SB Nation - Mike Hinckley

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:12:32 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Manny Parra, center, gathers with his teammates to discuss their blatant disrespect for the game and untucked shirts.

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Some things to read while waiting for lunch.

If all had gone according to plan, the Brewers would be enjoying an off day on the road today and getting ready to open a series with the Astros tomorrow. Instead, they're in St. Louis waiting for tonight's makeup game, and probably won't get to Houston until early tomorrow morning. Some notes on tonight's game:

Kyle Lohse, who pitched the first couple of innings of Friday's rainout, will start for the Cardinals.
He'll face Braden Looper, who has something to prove to a Cardinal organization that decided not to pursue him after the 2008 season.
Tonight's game will be televised in HD.

Rickie Weeks will not be with the team tonight. He left last night's game in the first inning with a sore left wrist and will travel to Phoenix to get it checked out by the specialist that performed the previous surgeries on his right wrist (Also noted in FanShot). Barring something unforeseen, Weeks is expected to rejoin the team tomorrow but doesn't know when he'll be ready to play.

Jason Kendall enters today's game with 1999 career hits. If he picks up a hit in the next couple of days, he may reach 2000 before Todd Helton.

Saturday's game was the Brewers' third 1-0 contest of the season, and they're now 2-1 in those games. Trevor Hoffman picked up the save in that game: UmpBump has a look at his early success and Adam McCalvy reports on a prank Hoffman pulled on Ken Macha over the weekend.

Of course, a fair amount of the credit for Saturday's shutout goes to Jeff Suppan, who pitched seven innings and allowed just eight baserunners. The Bucky Channel says Jeff Suppan is making them like him.

How much credit for the Brewers' early success belongs to Ken Macha? Jeff Fletcher of MLB FanHouse sees Macha's fingerprints in some of the changes in the team's philosophy, and also offers some insight into the role of third base coach Brad Fischer.

When will we get to see Mat Gamel? No one seems to know. FanGraphs was excited to see him come up, but he has just one plate appearance in three games as a Brewer, and none since Thursday. Ken Macha has said Gamel wasn't just brought up to ride the bench, but Saturday's game saw Craig Counsell pinch hitting instead in a key situation, and Todd Coffey was allowed to hit for himself in the late innings yesterday.

David Riske threw 30 pitches in the bullpen before Saturday's game and could be headed out for a minor league rehab assignment in the near future. With the strength of the current bullpen, that could be a very long rehab assignment.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Cody Scarpetta threw five hitless innings for Wisconsin yesterday, and sat down with The Official Site's Mason Kelley to talk about his philosophy.
Mike Burns, who wasn't expected to start the season in the rotation for Nashville in the first place, improved his record to 6-0 with a win yesterday.
Cutter Dykstra, #11 in our prospect rankings, was demoted from Wisconsin to Helena over the weekend, and will learn to play second base at that level (h/t Rattler Radio). Helena's season doesn't open until late June, so Dykstra will spend some time in extended spring training breaking in an infielder's glove.

Balking Traditionalism reports the Brewers are second in the NL in Wins Above Replacement, and Summer Loving moved them up to fifth in their power rankings.

Here's a nice note on the fan-friendliness of the Brewer organization: The Brewers charge a $2 "convenience fee" for the right to purchase tickets online, the lowest in all of baseball.

Nearly a week has passed, but blogs continue to pile on The Happy Youngster, as they should. The Biz of Baseball, Miller Park Drunk and True Blue Brew are just three of the dozens of sites that have taken note.

Around the league:

Marlins: Designated John Koronka for assignment.
Mets: Signed catcher Javier Valentin and reliever Tom Martin to minor league deals, and placed Carlos Delgado on the DL with a hip impingement.
Nationals: Designated reliever Logan Kensing for assignment, placed catcher Jesus Flores on the DL with a bruised shoulder and DL'ed starter Scott Olsen with shoulder tendinitis.
Orioles: Placed Luke Scott on the DL with a sore left shoulder.
Padres: Claimed infielder Josh Wilson off the DL from the D-Backs and designated reliever Duaner Sanchez for assignment.
Pirates: Acquired starter Eric Hacker from the Yankees for AAA reliever Romulo Sanchez and placed Tyler Yates on the DL.
Phillies: Designated Miguel Cairo for assignment.
Rangers: Are expected to sign reliever Mike Hinckley, who opted for free agency after being DFA'd by the Nationals last week, to a minor league deal. They also placed closer Frank Francisco on the DL with biceps tendinitis.
Rays: Placed Pat Burrell on the DL with stiffness in his neck.
Rockies: Reliever Matt Daley has been placed on the DL after tripping on a bat home plate umpire Bill Welke attempted to kick out of the way.
Tigers: Reliever Juan Rincon has declined a minor league assignment and is now a free agent.

By now, you've probably heard about yesterday's Rays-Indians game, where pitcher Andy Sonnanstine ended up batting third due to a scorecard mistake. Marc Lancaster has a list of Sonnanstine's feats.

Remember months ago, when we wanted the Brewers to sign Odalis Perez? After he refused to report to Nationals camp on a minor league deal this spring, he remains unsigned, and Jorge Says No! wants to know why.

Will Odalis Perez find a job before Cecil Cooper loses his? Cooper is having his decisions second-guessed in Houston, and it doesn't sound like his team is behind him at all.

Ben Sheets hasn't started throwing yet and says he hasn't started thinking about who he'll pitch for once he's healthy, but he was in Arlington over the weekend, paying a visit to Rangers' pitching coach Mike Maddux.

When you're as small at Tim Lincecum, as young as Tim Lincecum, you throw as hard as Tim Lincecum and you rack up as many innings as Tim Lincecum, I guess you shouldn't be surprised when your velocity falls like Tim Lincecum's.

This year, maybe you'll actually get some sleep in October: Major League Baseball is changing World Series start times to get the games going earlier.

Oh, and it's probably pretty difficult to bring a harp on the road.

Drink up.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:17:45 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Bill Hall catches a line drive. It has nothing to do with the Mug, but it's a cool picture nonetheless.

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Some things to read while labeling things for your zombie friends.

So, even following last night's loss, PECOTA is projecting the Brewers to win 86.6 games and gives them a roughly 30% chance of making the playoffs. I'll take that at this point.

Micah Owings was pretty good last night as both a pitcher and a hitter. Before the game, Baseball Musings wondered when one makes the decision to move him off the mound full time. Right now, I think I'd keep him on the mound.

Meanwhile, Reds SS Paul Janish probably won't return to the mound anytime soon: Janish was complaining of soreness after throwing 35 pitches Wednesday night, but was forced to play last night anyway after Brandon Phillips was scratched with the flu.

Now that several position players have pitched in a game this season, TheJay has updated Recondite Baseball's list of the last position player to pitch for each team. The Brewers last had one in 2004, when Trent Durrington made a mound appearance.

Chris Duffy might have gotten a bruise or two in the late innings of Wednesday night's game, but he doesn't care. The Official Site talked with Duffy about his highlight reel catch and prioritizing defense.

Speaking of outfielders who can play some defense, Mike Cameron checked in at #28 on Circling the Bases' list of potential 2010 free agents.

Around the league:

Cardinals: Placed Rick Ankiel on the DL.
Dodgers: Manny Ramirez has been suspended for 50 games for a violation of the league's drug policy.
Indians: Released reliever Juan Salas and designated Vinnie Chulk for assignment.
Marlins: Are expected to place Anibal Sanchez on the DL today with shoulder discomfort.
Mets: Angel Pagan, who was in Florida for a rehab assignment, was arrested yesterday for driving with a suspended license and several unpaid fines for traffic violations.
Nationals: Designated reliever Mike Hinckley for assignment.
Orioles: Utilityman Ryan Freel was scratched from a rehab appearance yesterday, and could be activated or designated for assignment today.

Odds are you've heard about Manny Ramirez's suspension. I probably skipped over 50 or more posts and columns about it this morning, and I'm not about to write another one. There is one thing I'd like to mention, though: Now that I know that a player like Ramirez can get caught and baseball won't sweep it under the rug, I have significantly more faith in the current testing program.

Also, a note on Angel Pagan: I know pursuing warrants for minor violations isn't a top priority for law enforcement, but how did it take years to arrest Pagan for outstanding warrants dating back to 2005? Anyone who took five minutes to look at his team's schedule could tell you where he'll be every day.

I picked Cecil Cooper, so I would have lost my money: D-Backs manager Bob Melvin was the first manager fired in 2009 yesterday, and he took hitting coach Rich Schu and pitching coach Bryan Price with him. Babes Love Baseball thought Ken Macha would be the first manager canned. If Macha is canned now, the Brewers could hire Melvin to form a Doug Melvin-Bob Melvin braintrust that would confuse columnists and talk radio callers across the land.

The news might not be good for former Brewer farmhand and current Orioles reliever Dennis Sarfate, currently on the DL with a circulatory problem. Sarfate is expected in for more tests today, but it's possible the issue is career-threatening.

Meanwhile, Brian Shouse, who seems to show up in conversations about obscure stats and rules all the time, picked up his first Rays win last night despite not entering the game until after the Rays had the lead.

Oh, and Brett Lawrie's sister can knock you out.

Drink up.

Washington Nationals Try Old-for-Young; Recall Ron Villone, Designate Mike Hinckley

Dave at Nats News Network — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:02:03 -0000

More photos » by Lori Shepler - AP

7 months ago: Washington Nationals pitcher Michael Hinckley goes back to the mound after walking Los Angeles Dodgers' Orlando Hudson with the bases loaded during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 6, 2009. Los Angeles Dodgers' Casey Blake was walked home on the play. (AP Photo/Lori Shepler)

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Here's the press release:

The Washington Nationals today selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Ron Villone from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and designated left-handed pitcher Mike Hinckley for assignment. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Villone, 39, is 56-59 with 85 holds and a 4.75 ERA (591 ER/1119.1 IP) in 654 games (93 starts) spanning 14 seasons with Seattle, San Diego, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Pittsburgh, Florida, New York (AL) and St. Louis. The previous four seasons (2005-08), Villone posted a .203 (76-for-375) batting average against when facing left-handed batters. Villone pitched in 74 games for the Cardinals last season, posting a 4.68 ERA.

Villone signed with the Nationals as a minor-league free agent on April 11. In eight appearances with Syracuse, Villone walked two, struck out 5 and posted a .160 batting average against en route to a 2.35 ERA (2 ER/7.2 IP).

Hinckley, 26, posted a 4.66 ERA (5 ER/9.2 IP) and issued 11 walks in 14 relief
appearances with Washington.

While being another old-for-young move, Hinckley played way above his lead last fall. He has to clear waivers to be sent down to the minors, so it's very unlikely some other team is going to claim him at this point. But the Nats have 10 days to do something with him by designating him for assignment.

Villone is old. Like, almost as old as I am. At this stage of his career, he is a classic left-handed specialist. Last year, in 74 games with St. Louis, he held lefties to a .176/.311/.318 line in 108 plate appearances. Right handed hitters went .300/.421/.861 against him in 121 plate appearances.

Hope Manny Acta knows the book on this cat better than Tony LaRussa did.

In other Nats-related news, the Arizona Diamondbacks called up Josh Whitesell and gave him their starting first base job. Thanks again Jim Bowden.

Tuesday Nats Stats, Friday Edition: Embrace the Suck*

Doghouse — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:48:10 -0000

More photos » by H. RUMPH JR - AP

7 months ago: Washington Nationals pitcher Saul Rivera stands on the mound after Philadelphia Phillies Raul Ibanez hit a solo home run in the eight inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 28, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr )

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(ed. note - "Tonight's Post Game is Up...HERE or just below "Nats Stats..")

Another week, another 7 extraordinarily painful games. There are some bright spots, to be sure, and I'll get to them. But first, we're going to tear the painful statistical band-aid off, scab and all, and dive right into the most embarrassing of the unpleasant truths. What Ails the Nats after the jump...

(Note: stats from baseball-reference and FanGraphs, as of 4/30/09)

*A fatalistic military expression along the lines of SNAFU ("Situation Normal, All [Fouled] Up"), roughly equivalent to the French "C'est la vie."

