NY Mets broadcaster Wayne Hagin (I'm listening to XM feed of the game) has been effusive in his praise of Bergmann's poise and of how the Mets are taking "futile hacks" at bergmann's curve. Now, if only the Nats can be spared the ignomy of being no-hit...

Aaron Effing Boone!!!

WELL DONE CHICO!!!!!

Answer: yes!

dang, got newposted (and way to go Chico!):
-------------------------------------
For Bob Carpenter's practice and Chico's (writer, not pitcher) 6-word headline:

"Kearns coughs up can of corn"

Now, let's all tell everyone we know that Pelfrey has a no-hitter going through 6!

Posted by: e | May 15, 2008 2:38 PM

The answer to my question, by the way, is Yes. Boone leads off the top of the seventh with a single.

Mike Pelfrey: History will soon forget what you did today.

NatSafeForWork is the best new moniker in a long time! Huzzah!

Mike Pelfrey: History will soon forget what you did today.

-----

Hahahahaha, Chico, you're awesome. I'll forgive you for not buying us ice cream.

D'oh! Easy come, easy go...

And the Mets STILL don't have a no-hitter in their 46-year history!

One would assume that the most important aspect of the hit and run would be, well, the hit.

Good job, Can O' Corn.

JiM,

can of kearns?

No, a blog mention does not curese a no-hitter. But apparently it does curse one.

Way to go Kearns!

Austin Kearns plus sides (circa 2006)
- Great fielding
- Good power numbers
- Good average
- Doesn't strike out much
- Gets hit a lot

Some things never change!

Manny, I like you, but if you take Bergmann out now, I will hurt you. Not a lot, because I respect you, but enough so that things will BREAK.

We have a winner.

-----

can of kearns?

You gotta pull Bergie if he gets through this inning. He'll be over 100 pitches and I like our bullpen better than the Mets. My guess is Colome gets the 8th, BigJon the 9th and then Joel if we go to extras.

Take Bergies 7 if he gets through this inning. When Jberg turns bad, he turns bad in a early especially when he's tired.

Hagin has also been very complimentary of the game that Flores is calling today.

Why is Pelfrey batting in the bottom of the 7th in a scoreless game? Does Willie not trust his bullpen? Does Manny counter by letting Jason stay in? The plot thickens.

Bergman is pitching well, no doubt, starting batters off with strikes. But the Mets are really hacking. They are helping him out, its like the team bus is idling and they are ready to roll out.

Good signs, for sure. But don't get too carried away.

Nine strikeouts, including all three he faced in the seventh.

We missed you, Bergie.

Mets tv broadcasters are in the extreme upper deck today at the insheasylum. Keith Hernandez just bought 3 hotdogs for $15. for his broadcast team, plus gave the vendor a healthy tip. GO NATS, now that you have a hit...how bout some runs!!

>100 pitches + up second = bye bye bergmann

I love Jesus Flores, this kid can play ball. Forget Paul Mitchell.

Gosh, that's a pretty line. Alright, boys, let's put some on the board and close the lid on this series with a high note.

Come on Lopez!!

1-0 Nats!

Big time sac fly, nice job Felipe.

Oh, Lopey. Well done.

murders row - flores, harris, lopez!

Giving Bergmann the chance for the win. Atta boy, Flip!

Back-to-back-to-back days with a homer? What do you say Zim?

With that stellar outing, Jberg dropped his ERA below 7.50! Good bye double digits!

1 run seems about right for having a third of the lineup hitting below .200! yikes.

The dreaded curese of Jasno by Chico!

More thoughts from Mets fans:

"jdizzy, you were saying that having Pedro and El Duque is better than Figs, Vargas and Pelfrey. But then you say we need a starter to go deeper into games. Well I agree with that, but do you think Pedro and El Duque with their age and injuries can do that on a daily basis?"

"For any team, 1 run down is not a problem...but for the Mets...this may be bad."

Time for Heilman. I'm worried about Wise's arm.

The Mets haven't gotten Flores out all day. Nice clutch sac fly Phil.

Please, Luis, please...

: > ))

Zim swings at ball four... again. Even the radio guys knew nothing good was coming with first base open, yet Zim swung anyway. Terrible. We need a real hitting coach to instill some strategy into the 'Franchise'.

Jose Jose Jose Jose

Haha! Bet the Mets fans love that!

Heads up Guuuuuzzzzzz

Due to events beyond my control (namely a six hour time difference and early morning requirement), I haven't been catching many games lately. Can someone give me a quick rundown on Rivera? Is his arm about to fall off, or what? Haven't been seeing much about him lately.

