by Andrew Lang
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stan4Nats
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Andrew Lang
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
Nationals pitching ERA year-to-date
The Washington Nationals limped into the All-Star break quite badly. The last 11 games against 3 teams who won’t come near the playoffs ended with a disappointing 6 – 5 record due to poor starting pitching. Once the strength of the team, the starting pitching which was in shambles for weeks stabilized somewhat with a return to form of Jeremy Hellickson and a decent performance by Gio Gonzalez. Continue reading
Photo by MLB; Bryce Harper with Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner
On Monday night, Nationals fans fell back in love with Bryce Harper who is the soon-to-be free agent slugger mired in a protracted funk for months for the Washington Nationals. Harper made his adopted city proud as he put on a power display that was nothing short of what you would expect from “The Natural” which is a fictional movie about Roy Hobbs who obliterates baseballs into the stratosphere for long home runs. Bryce at the age of 16 was dubbed the “Chosen One” for a Sports Illustrated cover and SI was probably correct in terms of baseball marketing where Harper excels. Continue reading
This year’s All Star Game will mark the fifth time that the exhibition game has been played in Washington. There is plenty of history involved. A listing of players involved in the games played here is long and loaded with Hall of Famers. The games themselves were not particularly classics. But, they have provided some food for thought as we await the first pitch. Continue reading
Photo by Laura Peebles for TalkNats
Nats at the break
There is no question that the Nats are very far from being out of contention. The teams they are chasing are proving to be very flawed and they could be caught by a team with superior talent such as the Nationals if the Washington team plays up to its potential. Continue reading
Photo for TalkNats
It was nice during yesterday’s game that I could write something “positive” about Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez and his strategies he put in place in the finale before the All-Star break. It all worked. It has been a while for Davey that he could genuinely smile in a game. When you’re winning, it’s all fun — and you can look like a genius. When you’re losing, you look like the village idiot at times. Yesterday, he really pulled out all the stops. Whether it was Matt Wieters bunting or going with Daniel Murphy off the bench early to pinch-hit for starting centerfielder Michael A. Taylor — it worked. What worked was execution. If Wieters does not get the bunt down or Murphy strikes out, the pitchforks are back out. Continue reading
The Nationals are back to .500 and 5½ games out of 1st place. It’s not where they wanted to be, but the alternatives could have been worse for a team that was struck by multiple key injuries along with a slumping Bryce Harper and a month and a half of poor starting pitching from Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzlalez. In addition, rookie manager Dave Martinez had come under fire for his managerial style.
With the earlier start to the 2018 season in March, the All-Star break is hardly the halfway point of the season. In fact, the season is 60% over after today’s game with 40% remaining in the 162 game regular season and the best the Nationals can hope for is to finish at .500 today with a 48-and-48 record. If the Washington Nationals can win today, they need to go 42-and-24 in the final 66-games to finish with 90-wins. That would require a 63.6% winning percentage. It is possible if this team somehow finds itself at it’s core which is starting pitching and goes on a long winning streak. Continue reading
Adam Eaton did his part but couldn’t keep the Nats from losing this one. Photo by Jim Osborn for TalkNats
Well, spot starter Austin Voth tried his best in his major league debut today, but it just didn’t work out. A flurry of singles in the second inning made it a 3-0 game early, and then the New York Mets poured on four more in the fifth inning as the rookie appeared to hit the wall hard. Continue reading
For Austin Voth, this is his 3rd call-up of the season. He sat on the bench during his first two call-ups, and his family flew across the country and through the night from Redmond, Washington to see him in his first call-up only to see him sit on the bench before he was optioned back to Triple-A Syracuse. Continue reading
The All-Star FanFest is like nothing you have ever seen. It is like a baseball lover’s paradise. Row after row of baseball activities, baseball history, memorabilia, baseball cards, All-Star apparel, and former baseball players. Those baseball cards above are just for the FanFest, and available through Topps wrapper redemptions. Continue reading
