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    <title>SB Nation - Ross Detwiler</title>
    <link>http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler</link>
    <description>Stories From Around SB Nation About Ross Detwiler</description>
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      <title>Washington Nationals: Winter Meetings Wrap.</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/12/9/1193754/washington-nationals-winter</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/12/9/1193754/washington-nationals-winter</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:28:33 -0000</pubDate>
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    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-winter-5&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo found the catcher he wanted at the Winter Meetings, now the Nationals need to add some pitching. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn3.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/200065/156787_nationals_riggleman_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
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          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-winter-5&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Haraz N. Ghanbari - AP
        
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          Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo found the catcher he wanted at the Winter Meetings, now the Nationals need to add some pitching. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
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    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-winter-5&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Before the Winter Meetings, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Washington Nationals&lt;/a&gt; made clear that they did not think it was absolutely essential that they add the pitching help they need from the top of the free agent class or within the three-day span of the Indianapolis Winter Meetings, as DC GM Mike Rizzo explained to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091201&amp;content_id=7735106&amp;vkey=news_was&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;c_id=was&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;MLB.com's Bill Ladson&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, who wrote in a 12/2/09 article entitled, &quot;Pitching the focus for Nats at Meetings&quot;, that fans shouldn't, &lt;i&gt;&quot;...look for the the Nationals to attempt to break the bank,&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;in pursuit of free agent help, as they did last Winter in their pursuit of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/96/Mark_Teixeira&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mark Teixeira&lt;/a&gt;, who we've been told, time and again, was seen as a once-in-a-generation talent, but instead should accept the fact that it's more, &lt;i&gt;&quot;...likely that Rizzo will make trades.&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(cont.)...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;BACKPAGE:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote style=&quot;&quot;&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; The LIST.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Oh...AND LIVAN HERNANDEZ!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Guzman To Second, Desmond At Short?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Bally To The Bullpen? WT...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;


  
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;BACKPAGE:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; The LIST&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;as the DC Faithful are calling it, &lt;i&gt;(ed. note - &quot;No one is calling it that.&quot;),&lt;/i&gt; that Rizzo gave to&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/09/reading_material_shopping_list.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Washington Post writer Chico Harlan&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;for an article entitled, &quot;Reading Material, Shopping Lists&quot;, of pitchers that the Nationals were interested in this winter, started with 14 names, but as the Winter Meetings officially end following tomorrow's Rule 5 Draft, the list has been shortened some, from,&amp;nbsp;&lt;i&gt;&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/786/Jason_Marquis&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Jason Marquis&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: line-through;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/928/Randy_Wolf&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Randy Wolf&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;,&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt; &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/722/John_Lackey&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;John Lackey&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: line-through;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/4/Cliff_Lee&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Cliff Lee&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/329/Jon_Garland&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Jon Garland&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: line-through;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/139/Kevin_Millwood&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Kevin Millwood&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: line-through;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/998/Tim_Hudson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Tim Hudson&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: line-through;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/923/Brad_Penny&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Brad Penny&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;, Joel Pi&amp;ntilde;eiro, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/978/Braden_Looper&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Braden Looper&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1063/Jarrod_Washburn&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Jarrod Washburn&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: line-through;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/766/Brandon_Webb&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Brandon Webb&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/220/Brett_Myers&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Brett Myers&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;, &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1003/John_Smoltz&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;John Smoltz&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt; and more...&quot;&lt;/i&gt; to, as the Post's Chico Harlan wrote in two Nationals Journal posts entitled,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/12/the_starting_pitching_shopping.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&quot;The starting pitching shopping list&quot;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/12/the_starting_pitchers_pt_ii.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&quot;The starting pitching, Pt. II&quot;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;(Jon Garland and)...almost every established free agent starting pitcher except the A-lister, John Lackey. So, the Nats would entertain the possibility of Jarrod Washburn, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/185/Joel_Pineiro&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Joel Pineiro&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/131/Vicente_Padilla&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Vicente Padilla&lt;/a&gt;, Jason Marquis, and John Smoltz.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 15px; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Oh...AND LIVAN HERNANDEZ!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;After&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2009/12/nationals_notes_dukes_l_hernan.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;wrote about &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/670/Elijah_Dukes&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Elijah Dukes&lt;/a&gt;' winter, he added a note to the end of an article entitled, &quot;Nationals notes: Dukes, L. Hernandez&quot;, about the Washington Nationals making contract with the agent for Mr. National Himself, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/759/Livan_Hernandez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Livan Hernandez&lt;/a&gt;, the original Nationals' Ace, who has openly expressed his desire to return to the nation's capital since the end of the '09 season. Mr. Sheinin writes that Hernandez's agent, &lt;i&gt;&quot;(Barry) Praver would not characterize the talks&quot;&lt;/i&gt;, but in the Washington Post writer's opinion it would take, &lt;i&gt;&quot;...a one-year contract with a low base and ample performance incentives.&quot; &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- (ed. note - &quot;Do you want to see Livan Hernandez return to the Nationals? From what I've read in the comments, it's pretty much split amongst the DC Faithful...Should the Nationals let Livan teach Strasburg the eephus?&quot;)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Guzman To Second, Desmond At Short?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/washingnats&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;MLB.com's Bill Ladson&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;was Twittering throughout the Winter Meetings, letting Nationals' fans know what was going on long before it went into print (as were the Washington Times' writers), and the biggest revelation out of the final day in Indianapolis was that the Nationals had made up their minds about what to do with their twenty-ten middle infield:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;It appears the Nats will take a chance with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/513/Cristian_Guzman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Cristian Guzman&lt;/a&gt; at second base. That means &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/685/Orlando_Hudson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Orlando Hudson&lt;/a&gt; is not coming to DC.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Does that mean that &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33859/Ian_Desmond&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ian Desmond&lt;/a&gt; is officially a &quot;Go!&quot; at short? Are the Nationals still going to try to find another option at short?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 15px; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Bally To The Bullpen? WT...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The other interesting thing that&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/washingnats&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;MLB.com's Bill Ladson&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;Twittered was the idea that:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;The Nats may rely on some of their youngsters in the bullpen. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/57013/Luis_Atilano&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Luis Atilano&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33208/Collin_Balester&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Collin Balester&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/70804/Craig_Stammen&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Craig Stammen&lt;/a&gt; are candidates.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As the Nationals' system produces more pitching, some of the older starters who haven't established themselves are going to have to make the move to the pen to make room for the next wave of pitchers. Is Balester on that list in your mind? (ed. note - &quot;Not mine.&quot;)...What about &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31813/J_D_Martin&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;J.D. Martin&lt;/a&gt;? &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/48570/Shairon_Martis&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Shairon Martis&lt;/a&gt;? Atilano? Stammen? &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt;? Is this Washington's way of saying why sign relievers when we have all these arms under contract?&lt;/p&gt;
  


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      <title>Washington Nationals: Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects 2009.</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/12/2/1180310/washington-nationals-baseball</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/12/2/1180310/washington-nationals-baseball</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 06:11:20 -0000</pubDate>
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    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-baseball&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Jordan Zimmermann, the No. 1 prospect in the DC system last season, according to Baseball America's Aaron Fitt, will miss all of 2010 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/190992/137597_nationals_rockies_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
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          Jordan Zimmermann, the No. 1 prospect in the DC system last season, according to Baseball America's Aaron Fitt, will miss all of 2010 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
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&lt;p&gt;In November 2007, the first four players (and five prospects total) selected by the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Washington Nationals&lt;/a&gt; in the '07 First-Year Player Draft found their way onto&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2008/265146.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Baseball America's Aaron Fitt's&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;11/7/07 list of the Top 10 Prospects in the DC system. LHP &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt;, the Nationals' first 1st Round pick, taken sixth overall, immediately became the #2 prospect in the organization according to Mr. Fitt, behind only '06 1st Round pick Chris Marrero, an IF/OF taken 15th overall who, himself, had become the No. 2 prospect in his Draft year, and was now No. 1 overall. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/34001/Michael_Burgess&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Michael Burgess&lt;/a&gt; an outfielder taken with the 49th pick of the 1st Round in 2007, as compensation for the LA &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/ANA&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Angels&lt;/a&gt; having signed &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1061/Jose_Guillen&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jose Guillen&lt;/a&gt;, became the 4th best prospect in the system, ahead of left-handers Jack McGeary (5), who was taken in the 6th Round in '07, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33228/Josh_Smoker&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Josh Smoker&lt;/a&gt; (6), taken 31st overall in the 1st Round, as a compensation pick from the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/CHC&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Cubs&lt;/a&gt; who'd signed &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/695/Alfonso_Soriano&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Alfonso Soriano&lt;/a&gt;, as was &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/69267/Jordan_Zimmermann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jordan Zimmermann&lt;/a&gt;, a RHP out of Auburndale, Wisconsin who debuted on the list at No. 7 after being selected with the 67th overall pick in the 2nd Round of the draft.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; '08-'09 After The JUMP...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;


