June 27, 2005
Home Cooked
(Entry written by DCist contributor Chris Kelly)
The Nationals saw their 12 game home winning streak come to an end yesterday at RFK as a result of a 9-5 roasting at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays. Orlando Hudson of the Jays broke a 5-5 tie in the 8th with a two-run home run off of Luis Ayala. Sunny Kim gave up two more in the 9th to put the game out of reach. On the heels of another bad start the last time out against Texas, Tony Armas Jr. continues to tease; and disappoint – after an unhittable start, he didn't make it through 5 innings yesterday. With the loss, and Atlanta's 8-1 shellacking of the faltering O's, the Nats lead in the NL East stands at 3 games over the surging Braves.
The Nats get a well deserved day off today before welcoming the Pittsburgh Pirates to RFK for a three game set before heading to Chicago for three with the Cubs over the weekend. Ryan Drese takes the hill Tuesday for the Nats against Pittsburgh's Josh Fogg.
After another dud by Armas, the big question remains whether the Nationals have enough pitching to make it through the dog days of summer. Obviously, pitching will determine if the Nats are contenders or pretenders. The answer is in the arms. Unfortunately the Nats can't pitch Livan Hernandez every day (although he'd probably take the ball every time if you asked him). The ace of the staff had another stellar performance Saturday night. Esteban Loaiza was solid on Friday night and has been much, much better than his 3-5 record shows (he's gotten no run support); and Jon Patterson, bad back permitting, should be fine. But the ability of the "other guys" filling the fourth and fifth slots in the rotation will have as much to do with a serious run for the playoffs as any other factor. Armas is certainly not cutting it. On-again-off-again Ryan Drese is nothing but a big question mark. Who else? Sunny Kim is a crapshoot. Zach Day is almost ready to return, but he was awful before going down with a fractured arm. Is there any reason to believe he'll be any more effective now?
It seems that Jim Bowden's hands are tied. For one thing most of the big names who are rumored to be available as the trading deadline approaches are too expensive. Then there's this little problem: the Nats really don't have much to trade away after years of being bled dry by the rest of the majors while in Montreal. For what it's worth, the Nats have only one prospect who ranked in Baseball America's 2005 Top 100 Prospects: left-handed pitcher Mike Hinckley. Hinckley, by the way, improved to 2-3 with a 4.47 ERA for the Single A Potomac Nationals with 8 innings of 2 hit, shutout ball in an 8-0 win over Frederick yesterday. He also walked five and struck out six. Plus, Bowden can't take a chance on making a big splash before the trading deadline for fear that a bad deal would make him look bad in the eyes of the new ownership group - whoever that may be. So for those reasons, don't expect to see any of the following in Washington this year:
- Eric Milton (CIN- $5,333,333/year - 16 starts: 3-9 7.70 ERA)
- Roy Oswalt (HOU - $5,900,000/year - 16 starts 9-7 2.70 ERA)
- Kip Wells (PIT - $3,175,000 - 16 starts 5-7 4.26 ERA)
- Jason Schmidt (SF - $8,187,500 - 13 starts 5-3 4.83 ERA)
But it’s clear that the Nats need to strengthen their starting rotation if they intend to contend. What’s unclear is where this help will come from, if it comes at all.
Nats fans should also be paying attention to what's happening roughly 200 miles to the north in the Bronx, where Yankee GM Brian Cashman is on the hot seat for the underperforming Steinbrenner All-Stars. Why does this matter? Because by the end of the summer, your Nationals will be sold by MLB to the highest bidder (or the best-connected bidder). While there's no doubt that Jim Bowden deserves a chance to steer the ship for the foreseeable future, it's possible that a new ownership group will decide to clear the decks and revamp the entire organization - starting with the front office. And if that happens, Brian Cashman, who has ties to the DC area, could be a leading candidate for Jim Bowden's job.
Nats fans got a bit of a scare when Nick Johnson left yesterday’s game in the 7th with a bruised heel after an awkward play at the plate, which Robinson blames entirely on Greg Zaun.
