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Monday’s News & Notes

Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Postponed vs. Buffalo,
5:00 p.m.		 Duke (11-5, 3.78) and
Lannan (6-10, 5.24) vs.
Z. Wheeler (AAA debut)
and Mejia (1-2, 3.57)
Harrisburg Lost, 6-3
(5½ inn, rain)		 OFF DAY N/A
Potomac Lost, 6-4 OFF DAY N/A
Hagerstown Lost, 16-6 vs. Lexington,
7:05 p.m.		 Rauh (1-1, 6.59) vs.
Cruz (8-5, 3.75)
Auburn Lost, 8-0
(8 inn., rain)		 @ Brooklyn,
11:00 a.m.		 Fischer (1-2, 5.25) vs.
Lara (5-1, 2.72)
GCL Nationals OFF DAY vs. GCL Cardinals,
12:00 p.m.		 Selsor (0-2, 6.12) vs.
Foody (0-1, 5.68)
DSL Nationals OFF DAY @ DSL Cubs2,
10:30 a.m.		 Silvestre (4-3, 3.81) vs.
Santana (1-3, 2.85)

SYRACUSE CHIEFS — PPD
Rain postponed Sunday’s series finale and will be made up today with a doubleheader in Syracuse.

Richmond 6 Harrisburg 3 (5½ inn.)
• Rosenbaum (L, 7-9) 4+IP, 6H, 6R, 4ER, 3BB, 4K
• Tatusko 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, 2-0 IR-S
• Goodwin 2-3, R, 3B, RBI
• Nicol 2-2, 2RBI

Danny Rosenbaum failed to retire any of the six batters he faced in the four-run 5th as Senators dropped a rain-shortened series finale, 6-3. The 24-year-old southpaw gave up six runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks but suffered his 9th loss. The Senators rallied for two in their half of the 5th to cut the deficit from 6-1 to 6-3, but the umpires called it after waiting 47 minutes midway through the 6th, killing the chance for comeback and a three-game sweep. Brian Goodwin and Sean Nicol accounted for four of Harrisburg’s nine hits and all three RBI. Roster moves: Geoff Morrow of the Patriot News is reporting C James Skelton will return from Potomac, OF J.R. Higley will return to Hagerstown.

Winston-Salem 6 Potomac 4
• Grace (L, 6-11) 3IP, 9H, 5R, 5ER, BB, 2K, 0HR
• Barrett 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, K, HBP
• Ramirez 2-4
• Soriano 2-4, 3B

Make it a perfect 0-for-10 at BB&T Park as the Potomac Nationals lost again in Winston-Salem, 6-4. Starter Matt Grace was skewered for five runs on nine hits (seven singles, a double, and a triple) and a walk over three innings to lose his team-leading 11th game. Joe Testa, Aaron Barrett, and Neil Holland combined for one run over five innings of relief, but the offense could only manage one four-run outburst in the 6th. J.P. Ramirez and Francisco Soriano paced the P-Nats offense with 2-for-4 efforts.

Lexington 16 Hagerstown 6
• Jordan (L, 0-2) 3IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 4K, HR
• Ramsey 3-5, R, 2-2B
• Burns 3-5, 2B, RBI, CS, E
• Alvarez 2-3, R, 2B, 3B, BB, RBI

Lexington ran roughshod over Hagerstown for the second straight game, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 16-6 beatdown. Starter Taylor Jordan lasted just three innings, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four. None of the four Suns pitchers emerged unscathed, with each of the three relievers giving up three or more runs. Caleb Ramsey and Billy Burns combined to go 6-for-10 with three doubles to pace the Hagerstown offense. Roster move: RHP Wilson Eusebio activated from DL.

Brooklyn 8 Auburn 0 (8 inn.)
• Mooneyham (L, 1-1) 1⅔ IP, 5H, 6R, 3ER, 2BB, 3K, HR
• Henke 2⅓ IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• E. Martinez 1-3, BB (17-gm hit streak)
• Manuel 1-2, BB

Though Johan Santana did toss three rehab innings with the expected results (0R, 1H, 1BB, 3K), the Doubledays made the rest of the Cyclones pitchers look good in a rain-shortened 8-0 shutout. Starter Brett Mooneyham was knocked around for six runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks over an inning and 2/3rds. Auburn mustered just four hits while committing four errors, though Estarlin Martinez did extend his hit streak to 17 games with a single in the top half of the 8th. Roster move: Auburn PR man Eli Pearlstein has announced that Anthony Rendon’s rehab stint with the Doubedays is over and will return to the Potomac Nationals, most likely on Tuesday in Myrtle Beach.

GCL NATIONALS — OFF DAY
It’s Cardinals, Marlins, then Astros and home games on Monday, Wednesday, and a doubleheader on Friday. Roster move: RHP Chris McKenzie assigned from Hagerstown (rehab).

