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Stephen Strasburg strikes out 7, Willingham and Zimmerman homer as Nationals beat Diamondbacks 5-3

August 17, 2010

Stephen Strasburg struck out seven batters in five innings and the Nationals came back from a 3-1 deficit to overtake the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-3.

Strasburg pitched well after his first bad performance of the season five days ago when he gave up six runs to Florida, and Josh Willingham and Ryan Zimmerman homered for Washington.

Strasburg didn’t get the victory, though, because of an error he committed in the second inning.

After giving up a solo home run to Adam LaRoche, Strasburg took a lightly hit ball by Stephen Drew and threw it over the outstretched arm of the 6-6 Adam Dunn. That allowed Mark Reynolds to score from first while Drew made it all the way to third. Gerardo Parra hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Drew, and the Diamondbacks led 3-0.

To read the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off home run leads Washington Nationals over Philadelphia Phillies, 7-5

August 2, 2010

[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=ryan+zimmerman&iid=5396560″ src=”http://view4.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/5396560/mlb-chicago-cubs/mlb-chicago-cubs.jpg?size=500&imageId=5396560″ width=”234″ height=”301″ /]Ryan Zimmerman hit a dramatic walk-off home run to give the Nationals a 7-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday in front of 38,049 fans at Nationals Park.

In the ninth inning, Zimmerman slammed a Brad Lidge pitch 430 feet over the centerfield wall with Michael Morse and Adam Kennedy on base, erasing the Phillies’ 5-4 lead. As soon as Zimmerman hit the ball, he knew it was over the fence, starting a slow jog, watching as the ball left the field. Zimmerman then threw his batting helmet into the mob of teammates waiting for him at home.

In the past week, Adam Dunn has dominated the headlines for being the subject of a possible trade. Saturday’s trade deadline came and went, and Dunn remains a National. Against the Phillies, it was as if Zimmerman said, “Hey, don’t forget about me!” (By the way, who is that Strasburg guy again?)

To read the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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Washington Nationals keep slugger Adam Dunn, trade Guzman, Capps for prospects

August 2, 2010

Adam Dunn, one of the best home run hitters in the major leagues, will remain a Washington National.

The trade deadline has come and gone, and Adam Dunn will continue to hit home runs for the Washington Nationals, possibly even tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park. The slugger, who was sought by several teams, will remain with the Nats until at least the end of the season.

The Nats had already traded infielder Cristian Guzman Friday and closer Matt Capps Thursday for prospects.

The New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays had reportedly been interested in Dunn, but the Nationals’ asking price was apparently too high.

To read the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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Nationals blow 5-1 lead, fall to Milwaukee Brewers 7-5 despite two homers by Michael Morse

July 24, 2010

The Nationals blew a 5-1 lead and wasted two home runs by Michael Morse as Washington fell to the Brewers, 7-5 at Miller Park in Milwaukee Friday.

The Nats gave starter Craig Stammen a 3-1 lead in the second inning when Michael Morse hit a three-run home run off Chris Narveson off the top of the left field wall. Earlier in the inning, Adam Dunn was hit by a pitch and Josh Willingham singled.

Morse hit a solo shot to left center field in the fourth inning, giving the Nats a 5-1 lead, five more runs than they gave Stammen in a loss last Sunday to Florida.

To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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Stephen Strasburg strikes out 7, throws 6 scoreless innings as Nationals blank Florida Marlins, 4-0

July 17, 2010

[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=strasburg&iid=9062720″ src=”http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/9062720/washington-nationals/washington-nationals.jpg?size=500&imageId=9062720″ width=”234″ height=”352″ /]The Nationals shut out the Florida Marlins 4-0 behind six scoreless innings by Stephen Strasburg and a three-run triple by Josh Willingham Friday.

Strasburg struck out seven Marlins and gave up just four hits as he combined with Drew Storen and Matt Capps for the shutout in front of 27,037 fans in Miami.

The game followed a familiar pattern for Strasburg (4-2). As he has a few times in the last month, Strasburg got off to a relatively slow – for him – start. He threw 34 pitches in the first inning, walking two, and looked a little uncomfortable. Then the rookie phenom settled down, and wasn’t dominant but pitched a very good game, giving up just one walk the rest of the way.

For the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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Is New York a bad baseball town or just a mediocre one?

