Nationals Journal - Daily news and commentary on the Washington Nationals - August 2, 2009

Updated Lineups and Zimmermann News

UPDATED, 6:04 P.M.: The MRI exam on Jordan Zimmermann's right elbow caused concern with the Nationals doctors and will be sent to orthopedist James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., according to acting general manager Mike Rizzo. *** The Nationals go for...

Tonight's Lineups [Update]

Well, I so rarely get a chance to do this anymore that I thought I'd jump right on that Nats lineup. Zach's covering the game tonight but I know he'll forgive me. Morgan 8 Guzman 6 Zimmerman 5 Dunn 3...

Reading Material, and an Interview With Drew Storen

A few nuggets here. None too chewy, but hopefully enjoyable nonetheless. * The Nats have won five in a row, tied for the longest winning streak in Major League Baseball. The Diamondbacks, the weekend opponent at Nationals Park, have the...

Nats 12, Marlins 8

Ronnie Belliard: "It feels good. It feels good coming in every day and thinking about winning." Jason Bergmann: "Everybody is brimming with confidence." Logan Kensing: "Lately it just seems like we're alive." Some games require a balance of timely hitting...

Hernandez Traded Back To Mets For Minor Leaguer

[UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.] -- In need of depth at Class AAA Syracuse, Washington has acquired two minor leaguers, Daryle Ward and Norris Hopper, from the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations. Ward, a 34-year-old first baseman, was hitting .255 (8...

Nats 5, Marlins 4

If you were introduced to the following series of sentences one month ago, you would have rightfully suspected the author of dementia, or at least some serious factual errors. 1.) The Washington Nationals won a one-run game (5-4) against the...

Thumbs and Elbows (but No Knees and Toes)

Notes, pregame fodder and some brief medical commentary for your delight. * Jorge Padilla and Austin Kearns -- the former was called up from Class AAA Syracuse on Wednesday; the latter was sent to the DL -- were drafted in...

Nats Park Fan Tweets: Improved Interface

Nats fans who Twitter (or read Tweets): Check out our new interface for displaying tweets from home games. As in the past homestand, your tweet will be included if it includes the #natswp hashtag, and we encourage you to use...

Lineups From Nats Park

Florida Coghlan - 7 Johnson - 3 Ramirez - 6 Cantu - 5 Uggla - 4 Ross - 9 Paulino - 2 Bonifacio - 8 VandenHurk - 1 Washington Morgan - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Dunn -...

Kearns to DL; Padilla Called Up

Jorge Padilla, born Aug. 11, 1979, a third-round pick by the Phillies in 1998, a veteran of 12 minor league seasons and 1,165 games, was promoted on Wednesday afternoon by the Washington Nationals, added to the 40-man roster as Austin...

Unofficial Best-Game-of-Season Poll Results

On Tuesday night, following the Nationals' stirring 6-4 comeback win over the Marlins, we asked whether it qualified as the team's best win of the season, as no less an authority than Adam Dunn suggested. The verdict? By scouring the...

Best Win of the Season?

That's what Adam Dunn called Tuesday night's 6-4 win over the Marlins. Do you agree? It's subjective, obviously. So if you disagree, tell us which win was better. Heck, you only have 34 others from which to choose. This one...

A Few Additional Pregame Morsels

A lone figure in black emerged from the Marlins' dugout as the Nationals were taking batting practice Tuesday afternoon: It was, of course, Nick Johnson, who was traded from Washington to Florida just four days earlier. A steady stream of...

Zimmerman Day-to-Day With Shoulder Injury

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is out of Tuesday night's lineup because of a left shoulder injury sustained when he was hit by a pitch by Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton in the sixth inning Monday night. He says he is day-to-day. Here...

Lineups From Nationals Park

No Ryan Zimmerman for the Nats; explanation to come. Marlins Coghlan - 7 N. Johnson - 3 Ramirez - 6 Cantu - 5 Uggla - 4 Hermida - 9 Ross - 8 Baker - 2 J. Johnson - 1 Nationals...

What's Left of the Expos

Sorry that the above photo is so grainy; it looks like Abraham Zapruder himself took the snapshot. But it's almost fitting, I suppose. For the last 20 minutes, I'd been surfing the web trying to find a photo --...

The Turning Point

Sometimes, baseball makes for a fascinating study in probability. Take Monday's 8-4 victory against the Pirates -- an outcome that gave the Nats a series split and a 4-4 road trip. In the bottom of the fifth, when Garrett Mock...

Lineups From PNC Park

Lineups first. Below, I included some comments from interim skipper Jim Riggleman, who was talking about Josh Willingham. Crazy to think that this is a guy who started eight of Washington's first 24 games this year and broke camp as...

Willingham Named NL Co-Player of the Week

Josh Willingham on Monday was named NL Co-Player of the Week after a stretch (July 27-Aug. 2) that included two grand slams, three home runs and 11 RBI. During the last week, Willingham, who shares the award with San Francisco...

When the Situation Calls for Hits, Well ...

The Nationals are seven games into this eight-game beer/sausage/pierogi road trip, which included four games in Milwaukee, four more in Pittsburgh. This has corresponded, to the delight of hitting coach Rick Eckstein, with a long-awaited hitting resurgence. Finally, after two...

A 5-3 Win, Helped by a 6-4 Putout

The Nationals, on Sunday, broke their four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win against Pittsburgh because of several significant contributions, most of them evidenced by the box score. Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham combined for four runs and four hits;...

A Lineup Change, and the First Base Picture

Note the lineup change: Austin Kearns has been scratched because of a right thumb contusion. That shifts Josh Willingham to the outfield. (So much for this being his first career start at 1B.) The revised lineup goes as follows: Morgan...

Lineups From PNC Park

I'll post the Pittsburgh lineup when I get it. Washington Morgan - 8 Guzman - 6 Zimmerman - 5 Willingham - 3 Dukes - 7 Belliard - 4 Kearns - 9 Nieves - 2 Balester - 1...

Nationals Journal: August 2, 2009 - August 8, 2009