Results tagged “nationals>”

The Nationals will be holding a news conference at 2:30 p.m. to officially name their new field manager, but there won't be any surprises: Jim Riggleman will be returning to manage the team on a permanent basis in 2010. Both ESPN's Tim Kurkjian and the Associated Press reported last night that Nationals sources confirmed that Riggleman would have his interim tag removed today. Riggleman led the Nats to a somewhat respectable 33-42 record after taking over from previous manager (and new Cleveland skipper) Manny Acta in July. He previously managed in San Diego, Chicago, and Seattle before coming to D.C., compiling a 555-694 record over ten years of service on the bench.

Congratulations appear to be in order for Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who -- if published internet reports are accurate -- will win his first Gold Glove when winners are officially announced later today. Zimmerman, whose defensive play at the hot corner in 2009 was one of the few real consistent highlights for the Nationals during a tumultous season, is reportedly one of four debutant winners this season. Zimmerman was the likely favorite for the award with last year's recipient, New York's David Wright, having an injury-plagued season, but the face of the Nationals did have competition from San Diego's Kevin Kouzmanoff for this year's honor. The official Gold Glove winners will be announced later today; and even though ESPN is busy wondering whether baseball's highest defensive honor really means anything, we feel confident stating that Nationals fans will take whatever positives they can get their paws on.

Via the masnsports twitter feed, it appears that some preposterously deluded reality television production company has picked the wrong major league baseball team to build a superfan show around. To wit:

Remember the scene in Fever Pitch where Jimmy Fallon nearly attacks his UPS guy for his season tickets? How about all the challenges he faces throughout the movie as he struggles to balance his baseball fandom with real life?

Continue reading "Reality Show in Works About 'Die-Hard Nationals Fans'"

As if we needed any more evidence that the Washington Nationals are far from D.C.'s most popular professional sports team, the Washington Business Journal reports today that new ratings information indicates that "D.C. is the only TV market in the country where a team from another city gets better ratings than the hometown team." Yes, apparently an average of 16,000 D.C. households tuned into Orioles games on MASN this season, compared with 14,000 who watched the Nats. That's a rough slap in the face for the Nationals, though a MASN rep trots out that old canard that the D.C.-Baltimore area is "really one large mega-market."

Capitals 6, Maple Leafs 4: We'll have a complete wrap-up of the Caps home opening goalfest against the Leafs tomorrow morning.

Nationals 6, Braves 3: It's now five on the trot for the Nats, as they got yet another big contribution from Ian Desmond to beat the Braves in Atlanta. The Sarasota, Florida native smashed a solo home run in the second, a two-run triple in the fourth, and scored on pitcher Livan Hernandez's single in the fifth. (He's got potential, folks; though if you're reading your trusty LNA regularly, you already knew that.) Hernandez looked pretty good; the real question with him is whether or not the Nats want to bring him back next season or they want to save that spot in the rotation for a young, albeit unproven arm like J.D. Martin or Ross Detweiler. That's for later days, though; for now, what hasn't been to like about this week in NatsTown? It's been a banner one for the young guys, the role players are contributing, Ryan Zimmerman has been scoring lots of important runs, and every guy in the five-man rotation has had a quality start. So what if it's the end of the season; when your team is the first National League club to lose 100 games in consecutive seasons in 25 years, you'll take the winning streaks when they come, dammit.

Nationals 7, Mets 4: Someone of relative importance somewhere told me that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. (It was probably Gorilla Monsoon during one of his patented back-and-forths with Bobby Heenan in the early 90s heyday of professional wrestling. Never the less!) For the Nationals, that platitude is slightly empty; this is a team with 103 losses, after all. But some part of me feels good for the last three days of the team's second season in Nationals Park, especially last night. That's because sports, no matter how meaningless the game or how poor the teams' records, magnify the memorable over the commonly mundane and disappointing -- and a walk-off, two-out, full count grand slam in the home finale, regardless of the standings, is a tough memory to top. Enter Justin Maxwell, he of the career four home runs in fifty games. Maxwell came up with perhaps the most memorable moment of the season, taking Mets closer Francisco Rodruiguez deep in that very, scenario one that many of us dream about in our backyards as children. Sure, I could go into details about John Lannan's fantastic performance at home this year, or maybe Ryan Zimmerman's mammoth home run to the deepest part of the park; but I think I'll just sit here and enjoy this one for a little bit. You should too.

