Game #13 exposes what has gone wrong and right so far; Nats have first game away from Nats Park!

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

Does it feel like the Nats are still in Spring Training mode? It feels like a lack of urgency. Using the struggling Sean Doolittle in a key spot on Saturday was a flashback to Doolittle on August 9th to August 17th last year when Doo gave up 10-runs in 4.0 innings. The Nats shut him down the next day and placed the closer on the 10-day IL with right knee tendonitis listed as the cause. He returned in September with a fresh arm and was one of the stars the rest of the way and through the World Series. Yes, the Nats and Doolittle have little time to figure out what is wrong with the 2020 version.

There is also that tug-of-war with the starters. Hooking pitchers like Austin Voth and Erick Fedde too quick and allowing Anibal Sanchez and Stephen Strasburg to self-destruct on the mound has been emblematic of the issues to date. To a lesser extent, late inning matchups are not being taken advantage of in a sabremetrics sense with pinch-hitters where key at-bats have gone to fails in situational hitting. All of this has led to a 4-7 record with a 3-run deficit in a suspended game against the Orioles that could make the team 4-8. Continue reading →

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Nats went blown-save-loss in a familiar picture to lose this one

Posted on August 8, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Marlene Koenig for Talknats

The Nats had a 3-0 lead going into the 8th inning. Austin Voth, Javy Guerra, and Tanner Rainey combined for a shutout of the Orioles. Manager Dave Martinez went right to Sean Doolittle in the 8th inning, and the first two batters smashed home runs, and he struck out the lefty Chris Davis before he was pulled for Daniel Hudson who appeared to not have sufficient time to warm-up. Hudson quickly put two on-base followed by a three-run home run to lose the lead and take the loss. Sure, the Nats had a chance with two runners on-base in the 8th inning with Howie Kendrick in the batters box, but there was no clutch to be had. Continue reading →

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Game #11 last night didn’t go well and Voth has to be the stopper!

Posted on August 8, 2020 by Andrew Lang

Voth on the mound; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Last night was an awful night for baseball in Washington, D.C. It was not a competitive game, and manager Dave Martinez waved the white flag when the score ballooned over 8-0. These two teams are at it again tonight. Continue reading →

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Game #10 Nats have the Orioles in D.C.

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

The Nats have a 3-game weekend series against the Orioles in Nationals Park (weather permitting). The difference a few days make. O’s fans were talking about PLAYOFFS after a 5-2 start to the season, but then the Marlins ripped through Baltimore and swept them in four games to throw the O’s back in the pack. The Orioles at the time had the third best record in the American League only trailing the Yankees and Twins. The Nats do not have much to brag about either as they have a similar record at 1-game under .500.

The betting lines are certainly interesting in this game. A quick look at the graphic tells you how Vegas is looking at this one, and as we always say, there is a reason we play the games. The Nationals are -180, so you would have to bet $180 to win $100 (as the favorites).

https://www.sportsbettingdime.com/mlb/odds/

Like Vegas, the Nats are thinking Anibal Sanchez bounces back and Orioles starter and ex-Nat Tommy Milone flops. The lefty was the Orioles starter on Opening Day and was not good, but bounced back and stymied the Tampa Bay Rays over 5.0 innings. The Nats like hitting lefty pitching so we will see how this goes. All of a sudden, Milone has become a strikeout pitcher with a finesse repertoire. Sanchez last worked in the Nats “sim” game on Saturday.

Expect manager Dave Martinez to have three of these four in the lineup: Carter Kieboom, Asdrubal Cabrera, Howie Kendrick and Josh Harrison.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch:  6:05  pm EDT
TV: MASN; MASN2, MLB App out-of-market
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app

Line-ups subject to change without notice:

 

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The #Nats 2020 bullpen standouts aren’t who you thought they would be!