July 14, 2010

I was just looking at the New York Yankees’ annual attendance figures.  They have 27 World Series championships but unfortuately, their fans haven’t been very loyal, except for the past 12 years or so.

From 1913 to 1945, the Yankees never averaged more than 20,000 fans per game. Same from 1962 to 1975 – no seasons in which they averaged more than 20,000.

Then we have 1989 to 1996, when the Yankees never averaged more than 30,000 fans per season despite  winning a World Series title in 1996. The first five (non-winning) years of the Washington Nationals’ franchise, the Nats have averaged more fans than the Yankees did from 1992-1996.

The funny thing is that Yankees fans think they’re real fans, though they root for a team that has by far the biggest payroll in baseball.  Are you also going to root for poker players who get an extra card or two?  Fair weather fans — like LeBron James.

Before you talk about the Yankees’ attendance being better than most other teams, remember that New York is by far the largest city in the country, and the 27 World Series titles should draw fans for them.

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George Steinbrenner: the worst owner in the history of baseball?

July 13, 2010

I don’t believe you should only say good things about people who die, I think you should say the truth.

George Steinbrenner helped ruin the game of baseball by making it a game of haves an have nots.

The Yankees had a payroll of over 200 million dollars while some other franchises had a payroll of less than 30 million.  They bought up so many star players from other teams that it became a joke.

He constantly yelled at his managers as if that would help.

He made 20 managerial changes in 23 seasons from 1973 to 1996.

He paid money to smear one of his players – Dave Winfield.

Also see my previous post, “Are Yankees fans bad people?” I don’t think they’re bad people — just not real baseball fans.

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Dunn hits 2 homers, Strasburg holds San Francisco to 3 hits as Nationals rout Giants, 8-1

July 10, 2010

Adam Dunn had another big game with two home runs and a double, and Stephen Strasburg (3-2) gave up just one run and three hits in six innings as the Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-1 Friday night in Washington.

For once, the Nats gave Strasburg decent run support, putting seven earned runs on the board against Giants starter Matt Cain (6-8).

Dunn’s first home run was a solo shot, one of his patented moonballs that he golfed to the right center field seats, giving the Nats a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. In the sixth inning, Dunn narrowly missed another home run with a double off the top part of the wall. In the seventh, Dunn slammed his 22nd home run to center field, a 445-foot, two-run shot, tying him for the National League lead with Joey Votto of Cincinnati.

Strasburg got a rude awakening in the first inning before many of the 34,723 fans at Nationals Park even had a chance to sit down, when the first batter of the game, Andres Torres, hit a home run off a 97 mph fastball. Three other balls were hit hard to the outfield in the first inning off Strasburg, but they were right at Nats fielders.

To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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Strasmas in July: Fireworks by Rodriguez, Dunn in 9th spark Nationals’ comeback over Mets, 6-5

July 4, 2010

Pudge Rodriguez hit a walk-off single to right field to give the Nationals an improbable 6-5 come from behind win over the Mets Saturday.  Stephen Strasburg only gave up two runs in five innings, but once again the Nationals failed to give him much support – until well after after he exited the game.

The game-winning hit off Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez set off a wild celebration after Ryan Zimmerman crossed home plate. Then the Nats set off fireworks in front of what was left of a sellout crowd of 39,214 one day before the 4th of July.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Adam Dunn hit what appeared to be a home run to the right of the 402-foot sign in center field, but replays showed the ball hit the top of the fence and it was ruled a ground rule double, scoring two runs.

To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, please click here.

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Strasmas II: Stephen Strasburg strikes out 10 in 2nd home start but Nats lose 2-1 to White Sox in 11

June 18, 2010

Stephen Strasburg pitched another spectacular game for the Washington Nationals Friday night in his second home start but the Nats fell to the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 in 11 innings.

President Obama was in attendance to watch the White Sox take on the Nats and Strasburg in front of a sellout crowd of 40,325 at Nationals Park. Strasburg struck out 10 batters in seven innings and surrendered just one run in his third start.

Strasburg now has 32 strikeouts, which is a major league record for most strikeouts in the first three games of a career. Incredibly, the 21-year old rookie phenom had no walks for the second straight game at Nationals Park. In two starts at home Strasburg has an otherworldly 24 strikeouts and no walks. Strasburg left with a no-decision after pitching the seventh inning with the Nats (31-37) down 1-0.

To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

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