How Are These Nats Above .500?
By Jamie Mottram | May 27, 2013
The Nats won a MLB-leading 98 games in 2012 and were the favorites to win it all this year, but they’re 26-24 with a -20 run differential through the first 50 games, 4.5 games behind Atlanta. After two months of scuffling, they seem lucky to be on the good side of .500.
It’s kinda hard to be a winning club when you hit like shit:
– 28th in batting average (.230)
– 29th in on-base percentage (.294)
– 28th in slugging percentage (.367)
– 28th in runs (3.5 per game)
– 23rd in home runs (43)
And when you have individual performances like this:
– Stephen Strasburg is 3-5.
– Denard Span’s OPS is .670, which would be the lowest of his career.
– Adam LaRoche’s OPS is .743, which would also be the lowest of his career.
– Dan Haren’s ERA is 5.43, which would be the highest of his career.
– Rafael Soriano has blown three saves.
– Drew Storen has also blown three saves.
– Danny Espinosa’s slashline is .163/.196/.291.
– Tyler Moore’s slashline is even worse (.147/.207/.240).
– And Roger Bernadina’s slashline is even worse (.113, .191, .145).
Also when you’ve had several injuries to key players:
– Bryce Harper has missed six games.
– Ryan Zimmerman has missed 14 games.
– Jayson Werth has missed 23 games.
– Wilson Ramos has two trips to the DL.
So what’s their saving grace? Well, the starting pitching. Despite Strasburg’s record, Haren’s ERA and the bullpen’s struggles, the Nats are still seventh in ERA (3.48) and tied for fourth in WHIP (1.22). As expected, the rotation is awesome, or at least four-fifths awesome.
Jordan Zimmermann is a Cy Young candidate. Gio Gonzalez is basically the same studly bro we know and love. Ross Detwiler doesn’t go deep, but he does keep runs down (though he is on the DL). And Strasburg is the same as he ever was, if not better (23 IP his last three starts).
That pretty much has to continue, and the offense has to rebound. The good news is, aside from Bryce Harper and Ian Desmond, no one in the lineup is playing up to expectation, and there doesn’t seem to be any real reason for it. This is a team that scored the fifth-most runs in the NL last year after all.
The bad news is the bench has turned into a pumpkin. Mike Morse isn’t walking through that door. Espinosa doesn’t look like a rebound candidate. And Harper says his knee “probably won’t get better until the offseason.”
So maybe the bats don’t come around, and it’s on ZNN, Stras and Gio to carry them. With a start like this, they’ll be thankful for those 26 wins, three games off last year’s team at the 50-game mark.
Topics: Nationals | 1 Comment »
DMV: RGIII Is Playing Football!
By Jamie Mottram | May 24, 2013
RGIII is back where he belongs. No, not the football field—above the fold on WaPo’s front page. twitter.com/jfdulac/status…
— J. Freedom du Lac (@jfdulac) May 24, 2013
RGIII was on the field at yesterday’s OTA, throwing and running. [WaPo]
RGIII cried when awaking to realize he did have a torn ACL. [For The Win]
All the money quotes from RGIII’s 20-minute media session. [John Keim]
ESPN is giving RGIII’s return to practice the Tebow treatment. [Bog]
Nats come back home and enter a crucial stretch. [Nats Baseball]
Kevin Gausman’s debut wasn’t hot. O’s lost 12-6. [Camden Chat]
Gausman’s stuff is stick, as evidenced by this 99-MPH heat. [BSR]
Nate McLouth made a great catch, got a beer thrown at him. [FTW]
A longread catchup on last year’s Wiz second-rounder. [Truth About It]
Topics: DMV, Redskins, Robert Griffin III | No Comments »
DMV: The O’s Travel In Jean Suits
By Jamie Mottram | May 23, 2013
The O’s wore Canadian tuxedos for their road trip to Toronto. [BSR]
Jason Hammel gets the win as O’s beat Yanks to take series. [MASN]
Kevin Gausman debuts for the O’s tonight. There will be donuts. [FTW]
Here’s a report on what to expect from Gausman on the hill. [Fangraphs]
Chris Davis is on fire again and tied for the MLB lead in HR. [O's Insider]
Nats snap four-game skid in San Fran thanks to Gio and Bryce. [WaPo]
Hey, Bryce Harper made a catch at the wall. Progress! [Nats Journal]
Nats coach Steve McCatty modeled for Playgirl. [Baseball Prospectus]
Here are five things to look for at Redskins OTAs today. [The Insider]
Alex Len is mocked to go anywhere from four to 10. [Terps Insider]
Topics: DMV, High Fashion, Orioles | 1 Comment »
DMV: Scared Bryce Harper Costs Nationals A Win
By JP Finlay | May 22, 2013
So after blasting the wall in LA, Harper is now scared of hitting walls. [NE]
Rafael Soriano was not happy with Bryce for botching the 3rd out. [FTW]
Lost in the Nats loss is a good, 7 strong IP effort from Strasburg. [WaPo]
Orioles break 6-game losing skid with walk-off win over Yankees. [BLS]
Some important O’s stats, like Jim Johnson not blowing a save. [BS]
Kevin Gausman will make his Orioles debut Thursday. [Camden Chat]
Orakpo goes with a new Terminator/Predator facemask. [Hogs Haven]
Memphis transfer, Terps target, Antonio Barton will decide Sunday. [WP]
Durant proves to be best guy in NBA, wears Skins hat while doing it. [CSNW]
Don’t forget the Wiz landed the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft. Join the Mr. I draft discussion here.
