Hey, why make a callup? That'd just cost money anyway.

Detwiler continues to struggle at Class A. From last night's game report:

Potomac starter Ross Detwiler still battled control problems as he walked four during his five innings of work. Despite allowing base runners in every inning, the eft-hander limited the Warthogs to only two runs. The
22-year-old pitched far better than his previous start where he lasted
just 2/3 of an inning.

Carry over...

Ok... this is pure genius. Bear with me and follow the logic.

Game starts at 7:10. Watch the first couple of innings on TV. As the game goes on gradually turn the volume up on the radio and down on the TV whilst (another olde word?) simultaneously inching closer to the radio and away from the TV screen. By the 9th inning, the volume on the TV is off, the radio is up full blast, you're pressing your ear to the speaker on the radio and can't see the TV screen at all. You've effectively shortened the game by 3 to 4 seconds.

When Chief grabed his arm, the trainer rubbed his back and he walked into the dugout, my first thought was:

"He'll never pitch in the big leagues again.

MKevin, without further ado, I award you the post of the day.

Why am I the only person that doesn't accept this Cordero stuff as a natural progression of injury? This entire situation does not add up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boy theraph, were you right.

Mackowiak -- 7

UGH!!!

WMP's ABs have been improving. I shudder at the prospect of two guaranteed outs at the bottom of the order. Prove me wrong sir! Please!

MKevin:

Certainly not this year.

Indubitably (methinks). :)

---

MKevin, without further ado, I award you the post of the day.

Posted by: Section 506 (Before moving) | April 30, 2008 2:14 PM

Eesh, sorry to hear the news about Chief and hope that he will not have longer term effects from pitching with the injury.

Why am I the only person that doesn't accept this Cordero stuff as a natural progression of injury? This entire situation does not add up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: theraph | April 30, 2008 2:16 PM

-----

Because you use more exclamation points than us.

its amazing to me how are announcers love austin ks so much that no matter what he does they drool all over him.

he hits a routine flyout to left and boy did he connect and really hit that thing. great out.

but lasitngs milledge smacks a 2-run double to the gap and well he really shouldnt have swung at that ball. but he'll learn.

austin ks hits a dp grounder to short, what a shot. and look at him run it out. boy what a professional.

am i missin somethin here?
AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH.

Hopefully, today's start is Mackowiak's last chance to give them a reason not to ditch him when LoDuca comes back. My gut feeling says he won't produce today and will be gone tomorrow.

The Pentaverate has spread it's evil claws from the Dukes conspiracy into the bullpen. Will they stop at nothing? It appears only Dmitri can save us now!

Because you use more exclamation points than us.

Posted by: Section 506 (Before moving) | April 30, 2008 2:22 PM

----

HA. Thanks for taking the edge off. And with that, I'm out.

Exactly how long do they think they will last with a 6 man bullpen when starters are averaging less than 6 innings a game?

Having two long relievers is great, but with the starting pitching staff we need 5...

dk, you missed that Kearns is nice. People want nice people to do well. People project nice things on nice people. You're right (for this month, not all time), but the likability factor overcomes all (cf. Robert Fick).

just think what they could have gotten for cordero last year. but just like soriano it wasnt enough. and why when youre rebuilding do you even need a top notch closer. does that even make sense? why would they keep him? another potential booty haul down the drain. good job gm.

Mackowiak -- 7

UGH!!!

WMP's ABs have been improving. I shudder at the prospect of two guaranteed outs at the bottom of the order. Prove me wrong sir! Please!

Posted by: MKevin | April 30, 2008 2:17 PM
----
Me thinks he thinks the left handed batter will have a much better ado

I'm no JimBow appologist, but I love all this venom over trades not made based on dubious or non-existant information on what was offered in return.

Because, dk, last year he saved 37 games. Despite the conventional wisdom, last place clubs need to win as much as first place clubs. Either you invest in multiple bats to blow out other teams or you invest in a good closer and set-up man. Our option was cheaper.

Theraph:

I have had questions about the Nats training programs for a long time... Without having done the statistical analysis (not that it would necessarily tell you anything), it seems to me that the Nats have a lot more repetitive stress injuries than they ought to... and have had that problem for their entire DC existence (I didn't follow the Expos, so I don't know how things were then).