DSL NATIONALS — OFF DAY
This week’s opponents are the DSL Cubs2, Mets1, and Yankees1 squads with home games on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Roster move: LHP Raul Ruiz, a 21-y.o. that was previously with VSL Pirates from 2008-2010, assigned from Washington.

17 Commments

  1. Wilson Eusebio. Comes off the DL and immediately returns to form. He has no velocity, no location, no movement. So why is he still here? WORST pitcher I have ever seen, and has the numbers to prove it.

  2. Luke, you nailed it. Renden played 9 innings Saturday and is heading straight to Potomac. This gives him a good 4 weeks to show what he has.

    Can somebody explain what’s going on with Rosenbaum?

    1. He’s a soft tossing lefty that is pitching like one?

      Saw him pitch in Richmond… and certainly didn’t see what all the hype was about. He’s serviceable, but not a guy that I felt would be in the Nats long term plans.

      1. Rosenbaum generally throws in the low 90s, topping out around 93, though it should be noted (yet again) that velocity matters a whole lot less than location, which is what I keep hearing/reading from the beat guys; Rosenbaum has been struggling with his command and leaving pitches up in the zone.

        This is why it’s important to NOT pound the drum for a promotion until the league has seen a guy twice. First time through, Rosenbaum owned the E.L. Since then, however, the E.L. has adjusted to him and Rosenbaum has struggled to adjust back.

        1. Odd, maybe the Richmond stadium gun wasn’t pitching up his velocity all that well… but Rosenbaum was consistently topping out around 88 the night I saw him pitch.

          I’ll miss him when they come to town this week… but I do get to see Goodwin, so I’m very excited about that!

          1. I’m jealous. While we’re hearing comparison’s between Eury Perez & Goodwin, I think there’s a difference in ceilings. To quote from yesterday’s thread, Perez can be a Juan Pierre with a very superior arm, while Goodwin’s ceiling is that of a superstar.
            SensFan’s been saying he needs work in the field, but he’s got time (only 22) and he’s getting better at an accrelerated rate.

          2. Totally possible we’re both right, though knowing the configuration of Pfitzner South, it wouldn’t surprise me if I were to learn that the gun is off 2-3 mph.

          3. Johan Santana was 86-88 vs. the Doubledays and he still performed as expected – and the same could be said for other major league lefties that perform just fine throwing in the upper 80s. The radar gun means a lot less than some people like to think.

          4. Velocity also helps to mask control mistakes pitchers make.

            Without top shelf velocity, a pitcher has to be THAT much better to succeed.

  3. Who’s comparing the two?

    One is slap hitter i.e. Juan Pierre… and one is a guy with plate discipline (though the K% could be lower in AA) that also shows heaps of power and speed.

  5. Some INTL signings.

    ‏@JamesWagnerWP

    Nats also announce signings of RHP Ramses Rosario (Venez.) & OFs Aldrem Corredor (Ven.), Darryl Florentino (Dom. R.) & Luis Guzman (also DR)

  6. 2012 1st rounder Lucas Giolito and 2011 16th rounder Deion Williams (position player converting to pitcher) were scheduled to throw “live BP” today in Viera.

    Stay tuned!

  7. In the first game of the doubleheader, Eury extends his hitting streak by going 2-for-3 with a steal AND a walk.

    He now has FOUR whole walks in his 16 games at AAA, which doesn’t sound like a lot till you realize before he got to Syracuse he had 8 in 87 games at AA and a rehab stint and that last year.

  8. Karns made it to Jim Callis’ Ask BA (not behind the subscription wall):
    What are your thoughts on Nationals righthander Nathan Karns, who has been pretty unhittable this year? Does he project as a No. 3 starter, or is the bullpen his calling?

    Jason VanHouten
    Albany, N.Y.
    In his first fully healthy season of pro ball, Karns has been spectacular. He has gone 11-2, 1.83 with a 135-42 K-BB ratio in 108 innings, and he leads the minors in opponent average (.154) while ranking second in ERA. Shortly after signing for $225,000 as a 12th-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2009, he had surgery to repair a tear in his labrum in his shoulder, so he didn’t make his pro debut until 2011 or reach full-season ball until this year.

    Despite his success this year, most of which has come as a starter, I still envision Karns becoming a reliever. He succeeds mainly with two pitches, a low-90s fastball that can touch 95 mph and a hard curveball. The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder always has featured a lot of effort in his delivery, which hampers his command and his ability to work deep into games.

    Because of the delay to the start of his pro career, Karns already is 24 and has yet to advance past high Class A. The Nationals surely will continue to develop him as a starter for now, but they already have one of the deeper big league rotations and he’ll probably be best off airing out his fastball and mixing in his curve in short stints.

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