Nationals 4, Mets 3: Could the Nationals actually end the season on a positive note? Seems like a possibility after they earned their first back-to-back home victories since early August with a win against the Mets last night. The boys from Queens jumped out to a 3-0 lead against starter J.D. Martin. But the young righty calmed considerably, and looked good after the second inning, going six in total. Middle infielder Ian Desmond -- who has impressed since his callup -- went deep in the fifth to get things moving offensively. (We're excited to see what Desmond can do with a whole year at this level: his .333/.473/.806 in 16 games at the major league level shows a bit of promise, even if his five errors in middle infield will do nothing to help solve the Nats' considerable defensive woes.) Ryan Zimmerman then pushed the Nats into a tie with a two-out base knock. A wild endgame ensued, in which two Mets errors allowed the Nats to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth (hey, it feels good to have this happen to our opponents for a change!), and Elijah Dukes made a fantastic play on a long David Wright fly to end the game. The Nats will go for the sweep tomorrow in 2009's home finale.

• Maryland 1, North Carolina 0: Leading with college soccer? You bet. 6,946 -- an attendance record for a Maryland soccer match, and more than 1,500 more spectators than last night's D.C. United match -- and soccer nuts watching on Fox Soccer Channel saw the Terrapins win a rematch of last season's NCAA men's championship game, which they also won by the same score. It was pure drama at the expanded Ludwig Field, as fifth-year senior captain Kevin Tangney headed in with two minutes left to settle matters. North Carolina's Billy Schuler, who has scored as a member of the United States' U-20 team (soccer fans, don't forget: the U.S. opens their 2010 U-20 World Cup tomorrow against Germany in Egypt) missed a penalty kick in the 55th minute to set up the dramatic ending. Said Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski, "that was one of the best moments of my 17 years here."
• Braves 4, Nationals 1: The Nationals got some ink earlier this year for statistically being the unluckiest team in the bigs, though losses like last night's only reinforce that idea is influenced by a lot of errors. John Lannan allowed but two unearned runs in the first inning thanks to two errors, and still found himself with a loss. Braves starter Javier Vazquez went the distance to keep Atlanta's slim hopes of a playoff berth alive. Vazquez worked quickly and shut down the Nats' offense, allowing only three hits in his third complete game of the year.

• Dodgers 7, Nationals 6: Did you know that, as of last official count, there were 96,548 Americans who had lived to be 100 years old? You know, I hear that when an American turns 100, they get a letter from the President, thanking them for staying alive and paying taxes for so long. At the same time, there have been a large number of major league baseball teams who have lost 100 games in a single season. I'm pretty sure that such examples of the suckiest bunches of sucks that ever sucked don't get a letter from the President, at least not the one who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Yes, instead of being celebrated, these squads inherit one of two difficult to swallow legacies: either they are written off as hardball experiments gone wrong and forgotten or remembered as terrible abominations, a stain on the fabric of the American pasttime. Only time will tell which category the 2009 Washington Nationals -- the newest member of this ineptitude brigade with Thursday night's loss -- will be lumped in. One thing that is certain? No one will shed a tear after this centenarian season passes away.
• Rangers 3, Capitals 2: Jose Theodore let one slip with 1:10 left, and the Caps dropped this exhibition their second-to-last tune up before the season begins. Keith Aucoin and Alexander Semin scored for Washington.