Nice ballclub... too bad about their record

Yeah, this is the worst part. All the crappity-crap we're going to see below would be so much better if only we could catch a frakkin' break once and a while. But no, the misplays, men left on base, and walks always come back to haunt us in the win-loss column. Speaking of which, the Nationals record stands at 5-16, last in the NL East, last in the NL, last in MLB... a win/loss % of .238--we're approaching Mendoza territory!

With 94 runs scored and 124 runs allowed so far, our Pythagorean W/L percentage is .364. In other words, our record should be 8-13 or 7-14 based on how much we're scoring and how many runs we're allowing. That means we're losing close games through bad luck or misadventure (mostly the latter...) and only winning when we score so damned many runs that not even our bullpen can screw it up, so the other team stops batting. That .364 projects out to 59-103 on the season, by the way--look familiar? Yeah, ouch. Even if we do as well as we "should," we're looking at a repeat of 2008 with our current performance.

Remember when our bullpen was good?

Yeah, me neither. Okay, I do, but it's been so spirit-crushingly bad this season that it seems impossible that it was ever any better than awful. Just how bad?

Team save percentage is 33%, lowest in the NL (average is 59%). We have the second-most blown saves (6), but that's only because we've had fewer save opportunities than the Brewers (7 BS out of 12 chances, vs 6 of 9 for us--they still have the higher %).
The bullpen has a cumulative record of 0-7 in relief, the worst in the NL, with an ERA of 5.40.
Peripherals-wise, the bullpen has a WHIP of 1.565, giving up 1.23 HR/9, striking out 7.2/9, and walking 6.3/9, for a K:BB ratio of 1.2. Would you sign that pitcher?
Both Hinckley and Wells are walking more than a batter per IP. In fact, the bullpen as a whole has walked only 2 fewer batters than the starting rotation--in about two-thirds as many IP!
Ledezma and Rivera both have WHIPs over 2.0 (enjoy Syracuse!).
Rivera and Hanrahan are both giving up about 1 HR per 3 IP.
We're tied for most "wins lost" with 4 (that is, games where the starter left the game with a lead, but the team went on to lose).

Too many walks + not enough strikeouts = unhappy Nats fans.

At least the rotation is solid! Right? RIGHT?!

The rotation has 7 QS so far this season, ahead of only the Phillies (6). We're allowing 5.48 runs per game, again ahead of only Philly (5.60). Starters are throwing 5.2 innings per game, tied for last in the NL with Colorado. The short outings may be why we average only 86 pitches per start, which leads the NL--GO NATS! (Sorry, LOU--that was a sarcastic 'GO NATS.')

The rotation's ERA is 4.99, with a 1.618 WHIP, 1.3 HR/9, 5.1 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and 1.3 K/BB. Would you sign that pitcher?
Both Martis and Cabrera are walking nearly two batters for every one they strike out, although Lannan and J. Zimm are striking out 2.5 for every batter walked.
Bright side? Martis and Cabrera are only striking out 3 batters per 9 IP... Lannan, Oslen, and J. Zimm are striking out about 6 per 9 IP.
DC, Martis, and J. Zimm are giving up fewer than 1 HR/9 (Lannan surrenders 2.3 gopher balls per 9).
Lannan and J. Zimm have WHIPs of 1.427 and 1.324, respectively--not bad. But the other three all have WHIPs in the 1.7 range.

So far, we have ONE pitcher who seems to be doing everything right--but he's only thrown two games so far this season. How long will he be able to keep up his drool-inciting 2.38 ERA? (Consider that Olsen and Martis have 6ish ERAs, while Lannan and DC are around 4.5.) The rotation does seem to be improving, and it's better than the bullpen. Does that seem like "faint praise" to you? It does to me.

I don't even want to hear about the fielding

Oh, you're going to hear about the fielding. Washington leads the league in errors (33) and trails in fielding % (0.972). We're first in Passed Balls (4), last in runners Caught Stealing (also 4), and 14th in CS% (22). We're 13th in Defensive Efficiency (percentage of balls put into play that turn into outs) at 0.687, and we have also used the most players as fielders, with 34 so far this season (second-most is 30). Our team UZR/150 (a measure of how many runs above or below average your combined defensive performance is over a season) is second-worst in the NL, at -8.5 runs.

Zimmy is a bright spot at the hot corner, with an UZR/150 of +27 runs so far, 3rd in the majors (2nd in the NL). He is, however, the only bright spot.
The heroic NJ merits only a -1.9 UZR/150 at first--a bit below average, and comparable to stone-handed Lance Berkman (-1.8).
Normally-reliable fielders like Kearns (-26.9) and Dukes (-22.8) have struggled defensively so far this year, as have younger players like Hernandez (-28.6) and Gonzalez (-18.6), who have yet to live up to their defensive promise.

We expected some fumbles out of Dunn and Willingham, but the errors have been almost as painful as the pitching. To put it into numbers, having a team ERA of 5.15 instead of a league-average ERA of 4.42 costs us a bit under 12 games over the course of the season. If the four fielders I noted above played that much below average for an entire season, it would cost us about 9 games.

So, why shouldn't we form a mob and go throw beer cups at Clint?

Because we all dig the long ball. Craptastic as the rest of the Nationals' play is, the offense is one area that's humming along nicely. Is Zim on a team-record hitting streak, with his first multi-HR game of the season? Check! Is Big Walky on pace for 40+ HR and leading the league in walks? Check! Does every regular starter have an OPS+ above 100 (now that Guz is back at SS instead of the General)? Check!

Unfortunately, our 4.48 runs scored per game is below the league average of 4.64, only good enough for 10th in the NL. Once you get past the starting 8, it's pretty much Scrubsville; overall, team OPS+ is a slightly-below-average 98.

Can we form a mob and go throw beer cups at Clint anyway?

Well, I'm not saying we shouldn't form a mob and go throw beer cups at Clint. Mind you, that would go against Nationals Park's green image. It's going to be a tough season until the rotation finishes settling in and Manny can bang some fundamentals into our fielders and rewrite Plan Z for the bullpen... Hmm, maybe we could form another mob after we throw beer cups at Clint, and then go recycle them. See? That wasn't so hard! Plan Z, here we come!

Update: They showed ME!

As my reward for prognosticating, Friday's game against the Cards went against all the trends: JZ struggled and gave up 5 ER, the defense made no errors, the duck pond surrendered only 1 run in 3.1 IP (including Hanny fanning 2 of 3 batters faced), and the offense plated nothing outside of TAWH's HR. However, Zim the Elder extended his hitting streak to 20 games, while Zim the Younger struck out 6 and walked none in 5.2 IP (too bad about all the dingers). I'm thinking about throwing helmet sundaes at Clint next game.

The Washington Nationals Find A New Way To Lose. St. Louis Cardinals 9 Washington Nationals 4.

Ed Chigliak — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:48:53 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

7 months ago: St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (5) and teammate Colby Rasmus (28) go back to the dugout after Pujols hit a two-run home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, April 30, 2009 in Washington. Behind the plate is Washington Nationals catcher Jesus Flores. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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9 Runs, 8 Hits, 11 Walks, 4 Wild Pitches and 1 Balk...

Washington Nationals' starter Daniel Cabrera may have pitched his way out of the DC starting rotation tonight, while at the same time showing everyone exactly why pitching coaches have drooled over him since the first time a scout saw him throw what I guarantee was a wild pitch, but probably a 98 mph wild one...

Cabrera looks at first like he won't even get out of the opening frame, as he issues a one-out walk to Cards' right fielder Colby Rasmus and then throws fastballs everywhere but over the plate to Albert Pujols, (including one behind Pujols' back), before delivering a belt-high, 91 mph, 3-1-four-seamer to the reigning NL MVP, who sends it out to left-center for a two-run blast and an early 2-0 Cardinals' lead.

The Cards threw right-hander Mitchell Boggs, who got the first out of the Nationals' first before giving up one in a long line of singles Nick Johnson has hit recently to bring up the Face of The Franchise©, The Nationals' third baseman, the one, the only, Ryan Zimmer--THE KIDS CALL ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Two-run HR to deep center field and GONE!! Ryan Zimmerman ties it with one swing, and gives Daniel Cabrera something to build on...

And what did Daniel Cabrera do? Actually, Cabrera issued a leadoff walk in the second before retiring three-straight, gave up another walk and a single in a scoreless third and then pitched a quick 1-2-3-4th, before a leadoff double, wild pitch and a sac fly in the fifth put the Cardinals up by one at 3-2 St. Lou...is. Cabrera even comes back for the sixth and once again retires the Cardinals in order, exiting for a pinch hitter in the seventh, having completed 6.0 IP, in which he allowed 4 hits, 3 ER and 5 walks, while striking out 2...even leaving with the lead???

That's right! The Nationals strike again in the sixth when Austin "Mr. Kentucky" Kearns takes a 91 mph fastball from Mitchell Boggs on the hip, and then scores from first when Jesus "Clutchy" Flores triples over Rick Ankiel's head in center, which isn't an easy thing to do. 3-3 ballgame. Anderson "Elvis" Hernandez...doubles to right, Jesus Flores scores, 4-3 Nationals...That lead lasts a whole half-an-inning...

The New New DC Bullpen...

DC lefty Mike Hinckley's brought on in the seventh, and he gets a ground ball from Skip Schumaker for the first out of the frame, before walking the second batter he faces, Ryan Ludwick. The newest Nationals' reliever Logan Kensing comes on next, and gives up a single to Pujols, a walk to Chris Duncan, (which loads the bases) and a sac fly to Rick Ankiel that scores Ludwick (the 1st walk) from third for a 4-4 game after seven. No score in the eighth, so the Nationals bring on Julian "SG" Tavarez...

...Tavarez gets a ground ball from Pujols and poses on the mound, showing Ryan Zimmerman the way to throw to first, (actually pointing it out...?)...BB, RBI Double by Rick Ankiel, 5-4 Cards...Tavarez continues...BB, HBP, and then a 2-RBI single -- Bases Loaded, St. Louis' rookie Tyler Greene, who rolls a weak grounder toward third, Ryan Zimmerman misses the barehand stab, Rick Ankiel scores from third, 6-4 Cards, Cristian Guzman's backing up Zimmerman, Joe Thurston heads home too, Guzman picks it up and fires home, in tim--Jesus Flores drops it, 7-4 Cards. Joel Hanrahan comes on for Tavarez, and gives up a sac fly, 9-4 Cardinals, and one more single before finally ending the Cardinals' ninth...Julian Tavarez's line...(L, 0-2), 0.1 IP, 2 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4.50 ERA, 24 pitches, 12 strikes...Who's Next In Line As The Closer?

Cards win, 9-4 final.

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The Jump...

Nationals now 5-16.

St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals. Game 21 of 162.

Ryan Zimmerman barehands and throws to the foul side of first, but Nick Johnson steps across the bag to make the grab to get Skip Schumaker for the first out of the evening. Colby Rasmus walks on four pitches in front of Albert Pujols who gets a fastball behind his back to start the AB, Rasmus takes second. Daniel Cabrera bounces a fastball off Jesus Flores’ shinguard and Rasmus takes third. Cabrera throws fastball over the middle and Pujols puts it out to left center for a two-run blast. 2-0 Cardinals. Cabrera walks Chris Duncan. Rick Ankiel flies out to Elijah Dukes in center, and Cabrera gets a groundout from Cards’ third baseman Joe Thurston...Mitchell Boggs throws a curve inside to get Cristian Guzman swinging for the first out. Nick “Two-Spot” Johnson goes to left with a trademark line drive single. Ryan Zimmerm...THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Two-run HR to the right of center to tie it at 2-2. Boggs gets his second K with a sinking fastball outside. Elijah Dukes chases a fastball out of the zone for strike three.

Cabrera walks Cards’ catcher Jason LaRue to start the second. Tyler Greene, Cards’ shortstop is up, LaRue takes second on a wild pitch. Greene stares a 2-2 curve all the way in for strike three. Mitchell Boggs flies to Dukes in center. Skip Schumaker rolls the third out to Nick Johnson at first...Austin Kearns pops out to Pujols foul of first. Jesus Flores lifts one over short for a one-out single. Anderson Hernandez hustles to first to beat out his own DP grounder, Flores forced at second. Daniel Cabrera takes a full count fastball for a called K.

