Nats Flat In Viera

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  14 Responses »
Mar 062011
 

Former prospect Ross Detwiler will be the talk of an otherwise abysmal game for the Nationals, who were shut out by the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Sunday. Detwiler struck out five in his three innings of work and allowed one unearned run on one hit, all of which make a strong case for the 25-year-old as the #5 man in the rotation.

Just three Nats reached base — Michael Aubrey on a third-inning walk, Laynce Nix on a fifth-inning single, and Brian Bixler on a ninth-inning single. All three are longshots to make the Opening Day roster.

Danny Espinosa got the start again at second base but went 0-for-3 with strikeouts. Wilson Ramos also started at catcher and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Defensively, Espinosa was the key cog in an 8-4-2 relay to gun down Jason Heyward.

Bryce Harper came off the bench and struck the ball well, but his sinking liner to left field was snagged by Martin Prado. Harper fielded both singles hit his way but had no official defensive chances.

With the loss, the Nationals drop to 4-3 for the spring and host the Astros tomorrow.

GBI in Tampa Today

 Bad, Good, Interesting, News and Notes  9 Responses »
Mar 052011
 

There were some good, bad, and interesting (GBI)* performances from the ‘pen today, surrendering eight runs in the fourth to blow a 7-0 lead, but also throwing five scoreless innings to enable a 10-8 comeback win against the Yankees in Tampa.
* For the new folks, that’s a regular-season feature in which we pick out folks that are doing well, poorly, or something unexpected. It’s named after comedian Demetri Martin’s segment from his show on Comedy Central

GOOD: Adam Carr setting down the side in order for the save, his first of the spring in as many chances.

BAD: Josh Wilkie allowing both runners he inherited to score along with three more of his own on four hits, including a double and a triple.

INTERESTING: Atahualpa Severino throwing another 1-2-3 inning for his second hold.

All three relievers are generally considered longshots to make the club, so every outing is important for them — especially after three relievers were reassigned yesterday. The “bad” for Wilkie is particularly discomforting because (A) he’s a fan favorite (B) he’s not a hard thrower.

Naturally, the day after Chris Marrero get the lead treatment, he goes 0-for-3 with a strikeout and couldn’t scoop a Ryan Zimmerman throw. But he also turned a 3-6-3 double play, which I cannot recall him ever doing at Potomac. Derek Norris got the start at DH and went 0-for-1, but also drew two walks.

And last, but not least, Bryce Harper once again came off the bench and got his second hit of the spring, an RBI single in the eighth that gave the Nationals an insurance run. In the bottom of that inning, he gunned down Austin Romine trying to stretch a leadoff double into a triple (a cardinal sin, making the first out of an inning at third).

Tomorrow, the Nationals return to Viera to host the Atlanta Braves and the game will be telecast live on MASN. It will also mark the first radio broadcast of the year and a return to FM, as the game will be simulcast on WJFK 106.7FM and WFED 1500AM. For the rest of the spring radio broadcast schedule, click here.

Marrero Making An Impression

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  7 Responses »
Mar 042011
 

Thanks to NatsNQ, we get a little vicarious visual while the rest of us are peering at the MLB.com GameDay app and our Twitter Feeds to follow the game today, which was a good one until the 9th inning when Atlanta broke open a 3-3 tie with three runs off Drew Storen to go up 6-3, eventually winning 6-4 over the Nationals.

As the headline suggests, what struck me today was the number of tweets mentioning Chris Marrero, who went 2-for-2 with a double to LF and an RBI single to RF, and praising him for more than just his bat. Put down your beverage before you spray your monitor…

Chris Marrero doesn’t look half bad at first base. He’s made a couple nice plays on unassisted grounders.

That’s MASN’s Ben Goessling, who also noted Marrero’s leaner/meaner physique by virtue of seeing a nutritionist this offseason. For the spring, Marrero is a perfect 4-for-4. Sure, it’s early, and it’s just a couple of games, but it’s good news nevertheless.

Other notable prospects…

  • Wilson Ramos got the start at catcher and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
  • Danny Espinosa started again at 2B and went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. He also helped turn a 4-6-3 DP.
  • Bryce Harper came off the bench and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout. Defensively, he threw out a runner at 2B but also misplayed a ball during the 9th.
  • Brian Broderick was the first man out of the bullpen, throwing two scoreless innings and striking out two while allowing one hit.

With the loss, the Nats fall to 3-2 for the Grapefruit campaign and travel tomorrow to Tampa to face the New York Yankees.