Nationals 5, Dodgers 4: I've got to be honest, I thought that I'd be talking all about the number 100 in this space tonight -- the Nats have looked especially poor as of late and were stuck on 99 losses. I mean, there's been no question since, well, May or so, that this team would lose 100 games. Eventually, I'd have to write about it. So, color me surprised that particular post will have to wait until another day (probably tomorrow). The Nationals can savor one more day as a non-member of the 100-loss club, defeating the Dodgers with a walk-off sacrifice fly by Pete Orr. For a team that has such a terrible record, the Nats once again confirmed their penchant for resilience -- it was the 27th come-from-behind win this season. He didn't get the win, but starter Ross Detweiler was solid, if unspectacular, allowing the Dodgers to three runs in nearly six innings. And I get to write about 100 after all: with his three-run homer in the sixth, Ryan Zimmerman not only broke up Chad Billingsley's no-hitter, but he also eclipsed 100 RBI on the season; Zim and Adam Dunn are the first pair of Washington franchise (that is, from 1969 on) hitters to both eclipse that figure in a single season.

Dodgers 14, Nationals 2: Alright, there's four series left in the season. The Nationals, having little else to play for the rest of this season, should take the next 13 games and just try to win more than half. You know, baby steps to a better ballclub. Well, that meager goal didn't get off to the best start last night. Two six-plus run innings buried the Nationals, and the Nats suffered their worst loss since a July 25th drubbing against San Diego last night. The boys from L.A. were red-hot during the fourth and seventh innings, beating up several Washington pitchers in the process, notably Livan Hernandez (8-12) and Saul Rivera. Meanwhile, Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda looked nearly unhittable. Adam Dunn did smash his 38th longball of the season -- and with it, a great chance to be the only guy not named Soriano to post a forty-homer season in a Nationals uni -- but that was the only mistake that Kuroda made in six stellar innings of work, so even without the huge innings, the Nats were swimming upstream from the start. Winless wonder Ross Detweiler will attempt to stave off the odometer clicking over to 100 losses tomorrow.

• Middle Tennessee State 32, Maryland 31
  Southern Mississippi 37, Virginia 34
  
  These are not typos, I swear. Sorry, Cavs and Terps fans -- it might be time to pack it in until hoops season kicks off. In other scores, #13 Virginia Tech dramatically beat #19 Nebraska after going 91 yards on two plays in the final minute of the game and Georgetown (yes, they have a football team) lost.
• Fever 81, Mystics 74 (OT): The Mystics' season came to an end after losing a decisive Game 2 to Indiana on the road. The Fever sank Washington thanks to a 17 point advantage from the free-throw line and Tamika Catchings' 24 points and 16 rebounds. While the loss ended the Mystics season, they can at least say they went out with a good fight against a team that was almost unbeatable at home during the regular season. Crystal Langhorne highlighted for Washington with 15 points and 10 boards.
• Mets 3, Nationals 2: Man, this one was a snoozer which had some fans questioning the sanity of the manager; appropo for two teams whose fans have endured two of the more star-crossed seasons in recent memory. On the positive end: Adam Dunn earned his 100th RBI of the year, a pretty good number for a guy that seemingly nobody else wanted to sign in the offseason.

• Mystics 79, Fever 88: The Mystics let their first playoff game of the 2009 season slip away in the fourth quarter, as the Indiana Fever -- who had the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference -- outscored Washington 32 to 21 in the final period. Leading the scoring for Washington with 18 points was Crystal Langhorne, who was named the WNBA's Most Improved Player of the Year on Thursday. The Mystics will travel to Indiana for Game 2 in the best-of-three series (Game 3, if needed, will be played in Indiana). Overall, the teams looked surprisingly well-matched -- they had the same 3 point shooting percentage, the same points in the paint (36), and committed almost the same amount of turnovers, though the Fever had a slight edge on the boards and at the line.
  
  For the people watchers, Alex Ovechkin was reportedly celebrating his 24th birthday by watching the Mystics play at the Comcast Center. Of note: Ovie is younger than almost 75% of the Mystics' roster.
• Capitals 4, Sabres 3: Speaking of Capitals, the local hockey outfit won its first exhibition game of the preseason over Buffalo. A Brian Pothier tally with a two-man advantage in overtime was enough to settle matters, but Alexandre Giroux, Mike Knuble, and Jay Beagle also scored for the Caps. Semyon Varlamov played the entire game in net and looked good through the first two periods, but then allowed three goals in the third.
• Phililes 4, Nationals 2: The Nats got five innings of solid work from Ross Detwiler (0-6), but the bats went quiet once again, only pushing across two runs against the Phils combo of starter Cole Hamels (10-9) and always volatile Brad Lidge. Hamels struck out 10, and had a perfect game going until the sixth inning.