Colby Rasmus backs Elijah Dukes up to the out-of-town scoreboard where he catches the first out of the third. Cabrera walks Pujols this time. Pujols embarrasses Cabrera by stealing second without a look. Cristian Guzman tracks back to the outfield grass to catch Chris Duncan’s pop fly. Daniel Cabrera reaches out and has a grounder from Rick Ankiel bounce off his wrist. Joe Thurston flies out to left...Guzman grounds back to the mound to start the home half of the third. Skip Schumaker jumps on a grounder from Nick Johnson and recovers in time to throw Johnson out. Mitchell Boggs gets Zimmerman swinging to end the third.

Jason LaRue throws his bat at strike three and makes contact, grounding out to second. Tyler Greene grounds out to third. Cabrera gets the opposing pitcher looking...Adam Dunn walks to start the DC fourth, bringing up Elijah Dukes. Dukes grounds into a force at second. Dukes gets picked off leaning toward second and tagged sliding in. Austin Kearns takes a two-out walk. Jesus Flores is way out in front of a slider, and he K’s swinging.

Skip Schumaker sneaks a single by Nick Johnson at first and takes second as it rolls out to Kearns. Another wild pitch by Cabrera moves Schumaker to third. Colby Rasmus lines out to Dukes, but not even his arm’s gonna get Schumaker, 3-2 St. Lou. Albert Pujols reaches for a fastball outside, and flies out to center. Chris Duncan singles on a line drive to Dukes. Cabrera walks Ankiel, who totally understands. Joe Thurston grounds to first, Johnson tosses to Cabrera covering... Anderson Hernandez starts the fifth against Boggs, and K’s after tipping strike three into LaRue’s glove. Daniel Cabrera takes a fastball off the jersey and takes first. Cristian Guzman grounds to first, Pujols throws to second, but the throw back is late, Guzman safe. Nick Johnson lifts another trademark single to left. Colby Rasmus has his back to the wall in right when he catches Zimmerman's fly ball out.

Jason LaRue grounds the first pitch out to short. Tyler Greene pops up behind second. Daniel Cabrera gets a fly ball from Boggs and Dukes makes the catch...Mitchell Boggs throws a 3-2 heater by Adam Dunn. Dukes K’s swinging at junk. Austin Kearns takes a heater in the hip, and walks home when Jesus Flores triples over Rick Ankiel’s head in center for a 3-3 game. Anderson Hernandez lines over first and fair, Flores scores from second, 4-3 DC. Willie Harris grounds to Pujols to end the sixth.

Mike Hinckley takes over for Washington in the seventh. Skip Schumaker grounds out to start the frame. Mike Hinckley walks pinch hitter Ryan Ludwick in front of Pujols and Logan Kensing’s called upon for an impossible mission. Kensing saws off Pujols, who powers a single into left. Chris Duncan takes a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Rick Ankiel. Ankiel flies to right, Kearns makes the catch, Ludwick scores to tie it at 4-4. Joe Thurston flies out to right, tied after six and a half...Blaine Boyer on for the Cards. Cristian Guzman grounds out to Schumaker at second. Nick “Two-Spot” Johnson grounds to Pujols at first. Boyer hits the outside corner with a two-strike fastball to get Zimmerman looking to end the seventh.

Kip Wells gets a groundout with the first pitch to Jason LaRue. Tyler Greene grounds out to Guzman at short. Khalil Greene with the pinch hit chance, works the count and then takes a fastball a little too far inside, take your base. Wells walks Skip Schumaker, and then a wild pitch with Ryan Ludwick up, advances both runners. Wells gets a groundout to short to end the St. Louis' eighth...Dunn gets called out looking. Cards’ reliever Chris Perez on to face Dukes. Dukes uses his Discerning Eye to draw a walk. Austin Kearns grounds out, Dukes is running, safe at second. Jesus Flores K’s chasing junk.

Albert Pujols grounds Julian Tavarez’s first pitch to Zimmerman at third. Chris Duncan takes a one-out walk, Chris Duncan rips a double down the line in left, Dunn can’t get it, Duncan scores, 5-4 Cards. Joe Thurston works a walk off of Tavarez. Tavarez hits Jason LaRue. Ryan Zimmerman tries to barehand a grounder from Tyler Greene, but he misses, one run crosses, Joe Thurston runs for home, the throw beats him, but Jesus Flores drops it...two score, 7-4 Cards. Joel Hanrahan on, and he balks a run in, 8-4 Cards. Tyler Greene to second on the balk, then steals third successfully. Fly ball to right from Brian Barten and Greene scores from third. 9-4 St. Lou. Skip Schumaker reaches first on an infield single. Ryan Ludwick flies out to left, Dunn gets this one...P.J. Walters comes on to mercifully end it. Anderson Hernandez works a two-out walk. Alex Cintron comes on to hit for Hanrahan, and flies out for the first out of the DC ninth. Cristian Guzman flies out to Ryan Ludwick in right. Nick Johnson ground out to first. Cards win. 9-4 final.

Nationals now 5-16.

When 5 HR's Aren't Enough. Nationals Drop 13-11 Decision To Phillies In Citizens Bank Park.

Ed Chigliak — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:26:42 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

7 months ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Raul Ibanez hits a grand slam against the Washington Nationals in the eight inning of a baseball game Monday, April 27, 2009, in Philadelphia. Phillies won 13-11. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr )

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(ed. note - "Original Title, If The Nationals Had Managed To Win...'Show Them Where They Sell The Cheesesteaks, Elijah.' Tuesday night's GameThread will be up around 11:30 am EST...come back then and for the game tonight!!")

Ryan Zimmerman hit one to straight-center. Elijah Dukes hit one out to where they sell the cheesesteaks in Citizens Bank. (ed. note - "At this point, my brother Scout, Braves' Fan And Source For All Things Baseball interrupts, 'Actually it was the funnel cake stand.' - 'Really?' I ask, 'You're going to mess with me now.' - 'I saw the replay, it was funnel cakes.' Scout continues.' - 'Alright...have to be accurate, right...") Zimmerman hit another. Nick Johnson hit one. Adam Dunn hit one and it wasn't enough...

Nick Johnson walks to start the third. Ryan Zimmerma-- THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! 4-2 DC. One batter after Zimmerman, (ed. note - "...it was a Dunn-K."), Elijah "Super" Dukes hits one out to where they sell funnel cakes. 5-2 DC. Ryan Zimmerm...THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Zimmerman hits his second HR in the fifth and Nick "Two-Spot" Johnson follows in the 8th with a line drive off the second deck in right that's hit so hard it bounces back onto the outfield grass. At this point it's 10-7, and after a Ryan Zimmer-man walk, SHAKE N BAKE! SHAKE N BAKE!!! It's Adam Dunn with a two-run blast and it's 11-7 DC!!! The Nationals are on their way to win No. 5...(ed. note - "Have you been watching this season?")

Garrett Mock is on in the eighth. Often mentioned as a closer option should DC's right-handed stopper Joel Hanrahan continue to "struggle", Mock embarrasses Lou Marson, dispatching the Phils' catcher with a two-strike bender that freezes him with bat held firmly to shoulder. One down. Pedro Feliz singles. Jimmy Rollins doubles. Sac fly from Shane Victorino, and the Phillies are back within three. 11-8 DC. Chase Utley singles, Rollins scores, 11-9 Nationals, and DC Manager Manny Acta has seen enough. Mock out. "Wild" Joel Hanrahan in to get the five-out save...(ed. note - "Prepare yourself...")

DC Closer "Wild" Joel Hanrahan walks Ryan Howard, more or less intentionally, but the walk to Jayson Werth is clearly a mistake, because it loads the bases for the man that's making Philly forget Pat Burrell, Raul Ibanez who hits one just inside the right field pole and twenty rows back for the second Gra...(ed. note - "Oh that's right, that was the second one...The First Grand...") (flashback)...

...Washington leads 6-2 after adding a run on Ryan Zimmerman's solo shot to the scoreboard seats in left. (ed. note - "You know where they are, right Philly fans!"). Bottom of the fifth, Shairon Martis is back on the mound, with a 4-run lead. Martis pops up the opposing pitcher and then surrenders three straight singles to Rollins, Shane-O and Utley, and you know what that means...RYAN HOWARD! BANG! Grand Slam! 6-6 ballgame...(flashforward)...

...Raul Ibanez gets the second Grand Slam of the game for Philly off Hanny in the bottom of the eighth as the Phillies rally for six eighth-inning runs. Phillies lead 13-11. Phillies win 13-11. Joel Hanrahan blows save No. 3 on the season.

Phillies win, 13-11 final. (ed. note - "Joel Hanrahan in trouble.")

Follow The Rise And Fall With The DC Faithful In Last Night's GameThread.

Washington Nationals now 4-14.

Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies. Game 18 of 162.

Anderson Hernandez swings through a two-strike fastball for the first out of the inning. Philly righty Joe Blanton hits the outside corner with another two-strike fastball that’s called strike three. Blanton misses with a 3-2 pitch to Ryan Zimmerman, but Zimmerman swings and K’s to end the opening frame...Shairon Martis gets Jimmy Rollins chasing a sinking change that drops out of the zone. Elijah Dukes settles in under a fly ball to center from Shane Victorino. Martis walks Chase Utley on four pitches. Ryan Howard pops up foul of first, Nick Johnson closes his glove on the first inning.

Adam Dunn rips a line drive into right for a leadoff single. Elijah Dukes follows with a long fly ball to the deepest part of this park, where Shane Victorino makes the grab. Austin Kearns sends a screamer to right where Raul Ibanez catches it on one hop. Jesus Flores takes a low 3-2 pitch to walk the bases loaded with one down. Alberto Gonzalez flies to right, Jayson Werth tries to gun Dunn, but throws wide of home, 1-0 DC. Shairon Martis rips a high heater and shoots it to center, 2-0 Nationals. Anderson Hernandez grounds to secone to end the threat...Jayson Werth draws a leadoff walk to start the Philly second. Raul Ibanez pushes Austin Kearns back to the out-of-town scoreboard, and he drops it as he hits the fence. Werth to third, Ibanez in at second. Greg Dobbs bloops one over second, and Alberto Gonzalez comes up empty after diving. Werth scores. Shairon Martis gets a DP grounder from Lou Marson, but it ties it up at 2-2. Joe Blanton pops out to the infield. Two down.

Nick Johnson takes a 3-1 pitch and walks to start the third. Ryan Zimmera....THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Two-run blast to straight-center, 4-2 DC. Adam Dunn K’s swinging. Elijah Dukes, make that Elijah “SUPER” Dukes, who unloads on a fastball and puts it onto the center field walkway. 5-2 Nationals. Austin Kearns grounds out to second, Jesus Flores grounds out to short...Jimmy Rollins gets popped up on a jam shot inside. Shane Victorino laces a fastball to the gap in left center for a one-out double. Alberto Gonzalez is standing behind second when Chase Utley hits one right to him. Jayson Werth pushes Kearns back a few steps, but he catches the third out.

Alberto Gonzalez flies out to short center. Shairon Martis grounds out. Anderson Hernandez’s liner finds the right-center gap, and he’s standing at second. Nick Johnson hits a scorcher to first, but Ryan Howard makes a Nick Johnsonesque stab and steps on first...Raul Ibanez pops a 1-1 pitch out to left. Greg Dobbs lines out to Austin Kearns in right, who falls as he catches it. Lou Marson swings over a two-strike change, and Martis is through four.

Ryan Zimmer...THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! Ryan Zimmerman goes deep again, this time to left and into the second deck!!! 6-2 DC. Adam Dunn singles to center. Elijah Dukes flies out to Raul Ibanez in left. Austin Kearns takes a one-out walk. Jack Taschner takes over for Blanton. Jesus Flores skies one to center, and Shane Victorino makes a quick sliding catch. Alberto Gonzalez lines out to Dobbs at third to end the DC fifth...Martis pops up the opposing pitcher, Jack Taschner. Jimmy Rollins splits Martis’ wickets with a single up the middle. Shane Victorino takes an outside fastball up the middle for a single. Chase Utley singles over second, and the bases are loaded with one down. Ryan Howard...goes...deep...to center and GONE!!! Grand Slam. 6-6 ballgame. Martis throws a high two-strike fastball by Jayson Werth. Raul Ibanez sneaks a single through second. Gregg Dobbs flies to Dunn in left to end the fifth.

