A Game Of Agony

Here are some of the reactions from the Washington Nationals at different moments during their 14 inning victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday. So much agony in one game. Thankfully, all these moments disappeared with a Nats win (victory reactions here).

Tyler Clippard Sporting DC Designed Socks For All Star Game

Looking to get in on those stylish socks that Washington Nationals relief pitcher Tyler Clippard is wearing for tonight's All-Star game? Well look no farther than DC based company, Lineup. This is the place to get custom socks based on your city, in our case DC. Here's a sample of what they have in their Fall 2013 collection:

The company has styles for Wizards fans, Caps fans, Skins fans, University of Maryland fans, and DC United fans. And they only run you $14.

The socks have been around for a while, but tonight, after Nats Insider Mark Zuckermann tweeted Clippard wearing them for his all star appearance, the internet demanded to know more.

Tyler Clippard's shoes for tonight's All-Star Game: pic.twitter.com/y8PfogATCV
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) July 15, 2014

Washington Nationals Bullpen Attends Caps Game, Caps Collapse, Gio Chooses Soccer

A few Washington Nationals pitchers made the day/night baseball/hockey doubleheader on Saturday.  Tyler Clippard, Craig Stammen, and Drew Storen were spotted in a suite at Verizon Center during the Caps matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning following a loss of their own to the Atlanta Braves earlier that day.  The Caps were up 5-1 at one point, but you'll never guess what happened.

Viva LaRoche! Nats Beat White Sox Behind 4 Homers

White Sox 7, Nationals 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
White Sox	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	2		7	11	1
Nationals	0	0	0	1	1	4	1	1	x		8	13	0

Read the full box score at ESPN

Adam LaRoche was stuck in a rut.  He hadn't gotten a hit in his first fifteen at bats this season.  But on Tuesday night at Nats Park, after missing 2 straight games with a sore back, the slugger crushed his first two hits of the season, both homeruns, in a 8-7 win over the Chicago White Sox.

(A character from an HBO show joined the President's Race...lame...)

Gio Gonzalez started for the Nationals, but struggled early on raising his pitch count.  Much to his dismay, Captain Hook yanked Gio after 5 innings at 99 pitches.  Gio only gave up 1 earned run, on a bases loaded balk, and struck out 7.

Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, and Adam LaRoche aptly named by FP as Murderer's Row

The Nats were in great position with a 6-2 lead heading into the 7th inning but Tyler Clippard gave up 3 runs and made the game much closer than it should be.  The Nats picked up insurance runs in the 7th and 8th, and Rafael Soriano came on in the 9th to seal the 8-5 victory.  Instead the new closer gave up a 2 run homer to Alex Rios and walked the game winning run before closing the game for his 3rd save of the season.

The Nationals finished the game with 4 homers, all big.  Ian Desmond a solo shot in the 5th, Jayson Werth (with a new walk-up song) hit a 2 run homer in the 6th, and LaRoche added one a few batters later in the 6th for his first hit of the season.  Bob Carpenter (continuing the hits) was so excited he exclaimed, "VIVA LAROCHE!" as the ball cleared the centerfield wall.

Later, in the 8th inning, LaRoche belted a second homer.

"He's baaaack!" - FP Santangelo

The Nats are now 5-2 with another 2 games against the White Sox starting tomorrow at 7...

Nationals, Teenage Mutant Ninja Hurlers Shirts

Here's a shirt that the Nats players are possibly wearing at Spring Training.  Google puts a date of January on this, so I don't think that this was randomly created today.

If this is the same shirt as described above, the players are Rafael Soriano, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, and Craig Stammen I believe.  I can't tell anything from this picture, lol.  Heroes On The Half Street!

Nats shirt created by @ambp77 (See links below)

You can get this shirt online here for $30 bucks.

Allan (@ambp77) first created the Photoshop for Tumblr then sent Ross Detwiler the image to create shirts.  It appears that Ross created the shirts, and a cause for minor buzz before a Spring Training game.  I suggest you see the other photoshops of Nats players at his Tumblr, they are awesome.

Bryce Harper Gets Biebered, Impersonates The Rock, Then Disses Nats Fans Sort Of

On Saturday afternoon at Natsfest, Gio Gonzalez and Tyler Clippard hosted a "talk show" in front of Washington Nationals fans.  Their guests included Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann, and Rookie of the Year, Bryce Harper.