  
&lt;p&gt;Aaron Crow, the right-hander the Nationals selected with the 9th overall pick in the 1st Round of the 2008 Draft, almost certainly would have joined pitchers Jordan Zimmermann (1) and Ross Detwiler (2) atop&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2009/267400.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Baseball America's Aaron Fitt's January '09&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;list of Washington's Top 10 Prospects...had he signed with the Nationals...2nd Round pick, outfielder &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/69268/Destin_Hood&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Destin Hood&lt;/a&gt;, an eighteen-year-old out of Eight Mile, Alabama, made the highest debut on the list at No. 6, one spot ahead of Washington's 5th Round pick, catcher Adrian Nieto, a backstop out of Havana, Cuba and American Heritage High School in Florida, and two spots ahead of '08 15th Round pick J.P. Ramirez, then an 18-year-old outfielder from New Braunfels, Texas, who was described by Baseball America's Mr. Fitt as one of,&lt;i&gt; &quot;...a pair of high-ceiling prep outfielders,&quot;&lt;/i&gt; taken by the Nationals, along with Hood.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Nationals' '09 Draft Class took over three spots on the lastest Top 10 List according to&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/organization-top-10-prospects/2010/269132.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Baseball America's Aaron Fitt's November 2009&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;rankings of the organization's top prospects, with the '08 Class accounting for just two of the top ten, (No. 5 - SS Danny Espinosa, and No. 10 - OF Destin Hood), while the '07 Class produced the second-best prospect overall in Mr. Fitt's view, Derek Norris, the top-ranked catcher in the DC system for the second-straight year, who moved up from the sixth overall spot on the list to No. 2, and OF Michael Burgess, who drops from 4th in '08 to 9th of 10 in '09. '06 1st Round pick Chris Marrero (6) is still the top 1B prospect in the Nationals' system, though he drops three spots from last year to 6th overall, with 2004 3rd Rounder Ian Desmond (4) returning to the List for the first time since 2007 as the top shortstop in the system just ahead of Espinosa. Which leaves the No. 1 overall spot on Mr. Fitt's list, which goes to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/84354/Stephen_Strasburg&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Stephen Strasburg&lt;/a&gt;, the Nationals' '09 1st overall pick; the No. 3 spot, which goes to the Nationals' second 1st Round pick, Drew Storen, taken 10th overall as compensation for Crow, and the 7th spot on Mr. Fitt's list, which goes to '09 2nd Round pick Jeff Kobernus, the first DC second baseman to make Baseball America's list since...well, ever.&lt;/p&gt;
  


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      <title>New York Times' Tyler Kepner On Baseball And WAR...</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/11/23/1170019/new-york-times-tyler-kepner-on</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/11/23/1170019/new-york-times-tyler-kepner-on</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:15:10 -0000</pubDate>
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    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/new-york-times-tyler-kepner-on&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;John Lannan was the only pitcher on the Nationals to even qualify for Fangraphs.com's list of the top WAR values in 2009...(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn3.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/182011/134182_nationals_yankees_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
    &lt;div class=&quot;photo-meta&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/new-york-times-tyler-kepner-on&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Bill Kostroun - AP
        
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        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
          John Lannan was the only pitcher on the Nationals to even qualify for Fangraphs.com's list of the top WAR values in 2009...(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/new-york-times-tyler-kepner-on&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;Former &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/NYM&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;New York Mets&lt;/a&gt;' and current &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/KAN&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Kansas City Royals&lt;/a&gt;' starter &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/306/Brian_Bannister&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Brian Bannister&lt;/a&gt; sees the change coming, as he tells&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/sports/baseball/22awards.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;New York Times' writer Tyler Kepner&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;in an article in the Sunday New York Times Sports section entitled, &quot;Not Your Grandfather's Stats: Baseball Redefined&quot;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;'I think, whether the traditional baseball community wants to acknowledge it or not, the fan base and the media have finally embraced and immersed themselves in advanced statistics,&quot; Bannister said. &quot;I think you&amp;rsquo;re going to see more and more people brought up with that influence. I really just think that the future of the game is in the numbers.'&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(cont.)...&lt;/p&gt;


  
&lt;p&gt;Of particular interest to Mr. Bannister were the WAR values calculated by&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fangraphs.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Fangraphs.com&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;which he followed this season: &quot;'I love WAR,'&quot; Bannister explained to Mr. Kepner:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;...because you&amp;rsquo;re not only seeing if a guy had 20 home runs and 90 runs batted in, but how good is he compared to other guys at his position?&quot; Bannister said. &quot;I thought Zack (Greinke) had a chance to be the first 10 WAR pitcher.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;According to Fangraphs.com, Grienke finished the '09 campaign with a 9.4 WAR, which, as Mr. Kepner reminds readers, &lt;i&gt;&quot;...measures how many more victories a player is worth than an average replacement who could be found on waivers or at Class AAA.&quot;&lt;/i&gt; By way of comparison, the highest rated pitcher on the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nationals&lt;/a&gt; this season was &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/69267/Jordan_Zimmermann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jordan Zimmermann&lt;/a&gt;, who finished the season with a 1.8 WAR after 16 starts and 91.1 IP. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1104/John_Lannan&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;John Lannan&lt;/a&gt;, (the only pitcher to qualify for&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&amp;stats=pit&amp;lg=nl&amp;qual=y&amp;type=6&amp;season=2009&amp;month=0&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Fangraphs.com's list of the Top WAR pitchers in 2009&lt;/a&gt;, coming in at #43 of 45), had a 1.5 WAR when the season ended...&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt; in just 14 starts and 75.2 IP, had a 1.3 WAR...&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1090/Tim_Lincecum&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Tim Lincecum&lt;/a&gt;, the highest rated pitcher in the NL finished at 8.4 WAR...&lt;/p&gt;
  


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    <item>
      <title>Washington Nationals: 2009 Post-Season Player Achievement Awards.</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/10/6/1072103/washington-nationals-2009-post</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/10/6/1072103/washington-nationals-2009-post</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:40:09 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

  &lt;div class=&quot;photo-tpl photo-tpl-right_portrait&quot;&gt;

    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-2009-post&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Washington Nationals' Adam Dunn (44) is congratulated  by teammates Cristian Guzman (15) and Ryan Zimmerman (11) after hitting a three-run home run against the Florida Marlins' in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Miami, Monday, April 6, 2009. Guzman and Zimmerman scored on the home run. The Marlins won 12-6. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/128182/122060_nationals_marlins_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
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      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-2009-post&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Alan Diaz - AP
        
      &lt;/p&gt;
    
      
        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
            &lt;strong&gt;8 months ago:&lt;/strong&gt; 
          
          Washington Nationals' Adam Dunn (44) is congratulated  by teammates Cristian Guzman (15) and Ryan Zimmerman (11) after hitting a three-run home run against the Florida Marlins' in the sixth inning of a baseball game in Miami, Monday, April 6, 2009. Guzman and Zimmerman scored on the home run. The Marlins won 12-6. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-2009-post&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;Under the auspices of&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://dc-ibwaa.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Washington, DC Internet Baseball Writers Association (DC-IBWA)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, a selection of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Washington Nationals&lt;/a&gt; blogs and bloggers voted recently for the first Washington Nationals Post Season Player Achievement Awards with 20 ballots submitted from &quot;online media outlets&quot; covering the Nationals including:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://natsnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nationals News Network&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nationalspride.com/home/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nationals Pride&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://wevegotheart.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;We've Got Heart&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.centerfieldgate.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Centerfield Gate&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://firejimbowden.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;FJB&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Federal Baseball,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nationalsenquirer.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Nationals Enquirer&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dcsportsbox.com/main/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;DC Sports Box&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.natsnq.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nationals Inquisition&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://natslooser.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nats Fanboy Looser&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://planetnj.net/nats/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Planetary Nats&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;,&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://bangzoomspot.blogspot.com/2009/09/who-running-asylum.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Bang! Zoom!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;,&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://nationalsnation.spaces.live.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nats Nation&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://blog.letteddywin.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Let Teddy Win!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://nationalsreview.wordpress.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nationals Review&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://dcsportsplus.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;DC Sports Plus&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://deacondrake.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Passing Time Between Wil Nieves Bombs&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, all choosing which Nationals would win the following awards:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Goose Goslin Most Valuable Player*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;&quot;&gt;-- Player most valuable to the success of the Washington Nationals:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;-- Excellent performance as a starting pitcher&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Frederick &quot;Firpo&quot; Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;-- Excellent performance as a relief pitcher&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Sam Rice Hitter of the Year*&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;-- Excellence in all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Frank Howard Slugger of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;-- Excellence in power hitting&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year*&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;-- Excellence in fielding&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year*&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;-- Player who overcame biggest obstacle in the preceding season to contribute on the field&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;&quot;&gt;-- Player who meritoriously gave of himself to the community&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Minor League Player of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;-- Minor league player most destined for big league success&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic;&quot;&gt;(ed. note - &quot; &lt;b&gt;*&lt;/b&gt; = Detailed biographies included in PDF Press Release Included After The JUMP.&quot;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; THE RESULTS...AFTER THE JUMP!!!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;