Shairon Martis leads off the sixth and lines out to short. Shane Victorino has Anderson Hernandez’s line drive to center bounce out of his glove, double for Hernandez. Nick Johnson backs Raul Ibanez to the wall in left where he makes the grab. Ryan Zimmerman takes a two-out walk from Taschner. Adam Dunn walks to load them for Elijah Dukes. Clay Condrey takes over for Taschner. Elijah Dukes works the count full, and takes a bases loaded walk a fastball inside. 7-6. Austin Kearns flies out to Victorino...Martis walks Lou Marson to start the Philly sixth. Pedro Feliz will face Julian Tavarez. Feliz lifts one off the end of his bat, Dunn backs up the wall and misses it, misses it, double for Feliz. Marson to third. Jimmy Rollns pops up, down the line in left, and it falls between Ryan Zimmerman and Alberto Gonzalez. Marson scores, 7-7. Shane Victorino grounds back to the mound, and Tavarez throws to first, in time. Mike Hinckley comes on and hits Chase Utley to load’em up again for Howard. Howard lines...right to Nick Johnson, steps on first, double play!!! 7-7 game.

Jesus Flores goes down swinging. Alberto Gonzalez grounds to third. Josh Willingham stares strike three all the way in, and shakes his head in disagreement with the call...Kip Wells takes over for the Nationals. Jayson Werth grounds out to Ryan Zimmerman at third. Raul Ibanez strikes out and gets thrown out on a bender in the dirt. Eric Bruntlett goes down chasing. 7-7 after seven.

Anderson Hernandez works Scott Eyre for a leadoff walk. Nick “Two-Spot” Johnson makes them pay, everything goes out here!! Two-run HR, off the second deck in left, 9-7 Nationals. Ryan Zimmerman walks, and Adam Dunn goes yard. 11-7. Elijah Dukes walks. J.A. Happ on for Eyre. Austin Kearns flies out to left, and it doesn’t go out. Jesus Flores lines out to short. Alberto Gonzalez takes a two-out walk. Ronnie Belliard shatters a bat grounding out to short...Lou Marson gets fooled by a two-strike curve. Pedro Feliz lines the first pitch to right for a single. Jimmy Rollins double to right center, Dukes fires in quick to hold Feliz at third. RBI sac fly for Shane Victorino, Rollins beats Austin Kearns’ throw to third. 11-8. Chase Utley singles by Nick Johnson at first, 11-9 Nationals. “Wild” Joel Hanrahan is called out early. “Wild” pitch, Utley to second. Hanrahan pitches around Howard, and walks him. Hanrahan walks Jayson Werth, and the bases loaded, for Raul Ibanez. Ibanez goes yard. Grand Slam. 13-11. Matt Stairs K’s.

Anderson Hernandez bunts his way on. Ryan Madson tries to close it out. Nick Johnson flies out to Raul Ibanez in left. Ryan Zimmerman lines out to Rollins in center. Justin Maxwell K’s swinging through a fastball. Phillies win. 13-11 final.

Nationals now 4-14.

Phillies vs. Nationals: April 27-29

Matt Swartz — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:33:58 -0000

More photos » by Jeffrey Boan - AP

Grand slamming Shane Victorino and the Phightin' Phils head home to face the Nats this week. (AP Photo/Jeffrey M. Boan)

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The Phillies (9-8) head back home after sweeping the Marlins to face the Nationals (4-13) who avoided the sweep by beating the Mets on Sunday. The game that everyone has their eyes on is Tuesday night's start by Cole Hamels' start against the Nationals. After a terrible start to begin the year, a good start turned bad to follow it, and a dominating three innings against the Brewers in his third start terminated early after a homerun and a linedrive off the shoulder, Cole will hope the fourth one's a charm. Before that, Blanton will take on the Nats on Monday though. The Phillies will have to face a couple of lefties, including their old nemesis Scott Olsen this week. Here are the matchups:

MONDAY 7:05-- Joe Blanton (R) vs. Shairon Martis (R)

TUESDAY 7:05-- Cole Hamels (L) vs. John Lannan (L)

WEDNESDAY 7:05-- Brett Myers (R) vs. Scott Olsen (L)

Here are the players' peripherals and splits

NATIONALS

LINEUP

The Nationals have a decent lineup, but they have not exactly managed their resources perfectly meaning that they have five guys who could legitimately play LF/RF/1B, and two are on the bench. They have two solid lefties with great eyes right in the top of their lineup, and it will be important for the Phillies to get past them. The Nationals do not have much power outside of these guys and Zimmerman though and they don't have very good contact hitters either. Other than Johnson and Dunn in the top of their lineup, the rest of their lineup is actually right-handed or switch-hitters.

(1) 2B Anderson Hernandez (S)

proj: .240/.290/.330
bb: 6%
k: 17%
gb: 46%
iff: 7%
ifh: 9%
babip: slightly below average due to weak hits and poor contact, but he's bound to be good on groundballs
s/c/z: average thus far
r/l: probably a little better as rhb against lhp
h/a: not enough info
p/o: so far he seems to be a bit of an opposite field hitter
other: none

(2) 1B Nick Johnson (L)

proj: .270/.410/.470
bb: 17%
k: 21%
gb: 44%
iff: 9%
ifh: 3%
babip: doesn't tend to do well on groundballs in general, but does decently otherwise, about average
s/c/z: does not swing much, but especially good at laying off balls; contact rate about average though
r/l: no major split at all
h/a: no major split at all
p/o: spreads ball around pretty well but slight pull hitter
other: much better babip with runners on thus far; probably hooks ball in hole a lot

(3) 3B Ryan Zimmerman (R)

proj: .285/.350/.475
bb: 8.5%
k: 17.5%
gb: 44%
iff: 11%
ifh: 8%
babip: tends to hit around .315 on BIP since he hits a lot of groundballs in the whole
s/c/z: about average across the board
r/l: .758/.931; 2.6 k/bb vs rhp, 1.2 vs lhp; and slightly more power against lhp too
h/a: nothing abnormal
p/o: slight pull hitter but spreads ball around pretty well
other: none

(4) LF Adam Dunn (L)

proj: .245/.380/.490
bb: 17.5%
k: 31%
gb: 34%
iff: 11%
ifh: 4%
babip: somewhat low, around .290 career, mostly bc of low babip on groundballs due to the shift
s/c/z: good eye, laying off pitches out of the strike zone; poor contact skills but not as bad as you might expect; sees few strikes
r/l: .932/.833; biggest difference is 1.4 k/bb vs rhb and 2.0 k/bb vs lhb
h/a: nothing abnormal
p/o: definitepull hitter
other: nothing abnormal; power lefties tend to do better with men on, but he hasn't in his career

(5) CF Elijah Dukes (R)

proj: .265/.365/.465
bb: 14%
k: 23%
gb: 44%
iff: 12%
ifh: 5%
babip: has been low but seems to profile as about average
s/c/z: good eye but poor contact skill
r/l: more power against lhp but not much difference otherwisee
h/a: much better k/bb at home: 1.2 vs 2.0
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: none

(6) RF Austin Kearns (R)

proj: .260/.350/.410
bb: 11%
k: 21%
gb: 46%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6.5%
babip: average all around
s/c/z: very good eye with average contact skill
r/l: 2.2 k/bb vs rhp, 1.1 k/bb vs lhp; only .775/.827 split overall career though
h/a: no major split
p/o: spreads ball around pretty well but slight pull hitter
other: better against power pitchers

(7) C Jesus Flores (R)

proj: .245/.305/.410
bb: 6.5%
k: 26%
gb: 42%
iff: 17%
ifh: 5%
babip: has been above average but will probably fall due to high popup rate
s/c/z: hacker but pithchers still challenge him
r/l: 5.1 k/bb vs rhp, 3.5 k/bb vs lhp; .633/.802 ops split but mostly due to very high babip vs lhp that probably won't persist
h/a: struggles more at home so far in career but probably just noise
p/o: very distinct pull hitter; only rarely goes the other way at all
other: far more successful against finesse pitchers thus far with lots of trouble against power pitchers

(8) SS Alberto Gonzalez (R)

proj: .260/.310/.380
bb: 7%
k: 13%
gb: 46%
iff: 17%
ifh: 4%
babip: low due to high infield fly rate and low infield hit rate
s/c/z: patient but not especially good discipline; good contact skill though
r/l: not enough info
h/a: not enough info
p/o: tends to be a pull hitter but not much info
other: none

BENCH

The Nats should have a solid couple of hitters on the bench every day, so they do have some pinch hitting threats.

C Wil Nieves (R)

proj: .245/.290/.325
bb: 5.5%
k: 14%
gb: 53%
iff: 7%
ifh: 5%
babip: lack of power leads to it being below average since its low on flyballs; lack of speed leads to pretty low babip on groundballs too
s/c/z: poor strike zone judgment, but not terrible
r/l: seems typical but not enough info
h/a: not enough info
p/o: spreads ball around evenly
other: none

1B/OF Josh Willingham (R)

proj: .265/.355/.485
bb: 11%
k: 22%
gb: 39%
iff: 12%
ifh: 9%
babip: average all around
s/c/z: low swing rate in general, average contact skill
r/l: better k/bb and power numbers vs lhb but reverse babip split masks that
h/a: seemingly better on the road
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: better against groundball pitchers

2B Ronnie Belliard (R)

proj: .270/.330/.420
bb: 8%
k: 17%
gb: 46%
iff: 11%
ifh: 7%
babip: below average by a little due to lack of power
s/c/z: average across the board
r/l: .727/.828
h/a: .773/.739
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: none

IF Alex Cintron (S)

proj avg: .270/.310/.380
bb: 5%
k: 14%
gb: 45%
iff: 11%
ifh: 5%
babip: about average overall
s/c/z: free swinger with above average contact and okay eye; thrown a lot of strikes
r/l: .694/.757
h/a: .728/.693
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: none

OF Justin Maxwell (R)

proj avg: .240/.320/.430
bb: 9%
k: 24%
gb: 43% in minors in 2008
iff: 17% in minors in 2008
ifh: n/a
babip: seems bad, but little info
s/c/z: not enough info
r/l: much, much better agianst lhp in minors
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: none

DISABLED LIST: SS Cristian Guzman (S)

proj: .295/.335/.420
bb: 5%
k: 12%
gb: 55%
iff: 11%
ifh: 8%
babip: solid ground ball rate puts him around .315-.320
s/c/z: fair strike judgment but plus contact skill
r/l: poorer strike zone judgment as rhb but more power
h/a: .743/.645 career
p/o: more of a pull hitter against rhb, but some pull tendencies against lhb too
other: none

DISABLED LIST: UTL Willie Harris (L)

proj: .255/.345/.390
bb: 10.5%
k: 19.5%
gb: 48%
iff: 10%
ifh: 7%
babip: average all around
s/c/z: does not swing much
r/l: better vs rhp, primarily due to k/bb difference (1.5 vs 3.2)
h/a: not much difference
p/o: pull hitter
other:

DISABLED LIST: OF Roger Bernadina (L)

proj: .260/.330/.380
bb: 9%
k: 22%
gb: 67% so far and seems right based on minor league numbers
iff: 8% in minors last year
ifh: seems to be prone to a few but tough to know
babip: speed probably keeps it a bit high but lack of power indicates not that high
s/c/z: so far has had good eye and decent contact
r/l: not enough info
h/a: not enough info
p/o: pull hitter
other: none

ROTATION

The Phillies have to face two lefties this series. None of the starters they have to face are very tough and neither of the lefties are especially tough on lefties. On Wednesday, the Phillies will face their old nemesis, Scott Olsen.

