Nationals Beast (and least) of the Week

The Nationals Beast of the Week is…

RHP Joel Hanrahan. Joel had a phenomenal spring but suffered a rough start to the season. He’s been pitching very well of late, and had a great week for the Nationals, pitching 5.2 innings in 3 games, surrendering just one run on 3 hits, striking out 6 and walking one. His ERA for the week was 1.59, his WHIP was 0.71. Very impressive numbers for a pitcher who barely made the team in April.

Runners-Up: Lastings Milledge, Ryan Zimmerman, Luis Ayala

And the Nationals Least of the Week is…

2B Felipe Lopez. Look, it was a great story when Felipe won back his starting job at second base. But since then, he’s been extremely mediocre, to say the least. The former All Star hit .174 for the week, striking out 5 times. His OBP, extremely important for a leadoff man, was an awful .269. He doesn’t only deserve to be moved down in the lineup, he deserves to lose his starting job when Ronnie Belliard comes back from the DL.

Runners-down: Jesus Colome, Matt Chico, Dmitri Young

Around the Beast

Nationals 5-Brewers 1

Jeff Suppan pitched well for Milwaukee until the sixth, when the [long-absent] Washington offense came alive. After J.J. Hardy mishandled a double-play ball, the Nats broke through, scoring on doubles by Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores and on a Lastings Milledge sacrifice ground ball. Wily Mo Peña his his first home run of the year earlier in the first inning, and Suppan drove in the Brewers’ only run of the game.

Odalis Perez pitched well for the Nationals (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 84 P) but left with a no-decision. Brian Sanches, just called up from Triple-A Columbus, struck out the side in the sixth and was credited with the win. Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala, and Jon Rauch closed the door for Washington.

Rockies 5-Mets 4 (F/13)

The Mets dropped their fifth straight game as Matt Holliday hit a walk-off single in the 13th off of Aaron Heilman after homering off of Billy Wagner in the ninth to tie the game (Wagner’s second blown save of the year). It was a back and forth game as neither team dominated on the mound.

Oliver Perez was all over the place for the Mets, going 5 innings allowing 6 hits for 4 earned runs, walking 8 and striking out only 2, and allowing a home run on 110 pitches (just 56 for strikes). Rookie starter Greg Reynolds never dominated for the Rockies, going 6 full innings allowing 4 earned runs on 4 hits, walking 3, striking out 5, and allowing 2 home runs on just 84 pitches thrown. He left the game after allowing back-to-back home runs to Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis (who replaced the injured Marlon Anderson) in the 6th.

Driving in runs for the Mets were Luis Castillo, Delgado, Tatis, and Jose Reyes, who got in the home plate umpire’s face after being called out on a very low strike three in the 13th. Garrett Atkins, Clint Barmes, and Holliday drove in runs for the Rockies.

Astros 5-Phillies 4

Brandon Backe was superb for the Astros, giving up just one run in 7.1 innings pitched, striking out 6 and walking one. Adam Eaton didn’t pitch terribly for the Phillies (7.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO,2 HR, 96 P), but couldn’t keep the ball in the park, giving up two home runs to Hunter Pence.

Also driving in runs for the Astros were former Phillie Michael Bourn (who also stranded three on base), and Carlos Lee (his 36th of the season). For the Phillies, Pat Burrell homered in his second-straight game and Pedro Feliz and Jimmy Rollins also drove runs in.

Diamondbacks 11-Braves 1

Doug Davis returned from cancer surgery in unbelievable fashion, shutting the hot-hitting Braves lineup down for 7 innings, allowing just one earned run on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 4 on 89 pitches. His team responded, taking batting practice off of Jo-Jo Reyes (5.0 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 3 HR) and Chris Resop (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR).

Homering for the D-Backs were Stephen Drew, Eric Byrnes, Conor Jackson, Chris Young, and Mark Reynolds. Whew. Kelly Johnson drove in the only Atlanta run of the night.

Giants 8-Marlins 2

Scott Olsen finally came back down to Earth, surrendering 5 earned runs off of 8 hits in just 3.1 innings pitched, walking 3, striking out 2, and allowing a home run on 81 pitches. Olsen drops to 4-2. He was relieved by Doug Waechter, Renyel Pinto, and Tyler Tankersley, who all pitched much more effectively. Dan Uggla homered for Florida (his 15th of the year) in the ninth, driving in both Marlins runs of the evening.

Barry Zito finally got his first win of the season, giving up just one earned run in 6.1 innings of work, walking 4 and striking out 5. Bengie Molina and Jose Castillo homered for the Giants. Aaron Rowand drove in three runs, and Rich Aurilia drove in two more for San Francisco.