After arriving home to find their cars broken into (or in the case of Marlon Byrd, stolen), Mark Tuohey, chairman of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission (the group in charge of RFK) apologized on Saturday and assured the team that security would be improved. Tuohey’s explanation, according to MLB.com? “The bad guys got in and took advantage of a situation.” Marlon Byrd’s explanation, according to the Post? “Bottom line, it was a [expletive] job done here by the people who work here, a [expletive] job here.”
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So, umm, anyone know what Byrd's expletive was? Amusingly, it doesn't seem clear.
I went to the game on Friday evening. Walking into the game, my guest and I received the usual cursory inspection: a glance in her purse, no measures taken at all for myself. This did not bother me at all, as I'd much rather get to my seat in time for lineups than receive an airport security line cavity search, but I do recall cracking wise about the security fellow having failed to spot the heat I was packing (note to Secret Service: I was not packing. I never pack. It was a joke.)
Lo and behold, I read the next morning that Bush took the night off and attended the same game as myself. This perplexed me. Everytime I've been anywhere within a quarter mile of a place the President is, will be, or was in the past I've been eyeballed, x-rayed, and prodded until bruised. How, then, were almost 40,000 people allowed to sit within sight of CinC without a single magic wand passing over them.
My answer? The government has invented a force field. No searches needed when his electromagnetic shield is up. This would also explain the peculiar behavior of foul balls in the vicinity of the royal box.
Hey, Info Leafblower: Take your Red Sox obsession back to Boston (and please, take "Sweet Caroline" with you). You're in Washington now, and we're sick and tired of you pretentious New England Ivy Leaguers thinking you run this town. This is a Nationals thread.
funny. mr. ilb a) is actually from north carolina, i believe and b) trackbacked this thread to recommend that people read chris's column.
however: i'm naive in the ways of baseball games, so can comebody please tell me why "sweet caroline" was played like 172 times this weekend at the games?
Vincent, I would guess there are as many Sox fans in the area as there are Nats fans. I myself root for both teams. One AL and one NL. Since we cover the Nats so thoroughly on DCist, I save my Sox rantings for my blog. So chill out already.
It's certainly no cause for vitriol, but I do think that those of us who try to make DC our home have a difficult time with DC's transient population, and the way that previous allegiances tend to dampen DC team passion. Even the most ardent DCist fans among us feel a twinge when those who would speak for the city seem more enamored by their old teams. After all, no Sox fan in Boston would ever say, "Boston's my AL team, and X is my NL team." Just wouldn't happen.
Not picking fights, just pointing out a DC meme.
Similarly, there's a hot place in hell waiting for everyone who feels the separate divisions allow for the simultaneous backing of the Nationals and the Orioles. If you are out there, doing that, stop immediately. That's not the way it's supposed to work. You MUST choose: and not just to passionately favor one team, but to curse the other with every drop of bile in your spleen. You don't REALLY want to be like Mayor Bloomberg, do you?
(Of course, I'm a lifetime Cardinals fan, so personally speaking, the O's and Nats can both deliver their derrieres unto a hot skewer.)
i think there's space for DCists (and others) to be fans of different teams, especially if the sentiments are expressed on personal blogs. the sort of devotion teams aim for will happen with the nats, i think - eventually. the redskins have a pretty fervid fanbase, after all. i remember being instructed on how to play "hail to the redskins" on my recorder in first grade in music class, and then being made to sing it several times on days they had games. redskins devotion is instilled at an early age around here it seems, at least from my experience.
Don't worry, there's still plenty of time for DC to screw up the stadium deal. Next year at this time the Nats will be playing in Vegas, anyway. I wonder if all the Nats fans in Vegas will allow the former Nats fans in DC to continue to cheer for the team? Or will they all be forced to walk the long walk of shame back up I-95 to Baltimore with their collective tails between their legs?
If there are as many Red Sox fans in the Washington area (note they always say "Sox" instead of "Red Sox," as if the team on the South Side of Chicago doesn't exist) as there are Nationals fans, it's a good reason why future government hires in D.C., regardless of ideology, should be restricted to graduates of public colleges. Ship them Ivy Leaguers to Manhattan...
Since when are all Sox fans (and yes, it's the Sox. When the White Sox win something...anything, then we can talk) Ivy League grads?