Wilson Ramos Rally Horn Good For 3 Runs And A Win

During the 14th and deciding inning of the Washington Nationals Wednesday night never-ending game against the Dodgers, the MASN cameras picked up a great shot of Wilson Ramos in the dugout. The Nats catcher, nicknamed the Buffalo, had his Rally Hat on, a sideways cap that television announcer FP Santangelo dubbed the Rally Horn (because buffalo).  The horn was good for 3 runs that inning, and the Nats picked up the hard fought playoff-like victory. Here's another shot:

Nats Blow Lead, Beat Reds In Extras

Nationals 7, Reds 6 (11 Innings)

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		R	H	E
Nationals	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	2		7	10	3
Reds	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	2	0	1		6	13	0

Read the full box score at MLB

Tim McClelland Just Called Strike 3...

The Nats bounced back from an embarrassing 15-0 loss on Friday to defeat the Reds 7-6 in an 11 inning affair on Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati.  Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos hit 2 big time homeruns (watch at bottom) in the 11th inning to help the Nats make up for a blown save in the 9th inning by Rafael Soriano.

With Ross Detwiler set up for the win after 6 innings of 1 hit ball and a 5-3 lead, the Reds scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to stun the Nats and new closer Rafael Soriano.  But the Nats fought off the adversity, taking home the win in extras.

Great American Ballpark once again showed why it is one of the toughest parks on pitchers as the Nationals hit 5 homeruns in the contest. (Cincinnati hit 7 the night before).  Bryce Harper hit a 2 run shot in the 3rd inning, Wilson Ramos hit a 2 run shot in the 6th inning, Werth hit a solo shot in the 7th, and then Desmond and Ramos homered in the 11th to seal the victory.

Man With Baby Catches Jayson Werth's Homerun Ball (FP: "That is impressive...just don't drop the kid")

With the score 5-2 in the bottom of the 8th with the tying run at the plate, Davey Johnson let Drew Storen fight through the situation.  An Ian Desmond error allowed a run to score and a terrible throw by Bryce Harper who tried to throw out a guy at home who had already scored, allowed the runners to advance and the tying run to stand on 2nd base.  Storen stepped up and struck out Xavier Paul to end the danger and the inning.

But in the bottom of the 9th, the collapse was completed.  Sin-Soo Choo lead off the inning with a homer, and then Joey Votto hit a triple off the wall and scored on a wild pitch.  It was Rafael Soriano's first blown save of the season.

Craig Stammen pitched the 10th and 11th innings giving up a run, but taking home the win.

One of the most interesting plays of the game was a Bryce Harper single up the middle.  Reds shortstop Zack Cozart came across the infield and booted the grounder, the ball rolling a few feet away right in the 1st-2nd baseline.  Bryce Harper hustled to first base, then took a big turn around the bag, considering trying to take 2nd base on the play.  Only Bryce.

The Nats and Reds meet again on Sunday afternoon...

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

Weekly Fan Poll: Injured Nationals

Each week we will ask you a question to see what you think about the Nats organization.  So vote, leave comments, tweet us, etc and we will discuss the results next week.

Last Monday we asked you who you would rather see pitch if you could only choose 1 guy for 1 game.  The results were 75% in favor of Gio Gonzalez with only 25% going with Stephen Strasburg.

I know that Gio has been pitching lights out lately.  In fact he was the MLB Pitcher of the Month for May.  But do you really want to take Gio over Stephen Strasburg?  Remember when Strasburg pitched his first Major League Game?  You aren't taking him?

I would like to ask the same people who participated this same question again now, after Strasburg's gem and Gio's letdown this weekend.  I bet it would flip completely.  Although how can you not vote for Gio Gonzalez for anything.

But I don't want to ask that question.  I could probably ask it all year.  Instead, this week's question will focus on injuries.  With Michael Morse coming back finally, I was thinking about some of the other guys that were on the DL with him.

Your answer doesn't have to be the biggest impact player.  It just has to be the player on the team that you hate not seeing out on the field.  So...

Which Injured Nat Do You Miss The Most?

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.

Next Up, Carlos Maldanado

On Monday night there was a lot of joking around in a half serious way about playing Bryce Harper in the catcher position.  The reason that it was half-serious is because for the second time in 3 days, the Nationals lost a catcher to injury.

On Saturday night the Nats lost starting catcher Wilson Ramos for the season with a torn ACL and just 2 games later AA-call-up Sandy Leon found himself laying on the ground in agony as well.  Leon's injury was a sprained ankle caused by a collision at the plate.  Four innings of a Major League career, 1 strikeout looking, and down to the DL, his Major League chance possibly washed away.

While Bryce Harper could put on the catcher's gear, that is the last thing the Nationals want.  In their mind Harper never played catcher and never will again.  Especially after watching all these violent collisions around the league, and within the organization where catchers careers are ruined, you'd have to be insane to put Bryce there.

So the organization has made the decision to bring up Carlos Maldonado.  He is the AAA catcher that was overlooked on Saturday night for the likes of AA Sandy Leon.  Maldonado played a few games in 2006 & 2007 for the Pirates (21) and a handful for the Nats in 2010 (4), but has been a career minor leaguer since 1997.

At 33 years old Maldonado is being brought up just to fill in.  Not as exciting as Leon, who at 23 years old is 10 years younger and was somewhat of a "prospect".

So for the Nationals not much changes.  Jesus Flores is the everyday catcher and Maldonado will be around to back him up...here's hoping these guys can stay healthy and can we ELIMINATE the home plate collision from the game already?

By the way, I've heard Pudge Rodriguez's name mentioned by fans...

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

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.

Season Preview: Defense: The Nationals Infield

The Nats may finally start opening day with a lineup that they want.  The infield appears healthy for opening day with some guys who could be in town for a few seasons to come:

(3B) Ryan Zimmerman:  Zim is the anchor of the infield and after this winter's contract extension he should find himself at the hot corner until 2019 in DC.  Ryan has one gold glove (back in 2009) and is a pretty solid guy to have in the field for almost every game if he can stay healthy.

(SS) Ian Desmond:  Dez has been an every day shortstop for the past two years.  However, he has committed 57 errors in that time.  The Nationals like having him in the lineup and they think he has the potential to become a good shortstop.

(2B) Danny Espinosa:  Last season was technically Espinosa's rookie year and he really came out of nowhere at the plate.  In the field Espy helped turn over 100 double plays last year, and did a solid job at second starting in all but 7 games.

(1B) Adam LaRoche:  Roach only made it through 42 games last season before tearing his labrum and had a terrible offensive season.  However on the defensive side, Adam didn't commit a single error and Morse was a little less reliable as a fill in.  The Nats also had Chris Marrero to fill in, but he is out for a long time with a torn hammy.

(C) Wilson Ramos:  WilRam like Espinosa was technically a rookie last season and he threw 32% of runners stealing which was good for 3rd in the majors.  Let's see what he can do in his 2nd season.  Jesus Flores will be filling in to give Willy a rest.

The Nats also have a few guys around that are going to fill in at any position they can.  Mark DeRosa will be starting in left field but when Morse comes back he can play some infield.  Steve Lombardozzi and Chad Tracy will also be on the roster to start the season as utility guys.