Jerome Williams will not be back.
His line tonight...
Williams (L, 0-3) 3.0 11 hits 11 runs 7 ER 2 BB 2 K 9.48
They can't all be winners.
I have to admit, I didn't see today's day game, but I heard about it. And you have to be pleased at our pitching lately. Scrap heap find over and over, and we squeeze real performances out of them. This team is nowhere near being good yet, but as has been said by every single National announcer, the Nationals don't give up, and will fight you the whole game. So, keep doin that guys. Hopefully the front office puts up the dough for 2 or 3 big offseason moves, and that we can moves these picks to high Minors next year, which will set us up for 2009. Wooooo!
That's right, I'm challenging anyone who thinks this Belliard deal isn't a good one to a duel. 10 paces at dawn, bring it! Here are some reasons why this is a good deal for team:
1. He hits the ball
Unlike the rest of the team sans D'Meat and Guzmania, Belliard has good at bats. He looks at pitches and can spray the ball all over the field. He may not have power but he plays in the one position where it's excusable...2nd base. Now I really don't understand why 2b's get a pass to be just base hitters but that's another issue.
2. Felipe is not the long term answer at SS
Stay with me here. Felipe Lopez is playing SS this year due to Guzman's freaky finger injury. Thus when Guz comes back next year and continues to romp (Guzmania 2K8 lives here, don't accept imitations), Lopez is back at second. And that means Belliard is on the bench. Which is arguably where he is the most valuable. Just look at the stiffs we send up to pinch hit now. With the exception being Jesus Flores, our pinch hitters are despicable. Belliard would be a definite upgrade on the bench.
3. We're not a mid-market team
Now after my last point, I'm sure a lot of you are saying, "So we just signed a 32 y/o bench player to a 2-year, 3.5 million dollar deal! THAT'S RIDICULOUS!!!" Despite the low-level product we've put out in the past and present, the Nationals are a big money team. According to Forbes magazine, the Washington Nationals are the 6th most valuable team in baseball, just behind the Cubs and Dodgers and ahead of St. Louis, Philly, Atlanta, and Anaheim. The Washington metro area is the 8th largest in the nation. So while the Lerners have committed t "The Plan" of re-stocking the farm system, they are showing with this trade that they do have deep pockets and we will not hesitate to sign someone that will help the ball club.
As always, I don't care about your thoughts. Unless they agree with mine they're wrong. But you can click the little comment link and put them in anyways, and I will ridicule you!
Watching this game today, I've come to a few conclusions:
Felipe Lopez is in a big time funk, and looks really lost at the place. Overstriding, and swinging off balance. I wouldn't be opposed to letting him go at the end of the season, and keeping Belliard at 2B for a few years.
Bergmann is having issues keeping the ball down. Is it mental, mechanical, physical? I don't know, that's why they pay St. Claire to figure it all out.
Dmitri Young is a monster. This guy is playing a different game than the rest of the league. He is spraying the ball over the field, and never gives up on an at bat. I say keep him for the year, if Nick looks like he is still made of Candy glass, offer him a 2 year deal, and put him on a weight loss program. If Nick looks like he'll be ok, get your compensation picks.
I hate Austin Kearns swing. I hate it. No matter what, he looks he's late on the pitch. I don't care if he hit .350, someone has gotta get this guy to a hitting tee, and tell him to go to the ball with his hands.
I used to be pro-Langerhans, anti-Nook. I'm mostly apathetic now, but Nook's speed keeps him on the team in my book. A lot of teams have their speedster, (Bourn in Philly, Willits on Anaheim, Harris on Atlanta) and they can change the game with that speed. Langerhans is a defensive player at best, which you don't need on a last place team. (Update: He's a defensive player that can hit an upper deck homerun. I don't know anything)
Micah Bowie is a dork. "Get r dun". No, Micah. No.
I'm starting to like Don Sutton. He has a good voice for Color. He's no Vin Scully, who I got to listen to on my free Mlb Extra Innings preview. That man's voice is silky smooth. And the guy who did a few minutes in the Philly game this weekend on ESPN was way better than Jon Miller.
The Astros suck. I wish they traded Hunter Pence to us for Sori last year.
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For the few readers who check here occasionally for new posts in vain, go check out DC Sports Bog this week, as our favorite blogger, Chris Needham from Capital Punishment is guest blogging. He's always entertaining, and has the endurance to continue to post with a team that gives us a win followed by 2 losses most of the time. So go do it.
As you may or may not have noticed, we kind of stopped posting. It was a chore, and we (the Nats) are painfully inconsistent. Right when we get excited about the team (crazy awesome May-early June), they bring back the suck. Its very frustrating, as I'm sure you know.
The All Star break seems like an eternity for a baseball fan, but is probably nowhere near long enough for a player. I imagine most ballplayer's wives don't remember what they look like after a long road trip, but they also find comfort in spending their hubby's ungodly wages coming from playing a game. Nonetheless, we're in a sports vacuum today, aside from some soccer which I love. I'm not going to give the Nats a midseason report, mainly because if they had a grade, it would be an F. They're in last, they will be for a couple seasons, and they're only going to get worse in the second half. They get no D's. A few players deserve high grades, but the low grades from everyone else bring down the average. It's like that retarded trailor trash kid that screwed up your 6th grade class' SOL score. Asshole.
So, let's hope we don't embarrass ourselves in the second half. Why do I say that? Because I'm sure we'll be losing D-meat, Belliard, and possibly our closer and setup man. That makes a Big Momma sized hole in our already anemic offense, and kills our bullpen. So, pardon me for not drawing hearts on my Nats ticket stubs, and dreaming of the future, since the immediate future is pretty dark.
Haven't posted in awhile cause there hasn't really been much to say. I'm rendered speechless by the suck that is our team right now. Mannyger should have them practicing hitting off tees, just so they can remember what contact feels like, cause they're not getting any of it in games. Ever since Guz went down the sticks have gone away. And I think its giving our pitchers/guys with arms confidence problems. How can you go out and pitch effectively if you know its not really going to matter because we're only going to score 2 runs and they won't be scored until the 8th or 9th. Amazingly though, our team is on about the same pace as our team was last year. We just had a little more firepower last year so it was bearable to watch. As the trade deadline approaches, the team is going to shift in a new direction and though the play might not be much better, it still leaves the door open for an exciting second half. Exciting in the sense that we might get to see a lot of the younger guys in the system get some PT, oh and Nick Johnson might play a game or two. I sort of want Bowden to keep DMeat. I don't really think we're going to get a lot of value prospect wise out of him because of his age. So unless we get an offer that we can't refuse prospect wise, we should just hold on to him and milk him for all he's worth. Plus he looks like Wesley Willis, which I find hilarious. CUT THAT MULLET!!!