Tag: Washington Nationals (Page 6 of 14)

      Top 10 active innings eaters

      May 29, 2010 /

      Chances are, you need a few pitchers on your fantasy baseball roster that can eat up innings. You know, that silly rule that prevents you from loading up on closers? Well, here is a list you could use, especially if your team if floundering and you need some steady pitchers to deliver quality innings of work. This is the list of active leaders in innings pitched. Some of the names will surprise you, but certainly not all of them:

      1. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies (3966 innings)—Remember when Jamie Moyer pitched for the Cubs? Yeah, neither does anyone else. He was a rookie in 1986, the year Mookie Wilson hit the ball through Bill Buckner’s legs. I know, most of you don’t remember that, either.

      2. Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees (2984)—Though it’s early, Andy Pettitte is having a career year at age 38. And I’m just glad I had the foresight (errr, luck) to draft him for my fantasy team.

      3. Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (2980)—Remember when Tim Wakefield pitched for the Pirates? Seriously, he started out there in 1992 and joined the Sox in 1995. And dude is still beloved by the chowder heads.

      4. Livan Hernandez, Washington Nationals (2795)—Two things are baffling. One, that Livan’s age is listed as 35. Thirty-freaking-five! Um, no. And two, that this guy is still getting hitters out with that blistering 80 mph fastball of his.

      5. Javier Vasquez, New York Yankees (2532)—So this guy has banked $92 million in his career to date for losing as many games as he wins (145-144). That’s proof right there that innings eaters are worth something, but still sounds like highway robbery to me.

      6. Jeff Suppan, Milwaukee Brewers (2437)—He’s relegated to the bullpen for the most part, but still racking up innings of work.

      7. Kevin Millwood, Baltimore Orioles (2382)—Remember when Kevin Millwood was the fourth starter behind Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine in Atlanta? That was in 1997 but seems like it was 50 years ago.

      8. Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves (2191)—He may have peaked a few years ago, but this guy still has some of the nastiest stuff in the game.

      9. Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves (2124)—Through all of the injuries, it’s truly amazing that Tim Hudson has pitched that many innings. And hey, Javier, put this in your pipe and smoke it—a 153-79 career record.

      10. Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies (2123)—This dude just keeps winning, but even he’s only got 154 wins to date. Does that seem right?

      Source: Baseball Reference

      External Sports, MLB

      Strasburg likely coming to bigs in mid June

      May 27, 2010 /

      The Nationals don’t know the specific date, but the club has tentatively planned for phenom pitcher Stephen Strasburg to make his first major league start sometime between June 8 and June 10 against the Pirates.

      From the Washington Post:

      “We can know that right up until the moment that we name him to pitch, but we’re not going to announce that,” Riggleman said. “There’s procedural things. There’s other players affected by it. There’s just too many reasons not to announce it. So we’re not going to announce anything.

      “It affects a lot of people. I liken it to, whatever, April 3 and opening day is April 5. Who made the club? Who didn’t make the club? And a week later, nobody remembers, because the roster has already changed. When this is all said and done, the fact that we nailed down the date he’s going to pitch and announced it will be a non-entity. It’s going to be all about when he does pitch and people will be excited about it. Leading up to it,. we may or may not announce it. That will be an organizational decision. We have a pretty good idea of when he’s going to pitch.”

      One of the reasons Riggleman gave for not announcing the specific date that Strasburg will come up is so that the pitcher he’s replacing isn’t affected. That makes sense given that whoever it is still has one or two more outings under his belt before Strasburg comes up.

