Nationals Journal - Daily news and commentary on the Washington Nationals - May 10, 2009

Olsen to Disabled List

LHP Scott Olsen has shoulder tendonitis. He received a shot in the arm and will rest for five days before throwing again. On Monday, the Nationals will place Olsen on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to Saturday. At that point,...

By Zach Berman | May 16, 2009; 11:40 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (29)

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Detwiler To Start Monday's Game

Ross Detwiler, Washington's 2007 first-round pick, was supposed to pitch tonight's Class AA Harrisburg game against the Reading Phillies. Instead, he started making travel arrangements. The Nationals scratched Detwiler from his minor league start, and plan to recall the left-hander...

By Chico Harlan | May 16, 2009; 8:31 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (83)

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Postmortem on Zimmerman's Streak

Ryan Zimmerman's hitting streak was halted at 30 games on Wednesday, although he has quickly started a new streak by hitting successfully in his first two games back at Nationals Park. Before Friday's game, Zimmerman and others reflected on the...

By Zach Berman | May 16, 2009; 8:08 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (5)

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Saturday Game 2 Lineups [Updated]

Here are the lineups for tonight's game, plus, to recap, since I garbled it in the last post: Olsen has an MRI. Martis is starting Tuesday. A pitcher will be called up for Monday's game. No one will say who...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 16, 2009; 6:34 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (51)

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Pitching Update [Update!]

Zach just called; he's writing Game 1 on deadline so asked me to post this info. * Scott Olsen had an MRI after the game on his shoulder and could be headed to the DL. [UPDATE: Sorry, miscommunication with Zach...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 16, 2009; 4:25 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (19)

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Game 1 Lineups

Quick note -- Elijah Dukes is NOT available for the first game today. We'll see after this game whether he can play in the nightcap. Onto today's starters, first edition... Phillies (17-16) Rollins (S) -- SS Victorino (S) -- CF...

By Zach Berman | May 16, 2009; 11:44 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (64)

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Let's Play Two...

The infield is currently being manicured at Nationals Park and John Lannan is running poles in the outfield. The field will be worn or wet -- and possibly both -- by the end of today's two scheduled games between the...

By Zach Berman | May 16, 2009; 9:41 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (18)

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Behind Friday's Roster Moves

There is much to cover as the Nationals begin an 11-game homestand during a 10-day span. Coming later will be a postmortem on Ryan Zimmerman's 30-game hitting streak, now that the third baseman, his manager and his teammates have had...

By Zach Berman | May 15, 2009; 8:05 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (59)

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Friday's Lineups

And here they are: Phillies: Rollins - SS Victorino - CF Utley - 2B Howard - 1B Werth - RF Ibanez - LF Feliz - 3B Ruiz - C Blanton - P Nationals: Guzman - SS Johnson - 1B Zimmerman...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 15, 2009; 3:35 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (32)

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Flores on DL; Colome, Bard Called Up; Kensing DfA

This just in; I'll give it to you straight from the news release; Berman will have more later: The Washington Nationals today selected right-handed pitcher Jesus Colome and recalled catcher Josh Bard from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League, placed...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 15, 2009; 3:02 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (21)

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Friday Afternoon Reading

Thanks again to everyone who helped expand my musical horizons yesterday! Dave showed up in the office a little bit ago with some CDs for me, so that'll get me started. Then it's on to iTunes. Zach Berman's got Nats...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 15, 2009; 12:30 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (37)

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Why the Nats Are Still Worth Watching

Here's today's story about attendance at Nationals Park. You tell me: Is a 35.2 percent dropoff from last year cause for alarm? Or is it adequately explained away by the circumstances detailed in the story (chief of which, of course,...