  
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/184077/DC-IBAA_AWARDS_press_release.pdf&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;DC-IBWA Awards&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;Official Press Release.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;(ed. note - &quot;Voters chose 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finalists for each award with (1st = 5 points), (2nd = 3 points), (3rd = 1 point)...&quot;)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 15px;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Goose Goslin Most Valuable Player*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Player most valuable to the success of the Washington Nationals:&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/499/Ryan_Zimmerman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ryan Zimmerman&lt;/a&gt; (92 points, 16 1st Place votes)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/418/Adam_Dunn&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Adam Dunn&lt;/a&gt; (41 points, 1 1st Place vote)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/17626/Nyjer_Morgan&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nyjer Morgan&lt;/a&gt; (25 points, 3 1st Place votes)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;(Others: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1104/John_Lannan&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;John Lannan&lt;/a&gt; (19 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/430/Josh_Willingham&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Josh Willingham&lt;/a&gt; (3 points))&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Excellent performance as a starting pitcher&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;John Lannan (96 points, 18 1st Place votes)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/69267/Jordan_Zimmermann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jordan Zimmermann&lt;/a&gt; (42 points, 2 1st Place votes)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/70804/Craig_Stammen&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Craig Stammen&lt;/a&gt; (22 points)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;(Others: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31813/J_D_Martin&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;J.D. Martin&lt;/a&gt; (6 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31137/Garrett_Mock&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Garrett Mock&lt;/a&gt; (4 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/759/Livan_Hernandez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Livan Hernandez&lt;/a&gt; (3 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt; (2 points))&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Frederick &quot;Firpo&quot; Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Excellent performance as a relief pitcher&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/611/Tyler_Clippard&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Tyler Clippard&lt;/a&gt; (80 points, 13 1st Place votes)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/814/Mike_MacDougal&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike MacDougal&lt;/a&gt; (55 points, 6 1st Place votes)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31278/Sean_Burnett&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Sean Burnett&lt;/a&gt; (29 points, 1 1st Place vote)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;(Others: &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/522/Jason_Bergmann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jason Bergmann&lt;/a&gt; (6 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/934/Joe_Beimel&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Joe Beimel&lt;/a&gt; (5 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/633/Ron_Villone&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ron Villone&lt;/a&gt; (3 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/532/Saul_Rivera&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Saul Rivera&lt;/a&gt; (1 point))&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Sam Rice Hitter of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Excellence in all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Ryan Zimmerman (81 points, 14 1st Place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Adam Dunn - (39 points, 2 1st Place votes)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Nyjer Morgan - (26 points, 3 1st Place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;(Others: Josh Willingham (14 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1200/Nick_Johnson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nick Johnson&lt;/a&gt; (9 points, 1 1st Place vote), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/513/Cristian_Guzman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Cristian Guzman&lt;/a&gt; (6 points))&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Frank Howard Slugger of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Excellence in power hitting&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Adam Dunn (100 points, 20 1st Place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Ryan Zimmerman (46 points)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Josh Willingham (27 points)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year*&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Excellence in fielding&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Ryan Zimmerman (88 points, 14 1st Place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Nyjer Morgan (69 points, 6 1st Place votes)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/955/Willie_Harris&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Willie Harris&lt;/a&gt; (12 points)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull; Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year*&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Player who overcame biggest obstacle in the preceding season to contribute on the field&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Nick Johnson (50 points, 10 1st Place votes)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Mike MacDougal (20 points, 1 1st Place vote)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Ryan Zimmerman (18 points, 3 1st Place voes)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;--&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;&amp;nbsp;Player who meritoriously gave of himself to the community&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;John Lannan (72 points, 12 1st Place votes)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Ryan Zimmerman (44 points, 4 1st Place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/616/Wil_Nieves&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Wil Nieves&lt;/a&gt; (21 points, 3 1st Place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;(Others: Josh Willingham (9 points), Nyjer Morgan, Willie Harris, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/670/Elijah_Dukes&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Elijah Dukes&lt;/a&gt; (3), Tyler Clippard (1))&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: 9px;&quot;&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Minor League Player of the Year&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;-- Minor league player most destined for big league success&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ol&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;b&gt;Derek Norris (54 points, nine first place votes)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33859/Ian_Desmond&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ian Desmond&lt;/a&gt; (53 points, nine first place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Drew Storen (41 points, two first place votes)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;(Others: Bradley Meyers (16 points), Chris Marrero (7 points), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19119/Mike_Morse&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike Morse&lt;/a&gt; (4 points), Daniel Espinosa (2 points), Ross Detwiler (1), &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31554/Jorge_Padilla&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jorge Padilla&lt;/a&gt; (1)).&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ol&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;i&gt;(ed. note - &quot;Thanks to Dave from NNN, who's behind all of this...&quot;)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Cast Your Own Votes In The Comments Section.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  


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    <item>
      <title>Washington Nationals Win Sixth-Straight, 6-4 Over Atlanta Braves.</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/10/3/1068082/washington-nationals-win-sixth</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/10/3/1068082/washington-nationals-win-sixth</link>
      <pubDate>Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:08:46 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

  &lt;div class=&quot;photo-tpl photo-tpl-right_landscape&quot;&gt;

    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-win-sixth&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Washington Nationals' Justin Maxwell is congratulated in the dugout after his winning two run homer against the Atlanta Braves during the eleventh  inning of their baseball game Saturday Oct. 3, 2009, in Atlanta. Washington won 6-4. (AP Photo/John Amis)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/125703/152763_nationals_braves_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
    &lt;div class=&quot;photo-meta&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-win-sixth&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by John Amis - AP
        
      &lt;/p&gt;
    
      
        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
            &lt;strong&gt;2 months ago:&lt;/strong&gt; 
          
          Washington Nationals' Justin Maxwell is congratulated in the dugout after his winning two run homer against the Atlanta Braves during the eleventh  inning of their baseball game Saturday Oct. 3, 2009, in Atlanta. Washington won 6-4. (AP Photo/John Amis)
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/washington-nationals-win-sixth&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/499/Ryan_Zimmerman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ryan Zimmerman&lt;/a&gt; hits an RBI single in the first to score &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/955/Willie_Harris&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Willie Harris&lt;/a&gt; from second for the first run of the game and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33859/Ian_Desmond&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ian Desmond&lt;/a&gt; leads off the fourth with a HR to left off &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/ATL&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Braves&lt;/a&gt;&amp;rsquo; right-hander &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/4415/Jair_Jurrjens&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jair Jurrjens&lt;/a&gt; as the left side of the 20-10 Nationals&amp;rsquo; infield gives Washington a 2-0 lead that &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt; preserves through five innings on the mound. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/532/Saul_Rivera&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Saul Rivera&lt;/a&gt; takes over for DC in the sixth and gets two outs, but leaves two on for left-hander &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/633/Ron_Villone&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ron Villone&lt;/a&gt;, who&amp;rsquo;ll have to face &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/994/Brian_McCann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Brian McCann&lt;/a&gt;, representing the tying run at the plate. McCann singles through short and it&amp;rsquo;s tied at 2-2 after six...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;The exciting conclusion...AFTER THE JUMP....&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Miss The Game?:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/10/3/1067175/gamethread-washington-nationals-at&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The DC Faithful In The GameThread&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;nbsp;(452 comments) vs&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.talkingchop.com/2009/10/3/1067781/open-thread-10-3-nationals-at&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Talking Chop OpenThread&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;(216 &amp;nbsp;comments).&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;(cont.)...&lt;/p&gt;


  
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; (ed. note&lt;/b&gt; - &quot;I&amp;rsquo;d love to go into more detail about what happened, but FOX decided to finally broadcast a game involving the Nationals when they thought (early this week) that the Braves might still be in contention, and therefore I&amp;rsquo;m FOX&amp;rsquo;d out of the next-to-last game of 2009 since they&amp;rsquo;re showing the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/KAN&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Royals&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/MIN&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Twins&lt;/a&gt; on the northeastern market's broadcast...Just want to thank, FOX! Thanks...thanks for that...&quot;)&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; DC lefty Ross Detwiler&lt;/b&gt; goes just 5.0 innings in his last &amp;lsquo;09 outing, allowing 1 hit and 4 walks, but no runs. Detwiler's replaced on the mound by Saul &quot;Sa-ool&quot; Rivera. Rivera gets two outs, but gives up a walk and a single and is lifted for Ron Villone, who comes on to face left-hander Brian McCann, and surrenders a two-run single that ties the game at 2-2. Villone gets out of the sixth, throws a scoreless seventh and comes back out for the eight, striking out &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31765/Brooks_Conrad&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Brooks Conrad&lt;/a&gt; and then hanging a slider to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/355/Nate_McLouth&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nate McLouth&lt;/a&gt; that's lifted to center for a double. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/522/Jason_Bergmann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jason Bergmann&lt;/a&gt;'s called upon with a runner on second and one down and he strikes out &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1001/Martin_Prado&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Martin Prado&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/957/Chipper_Jones&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Chipper Jones&lt;/a&gt; to end the eighth!! Don't Make Bergmann Angry!!!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Braves&amp;rsquo; backstop Brian McCann&lt;/b&gt; singles to start the bottom of the ninth, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/993/Yunel_Escobar&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Yunel Escobar&lt;/a&gt;&amp;rsquo;s sac bunt puts McCann in scoring position. Still tied at 2-2. Jason Bergmann walks Garrett Anderson to set up the DP and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/281/Omar_Infante&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Omar Infante&lt;/a&gt; plays along, grounding to second, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1000/Pete_Orr&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Pete Orr&lt;/a&gt; to Ian Desmond to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/418/Adam_Dunn&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Adam Dunn&lt;/a&gt;, double play!!! Extras. Nationals' 10th, Ryan Zimmerman doubles with two down, Adam Dunn gets the intentionals and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/513/Cristian_Guzman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Cristian Guzman&lt;/a&gt; shocks THE WORLD! with a two-run double to right that sets DC up to win its sixth-straight in the next-to-last game of '09...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; DC Manager Jim Riggleman&lt;/b&gt;...calls upon &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/222/Zack_Segovia&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Zack Segovia&lt;/a&gt; to get the save. Leadoff single by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/358/Adam_LaRoche&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Adam LaRoche&lt;/a&gt; and a pinch hit double by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/959/Kelly_Johnson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Kelly Johnson&lt;/a&gt;, NO NO NO!!! LaRoche scores on Johnson's hit. 4-3 DC. Nate McLouth flies out, Martin Prado pops out, Chipper Jones gets the intentionals to bring up pinch hitter &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/671/Greg_Norton&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Greg Norton&lt;/a&gt;, (ed. note - &quot;Heck, worked for the Nationals last inning, right?&quot;)...Norton rips a line drive single to center, Kelly Johnson crosses, 4-4 after ten.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19119/Mike_Morse&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike Morse&lt;/a&gt; grounds out, Pete Orr singles, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19853/Justin_Maxwell&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Justin Maxwell&lt;/a&gt; steps to the plate&lt;/b&gt;, and it'll have to be another Braves' comeback, Justin Maxwell goes yard to make up for two questionable plays in the outfield, and the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Washington Nationals&lt;/a&gt; are once again ahead by two, 6-4 courtesy of Maxwell's 4th HR in 85 AB's with DC...&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/4326/Logan_Kensing&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Logan Kensing&lt;/a&gt; will pitch the Braves' 11th...NO NO N...I mean GO Logan!!! Garrett Anderson grounds out, Omar Infante pops out, and Adam LaRoche K's swinging!! Kensing gets his first save since June 6th 2006...and the Washington Nationals win their 58th game of 2009...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nationals now 58-103.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;(ed. note - &quot;LAST GAME OF THE SEASON TOMORROW!! STOP BY, SAY HI, OR GOODBYE TIL NEXT YEAR!!! LURKERS? You're part of the DC Faithful too, stop in and say hi in tomorrow's GameThread, and see how much we like new folks in the GameThread!!! ONE MORE GAME LEFT...Make it a good one...&quot;)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  