      Either way, he’s coming up and that’s exciting. The 21-year-old has posted an amazing 0.39 ERA over his first four starts at Triple-A Syracuse and looks every bit ready to start in the big leagues. That said, expectations should still be tempered. The majors have a way of humbling young players (especially pitchers) and even though Strasburg looks special, there’s quite a difference between Triple-A hitters and the ones he’ll face in mid June.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      Watch Nyjer Morgan get mad

      May 23, 2010 /

      Maybe you could think of a better title, but really, this is what’s funny. And I’m not laughing at Nyjer Morgan’s expense — I just admire this temper tantrum because it’s something I would do. Knowing he’s on television, and knowing he’ll look hilarious throwing his glove down in a fit of anger, he does so in theatrical fashion. Morgan is a gamer, so his frustration was probably greater after realizing the ball didn’t actually clear the fence.

      Note: This video will probably get taken down quickly, so enjoy it while it lasts.

      Video

      Strasburg headed to Triple-A

      May 2, 2010 /

      According to a report by MLB.com, Stephen Strasbrug will likely be promoted to Triple-A following his game today for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators.

      The No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 Draft went 3-0 with a 0.52 ERA on the month. He’s collected 23 strikeouts over 17 1/3 innings, and he hasn’t given up an earned run since his first professional start. Over his last two outings, he’s allowed one hit and one walk over 10 innings. Considering these numbers, a move from the Double-A Eastern League was only a matter of how soon.

      Strasburg will reportedly throw 85 pitches or five innings on Sunday and may make a start late next week against the International League’s Gwinnett Braves.

      This news should please Nationals fans. It only took a month for Strasburg to impress in Double-A, so hopefully he doesn’t hit any bumps in the road at the next stage.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      NL East providing some exciting baseball

      May 1, 2010 /

      Going into the new baseball season, all eyes were once again set to watch the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays duke it out in the AL East. As it’s become customary, we assumed the division would deliver both the AL leader in wins, but also the Wild Card. Of course, this will probably still happen, but the hallowed division has turned into a head-scratcher given Boston’s poor start. I’m not lamenting this by any means (I’d love to see the Blue Jays in the playoffs, actually), but I’m here to tell you that there’s another division worth your interest: the NL East.

      What? The NL East doesn’t just consist of the the Phillies and a handful also-rans? Well, not yet, anyway. Currently, three of the the division’s five teams have winning records (Mets, Phillies, Nationals), and the two others (Braves, Marlins) have enough talent to contend for the rest of the year. While I’d like to provide high-brow sabermetrics and detailed graphs, it’s really quite simple: The pitching and hitting on each of these teams are both decent at the very least. That’s it really, just decent. As long as one of these components isn’t woeful, a club should expect to hover above a .500 winning percentage. That may not satisfy a die-hard fan who has everything riding on their team making it to the World Series, but it sure does encourage neck-and-neck competition.

      This is what we have in the NL East — an intriguing balancing act. The Mets surprisingly sit atop the leaderboard in the division, on the strength of their pitching no less. Mike Pelfrey has been sensational — who knows how — boasting a 4-0 record and a 0.69 ERA. With Johan Santana, Jon Niese and Oliver Perez performing well on the mound, the Mets have reason to be feel comfortable. And look, the hitting has not been phenomenal — merely decent. Jason Bay isn’t knocking blasts out of the park left and right, but guys like David Wright, Jose Reyes, Jeff Franceur and Ike Davis are getting on base. On base percentage can sometimes be the most feared statistic in the game. The Mets may not keep it up for long — there’s far too many question marks. Still, it’s nice to see the Phillies getting some guff from within.

      Now, the Phillies will make the playoffs — there’s no way around it. Roy Halladay tops an intimidating rotation, and not even Brad Lidge or Ryan Madson will be able to consistently blow the countless leads provided by their hitting. I just think the NL East went a bit overlooked during the offseason. If it continues to play out as it has, this division could yield two playoff teams. None of the other teams look entirely vulnerable: the Braves quietly put together a solid unit during the offseason; the Nationals are stunning opponents with both power and unheard of pitchers; the Marlins are the Marlins, meaning we know nothing about them and they’ll still finish with a winning record.

      I know, it’s strange, but the NL East had us fooled from the start. There’s some dramatic baseball in there.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

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