And while we're at it, why are the Friday games at 735pm?? It makes Friday night seem, well, 25-30 minutes longer...

DK, do you know what we were offered for Cordero last year? What makes up you 'booty haul'? Just because the Nats aren't winning doesn't mean we should just dump all of our talent for whatever is on the table.

Anyway, if Bowden had traded him for a set-up man's return, I'm sure folks here would have been all over the Learners for being cheap.

I do agree with you on your Austin Kearns comments. Watching him play right last night, made me feel a little better about his really weak hitting though. He took away 2 or 3 hits.

I like the idea of Wil Nieves being Lannan's "personal caddy." I can totally live with that (as well as the thought that Nieves prolly woulda thrown out Diaz's stealing second, thereby nullifying the necessity of Estrada's imitation of a brick wall).

And NatsNut: sorry I didn't make it to the meet-up on Sunday. Total brain fart on my part.

Just think how long these games are going to be when the team makes its first west coast trip of the year and they don't start until 10:05.

Friday games are probably at 7:35 in the hope that more fans might actually be in their seats prior to the third inning, which is the norm at 7:05 or 7:10 starts. The tradeoff is that the game goes later, but Friday's not a school night so that shouldn't be a big deal.

Methinks that it's not as long as if they started at 7:40!

So, since the Opening Day game was originally a part of this series and the Nats won that one and last night, we can say they've taken this series now, right? And, a win tonight would be their first sweep, yes?

I apologize if I missed it while skimming through the above comments, but what was the attendance for last night? Out in 140, it was pretty empty (not empty enough, though...Nick's homer went right to the guy in the seat NEXT to ours).

I agree that I'd rather listen to Charlie and Dave than any of the TV guys. I like Sutton, but he just seems a bit arrogant. Who was the guy who did color before him? I'll never forget him screaming "Get up, get up, YEAH!" when Zim hit the walkoff homer against the Yanks.

Oh, and since it's Wednesday (Food section day in the Post), here's my ballpark food update...

I found the Kosher Sports cart and tried a potato knish last night. It was pretty darned good (not that I would really know a good knish if it walked up and introduced itself), except it was still a bit cold in the middle. Considering the poor guy was trying to heat them on his flat griddle (assume they had been frozen), I'd say they did okay. That was just an appetizer, though.

Later I found my new favorite food at the park...the crabcake sandwich and fries from Cantina Marina (right next to Five Guys). $12.50 and worth every penny...big chunks of crab, a cajun version of Old Bay spice, and a great creole mustard on it. As food hottie Rachel Ray would say, "Yummo!" My buddy had the shrimp taco and he said it was outstanding.

That's all from 140...goodnight, Mrs. Calabash.

I can't imagine that we would have gotten much for Chad last year. GMs get excited about a pitcher when they face him and he blows their team away; not when he comes in and get three outs on the warning track.

You can argue that Chad got good results over time, but I just can't see a GM saying "we have to have that guy".

if wily mo starts hittin even a little, i think our 2 thru 6 of guz, zim, johnson, milledge and pena could be dynamic. stick a possible dukes in there at 7 and i still think the nats could have one of the best middle lineups in baseball.
seriously am i hittin the coolaid a little 2 hard? some1 please help me.

Just think how long these games are going to be when the team makes its first west coast trip of the year and they don't start until 10:05.

Posted by: MKevin | April 30, 2008 2:38 PM
----
there will be some cranky, sleep deprived posts those following days, I can tell you.

If your ass isn't in that seat ten rows in front of me by the bottom of the second, you forfeit your rights to that seat. Says so in the fine print on the ticket, direct quote.

A nice addition the the nats official site is the minor league report. A sign of hope: most days, a majority of the teams have won that day. Eventually those players with be here ( and we will be dis(cuss)ing them!)

So Nieves is the silver lining. I just hope Hill's arm doesn't fall off in similar fashion tonight.

And Swanni, you missed the real story of our minor-league pitching performances last night (by way of Nationals Farm Authority):

"It was a good night up and down the Nationals organization as five Nationals teams won six games on Tuesday evening (including one very unique win by Potomac)."

Those wins included the following pitching performances:

Bergie pitched 8 shutout innings and gave up only one unearned run on four hits, 2 BBs and 6 Ks.