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    <item>
      <title>Ross Detwiler Claims First MLB Win, 2-1 Over The Lowly New York Mets.</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/28/1059688/ross-detwiler-claims-first-mlb-win</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/28/1059688/ross-detwiler-claims-first-mlb-win</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:55:33 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

  &lt;div class=&quot;photo-tpl photo-tpl-right_portrait&quot;&gt;

    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/ross-detwiler-claims-first-mlb-win&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Washington Nationals' starter Ross Detwiler pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/120654/151865_mets_nationals_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
    &lt;div class=&quot;photo-meta&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/ross-detwiler-claims-first-mlb-win&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP
        
      &lt;/p&gt;
    
      
        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
            &lt;strong&gt;2 months ago:&lt;/strong&gt; 
          
          Washington Nationals' starter Ross Detwiler pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/ross-detwiler-claims-first-mlb-win&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt;'s First MLB Win...&lt;/b&gt;The Mets' SNY announce team of Gary Cohen, former Nationals' announcer and Mets' pitcher Ron Darling and Seinfeld star Keith Hernandez criticized Ross Detwiler at one point, claiming that he should still be pitching in the minors as raw as he was, and on any team other than the Mets or Nationals he probably would be, but Ross Detwiler, &lt;i&gt;(the 6th overall pick and the 3rd pitcher taken in the '07 Draft behind #1 overall &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31830/David_Price&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;David Price&lt;/a&gt; and left-hander &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/32827/Daniel_Moskos&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Daniel Moskos&lt;/a&gt;, who went 4th overall to the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/PIT&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Pirates&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/i&gt;, was able to beat the Mets tonight, so...Enjoy the rebuild Citi Field season ticket holders!!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Detwiler goes 6.0 IP and allows just 7 hits, 1 walk and 1 ER as he earns his first MLB W...&lt;b&gt;Here's How It Happened...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Miss The Game?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/28/1057843/gamethread-new-york-mets-at&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;The DC Faithful Are Still Watching...&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Check Out The SB Nation's &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/NYM&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;New York Mets&lt;/a&gt; Blog:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazinavenue.com/2009/9/28/1059278/open-thread-mets-vs-nationals&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Amazin' Avenue GameThread.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/28/1059701/game-156-unlikely-win-ill-take-it&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&quot;Revenge of the softball girls&quot; - by Doghouse.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;FULL GAME REPORT AFTER THE JUMP...&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: normal;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;


  
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; A productive groundout&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33859/Ian_Desmond&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ian Desmond&lt;/a&gt; moves &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19853/Justin_Maxwell&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Justin Maxwell&lt;/a&gt; from second to third after a leadoff hit off NY Mets' right-hander &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33406/Nelson_Figueroa&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nelson Figueroa&lt;/a&gt; in the first inning tonight, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/499/Ryan_Zimmerman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ryan Zimmerman&lt;/a&gt; follows with an RBI flyout to short right that scores Maxwell on a close play at home, and that&amp;rsquo;s all the Nationals need for Washington&amp;rsquo;s first run...oh, that and an error on a backhand attempt by David &quot;Gold Glove&quot; Wright who turns an infield hit into a runner on second to start the game and Ryan Zimmerman&amp;rsquo;s 102nd RBI.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; After two quick frames&lt;/b&gt;, Ross Detwiler gives up a two-out walk to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/706/Angel_Pagan&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Angel Pagan&lt;/a&gt;. A hard-hit grounder by Luis Castilla gets by third when Ryan Zimmerman tries a Zimmermanesque sidestep stab. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/873/David_Wright&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;David Wright&lt;/a&gt; steps in with two and two out...Ross Detwiler gets D. Wright looking to end the Mets&amp;rsquo; first threat...Still 0-0 after four, Detwiler gives up a leadoff single to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/875/Anderson_Hernandez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Anderson Hernandez&lt;/a&gt; in the Mets' fifth, and Nelson Figueroa reaches first safely on a sac attempt when &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/201/Josh_Bard&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Josh Bard&lt;/a&gt; throws late to second, so Angel Pagan&amp;rsquo;s bunt, which follows Figueroa's, moves two runners into scoring postition with one down. Detwiler gets a line drive out to Ian Desmond at short from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/731/Luis_Castillo&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Luis Castillo&lt;/a&gt; and gets a groundout to short from David Wright. 5.0 scoreless for Detwiler in what is probably his last start of &amp;lsquo;09.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; The Mets get on the board in the sixth&lt;/b&gt;. Detwiler gives up a single to center by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/872/Carlos_Beltran&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Carlos Beltran&lt;/a&gt;, who takes second on a wild pitch and scores one out later when &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31536/Fernando_Tatis&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Fernando Tatis&lt;/a&gt; singles to right. 1-1 ballgame. Another wild pitch puts two runners in scoring position with Nelson Figueroa at bat, but Detwiler gets the opposing pitcher swinging to end the top of the frame.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19119/Mike_Morse&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike Morse&lt;/a&gt; gives DC back their lead!!&lt;/b&gt; Solo shot to right to start the Nationals&amp;rsquo; sixth, 2-1 DC. 3 HR&amp;rsquo;s in 3-straight games for Morse who&amp;rsquo;s now matched his career total coming into the season...Justin Maxwell singles to start the Nationals&amp;rsquo; seventh, and moves to second on a sac bunt by Desmond, but then Zimmerman grounds to short, and J-Max runs anyway and gets thrown out at third...Dunn flies out, DC will have to settle for a one-run lead.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/522/Jason_Bergmann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jason Bergmann&lt;/a&gt; walks the first batter he faces&lt;/b&gt; in the seventh but gets out of the frame with the lead when he K&amp;rsquo;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/960/Jeff_Francoeur&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jeff Francoeur&lt;/a&gt;, throwing a high heater outside by Frenchy with two on and two out. Bergmann comes back in the eighth and retires the side in order, to put the Nationals three outs away from their 53rd win and Ross Detwiler&amp;rsquo;s first.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; MacDougal Will Do It...&lt;/b&gt;After allowing 4 hits and 5 runs in his last two outings, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/814/Mike_MacDougal&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike MacDougal&lt;/a&gt;...for the first time in 6 trips to the hill...was able to pitch a scoreless frame as he converted the 16th of 17 save opportunities this season and closed out Ross Detwiler's first Major League win...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/32731/postgame&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Nationals win, 2-1 final.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;For The Completists, Full Game Report Starts....NOW!!!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/events/32731/postgame&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;b&gt;New York Mets At &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Washington Nationals&lt;/a&gt;. Game 156 Of 162.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;GAME REPORT:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Angel Pagan lines a little too hard to right where Mike Morse takes an awkard leap to catch the first out. Luis Castillo flies weakly to Morse. David Wright lines over first for a two-out double off DC lefty Ross Detwiler. Ian Desmond fields and fires to first to get Carlos Beltran and end the top of the first...&lt;i&gt;Nelson Figueroa gives up a leadoff hit to Justin Maxwell on a high chopper to third that David Wright can&amp;rsquo;t backhand. Ian Desmond&amp;rsquo;s groundout to second moves J-Max to third. &lt;b&gt;Ryan Zimmerman flies to short right, Maxwell tags up and breaks for home as Jeff Francoeur throws in and up the line, 1-0 as Maxwell avoids the tag.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/418/Adam_Dunn&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Adam Dunn&lt;/a&gt; K&amp;rsquo;s swinging to end the first.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mike Morse hustles back and catches the first out of the second at the wall off Jeff Francoeur&amp;rsquo;s bat. Ian Desmond throws out Fernado Tatis. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/32333/Omir_Santos&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Omir Santos&lt;/a&gt; flies out just left of center to Justin Maxwell...&lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/430/Josh_Willingham&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Josh Willingham&lt;/a&gt; hangs one up in the air for Carlos Beltran to catch. Mike Morse rips one to the hole at short, and Anderson Hernandez just knocks it down. Josh Bard pops up the first pitch he sees. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/17698/Alberto_Gonzalez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Alberto Gonzalez&lt;/a&gt; grounds into a force to end the DC second.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Anderson Hernandez grounds out to Ian Desmond. Nelson Figueroa grounds out to third. Ross Detwiler walks Angel Pagan with two down. Luis Castillo gets knocked down but not hit by a fastball inside and ends up singling by Ryan Zimmerman at third when he tries to snatch it instead of getting in front of it. First and third for Wright. &lt;b&gt;Detwiler hits the inside corner with a two-strike fastball for a backwards K&lt;/b&gt;...&lt;i&gt;Detwiler gets called out on strikes. Justin Maxwell flies out to the wall in right center. Ian Desmond rrrips a two-out triple off the out-of-town scoreboard. Ryan Zimmerman walks with two down. Adam Dunn grounds to Luis Castillo at second to end the third.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Ian Desmond throws out Carlos Beltran. Jeff Francoeur grounds out to Dunn at first. Fernando Tatis&amp;rsquo; double falls in fair down the line in right. Omir Santos flies to center to end the Mets&amp;rsquo; fourth...&lt;i&gt;Josh Willingham chases a slider into the left-hand batter&amp;rsquo;s box. Mike Morse grounds sharply to short, Anderson Hernandez gets there but throws it by first. Morse to second. Josh Bard grounds out to first to advance Morse to third. Alberto Gonzalez gets the intentionals to set Detwiler up with two on and two out. Detwiler K&amp;rsquo;s to end the fourth.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Anderson &quot;Elvis&quot; Hernandez singles to center, Justin Maxwell charges in to field it on the curly-W in the grass. Figueroa drops a bunt in front of home, Bard throws to second too late, and Desmond holds it at second while Figueroa slowly runs to first. Angel Pagan bunts both runners into scoring position. Luis Castillo lines out to short. David Wright grounds out to short to end the fifth...Justin Maxwell pops out to right. Ian Desmond drops a bunt toward third, Wright barehands and throws behind the runner and past Tatis behind first. Desmond takes second. Ryan Zimmerman gets a two-strike slider inside that&amp;rsquo;s called strike three. Adam Dunn gets the intentionals. Josh WIllingham grounds into a force at second to end the fifth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Carlos Beltran singles to center to start the sixth. Jeff Francoeur&amp;rsquo;s up, Detwiler throws a fastball by home, Beltran to second. Francoeur K&amp;rsquo;s chasing a high two-strike fastball outside. &lt;b&gt;Fernando Tatis lines to center, Beltran scores and it&amp;rsquo;s tied at 1-1.&lt;/b&gt; Omir Santos flies out to center. Anderson Hernandez grounds to second and reaches safely when Alberto Gonzalez&amp;rsquo;s throw is late. Another wild pitch moves both runners up. Nelson Figueroa K&amp;rsquo;s swinging to end the frame..&lt;i&gt;.&lt;b&gt;Mike Morse goes the other way with a high fly ball to right and GONE!!!! HR for Morse, 2-1 DC!!&lt;/b&gt; Josh Bard pops out. Alberto Gonzalez flies out to left. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31554/Jorge_Padilla&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jorge Padilla&lt;/a&gt; lines out to end the sixth.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Jason Bergmann tries to hold the lead for Detwiler. Leadoff walk to Angel Pagan is not a good start. Luis Castilla&amp;rsquo;s sac bunt moves Pagan to second. David Wright grounds out to Desmond at short for the second out. Carlos Beltran gets two balls and then gets the intentionals. Jeff Francoeur K&amp;rsquo;s chasing a curve in the dirt!!! Called strike three!!!!...Justin Maxwell vs &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1075/Sean_Green&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Sean Green&lt;/a&gt;. J-Max shoots a low-liner to right. Ian Desmond bunts J-Max over. Ryan Zimmerman grounds to short, Maxwell breaks for third and gets thrown out. Figueroa out for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/823/Pedro_Feliciano&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Pedro Feliciano&lt;/a&gt;. Adam Dunn flies out to left to end the seventh.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Fernando Tatis flies to right and Mike Morse has to make a basket catch to avoid Justin Maxwell as he cuts in front of the right fielder. Jason Bergmann gets a line-drive out to center from Omir Santos. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/32691/Daniel_Murphy&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Daniel Murphy&lt;/a&gt; pops out to third to end the Mets&amp;rsquo; eighth...&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33408/Bobby_Parnell&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Bobby Parnell&lt;/a&gt; vs Willingham to start the Nationals&amp;rsquo; eighth. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/670/Elijah_Dukes&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Elijah Dukes&lt;/a&gt; in on to run. Mike Morse K&amp;rsquo;s swinging. Josh Bard grounds into an inning ending DP...Wait for it...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mike MacDougal vs &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/536/Cory_Sullivan&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Cory Sullivan&lt;/a&gt;. Sullivan grounds to first, ONE!! Angel Pagan grounds to Desmond, TWO! Luis Castillo grounds to short, Desmond to first, Ballgame!!! Nationals win, 2-1 final. Ross Detwiler gets his first career W. Congrats, Mr. Detwiler!!!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Nationals now 53-103.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
  


