Tag: Washington Nationals (Page 5 of 14)

      Strasburg continues to laugh at big league hitting

      June 19, 2010 /

      Nationals’ phenom Stephen Strasburg once again dominated his competition in his third start of the season, striking out 10 White Sox in seven innings on Friday night. Unfortunately for him he picked up a no-decision, but he walked zero batters against the best lineup he’s pitched against since he was called up.

      Thus far, he has struck out 32 batters in 19 1/3 innings and has compiled a 1.86 ERA. The 32 Ks is the most for any pitcher in baseball’s modern era (1900 – present). He’s also the first pitcher in the modern era to have two 10-strikeout, no-walk games in his first three MLB starts.

      Granted, the Pirates, Indians and White Sox don’t have powerhouse offenses, but so what? These are still major league hitters that he’s managed to look like toddlers swinging those big, red plastic bats for the first time in the backyard. His stuff is absolutely out-of-this-world.

      Strasburg is scheduled to face the Royals in his next matchup, which will be the best offense he has seen to date.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Top 10 active base hits leaders

      June 12, 2010 /

      I read yesterday that one of Pete Rose’s bats was being auctioned off, the one he used for his last hit, number 4256. And it made me wonder if that will ever be topped. I can’t imagine it will be, but stranger things have happened. Of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame still fails to recognize what Rose did on the field because of what he did as a manager off the field. But that’s for another post. Here is a look at the Top 10 active leaders in base hits:

      1. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (2824)—The classiest player by far in the big leagues today, and the epitome of someone who plays the game right and just gets it. I look forward to Jeter notching his 3000th hit, which will likely be next season.

      2. Ivan Rodriguez, Washington Nationals (2781)—In his twentieth season this year, I-Rod is batting .331. No loss of bat speed with this guy, that’s for sure.

      3. Omar Vizquel, Chicago White Sox (2724)—Amazingly, Vizquel is in his 22nd season and still looks like he’s 28 years old. I got to see him play in his prime in Cleveland, and he was/is the best defensive shortstop I’ve ever seen. But he has clearly racked up hits too.

      4. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (2596)—Well, duh. The question is, though, will he eventually be the all-time home run king?

      5. Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers (2530)—Yeah, he juiced, and so did A-Rod. But these two guys still have to be incredibly talented ball players to rack up this many hits.

      6. Garret Anderson, Los Angeles Dodgers (2515)—Steady and classy as well, but it’s just hard to believe Garret Anderson is 38 years old. Didn’t he just break into the bigs?

      7. Johnny Damon, Detroit Tigers (2482)—Scrappy, solid player, and he just keeps on grinding. But do any of you remember Damon’s days with the Royals? I sure don’t.

      8. Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (2444)—Another guy who defines playing the game the way it was meant to be played, and he just keeps on hitting well into his thirties.

      9. Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers (2326)—He’s hitting .339 with 53 RBI on June 11. Vlad is another ageless wonder.

      10. Edgar Renteria, San Francisco Giants (2213)—It’s kind of amazing that Renteria is on this list, even though he’s never had a 200-hit season. But he’s been reliable and consistent all these years.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      External Sports, MLB

      Stephen Strasburg bound for Cooperstown

      June 9, 2010 /

      I’m kidding, I’m kidding! I just wanted to hear the guy’s head explode that always reminds everyone, “It was only one game! It was only one game!” when a young player does well in his first career appearance.

      And actually, Strasburg did more than “well.”

      In his major league debut last night against the Pirates, Stephen Strasburg struck out a franchise record 14 batters over seven innings to pick up his first career victory. His only blemish came in the fourth inning when Delwyn Young took him deep with a two-run dinger to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Thanks to Adam Dunn’s two-run dinger in the sixth, the Nationals were able to retake the lead at 3-2, before adding two more runs in the eighth to give them a 5-2 victory.

      Getting back to Strasburg, perhaps the most impressive stat from his debut (besides the 14 Ks, of course) is the fact that he didn’t walk anybody. That’s impressive considering he’s a 21-year-old kid pitching in a packed house for a franchise that has lofty expectations of him. The amount of control he exhibited was also impressive, as he mowed down the Pirates for seven innings.

      Granted, this wasn’t a very dominant lineup he was facing, but so what? He was brilliant and he gave fans a lot to cheer about in his first time out. Who knows where he goes from here, but one thing is for sure: he’s off to a fantastic start.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      It’s a big day in D.C. sports history

      June 8, 2010 /

      The Nationals have been based in Washington since 2005. Since then, they’ve managed to finish dead last in the NL East every year outside of 2007, when they shocked the masses by finishing fourth.

      Outside of Ryan Zimmerman, the only other player the Nationals’ fan base could call a “star” was Dmitri Young, which is like saying Paul Walker is the star in his movies – any movie.

      But tonight at 7:05PM ET at Nationals Park, the fans will have a new star – a legit star, to root for in young phenom Stephen Strasburg. The 2009 No. 1 overall pick will make his major league debut tonight against the Pirates in what will undoubtedly be a packed house in Washington D.C.

      The media in Washington has been trying to get the fans to temper their expectations of tonight for the last couple of months. But that’s impossible for a fan base that has sat through horrid season after horrid season since 2005. They deserve to think the world of Strasburg, even though expectations should be kept at bay. He’s an incredible prospect, but he’s just that: a prospect. He has even admitted that he hasn’t proven anything yet.

      In just over 55 innings and 11 starts in the minor leagues this year, Strasburg struck out 65 batters while walking only 13 and posting a 1.30 ERA. He has been so dominant that even if the Nats wanted to prolong his stay in the minors, they would have no reason to. Calling him up after June 4 allowed the club to delay the start of his arbitration clock, meaning the only reason to keep him in the minors would be so he could work on his game. And his game looks fine as is.

      So June 8, 2010 it is. When Strasburg takes the bump tonight, all eyes will be firmly planted on No. 37. Whether he’s ready for the big moment is not really important. What is important is that his day is finally here.

      D.C. sports fans’ day is finally here.

      External Sports, MLB

      Nationals take phenom Bryce Harper in draft

      June 8, 2010 /

      Suddenly, the future for Washington D.C. baseball looks awfully promising.

      A year after taking pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick, the Nationals took catcher Bryce Harper with the top selection during Monday’s MLB draft.

      Harper doesn’t even turn 18 until October, but he hit .417 with 21 dingers in 51 games at a junior college last season. While his natural position is catcher, the club actually announced him as an outfielder when they selected him. Catchers usually take longer to get to the big leagues because they have to learn how to handle a major league pitching staff. But if Harper can play the outfield, he’ll likely spend less time in the minors.

      While it’s important not to expect too much too soon out of them, if both Strasburg and Harper live up to their potential, the Nationals have two pieces in which they can build their franchise around for years to come. If nothing else, this will be an exciting team to watch over the next couple of seasons with the amount of young talent they’ll have coming up through the minors.

      Here are some YouTube highlights of Harper:

      External Sports, MLB

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