Nationals Journal - Daily news and commentary on the Washington Nationals - July 19, 2009

Tonight's Lineups

San Diego Gwynn - 8 Cabrera - 6 Gonzalez - 3 Kouzmanoff - 5 Headley - 7 Macias - 9 Rodriguez - 4 Lobaton - 2 Stauffer - 1 Washington Morgan - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Dunn...

Jim Riggleman watched two hours, 56 minutes of baseball on Friday night, and liked none of it. He saw his team commit four errors, miss signs, and lose to the Padres, 6-2. So following the loss, the interim manager brought...

Nats' GM Uncertainties a Concern for Strasburg

The Washington Nationals have roughly 24 days remaining to sign Stephen Strasburg, the pitcher they selected first overall in the June draft. As negotiations intensify in the coming weeks, the team's efforts to sign the high-profile pitcher could be undermined...

Lineups From Nats Park

Here's the sneak-preview of Washington's lineup for the evening. I'll add San Diego's when I get it. Harris - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Dunn - 7 Johnson - 3 Willingham - 9 Bard - 2 Gonzalez -...

The New Infield Routine

You can read the game stories/weather reports from Thursday night here (from yours truly) and here (from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold, who in his notebook mentions Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham as Plan B trade possibilities if the...

A Rain-Shortened Loss

Even the rain treats the 2009 Nationals with contempt. This game, a rain-shortened 4-1 Nats loss against the Cardinals, ended with some bizarre circumstances. It was called in the top of the seventh... after the rain had stopped for good....

Running Weather (And Game) Thread

[UPDATE, 11:40 p.m.] -- Game called b/c of field conditions. I'll update in a few. --- [UPDATE, 11:27 p.m.] -- What a quagmire. Just as the tarp was getting taken off, the rain intensified. Puddles were forming around second base...

Olsen's Surgery Is A Success, And Other Notes

The Washington Nationals, as of Thursday morning, hoped injured pitcher Scott Olsen could be ready for spring training 2010. But they didn't know. Surgery Thursday on Olsen's left shoulder, then, confirmed a best-case scenario: Team doctor Wiemi Douoguih repaired a...

Tonight's Lineups

I'll add the St. Louis lineup once I get it. Washington Morgan - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Dunn - 7 Johnson - 3 Willingham - 9 Gonzalez - 4 Bard - 2 Balester - 1...

Beimel, Harris on Caring About Losing

Last weekend, the Post ran an A1 story about how fans have stuck with, and coped with, a season of dismal baseball in the District. Midway through that story, a few players were quoted, too -- opinions from the epicenter...

Morning Reading

This might give you an idea of how Craig Stammen measures himself: The guy remembers not just each and every start, but how those performances compared to the corresponding performance of his pal, John Lannan. That five-inning, five-run game on...

Zimmermann Placed On DL; Balester Recalled

The Nats played a splendid game Wednesday night. Craig Stammen went 7-1/3 (4 H, 1 ER), picking up where buddy John Lannan left it the night before. Josh Willingham busted out of his post all-star break slump with a 4-for-4,...

Needing Lift, Guzman Back in No. 2 Spot

Most players, interim manager Jim Riggleman said on Wednesday, "don't really care where they hit. They really don't." But at least one player on Riggleman's roster, Cristian Guzman, cares quite a bit. Dropped to sixth in the lineup after the...

Lineups And Dukes

New York Pagan - 8 Castillo - 4 Murphy - 3 Wright - 5 Francoeur - 9 Sullivan - 7 Berroa - 6 Schneider - 2 Pelfrey - 1 Washington Morgan - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Dunn...

Nats Tweets of the Night

I liked this exchange between the folks Twittering from Nats Park/with a #natswp hash tag last night: @lwb2: If you pretend the Nats are a .500 team they are pretty exciting to watch most games. @jdonels if I pretend the...

Looking Back: July 22, 2008

A year ago -- July 22, 2008 -- I was walking along the Embarcadero in San Francisco toward AT&T Park when I got a heads-up phone call that the Nationals had some big stuff going on. Within about an hour...

Nats 4, Mets 0

This is the mold -- the cast for your ideal John Lannan start. In Tuesday's 4-0 shutout against the Mets, perhaps the cleanest ballgame for the Nats this year (and certainly the best win -- wink, wink -- of the...