Phillies 6, Nationals 1: Pop quiz, hot shot. There's only six games you can lose before hitting 100. You've got bases loaded, one out, down by two, against a team you haven't scored against in 16 innings. If this lead goes any higher than it is now, the game is blown up. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO? Well, if you're Nationals reliever Jason Bergmann, you groove a two-strike pitch right down the middle to Jayson Werth and he absolutely crushes the ball into the left-center stands for a killer grand slam. (Good thing that Bergmann wasn't the negotiator in Speed, eh?) The trooper of the night award goes to starter Livan Hernandez (8-11), who was solid: two runs in six innings should be enough to give your team a good chance to win. But the Nationals' run production was, once again, anemic. They finally broke their scoreless streak against Phillie pitching in the ninth inning, but Joe Blanton (10-7) -- who had a rough go of it at Nationals Park one week ago -- benefited from numerous base-running mistakes, including Ian Desmond being thrown out at third on a safety squeeze and Cristian Guzman getting doubled off first base on a line drive with two men in scoring position.

• Phillies 5, Nationals 0: It always seems like the teams who succeed in the playoffs have two big time starters. Well, the defending champs have a whole bunch of candidates in their rotation for that 1-2 punch -- but Cliff Lee certainly made his case to be the number one guy against the Nationals on Tuesday night. Lee (14-11) absolutely dominated the Nationals lineup, tossing a complete game shutout. Unfortunately for Washington, Garrett Mock (3-8) couldn't have looked further from an ace, allowing five runs in the first two innings. Homer-happy Philadelphia didn't even need to go yard against Mock to take the lead; instead, balance was the key, as every Phillie hitter but Lee reached base during the game.
• United 1, San Juan Jabloteh 0: Christian Gomez's first half penalty kick led United to their first victory in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League, although they had plenty of chances to bury the scrappy Trinidad and Tobago league champions. It was a homecoming for United defenders Avery John -- who captained the side -- and Julius James, two Trinidadian natives who, despite the fact that there seemed to be only 100 people in attendance, must have been excited to play in Port-of-Spain. But Gomez was the engine behind what was certainly D.C.'s B-team. Heck, even Danny Szetela, who's been in Tom Soehn's doghouse for some time, played the full ninety. Gomez expertly nailed the lone goal of the match from the spot after Jabloteh defender Noel Williams handled the ball in the penalty area early in the first half. With the three points, United stays alive in the competition; with three games remaining in group play (next Thursday at home against Marathon of Honduras, a home date with Jabloteh later this month and an incredibly tough fixture on the road against Toluca of Mexico in October), they likely still need to take at least six points to advance to the knockout stages.

• Giants 23, Redskins 17: So did anyone happen to read the Post's ombudsman's thoughts on the paper's overwhelming amount of Redskins coverage? Don't get me wrong, it was a decent read; but perhaps the people weren't complaining about the amount of coverage, so much as having early visions of having to read a whole lot of reporting about the stinker that the Skins laid in the swamps of Jersey yesterday. Don't let the score fool you -- the Giants owned this game from start to finish. If it wasn't for a late Chris Cooley touchdown after Washington went hurry-up late on and the Giants' utterly shocking inability to finish inside the red zone, the scoreline would have been much more lopsided. On a bright note, the defense -- led by London Fletcher's 18 tackles -- played fairly well. But on a day when Jason Campbell (the fact that he had a 93.6 rating in this game just proves that the rating equation is nearly beyond fixing) couldn't manage the clock, couldn't locate receivers downfield, and turned over the ball twice, including a fumble returned for a touchdown, anything other than a perfect game from the D was going to lead to a loss.
  
  You know, when the best offensive play until quasi-garbage time comes from your punter on a fake field goal, well, it's probably time to revisit a few things on the practice field.
  