By Dave Sheinin | May 15, 2009; 8:21 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (126)

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Some Numbers, Some Reading, Some Music

This is hardly earth-shattering, but it's an off-day so let's look at where the Nats rank among all 30 teams in a variety of categories. Hitting Runs: 12th Hits: 5th Homers: 8th Walks: T5th Strikeouts: 6th Average: 5th (.281) OBP:...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 14, 2009; 8:10 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (220)

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Zimmerman Update

We'll try to keep you updated, Zim-wise, because Chico would want it that way... [Update] 9th inning: Grounded out to short. And that's probably it from the SBL (Sports Basement Lair) although we'll keep an eye peeled for extras. [Update]...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 13, 2009; 3:52 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (169)

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Today's Lineup, Z vs. Z, Minor League Report

Here's the Nationals' lineup for today's game in San Francisco: Guzman SS Johnson 1B Zimmerman 3B Willingham LF Dukes CF Kearns RF Belliard 2B Nieves C Martis P In case you're wondering, here are Ryan Zimmerman's career numbers against Giants...

By Dave Sheinin | May 13, 2009; 2:50 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (32)

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Nats Announce Gate Times

The Nationals announced gate times for Saturday's day-night doubleheader against the Phillies. The center field gates will open at 10:30 a.m. for the afternoon game (all gates open at 11:30). The center field gates will open at 5 for the...

By Tracee Hamilton | May 13, 2009; 12:43 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (38)

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A Streak-Related Correction, and Some Morning Reading

Thanks to everyone who pointed out in the comments section of yesterday's post that I made an error in pinpointing the game in which Ryan Zimmerman could break Joe DiMaggio's record. Your assumptions were correct: I failed to account for...

By Dave Sheinin | May 13, 2009; 9:49 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (68)

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The Open-Ended Nats Discussion Thread

Hitting streaks in the high-twenties, ERAs in the teens, WHIPs close to 2.00 -- it's all fair game. Please discuss here....

By Chico Harlan | May 12, 2009; 4:28 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (257)

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You Should Always Throw Strikes

Last night, somewhere around the time when Daniel Cabrera walked his third or fourth batter, I found out that my grandfather died. My mother called me. I mention the timing of this not to provide some macabre detail of how...

By Chico Harlan | May 12, 2009; 2:18 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (72)

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Zimmerman's Streak: Inside the Numbers

Tonight, in San Francisco, Ryan Zimmerman goes went for 30. And 30 is important, when it comes to hitting streaks. Thirty is when it gets serious, when the streak grows from a local story to a national one, when you...

By Dave Sheinin | May 12, 2009; 1:10 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (36)

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What's Said, And What's Unsaid

Sometimes, it's best to keep the nuances of media-player interaction away from this forum. For two reasons. In most cases, nobody really cares. In a few cases, nobody really benefits, especially if it sounds like you're airing grievances. Plus, over...

By Chico Harlan | May 12, 2009; 2:54 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (139)

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Broken Hands, Broken Fingers

Randy Johnson, who pitches tonight for the Giants (career start No. 593), made his big league debut on Sept. 15, 1988. It might have been a few months earlier, if not for current Nats pitching coach Randy St. Claire and...

By Chico Harlan | May 11, 2009; 9:48 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (56)

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Rescheduled Game, Lineups

The Nationals today announced that their postponed May 3 game against St. Louis has been rescheduled for July 23 -- 7:05 p.m. at Nationals Park. Folks with individual-game tickets to the postponed contest may use those tickets for the same...

By Chico Harlan | May 11, 2009; 6:24 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (14)

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Milledge Suffers Broken Finger in Syracuse

Outfielder Lastings Milledge of Class AAA Syracuse suffered a broken finger while attempting to bunt in the first inning of the Chiefs' game today, the latest setback in the career of the talented but inconsistent player who opened the season...

By Dave Sheinin | May 11, 2009; 3:12 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (33)

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Morning Reading

Sorry for the skeletal blog post this morning. I am hustling to catch a plane to San Francisco, where cooler temperatures and one very tall left-hander await. Tonight against the Nats, Randy Johnson goes for career win No. 298. You...

By Chico Harlan | May 11, 2009; 10:15 AM ET | Permalink | Comments (57)

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Another High-Scoring Loss

Anybody who managed to endure the full four-hour Nats game today came away with a good understanding of this team's strengths, deficiencies, and tendencies for powerful/painstaking baseball. The Nats lost 10-8 against the D'backs at Chase Field, and dare I...

By Chico Harlan | May 10, 2009; 9:55 PM ET | Permalink | Comments (55)

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Nationals Journal: May 10, 2009 - May 16, 2009