Gio was very personable, although most of his questions were "Tell us about yourself", "What toys did you buy" and "How bout the fans".  Desmond talked about how he wanted Spring Training to start, Zimmermann talked about getting married in the offseason while Gio kept talking about his smile, and Bryce Harper once again provided some stomach churning awkward moments (just like on Kimmel).

Harper comes on stage to a familiar song, does a weird WWE Rock move, then proceeds to dis the entire Natsfest and Nationals fans...sort of.  Watch the video to see what he says that gets the crowd all up in arms:



More Videos From Natsfest:

• Danny Espinosa's Beard Takes Over
• DCSN Historic Newsreel William Howard Taft
• Welcome To DC Denard Span
• Chicken Mode meets the DC Mayor
• Images From Natsfest

VIDEO: A Quick Look At Rafael Soriano, New Washington National

We take just one minute to look at what the deal is with Rafael Soriano, who was acquired by the Nationals from the New York Yankees on Tuesday afternoon.  Check it out!

The Secret To The Washington Nationals Bullpen Success

While the Nationals bullpen hasn't been doing too amazing as of late (as a whole), they have been one of the main reasons the Nationals are sitting atop the National League East.  But how did these guys step up their game? What is their secret?  Well I've found out.  Take a look:

Mini Tyler Clippard At The Nats Game & The Mustachioed Man

Here are two different fans that were watching the Nationals take on the Astros on Tuesday night in Houston.

Fan #1 Is the Mini-Clip.  Somehow, Tyler Clippard hass shrunk.  Either Rick Moranis was involved or he was eating Frosted Mini-Wheats.

And Fan #2 has the greatest mustache in the history of the world.  This guy is 100% Texas baby!

Natty Dread

Braves 11, Nationals 10 (10 innings)

The Washington Nationals led the Atlanta Braves 9-0 on Friday night, but a rough inning for Stephen Strasburg and some bad bullpen pitching contributed to a Braves comeback and a Nats loss.  The Braves are now only 2.5 games back of the Nattys.

The Nats were rolling with help from three run homers by Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman.  But in the 6th inning Strasburg began his collapse.  The Nats All-Star finished with 5 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings, but he couldn't get into his groove all night.  Strasburg was lucky to make it into the 6th unharmed, and after giving up 2 runs and several baserunners, his night was done.

The bullpen came in and things did not get any better.  Each of the next 4 relievers for the Nats gave up 2 runs (Mike Gonzalez' were earned by Stras).  That included both Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard who blew his 2nd save in 3 games.

In the 10th, Zimmerman made a throwing error to first and Dan Uggla made it to 2nd base.  A passed ball later and the go ahead run was on 3rd.  Ian Desmond couldn't make the catch on a little duck snort (my favorite baseball word), Uggla scored, Nats lose.

Your Tyler Clippard update:

After his 14th save on July 7th, Clippard has given up 9 hits, 3 walks, and 8 runs in 6 appearances that included one save, 2 blown saves, and a loss.


The fun doesn't stop, 2 more games on Saturday in the Nats Braves series...

Clippard Scares, LaRoche Bombs, Nats Win

Nationals 4, Mets 3

Adam LaRoche sent a two run shot to the centerfield bleachers and the Washington Nationals went on to defeat the New York Mets 4-3 on Wednesday night at Nats Park.  The Nats have won the series against the Mets for the 3rd time out of 3 on the season.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched 6 innings of shutout baseball, the 2nd straight day the Nats starter has blanked the Mets.  Zimm struck out 4 and only gave up 4 hits on the night.  The Mets pitcher Chris Young was having an equally impressive day, but the slumping Adam LaRoche jacked out a bomb to give the Nats the 2-0 lead and knocked Chris Young out of the game when the inning was over.

The Mets knocked in a run against Gorzelanny, but Steve Lombardozzi came back in the bottom of the frame with a 2 out 2 run RBI double to plate some insurance runs for the Nattys.  No starter, no problem.

