Sagauros Drop AFL Title Game, 5-1
Alas, it was Sterling Sharp who wore the loss as Salt River got to him for all five runs on two walks, a Victor Robles, two singles, and a grand slam. He faced eight batters and retired just two of them, throwing 27 pitches (one wild) with 16 going for strikes.
Luis Garcia batted second and started at shortstop. He singled twice and drove in the lone Surprise run. Defensively, he had two assists.
Nick Banks was the No. 6 man in the Sagauros lineup and went 1-for-3. In the field, right field, Banks handled a single and a double and had two putouts and an assist, the latter a 9-3 double play to end the top of the 9th.
Though there’s still baseball being played by the Nationals, the 2019 minor-league season is over – the tenth for this layer of the Natmosphere. We cannot thank Lee enough for gracing us with his photographs from Arizona for this year and the past eight total.
I watched Sharp’s inning. He just wasn’t able to locate his pitches consistently. He flashed a couple of nice secondaries, and his delivery somewhat recalls Zack Greinke. But his command was just not there, and the proof is in the pudding. Tough way to end what had been looking like a breakout fall. Relieving is hard.
I did see Luis García made an amazing play later in the game to corral a loose ball on the infield and fire an absolute seed to catch Víctor Víctor Mesa trying to take third base. He sure looks like the Nats’ shortstop of the future.
Thanks Sao.
I want to take a poll. If this was not the WS would Alex PUNK Bregmann get a ball in the ribs for showing up Stras twice in a week ??
Is anybody feeling what I am saying ?? Is MLB fans climbing on board this new nickname for Alex PUNK ( in Dirty Harry Callahan voice ?)
Ok.
Next spring. If Stras opts out of town for greener pastures , then do the Nats hold onto Ross and Fedde or explore the future in Sharp , Crowe and Braymer ?? Cate further down the line in 2020??
I have to shout this out tonight before Max takes the bump in Houston : for Forindicane and all the ex-P.O. fans who have reveled in the Revenge on Rick Monday in LA and shooting down the St Louis birds who wrecked havoc on expo teams during Whiteys reign there… tonight’s result will be best expressed with an old age sigh and that’s all folks. …
Thankfully, there is still a little time left for the big club.
Great job, Lee, you sure made this last month or so a lot more enjoyable.
Thank you for your continued support and kind words Mark!!~
Surprise stats: http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&sid=l119&cid=542
Luke — thanks for all the coverage.
Lee — thanks again for the photos. This particular one makes Andrew Lee look like an impressive individual, totaling about two Cole Freemans!
You’re welcome KW. And thank you for your continued support and kind words as well.
lol@ Natsmath, 2 Coles= 1 Andrew. As a man and a nice kid, Cole measures up equally to anyone I’ve met at Fall League.
The Nats sent a great group this season.
So what did we learn in AZ? Garcia had a blazing start, cooled off some, but overall still looked like a legit higher-level prospect, particularly when you factor in that he’s only 19. We’re still waiting for some power to show, though.
Reetz looked to be really showing something before a terribly unfortunate injury. Knee injuries and catching are a terrible combination. Banks did enough to still be considered a fringe prospect to make it, but not enough to get excited. Freeman really struggled but hasn’t played above the A+ level. Harrison saw only limited action.
Sharp was impressive until the finale. He’s one who will enter the Twilight Zone of development as they have to decide whether to expose him to the wilds of the PCL or keep him at AA. Lee and Condra-Bogan certainly did enough to earn NRI invites to camp in the spring, although Lee may actually be on the roster if they add him to the 40-man before the Rule 5 draft. That’s a tough call, as he’s an older player on his third elbow, but he’s also the kind of hard-throwing reliever a team might be able to carry all year. Then there’s Raquet, who struggled toward the end of the AZ stint but also had already pitched 130 innings during the regular season. Was he just tired, or is he going to struggle at higher levels? And is it confirmed that they’ll keep him in the ‘pen?
I may have missed a discussion on this, but did the game attendees weigh in on the electronic strike zone usage?
I found a good story about that here. The general consensus on “Karen” (named after the computer on SpongeBob Squarepants) is that she doesn’t allow pitchers to paint the black, which catchers don’t like because it takes away one of their intangibles (pitch-framing, though in this WS it would help since none of the catchers have demonstrated that skill, looking like Mr. Miyagi trying to catch a fly with chopsticks). And hitters aren’t keen on how it calls the high strike, especially on breaking pitches.
Peter Gammons famously wrote about the high strike (or lack thereof) in the 1987 preview issue (yeah, the one where they proclaimed the Cleveland Indians to be WS Champs [facepalm]), which proved to be prescient because after that season — the first where people starting making claims about the ball being juiced — MLB readjusted the strike zone and sure enough, HRs went down.
Personally, I have noticed that pitchers are starting to throw breaking pitches up in the zone to combat the “launch angle” approach to hitting (a.k.a. swing with a slight uppercut) since most mortals can’t adjust to both speed and location on the fly. Obviously, that’s playing with fire when you miss (“put a coat on that hanger!”) but I think there is a use for this concept/technology (which is a lot older than most people think) to train umpires to call the high strike. I’m just not sure it’s something that should be used beyond that.
thank you for the links and again for all your work on this site.
most opinions on the issue seem to allow the commentator some wiggle room. no doubt due to the havoc that instant replay has caused.
to me the issue is that, if you are going to allow technology to review safe/out plays down to the nano-second then you need to acknowledge that missed balls and strokes have the same impact.
Not one of the 3 dozen. or so, players I spoke to liked or want the electronic strike zone.
When I pressed them specifically on my point that umpires sometimes hold grudges which cloud their views every player said it’s part of the game.
Luke. great season. magical. Everytime my dog walks me past Cardinal Way I will chuckle at how I thought the Cards could not be beat.
Lee, I guess you could not get Garcia and Banks in the photo..nice photo..may you end up getting work with bubble gum card companies…Upper Deck especially.
Nats hit better in Minute Maid. the two studs for the feathyer being pulled out of the proverbial cap…
The non-starters were grouped together and I was able to get their collective attention before their intro’s.
Starters Luis & Nick were introduced individually. I did have pics of each of them on the line.
It is extremely difficult to get all of the players together for a group shot.
I was told the one I did several years ago was the first of it’s kind in many years. And that took me until the final game to get.
The Nats had 3 pitchers, Lee, Codra-Bogzn, and Sharp with a WHIP of under .95. Pretty impressive.
Just a reminder that Juan Soto started last season in Hagerstown. I wonder whether he had HOF pitchers there trying to tell him what he’s not going to do, just before he sent the next pitch to Dallas.
(Verlander seems not to know what to do with precocious Nat kids, considering that Carter K. took him deep and then deeper in a spring game.)
I love this team. Let’s go 1-0 just one more time.
Our WORLD CHAMPION WASHINGTON NATIONALS!