      </description>
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    <item>
      <title>Not TONIGHT!! Washington Nationals Avoid 100th Loss, Beat L.A. Dodgers 5-4.</title>
      <guid>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/23/1052594/not-tonight-washington-nationals</guid>
      <author>Ed Chigliak</author>
      <link>http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/23/1052594/not-tonight-washington-nationals</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:50:02 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

  &lt;div class=&quot;photo-tpl photo-tpl-big_time&quot;&gt;

    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/not-tonight-washington-nationals&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Washington Nationals catcher Josh Bard, top, holds up the ball after he tagged out Los Angeles Dodgers' Andre Ethier (16) at home during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/115502/150950_dodgers_nationals_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
    &lt;div class=&quot;photo-meta&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/not-tonight-washington-nationals&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Nick Wass - AP
        
      &lt;/p&gt;
    
      
        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
            &lt;strong&gt;3 months ago:&lt;/strong&gt; 
          
          Washington Nationals catcher Josh Bard, top, holds up the ball after he tagged out Los Angeles Dodgers' Andre Ethier (16) at home during the fourth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/not-tonight-washington-nationals&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Washington Nationals&lt;/a&gt; enter play tonight 51-99...on the verge of their second-straight 100-loss season...&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Rosswiler - &lt;/b&gt;After he gave up a leadoff single to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/883/Rafael_Furcal&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Rafael Furcal&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt; had the Dodgers&amp;rsquo; shortstop picked off first, but Furcal took off and beat the throw to second from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/418/Adam_Dunn&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Adam Dunn&lt;/a&gt; when DC&amp;rsquo;s SS&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/513/Cristian_Guzman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Cristian Guzman&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;was late to the bag. Furcal moved to third on a groundout by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/509/Ronnie_Belliard&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ronnie Belliard&lt;/a&gt; and scored on an RBI groundout by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/891/Andre_Ethier&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Andre Ethier&lt;/a&gt; when he should&amp;rsquo;ve been out picked off first...&lt;b&gt;1-0 LA.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; SSSSUPER DUKESSSS - &lt;/b&gt;The Dodgers almost blew the game wide open in the fourth when Ronnie Belliard reached on a sharp grounder to short and Ross Detwiler issued a one-out to Andre Ethier and a two-out walk to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/890/James_Loney&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;James Loney&lt;/a&gt; to load the bases for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/885/Russell_Martin&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Russell Martin&lt;/a&gt;. Martin lined to right to score Belliard and Ethier took the turn around third, (Don&amp;rsquo;t do it, Andre! Don&amp;rsquo;t!!)...Elijah SSSSSUPER DUKESSSS fields coming in and fires home, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/201/Josh_Bard&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Josh Bard&lt;/a&gt; catches it, reaches across the plate forces Ethier outside and makes the tag, &quot;You&amp;rsquo;rrrrrrre OUT!!!&quot; yells the Ump!!! &lt;b&gt;2-0 LA.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Blinded By The Lights...&lt;/b&gt;Top of the sixth, Ross Detwiler gives up a leadoff line drive double to Ronnie Belliard, but Detwiler gets the next two before intentionally walking &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/888/Matt_Kemp&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Matt Kemp&lt;/a&gt;. Two on, two out for James Loney, Loney lines out to lef--&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/955/Willie_Harris&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Willie Harris&lt;/a&gt; charges in but loses it in the lights, Harris shields his eyes and has the ball drop between his legs into the grass. Belliard scores, &lt;b&gt;3-0 LA&lt;/b&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!!&lt;/b&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/499/Ryan_Zimmerman&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ryan Zimmerman&lt;/a&gt; gives DC a chance to avoid 100-losses for one more night. LA righty &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/924/Chad_Billingsley&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Chad Billingsley&lt;/a&gt;&amp;rsquo;s walk-filled no-hitter is broken up with two down in the bottom of the sixth when Zimmerman steps in after a two-out walk to Adam Dunn with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19119/Mike_Morse&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike Morse&lt;/a&gt; already on having walked to start the frame. Billingsley starts Zim with a curve high in the zone and Zimm---THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! Ryan Zimmerman hits a line drive to left and GONE!!! 3-run HR, 3-3 game after six...&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; THE SHOCKING ERROR-FILLED CONCLUSION...And THE FULL GAME REPORT AFTER THE JUMP!!!!&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/23/1050651/gamethread-los-angeles-dodgers-at&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The DC Faithful Were Watching...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull; Check Out The SB Nation's LA Dodgers Blog:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/23/1052077/bison-birthday-game-chat&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;True Blue LA.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&amp;bull;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/2009/9/23/1052538/game-151-holy-we-won&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&quot;HOLY @#$&amp; we WON!&quot; - Doghouse.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Nationals now...Can Washington Avoid Loss #100?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;For Some Reason, Jim Riggleman?&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;- &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/814/Mike_MacDougal&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike MacDougal&lt;/a&gt;, Nationals' closer, was called upon in the eighth and out of his element, the &quot;occasionally&quot; wild Scotsman does his best to blow it up....Leadoff walk to the Dodgers' Left-Fielder. MacDougal rears back and hurls a 97 mph 1-2 heater by Matt Kemp, but James Loney singles to right moving the LA LF to third. 1-2 fastball to Russell Martin, Martin lines to--ADAM DUNN! Dunn catches it, steps on second, double play the hard way and it's 3-3 after seven and a half.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;The Guzzz Hates You!&lt;/b&gt; - Cristian Guzman started the eighth with a single, and took second when &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/174/Manny_Ramirez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Manny Ramirez&lt;/a&gt; and Matt Kemp both pulled up and let a pop fly from Adam Dunn fall between them...First and second for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/670/Elijah_Dukes&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Elijah Dukes&lt;/a&gt;...Cristian Guzman had heroic thoughts as he rounded third on the one-out groundout Elijah Dukes which had double play written all over it with Dunn running from first, but Elijah Dukes busted *** and so did the Guz, and when much-maligned LA infielder &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/685/Orlando_Hudson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Orlando Hudson&lt;/a&gt;'s throw pulled James Loney off first, Dukes was safe, and the Guzzzzz took advantage of the error at first and slid in safe&amp;nbsp;just ahead of Loney's throw home!!! 4-3 DC after eight.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;And Now Move Over To Second, Guz!!!&lt;/b&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;b&gt;or E: 131, E: 132&lt;/b&gt; - Mike MacDougal's back out in the ninth to close out his own win, and he gives up a hotshot to short off Hudson's bat, Guzman fields deep in the hole and throws to first, but it hops on Dunn, (whereas Nick John...sorry!) and Dunn bobbles it and trips Hudson in the process, though the runner's safe. &lt;b&gt;(E: 131).&lt;/b&gt; Hudson's replaced on the basepaths by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/4379/Jason_Repko&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jason Repko&lt;/a&gt;, and Repko's soon standing on third after &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/157/Jim_Thome&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jim Thome&lt;/a&gt;'s-for-hire-single. MacDougal walks Rafael Furcal, to load the bases with no outs. Ronnie Belliard, the former National, grounds to his pal Guzman at short, Guzman throws home...but wiiiiide...Repko scores, 4-4 ballgame. (E: 132). &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31278/Sean_Burnett&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Sean Burnett&lt;/a&gt; gets Ethier swinging. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/532/Saul_Rivera&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Saul Rivera&lt;/a&gt; takes care (somehow) of LA's left fielder and Matt Kemp...