MONDAY STARTER: Shairon Martis (R)

proj avg: 5.10 ERA, 4.2 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 37%
pitches: 60% fb, 20% ch, 10% sl, 9% cb
r/l: not enough info
h/a: not enough info

Martis vs. Phillies

Howard: 1/3, 1 BB, 1 K

Marson: 2/4, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K

Feliz: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K

Rollins: 2/3, 0 BB, 0 K

Utley: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 K

Victorino: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K

Werth: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K

Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Coste: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

TUESDAY STARTER: John Lannan (L)

proj avg: 4.15 ERA, 3.6 BB/9, 5.6 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 54%
pitches: 60% fb, 16% sl, 12% cb, 11% ch, 1% ct
r/l: 1.2 k/bb vs rhb, 2.3 vs lhb; .719/.840 ops
h/a: slightly better on road but not much info

Lannan vs. Phillies

Rollins: 5/12, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 0 K

Utley: 5/11, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 0 XBH

Victorino: 4/11, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP

Howard: 4/11, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP

Werth: 3/8, 2 HR, 1 BB, 5 K

Feliz: 3/6, 1 BB,0 K

Bruntlett: 1/4, 0 BB, 0 K

WEDNESDAY STARTER: Scott Olsen (L)

proj avg: 4.75 ERA, 3.4 BB/9, 6.2 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 40%
pitches: 63% fb, 20% ch, 17% sl
r/l: 1.6 k/bb vs rhb, 2.8 k/bb vs lhb; .827/.686 ops
h/a: 2.0 vs 1.5 k/bb

Olsen vs. Phillies:

Rollins: 6/28, 2 3B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K

Utley: 4/24, 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 BB, 7 K

Howard: 11/24, 3 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP

Victorino: 2/16, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K

Werth: 6/13, 2 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 2 K

Feliz: 4/12, 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 BB, 1 K

Coste: 2/7, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K

Bruntlett: 1/5, 1 BB, 3 K

Ibanez: 2/3, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT FACING US THIS SERIES: Jordan Zimmerman (L)

proj avg: 4.90 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 7.0 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 48% in minors so probably about average in majors perhaps (?)
pitches: ?
r/l: better against righties in minors
h/a: ?

NOT FACING US THIS SERIES: Daniel Cabrera (R)

proj avg: 4.75 ERA, 4.7 BB/9, 7.1 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 72% fb, 24% sl, 4% ch
r/l: .681/.827; 1.5 k/bb vs 1.2
h/a: many more hr surrendered at home but slightly better k/bb

BULLPEN

The Nats lack a dominant arm in the bullpen, but their closer is Joel Hanrahan. The rest of the bullpen has practically been replaced since the Phillies' first series against the Nats this year. The only lefty in the pen is the mediocre Mike Hinkley.

CL Joel Hanrahan (R)

proj avg: 4.10 ERA, 4.5 BB/9, 9.0 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 38%
pitches: 67% fb, 31% sl, 2% ch
r/l: typical
h/a: much better at home: 2.6 k/bb vs. 1.3; .680/.842 ops

Saul Rivera (R)

proj avg: 3.90 EAR, 3.9 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, 0.5 HR/9
gb: 50%
pitches: 45% fb, 34% sl, 19% ct, 2% ch
r/l: not much of a split
h/a: much better at home (2.1 k/bb vs 1.2)

Michael Hinckley (L)

proj avg: 5.50 ERA, 4.7 BB/9, 6.5 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 44%
pitches: 67% fb, 33% cb
r/l: major loogy probably, but tough to tell from limited info
h/a: not enough info

Julian Tavarez (R)

proj avg: 4.60 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 55%
pitches: 53% fb, 25% sl, 15% ch, 8% sf
r/l: 2.2 k/bb vs rhb, 1.0 vs lhb; .734/.827 ops
h/a: 1.75 k/bb at home, 1.3 on road

Garrett Mock (R)

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 3.7 BB/9, 7.4 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 59% fb, 20% cb, 11% ch, 8% sl, 2% ct
r/l: .689/.704
h/a: .730/.643

Jason Bergmann (R)

proj avg: 4.65 ERA, 3.2 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 31%
pitches: 55% fb, 21% cb, 15% sl, 6% ch
r/l: .734/.870
h/a: .764/.840

Kip Wells (R)

proj avg: 5.10 ERA, 4.4 BB/9, 6.5 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 49%
pitches: 70% sl, 12% sl, 10% cb, 8% ch
r/l: .755/.807
h/a: .756/.802

DISABLED LIST: Joe Beimel (L)

proj avg: 3.90 ERA, 3.6 BB/9, 5.2 K/9, 0.6 HR/9
gb: 49%
pitches: 85% fb (sinkers coded as fastballs), 7% sl, 5% cb, 4% ch
r/l: 0.9 vs 2.3 k/bb, platoon splits not even as deep as would be give strength of lhb faced vs rhb
h/a: 1.5 k/bb at home 1.1 k/bb on road, but ops split not different

PHILLIES

LINE UP

The heart of the Phillies lineup leans further to the left than Ralph Nader. The rest of the lineup is pretty well balanced, but with Utley hitting 3rd, Howard hitting 4th, and Ibanez hitting 6th, managers have an advantage to use lefties against the Phillies in key situations. Both of the switch hitters atop the lineup hit lefties a little better than righties, and the bottom of the lineup has two righties. The Phillies' catcher Carlos Ruiz is on the disabled list now with a strained rib cage, so Chris Coste and Lou Marson have been splitting time with Coste starting more often. Lou Marson is a pretty highly touted catching prospect who had an extraordinary year in AA last year, though has yet to hit for much power. Carlos Ruiz is apparently returning Wednesday, so Marson will be sent down then.

1) SS Jimmy Rollins (S)

projection average (proj): .285/.350/.460
projected BB/PA (bb): 8%
projected K/AB (k): 11%
career gb% (gb): 42%
career infield flies/flyball (iff): 10%
career infield hits/groundball (ifh): 5%
batting average on balls in play tendencies (babip): about average overall, though a little bit high popup rate so slightly below average
swing/contact/zone facts (s/c/z): good eye, pretty selective, but very high contact rate so low walk rate
righty/lefty (r/l): 1.7 vs 1.3 k/bb, mostly because of higher k-rate as lhb. otherwise similar on contact
home/away (h/a): 1.5 vs 1.7 k/bb; .805 vs .739 ops
pull/opposite (p/o): definite pull hitter
anything else (other): stole 47 bases in 50 attempts last year.

2) CF Shane Victorino (S)

proj: .285/.345/.430
bb: 7.5%
k: 13%
gb: 46%
iff: 15%
ifh: 8%
babip: slightly above average due to high babip on groundballs-- partly because infield plays in for him and he spreads the ball around well; not that high due to high infield fly rate
s/c/z: pretety bad eye but high contact rate
r/l: much more power righthanded (1.6% to 3.8% HR rate), but much better k/bb as lefty: 1.65 vs 1.88; higher babip lefty also (.316 vs .286)
h/a: far fewer walks on road but nearly exactly the same strikeout rate, same power, same babip
p/o: pull hitter both ways
other: stole 36 of 47 bases last year

3) 2B Chase Utley (L)

proj: .295/.380/.525
bb: 9.5%
k: 18%
gb: 37%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip: distinctly above average historically and for projections too; seemingly strong power leads to high line drive babip rate and reasonably high groundball babip especially for pull hitting lefty; high on flyballs despite high infield fly rate since he hits deep flyballs
s/c/z: pretty good eye, somewhat selective, somewhat high contact rate
r/l: not significant-- only 1.7 vs 2.0 k/bb; .919 vs .865 ops
h/a: similar k/bb home & away; better hr at home-- probably park factors; higher babip at home too
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against power pitchers relative to other hitters

4) 1B Ryan Howard (L)

proj: .275/.375/580
bb: 14%
k: 33%
gb: 40%
iff: 2%
ifh: 4%
babip: low on groundballs over time as he pulls the vast majority of them; very very high on flyballs because he almost never pops out in the infield at all and many of his flyballs are very deep. also since so few of his flyballs stay in the park (only 2/3 or so), a higher percentage of his balls in play are line drives-- which he does well on like many power hitters-- his low contact rate means he sometimes make poor contact though. probably above average overall
s/c/z: swings a lot especially for someone who doesn't see many strikes. however, he is pretty good at distinguishing pulls from strikes despite the consensus on him. he makes terrible contact overall though
r/l: 1.064 vs .786 ops: say it with me "that means he's good against righties, not bad against lefties!" in fact, he's the best hitter against righties in baseball right now probably. his k/bb vs lhp is 3.7 vs 1.6 vs rhp. he has a lot of power against lefties however, but a lower babip. i don't have split data on pull% vs lhp/rhp but observationally i'm pretty sure that's the difference in his babip: .338 vs .309.
h/a: much higher babip on road. very similar hr numbers. 2.0 vs 3.2 k/bb.
p/o: pull hitter, especially on groundballs-- hits more homeruns the opposite way though
other: struggles mightily against power pitchers and groundball pitchers, dominate flyball pitchers (since he almost never pops out, and has 10.3% hr rate) and smashes finesse pitchers (11.8% hr rate); he also does much better on babip with runners on base as defenders can't shift against him-- especially with runners in scoring position

5) RF Jayson Werth (R)

proj: .270/.360/.460
bb: 12.5%
k: 29%
gb: 38%
iff: 8%
ifh: 8%
babip: high on groundballs due to high infield hit rate, high on line drives due to power, and hits pretty deep flyballs too; has been historically probably higher than it should be since he's faced more lhp than normal rhb do; overall still seems to be very above average
s/c/z: very selective and pretty good eye; somewhat low contact rate
r/l: .762 vs .919 ops; 2.4 vs 2.0 k/bb; hr rate of 6.7% vs 2.9%
h/a: not much of a split at all
p/o: spreads ball around well for power hitter, but still a pull hitter
other: stole 20 bases in 21 attempts last year

6) LF Raul Ibanez (L)

proj: .285/.350/.480
bb: 9%
k: 17%
gb: 42%
iff: 11%
ifh: 5%
babip: above average, probably because he spreads the ball around pretty well for a power hitter; much better babip with men on-- probably hooks ball in hole well or maybe he was shifted against more so beforehand
s/c/z: definitely a good eye though it's getting worse, slightly above average contact
r/l: .850 vs .733; 1.5 vs 2.8 k/bb
h/a: better k/bb (1.6 vs 1.9) but worse power probably park factors, and probably likely to be better at home
p/o: slight pull hitter but not much for a power hitter
other: none

7) 3B Pedro Feliz (R)

proj: .250/.300/.420
bb: 6%
k: 15.5%
gb: 44%
iff: 15%
ifh: 5%
babip: very low-- pops up a lot, hits groundballs predictably to left side and is slow so they can play shaded over and deep; not all that much power so not terrific on line drives either, makes a lot of weak contact as he isn't good at making contact so he chops a lot of balls
s/c/z: high swing rate and not terribly good at distinguishing balls from strikes. swung significantly less in 2008, but it was as much of a decrease in balls as strikes, makes average contact
r/l: 3.3 vs 2.3 k/bb; .708 vs .755 ops, more babip and a little more power agaisnt lefties
h/a: much higher k rate on road, similar bb rate; more power on road, higher babip at home. likely not much difference (.725 vs .716 overall ops)
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: defensive numbers dipped last year, had offseason surgery for back, perhaps these are related

8) C Chris Coste (R)

proj: .265/.315/.405
bb: 5.5%
k: 17.5%
gb: 40%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip: slightly below average, seemingly due to poor eye and swinging and hitting bad pitches
s/c/z: high swing rate, pretty poor eye, average contact
r/l: .747 vs .855; same k/bb rate, much better babip against lhp, similar power but slightly more vs lhp
h/a: .886 vs .679; 5.4% vs 1.5% hr rate
p/o: pull hitter
other: struggles with power pitchers somewhat

BENCH

Like their lineup, the Phillies' bench is much better from the left side. Dobbs and Stairs are two solid lefthanded pinch hitters with power. Stairs is by far more patient and is much more successful against lefties than Dobbs. From the right side, the Phillies have superutility man Eric Bruntlett. Bruntlett struggles mightily against RHP, but actually has very solid numbers against LHP. Bruntlett can be used as a counterswitch when managers bring in lefties to face Dobbs or Stairs. The Phillies other RHB on the bench is Miguel Cairo. He is not a very good hitter, but is flexible and can play many positions.

