intentionally walked 1 person in his career, Colorado's Jordan Pacheco.

Who to Watch:

• Dexter Fowler
• Batting .667 with a triple and 1 RBI against Strasburg lifetime.
• Went 2-4 yesterday against the Cardinals.
• Leads the Rockies in walks (36) and triples (9).

• Mark DeRosa
• The only guy to face Pomeranz on the Nats, batting .333 lifetime off of him.
• Had a hit an run scored yesterday pinch hitting off the bench.
• Is batting .333 in the last 7 days with two doubles.

Keys to the Game:

1. Hydration.  Drink plenty of fluids Strasburg.
2. Short Innings.  Work quickly and play good defense.  Get off the field as much as possible.
3. Wear Out Their Pen.  Hot series and the Rockies have terrible starting pitching.  Get to the bullpen earlier and often today and drain them for the series.

Injury Update

Let's take a look at what is going on at Nats Hospital...

At The Exits

Roger Bernadina: (Day-to-Day) -Tweaked his right hamstring -Back Any Day

  
Mark DeRosa:  (15 Day DL) Oblique - Ready to begin minor league rehab - Back This Week


Ryan Mattheus:  (15 Day DL) Foot -Throwing simulated games- Back Late June


Chris Marrero:  (Rehab) - Could be back soon, where does he go? - Back Soon

In The Distance


Drew Storen:  (60 Day DL) Elbow - Throwing off the mound, still targeting the All-Star break for return - Back Late July


Jayson Werth:  (60 Day DL) Wrist - Surgery from broken wrist, now just waiting to heal -  Back Late July-Early August


Chad Tracy:  (15 Day DL) Groin - Recovering from successful surgery - Out For 2 months...or the year...


Finished

Wilson Ramos:  (Doneski) Torn ACL -Had 1st of 2 surgeries successfully -  Never Coming Back

Washington Nationals Injury Update

The injuries keep piling up...let's take a look at what is going on at Nats Hospital...

At The Exits

Brad Lidge:  (Rehab) Hernia - Played Down in Potomac - Back End Of Week Maybe


Mark DeRosa:  (15 Day DL) Oblique - Recently took batting practice - Back Any Day


Ryan Mattheus:  (15 Day DL) Foot - Out of boot, Nats being careful- Back- Mid-Late June


In The Distance


Drew Storen:  (60 Day DL) Elbow - Moved to 60 day to get Mike Gonzalez on the roster - Back Late July


Jayson Werth:  (60 Day DL) Wrist - Surgery from broken wrist, now just waiting to heal.  Just transferred to 60-day.  Back Early August


Chris Marrero:  (60 Day DL) Shoulder - Having problems in rehab.  Back Late Season


Chad Tracy:  (15 Day DL) Groin - Reports had him out for the year, FP Santangelo said Tracy texted him and said 6 weeks - Out For 6 Weeks...or the year...

Finished

Wilson Ramos:  (Doneski) Torn ACL - Starting catcher out for the season.  Never Coming Back

Sandy Leon:  (60 Day DL) Ankle - One Game, One At Bat, One Strikeout, Done. I'm taking him off this cuz the only reason he was up is Jhonatan was hurt. Back To Minors Mid-July

Nats Injury Update

The injuries keep piling up...let's take a look at what is going on at Nats Hospital...

At The Exits

Michael Morse: (Rehab) Lat - Morse is starting his rehab assignment today in Potomac.  He hit 2 homers in his previous rehab game in "extended spring training".  Back Soon


Mark DeRosa:  (15 Day DL) Oblique - Recently took batting practice - Back This Week


Jesus Flores:  See Below

Mid-Term

Ryan Mattheus:  (15 Day DL) Foot - A few weeks in a boot - Back- Mid-Late June


Drew Storen:  (15 Day DL) Elbow - Back Mid-July


Brad Lidge:  (15 Day DL) Hernia - Recently threw some bullpen sessions - Back Mid-July


Chad Tracy:  (15 Day DL) Groin - Reports had him out for the year, FP Santangelo said Tracy texted him and said 6 weeks - Out For 6 Weeks...or the year...


In The Distance

Jayson Werth:  (60 Day DL) Wrist - Surgery from broken wrist, now just waiting to heal.  Just transferred to 60-day.  Back Early August


Chris Marrero:  (60 Day DL) Shoulder - Having problems in rehab.  Back Late Season

Catchers Ward

Wilson Ramos:  (Doneski) Torn ACL - Starting catcher out for the season.  Never Coming Back

Jesus Flores:  (Day to Day) Hammy - With Ramos out, Maldanado a poor hitter, a new catcher coming up, Flores needs to play through tight hamstrings.  While he does let's hope they don't get worse.  Could Play This Week

Sandy Leon:  (60 Day DL) Ankle - One Game, One At Bat, One Strikeout, Done.  Back Mid-July At Earliest


Carlos Maldanado isn't injured, but he is a poor hitter, so Nats brought up the next guy Jhonatan Solano just in case.