&lt;i&gt;(&lt;b&gt;somehow &lt;/b&gt;= a groundout to Guzman from the LA LF and a good throw home this time and a liner from Kemp to the same frustrated shortstop.)&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal;&quot;&gt;and it's on to DC's ninth..&lt;i&gt;.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Maxwell, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19853/Justin_Maxwell&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Justin Maxwell&lt;/a&gt;!!!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;DC outfielder Justin Maxwell singles off Dodgers' reliever &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31267/James_McDonald&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;James McDonald&lt;/a&gt;, and takes second on a successful sac bunt from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/17698/Alberto_Gonzalez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Alberto Gonzalez&lt;/a&gt;. What?? Maxwell steals third with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31554/Jorge_Padilla&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jorge Padilla&lt;/a&gt; at bat. Jorge Padilla walks. Pinch Hittin' &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1000/Pete_Orr&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Pete Orr&lt;/a&gt;...lines to right, Ethier...allows it to fall, Maxwell trots home. Ballgame. The Washington Nationals will not lose 100 games tonight!! The Nationals win, 5-4 final.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;GAME REPORT:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/LOS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Los Angeles Dodgers&lt;/a&gt; At Washington Nationals. Game 151 Of 162.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Rafael Furcal singles up the middle to start the Washington Nationals' 151st game of 2009. With Ronnie Belliard up, Furcal gets picked off first by Ross Detwiler, but Furcal beats the throw to second from Adam Dunn. &lt;b&gt;Belliard grounds out to second, Furcal takes third. Andre Ethier&amp;rsquo;s groundout to second scores Furcal, 1-0 LA.&lt;/b&gt; Manny Ramirez&amp;rsquo;s groundout to third ends the Dodgers&amp;rsquo; first...&lt;i&gt;Willie Harris takes a fastball on the outside edge for a called strike three. Cristian Guzman grounds out to Orlando Hudson at second. Adam Dunn K&amp;rsquo;s swinging over a sinking fastball inside.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Matt Kemp flies out to Elijah Dukes in right. Ross Detwiler gets a sliced liner to left out of James Loney. Ryan Zimmerman throws out Russell Martin to end LA&amp;rsquo;s second...&lt;i&gt;Ryan Zimmerman K&amp;rsquo;s swinging over a looping curve outside from Bilingsley. Elijah Dukes can&amp;rsquo;t beat the throw from Furcal to first on the groundout. Josh Bard pops out to the infield in a quick second.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Orlando Hudson flies out to Justin Maxwell in center. Detwiler pops up the opposing pitcher. Rafael Furcal chops at a 77mph bender and grounds out to second to end the top of the third...&lt;i&gt;Justin Maxwell takes a two-strike curve and gets called out by the over-enthusiastic home plate Ump. Alberto Gonzalez grounds out to second. Billingsley gets Detwiler looking as well. 1-0 LA after three.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Cristian Guzman stabs a one-hopper off Belliard&amp;rsquo;s bat but throws wide of first rushing to get a &quot;speedy&quot; Belliard. Detwiler walks Andre Ethier to bring up Manny Ramirez with two on. Ramirez flies out to Dukes in right, and Dukes&amp;rsquo; throw in holds everyone where they are. Ronnie Belliard takes third on a fly out to right from Matt Kemp. Detwiler walks James Loney, and it&amp;rsquo;s bases loaded for Russell Martin. &lt;b&gt;Martin lines to right to score Belliard, and Ethier (No don&amp;rsquo;t!!) Ethier runs on Dukes and gets nailed on a perfect throw home. 2-0 after three and a half.&lt;/b&gt;..&lt;i&gt;Willie Harris K&amp;rsquo;s watching a two-strike curve all the way in. Cristian Guzman flies out to center. Adam Dunn takes a two-out walk for the Nationals&amp;rsquo; first baserunner. Ryan Zimmerman walks to bring up Dukes with two on and two out. Billingsley keeps throwing curves til Dukes K&amp;rsquo;s chasing one out of the zone.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Orlando Hudson flies to Dukes in right. Chad Billingsley grounds weakly to short and trots toward first as Guzman fields and throws. Elijah Dukes charges and slides in on a low liner from Furcal, but the second base Ump says he trapped it. What will Belliard do with the extra out? Nothing! Detwiler picks Furcal off and this time they get him!!...&lt;i&gt;Josh Bard grounds back to the mound. Justin Maxwell bounces one toward third Rafael Furcal gets it and fires to first, in time. Alberto Gonzalez takes strike three for another backwards K.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Ronnie Belliard rrrrips a line drive to left field for a leadoff double that has him thinking triple out of the box. Andre Ethier pops out behind short. Manny Ramirez moves Belliard up with a groundout to short. Detwiler issues the intentionals to Matt Kemp. &lt;b&gt;James Loney lines to left, Willlie Harris tries to shade his eyes, but he loses it and it drops in front of him, Belliard scores, 3-0 LA and Detwiler&amp;rsquo;s out.&lt;/b&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/522/Jason_Bergmann&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jason Bergmann&lt;/a&gt; pops up Russell Martin to end the top of the frame...&lt;i&gt;Mike Morse walks to start the Nationals&amp;rsquo; sixth. Willie Harris swings over an 0-2 bender low in the zone. Cristian Guzman grounds into a force at second. &lt;b&gt;Adam Dunn takes a two-out walk in front of Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman gets a first pitch curve up high and he destroys it, THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!!&lt;/b&gt; HR #31 to right, 3-run blast, tie ballgame in the sixth, on ZIM's 100th RBI OF '09!!!! and Billingsley&amp;rsquo;s walk-filled no-hitter is over. Elijah Dukes grounds out to end the inning.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/611/Tyler_Clippard&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Tyler Clippard&lt;/a&gt; takes over on the mound against Orlando Hudson and issues a leadoff walk. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/884/Juan_Pierre&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Juan Pierre&lt;/a&gt; sends a dribbler toward third that Zimmerman handles. One down. Hudson to second. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/20160/Justin_Maxell&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Justin Maxell&lt;/a&gt; gets to a fly ball off Furcal&amp;rsquo;s bat. Ronnie Belliard takes a two-out walk in front of Andre Ethier. Ethier pops out to end the top of the seventh...&lt;i&gt;Hong-Chih Kuo on for LA. Josh Bard K&amp;rsquo;s chasing. Justin Maxwell walks with one down. Alberto Gonzalez pushes a single out to right off Kuo. Two on for pinch hitter &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/430/Josh_Willingham&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Josh Willingham&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt;. The Hammer flies out to the wall in left, where Manny makes the catch. Maxwell takes third. &lt;/i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33859/Ian_Desmond&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;Ian Desmond&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;i&gt; grounds out to Ronnie Belliard to end the seventh. Still 3-3.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Mike MacDougal&amp;rsquo;s on in the eighth and he walks Manny Ramirez to start the inning. Matt Kemps K&amp;rsquo;s swinging through a fastball. Manny Ramirez goes first to third on a one-out single to right by James Loney. Russell Martin lines to ri--Adam Dunn!! Dunn makes the catch, steps on first, double play!!!...&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/1058/George_Sherrill&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;George Sherrill&lt;/a&gt; takes over against Cristian Guzman in the Nationals&amp;rsquo; eighth. The Guzzz singles to right to start the inning. Adam Dunn pops out to left cen--&lt;i&gt;Kemp up, Manny pulls up, and it drops in for a single. First and second with one down. Ryan Zimmerman gets his bat shattered by Sherrill and he pops out foul of first. Elijah Dukes grounds to second, Hudson steps on the bag and throws...&lt;b&gt;WIDE OF FIRST!! Loney comes off the bag!! Dukes is safe!!! Guzman comes around third and beats Loney&amp;rsquo;s throw HOME!!! 4-3 DC!!! 4-3 DC!!! &lt;/b&gt;Josh Bard pops out to the infield to end the eighth.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;MacDougal&amp;rsquo;s back against Orlando Hudson. Hudson grounds to short, Guzman fires from deep in the hole, but the throw bounces and Dunn misses it, tripping Hudson in the process. Jim Thome singles back up the middle to move Hudson&amp;rsquo;s pinch runner, Jason Repko, to third. Rafael Furcal works the count full and walks to load the bases. Ronnie Belliard grounds weakly to third, Guzman throws home, but wide!!&lt;b&gt; NO! 4-4 ballgame.&lt;/b&gt; MacDougal&amp;rsquo;s done. Sean Burnett gets Andre Ethier swinging for the first out. Burnett out, Saul Rivera on to get the DP. Manny Ramirez grounds to short, and this time Guzman&amp;rsquo;s throw home is true. Matt Kemp rips a line drive, right into Guzman&amp;rsquo;s glove!!! 4-4 in the ninth..&lt;i&gt;.Justin Maxwell vs James McDonald. Maxwell smokes a groundball by Ronnie Belliard at third. Alberto &quot;The General&quot; Gonzalez gets a sac bunt down to move Maxwell to second. MAXWELL STEALS THIRD!! JUST PLAIN SWIPES IT!! Jorge Padilla walks with one down. &lt;b&gt;Pinch Hittin&amp;rsquo; Pete Orr flies to right, Ethier lets it drop, Maxwell scores to win it!! Nationals win!! Nationals win. 5-4 final.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;Nationals now 52-99.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  