IF/OF Eric Bruntlett (R)

proj: .240/.325/.335
bb: 10%
k: 18%
gb: 41%
iff: 14%
ifh: 5%
babip: high popup rate leads to low babip, but not that low; also doesn't do all that well on line drives due to lack of power
s/c/z: somewhat above average eye and doesn't swing much; makes very good contact, sees a lot of strikes
r/l: .592 vs .764 ops; 2.5 vs 1.2 k/bb; 5.7% vs 8.8% xbh/ab-- he's actually average if not above average against lhp; he just is terrible against rhb. he should be used as a counterswitch to loogy use against lefty pinch hitters
h/a: more power at home and more walks at home; similar strikeout rate and babip
p/o: opposite field hitter
other: none

IF Greg Dobbs (L)

proj: .285/.335/.445
bb: 7%
k: 17%
gb: 36%
iff: 13.5%
ifh: 3%
babip: has been high but probably should not be projected as high-- success derives from impossibly high line drive babip which doesn't typically happen for non-extreme power hitters. given his popup rate, he probably isn't a .320 babip guy and there isn't a .285 hitter
s/c/z: poor eye but very high swing rate; average contact rate
r/l: .761 vs .579 ops despite impossible .481 babip against lhp. in reality, he strikes out in 48% of at-bats against lhp. he should never see them. absolutely no power against lefties also.
h/a: virtually no split at all
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against finesse pitchers

OF Matt Stairs (L)

proj: .255/.340/.440
bb: 11%
k: 22%
gb: 42%
iff: 11.5%
ifh: 5%
babip: average all around
s/c/z: very good eye and slightly below average contact
r/l: .862 vs .748; much more power against rhp; 1.4 vs 2.1 k/bb
h/a: not much of a split at all
p/o: slight pull hitter but not much for a power hitter
other: use stairs in case of emergency

IF/OF Miguel Cairo (R)

proj: .255/.315/.335
bb: 7%
k: 15%
gb: 45%
iff: 11%
ifh: 7%
babip: not much power so slightly below average
s/c/z: okay eye, maybe a little above average; makes good contact
r/l: 1.6 vs 2.0 k/bb; .647 vs .735 ops
h/a: virtually no split at all, somewhat better walk rate at home
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: none

C Lou Marson (R)

proj: .270/.345/.400
bb: 11%
k: 22%
gb: 59% in minors in 08
iff: 7% in minors in 08
ifh: ?
babip: very above average in minors, bizarrely high on flyballs and groundballs, and this seems to be without a significant reason
s/c/z: ?
r/l: better k/bb in minors vs rhp but tough to tell
h/a: 0.7 vs 1.5 k/bb; much higher infield fly rate on road (10.6% vs 3.5%)
p/o: ?
other: high walk rate in minors may be at risk in majors if he doesn't develop power

DISABLED LIST: Carlos Ruiz (R)

proj: .255/.335/.390
bb: 10%
k: 14%
gb: 50% (but rose in 2008 to 54% from 46%)
iff: 9.5%
ifh: 4%
babip: was extraordinarily low in 2008, but that seems to be rather flukey. his high groundball rate and solid contact rate and pitch selection indicate he should be a good babip guy, but he does very poorly on groundball as he chops the ball a lot
s/c/z: very good eye and excellent contact skill, extremely patient
r/l: bizarre reverse split despite 0.5 k/bb vs lhp and 1.2 vs rhp; impossibly low .204 babip against lhp, probably flukey and probably much better vs lhp in reality
h/a: similar k/bb, worse babip but higher power at home (park factors)
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: better against power pitchers, currently on DL with strained rib cage, probably longer than 15 days as originally thought

ROTATION

Joe Blanton starts Monday night's game against the Nationals. He is mostly a contact pitcher, but he has struggled this year. Cole Hamels starts Tuesday night's game, after a frustrating start to 2009. He was dominating the Brewers through three innings last Thursday before he gave up a homerun to Braun and was hit by a linedrive and needed to leave the game. He'll look to rebound against the Nationals this Tuesday and put together a solid start. Myers will pitch Wednesday night.

MONDAY STARTER: Joe Blanton (R)

proj avg: 4.25 ERA, 2.5 BB/9, 5.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 45%
pitches: 56% fb, 16% ch, 15% sl, 12% cb
r/l: 2.3 vs 1.8 k/bb; .750 vs .719 ops
h/a: 2.2 vs 2.0 k/bb; .698 vs .776 ops; much worse babip away (.313 vs .282), more power surrendered on road
other: extraordinarily good against leadoff hitters, especially the first hitter of games

Blanton vs. Nats:

Dukes: 2/10, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 K

Belliard: 3/8,1 2B, 1 BB, 0 K

Zimmerman: 3/8, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 1 K

Dunn: 1/6, 1 HR, 0 BB, 2 K

Flores: 1/5, 1 BB, 2 K

Johnson: 4/6, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K

Cintron: 2/5, 0 BB, 1 K

Kearns: 1/4, 1 2B, 1 BB, 0 K

Nieves: 0/4, 0 BB, 0 K

Willingham: 1/4, 0 BB, 1 K

Gonzalez: 1/3, 0 BB, 0 K

Hernandez: 1/3, 0 BB, 0 K

TUESDAY STARTER: Cole Hamels (L)

proj avg: 3.45 ERA, 2.3 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 40%
pitches: 55% fb, 32% ch, 14% cb
r/l: .680 vs .748, but same 3.6 k/bb both ways; slightly more power vs lhb-- this is probably selection bias as managers withhold all but the best lefties against him (explaining 20% of hitters faced are lefties only)
h/a: 3.85 vs 3.4 k/bb; .676 vs .709 ops-- less of a difference due to higher HR rate at home
other: much higher k-rate at night: 25% vs 20%, which is statistically significant. ERA difference (4.71 vs 3.01 exaggerated by babip difference), as HR rate and XBH rate very similar. most likely he strikes out more at night.

Hamels vs. Nats:

Zimmerman: 10/37, 1 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 8 K

Kearns: 6/22, 2 2B, 4 BB (1 IBB), 3 K

Belliard: 6/23, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 7 K

Willingham: 3/13, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 K

Flores: 1/12, 0 BB, 7 K, 0 XBH

Johnson: 3/11, 3 2B, 1 BB, 3 K

Dunn: 1/8, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 K

Dukes: 1/4, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 K

Maxwell: 2/5, 0 BB, 2 K

Hernandez: 1/4, 0 BB, 0 K

Cintron: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K

Nieves: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K

WEDNESDAY STARTER: Brett Myers (R)

proj avg: 4.15 ERA, 3.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 48% fb, 23% cb, 18% sl, 9% ch, 1% ct, 0.2% sf
r/l: .788 vs .747 ops despite 3.1 vs 1.95 k/bb; main issue is much higher HR rate vs rhb, slightly higher babip vs them as well; does not seem to be selection bias
h/a: .738 vs .800 ops; 2.7 vs 2.15 k/bb; slightly higher HR rate at home, but that is probably park factors as he surrenders far more doubles on road
other: HR rate is bizarre-- very few pitchers have the HR/Flyball rate he does. My personal suspicion is that statistics that don't exhibit much persistence despite what common sense suggests only do not exhibit persistence specifically because players make adjustments. If you throw fastball after fastball on the outside corner on every 1-2 count, the hitters will respond by hitting singles to the opposite field over and over again and your BABIP will go up. However, pitchers learn to mix up their pitches and BABIP ends up lacking persistence due to the constant game theoretical reaction that pitchers and hitters take. For Myers, his bizarre refusal to use his curveball early in the game leaves him especially vulernable to RHB who know it isn't coming. A little game theoretical mixed strategy would probably allow him to finally live up to his peripherals which suggest a low HR rate and borderline ace stuff.

Myers vs. Nats:

Zimmerman: 11/30, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 SF (1.096 OPS)

Kearns: 7/25, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HBP, 1 SF

Johnson: 4/21, 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 BB, 8 K, 1 HBP

Dunn: 3/15, 1 2B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 5 K

Belliard: 4/18, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP

Willingham: 5/13, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP

Flores: 2/12, 1 2B, 0 BB, 3 K

Cintron: 4/10, 2 HR, 0 BB, 1 K

Hernandez: 3/4, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 XBH

NOT STARTING THIS SERIES: Chan Ho Park (R)

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 7.3 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 45%
pitches: 51% FB, 29% SL, 12% cb, 5% ch, 4% ct
r/l: .666 vs .820 ops; 2.6 vs 1.3 k/bb; .280 vs .301 babip; 2.6% vs 3.6% HR rate-- much better against righties
h/a: 2.0 vs 1.7 k/bb; .708 vs .780 ops

NOT STARTING THIS SERIES: Jamie Moyer (L)

proj avg: 4.80 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 5.5 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 39%
pitches: 41% fb, 30% ct, 24% ch, 6% cb
r/l: virtually no split but that seems to be selection as he sees 24% lefties only compared with 32% league average for lhp
h/a: 2.3 vs 1.9 k/bb; not much difference on contact; slightly better babip at home but not more so than the average starter gets

BULLPEN

Lidge has been nowhere near as effective as the Phillies closer in the early going this year, but has gotten through a few tough saves anyway. However, that still leaves him as one of the best closers in baseball. Ryan Madson has stepped up to be an elite setup man recently, as his velocity improved mightily over the course of 2008 and has started strong in 2009. He has had a few bad moments and a few moments of dominance thus far. The Phillies will have to make do against LHB with J.C. Romero suspended through May. Scott Eyre, Jack Taschner, and J.A. Happ are the Phillies' lefties in the pen. Happ does not have especially difficult stuff against lefties, though, and will probably be the long man. Eyre and Taschner both should not face RHB, especially Taschner who exemplified that inability well against the Nationals on Thursday. Chad Durbin is somewhat streaky, but I've remained bearish on him for a while. He still is a reasonable middle reliever to use at times. Condrey is the other middle reliever, but he should not face lefties at all if possible. The Phillies' bullpen has been extraordinary since the beginning of 2008, and has kept them in games in 2009 thus far. It is due for some regression, but I suppose the rotation is due for some improvement as well.

CL Brad Lidge (R)

proj avg: 3.50 ERA, 4.1 BB?9, 11.0 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 41% (though this went up to 46% with increased slider use in 2008)
pitches: 56% sl, 43% fb, 0.4% ch in 2008 (historically 54% fb, 42% sl)
r/l: 3.6 vs 2.8 k/bb; .601 vs .686 ops (tough to tell if that tendency became more or less extreme in 2008 due to limited sample size)
h/a: 3.6 vs 2.9 k/bb; .666 vs .614 ops though due to higher babip away
other: HR/Flyball plummeted in 2008-- probably unsustainably low and his ERA should rise; still rumors of him tipping pitches explain the HR/Flyball spike in 2006 & 2007

Ryan Madson (R)

proj avg: 3.80 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 7.2 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 58% fb, 24% ch, 15% ct, 4% cb
r/l: 3.65 vs 1.8 k/bb; .714 vs .786 ops
h/a: no major split at all

Scott Eyre (L)

proj avg: 4.20 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 8.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 59% fb, 35% sl, 6% ch, 0.2% cb
r/l: 1.5 vs 1.9 k/bb; .815 vs .720 ops
h/a: not much of a split

Jack Taschner (L)

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 35%
pitches: 57% fb, 30% sl, 13% ch
r/l: 1.45 vs 2.2 k/bb; .754 vs .747-- large selection bias where he faces only very good lefties and not very good righties
h/a: .698 vs .797 ops; 2.1 vs 1.5 k/bb

Chad Durbin (R)

proj avg: 4.10 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 6.5 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 47% fb, 38% sl, 8% ch, 7% cb, 1% ct
r/l: virtually no split
h/a: somewhat of a reverse split but probably just noise

Clay Condrey (R)

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 4.9 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 50%
pitches: 59% fb, 17% ct, 15% sl, 9% ch
r/l: 2.1 vs 1.3 k/bb; .761 vs .842 ops
h/a: .703 vs .898 ops; 2.2 vs 1.3 k/bb

J.A. Happ (L)

proj avg: 4.40 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 7.7 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 29% in majors thus far; 42% in AAA in 2008
pitches: 64% fb, 18% ch, 14% sl, 2% ct, 2% cb
r/l: 1.7 vs 3.0 k/bb in majors thus far; 2.7 vs 3.5 k/bb in AAA in 2008
h/a: not enough info

SUSPENDED: J.C. Romero (L)

proj avg: 4.00 ERA, 5.5 BB?9, 7.5 K/9, 0.7 HR/9
gb: 55%
pitches: 58% fb, 25% sl, 17% ch, 0.1% cb
r/l: 1.2 vs 2.2 k/bb; .814 vs. 591 ops
h/a: 1.6 vs 1.3 k/bb; .697 vs .768 ops

Washington Nationals' #1 Prospect Jordan Zimmermann (2-0) After 8-1 DC Win Over The New York Mets.