  It's hardly anything to jump off a cliff about -- after all, winning on the road in the NFC East is always a struggle and Washington gets the just terrible Rams at home next week -- but based on the reactions that the team's having (DeAngelo Hall's post-game reaction, which one can probably apply to the whole team: "I feel like the guy that just couldn't make a play to save my life....I just didn't execute and play to my ability at all"), you can tell that they know that plenty of improvement is needed. And hey, on the plus side, we now know what Jim Zorn's face looks like before he vomits.
  
• Nationals 7, Marlins 2: What's that? They're still playing baseball? Oh, yes, right. Well, the Nationals won, so that's good. John Lannan (9-11) got off a bit of a slide and tossed five good innings for the win, and the bats were in gear. Christian Guzman had three hits after Ryan Zimmerman was given the day off, and callup Pete Orr capped a memorable series for young Nationals with a double and a homer. With 19 games left, the real question is for how long the Nats can stave off 100 losses -- or if you're being optimistic, how quickly they can get to 62 wins.
• Liberty 86, Mystics 65: So, a completely meaningless game against the last-place team in the conference, with the playoffs right around the corner? Enough said.

Sounders 2, United 1: Same two teams, same result, same player with a big goal. United dropped another fixture to Seattle at RFK Stadium last night 2-1, after doing the exact same a week and a half ago. It's certainly arguable which defeat is more damaging to the club -- the loss 10 days ago with the Open Cup on the line, or this one, which really puts D.C. in a bind as far as the race for the MLS playoffs are concerned. Seattle went ahead early on a fifth-minute strike from Steve Zakuani, who got on the end of a nice pass from Peter Vagenas and megged Josh Wicks for the lead. Rodney Wallace equalized for the Black-and-Red about ten minutes into the second half, but it was Sounders striker Freddy Montero who really stuck the dagger into United. (I mean, again.) After the home side had chances to take the lead, Montero hit an upper 90 blast to lead Seattle to the victory. United still find themselves with playoff possibilities, but they hold several games in hand over most of the teams competing for those final positions and will find themselves at the mercy of the fates if they can't hit a hot streak soon.

Nationals 5, Marlins 3: Baseball has always been a haven for the interestingly named. While Mike Morse might not have a name that stands out that much, his is a dream for those who can't help but indulge in far-too-simple puns. Morse tapped out (see?) a big pinch-hit RBI double in the sixth inning and the Nats made it two in a row against the Marlins in Miami. Although they only had five hits, the Nationals made sure that each one counted: in addition to Morse's big hit, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn also added longballs to account for Washington's runs. Starter J.D. Martin (4-4) also made the most of his five innings on the hill, allowing but two hits. Fortunately, Morse's game was so positive -- I can tuck away the cheap S-O-S lines for another day.

Nationals 8, Phillies 7: Everyone knows those moments in life where you find yourself saying "whew, that was close" out loud, directed no one in particular. Well, if they could speak collectively, the Nationals would have certainly had one of those moments on Thursday evening: despite a pair of relievers allowing five runs in the top of the ninth, the Nats still managed to salvage a win in the finale of their last home series of the year against Philadelphia. Until the ninth, though, things looked great for the Nats. Starter Livan Hernandez navigated through a rocky first inning, and didn't allow the potent Phils lineup to cross the plate between the second and the eighth innings. And thanks in part to the impressive debut of shortstop Ian Desmond (2-4, double, home run, 4 RBI), the home team found themselves with a comfortable six-run lead after chasing the normally reliable Joe Blanton from the game during a five-run fifth. Somehow, though, that big lead was reduced to one after Zack Segovia and closer Mike MacDougal just couldn't get any Phillies out; the big blow obviously being Matt Stairs' pinch-hit grand slam, which sent the stadium -- chock full of red Phillies hats -- into a state of nervous excitement. But Nats setup man Ron Villone literally saved the day; truly earning his first save of the season by coaxing big slugger Ryan Howard into a game-ending double play with the tying run on third and one out. Whew, that was close, indeed.