Three Pitchers Reassigned To Minor-League Camp

 Uncategorized  9 Responses »
Mar 042011
 

A day sooner than expected, the Nationals announced that three pitchers have been sent to minor-league camp…

  • Shairon Martis
  • Matt Chico
  • Joe Bisenius

While Martis and Chico each pitched an inning this week, Bisenius was sent down without any appearances. All three had been removed from the 40-man roster this past offseason. Now they will be presumably battling for a position on the Syracuse staff, which is not necessarily a given with the influx of talent from Harrisburg (e.g. Tom Milone, Ryan Tatusko) and contending relievers such as Adam Carr and Cole Kimball.

Norris Knock Takes A Little Sting Off Mock Getting Rocked

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  6 Responses »
Mar 032011
 

OK, so maybe I’m a day late on the Dr. Seuss peg, but the Nationals were most definitely a dollar short on Thursday, falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 for their first Spring Training loss in 2011.

Derek Norris’s solo HR in the top of the 8th was the highlight on the prospect front, taking a bit of the sting off an ugly fourth inning that saw Garrett Mock serve give up five runs in two-thirds of an inning on two hits and three walks.

Danny Espinosa’s error helped prolong the five-run fourth, as he started again at 2B and went 1-for-3 with a stolen base. Wilson Ramos was the DH and went 2-for-3 with a runs scored and an RBI.

Other notable prospects…

  • Bryce Harper went 0-for-2, lowering his batting average to .143
  • Jhonatan Solano went 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter for Ramos.

With the loss, the Nats drop to 3-1 for the spring. They return to Viera for a split-squad game against the Braves tomorrow. Over the weekend, the Nats travel to Tampa to visit the Yankees and then rematch against the Braves on Sunday, which will also be the first MASN telecast. The first round of cuts is expected after Saturday’s game, setting up the possibility for Harper to be sent to minor-league camp.

Speaking of which, minor-league pitchers and catchers are due to report tomorrow while position players are scheduled to report on Tuesday.

Maya Tosses Two Scoreless Innings

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  8 Responses »
Mar 022011
 

Yunesky Maya, one of several candidates for the back end of the Washington Nationals rotation, made his case with two scoreless innings as the Washington Nationals doubled up the Florida Marlins, 8-4.

Maya struck out three and allowed two hits, featuring his curveball and throwing 23 pitches, 16 for strikes. He also started a 1-6-3 double play in his second inning of work (the fifth) and was credited with a hold.

Offensively, the Nationals were paced by another four-run outburst, this time in the second inning and highlighted by a three-run blast by Roger Bernadina.

No prospects got the start, as projected bench player Jerry Hairston Jr. manned 2B instead of  Danny Espinosa and non-roster invitee Michael Aubrey took 1B as Adam LaRoche once again was the DH.

Other notable prospects…

  • Bryce Harper drew a walk and scored a run while pinch-hitting for Laynce Nix in his first at-bat and flew out to deep LCF in his second at-bat.
  • Wilson Ramos followed Jesus Flores as the team’s backstop and went 0-for-1. No baserunners attempt to steal against him.
  • Atahualpa Severino threw a 1-2-3 seventh inning and finished the inning with a caught-looking strikeout.

Tomorrow, a split-squad team travels to Jupiter, Florida to visit the St. Louis Cardinals.

A Couple of Minor Pitcher Signings

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  5 Responses »
Mar 022011
 

As mentioned in the comments by NFA Brian, the Nationals have signed a couple of pitchers to minor-league contracts.

Most notably, one of those signed was Sam Brown, who was drafted in the 7th round by the Nationals out of high school in 2006 but did not sign. He was drafted again in 2008 by Arizona in the 18th round but did not sign with his drafting team until 2009 by the Texas Rangers. Brown appeared in 31 games and posted a 3.45 ERA (all in relief) for Spokane in the short-season Northwest League that year. He repeated briefly last year before getting promoted to Hickory in the Sally League, but pitched poorly (6.45 ERA, 1.917 WHIP) in 19 games. He released this past January.

Also signed was Scott Mueller, another thrice-drafted pitcher that finally signed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2007. He rose as high as Frederick in 2008, but was released following a dismal 2009 season with Delmarva. He pitched last season in the independent Frontier League, making the All-Star game as a closer for the Traverse City Bums with a 2-0, 2.04 ERA mark and 14 saves in 38 games.

Should they make the cut, Hagerstown would appear to be the most likely destination for the 23-year-old Brown and the 24-year Mueller (both have June birthdays), given their lack of success or experience at High-A (the Frontier League is a middle-tier indy, roughly equivalent to Low-A). It may also be a signal from the front office that there will be fewer pitchers making the leap from the GCL and the New York-Penn League than usual.