With a 4-1 lead, in came Tyler Clippard.  Clip blew a save on the previous night and it was looking like deja vu all over again.  Clippard gave up a homer to David Wright, and then after 2 strikeouts Jason Bay crushed a homer down the left field line.  Clip struck out the next batter to save his own save, his 15th of the year.  Zim got his 7th win (7-6).


Clip has given up 10 hits, walked 2, and gave up 6 runs in his last 6 appearances...Drew Storen anyone?

Every Nats starter had a hit on the night except for Tyler Moore and the pitcher.  Bryce Harper had 2 hits and a baserunning mistake where he got doubled up on a flyball.  Nats go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon, day game...

Wild Night In Washington For Harper's Homeboyz

Nationals 5, Mets 4

Get it...Wild night...

In a back and forth game featuring 9th and 10th inning comebacks by Washington, the Nationals defeated the Mets 5-4 in front of a crowd that refused to leave the ballpark.  Tyler Clippard blew a save in the 9th, but a clutch Bryce Harper RBI triple and a wild pitch by the Mets in the 10th with 2 outs, 2 strikes, and the bases loaded, gave the Nats the 5-4 win at Nats Park on Tuesday night.

Screengrab from MASN

Ross Detwiler pitched a brilliant game and any time he had runners on base he pitched out of the situation unharmed.  Detwiler gave up only 5 hits through 7 innings and shutout the Mets in a performance that had the fans as well as Bob Carpenter going crazy.


Tyler Moore hit a homer in the 5th that cleared the right field fence by only a foot or two.  That was the rookie's 5th homer on the season and he has been on fire since being re-called up from the minors in early June.  He has hit in 15 and been on base in 18 out of the 22 games he has played in since returning with the team.

A Mark DeRosa stolen base followed by a Steve Lombardozzi double gave the Nats an insurance run in the 8th.

Stunner 1:  That is when the Mets stunned the crowd.  Tyler Clippard came on for the save with the 2 run lead and gave up 2 singles to put the go-ahead run at the plate. He struck out the next batter but followed that up by giving up a 3 run homerun, blowing the save.


Stunner 2:  The Nats comeback came in the bottom of the 9th.  With a surprise 9th inning appearance by Ian Desmond as a pinch runner, a hit and run put Dezzy on 3rd base with 1 out.  Tyler Moore struck out but Danny Espinosa saved the day after a great at bat, singling in Desmond to send the game to extra innings.

Stunner 3:  Mike Gonzalez gave up an RBI double in the next inning and the Nats looked like they were going to lose a tough one at home.

Stunner 4:  The Nats shocked the crowd again in the bottom of the 10th when Bryce Harper saved the day with an RBI triple.  Two intentional walks and a force at home later, the ball was at the backstop and Ryan Zimmerman was touching home plate for the win.

Closer Situation: Clip has given up 8 hits, walked 2, and gave up 4 runs in his last 5 appearances, the one on Tuesday a blown save.  Davy has said that Clip will be the man when Storen returns, but the current closer is doing a lot of things that may have Davy begin to reconsider.

Sidenote:  The Nats first round pick Lucas Giolito joined Bob & FP in the booth.  FP said the kid who just turned 18 a few days ago received a congratulatory text from Samuel L. Jackson when he was drafted. (And FP may have got the story wrong, he probably meant tweet)

The Nats face the Mets again on Wednesday night...Braves are coming...

Fan Poll: What Should The Nats Do With The Closer Role

===================================

No Question Last week due to the All-Star Break

===================================

With Drew Storen beginning his rehab assignment, it is almost time for his return to the Majors.  Davey says Storen's arm isn't ready yet, but in a few weeks the Nats former closer should be back with the team.

Last season Storen was 43 for 48 on save opportunities and he finished the year with an ERA of 2.75.  Since Clippard became the closer he has saved 13 out of 14 and now has 14 saves on the season.  Davey has said that Clip and his 1.83 ERA will be counted on to close games even when Storen returens.

"It's not a bad problem to have" is what fans and management both say, but we want to get your opinion.

What do you think the Nats should do about the closer situation?

Nats Fall Short, Wild Pitches Kill

Rockies 4, Nationals 3

The Nationals fell short despite a exciting 9th inning rally and lost to the Rockies 4-3.  Jordan Zimmermann pitched another gem today, going 7 innings of 1 run, 3 hit baseball.  The Rockies got their only run off of J-zimm in the 2nd and the Nats would take the lead in the 4th off an Ian Desmond 2 run homer.