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:52:53 -0000

More photos » by Seth Wenig - AP

7 months ago: Washington Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann pitches during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Sunday, April 26, 2009, at Citi Field in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Browse more photos »

(ed. note - "New Nationals/Phillies GameThread up at 11:30 am Monday... feat. Blanton, Martis, D. Cabrera, Gammons on Strasburg, and a look at a player DC might take with the 10th pick in this year's draft...")

Highlights:

Jordan Zimmermann threw 103 pitches in today's win, and he was still fooling Mets' batters long after he'd shown them all his pitches in the first few innings. The sharp slider, the slower tight curve, a few random changes and some consistently mid-90’s heat. Zimmermann was a little wild, but unafraid to come inside, he brutalized lefties with a low fastball inside and a slider in on the hands, sawed off some bats, K’d Carlos Delgado twice, David Wright three times, and held the Mets to just 1 run on 4 hits through four innings. Zimmermann worked out of a jam in the fifth after a leadoff walk and a single, popping up Danny Murphy on a jam shot, striking out Carlos Beltran and popping Delgado up to the infield to escape trouble. Lifted after a one-out single by Ryan Church in the sixth, Zimmermann's final line:

Zimmermann, Jordan - (W, 2-0), 2.38 ERA, 5.1 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's, 103 P, 62 for strikes, 4 GO, 6 FO in front of 40, 023.

NY Media Minute No. 1 -

Washington Post writer Tracee Hamilton's "Sunday Morning Reading, cont." post at the Post's Nationals Journal this morning, had a link to New York Daily News' writer Filip Bondy's article entitled, "Elijah Dukes' errors against Mets epitomize National disgrace", in which Mr. Bondy writes that for the Mets, against, "...a team so ungodly terrible, so Double-A-ish, any result other than a sweep must be considered a setback."

The Washington Nationals, Mr. Bondy continues, "...are a 3-13 disgrace, embodied by their clumsy center fielder and chief curmudgeon, Elijah Dukes." (ed. note - "Clumsy? Is this your first game watching Dukes?) Continuing the humorous vein SNY's been presenting your Washington Nationals in all weekend, Mr. Bondy writes of how the Nationals had come to NY, "...to audition their clown act before a large New York audience." And in conclusion, Mr. Bondy states that the Nationals, who:

"...may be Bud Selig's greatest enduring embarrassment, not involving steroids, (are) uniquely incompetent and unsympathetic. They have a new stadium in the nation's capital, the result of long-term blackmailing. They're owned by a billionaire, Ted Lerner. Their ex-GM, Jim Bowden, has been investigated for skimming bonus money...

(and)

...the Nationals now tour the major leagues in generic-looking uniforms, making other teams feel good about themselves."

The Nationals' "clumsy center fielder and chief curmudgeon", Elijah Dukes sat out today, in favor of...

The Leadoff Hitter Of The Future...

J-Max Tracker...Justin Maxwell works a leadoff walk in his first at bat. Maxwell makes a valiant effort on a hard hit fly by Carlos Delgado to right center, but Maxwell comes up empty on the dive, Delgado makes it to third with an RBI triple. J-Max singles and steals second the second time around...Maxwell hits a fly ball to left on the first pitch of the fourth...Two on and two out for Maxwell in the fifth, and a weak grounder to third is thrown through first by Wright, two runs score. Maxwell steals second, and scores on a Ronnie Belliard single. Maxwell grounds out to short in the seventh, and gets a two-out AB in the ninth, and another ground out to Jose Reyes at short...Maxwell finishes the day 2 for 5 with an RBI and a walk.

New York Media Minute No. 2 -

In the Newark Star-Ledger's Sunday Sports section, NY Daily News' writer Peter Botte starts an article entitled, "In return to form, Pelfrey sinks Nats", by wondering if Johan Santana's example had rallied the Mets' starters or if, "...maybe the Washington Nationals are just putrid right now."

At least New York Times' writer Ben Shpigel is funny, as he writes in an article entitled, "Pelfrey, And His Sinker, Return Against Nationals", of how on Saturday, the, "...sloppy Nationals bunch...all but played bugles in announcing why it has the worst record in baseball."

Elsewhere in the Sunday New York Times, writer Jim Luttrell manages the only bit of reporting out of New York on the Nationals this weekend that doesn't stoop to insults, writing, in the most recent edition of his column, "The Watch List", about DC closer Joel Hanrahan, who:

"...blew his first two save opportunities with Washington and had an earned run average of 9.00. Then the closer-in-waiting Garrett Mock was promoted, and Hanrahan notched his next two saves, with two scoreless innings. But Mock, who took a loss last week by allowing a run in a second inning of work, has been groomed to close. Last season, he averaged more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings."

MOCK'd...

Garrett Mock came on in the eighth Sunday afternoon against NY with Washington already ahead 8-1, and picked up where Jordan Zimmermann and then DC lefty Mike Hinckley had left off, with Mock giving up an ill-advised leadoff walk but recovering by inducing a DP grounder out of Carlos Beltran and striking out Carlos Delgado with a mid-90's fastball on the outside corner.

Jesus Flores hit his second HR of the year in the second, singled in a run in the third, and singled and scored in the fifth. Flores finishes the day 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI's and a .327 AVG on the year. Did I mention that the Nationals stole him from the Mets as a Rule 5 pick?

Austin Kearns ends the day 2 for 3 with his 3rd double and 3rd HR of the year, and he's now hitting .256 with 11 RBI's.

Nationals win, 8-1 final.

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For The Completists, Full Game Report (currently unedited) After The Jump.

Nationals now 4-13.

Washington Nationals at New York Mets. Game 17 of 162.

#30 in your scorebook, Justin Maxwell leads off for the Washington Nationals against NY Mets’ lefty Oliver Perez. Maxwell works the count full and takes a leadoff walk. Ronnie Belliard lines a single on one-hop to Daniel Murphy in left. Ryan Zimmerman pops the first pitch out to right. Adam Dunn K’s on three sliders from Perez. Josh Willingham takes a full count fastball for a called strike three and Jordan Zimmermann heads to the hill...Jordan Zimmerman shows Jose Reyes everything and then walks him, and now he’ll have to hold him on. Reyes steals second. Ground ball to third, Ryan Zimmerman throws Daniel Murphy out, but Reyes takes third. Zimmermann saws off Carlos Beltran and the weak groundout to third traps Reyes, who gets tagged trying to get back to third. Carlos Delgado checks his swing on a two-strike curve and then triples to left center, scoring Beltran, 1-0 Mets. Zimmermann gets David Wright staring at a two-strike curve.

Austin Kearns twists Daniel Murphy up with a line drive that almost injures Murphy. Jesus Flores tees off on Oliver Perez and laces one to left field for a two-run HR and a 2-1 lead. Alberto Gonzalez skies one to the corner in left. Jordan Zimmerman K’s swinging over a slider. Justin Maxwell slaps a single up the middle. Maxwell steals second without a throw. Ronnie Belliard rolls the third out to second...Zimmermann hits Ryan Church in the elbow to put the leadoff man on. Omir Santos flies out to Maxwell in center. Zimmermann throws away a pickoff throw to first. Zimmermann looks Church back to second and throws Luis Castillo out at first on a weak chopper to the mound. Oliver Perez sneaks a bunt on the Nationals’ infield and Zimmerman just pockets it. Jose Reyes skies one to right for Austin Kearns. 2-1 DC.

Ryan Zimmerman pops out to his Gold Glove competition, David Wright foul of third. Adam Dunn grounds weakly to second. Josh Willingham gets hit on the toe and takes first with two down. Austin Kearns works the count full and takes a fastball on the outside corner for ball four. Jesus Flores rips a single through short, and Josh Willingham beats the throw home from Daniel Murphy. 3-1 DC. Alberto Gonzalez lines an outside fastball to right and it drops in front of Church. Kearns just beats the throw home, 4-1 DC. Jordan Zimmermann grounds out to end the inning...Zimmermann jams Daniel Murphy with a high inside fastball that gets popped out to right. Carlos Beltran spins a single through second. Zimmermann slips a two-strike slider in over Carlos Delgado’s bat. Carlos Beltran’s running, and Flores guns him without so much as a slide.

Justin Maxwell flies out to right for the first out of the fourth. Ronnie Belliard pushes a fly ball to right for Church to catch. Zimmerman gets down 0-2 and works a walk out of it in the end. Adam Dunn flies out to right to end the top of the frame...David Wright gets a 95 mph heater up high and K’s swinging. Ryan Church flies out to right where Kearns shields his eyes and makes the grab. Omir Santos pokes a single to left to leadoff the fifth. Luis Castillo grounds to short to end the Mets’ fifth.

Daniel Murphy with the unneccessary leap at the wall to rob Willingham. Austin Kearns takes Oliver Perez deep to center and GONE!! Straight center from Kearns for a 5-1 DC lead. Jesus Flores drops a single in front of a diving Daniel Murphy. Alberto Gonzalez beats Ryan Church to the right field corner with a line drive double to chase Oliver Perez. Casey Fossum comes on and gets Zimmermann swinging over a two-strike curve. Justin Maxwell hits a weak grounder to third, Wright’s throw to first sails, two runs score. 7-1 Nationals. Maxwell steals second, and scores when Ronnie Belliard singles to second. 8-1 Nationals. Ryan Zimmerman drops a single in between Beltran and Church in right-center. Adam Dunn lines out to second. 8-1 DC after five....Alex Cora in for Castillo at second, walks to start the NY fifth. Jose Reyes sneaks a single under a lunging Belliard. Zimmermann jams Daniel Murphy and pops him up to the infield with a 2-0 pitch inside. Zimmermann throws a 95 mph strike three right by Carlos Beltran. Ryan Zimmerman catches a pop fly from Delgado just foul of the third base line. 8-1 DC.

Josh Willingham takes a one-out walk from Fossum to start the sixth. Austin Kearns grounds to Wright, Cora at second, and Delgado, double play. Jesus Flores takes a four pitch walk with two down. Alberto Gonzalez pops one over the mound, Delgado grabs it...Jordan Zimmermann strikes David Wright out again. Ryan Church goes back up the middle with a one-out single. Zimmermann’s out, Mike Hinckley’s on in relief. Omir Santos grounds to Zimmerman to Belliard to Dunn, double play to end the sixth.

Mike Hinckley gets a rare AB to start the seventh. Casey Fossum gets the K from the lefty pitcher, who bats from the right side. Justin Maxwell grounds out to short, Jose Reyes fires to first in time. Ronnie Belliard takes a two-out walk from Fossum. Ryan Zimmerman rolls a two-strike curve out to third, Wright takes the force at second...Mike Hinckley sneaks a two-strike curve under Gary Sheffield’s bat. Alex Cora grounds out to Alberto Gonzalez at short. Jose Reyes flies to right, Kearns shields his eyes and closes his glove on the seventh.

Nick Johnson leads off the eighth. Nick Johnson pushes a trademark single over short and on one-hop to Daniel Murphy. Josh Willingham grounds into a force at second and beats out the DP attempt at first. Austin Kearns can’t hold back on a fastball outside and he K’s with a check swing for the second out. Jesus Flores battles Pedro Feliciano but ends up swinging through a fastball outside for strike three...Garrett Mock comes on in the eighth and walks the leadoff batter, Daniel Murphy. Carlos Beltran grounds to Belliard, who pivots, throws to second, Gonzalez to Nick Johnson at first, double play. Mock throws a two-strike fastball by Delgado to end the eighth.

Brian Stokes on for NY, Alberto Gonzalez grounds out to third. Pinch hitter Alex Cintron K’s trying to hold up on a slider in the dirt. Justin Maxwell grounds out to short...Kip Wells vs David Wright in the ninth. Wright grounds to ninth for the first out of the inning. Ryan Church flies out to Willingham in left. Kip Wells bends a two-strike slider into the zone to get Omir Santos looking to end it...Nationals win, 8-1 final.

Nationals now 4-13.

The Brewers and Walking In Runs

TheJay — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

It's not just a Brewers thing: the Nationals lost 1-0 last night after Mike Hinckley walked in a run in the top of the 9th inning.

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Possibly the most frustrating thing about this year's Brewers team is the number of walks issued by the pitching staff. Even worse are the walks with the bases loaded. Through 14 games, five Brewers pitchers have combined to walk in seven runs.

Roguejim summed up the way I (and probably many others) feel:

Before the season, I would have sworn that 2 bases-loaded walks per team per season was about right. We should now be good through 2012.