What happened, what happened?!

Even better than ice cream. Thanks, Chico! (and thanks to Charlie and Dave, who also mentioned it on the radio)

Now Jason Bergmann's picture is at the top of the ESPN scoreboard, not Mike Pelfrey's.

Boone picks off Reyes at 2nd after the sacrifice!

Howdy, Budapest! Ayala has been leaving them over the plate lately, and, after doing well in his 1st inning of relief, turned a 1 run Mets lead into a 4 run Mets lead 2 days ago. Manny said that he was "a little worried" about Luis. Last night, he just saw one batter and got him out on one pitch. Let's just say, that double play was salvific and we need some insurance runs.

Reyes was sacrificed to 2nd, but tried for 3rd and was out.

Alright, we're going to need one insurance run, Church is coming up, and he's been brutal on us.

Too bad he asked about Rivera...

*********************************
Howdy, Budapest! Ayala has been leaving them over the plate lately, and, after doing well in his 1st inning of relief, turned a 1 run Mets lead into a 4 run Mets lead 2 days ago. Manny said that he was "a little worried" about Luis. Last night, he just saw one batter and got him out on one pitch. Let's just say, that double play was salvific and we need some insurance runs.

Posted by: flynnie

Don't give RC any ideas, 506.

Budapest, Rivera pitched yesterday, he's not been doing too bad. Here's his gamelogs for this year for more info:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=riversa01&t=p

Come on, Jesus!

I got newposted, and was oblivious to that for a bit (watching gamecast):

When I said last night that we should back up comments with stats, I certainly did not mean that every comment or opinion should be supported by numbers. All I meant was that reasoned arguments are more interesting than shouting matches.

Having said that, I did appreciate the BABIP numbers from Stop Hating Kearns. Look, at this point we all have to admit that he's not producing. On the other hand, I don't think it's time to throw him on the scrap heap, or to trade him when his value is this low. A few days off, a massage, yes. DFA? That's silly. We have to hope for regression to the mean. If he's going to reach his career average of .262 this year, he's going to have to hit about .282 the rest of the way. Can he do that? Well, last year he went .285/.390/.461 after the break. I'd like to see that again. For the moment, though, I'm calling him Can 'o Kearns.

Also, it seems that O's Exec is a closet Zimmerman fan.

Posted by: Bob L. Head | May 15, 2008 3:04 PM

RAAAAARRRAAAARRROOOWWW!

Hold em, save em, break their hearts, Wookie!

uh oh

Let's see if Jesus can keep Beltran off second.

that was the best catch this year.

amazing. willie rules.

Can't wait to see it. Charlie and Dave had a nice call.

bob... that one is on you. jinx city.

:(

Let's go Big Man!

3-5 double play. game over. 3 of 4 in nyc. bonus.

Yes! Nice double play to end it!

whew!

:)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ZIMMERMAAAAAAAN!

Hey Figueroa: "Softball Girls" Take Series!

Wow. That was an unexpected ending.

/I'm not complaining

Wow, that was a hell of a call on the game-ending double play by Charlie. Man.

Aaron [RF]ing Boone!
Willie [RF]ing Harris!
Jon [RF]ing Rauch!

Did Boone just do that again?

I wonder what the Mets would give up for Young or Nick or even Boone to replace Delgado?

YiiiiiiiiiiyiiiyiiiyiiiyiiiyeeeeeeehaaaaaWoookieWillieAaronEffinGuzzzziee 3 out of four at Shea! JBerg! AAA pitching coach who shortened his windup!! Thankyooooouuuuu!

OMG. I am still shaking. Whew.

That was a great call by Charlie.

Atta girl, softball girls!

All Hail Boone!

LET'S GO NATIONALS LET'S GO!!!

NATS WIN, NATS WIN!! How did Betran get caught off third? See what's coming at ya this weekend resurected "O's Exec"?

Mets fans:

"Thanks for the info....not looking good is it..."

"sorry. not to give false hope, but a single WILL tie it."

"what about a long sac fly...that two....one out?"

"Now a just a ball hit anywhere ties it. come on delgado no k."

[long silence]

"This sucks...Nats take 3 of 4....crap...."

I only caught bits and pieces, trying to toggle between this spreadsheet and gameday (he he).

If I'm not mistaken, the Aaron Boone LoveFest line starts here, huh?

Carlos Delgado lines to Boone who fires to Spanky, doubling up Beltran who was half way to home! Nats Win! Unbelievable!