Marco Estrada went 6 and gave up one run on four hits, with 3 BBs and 3 Ks.

Cory VanAllen pitched 7 shutout innings and gave up only 1 hit, walked none and struck out 4.

Yeah Detwiler scattered 6 hits and 4 BBs over 5, but he only gave up 2 runs. It's a character-building game when you win without your best stuff.

adding onto the food comment, for those taking kids, the nats special is a pretty good bargain. For $7 you get a dog, fries and coke. and they dont scrimp on the fries either. they pile em on. so thats a good deal.

that's crap, nobody can read the fine print, and besides everybody knows it's the middle of the third

"I like Sutton, but he just seems a bit arrogant."

fSB, I think the dynamic between Carpenter and Sutton changed a lot over the off-season when the Nats left Bob twisting in the wind while deciding whether to renew his contract. Last year, Sutton was the new guy, and was a little deferential to Bob. This year, he's a lot more assertive. I still kind of like Sutton overall, but I have the uncomfortable feeling that his arrogance/ego will grow to fill the space available to it. I like him a lot better when he can at least pretend to have a modicum of humility.

I actually think Nieves would have stayed regardless. To me it's Mackowiak who shoud be counting his lucky stars. It's hard for me to think of anyone in greater danger of being moved/let go when a roster move is required without there being an easy answer due to injury.

btw any1 see that the redskins cheerleaders were banned from india. maybe they should be banned from redskin games. no my son wouldnt like that. where would he get his porno fantasies from?

And without further ado, methinks it's time for the chat!

Not quite banned.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5iowcJaXV65nobMEr87s2xeinCxkw

The porno comment is as disturbing as the early comment about repetitive motions.

I have no problem with Barry's thoughts on Chad's spot being taken up by LoDuca.

Mackowiak is basically auditioning to keep his job. If he falters tonight, he's gone when Dukes comes back.

Same goes for Colome. If he falters over his next two appearances, he's gone and Schroder gets called back.

Chico has one more start left. If he falters, he moves to the pen and O'Connor gets the starting job.

kinda quiet in the chatroom.

WiFi issues at Nationals park?

No need to send Chad to Birmingham. Right here in Arlington we have Robert P. Nirschl, M.D., a shoulder specialist who has developed the "Nirschl Procedure" which is a type of surgery on the shoulder in use world-wide. He has operated on lots of pro athletes and gets on well with Dr. Andrews.

http://www.nirschl.com/drnirschl.htm

I just don't buy it that this is a "new" injury sustained yesterday. If he had the same motion and lost 15 mph, something is wrong. I don't think not being warmed up would account for the 15 mph.

So now someplace called Apollo Hospital is running ads on the top of this page offering shoulder replacement. Hmmmn ... maybe Theraph was on to something after all.

e, I tend to agree that Mackowiak is auditioning tonight (and of late). Methinks the door is open for Elijah.

Tick Tock Clairese. Methinks this is going to be a short chat considering a gametime of 4:35 and a missing host.

25,285, according to the boxscore on the team site.

---

I apologize if I missed it while skimming through the above comments, but what was the attendance for last night?

As only one commentator here has said I can't believe they are going with 11 pitchers. This is as stupid as the thought of only bringing 4 starters north at the beginning of the season. Someone must have gotten some sense into them because they brought up Lannan very early. He should have been on the OD roster. Now just bring up Schroder. You have a staff of pitchers who can't get into the 7th without faltering.

Barry's in the chat room. I, however, am heading to the game.

Busy news day, methinks, but the chat is going on now.

Have fun, Bob L.!

cringe
_______________
Me thinks he thinks the left handed batter will have a much better ado

Posted by: N@sfan | April 30, 2008 2:29 PM

MKevin- Watch out for NatsNut. She's no arm swinger. Methinks she'd hit you so hard you'd be w/o further ado's.

Can we add, "for what it's worth..." to our list of annoying phrases?

Can we add listing annoying things to the list of things that annoy us?

Totally!

-"Methinks"
-"Without Further Ado"
-"For What It's Worth"
-Listing things

Is there any such thing as putting a player on the DL for "bed rest."

Estrada is officially obese.

list of things that annoy us?

new post.

