Game #99 Gio starts with Zimmerman at 1st base

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

It is a touchy subject when Ryan Zimmerman is brought up these days. The TalkNats twitter feed already has comments to this tweet which includes a few angry responses. We will all be rooting for Zim with the hopes that he helps to win this game for the Nationals. He is a great guy, but with every game feeling like a must win, don’t you go with the players who give you the best chance to win? With all the recent time off, nobody should need rest so that is not at issue here.  In games when Matt Adams starts, the Nationals are 31-18 while the team is 14-14 when Zimmerman starts.  Continue reading →

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

#Nats are in a good spot for 2019 but who should they keep from the FAs

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

 

Mike Rizzo is never far from his phone.

The Nationals could turnover at least 40% of their current roster and that could be higher depending on opt-outs. If all of the 11 free agents on the MLB roster leave, that will free up nearly $88 million in cash which general manager Mike Rizzo can spend elsewhere. But maybe there are some names on the list who the Nationals should retain like Matt Adams and Jeremy Hellickson. The debate will also rage on about Bryce Harper, and the smart move would be to trade him now instead of receiving little compensation in the 2019 draft.  The Nationals will almost certainly turn down Brandon Kintzler‘s team option portion, however Kintzler holds the cards for a player option at $5 million. Then you have the most curious case of Tanner Roark who is due for his final season of arbitration, and he is making nearly $6.5 million and looking for a 2019 raise which we estimate near $10 million. Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

A complete win for the Nats: Pitching, hitting, defense, and baserunning

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

With the Nationals and Braves sending their aces to the mound today, it was Max Scherzer who got the win today, and he was helped by amazing defense and 4 runs of support in a 6-2 Nationals win that included two long rain delays. Continue reading →

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #98 moved to Sunday due to rain; Scherzer starts; Gio bumped

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Warning Track Power for TalkNats

Once again, Mother Nature decided the outcome of a game with another postponement. Instead of Dave Martinez sticking with his Saturday starter, Gio Gonzalez, the Nationals manager has decided to bump Gio and go with Max Scherzer who was previously scheduled for the Sunday start. The Braves followed the Nationals move and will do the same and bump Saturday’s starter Sean Newcomb and pitch righty Mike Foltynewicz today.
Continue reading →

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Game #98 The Nationals were the pre-season favorites to win the NL East

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The NL East standings on the morning of June 8th

“Once upon a time,” the children’s storybook begins. The difference 6-weeks makes. The Nationals were in 1st place leading into the weekend of the Dream Gala and had momentum until Stephen Strasburg was injured. Strasburg had a very good month of May as he was 4-and-1 with a 2.51 ERA. When Strasburg went down, the Nationals seemed to go down with him. The team was a comfortable 10-games over .500 and now are sitting at 1-game under .500 this morning. The team is 13-and-24 since that point in time at the beginning of June. The Nationals have gone from pre-season NL East favorites to 3rd place under-achievers. Strasburg has to rejoin the ranks of the over-achievers for this team to have any chance. Yes, things look bleak, but there have been teams that have made up larger margins on July 21st in a season. Continue reading →

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Sean Doolittle is needed to help players of another ERA!

Posted on July 21, 2018 by Douglas Gladstone

Photo by Marlene Koenig for Talknats

Washington Nationals closer Sean Doolittle and his wife, Eireann Dolan, are a very politically astute, media savvy couple. They’ve spoken up on behalf of Syrian refugees, sponsored the Oakland Athletics’ first LGBT Pride Night and written opinion pieces about military veterans. Continue reading →

Posted in Feature | Leave a comment

Nats score 5 runs which is not enough as Strasburg gives up 6 in 4 2/3

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The first game out of the All-Star break did not start off well as the Nationals lost 8-5 to the rival Braves. The Nationals offense did their part as they scored 5-runs while the Nationals pitchers did not. Stephen Strasburg was not sharp and exited with a final line of 4.2 IP 6 ER and that’s all you need to know. Strasburg exited in the 5th inning and had words in the dugout with Max Scherzer. Yes, Stras is intense and so is Max Scherzer. No big deal with that as the big deal was the “L” which pushed the Nats to 1 game under .500.  Continue reading →

Posted in Recap | Leave a comment

Game #97 Baseball is back; Stras is back!

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by LEGNats for TalkNats

As the official second half of the season starts tonight for 28 teams, the Nationals have a golden opportunity to make up ground in the NL East as they will face the rival Atlanta Braves for a 3-game weekend if the weather allows. The Nationals get back two pitchers today off of the disabled list. Stephen Strasburg returns to the mound tonight after clearing out shoulder inflammation, and Sean Doolittle will remain on the DL with a toe injury. As expected, Ryan Zimmerman returns from the 60-day DL. The corresponding moves for them are fairly straightforward as Trevor Gott was returned already to Triple-A Syracuse and Wander Suero will head back so Zimmerman can return. Continue reading →

Posted in InGame | Leave a comment

Top Ten Ways To Improve All-Star Week(end)

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Andrew Ross

Top Ten Ways To Improve All-Star Week(end)

My 10-year-old and I had a blast this week at the All-Star festivities. We went to the All-Star Fanfest twice and to all three days of games (Futures, HR Derby, All-Star game) at Nationals Park. We also went to Miami last year for that All-Star game and are starting to plan to go to Cleveland next year for their All-Star game. The All-Star week is so much fun for us hard-core fans. Continue reading →

Posted in Feature | Leave a comment

The Dog Days: Baseball’s Prime Time

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Ray Wyvill

The Dog Days of Summer are Here

About a month after the summer solstice the atmosphere gets with the program the sun has been laying down.  It gets hot, humid, and stays that way.  Life slows down just a little.  It has been that way for as long as there has been recorded history.  The Greeks and Romans noted that the start of the really infernal heat coincided with the appearance of the star Sirius in the East rising just before the sun.  Sirius is the brightest stellar magnitude star in the sky, outshining the planet Mercury.  It is located in the constellation Canis Majoris, hence the nickname, “Dog Star.”  The prevailing theory was that Sirius added to the heat and misery. The Ancients called this period, starting on July 19, the “Dog Days.”  It has been used and modified over time to mean anytime it is really hot.  But, July 19 to August 20 is the time period ascribed in many traditional interpretations.  It also happens to be baseball’s Prime Time. Continue reading →

Posted in Feature | Leave a comment