It turns out two is a little bit low. Only two teams (Toronto and Minnesota with two and four, respectively) walked in fewer than eight runs last season. The average is about 10 per team each year. The Crew walked in ten runs in 2008.

But really, the only thing that last paragraph tells us about this year is something we already know: the Brewers have walked in a heck of a lot of runs so far.

Here's a look at the number of bases loaded walks in Brewers history.

Year	123 PA	123 BB	Year	123 PA	123 BB
2009	26	7	1989	121	5
2008	171	10	1988	108	10
2007	173	7	1987	146	15
2006	175	15	1986	115	5
2005	165	10	1985	113	4
2004	138	5	1984	137	9
2003	166	9	1983	133	10
2002	191	16	1982	109	3
2001	198	7	1981	75	6
2000	209	20	1980	106	3
1999	193	20	1979	108	4
1998	170	15	1978	121	7
1997	158	10	1977	150	9
1996	166	17	1976	158	11
1995	155	11	1975	179	13
1994	90	9	1974	128	7
1993	165	7	1973	207	16
1992	133	8	1972	130	9
1991	127	3	1971	134	6
1990	168	9	1970	165	9

The seven bases-loaded walks so far in 2009 is as many or more than the team had in sixteen of thirty-nine prior seasons in Milwaukee. That alone is bad enough, but there's a couple other things I want to point out.

From 2000 to 2002, the Brewers finished last in the league in bases on balls. Yet this year's team has already equaled 2001's mark in bases loaded walks. It should be obvious that the number of runs walked in doesn't tell you much about the quality of the staff from year-to-year, but that's still pretty depressing. Take a look at that year's pitching staff to feel a bit better about this year's rotation. The 2009 squad is almost halfway to the total put up by the cobbled-together staff of 2006. The 1979 and 1980 teams avoided free runs, but that's to be expected from a group that had the fewest walks in the AL those years.

Here's some information on individual pitchers walking in runs. Jeff Suppan obviously bears the brunt of criticism this year, thanks to his disastrous three bases loaded walks against the Cubs, but he's still got a couple more to go to match the team record for a season. In 1987, rookie Chuck Crim walked in five runs. Seven Brewers pitchers, including Cal Eldred and Doug Davis, have walked in four runs in a single season.

Suppan, with five bases loaded walks since joining the Crew, is just under halfway to the Brewers' career mark. Lefty Bob McClure, a member of the 1982 team, walked in 11 runs over 10 seasons in Milwaukee. RHP Eduardo Rodriguez, a swingman in the 1970s, is second on the list with nine. Oh, and because I know someone out there is wondering: Bill Castro only walked in one run for the Brewers and two for his career.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Brewers will fall off their current pace and won't walk in 81 runs. Thanks to their lovely start to the year, though, they just might challenge the team record of twenty. Jeff Suppan has 5+ months to work his way into team record territory as well. So the next time the Brewers fail with the bases loaded, look at it this way: you're watching history in the making!

Washington Nationals Lose 1-0 To Atlanta On Bases-Loaded Walk In The Ninth...Braves 1 Nationals 0

Ed Chigliak — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:21:05 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

7 months ago: Washington Nationals' Adam Dunn reacts after a striking out in the eighth inning of a baseball game with the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park in Washington, Wednesday, April 22, 2009. The Braves won 1-0.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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John Lannan Deserved The Win...(So Did Jair Jurrjens)...

DC lefty John Lannan threw 7.0 scoreless innings against Atlanta tonight, opposing Braves' starter Jair Jurrjens, who was pulled from a still scoreless game with two out in the eighth. Braves' left-hander Mike Gonzalez got Adam Dunn to K looking for the final out of the frame, and DC righty Garrett Mock came back out for the ninth after retiring the Braves in order in the previous inning. Mock gave up a one-out single to Matt Diaz and a two-out walk to Jordan Schafer before he was replaced by Mike Hinckley, who walked the bases loaded and then walked in the eventual winning run. 1-0 Atlanta. Rafael Soriano blows the Nationals away in the ninth. The Braves avoid the sweep. The Nationals two-game winning streak ends...and now it's off to New York for the first trip to Citi Field...Bring on the Metsies.

Final score, 1-0 Atlanta.

Meet The New Bullpen, Same As The Old Bullpen?

John Lannan threw 95 pitches, 60 for strikes, walked 2 and allowed 5 hits, and he held the Braves off the scoreboard for seven innings. Recently recalled reliever Garrett Mock retired Yunel Escobar, Chipper Jones and Brian McCann in the eighth, and had two down in the ninth before he missed high and outside with a full count fastball to Jordan Schafer and was pulled in favor of the lefty, Mike Hinckley. DC Manager Manny Acta's move forced the Braves to burn pinch hitter Greg Norton for the better right-handed bat, Martin Prado. Hinckley had Prado and lost him, or at least refused to give him anything to hit with lefty Kelly Johnson in waiting. The walk to Prado loaded the bases, and Hinckley missed with two curves and then a fastball up high to Johnson, before a 3-1 fastball found the zone for a called strike, and then a full-count fastball missed, inside, ball four, with the bases loaded... 1-0 Atlanta.

Missed Opportunities...

4th Inning - Ryan Zimmerman leads off with a double, takes third on a weak groundout from Adam Dunn, and gets stranded there when Elijah Dukes and Josh Willingham line and ground out, respectively.
5th Inning - Ronnie Belliard singles and after Jesus Flores flies out, John Lannan's sac bunt is bobbled by Jair Jurrjens, putting two on with one for Alex Cintron...who promptly grounds into a double play.
7th Inning - Josh Willingham doubles to start the seventh, Ronnie Belliard bunts him over to third. Jesus Flores grounds out to third, Austin Kearns pops out to the infield.

Overall, It's The Best Series Yet...

The Nationals didn't get the sweep, but at least they took two out of three from Atlanta before they left DC for a six game road trip to New York and Philadelphia. And not to, as the old saying goes, beat a horse, that if not dead is close to expiring, if Washington had won the three games last weekend against the Marlins, the two wins against the Braves would have left the Nationals 6-9 after the homestand. Instead, Washington is 3-11 with 6 games on the road against the Mets and Phillies before they come home to play St. Louis on the last day of April.

DC's "Acting GM" Mike Rizzo Goes Beyond Sabermetrics, Examine Player's Auras...

MLB.com's Bill Ladson saved this one for his blog, where he wrote, in a post entitled, "Rizzo not impressed with Steven Shell", that the Nationals' "Acting" GM Mike Rizzo "wasn't impressed" with the Nationals' 26-year-old right-handed reliever, because, as Mr. Rizzo explained to Mr. Ladson:

"I didn't like his mindset on the mound and his preparation for the game. I didn't like his whole aura on the mound,' Rizzo said. "We talked to him all through Spring."

Shell's "Yellow" had dulled slightly, showing some level of frustration, and in the light of day, his "Red" was more reddish-brown on the Red/Brown Index, meaning Shell had been somewhat deceptive this Spring in convincing the Nationals to give him a roster spot...and as MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes, some in the organization, "...felt Shell didn't have the fastball to get hitters out consistently."

(ed. note - "I'm sorry, you know I like Rizzo...he never would have traded Bonifacio.")

For The Completists, Full Game Report (currently unedited) After The Jump...

Nationals now 3-11.

Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals. Game 13 of 162.

Kelly Johnson finds a hole in the right side of the infield and singles to leadoff the top of the first. Yunel Escobar grounds to Anderson Hernandez for the first out of the evening. Chipper Jones takes strike three, Lannan hits the outside corner with a fastball. Brian McCann rolls one out to second, Hernandez to Nick Johnson...Alex Cintron skies the second pitch to right. Nick Johnson with another trademark single over short. Casey Kotchman catches a pop fly of Ryan Zimmerman’s bat. Adam Dunn rolls over a fastball and grounds out to first.

Jeff Francoeur hits a one-hopper out of the infield at short. Matt Diaz lines one right into Adam Dunn’s glove. John Lannan walks Casey Kotchman on four straight pitches. Jordan Schafer sends Adam Dunn back to the out-of-town scoreboard, where he catches the second out. First and third for the pitcher, Jurrjens grounds to the Face of the Franchise©, and Zimmerman fires a little wide, but good enough to end the Atlanta second...Fastball on the outside, outside edge, and Elijah Dukes gets called out on a full count pitch. Josh Willingham takes another 3-2 pitch, this one’s a ball. Ronnie Belliard. Belliard grounds to first, Kotchman gets the force at second, but Yunel Escobar double clutches and sails the return throw. Jesus Flores skies one to center, and Schafer gets in under it.

Elijah Dukes takes his time getting to a Kelly Johnson fly out in right center. Ronnie Belliard barehands a bad hop and fires to first to get Yunel Escobar. Chipper Jones hits one to the deepest part of center, and Dukes is there to catch it....John Lannan swings like a pitcher and grounds out to second. Alex Cintron flies to Schafer in center. Yunel Escobar has enough time to look at the ball in his hand before throwing out Nick Johnson to end the third.

Brian McCann starts the fourth with a single to left. Zimmerman streaks across the infield to field Jeff Francoeur’s weak grounder, and tosses to second for a force, Jeff Francoeur reaches first safely on the fielder’s choice. Matt Diaz flies out to Adam Dunn in right...Casey Kotchman sneaks one inside the line at third, and into left for a two-out double. Jordan Schafer gets the intentionals to bring up Jurrjens with the bases juiced. John Lannan drops some cruel curves on Jurrjens....One hop and off the wall in left, Ryan Zimmerman hits a leadoff double. Dunn rolls one out to first, Zimmerman to third. Dukes gets rips one...into Escobar’s glove. Josh Willingham grounds out to short, 0-0 after four.

Lannan bends a two-strike curve in on Kelly Johnson for the backwards K. Alex Cintron fields and throws to first to get Yunel Escobar. Cintron loads up and throws out Chipper Jones...Ronnie Belliard lines one back where it came from, single to center. Jair Jurrjens slips and drops the ball on John Lannan’s bunt. Alex Cintron grounds into a DP to end the fourth.

Brian McCann pushes Josh Willingham a few feet to his right to catch the first out. Francoeur drops a single in in front of Willingham. Ronnie Belliard catches a one-hopper from Diaz and tosses to second, but Cintron’s throw to first it too late for the DP. Lannan drops a curve across the zone to get Kotchman chasing, six scoreless fro the Nationals’ Cool-Hand starter...Nick “Two-Spot” Johnson hits a trademark single over second. Zimmerman K’s swinging at a 1-2 bender. Adam Dunn K’s swinging through a fastball inside. Elijah Dukes flies out to right to end the sixth.

Jordan Schafer lines out to Willingham in left. Lannan gets a groundout from Jurrjens and a fly ball from Kelly Johnson and he’s through seven...Josh Willingham doubles to start the DC seventh and moves to third on a Ronnie Belliard sac bunt. Jesus Flores gets robbed by a drawn-in diving Chipper Jones, who throws out the DC catcher. AUstin Kearns pops out unproductively to second to end the seventh.

Garrett Mock gets a groundout to third from Yunel Escobar. Zim can pick it. Chipper grounds out to Johnson at first. Brian McCann tops off a curve, Mock covers first, scoreless frame for Mock....Alex Cintron gets blown away by Jair Jurrjens. Nick Johnson grounds out to first. Ryan Zimmerman walks with two down in front of Dunn. Jurrjens is lifted in favor of Mike Gonzalez, who gets Dunn looking at a full-count curve to end the eighth.

Elijah Dukes waits with open glove for Jeff Francoeur’s fly ball to center. Mock hangs a curve, Diaz lines one over second for a single. Kotchman grounds to Mock, Mock throws to Cintron at second, to first, offline, and late, Kotchman safe. Jordan Schafer takes a two-out walk. Mike Hinckley comes up against Martin Prado, two on, two out, and works around him, walking him to bring up left-hander Kelly Johnson. Hinckley gets behind 3-0, gets a strike...and walks in a run. 1-0 Braves. Julian Tavarez gets a swinging K from Yunel Escobar to end the top of the inning...Rafael Soriano on to end it, Elijah Dukes K’s swinging through a two-strike fastball above his head. Josh Willingham flies out to left. Soriano blows an 0-2 fastball by Belliard to end it. Braves win, 1-0 final.

Nationals now 3-11.