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    <item>
      <title>Dodgers Need The Return of Billingsley</title>
      <guid>http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/23/1051057/dodgers-need-the-return-of</guid>
      <author>Eric Stephen</author>
      <link>http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/23/1051057/dodgers-need-the-return-of</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:33:46 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

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    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/dodgers-need-the-return-of&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Photo&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/114542/139097_astros_dodgers_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
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          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/dodgers-need-the-return-of&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Jae C. Hong - AP
        
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    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/dodgers-need-the-return-of&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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&lt;p&gt;Tonight, the Dodgers can clinch a playoff spot, with a little help from their friends in Arizona and New York.&amp;nbsp; However, of more pressing concern is what they do when they get to the playoffs.&amp;nbsp; A big part of their success could rest in the fate of tonight's starting pitcher, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/924/Chad_Billingsley&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Chad Billingsley&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; The pressing question on seemingly everyone's mind is what is wrong with Billingsley.&amp;nbsp; Joe Torre insists its a mechanical flaw, but who knows exactly what the problem is?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What's more important is that Billingsley corrects whatever is wrong, because the Dodgers need him.&amp;nbsp; Since starting the year 9-3 with a 2.72 ERA, Billingsley is 3-7 with a 5.40 ERA.&amp;nbsp; Not all of those 16 starts have been bad -- half of them are quality starts -- but Billingsley is clearly not the same pitcher he was or can be.&amp;nbsp; He has two, maybe three starts left in the regular season to build some momentum for the postseason.&amp;nbsp; A healthy and productive Billingsley gives the Dodgers a much better shot in the playoffs than giving the ball to known mediocrities &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/329/Jon_Garland&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jon Garland&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/131/Vicente_Padilla&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Vicente Padilla&lt;/a&gt;. Tonight is step one in Billingsley's recovery, returning to the starting rotation after skipping a turn last week.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Starting for the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nationals&lt;/a&gt; is &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt;, who is still seeking his first major league win after 11 starts.&amp;nbsp; Detwiler is 0-6 with a 5.80 ERA and a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtstats/main/player/2859/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;4.72 x-FIP&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; He is coming off one of his best starts, as he allowed just one run over five innings at Philadelphia last Thursday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last night the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/LOS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Dodgers&lt;/a&gt; won again on KCAL Tuesday, exploding for 14 runs in yet another Tuesday triumph.&amp;nbsp; The Dodgers are 17-5 in Tuesday games on KCAL, with one more remaining next week.&amp;nbsp; The Dodgers have outscored opponents by eight or more runs in 14 different games this season, and five of those have been on good old channel 9.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In three games against the Nationals this season, the Dodgers have scored 33 runs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;**********&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Geoff Young, proprietor of the great &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/SDP&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Padres&lt;/a&gt;' blog &lt;a href=&quot;http://ducksnorts.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Ducksnorts&lt;/a&gt;, wrote an interesting article for The Hardball Times about &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/yes-but-its-an-empty-.300/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;empty .300 batting averages&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; It includes this line about our own &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/884/Juan_Pierre&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Juan Pierre&lt;/a&gt;:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;...at least we'll all be able to say that we saw the man with the emptiest .300 batting average ever ply his craft during our lifetime. Not everyone can make that claim.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;**********&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Dodgers have fared better offensively against lefthanded pitchers than righthanded pitchers.&amp;nbsp; Of the ten regulars (including &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/509/Ronnie_Belliard&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ronnie Belliard&lt;/a&gt; &amp; Juan Pierre), eight have higher OPS versus southpaws than righties.&amp;nbsp; Ethier's struggles against LHP have been well-documented, but I thought it was interesting that the large difference in his OPS is offset by Kemp's difference the other way.&amp;nbsp; Kemp's 1.116 OPS against lefties is &lt;a href=&quot;http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/split/31/sort/OPS/order/true/minpa/50&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;the eighth highest in baseball&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;table cellspacing=&quot;2&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;2&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td bgcolor=&quot;#157dec&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;vs LHP&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td bgcolor=&quot;#ff0000&quot; align=&quot;center&quot; colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;vs RHP&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;b&gt;Player&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td bgcolor=&quot;#157dec&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;PA&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td bgcolor=&quot;#157dec&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;BA/OBP/SLG&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td bgcolor=&quot;#ff0000&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;PA&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td bgcolor=&quot;#ff0000&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;BA/OBP/SLG&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;OPS Diff&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Martin&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;115&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.287/.417/.362&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;443&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.248/.338/.326&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.116&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Loney&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;129&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.288/.380/.441&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;483&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.285/.356/.404&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.061&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Hudson&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;145&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.310/.369/.500&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;450&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.281/.350/.391&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.128&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Belliard*&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;73&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.250/.342/.453&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;194&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.268/.301/.421&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.074&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Blake&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;127&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.317/.441/.564&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;428&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.270/.342/.447&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.217&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Furcal&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;145&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.283/.352/.433&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;494&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.256/.322/.347&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.116&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Manny&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;75&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.277/.373/.538&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;320&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.308/.434/.565&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;(.088)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Kemp&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;138&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.382/.449/.667&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;485&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.284/.336/.458&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.322&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Ethier&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;172&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.204/.291/.368&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;474&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.310/.392/.588&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#ff0000&quot;&gt;(.322)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Pierre&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;109&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.337/.438/.404&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;289&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;.306/.351/.389&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;+.103&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;b&gt;Dodger Totals&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;1382&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;.279/.367/.441&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;4595&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;.271/.342/.410&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;+.055&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;left&quot; colspan=&quot;7&quot;&gt;&lt;i&gt;*Belliard's splits with Washington are included in his totals only&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Also, happy 25th birthday to The Bison, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/888/Matt_Kemp&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Matt Kemp&lt;/a&gt;, who is riding a 13-game hitting streak.&amp;nbsp; That is the third longest hitting streak for the Dodgers this season, behind &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/685/Orlando_Hudson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Orlando Hudson&lt;/a&gt;'s 17-game streak in May (remember him?) and Kemp's own 14-gamer to start the season.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;**********&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Check out &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/23/1051838/dodgers-simulation-september-23rd&quot;&gt;Xeifrank's simulation of today's game here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Don't forget to RSVP for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/2009/8/19/995566/true-blue-dodger-outing-10-3-09&quot;&gt;True Blue LA Day at Dodger Stadium&lt;/a&gt;, on the next-to-last day of the regular season, October 3 against the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/mlb/teams/COL&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Rockies&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Get your guesses in for our &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/22/1050947/one-two-three-strikes-youre-out&quot;&gt;today's &quot;One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out,&quot; here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Game Time:&amp;nbsp; 4:05pm&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;TV:&amp;nbsp; Prime Ticket&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.baseball-reference.com/previews/2009/WAS200909230.shtml&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Baseball Reference Preview&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_main.asp?d=48565&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Dodgers Game Notes&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_main.asp?d=48560&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Nationals Game Notes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  