That's right NatsNut. It's right next to the Boone nepotism comments confessional. :)

Aaron is God!

Jesus is Jesus!

Excellent! Freakin' ESPN Gamecast got stuck on the 1-2 count for 5 minutes.

Does "Let's Go Nationals, Let's go" finally become a chant of our own?

Back to work.

Comment by metsfanmurph
2008-05-15 15:37:15
I really hate this team

Willie has to be fired today. My candidates would be Julio Franco, Lenny Harris, and Lee Mazzilli.

from metsblog.com how soon do you think we can gift-wrap Lenny for them?

Game of the f year! Man -- -that was some baseball!

Bergmann's back. I have to say that I find the way they handle him curious. They seem to have very little patience for him -- say, compared with Chico. But, it's paying off. He can be a GREAT pitcher, With JB, Hill, Redding and Lannan, we've got a solid core four -- and Perez is a dang good fifth starter.

But, man -- three cheers for the defense. Boone -- every team should want someone like that. Honestly, I think Young should see very limited play at first, to get as many innings and at-bats for Boone, as possible. Breaks up a ho-hitter, and makes two veteran plays in the field.

Nice to see the Nats learn a lesson, too -- Jimmy Rollins took two bases on a sacrifice bunt earlier this year, because no one covered third. Guzzy had to hurry, and he played it brilliantly, getting in Reyes' way.

But, Harris' catch will be one of the plays of the year.

What a game! Game of the year.

What happened on that last play? Help!

Official Glogger:

"The Mets want to follow the division leading Marlins lead, at least through this inning. The Marlins scored 6 in the 9th last night, but fell to the Reds in 12. The Mets will settle for a few base hits to keep this one alive. Beltran wastes no time getting to the Nats closer Rauch and strokes a leadoff single through the hole between 1st and 2nd. Another chance for Church to shine, but the machine who took Willie Harris spot in left steals extra bases and probably a run. Harris takes off from left center and leaves his feet for full extension. One away. Amazing play. Catch of the year so far, no doubt! Beltran chooses the best possible time for only his 4th stolen base of the year. The throw soars into center, as Guzman couldn't have caught that on Lopez shoulders. Beltran over to third on the error. Delgado can get it done in fantastic fashion will a perfect swing. Hard liner to Mac at first and back to third to double Beltran up for the game ender. Ballgame! Nationals win 1-0."

"The Mets drop 3 of 4 to the last place Nats and fall deeper into the depths of mediocracy. A wasted effort by Pelfrey as he comes less than 3 innings away from the Mets first no-hitter. The Mets make some baserunning blunders with Aaron Boone throwing out a pair at third in the 8th and 9th innings. Bergmann struckout nine for the win in his first game back. Only 61 more left to played in the friendly confines of Shea, before next years big move to CitiField nextdoor. See you tomorrow at Yankee Stadium for cross town rivalry at its best. Sorry kids we'll get'em next time. Let's Go Mets!!! I'm out."

mets, thanks! love from softball girls.

OK, got it now. Yes NatsNut this starts the Boone love-fest!

Boone doubles off lead runner twice.

Winning streak cures Nats losing streak.

Bob L -

Jesus committed a throwing error on Beltran's steal of 2d allowing him to get to 3rd with one out. Delgado hit a hard liner at Boone, who catches it, fires to Z-mann and doubles up Beltran who was half-way home.

Last play: Infield in a little. Delgado smacked it hard, but right towards Boone. Beltran took off for home, thinking the ball was going to bounce, or get past Boone. Instead Boone scooped it before it hit the ground. Then he threw to third to double up Beltran....

Maybe today's game is the good karma sign Manny's been seeking.

I'll watch my tape of the game when I get home, but I'd really like to know now (and Gameday won't show me any video): what on earth was Beltran doing halfway down the line on a line drive with only one out? Anyone? Boneheaded baserunning, or just unlucky on a great defensive play?

Just wanted to point out that we're playing .500 baseball since May 11.

Also, welcome back Bergie! Yee-haw.

Mets baserunning let them down repeatedly. Big play might have been early on. Kearns drops a lazy fly by Wright down the line, with Anderson on first. Anderson jogged around second, and only made it to third, as Kearns recovered and threw home. And Wright only made first base. Should have been one run in, and a man on second. I tell you what -- if Marlon had done that for Frank Robinson, he would have had his head chewed off.

Co-plays of the game - Willie Harris' spectacular backhand warning track sliding into foul ground catch of Ryan Church long fly.

