Nationals Announce June 8th Debut For Strasburg
Yesterday, the Washington Nationals announced that their prized pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, will debut on June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The debut of Strasburg has been a hot topic in the DC area for several weeks. It had been speculated by many that Strasburg would debut for the Nationals on June 4 against the Reds. Due to the speculation of Strasburg’s June 4 arrival, the game was sold out. In recent days, when it became clear that the phenom would not be starting on June 4, many fans became outraged at the perceived cash grab by the frugal club. When the announcement of Strasburg’s first start was made yesterday, fans seemed to forgive the franchise, as the June 8 fixture against the Pirates sold out in less than two hours.
It goes without saying that Stephen Strasburg will arrive in DC with massive expectations. Just a few weeks ago, former star pitcher Curt Schilling said that Strasburg will “immediately potentially be the best pitcher in the game. He’s that polished.” The Washington Nationals need Strasburg to succeed. While they are an improving team with a seemingly bright future, there just is not much buzz around them both in the DC Metro area or in the baseball world. If Strasburg comes to the club and lives up to expectations, it will be a much needed boost to a previously floundering franchise.
The Nationals’ slow offensive start
Once his team joined him in the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park, Manager Jim Riggleman had a message for his players. “We haven’t got started yet,” he said. Riggleman told them he liked their intensity and the way they were grinding through games, and that they could be upbeat about their 3-4 record because their offense had not yet come close to hitting stride.
That would be the positive to draw from Washington’s first full week. Certainly, it wouldn’t be the starting pitching, which has consisted of one excellent start, two passable ones and four clunkers. The Nationals staff has thrown 32 1/3 innings, fewest in the majors despite five teams having played just six games. (Tracee Hamilton will chat about the Nationals and Jason Marquis’s poor start this morning at 9:30.)
Their offense has also lagged near the bottom. They’ve scored 3.71 runs per game, 25th in the majors. The Nationals are drawing walks — they have 29 as a team, 10 from Adam Dunn, who is tied for the league lead. But they’re not hitting — their .218 batting average, second lowest in the majors.
Click here to read the full article – By Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post
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Strasburg allows 2 hits in spring debut
Top draft pick Stephen Strasburg has made his spring training debut for the Washington Nationals, pitching two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers.
Starting for Washington, Strasburg threw 15 of his 27 pitches for strikes and allowed two hits, successive two-out singles by Don Kelly and Alex Avila in the second. But the right-hander finished off Brent Dlugach with a bending, 81 mph breaking ball for an inning-ending strikeout.
Strasburg’s four-seam fastball was consistently measured in the 97-98 mph range and he struck out two Tuesday. But he had some problems with location and threw first-pitch strikes to only two of the eight batters he faced.
Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com
Nats close on a roll, beating Braves in 15 innings
Alberto Gonzalez drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 15th inning and the Washington Nationals closed the season with a seven-game winning streak, beating the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday.
Playing the longest game since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal before the 2005 season, the Nationals became the first team in baseball history to close the season with seven straight wins after losing the first seven. Still, they finished 59-103 — the worst record in baseball.
Atlanta, which got within two games of the wild-card lead with six remaining, finished with a season-high six-game losing streak. Logan Kensing (1-2) earned the win with two scoreless innings, striking out Brooks Conrad on a checked swing for the final out with runners at second and third.
Elijah Dukes started the winning rally off Boone Logan (1-1) with a one-out walk. Mike Morse flied out, but Wil Nieves and Gonzalez came through with back-to-back singles to break a tie that had stood since the seventh.
Click here to read the full article – By PAUL NEWBERRY of timesunion.com
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Nationals Beat Mets on Wild Throw in Eighth Inning
Another meltdown by the New York Mets gave the Washington Nationals a rare winning streak.
With the help of two wild throws on potential double-play grounders in the eighth inning, the 103-loss Nationals scored the tiebreaking run in a 4-3 win over the Mets on Tuesday night for their second straight win.
“It was kind of embarrassing to watch that kind of play — especially at that time of the game,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “Poor, poor, poor defensive play.”
With one out and the scored tied at 3, Mike Morse walked against Nick Green (1-4) and Justin Maxwell ran for him. Cristian Guzman grounded to shortstop, but former Nationals infielder Anderson Hernandez’s toss to second was off target, allowing Maxwell to advance and Guzman reached first.
Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of Long Island Press
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Nats’ Desmond making most of his call-up
Ian Desmond had plenty of time to contemplate his first week in the big leagues and everything that would entail, perhaps more than most gifted minor league prospects who dream of reaching the top level.
Unlike thousands of other young ballplayers, Desmond got his first glimpse of the majors at the age of 19. Summoned to the Washington Nationals’ big league camp during the spring of 2005 because of a lack of shortstop depth in the system, he spent weeks playing with and against top competition and even had a Hall of Famer for a manager.
Frank Robinson was immediately struck by Desmond, not only his physical skills but his advanced baseball instincts and understanding of the sport.
“I’m telling you, his instincts are better than some guys I’ve seen play the game for 20 years,” Robinson said that spring. “He doesn’t seem overwhelmed by the situation.”
Click here to read the full article – By Mark Zuckerman of The Washington Times
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Nats’ bats pummel Marlins pitching
Mother Nature provided more than three hours of rain delays, but the Nationals were able to get enough done early thanks to some quality starting pitching and timely hitting.
John Lannan threw five solid innings and the Nationals’ offense pummeled Marlins pitching to push Washington past Florida, 7-2, at Land Shark Stadium on Sunday.
The left-hander picked up his ninth win of the year after holding the Marlins to one run on six hits while striking out three and walking one. But even though his performance was impressive, it was his offense that gave the Nationals a series win over their division rival.
Click here to read the full article – By David Villavicencio of MLB.com
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Nats ask Guzman to play second base in 2010
The Nationals may not be looking to sign a free agent like second baseman Orlando Hudson this offseason. It was learned that general manager Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman had a private meeting with shortstop Cristian Guzman on Thursday afternoon and asked him to switch to second base for the 2010 season.
Guzman, who did not give Rizzo and Riggleman an answer, was in shock and told them he never played second base in his life. The only other position Guzman has played other than shortstop was in the 2008 All-Star Game when he played third base for the National League team.
If Guzman agrees to the switch, that means the Nationals most likely will look for a shortstop during the offseason.
Will Ian Desmond get that chance to become the everyday shortstop? It’s hard to tell, but he got off to a quick start on Thursday night by going 2-for-4 and driving in four runs in his Major League debut against the Phillies.
Click here to read the full article – By Bill Ladson of MLBlogs.com
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Nationals put Morgan on DL, call up Orr from Chiefs
Nyjer Morgan likes to slide headfirst. The dangerous habit caught up with the Washington Nationals’ leadoff hitter.
Morgan was placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday with a broken left hand, a day after he was injured stealing third base in a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Manager Jim Riggleman said he talked with Morgan a few weeks ago about trying to do it feet-first, which is less hazardous to player’s health.
Riggleman said Morgan agreed, but hasn’t been able to break the habit. Now he’s out for the season.
“I think most guys who are stealing bases the last 10 years, that’s the only way they’ve done it,” Riggleman said. “We’ve just got to really impress on him, and others in the system, that we need to kind of mandate that you’re just going to have to learn how to go feet-first.”
Click here to read the full article – By of cnycentral.com
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