Nationals Journal: May 25, 2008 - May 31, 2008
Over and out
Game just wrapped up at Chase Field. One hour, 52 minutes. Quickest game in this stadium's history, and certainly the quickest ballgame I've ever witnessed. Brandon Webb looked very much like a Cy Young Award winner, and the Nats looked...
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Chico Harlan
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May 31, 2008; 11:43 PM ET |
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Lineups
You'll notice Jesus Flores isn't in the lineup. Just a precaution. "He's doing fine," Manny Acta said. "We're just going to keep him out of the lineup to give him an extra day, but no headaches, no nothing." Washington Lopez...
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Chico Harlan
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May 31, 2008; 7:13 PM ET |
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Aces
The Nats get another start today from Jason Bergmann, who's still unscored upon in his 19-2/3 innings since the May 14 recall. In those three starts, he's got only one win to show for it. Part of that is traceable...
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Chico Harlan
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May 31, 2008; 5:28 PM ET |
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Lowcountry wants good news; I humbly supply it
Now it's certainly not good news that catcher Jesus Flores -- the one player capable of no wrong these days -- took two balls off the face mask today. And it's not good news that a headache resulted, forcing him...
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Chico Harlan
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May 31, 2008; 3:32 AM ET |
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The condition of the shoulder of the face of the franchise
This being the land of excess, here's the latest, unabridged Ryan Zimmerman shoulder conversation. A few things to note: He took a few swings today, but he also spoke for the first time about the chance of dealing with possible...
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Chico Harlan
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May 30, 2008; 8:18 PM ET |
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The lineup, a little shaken and stirred
Lopez, Dukes and Pena on the bench. Washington Harris -- 4 Guzman -- 6 Boone -- 5 Young -- 3 Milledge -- 8 Langerhans -- 9 Flores -- 2 Mackowiak -- 7 Redding -- 1 Arizona Young -- 8 Drew...
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Chico Harlan
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May 30, 2008; 6:17 PM ET |
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Overanalysis of underperformance
More to remove the narrative stick from the raw horse hide of the Nationals offense, I used the game story to look at the critical eighth inning yesterday. But I suppose the NJ is for all things excess, so if...
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Chico Harlan
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May 30, 2008; 11:41 AM ET |
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Over/under
Pick the number. How much time left does Charlie Manning have before he returns to Columbus? (State answer in weeks, days or hours.) The guy was just brought on in a 2-2 game where the Nats had done everything possible...
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Chico Harlan
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May 29, 2008; 6:04 PM ET |
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Minor league notes and injuries
Before we get to Bill Gluvna's minor league report, I wanted to provide a little news on Harrisburg OF Justin Maxwell, who's now on the 7-day DL with a right wrist injury that will keep him disabled far longer than...
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Chico Harlan
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May 29, 2008; 3:52 PM ET |
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Today's lineups
Washington Lopez -- 4 Guzman -- 6 Boone -- 5 Young -- 3 Milledge -- 8 Pena -- 7 Dukes -- 9 Nieves -- 2 Lannan -- 1 San Diego Hairston -- 8 Iguchi -- 4 Giles -- 9 Gonzalez...
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Chico Harlan
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May 29, 2008; 2:52 PM ET |
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Thoroughly bad-bad-bad pain
Two games now, two tough-guy performances from Nats starters. I only learned about Odalis Perez's adventures after the game last night, which is why no mention of his emergency root canal -- just hours before he pitched -- appeared in...
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Chico Harlan
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May 29, 2008; 10:42 AM ET |
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An astute statistical examination of the Washington bats, and then a list of them
When the substance warrants it, I'll always be keen to include some reader-based insight in the NJ. So, here's an e-mail (highlights below) from Mark Wolven, of Alexandria, Va. Mark writes... --- Here's a page from ESPN.com. If the page...
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Chico Harlan
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May 28, 2008; 8:28 PM ET |
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Chat reminder
We're chatting today at 2 p.m.-- or 11 a.m., on the West Coast, for the droves of Washingtonians who've road-tripped to Petco for this series. We can talk about the daunting injury list, the sad offense, the draft, whatever. We...
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Chico Harlan
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May 28, 2008; 11:32 AM ET |
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More PR From the Web Editors
Since there was some discussion in one of yesterday's comment threads re: who reads the game stories online, I thought I'd make sure you guys knew that this gamer is a web-only version, filed by Chico after the newspaper's final...
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Jon DeNunzio
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May 28, 2008; 11:17 AM ET |
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82 pitches (and 44 balls) through three innings
Well, Shawn Hill's start, here in the third, has gone from uneven to unsightly. He started the inning with two outs. But then he lost all command. He walked three guys in a row with a string of pitches that...
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Chico Harlan
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May 27, 2008; 11:05 PM ET |
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Lineups, sans Zimmerman
We'll get to the lineups in a moment, but first, a Ryan Zimmerman update. He'll sit out again tonight. His shoulder feels much better today than it did yesterday, and so far, he's still answering "No" to the big red...
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Chico Harlan
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May 27, 2008; 8:29 PM ET |
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10-second scouting reports
San Diego -- great town. Maybe I'm a pushover, but I don't think so; I actually fancy myself a pretty tough coconut. You won't hear me say good things about Lubbock, for instance, nor Rochester. Though Buffalo -- another among...
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Chico Harlan
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May 27, 2008; 6:02 PM ET |
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MLB Sunday
Yes, it's Tuesday. But it's a good time to let you know you may have missed something new and cool on the site while you were grilling and chilling over the weekend -- the new and improved web version of...
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Jon DeNunzio
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May 27, 2008; 10:36 AM ET |
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The cow jumped over the moon
Quick Tuesday a.m. post before I board a plane to San Diego. (With two LOST episodes cued up on the iPod and an entirely unread three-week stockpile of New Yorkers.) Somewhat agonizing loss yesterday for the Nats, but I think...
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Chico Harlan
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May 27, 2008; 8:38 AM ET |
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Assessing one pitcher, one restaurant
Before I get along with this morning's scientific examination -- a quasi-detailed look at Tim Redding -- let me first state the basics. Redding's having a strong year. Stronger than what any Nationals fan had the right to expect. At...
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Chico Harlan
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May 26, 2008; 12:31 PM ET |
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Memorial Day lineups
The Nats go for the series win. Milwaukee Weeks -- 4 Cameron -- 8 Braun -- 7 Fielder -- 3 Hart -- 9 Branyan -- 5 Hardy -- 6 Kendall -- 2 Sheets -- 1 Washington Harris -- 4 Guzman...
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Chico Harlan
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May 26, 2008; 12:23 PM ET |
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Today's lineups
Redding (6-3, 3.16) vs. Parra (2-2, 4.40). Milwaukee Weeks - 4 Cameron - 8 Kapler - 7 Fielder - 3 Hart - 9 Branyan - 5 Rivera - 2 Counsell - 6 Parra - 1 Washington Lopez - 4 Guzman...
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Chico Harlan
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May 25, 2008; 12:39 PM ET |
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Shoulder issues, commentator issues
First, allow me to provide a little background on today's notebook, which mentions a Ryan Zimmerman shoulder injury. During the MASN broadcast last night, injured catcher Paul Lo Duca took a turn in the booth. When Zimmerman took an awkward...
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Chico Harlan
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May 25, 2008; 10:17 AM ET |
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