Catching Up With Jesus Flores

Below, I've got a little catch-up Q&A with injured catcher Jesus Flores, who's been on the disabled list since May 15 because of a stress fracture in a bone in his right shoulder. Flores is still hanging around the team,...

Reminder -- Nats Park Twitter Is Ongoing

What is Twitter good for? Besides short text-based messages, you can send pics ... like these two we have seen during the recent homestand. You can see more by clicking the links on the Nats Fan Tweets photo page....

Tonight's Lineups

New York Pagan - 8 Castillo - 4 Wright - 5 Francoeur - 9 Tatis - 7 Murphy - 3 Santos - 2 Cora - 6 Perez - 1 Washington Morgan - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Dunn...

Reading Material

Mets 6, Nats 2. J.D. Martin can't stop the losing streak. Then again, who can? After the game, Martin commented that he needed too much time -- the first two innings, really -- to overcome the nerves and start getting...

Nats Lose Again, And Lose Olsen For Season

The Nats lost 6-2 Monday night. The whole J.D. Martin-superhero plotline lasted until about 7:06, when Martin threw his first pitch. (I examine his debut, and his exit after four innings, at greater length in the gamer.) Here's the more...

Olsen Has "Labrum Issues"

Scott Olsen came to the Washington Nationals this offseason with a track record for durability. But now, just 11 starts and 62-2/3 innings into his 2009 season, Olsen won't get a chance to pitch again for quite some time --...

Nats Park Fan Tweets -- Now Sortable, Sort Of

Our Nationals Park Fan Twitter Project rolls on, and now there's an easy way to see what people are posting from the park. You can look at all the tweets, or just tweets from the club level, tweets with photos,...

Lineups and Personnel Dept. Matters

First of all, we've got an early-issued release of today's lineups. Special thanks to Nats PR man Bill Gluvna for passing them along. New York Pagan - 8 Castillo - 4 Murphy - 3 Wright - 5 Francoeur - 9...

Entering The Dog Days

A managerial firing is kind of like the trump card. It's the last thing you play -- pricey and powerful. When the Nats used the all-star break to fire Manny Acta, they did so as a last resort. Nothing else...

Tavarez DFA'd; Kensing Returning

Sunday afternoon's game was a mess. "Just a breakdown all the way around," interim manager Jim Riggleman said. It was also Julian Tavarez's last as a member of the Washington Nationals. Following the 11-3 defeat against the Cubs, Tavarez, 36,...

"He's A Kid Who's Had To Scratch And Claw For Everything"

A first-round draft pick eight years ago, J.D. Martin has since endured the full odyssey, seeing just about everything but for a shot at the majors. He injured his arm. He lost his velocity. He re-learned his craft. This offseason,...

J.D. Martin To Debut Tomorrow

Let's start the day with a little news. NJ legend J.D. Martin, who has pitched with Class AAA Syracuse all season, will make his major league debut tomorrow against the Mets. In tandem, Washington will place pitcher Scott Olsen (left...

Nationals Journal: July 19, 2009 - July 25, 2009

Tonight's Lineups

Padres 6, Nats 2

Nats' GM Uncertainties a Concern for Strasburg

Lineups From Nats Park

The New Infield Routine

A Rain-Shortened Loss

Running Weather (And Game) Thread

Olsen's Surgery Is A Success, And Other Notes

Tonight's Lineups

Beimel, Harris on Caring About Losing

Morning Reading

Zimmermann Placed On DL; Balester Recalled

Needing Lift, Guzman Back in No. 2 Spot

Lineups And Dukes

Nats Tweets of the Night

Looking Back: July 22, 2008

Nats 4, Mets 0

Catching Up With Jesus Flores

Reminder -- Nats Park Twitter Is Ongoing

Tonight's Lineups

Reading Material

Nats Lose Again, And Lose Olsen For Season

Olsen Has "Labrum Issues"

Nats Park Fan Tweets -- Now Sortable, Sort Of

Lineups and Personnel Dept. Matters

Entering The Dog Days

Tavarez DFA'd; Kensing Returning

"He's A Kid Who's Had To Scratch And Claw For Everything"

J.D. Martin To Debut Tomorrow