Phillies 5, Nationals 3: Everything was smooth sailing for John Lannan and the Nationals. Willie Harris and Cristian Guzman were hitting at the top of the order, the Nats capitalized on an error by Chase Utley, and Lannan retired 14 of 15 batters between the second and the sixth innings. Sadly, in the majors, they play a full nine, and the WFC brought their lumber come the seventh inning. After Ryan Howard grounded out to start the inning, three of the next four batters -- Jason Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Carlos Ruiz -- crushed solo home runs. Walking opposing pitcher Pedro Martinez (4-0) was just the icing on the cake for Lannan (8-11), all his fantastic ace-level work firmly erased on three bad pitches. Willie Harris pulled one back on -- what else? -- a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, but Utley canceled that out with another longball for the Phils. Counting Ibanez's earlier dinger, Philadelphia scored all five of their runs on solo home runs -- fitting for a team who is now only the 12th team in major league history to feature four batters (Werth, Howard, Utley, and Ibanez) with over 30 home runs in a season. As far as the Nationals go, the game is pretty much a fair assessment of the team as a whole. There's about two-thirds of a moderately decent, even at times good, baseball team in there -- it's just a matter of finding that other third that's the really elusive part.

We couldn't help but notice that perennial loser Teddy Roosevelt was absent from the Presidents Race during the Nationals' game against the Marlins on Saturday. Given how badly the game went, it was just another disappointment among many for Nats fans that night. But what happened? Had Teddy finally succumbed to the crippling depression of never winning? Did he run off to establish another national park?

Nationals 5, Marlins 4: It was probably the most exciting home game of the season: even though it seemed like the Nationals thought that yesterday's game was a 3 p.m. start, numerous late-inning heroics led the team to their first win in over a week over the always-pesky Marlins. The first seven frames were about as forgettable as it gets at Nationals Park, the only bit of entertainment being Hanley Ramirez's fourth inning solo home run for the visitors. But the Nationals turned things on in the eighth, loading the bases on two walks and a single. Pinch hitter Mike Morse tied the score with a two-strike single up the gut off Florida reliever Kiko Calero. But that was merely an appetizer for the ninth inning. Normally-reliable closer Mike MacDougal allowed the Fins to retake a two-run lead on former National Nick Johnson's RBI single; but Willie Harris and Ryan Zimmerman homered in dramatic fashion, placing whatever fans who stuck it out into a frenzy. For Zim, it was the fifth walk-off of his career -- and two comebacks in two innings is certainly one of the better highlights of a season mostly spent in the doldrums.

Since it's Saturday night, let's keep it light and have some fun, eh? Here's your nightly sports recap, comprised entirely of easily digestible haikus.

Marlins 9, Nationals 6: Giving up 11 hits to the opposition's first five hitters in the lineup is a sure way to get yourself in some serious trouble; such was the case for Garrett Mock and the Nationals last night at Nationals Park. The Nats couldn't hang with the Marlins' hot bats last night and dropped their seventh straight game. Washington's unbelievably ugly alternate "American" uniforms did little to distract Florida hitters, and Mock (3-7) struggled through three innings, allowing six runs. The home team certainly wasn't out of the game, though, as they scored five runs themselves in the first three frames -- Josh Willingham hammered his 22nd home run of the season and Ryan Zimmerman and Alberto Gonzalez had triples. But long reliever Saul Rivera couldn't stop the bleeding, and allowed three more runs in the next couple of innings. Perhaps the Nats could have got back into it with some clutch hitting -- culprit number one: catcher Josh Bard, who left 10 men on base -- but five Florida relievers kept the bats quiet.

Padres 4, Nationals 1: Washington's bats could barely muster a whimper last night -- generating but one run for the second straight evening -- and the Nationals lost their fifth straight. Only Josh Bard, who bashed a solo home run in the seventh inning, could manage to undo Padres starter Clayton Richard (8-4), who exited after a sterling 6.2 innings. The dinger was of little import, really, as San Diego proceeded to get fantastic relief work from three pitchers to nail down the victory. Nats rookie pitcher J.D. Martin (3-4) continued to show improvement, allowing only two earned runs over six full innings, and picked up where a solid August left off. But the wilting offense gave Martin no chance to go over .500 on the season -- Josh Willingham struck out four times, and Elijah Dukes was thrown out on the basepaths twice. The Nationals finish their series with the Padres tomorrow, when John Lannan will certainly be hoping for more than one run of support.