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The Rolaids Relief award has a fireman’s helmet as being symbolic of how the best relievers in baseball history were known to extinguish the other team’s flicker of hope

We got to a point where we would just say, “All bullpens are bad” and then when your bullpen is actually good — you just don’t what to say. When the Nats PR department flashed a stat to the media during Thursday’s game that the Nats’ relievers had adopted seventeen inherited runners and did not allow one of those runners to score — it boggles the mind.

Last year, Daniel Hudson came to the Nats in a fireman’s role. He did not want to be a closer and relished his role while he led the Majors in allowing the fewest inherited runners to score when he was traded to the Nats in 2019, and you wonder if he taught his Nats’ teammates some tricks. That fireman’s role in bullpen’s of yesteryear was what impressed fans back then. Of course bullpen roles have evolved as starting pitchers went shorter and shorter in games. Continue reading →

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Exclusive: Juan Soto is back and he showed up with his family, sort of!

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Andrew Lang

Photo from Nationals official Instagram

If you watched Juan Soto‘s 2020 debut, you probably noticed the foam cutouts of his father, mother, brother, sister, and uncles in the first three rows of Nationals Park in section 106. Soto got Fathead to create these custom cutouts of his familia. It was like “Bring your family to work” day in replica.

“I just wanted to feel my family here,” Soto said after the game.“With all this has been crazy. I just wanted to feel my family back there, and I have a couple uncles who have never been to the field in this stadium, so it’s their first time.”

Continue reading →

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For the Nats and the Scherzers, the new normal is more than just baseball

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Annie Dineen

Erica and Max Scherzer at a red carpet All-Star event; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

At last, baseball stadiums aren’t dark.

At last, the cracks of bats and the thwunks of gloves again beat in rhythm with the beeps of our kitchen timers and the clangs of dinner cutlery. For the first time in 281 days, but who’s counting, we’re shaking our heads at bad strike calls and not political tweets. We get to choose what to worry about: whether our man on first will beat the throw, whether it’s time to bring in a new reliever, whether they’ll turn the double play. As for the ever-increasing stressors brought to you in proud partnership with the year 2020, they, much like the fans themselves, aren’t permitted. There’s no existential screaming in baseball. Continue reading →

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Updated: Today is “cut” day to 28 and on the surface it seems clear, but it never is. The 2 cuts were Bonifacio and Bourque.

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Difo signage; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats

Teams will be trying to trade players as one option to get to twenty-eight players which is now the new limit for roster sizes for the rest of the year. MLB was supposed to have one more cut to twenty-six players, but yesterday decided with the player’s association to keep rosters at 28. If teams cannot trade players, they can option eligible players back to the Minor League side, DFA players without options, release players, or create space with an IL move. On the surface it seems clear, but it never is. Continue reading →

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Bittersweet as Juan Soto returns and Max Scherzer exits after 1 inning with a hammy tweak

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Soto pitching; Photo by Craig Nedrow for TalkNats

Yes, the Nats 3-game winning streak came to an end, but the big story is what happened to Max Scherzer to cause him to exit after one inning? Scherzer says it was a tweaked hammy that took him out of the game. Juan Soto returned and quickly got an RBI double in the first inning, and the Nats were shutout after that in a 3-1 loss. Add to the woes, Sean Doolittle still has not found his velo as he topped out at 91.2 mph and gave up another run before he was pulled after just 1/3 of an inning. Doo still is not locating his pitches as his mechanics are off in addition to the drop-off in his velo. Continue reading →

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Game #9 Max Scherzer gets a key start against the rival Mets!

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Lynn G for TalkNats

This is a quick two-game series against the Mets with eight more games to go to finish their 2020 season matchups. Neither team yesterday looked like their projected 2020 rosters due to injuries and opt-outs. Juan Soto still has not appeared in a regular season game, and when manager Dave Martinez was asked last night if Soto would start today, Davey kind of danced around it. We know Robinson Cano of the Mets will not play because he was placed on the 10-day IL.  Continue reading →

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