Harper Singles As Nats Win Again

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  7 Responses »
Mar 012011
 

The beauty (and agony) of baseball is that every day is a new chance to forget yesterday. After striking out twice yesterday, Bryce Harper buried his inglorious two-K debut and served up an opposite-field single in his first at-bat today as the Nationals escaped a shaky 9th to beat the New York Mets, 5-3. Harper went 1-for-2 overall and fielded two doubles, the second of which was not fielded cleanly according to NatsNQ (via Twitter).

Danny Espinosa started again at second base, with Chris Marrero at first base, filling in for DH Adam LaRoche (shoulder soreness). Espinosa knocked in two with a two-run HR in the bottom of the Nats’ four-run fourth inning and laid down the tag on a strike-em-out-throw-em-out DP in the previous half-inning. Marrero singled twice in two at-bats out of the #9 hole and did not make an error.

Other notable prospects…

  • Corey Brown once again spelled Nyjer Morgan in CF, rapping an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th, but left the game after a collision at home plate while trying to score on an grounder to 1B by Harper.
  • Derek Norris replaced Ivan Rodriguez and went 1-for-2, popping to short in his first at-bat and singling to 3B in his second AB
  • Cole Kimball pitched a scoreless sixth inning, walking one and striking out one. The stadium’s radar gun was inoperative so no word on how hard he was throwing.

The Nationals remain in Viera tomorrow for an afternoon tilt against the Florida Marlins.

Feel The Breeze

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  9 Responses »
Feb 282011
 

The Nationals #1 draft pick Bryce Harper made his 2011 Spring Training debut and as the pic and the headline says, twice the phenom went down on strikes — swinging at a breaking pitch in the dirt the first time on an 0-2 count and missing a 1-2 fastball in his second AB. He had come into the game as a pinch-runner for DH Matt Stairs.

The Washington Nationals won the game 9-3, highlighted by a pair of two-run home runs by Michael Morse in the 7th and 9th innings, both of which preceded Harper’s strikeouts.

Wilson Ramos got the start behind the plate and went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored, while Danny Espinosa went 1-for-2 with HBP while playing 2B. No baserunners tried to steal against Ramos while Espinosa started a 4-6-3 double play in the second inning.

Other notable prospects…

  • Corey Brown replaced Nyjer Morgan in CF and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.
  • Brian Broderick pitched the 6th inning and allowed one hit while striking out one.
  • Adam Carr finished the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning and also struck out one.

The two teams play each other tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. in Viera.

Morning Reading

 News and Notes, Uncategorized  5 Responses »
Feb 282011
 

Today’s the first game of Spring Training, which means we’ll have box scores to look at tomorrow and 234 tweets about Bryce Harper this afternoon. Tomorrow night, the tape-delayed game will be shown on the MLB Network, and for a preview, here’s a story by Bill “The Rocket” Ladson.

In between, a few stories of note that appeared from the rest of the beat guys over the weekend…

MASN’s Ben Goessling posted the roster of the mincamp, a.k.a. accelerated minor-league camp, a list of names we’re rather familiar with as 18 of the 22 pitchers, three of the five catchers, nine of the 10 infielders, and all six of the outfielders are on our watchlist. Goessling also had a nice post about the reuniting of college teammates Corey Brown and Adam Carr.

Steve Lombardozzi is among the infielders (oversight, note that there are nine names but “10″ in the subhead), so perhaps the most notable omission is Tanner Roark. Cameron Selik, Mitchell Clegg and Hassan Pena are three pitchers that weren’t sent to the FIL (almost all the position players were), leading to the inference that they had been shut down for the year (that’s almost certain with Clegg, who was sent to the GCL for a stint). Otherwise, as noted in the comments, it appears that Michael Taylor is being converted to the outfield.

CSN Washington’s Mark Zuckerman filed one of the great staples of spring-training sportswriting, the upbeat teammates piece, profiling the Nats’ double-play combo of Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa, proclaiming they’re a “duo with ‘swagger.’” No word on whether father-to-be Desmond will be rockin’ the swagger wagon.

Washington Post beat writer Adam Kilgore gave us a rundown of Rule 5 pickup Brian Broderick’s faceoff against Bryce Harper, which ended with the 18-year-old going down on strikes just as he did when the two matched up in the Arizona Fall League. As I remarked in the comments, I think he’s going to see a steady diet of offspeed and breaking pitches until he proves he can hit them. In some ways, getting carved up like this a few times may prove beneficial, as it’s clear Mr. Harper is unlikely to be demoralized and more likely to accept his failure a la Pedro Cerrano as a challenge.

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