Dave: "Unless someone dunks with their feet in an NBA playoff game, that will be the play of the day for everything!"

2d play of the day: see final play of game, above.

Sec. 506 -- nice one. I predict they will continue to do that all season.

Washington Headline: Nats err twice, Mets beat themselves.

New York Headline: Mets an Aaron Booning Catastrophe

My Headline: Both make mistakes, Nats keep trying

Nice, 506. And what about that word "mediocracy" in the Metsglog? What if the NL East really is a mediocracy? We could still win this thing!

dk speaks for us all! What a great game!

****************************************
OMG. I am still shaking. Whew.

Posted by: DKNatsFan | May 15, 2008 3:34 PM

You NEVER make the first or last out at third base!

Last was me - still shaking.

Unless you want to cure e's pain in the neck! Hope the endorphins are surging with wellness, e!

Don't be tricked, Bob, only a New Yorker could call a division where four out of the five teams are above .500 a "mediocracy"!

Wasn't it something how Flores set up Beltran with that throw to Milledge, and how he induced the pitch that Delgado smacked to Boonie so he could execute the double play. I tell ya, that Flores is something else, the way he set that sucker up for a big fall...heh heh heh.

By the way, I am totally using Mediocracy to describe the Mets management from now on. Omar, if the shoe fits...

To be fair to Beltran -- as Acta said -- not a mistake. With the infield in, he was running on contact. NOt sure that's the best idea -- but if he doesn't, and Boone fields it as a grounder...then he's either out at home, or stuck on third with two out.

Acta also effusive in praising Guzzy for learning from the play in Philly. Acta says it's not a designed play, but Guzzy reacted more quickly than he did in Philly, realizing they weren't going to get Reyes at second, even though Zim got to the ball quickly. Zimm, btw, made a prefect play, just to get Castillo at first.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some mid-week day games like that -- both in the sense of actually having some day games and winning -- in Washington?

If Kearns had caught Church's line-drive, maybe we could have swept the Mets.

Anybody else see the symmetry here, or am I just being a total nerd with not an ounce of substantiation (is that a word?):

Boone ruins the Red Sox in '03, Boone shuts down the Mets today playing in the same position that Mr. Buckner had a certain E-3 back in '86 leading to a certain Met baserunner (who happens to call DC home right now) scoring the winning run.

The Bambino lingers. We should've definitely put Jimbo's leather pants in the concrete over at Citi.

Looking ahead at this weekend's matchups:

Friday
Shawn Hill (0-0, 3.56 ERA) vs Garrett Olson (2-0, 2.95 ERA)

You won't see a better game, with more big plays, or more to talk about. The kind of game you hope to able to see each year.

bring on dem o's, hon!

dang ... hit submit before I wanted to. To finish my thought:

Saturday
Odalis Perez (1-3, 3.71 ERA) vs Brian Burres (3-4, 3.59 ERA)

Sunday
John Lannan (3-4, 3.74 ERA) vs Jeremy Guthrie (2-3, 4.18 ERA)

All three could be very close pitching duels (I'm trying to be positive and not say poorly executed offensive duels).

Oh, this guy is good.

Thanks for the details, Fisch Fry. I guess, then, that the Mets decided that Beltran would go on contact and got burned. Not boneheaded, just burned. It's nice when the breaks go our way.

Your Nats hitting leaders:

J. Flores .348
W. Nieves .317
A. Boone .314
O. Perez .313
C. Guzman .297
F. Lopez .273

Thank you, Flip, for the sac fly that drove in Jesus for the winning run!

Damn! Does this mean Lannan doesn't pitch against the Phillies? I've been waiting for that all year!

Good news is that I'll get to see him pitch in Baltimore.

Me, too. Yay!

---

Good news is that I'll get to see him pitch in Baltimore.

Don't forget to back up your gamer, Chico.

Nats may be one Daniel or JMax away from having a decent lineup....

You won't see a better game, with more big plays, or more to talk about. The kind of game you hope to able to see each year.

Posted by: Fisch Fry | May 15, 2008 4:06 PM

******************************************
Two amazing, game-saving double plays. A circus, game-saving catch by Willie Harris. Beautiful pitching. Flores and Flip coming through. JBerg, what'd they do to you down there? Wow! Exhileration! Exhalation! Wow!

Not to sound like Andy Rooney but:

Have you ever noticed, when the Nats win the "Negative Nancy's" are no where to be found on this blog but, when they lose they are out in full force?