Estrada is officially obese.
Posted by:

hes a tree stump.

btw for not wanting to pay any1 this year, d young, duca and estrada were real good buys not to mention the scouts son boone.
nice choices.
while real talent like dmax and flores wither away in the minors.

Oooh.... oooh! I have one for the list!

Never being able to find an Orange Julius stand when you really want one.

I would add "with all due respect" on the grounds that what usually follow that phrase is some condescending disagreeable sentence that connotes little or no respect at all.

I keep running across posts here and on other blogs about the increasing level of dissatisfaction fans are having at the new park. So I decided to create a blog in hopes that we as fans can collect our various levels of belly-aching in one place in hopes of getting on Kasten's radar.

http://imissrfk.blogspot.com

with much ado about all respect due, bobL, that's crap.

From Rotoworld:

The Mariners are calling up Jeff Clement and Wladimir Balentien and designating Brad Wilkerson for assignment.

It's just another example of how poorly the Mariners are being run. Clement and Balentien only needed to stay in the minors for another week to guarantee that they wouldn't be eligible for free agency until after 2013. Wilkerson gets the heave ho despite going 3-for-3 with a walk last night. Obviously, the team made the decision before then, as both Clement and Balentien were held out of Tacoma's lineup last night. While Wilkerson is disappearing, Jose Vidro figures to stick as a backup. Still, his fantasy value disappaears. Vidro to Clement at DH appears to be a clear upgrade. The streaky Balentien isn't as much of a lock to be an asset as the right fielder.
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Related: Jose Vidro, Brad Wilkerson

Who's Guy? And why was Barry so grateful that we dropped him?

So Wilky can be had for a ham sandwhich or... Wait for it... A BigMac(kowiack).

So Wilky can be had for a ham sandwhich or... Wait for it... A BigMac(kowiack).

JWeb, surely you're kidding. I liked RFK, mostly for nostalgic reasons...my dad took me to my first Sens game there when I was about five and I got to take my kid to her first pro ball game there when the Nats arrived. It's certainly a beloved piece of our DC history, so let's cherish the memory of that dank old cave and move on.

Nats Park is a beauty and just about everything people have complained about (myself included) is nitnoid stuff...bugs that should get worked out over time. Now, if the little scoreboards over the baselines (or their operators) keep malfunctioning and slow food service persists into July and August, then maybe we've got something to gripe about. Last night, though, I didn't see any problems with those boards and the lines looked to be moving better (granted there were only 25,000 in the place).

As I said before, I'd love to see a "mini scoreboard" somehow shoehorned in on the third base line for those of us with seats in the outfield, but I don't know if that's feasible. And, okay, I'm not real crazy about that "roving reporter" guy that screams at us in between innings (unless we can get him to start doing crazy stunts where he winds up in pain, a la Super Dave Osborne or MTV's Jackass...NOW I'm watching!). Other than that, I am enjoying the new park, food lines and all, and I have only heard oohing and ahhing from people around me at the stadium.

It's a person's God-given right to complain and some people aren't happy unless they're complaining about something, but that ain't me. I'm sorry, I'm not gonna knock a place that manages to have hot water in the bathroom sinks from first pitch to the last out!

i'd rather pull a "bavasi" and bring up justin maxwell than resign wilky.

of course, i don't like a BigMac *OR* a BigMackowiack, so take that for what it's worth.

the only things i liked better about RFK were wider seats and horizontal aisles between sections.

and beer prices.

Plagarism!!!

Someone cut and pasted my post last night about calling up Langerhans into the chat with Barry without crediting me.

I demand retribution!

On the "Holy Shwow" list of former faces of the franchise, from ESPN:
"SEATTLE -- Right fielder Brad Wilkerson and pinch-hitter Greg Norton were cut Wednesday by the Seattle Mariners, who promoted catching prospect Jeff Clement and power-hitting outfielder Wladimir Balentien from Triple-A Tacoma."

estuartj- i was going to congratulate you on getting published re: Langerhans! Everybody here knows it was you, and thanks for the baseball knowledge and hard work that got well-deserved credit from The Barry, whose knowledge of baseball as displayed on today's chat is awesome.

Speaking of the ongoing game, one reason for preferring Kearns may be that he can catch a fly ball, while to his right Lastings is making every fly an adventure, and today, a possible self-mutilation.