In the 7th, Roger "the Shark" Bernadina came in and reached first base on a 2 out bunt.  He stole second and was driven in by Lombo to get the Nats an insurance run going into the 8th.  That's when the trouble started.

For the first time all season, Burnett didn't seem to have his best stuff.  He gave up a homerun and couldn't record a single out.  He left runners on the corners for a hastly warmed up Mike Gonzalez to deal with.  Gonzo would get out of the inning, but not before a wild pitch brought in the tying run from third.

The wild pitch bug was not gone as T-clip came into the 9th inning to try and keep the game tied.  Clip threw a wild one with Giambi at bat to let the go ahead run come in from third.  The Nats went to the bottom of the inning down by one.

Desmond and Bernadina both managed to reach base, and executed a double steal with two outs to give Jesus Flores a chance to win the game with a base hit.  He did not.  That Nats lost a hot one in DC, J-zimm saw another fantastic start go to waste, and the Nats failed to get to 50 wins before the break.

Still, 49 Wins ain't to shabby though, and the Nats will get some much needed rest this week before continuing their first place campaign into the second half of the schedule.  

Nats Rebound with a Win

Rockies 1, Nationals 4

The Nationals rebounded tonight behind a strong performance from Gio to beat the Rockies 4 to 1.  Gio went 6 innings pitching 1 run baseball, while giving up only 3 hits.  Mattheus, Burnett, and Clippard came in and handled the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning without issue and T-clip earned his 14 save of the season.

Washington took an early lead in the 2nd inning on a Desmond solo shot.  Apparently he has been dealing with an oblique strain and will miss the all star game, but he could have fooled me!  Francis pitched decently, but would leave in the 6th innings, an inning where Espinosa, Harper, and Zimmerman all crossed the plate to make the game 4-1.  

Nat's go out to try and win the series tomorrow afternoon.  Oh yeah, some guy by the name of Bryce was added to the all star roster.  

 

Battle of the Beltways: All Star Selection

In this addition of our review of local baseball we are talking allstars.  Without doing any actual research it is safe to say this all star game will have the highest concentration of Orioles and Nationals players ever.  So lets take a look at who made the cut and who got snubbed.

Baltimore:

• Jim Johnson: Closer, 23 saves, 1.30 ERA.
• Adam Jones: Centerfield, .300, 19 HR, 41 RBIs.
• Matt Wieters: Catcher, .249, 11 HR, 38 RBIs, 36% throwing out baserunners.

Washington:

• Gio Gonzalez:  10-3, 2.78 ERA, 108 Ks, 3 HR surrendered.
• Stephen Strasburg: 9-3, 2.81 ERA, 122 Ks.
• Ian Desmond:  .276, 13 HR, 43 RBIs.

No surprisingly there were no Orioles or Nationals voted into the starting lineup in the fan vote.

However, fear not!  There is still a chance to vote in a player from each team in the final fan vote!  Take a look at how they stack up against their biggest competition...

All-Star Selection Show

Coming up on Sunday afternoon, about a half an hour before the Nationals take on the Atlanta Braves, TBS will be broadcasting a special All-Star Selection Show to reveal the players who have been chosen to be on the All-Star team.

The show is a 1 hour special and at the end they will announce the "Final Vote" thing where fans will vote in one player for each roster.

From TBS:  Host Matt Winer will be joined in the TBS studio during the Selection Show by analysts Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken Jr. and David Wells to introduce the teams and provide analysis on the selections.

