Last Night In Woodbridge
Oh, look the P-Nats gave up a big inning early and lost
Well, sometimes rehab starts do live up to their billing.
Of course, we would expect no less from the “Face of the Franchise” as Ryan Zimmerman went 2-for-3 with a double and made two plays in the field, though he did do his best imitation of a high-A third baseman on the first ball hit to him, which skipped into left untouched on perhaps an in-between hop [insert bitching about Pfitzner field here].
In his first at-bat, Zimmerman blasted a double to the base of the left field wall. In his second, he waited on a fastball and served a line drive to the 3/4 hole between first and second. In his third at bat, he got under a fastball a flew out to center.
Did I not mention the score yet?
Well, that’s because it was a forgettable, yet quite familiar 8-1 loss to Frederick that snapped a four-game winning streak (all on the road, just like the previous and only other four-gamer) and extended the home losing streak to eight games. The tragic number is now one, for those of you who are wondering.
Trevor Holder took the loss for third time in four home starts, allowing five runs in the second inning and eight runs total over five-plus innings. If this sounds familiar, that’s because his home ERA is 10.19, WHIP is 1.81, FIP is 5.99 (on the road those rates are 5.74, 1.23, and 2.55). Unfortunately, the Pfitz’s park effects are historically neutral.
Yes, Holder pitched well once the hole was dug, but one has to wonder how much longer he can stick in the rotation before he’s sent to the ‘pen. Evan Bronson certainly made his case as a replacement, even if he let in both runners Holder left him. He finished the game with four innings pitched, two hits and one walk allowed, and two strikeouts.
Of course, complaining discussing the pitching (or lack thereof) is a Sysiphean exercise when the hitters aren’t hitting as a team. Individually, Justin Bloxom went 3-for-4 with a HR and the lone Potomac RBI and Sandy Leon went 2-for-3 with a double, but minus Zimmerman, that’s just six hits. Eury Perez’s infield single was only other hit.
As aforementioned, the loss dropped Potomac to 13 games behind Frederick and on the brink of mathematical elimination from the first-half race. Paul Demny (2-5, 4.50) takes the hill tonight, opposed by the Keys’ Nathan Moreau (5-3, 3.76).
Where is that young man who was defending the Holder pick 5 days ago? Is he a Potomac season ticket Holder? I hope he closely followed the draft this year and will be similarly overjoyed about other organization’s signability picks, such as whomever the broke Dodgers likely drafted.
Team hitting is middle of the pack in the Carolina League. Let’s see where they are in the rankings after this (long-awaited) homestand. I’ve got to think that the consistent daily routine that comes from being “home” should assist in their development.
Joe, are you saying that having home games in Frederick is as bad for hitting as it is for marketing?
That would be an affirmative. Don’t know what the team routine was for that debacle/embarrassment, but guessing it was not (1) go to Pfitz to train/hit in that “cage”*, (2) jump on bus, (3) go to game, (4) jump back on bus back to Pfitz, (5) jump in bed.
I’m wondering if the Nats would dare send Harper to the pits I mean Pfitz. If it were me, I’d skip it and send him to Harrisburg.
From the get-go, Holder was not considered even close to being a fourth round pick–by anybody. And he has backed up that opinion, in spades. Nobody seemed to get it when he was chosen, and nothing has changed.
I think we all know the real reason Holder was taken in the 3rd. This was the same year we took Strasburg and it was known by everyone in baseball that Boris was going to make that a difficult and expensive sign. Holder on the other hand, was an easy/cheap sign. This allowed them to focus their money and attention on Strasburg.