Lock this one up in the vault. Dave called one heck of a game today.

They're both fantastic, but Dave gets the game mic today.

-----

Dave: "Unless someone dunks with their feet in an NBA playoff game, that will be the play of the day for everything!"

3 of 4 sure feels good - I am talking some serious smack to my Mutts fans friends who do and did a lot of talking about a team that has yet to win anything. Washington Softball Girls rule!

Time to go home and celebrate - and watch Baseball Tonight. I do love afternoon baseball on the radio (especially when we win).

JB's performance could end the search for the Elusive Fifth Starter.

Just a prediction, Nats don't show up on Baseball Tonight. 1) they're the Nationals, the best we'll get is what idiots the Mets are and 2) there wasn't any offense and BT is all about offense.

is willie worthy of a web gem?

I was listening to the game on the way to the dentist, still 0-0, then when I left the dentist, I was able to listen to the ninth inning.

Makes me want to go to the dentist every day!

"is willie worthy of a web gem?"

-----

All you have to do to get a web gem is catch the ball. And hit .300 in New York and Boston 36 times a year.

FYI, Baseball Tonight is on at midnight tonight on ESPN2. There must be something else (NBA playoffs?) on ESPN.

NYPOST.com headline "No Bats for the Pelfrey."

Maybe some people are just busy, but really, give it a rest. I think people post when they want to, and there are many who do post about the shortcomings of the team after a win--only to be called out for doing *that* as well. Here is something I wrote about this "conundrum" a couple days ago, edited appropriately so as not to unnecessarily open healing wounds:

"You know, it's funny how when the Nats win a single game and some of the realists on this blog nonetheless point out all the reasons why this team really just stinks, some of the more 'optimistic' posters react with surprise and posts like 'why all the hate? We won!!!'. Then when the Nats lose, some of those same optimistic (delusional?) posters write things like: 'watch how fickle everyone this blog is, one win and all the haters will be happy :-)'

"People are pointing out all the time that this is a really long season. There's no question that it is. And if your team wins 4 out of every 10 games over the course of that long season, your team really stinks, even though the deluded among us could be happy about the team almost half the time! That's why it's hard for some of us diehard fans with a bit of perspective to get too excited over every win..."

_________________
Not to sound like Andy Rooney but:

Have you ever noticed, when the Nats win the "Negative Nancy's" are no where to be found on this blog but, when they lose they are out in full force?

Posted by: Section 505/203 | May 15, 2008 4:23 PM

Welcome back Bergie! What a first game back up with the club.

LAC,

I didn't directly name anyone, but I guess since you responded, you consider yourself a "Negative Nancy."

LAC, it seems like Posting looks like this:

|Happy.....|Neutral........|Angry
|-----Optimists-----|.......
...........|---Pessimists--|

I don't consider myself a "Negative Nancy" but I'm not so naive to not appreciate how others might perceive what I have to say. If you don't consider me one, then super. And maybe I was just defending others, anyway. ;-)

Yeah, LAC, you are consistent. It's a certain poster from Capitol Hill that tends to vanish with wins. Swanni does too, but that's just his way. He comes and goes in streaks, regardless of play. Swanni being swanni.

For those who think some of us are too harsh in our postings, sample this from newsday.com posted by MetsFaninNC....

This team is a disaster. Not fun to watch and at times, downright frustrating. This team, for most of last year and now 1 1/2 months into the season, continually plays down to the level of its opponent. No fire, no hustle and brainless baseball play. Yeah we can all (complain) about Heilman but how about this team's incredible lack of clutch run production! They make crap like Tim Redding, Jason Bergmann and plenty of other scrap heap hurlers look like Koufax. That's just incredibly poor scouting, preparation skills and focus. I said this the other day and I firmly believe it. I am not big on changes but it's time for Willie and every single coach to go. I am tired of accepting mediocrity. Yeah, the Nationals were cheering like schoolgirls during Monday's game. A real team would've made them pay for the embarasment. This team rolled over like a puppy afraid of its owner. Time for changes.

Who saw this stock epithet coming? Thank you, New York Daily News.

"Willie Harris' diving catch in the ninth inning saved Washington, and the slick-fielding Nationals beat the Mets 1-0 Thursday behind Jason Bergmann's fantastic pitching performance."

FYI, ESPN.com has a short video of Harris' catch and a few other great plays.

Please, Manny, don't let Dmitri take over first base when he joins the team. As long as Nick is out, Boone belongs there.