Brett Carroll had to leave the game in the fourth inning after separating his right shoulder. He’ll be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

 

Postgame: Nats 4 – Phillies 0 [BEAST-OFF]

The Nats, led by right-hander Tim Redding, shutout the Phillies 4-0 last night. Redding pitched 6 and a third innings, he allowed 7 hits, gave up 2 walks, and struck out 2. The Phillies certainly had their chances throughout, with men seemingly every inning. The Phillies left 9 men on base throughout the game, many times coming in the middle of the order or with only 1 out. But they couldn’t find their way around Redding.

Brett Myers did not have the same luck. While he was not lit up as he has been in some earlier starts, he only lasted 6 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, giving up 8 hits, striking out 2, and walking 3. One of those walks was a four pitch at bat to Redding.

Myers got off to a poor start in the first when Dmitri Young hit a sac-fly to Shane Victorino, scoring Cristian Guzman. I was at the game and it did not look like Victorino played the ball correctly. He ran in on the ball immediately, preventing him from using his momentum to make a great throw to the cutoff. Still, his throw was okay. It was Jimmy Rollins‘ throw that really was the problem. It was off enough that it made the play close. Guzman was safe despite Carlos Ruiz‘s best effort.

The Nats tacked on three more runs in the game with a two RBI Lastings Milledge double in the 3rd, and a Dimitri Young double play in the 7th. Weird, yea, but Guzman scored despite getting the two outs.

The Phillies have now lost 7 of 11, and 3 in a row, a season-high losing streak. The Nats won their second in a row.

Pregame: Nationals at Mets [BEAST-OFF]

The Game:Washington Nationals (17-24) at New York Mets (20-18)

The Matchup:Jason Bergmann (0-1, 11.68) at Mike Pelfrey (2-3, 4.86)

The Story: Aaron Heilman blew last night’s game for the Mets, surrendering three runs in one-third of an inning before being booed off of the field at Shea Stadium. Today, the Mets look to move on and go for the split against Washington. Mike Pelfrey got credited with the loss in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Reds, but has pitched better of late. He needs to be more aggressive and not get behind in counts in order to find success against the thin Washington lineup, which has the next to lowest batting average of any team in Major League Baseball.

Jason Bergmann returns to the Nationals after being demoted to Triple-A Columbus after a rough April 12 game against Atlanta. Bergmann pitches in the zone–his K/BB ratio this year is 6–so Mets hitters will look to attack the ball.

Should be interesting to see if Scott Schoeneweiss makes it to the game today; he was hospitalized after his arms turned blue and his hands went numb. According to Adam Rubin, this was just a complication from the flu-like symptoms that have been going around the Mets clubhouse lately. Scary stuff.

Late word that Nationals 1B Nick Johnson is being placed on the DL after an MRI revealed a tear of the tendon sheath in his right wrist (whatever that is). Dmitri Young will be recalled from his rehab assignment tomorrow.

For the Mets, Luis Castillo returns to the lineup after missing a couple of games with knee soreness. Marlon Anderson takes Moises Alou‘s place in the day after night lineup despite Alou’s early exit after being ejected last night. Ramon Castro gets the start behind the plate for New York.

For the Nationals, Lastings Milledge shifts to right field after appearing to have lost his center field job. Austin Kearns replaces him. Rob Mackowiak gets the start in left today begging the question, where have you gone, Wily Mo?

Lineups:

Nationals: Lopez (2B), Guzman (SS), Zimmerman (3B), Boone (1B), Milledge (RF), Kearns (CF), Mackowiak (LF), Flores (C), Bergmann (P)

Mets: Reyes (SS), Castillo (2B), Wright (3B), Beltran (CF), Church (RF), Delgado (1B), Castro (C), Anderson (LF), Pelfrey (P)

“Pitcher’s got a big butt!”

Actually, “Pitcher’s got a big butt…in AAA New Orleans!”

Nelson Figueroa can’t take the heat:

Figueroa was fuming over the behavior of some of the Nationals’ players during the third inning, whom he accused of singing and chanting as he pitched to Austin Kearns with the bases loaded and the score tied, 3-3.

“They were cheerleading in the dugout like a bunch of softball girls,” Figueroa said. “I’m a professional just like anybody else, so I take huge offense to that. … I think they need to show a little more class and professionalism. They won tonight but, in the long run, they are still who they are.”

Figueroa is as mild-mannered a player as the Mets have in their clubhouse, so his words resonate.

He wouldn’t say specifically who the Washington players were, but his tone indicated that it wasn’t something the Mets would take lightly. With three more games this week, a feud between the two teams could be brewing.

Lastings Milledge, the controversial outfielder the Nationals acquired from the Mets this winter, defended his teammates’ conduct.

“Well, what are we supposed to do?” Milledge said. “We’re not supposed to cater to anybody on the opposing team. We’re not going to cater to him or anybody else, so whatever. We’ve been down the last couple days; we want to get something going. If you don’t like it, you’ve got to just deal with it.”

Luckily for him, he won’t have to anymore, as he’s been designated for assignment.

