It was a tie game through the 6th inning then Fedde was sent back for the 7th

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

Photo by Kevin Nibley for TalkNats

In this game, Erick Fedde did his job, and his defense did not help him, and his manager sent him out for the 7th inning with a 97-pitch count. Instead of Fedde handing the ball to the bullpen in the 7th inning with a 2-to-2 tie, Fedde gave up a lead-off double who scored on a sacrifice fly and Fedde’s day ended with a loss on his record. That 3-to-2 Phillies lead grew to 5-to-2 when Kelvin Herrera gave up 2 runs, and the only life the rest of the game came from an Anthony Rendon home run to finish the box score at a 5-to-3 loss.  Continue reading →

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Game #75 Fedde has an opportunity to show he belongs

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

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Games like last night take a lot of convenient memory loss to forget. It was painful for Nationals fans to watch their team take a 2-0 deficit and tie it up and then to see the Phillies score 10 unanswered runs. Fan-favorite pitcher Tanner Roark once again self-destructed while another Nationals manager failed to see the obvious. It brings back memories of seasons that have unraveled in 2013 and 2015 when the finer details were missed. Continue reading →

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Turn the page on this game—See you later!

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

See you tomorrow!

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Game #74 Another ballgame — another iffy weather forecast!

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

Bryce Harper in centerfield; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Another night of questionable weather in the forecast as the Washington Nationals prepare for a weekend series with the Phillies. Only a ½ game separates these two teams in the standings, and this is one of those series where you wonder how the Nationals can stay on top of the Phillies with a weekend rotation of Tanner Roark, Erick Fedde and Jefry Rodriguez. Out of the three, Roark had the shortest outing in the last turn through the rotation, and we once again wonder — which Tanner Roark do we see in this start? Continue reading →

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Nats win on the bat of Soto! What else is new!

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

The 19-year-old did it again when the Washington Nationals needed some offense scoring lead-off man Bryce Harper and #2 batter Trea Turner. Soto’s double went with a walk on the night, and his double in the 8th inning proved to be the game-winner. Continue reading →

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Game #73 Nats line-up must support Max Scherzer tonight!

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

Photo by Lee Heiman for TalkNats

Even Max Scherzer is not capable of winning a game if his team does not score him any runs. Such was his fate in his last 2 starts where he held the opponents to just 2-runs and lost the games by identical scores of 2-to-0. He can commiserate with Gio, Tanner, and Stras who all were losers on the wrong end of shutouts in the month of June. The Nationals offense seemed to have clicked but has been in this feast or famine offense the last week and a half. We all know Max Scherzer is capable of shutting out his opponents, but he still needs run support to win. Continue reading →

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Mercenary Territory

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Ray Wyvill

Hall of Fame Induction 1939

The baseball world lost an iconic figure this month.  Red Schoendienst was a veritable institution.  His Hall of Fame career is inseparable from the image of him as the life-long St. Louis Cardinal.  We tend to think of old revered ballplayers as being tied to one franchise from cradle to grave.  The reality is far different.  Red played almost one-third of his 19-year career away from St. Louis in Milwaukee and with the New York Giants.  The celebrated one-city player is a rare breed of cat.  That is true not only today, but throughout history.  Baseball is “Mercenary Territory.” Continue reading →

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Nats had plenty of chances and squandered what the game gave them

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

A different type of walk off; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

In this 3-to-0 loss, the Nationals had their chances. It started in the first inning with runners on the corners and one-out with Bryce Harper batting, and he tapped into an inning ending doubleplay and it kind of ended like the game started with a golden opportunity to score. With bases loaded and a chance to walk-off with Mark Reynolds at-bat, the strike zone widened and he struck-out. That really wasn’t the exclamation point on the game — it was a footnote on an offense that now has been shutout four times in nine games and the focus goes back to what went wrong like it has all season on opportunities not taken and who is not doing their job. Continue reading →

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Game #72 Gio Gonzalez tries to show he is an All-Star

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

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Two weeks ago, Washington Nationals starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball with his ace ERA of 2.10. People were talking about Gio as a lock for the All-Star game. Fast forward to Toronto over the weekend, and Gio looks like a pitcher who is trying to find his way back on track. Currently, Gonzalez’s 3.01 ERA ranks him now at 18th for starting pitchers.  Continue reading →

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The Catcher’s market and who needs one? #Nats

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

The Nationals only have one positional spot to upgrade and that would be the catcher’s position.  The Nationals are dead-last in catcher’s OPS at .570 this season with a sub-Mendoza batting average. This season the Nationals must upgrade at catcher. Maybe we have been looking at this the wrong way and just need to find a right-handed platoon bat for catcher assuming Matt Wieters is able to make it back this season. Continue reading →

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