      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Dodgers Can Clinch Playoff Spot Today</title>
      <guid>http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/23/1051200/dodgers-can-clinch-playoff-spot</guid>
      <author>Eric Stephen</author>
      <link>http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/23/1051200/dodgers-can-clinch-playoff-spot</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:00:27 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

  &lt;div class=&quot;photo-tpl photo-tpl-big_time&quot;&gt;

    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/dodgers-can-clinch-playoff-spot&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Celebration one of five will come soon, perhaps as soon as today.&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn2.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/114561/134070_aptopix_athletics_dodgers_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
    &lt;div class=&quot;photo-meta&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/dodgers-can-clinch-playoff-spot&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Chris Carlson - AP
        
      &lt;/p&gt;
    
      
        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
          Celebration one of five will come soon, perhaps as soon as today.
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/dodgers-can-clinch-playoff-spot&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/LOS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Dodgers&lt;/a&gt; today can become the second team in baseball, joining the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/NYY&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Yankees&lt;/a&gt;, to clinch a playoff spot.&amp;nbsp; However, they need a little help.&amp;nbsp; The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/COL&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Rockies&lt;/a&gt; are the wild card leaders, but the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/SFG&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Giants&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/ATL&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Braves&lt;/a&gt; are tied for second.&amp;nbsp; Here are their records:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;table cellspacing=&quot;2&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;2&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;Team&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;W-L&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;GB&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Dodgers&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;91-60&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;---&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Rockies&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;86-65&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;5&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Giants&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;81-70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr&gt;
&lt;td&gt;Braves&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;81-70&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;td align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;10&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Dodgers can clinch a spot in the playoffs today if the following three things happen:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;They beat the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nationals&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Arizona beats the Giants&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/NYM&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mets&lt;/a&gt; beat the Braves&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here are today's Dodger-relevant pitching matchups:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;4:05pm&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dodgers (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/924/Chad_Billingsley&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Chad Billingsley&lt;/a&gt;: 12-10, 3.66 FIP) at Nationals (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt;:&amp;nbsp; 0-6, 3.75 FIP)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Dodgers have scored 33 runs in three games against Washington this season.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;4:10pm&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Braves (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/998/Tim_Hudson&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Tim Hudson&lt;/a&gt;: 1-1, 3.71 FIP) at Mets (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/912/Mike_Pelfrey&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Mike Pelfrey&lt;/a&gt;:&amp;nbsp; 10-11, 4.33 FIP)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Braves have won seven straight against the Mets, and 12 of 17 this season.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;7:10pm&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Giants (Jonathan Sanchez: 6-12, 4.04 FIP) at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/ARI&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Diamondbacks&lt;/a&gt; (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/32723/Kevin_Mulvey&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Kevin Mulvey&lt;/a&gt;:&amp;nbsp; 0-1, 6.78 FIP)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Giants won each of the first two series in Arizona this season, two games to one.&amp;nbsp; This series is currently tied at one.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The last time the Dodgers made the playoffs in three out of four years was 1963, 1965, and 1966.&lt;/p&gt;
  


      </description>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Kuroda on Track, Dodger Bats Attack, &amp; Kershaw is Back</title>
      <guid>http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/22/1050892/kuroda-on-track-dodger-bats-attack</guid>
      <author>Eric Stephen</author>
      <link>http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/22/1050892/kuroda-on-track-dodger-bats-attack</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:27:56 -0000</pubDate>
      <description type="html">

  &lt;div class=&quot;photo-tpl photo-tpl-big_time&quot;&gt;

    &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/kuroda-on-track-dodger-bats-attack&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&amp;quot;The Hot Horse&amp;quot; was at it again tonight.&quot; class=&quot;ap_photo&quot; src=&quot;http://cdn1.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/114311/150741_dodgers_nationals_baseball.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
    
    &lt;div class=&quot;photo-meta&quot;&gt;
      &lt;p class=&quot;by clearfix&quot;&gt;
        
          &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/kuroda-on-track-dodger-bats-attack&quot;&gt;More photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
        
        
          by Nick Wass - AP
        
      &lt;/p&gt;
    
      
        &lt;p class=&quot;cap&quot;&gt;
          
          &quot;The Hot Horse&quot; was at it again tonight.
        &lt;/p&gt;
      
    &lt;/div&gt;  
    
    &lt;p class=&quot;more-link&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalbaseball.com/photos/kuroda-on-track-dodger-bats-attack&quot;&gt;Browse more photos &amp;raquo;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;/div&gt;


&lt;p&gt;The Dodger offense took advantage of the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/WAS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Nationals&lt;/a&gt;, bludgeoning the Nationals 14-2 in the opening game of the three-game series in Washington DC, but the biggest news was the triumphant return of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/33951/Clayton_Kershaw&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Clayton Kershaw&lt;/a&gt;, who pitched brilliantly over the final two innings in his first appearance in 18 days.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Kershaw entered a blowout in the eighth inning, pitching his first game since separating his shoulder while &quot;power shagging&quot; balls in the outfield &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/2009/9/7/1019807/kershaw-scratched-from-fridays&quot;&gt;during batting practice on September 6&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Kershaw struck out four batters over his two innings, allowing only a walk to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/670/Elijah_Dukes&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Elijah Dukes&lt;/a&gt; in the ninth inning.&amp;nbsp; He was very sharp overall, and was hitting 93-95 mph with his fastball, a very good sign for Dodger fans everywhere.&amp;nbsp; Before he entered, here is what the Dodger offense accomplished tonight:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;This was the fourth time the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/LOS&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Dodgers&lt;/a&gt; have scored 14 runs or more in a game this season.&amp;nbsp; The last time was when they &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.truebluela.com/2009/8/5/977977/dodgers-unload-on-brewers-17-4&quot;&gt;scored 17 against Milwaukee&lt;/a&gt;, a game &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/839/Prince_Fielder&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Prince Fielder&lt;/a&gt; wasn't too pleased with.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/91/Casey_Blake&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Casey Blake&lt;/a&gt;'s home run in the seventh inning extended the Dodgers' season high streak to 11 straight games with a home run.&amp;nbsp; It is tied for the &lt;a href=&quot;http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/YvgDd&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;eighth longest Dodger streak since moving to Los Angeles&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/883/Rafael_Furcal&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Rafael Furcal&lt;/a&gt; had four hits, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/nyPNS&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;eighth time he has done that as a Dodger&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; Furcal also drove in four runs, and the Dodgers are 27-8 when he gets on base to lead off the game.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/4379/Jason_Repko&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Jason Repko&lt;/a&gt;, who can tell his grandchildren that he pinch hit for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/174/Manny_Ramirez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Manny Ramirez&lt;/a&gt;, had a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning, driving in his first run since &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/COL/COL200609280.shtml&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;September 28, 2006&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/890/James_Loney&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;James Loney&lt;/a&gt; had three hits, including a double, although one of his singles was a gift from the official scorer on one of the worst defensive plays I have ever seen a first baseman make (by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/418/Adam_Dunn&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Adam Dunn&lt;/a&gt;, who simply refused to throw the ball to first with ample time to retire Loney)&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Every Dodger starter had at least one hit and one run scored, except for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/891/Andre_Ethier&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Andre Ethier&lt;/a&gt;, who still had a walk and an RBI groundout.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Ronnie &quot;The Hot Horse&quot; Belliard had two hits, including a double, and a walk, bringing his Dodger batting line to .322/.365/.610.&amp;nbsp; He has 15 RBI in his 15 starts as a Dodger.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/888/Matt_Kemp&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Matt Kemp&lt;/a&gt; picked up two runs batted in to bring his season total to 97, as he attempts to become the first Dodger ever to hit .300 with 25 home runs, 30 steals, and 100 RBI&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/31266/Hiroki_Kuroda&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Hiroki Kuroda&lt;/a&gt; was sharp yet again, allowing only two unearned runs on an Adam Dunn home run in the third inning.&amp;nbsp; Kuroda won his third straight start by pitching six strong innings.&amp;nbsp; Since returning from getting hit in the head, Kuroda has a 2.16 ERA and a 3.09 FIP in four starts, with 21 strikeouts and five walks in 25 innings.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Kuroda and Kershaw made important strides tonight.&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/924/Chad_Billingsley&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Chad Billingsley&lt;/a&gt; will get his chance to do the same tomorrow, as he opposes rookie &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/19852/Ross_Detwiler&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Ross Detwiler&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;u&gt;Magic Numbers&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To win NL West: 6 (&lt;a href=&quot;../../mlb/teams/COL&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Rockies&lt;/a&gt; beat the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/SDP&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Padres&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=290922127&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;11-10&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;br /&gt;To clinch a playoff spot: 2 (&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/SFG&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Giants&lt;/a&gt; lost 10-8 to the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/teams/ARI&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Diamondbacks&lt;/a&gt; in &lt;a href=&quot;http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=290922129&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Arizona&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;WP - Hiroki Kuroda (8-6)&lt;/b&gt;:&amp;nbsp; 6 IP, 4 hits, 2 unearned runs, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;LP - &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/players/759/Livan_Hernandez&quot; class=&quot;sbn-auto-link&quot;&gt;Livan Hernandez&lt;/a&gt; (8-12)&lt;/b&gt;:&amp;nbsp; 3.2 IP, 8 hits, 8 runs, 4 walks&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=290922120&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Box Score&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  


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