Padres 3, Nationals 1: If you're a sports fan, chances are that you've experienced that feeling of blind loyalty -- you know, that conscious urge commanding you to watch your team, despite their lack of competitiveness or the fact that they are playing the late game on the West Coast. "Hey," that voice will tell you, "you never know; something exciting might happen!" Sadly, more often than not, that voice is very, very wrong. And so it was on Monday night, as whatever Nationals fans who could claim themselves die-hard enough to stay up past midnight in order to watch a team with nothing to play for certainly found nothing exciting in last night's 3-1 loss against the Padres. Oh, there were plenty of conclusions to be had, mind you -- just none of them particularly enthralling: Willie Harris sure is no Nyjer Morgan at the top of the lineup; Livan Hernandez (7-9) has got to be bummed that another decent outing ended in defeat; and -- don't ask me how -- the Nationals may be the only team in professional baseball who are capable of hitting into a 1-2-3 double play with the squeeze on. All this against a team consisting of Adrian Gonzalez, Tony Gwynn's son, David Eckstein and six guys you've probably never heard of. Yup, sometimes that inner voice of loyalty is just a no-good, dirty liar.

Two Fridays ago, a friend and I were sitting in the third base club seats at Nationals Park on the cheap, thanks to the team's recent dollar seat offer. It was then that a thought that I've had numerous times in the past struck me once again: why don't the Nationals -- who obviously have little to offer in terms of the baseball on display -- take the remainder of the season and host a few crazy, off-the-wall promotions? Where are our "Jay Buhner Buzz Cut Nights", our Free Money Night, our own Veeckian brand of happy insanity?

Cubs 9, Nationals 4: Normally, signing a sub-.500 pitcher who was just recently given his unconditional release by a team that's 17.5 games out shouldn't be such an occasion, but we're not talking about any mediocre starter here: we're talking about Livan Hernandez! (How's this for depressing: in Nationals franchise history -- that is to say, from 2005 on -- Livan is still the team's all-time leader in wins. With 24. Man, the pitching for this team has been great, eh?) In any case, the rotund righty rejoined the team quickly enough to get the start last night at Wrigley. And what do you know: Livan brought the goods, giving up only two runs in six innings. Sadly, the Nationals were unable to scrounge up a quality bullpen arm to replace Jorge Sosa in addition to reacquiring the Cuban. Sosa just fell apart and allowed five runs in the eighth inning -- including allowing six straight Chicago batters to reach base -- to spoil Hernandez's effort, and the Nationals fell to the Cubs. On the bright side, if the team can get outings like this from Livan consistently, it'll be a steal -- and another feather in new GM Mike Rizzo's cap.

Nationals 15, Cubs 6: I was practically raised on Eddie Vedder's nearly-unintelligiable snarl, but I can't seem to recall a song in the Pearl Jam catalog which provides quasi-cryptic advice about pitching. Too bad for the Cubbies: the bearded Ved threw out the first pitch at Wrigley last night and he probably could have quoted such a tune (if it existed) to Carlos Zambrano before he gave up eight earned in four and a third last night. Outfielders Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes lit up a number of Cubs pitchers for a combined seven hits, three home runs, and a massive eleven RBIs, seven of which came with two outs. Nationals starter Garrett Mock recovered from giving up an early home run to Zambrano and pitched into the sixth -- although by that point, the Nats were already up by eight, so one probably shouldn't read too much into Mock's numbers. The Nationals are averaging about 4.5 runs per game this season, and in their last seven games, they were right on that number. But sometimes you just get the feeling that they should develop into a much more potent offensive threat, and tonight, they certainly did: as Eddie might say, "it's evolution, baby."