Thank All That Is Holy for the missed bunt and The Human Backstop who knew what to do with it.

Last of the 4th, no score, time for our macho cheer, Let's GoNads!

Thanks flynnie, if they had used my name I would have been thrilled to be quoted...as it is I want the offender drawn and quartered!

Despite what Barry wrote I still think Langerhans is a better defensive replacement/LH PH than Harris and I see no need for him as a infield backup with Lopez and Belliard. I think Mackowiak is doomed as soon as Dukes is back.

Somebody wake-up Elwood!

Not to jinx him, but this looks like classic Shawn Hill. 52 pitches to get through 5 innings, only 1 hit and 1BB and 1K. Couple long fly balls that got our hearts going, but nothing tooo dangerous.

HEY!!! I'm just looking at the chat transcript and they did it to me too. I know others said it, but this was WORD-FOR-WORD what I said last night and I'm not Capitol Hill.
__________________

Capitol Hill: Barry, can you do an article on Kearns now? Looks like it worked for Zim.

Jair Francoise Jurrjens : Resides in Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles
the home of Andruw Jones, Andruw Jones Field, and Sir Sydney Ponson....Played for the Netherlands during the 2006 World Baseball Classic, picking up a loss in his only appearance while allowing three runs in an inning of relief.Jurrjens, who was acquired from the Tigers by the Braves in October, made his MLB debut with the Tigers. He's pitching vs. Left: .186 vs. Right: .241. He is .126 ERA in day games. Come on Nats! BANG ZOOM in this guy's piehole!

Why doesn't anyone want to plagiarize my comments?

Or mine?

Oh, Lord, if Blanco can hit one off the scoreboard, and Hill's 3-1, bottom of the 6th and OOOOPS! 1-0.

Chipper hit that one to the warning track in center, which is a home run in many other parks. Thanks for playing with pain, Shawn, and time to sit down.

Damn, I knew I should have kept my comment to myself, and after I got mad at Charlie and Dave last night for cursing Redding with the "take it into the 8th" talk....

Bad bad ESJ!!!

Oh, and thanks to whoever for the awesome Ring Lardner post! How very apt!

Yesss, Big Mack!

A double for Mackowiak, did he just save his job (for a week anyway)?

Do you really want to bat the pitcher in this instance?

Hopefully, today's start is Mackowiak's last chance to give them a reason not to ditch him when LoDuca comes back. My gut feeling says he won't produce today and will be gone tomorrow.

Posted by: Ray King's Gut Feeling | April 30, 2008 2:26 PM

Ray, Big Mack just tied the game. Would your gut please make a dire prediction about Kearns, Zimmerman and Johnson?

Uhm, Barry, I think we need another Zimmerman sucks at the plate article.

How 'bout Shawn Hill? How 'bout this game? Riveting and great!

time to restart the shawn hill fan club

I'm up. We're coming through here.

How embarassing was that? You get called to pitch to one batter, and you bean him.

Sorry about that. They played Sweet CaroRodent during that last post and I got distracted. I will try to stay alert.

There should be a drinking game for every time Bob Carpenter says a ground ball "was headed for center field."

Bad break - O Sabremetric Wheel of Fortune, do not crush me beneath thy spokes! If Bennett doesn't luck out to deflect that ball, Zimm scores and this game is over. Ah, well, Free Baseball! C'mon Elwood, WAAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUP!

7-4-3! Nice job!

I didn't catch the game on MASN last since I was there in person, but now I see what everyone's talking about with Ray Knight. Does he ever shut up?

Don't know about you guys, but with Bennett's "spontanious" nosebleed, I'm asking him to pee in a cup tonight.

Agent 53!

Wil Nieves, now hitting .385!

JJ - Are you kidding? If we did that, we would ALL be too drunk to blog by the 6th inning!

come on Felipe, come on, come on, come on, get into the FLOW!!!

New

Dammit x2 - Allright Slick, now's the time...

Can't See the HD -

That's my point. I don't really "miss" RFK. What I'm trying to do is constructively create a place where we as fans can (in a very public way) let the management about areas they need to address. Hopefully the blog won't even need to live past May. But as it stands now, I prefer the RFK experience to soon to be Gaylord Nationals Park.

http://imissrfk.blogspot.com

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