Game #41 Mets are back in D.C.

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

The Nationals are back home after a three-city road trip, and they have Juan Soto and Gerardo Parra with them. Soto returned from the 10-day IL over the weekend and Parra was signed as a free agent after he was DFA’d by the Giants. While the team still has several players on the 10-day IL, it is Trea Turner who this team needs to get back to where they had hoped to be. Turner is expected back next week after recovering from a broken finger. The last time these two teams met in Nationals Park, it was Trea Turner who stroked the walk-off home run to get the team’s first win.  Continue reading

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The Dodgers series was one-step forward and one-step backwards for the #Nats

It was all smiles during Spring Training

The season will be 25% complete during tomorrow’s game in the third inning. The Nationals played .500 baseball in Los Angeles winning two and losing two which was better than the Country Line Dance they were doing of one-step forward and two-steps backwards; however, days are clicking off the calendar with 122 more games looking forward and playing .500 baseball just is not good enough going forward.

This team has to take two or three steps forward at a time and go on a long winning streak. The Nationals are 16-24 which is the same record that Los Angeles team had last year on their way to a back-to-back World Series appearance which shows it is possible — but it is feeling improbable based on playing .500 baseball or below. In order to move forward, the Nationals need a long winning streak. The Dodgers entered the season last year without Justin Turner who was injured. His first game back was on May 15th of 2018 and the team went 63-40 after Turner returned and won the NL West with a 92-71 record.  Continue reading

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A tour of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (www.nlbm.com)

All baseball fans should visit this museum at least once in their life.  Like Cooperstown, this museum covers the history of baseball — except this museum covers the history of the stream of talent that finally began merging with the Major Leagues when Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Continue reading

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Game #40 Nats historic comeback last night puts #Nats in position to win series!

The Nationals find themselves in a position to go for a series win instead of salvaging a series split thanks to Gerardo Parra and his teammates. It was a key team win last night and the operative word is “team” because there are no heroics if Parra does not come up to bat in the 8th inning. Continue reading

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Gerardo Parra has the greatest 1st base debut in #Nats history!

We needed a Hollywood ending, and Gerardo Parra delivered the script with a grand slam winner in the 8th inning to take a loss and turn it into a win. Entering the 8th inning, the Nationals win expectancy was calculated at 10% by Fangraphs. So you’re saying there’s a chance! With 2 outs after watching Anthony Rendon strikeout in a 3-2 count, Parra got to face Dylan Floro who he was 2-for-2 against in his career, but this seemed to be a different Floro and a different Parra. This Floro entered the game with a 0.00 ERA, and Parra was batting just .185 at that moment in time. Redemption sometimes comes at the most opportune times. Earlier this week Parra was booted to the curb by the Giants and was unemployed.

The script had the count at 2-2 and like the mythical left-handed Roy Hobbs, this real-life lefty barreled up a fastball that was a  mistake pitch —  and  crushed it 413 feet into the right-center bleachers at Dodger Stadium. Parra’s home run did not destroy a light stanchion sending sparks onto the field like the fictional Hobbs — but he did destroy the hopes of the mostly partisan 53,647 fans in attendance. Their cheers went to shocked silence.

All of this was possible because of a Dodgers error earlier in the inning to make Parra’s at-bat a possibility, and he did not miss the pitch and made them pay for the miscue with four unearned runs and a blown-save on Floro’s record. It was also Parra’s first hit as a Nats player, and the most impactful debut for a Nats first basemen in their history. Parra really is not a first baseman by the numbers, but on this night his manager got creative to put him there to rest Howie Kendrick and the rest was history.  Continue reading

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Game #39 Soto is back; Parra at first; Scherzer on the mound!

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Slowly but surely the Nationals are getting their injured players back. Today it is Juan Soto returning to the active roster after suffering from back spasms. The lineup card is very close to what manager Dave Martinez penciled up on Opening Day except for today Wilmer Difo is at shortstop and the newly hired outfielder, Gerardo Parra will have his first baseman’s glove tonight. That is not a misprint. Howie Kendrick could have played tonight or tomorrow afternoon’s game, and Martinez opted for Parra who has 20 starts at first base during his tenure in Colorado the previous two seasons. Parra has an .808 OPS against the Dodgers starter, Walker Buehler. Continue reading

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The rollercoaster; More Groundhog Day; Some bright spots

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

A day after dominating the Dodgers in a well-played shutout, Nats fans were cautiously optimistic that their team could beat the Dodgers in a game where both teams were missing two star players. The Dodgers sat Justin Turner and scratched Corey Seager, and the Nats are still missing Trea Turner and Juan Soto. Continue reading

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Game #38 Taking the positives forward

MLB Network graphic

Last season, Anibal Sanchez became a study in analytics. He resurrected a career that had looked like it was nearing a statistical curve destined for retirement. This season he has had seven starts, and his best performances have been 2-run performances. But when you look at last season through his first seven appearances, he had 4 shutouts. What is the difference in this tale of two seasons? Maybe it can be explained away in the defense behind him and also defensive positioning because the hit rate has increased from 7.0 to 9.6 between this year and last year. Maybe it is the BB/9 rate that was 2.8 and is now 5.4. Can new pitching coach Paul Menhart change anything to improve Sanchez? He has identical HR/9 numbers nearly identical K/9 stats as last year so the difference is hits and walks leading to more runs.  Continue reading

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The most complete win for the Nationals in 2019; Offense, pitching, defense

Photo by Navy Yard Nats for TalkNats

Pick your stars of this game, and it begins with Howie Kendrick who started the scoring in the first inning with a 3-run blast on his way to a 4 RBI game in this 6-0 shutout behind 7.0 strong innings by Patrick Corbin who had no-hit stuff tonight. Corbin had 8 strikeouts and yielded only 3-hits, and the defense behind him turned two nifty doubleplays including a Web Gem by Anthony Rendon. It was Corbin who shutdown the best offensive team in the league in this “must win” game against the Dodgers who own the best record in the National League. Continue reading

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Game #37 The Nats need a great Hollywood ending to turn things positive

Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats

For manager Dave Martinez, he was always a slow starter in his career as a player. The month of April was his worst statistical month, and he had hoped that as a manager he could come out of the gates strong this year. It almost looked like it was going to happen until Anthony Rendon got injured. If only the Nationals could have just treaded water until Rendon, Juan Soto and Trea Turner returned from the injured list, they could go on a run when their opening day roster was intact. Unfortunately, Martinez’s team has been sinking under the weight of the water and are now 8-games under .500. As their luck has it, they are facing the team with the best record in the National League for the next four days. Last week, the Cardinals had the best record in the National League and the Nationals had to face them for three games. The Dodgers got red hot and have surpassed the Cardinals now for the top spot in the NL. The Dodgers just swept the Braves and have won 16-of-their-last-23 games which followed a 6-game losing streak.  Continue reading

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