Those Injury Blues

If you were watching Saturday's game (May 12th) than you probably saw National's catcher Wilson Ramos crumple to the ground while chasing a ball that got away from him behind the plate.  If you were watching the Capitals game 7 playoff game maybe you haven't heard about it.  Here is a brief look at the injuries the Nat's are dealing with and when they will be back (hopefully!):

 Late May:

• Chien-Ming Wang: strained hamstring. Our starters have been good, but with Wang we could toy with having a 6-man rotation to preserve Starsburg this season (innings limit).

 June:

• Mark Derosa: oblique strain.  Was suppose to give Zimmerman some days off at 3B.
• Brad Lidge: abdominal strain.  Do we want him back closing? Some nights H-rod makes us.
• Mike Morse: lat strain.  Probably a quick fix for our slumping offense.  We hope.
• Drew Storen: bone chips in elbow.  The debate over Lidge and H-rod closing gets solved when he comes back.

July:

• Cole Kimball: shoulder surgery. Had a 1.93 through 12 games last season out of the bullpen.
• Chris Marrero: torn hamstring/messed up shoulder. Decent young player. Gives us options at 1B.

August:

• Jayson Werth: broken wrist. Fixing the struggles at the plate aren't going to come easy without this guy in the lineup.  Plus we need his beard.

Out for the Season:

• Wilson Ramos: torn ACL.  Not good.  Ramos is a good hitting catcher and a steady presence behind home for our pitchers.   The Nat's still have Flores and the minor leagues to fill the spot, but personally I would feel a lot better if the team signed a veteran option to be the backup.  Bring back Pudge! 

If you missed how Ramos went down because of the Caps game here is a link to the MASN video of the injury: OUCH

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Just a day after Bryce Harper made his Major League debut, the Nationals have called up another left fielder, Tyler Moore, who will be replacing Mark DeRosa on the roster who went to the DL for undisclosed reasons.

Moore was at AAA Syracuse with Harper and was hitting better than the Chosen One.  He had 7 homers and 20 RBI's compared to Bryce's 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  He will most likely be used as a utility guy who can play the outfield and first base.

Rizzo claims they considered bringing up the better playing Moore instead of Harper but Moore wasn't ready for left field.  That is a funny thing to read about.  I'm sure that is why.  And looks like he is ready now? Those 3 days really helped. -MLB

This will probably just be a "cup of coffee" with players like Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse returning to the lineup from the DL at some point in time.  But it is a good chance for some experience for the young player.

Not sure what the deal is with DeRosa.  He hasn't been a good fill-in this season and his batting average is .081.  No that isn't a typo.  He has only 3 hits this year in 37 at-bats.  I think this move may mean the end of DeRosa on the Nats, and it is the right move.

We'll have to wait and see when Moore will get his first chance to help the team.

Season Preview: Nationals Batting Order

The Nationals are starting the season two starters short.  Most of the Nats have batted all over the lineup and if they haven't they probably will this season.  This is really hard to predict, and Davy Johnson is sure to do a lot of tweaking:

1.  Ian Desmond:  The Nationals have never really had a leadoff hitter.  They think that Desmond can be the man although last season he batted 2nd a lot as well as at the bottom of the lineup.  He did lead the team with 25 steals, only 26th best in the majors.

2.  Danny Espinosa:  Espy had a surprising rookie year with 21 home runs.  Like Desmond he has moved all over the lineup, often batting in the 6th spot due to his power potential.  This year they are gonna start him in the 2nd slot, but we could see Werth there as well.

3.  Ryan Zimmerman:  This guy is the 3 man.  He is a Nationals staple.  Despite Morse leading the team in almost every batting stat including average, the Nats like Zimmerman in this spot due to his consistency.

4.  Michael Morse/Adam LaRoche:  LaRoche had a terrible offensive year last season before he was injured.  He played 42 games and hit .172.  That is worse than terrible.  With Morse returning to the lineup soon LaRoche will probably move down to 6th to make room for Matt.

5.  Jayson Werth:  While Werth followed up one of his best seasons with an egg for the Nationals he still ended up with 20 home runs.  His numbers were down just about across the board, but if he can at least get a little bit closer to his 2010 form, he will have a good rebound year.  If.

6:  Adam LaRoche/Mark DeRosa:  As discussed already LaRoche may find himself down in the lineup.  DeRosa is just a fill in the blank guy.  He will fill in on different guys off days and probably move all over the lineup.

7:  Rick Ankiel/Roger Bernadina:  Ankiel has lost quite a bit of his power over the last few years and will probably be towards the end of the lineup.  Bernadina is just filling in and he can lead off or bat just about anywhere in the lineup as well.

8:  Wilson Ramos:  WilRam showed a little bit of power in his "rookie" year.  He hit 15 home runs. He found himself up in the lineup at times last season but Davy Johnson pretty much liked him hitting back here.

9:  Pitcher Spot:  Hopefully Gio can figure out how to survive an at bat...

Bryce Harper:  We are going to wait a month to find out where the Nats are at when Bryce comes up.  It's too early right now.