by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
Kevin Long with Daniel Murphy. Photo by Lee Heiman for TalkNats
Pick your star of the game? Daniel Murphy, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon, Michael Taylor, Wilmer Difo, Adam Eaton or Brian Goodwin? Maybe all of them. It was a great team win to rally from 4-runs down to show the national television audience on ESPN’s Sunday Night game that the demise of the Washington Nationals was greatly exaggerated. Continue reading
Many people have been commenting on how so many Nationals players since the Dream Gala have been playing with low energy. Who knows, but several players have been playing sick, and while they won’t use that as an excuse, it’s understandable — but the Gala was two weeks ago so you have to think it is more than that. When was the last time we saw Bryce Harper celebrating? Answer: June 9th when he homered off of Ty Blach which happened to be hours before the Dream Gala later that evening. Maybe we should rename it the Nightmare Gala. The Nationals have been atrocious since the Gala with only 3 wins and 10 losses, and Harper hasn’t homered since! Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
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