-Greg Berlin

How ’bout those standings

It’s May 12, and the Florida Marlins are in first place.

That’s right, for the second week in a row, the team that just unloaded its sensational third baseman and its pitching ace is atop a division that includes the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

A fluke? Not at all.

This is just one of the surprising storylines that has made this start to the 2008 season one of the more interesting that I can remember. Here are the storylines, one per team, that are making baseball fans scratch their heads right now:

Nationals Beast (and least) of the Week

Tough choice here, but 1B Nick Johnson barely beats Ryan Zimmerman for the Beast of the Week honors. Nick hit .333 for the week, with a home run and 4 RBIs. He walked 8 times, striking out only 3, for a phenomenal OBP of .565. Nick’s bat will be crucial in the Nats lineup, as the failure to drive home Felipe Lopez and Cristian Guzman has been a significant problem thus far.

Runners-Up: Ryan Zimmerman, John Lannan

The least of the week for the Nationals is LHP Mike O’Connor. Having been moved into the rotation to take the place of ineffective starter Matt Chico, O’Connor needed to establish consistency at the back end of the starting five. He failed, going just 3.1, giving up 9 runs, all earned, on 6 hits, walking 6 and striking out just one. His WHIP increases to 2.44 on the season. His ERA climbs to 13.00. Ouch.

Runners-Up: Lastings Milledge, Felipe Lopez, Luis Ayala

Should the Nats hit the FA Market?

Thomas Boswell thinks so. In today’s Washington Post, Boswell argues that the Nats have to keep up with the rest of the division by signing free agents this offseason, mentioning Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, C.C. Sabathia, and Ben Sheets as possible targets.

Well first of all, scratch Sabathia right off that list, because there’s no way the Nats are getting anywhere close to C.C.

The article brings up a good point (even if Boswell is a bit delusional). The Nationals are at somewhat of a crossroads here. There is talent on this current team, but Jim Bowden’s “dream” lineup of players like Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez is more of a nightmare at this point. Sure, the Nationals are winning games right now, but if you told NL Beast that it was the starting pitching, not the core offense of Ryan Zimmerman, Nick Johnson, and Lastings Milledge that was most responsible, we’d be shocked.

It’s clear at this point that Stan Kasten‘s philosophy is to wait for the farm system to develop and then compete. There some great players coming up in the future, including Ross Detweiler, Chris Marrero, and Colin Balester, but there is no way this team is going to compete in the near future without signing free agents.

NL Beast is sick of the excuse that the Nationals don’t have the money to compete in the free agent market (Forbes ranked the Nationals as the 13th most profitable team in baseball).

With Felipe Lopez, Cristian Guzman, Wily Mo Peña, and Odalis Perez all becoming free agents after this year, it’s very possible that the starting nine will look very different next year. Or, if history has told us anything, maybe not.

Nationals Beast (and least) of the Week

This week’s beast is SS Cristian Guzman. Just a triple from hitting for the cycle Saturday, Guzman has quietly prospered in the two-spot behind Felipe Lopez. Guzman leads the team with a .309 BA and drove in a team-high 6 RBIs this week (note: all 6 runs were driven in on Saturday, which says something about this team).

Runners-Up: Wil Nieves, Odalis Perez

The least of the week honor goes to Ryan Zimmerman. It’s tough to criticize the Nats’ burgeoning superstar, but something has to give with Ryan’s struggling bat. His stats for this week: .160, .192, .320 with 4 RBIs in 25 plate appearances. In other words, pretty poor. Zim asked for the day off today…could it be that the Z-Man has some sort of nagging injury? Given his slow-ish recovery this offseason, NL Beast wouldn’t be surprised.

Runners-Up: Lastings Milledge, Matt Chico

Braves at Nationals BEASTOFF Postgame

Nationals 6-Braves 3

W: Rivera (2-1)   L: Boyer (0-3)

Ryan Zimmerman led the Nationals with 3 RBIs, bringing runs home on a solo shot and a 2-run RBI double. The Z-Man provided the spark that the Nats offense has been lacking. Nick Johnson also homered for the Nationals and Lastings Milledge drove two in as well.

Tom Glavine returned to the hill for Atlanta and pitched well, going 6 full innings (6 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 SO) but did not get the run support he needed to defeat the last place DC club. Glavine came away with a no-decision (the loss was awarded to Blaine Boyer) For the Braves, Mark Kotsay, Chipper Jones, and Kelly Johnson drove in runs, with Chipper going yard in his return to the lineup.

For the Nats, Tim Redding continued to pitch well, also going 6 full innings (4 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 BB, 2 SO), but did not pick up the win. The bullpen was mostly flawless, with Saul Rivera picking up the win, and combining with Luis Ayala, Chad Cordero, and Jon Rauch for 1 earned run over three.

The Nationals have now won five of their last seven and have reason to be celebrating tonight (NL Beast may have spotted Ryan Zimmerman at a DC bar after the game).