Topics: DMV, Nationals | 3 Comments »
Who The Wiz Are Taking At No. 3
By Jamie Mottram | May 22, 2013
The Wiz won the Lottery, jumping up to No. 3 despite having the eighth-worst record. So now they get to add another cornerstone alongside John Wall and Brad Beal and hopefully get the hell out of the Lottery. Jack Kogod will weigh in later, but here’s a quick look at who the Wiz are looking at.
Draft Express’ mock draft top five:
1. Nerlens Noel, Cavs
2. Ben McLemore, Magic
3. Anthony Bennett, Wiz
4. Victor Oladipo, Bobcats
5. Otto Porter, Suns
1. Ben McLemore, Cavs
2. Nerlens Noel, Magic
3. Otto Porter, Wiz
4. Victor Oladipo, Bobcats
5. Anthony Bennett, Suns
Chad Ford’s top three (the rest is behind a paywall):
1. Nerlens Noel, Cavs
2. Trey Burke, Magic
3. Otto Porter, Wiz
Noel is probably gone by three. McLemore too, though I don’t think he’s good for the Wiz anyway. Bennett and Porter both fill a need at small forward, and the local tie with Otto is nice. Oladipo and Burke are somewhat redundant with Beal and Wall, but you could do worse than having those guys in the rotation.
So who do you want? I’m just glad there are no Czechs in the mix.
Topics: Wizards | 10 Comments »
DMV: RGIII Gets All The Wedding Presents
By JP Finlay | May 20, 2013
RGIII thanks fans for sending him loads of wedding gifts off registry. [Bog]
If RGIII-gift-gate isnt your thing, try Donte Stallworth and the CIA. [FTW]
Nats lose San Diego finale with poor pitching from Haren, bullpen. [NE]
Nats bullpen struggles will continue without moves being made. [NJ]
Awesome find of a very old Walter Johnson award dinner pamphlet. [NI]
Orioles in the middle of tailspin, lose 5th straight, swept by Rays. [CSNB]
Even the O’s GIFs of the Week are a bit sad, but still fun. [Camden Chat]
With O’s fading, might be the right time to bring up Kevin Gausman. [CCT]
Photo gallery of the beautiful mess that is Preakness. [Baltimore Sun]
Topics: DMV, Robert Griffin III | 3 Comments »
Today Is The 15th Anniversary Of My Favorite Baseball Fight Ever
By Jamie Mottram | May 19, 2013
Thanks to Camden Chat for the heads up that it’s been 15 years since the O’s-Yanks brawl that Armando Benitez touched off by beaning Tino Martinez and Alan Mills ended by clocking Darryl Strawberry. See the Mills punch below at the 37-second mark; it is the best.
Topics: New York Sucks, Orioles | 8 Comments »
Introducing A T-Shirt Celebrating The Washington ‘Football Team’
By Jamie Mottram | May 17, 2013
I’m not going to conduct a poll about it, and I’m not going to target-question American Indians, but I will venture to say some Washington football fans are uncomfortable with the team’s name. I know because I’m one of them.
So we partnered with Sneeki’s Tees, which designs awesome D.C. sports stuff, to make a T-shirt that a progressive Redskins fan can wear without having a racial slur across his/her chest. Consider it an act of silent, wearable protest. Plus, it’s a pretty good-looking shirt.
Get the high-quality, super-comfortable tee now in burgundy, black or white for just $24, and wear it with pride. I prefer burgundy myself.
Topics: High Fashion, Redskins, Redskins Name Change, T-Shirts | 77 Comments »
DMV: Stras Made It Past The 7th!
By Jamie Mottram | May 17, 2013
Strasburg goes a career-high eight innings and Harper homers as Nats beat Pads 6-2. (Did you know, BTW, that Stras’ ERA is down to 2.83?) [WaPo]
Johnny Football was there for the pregame festivities. [For The Win]
A little longread on the high-flying Baltimore Orioles. [Sports On Earth]
Skins to remove gaudy “collars” from white jerseys. [Sons of Washington]
Alex Ovechkin actually broke his foot during Game 6. [Russian Machine]
A reminder that the Caps aren’t losers. They’re actually pretty good. [JR]
Adam Oates think he could handle John Tortorella in a fistfight. [CSN D.C.]
(Image taken with love from @dcsportsbog.)
Topics: DMV, Nationals, Stephen Strasburg | No Comments »
Spotted: Redskins Crotch Rocket
By Jamie Mottram | May 16, 2013
This showed up in my Facebook feed the other day thanks to the DIE HARD REDSKINS FAMILY group, which I guess I’m a member of. Without knowing anything about sports bikes, I asked our brother Beef, who used to own one, what we’re looking at here. His reply:
Pretty sure that’s just a chicken head sitting on a sweet Redskins crotch rocket. I’m pretty sure I want that too … the bike, not the chicken head.
Thanks, Beef.
Topics: American Horsepower, Opposite Sex, Redskins | No Comments »