So let's take a final look at the Nationals and their All-Star chances:

The Pitchers:

Strasburg:  Right now there is only one player on the Nationals who appears to be a lock selection to the team. That player is Stephen Strasburg, and while he most likely won't be the starter, he will probably be the #2 pitcher on the National League roster.  Prediction:  IN

Gio:  Gio Gonzalez is the next National who will probably get a consideration to make the team, but his ERA has dropped all the way down to 13th in the NL.  A few weeks ago he was looking like a lock, but now things are a bit different.  Gio is still #5 in strikeouts and is tied with 3 other guys for 2nd with 10 wins.  Prediction:  IN

Clip:  Alot of fans and the local media have brought up Tyler Clippard as a possibility to represent the NL citing that he has been there before, but not being a closer for the entire season really hurts his case.  Clip is 13/13 on saves in the closer role, he blew one save as a setup man, and he also has 10 holds on the season.  He is in the top 10 in saves but the other guys have more, on more attempts.  Prediction:  OUT


The Postition Players:


Desmond:  Ian Desmond is the only player on the team that has any chance at being chosen based on his current production.  Among NL shortstops he is #4 in average, #2 in homers, and leading in both doubles and RBIs.  LaRussa has said in the past that he likes the way Desmond plays, but with the Nats already having 1-2 pitchers on the roster, Dezzy may get left out.  Especially considering the #3 shortstop (avg) is Raphael Furcal, who played for LaRussa last year.  Prediction:  OUT


Bryce Harper:  Tony LaRussa has mentioned that the All-Star game is not a "real" game.  It is more of a sideshow for entertainment purposes.  That is why he said he might consider throwing Chipper Jones on the roster despite his lack of production.  While this would work in favor of Tony selecting Harper, I don't really think that will happen.  Instead Harper will end up being added as a guy on the final fan vote ballot, most likely making the team that way.  Prediction:  OUT but added later.

So tune in at 1pm and find out who is in and who is out before watching the Nats try to win the series against the Braves.

Player Pick 'em Mid Week Update

With one series in the books lets take a look at how this weeks competition is going!  Who picked who is listed under each player.  If you want to play next week let me know (@dru90).


Leading the Pack:

• Michael Morse (Dru):  .474 average with 5 runs and 5 RBIs.
• @Sc0ttieDoesntNO
• @meganreio

Best of the Rest:

• Danny Espinosa: .200 average with 3 runs and 1 RBI.
• @natsgirl19

The Rest:

• Stephen Strasburg (Chris): 6 IP with 6 hits, 3 runs, 8 Ks. 

• Tyler Clippard (Cammy):  Did not pitch.

Player Pick 'em

 

Last week's winner:  Dru with Ian Desmond who batted .250 with a homerun and 3 RBIs and awesome fielding.  LaRoche had a great game Saturday, but only batted .105 with 1 RBI all week.  Wang....yeah.

This week we have a new challenger to the mix.  Sandra (@natsgirl19) has decided to throw her hat into the ring and show us how its done.

• Dru: Michael Morse.  Time for beast mode to come alive in Colorado.  Plus he is on my fantasy team and I need points.
  
  
• Sandra: Danny Espinosa. She picked Danny because he is really starting to heat up at the plate recently.
• Cammy: Tyler Clippard.  She picked T-clip because she remembered his name and she already picked Jesus in a prior week.
• Chris:  Stephen Strasburg.  2 starts this week, this is a no-brainer.  No analysis required.  You may as well give me the W right now!

Standings:
Dru: 2
Chris: 1
Cammy: 0

Email Dru if you want to join the competition this week.  Just pick send an email before first pitch on Monday with one of the four players listed, 'the field' if you think someone else will do better, along with your twitter name, real name, facebook name, or whatever.

Jackson Shuts Down Birds in B-more

Nationals 3, Orioles 1

Edwin Jackson improved to 4-4 on the year and the Nationals gave themselves to take their three game series in Baltimore with their 3 to 1 victory tonight over the birds.  The Nationals scored twice in the second inning on a throwing error that allowed Morse and LaRoche to cross homeplate. 

That would turn out to be all the run support Jackson would need on the night, as he cruised through 6.1 innings while giving up only 1 run on a homer via Adam Jones in the 7th.  Chen pitched good, but not great as Morse and LaRoche came alive at the plate.  LaRoche notched his 13th homerun of the season in the 4th to give the Nats an extra insurance run.

Ryan Zimmerman continued to look lost at the plate and committed his 4th fielding error at third base this season...Yikes.  The defensive play of the night has got to go to Ian Desmond, who recorded an unassisted double play at second base.

Finally, all is well at the back end of the bullpen as Burnett and T-clip used their 1-2 combo in the 8th and 9th inning to close out the game, Clip's 12th of the season.  The rubber game of the series is tomorrow.