LAC,

Re your post: Opposite of "optimistic" posters are not "realists" (your word), but "pessimists."

And OK, you don't get too "excited" over a victory like today's, but just wondering: what emotion (if any) do you register?

I pop champagne corks and go on a rip-roaring bender after each and every win.

Bergmann outduels Pelfrey? You so Funny!

Only Jenny Finch Could No-hit Nats

Seriously, I saw her on TWIB one time and the MLB guys were whiffing left and right. :)

---

Only Jenny Finch Could No-hit Nats

In a purely baseball sense.

506,

Would it surprise you to know the Nats are actually playing at .500 since 4/13?

It surprised me a little. So, in perspective, this year's team is playing better than last years, it's just our expectations that are higher.

Welcome back Jason! Great show you put on today! What was it that you had to work on in AAA? Some people say that it's your mental game, but from the parts of the game I was able to sneak a peek at, you just looked filthy-ier than before. Awesome work!

And, in hopes of starting an interesting baseball conversation:

Which do you prefer: DY's bat (assuming 2007) and glove (same) OR AB's bat (not too shabby) and glove (if you are remotely questioning this comparison, you need help)

Just finished DVR of the game. Bergman was great. He has shown this type of stuff a few times before and then tanked. I would guess he is 26-27 years old by now? Hope he can put it all together soon.

Austin Kearns must take a seat for a while. I really like his work ethic and his arm but he is hurting the team everyday now.

If we can put a trade together with a reliever and Kearns at least we could dump the salary drain he is going to be next year. What is it $9 Mil....nice move Jimbo.

I am sure D Young will hit right out of the box, but he is also very likely to get hurt, is he still 297LBS?

John Rauch is our most tradable player. If we can get a Middle infielder back I would think it makes sense....K. Green for Big John straight up?

Oh and I had a beer after this win too!

Softball Girls School Varsity in Gotham.

Haven't posted much lately, Jason. But I'm extra pleased you've come back. I'm not surprised; you've done it before. All the best, no matter what.

A lurker, but I can't stand it, I gotta ask: Why would Greene for Rauch straight up be a deal that anyone would want to make? Greene is a slump-prone (he's been in one all season, except for the past week), injury-prone (he breaks a part of his hand every year, except for last) under-achiever. The Padres' problem is hitting, though Hoffman is not at his best, Ledezma, Meredith and Bell are highly effective. Another relief pitcher is not what they need, not to mention I don't know who they'd play at ss (maybe they have a prospect; enlighten me), and the fact that if the trade was straight up, what would we do with Guzman.

This sounds like a trade that, if Bowden suggested it, most of you would suggest that he should be fired.

Maybe you went to h.s. or something with Greene; in that case, I'd understand it.

Section 506: Let Swanni Be Swanni...

Seriously folks, can you imagine how good this team would be if we had just signed Livo and one decent hitter during the off-season? The playoffs would be possible because it's a weak division.

And question two of the night:

If Ryan Church was still here -- and was hitting under .200 -- would he still play everyday like Kearns?

Answer: Of course not because Jimbo traded for Kearns; he'll play if his average falls under .100

Jimbo...He Must Go!
Jimbo...He Must Go!
Jimbo...He Must Go!

My recollection is that, when he played in the field, WMP played right field for Boston. He didn't seem to do much damage out there. Since Dukes seems to be our best outfielder who has a chance of ever being able to hit, why not put him in center, Milledge in left, and either sit Kearns on the bench, send him to extended spring training, the Northern Virginia Baseball Academy, or somewhere where he may learn to hit a baseball.

I'm braced for your attacks.

Monitored the game via my cell phone during an interminably boring Capitol Hill hearing on funding for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The troop-funding part was fine; it was all the other non-defense-related amendments that all these congresscritters kept trying to add on to the bill that drove me nuts.

Following the pitchers' duel helped pass the time a lot better. :-)

mediocracy?

Seriously? Someone wrote that?

K Green had only 11 errors at short last year. Lopez had 20.....

He had 27 HRs and 97 RBI's last year.

He will make less than next year than either Guz or Lopez are making right now.

We need a shortstop for the next 3-5 years until a yet un-drafted SS of the future can be developed.

He is 28 years old and plays SS very well and has some pop....97 RBI's would lead the team.......

Maybe not the best trade ever.....maybe we should not make it, but trading Rauch for a SS is not crazy is it?

Nattybynature: believe it or not, WMP looked best in Boston in CF, spelling Coco (2006). He played some for Trot, too, when he was hurt. His problem came in 2007, when Coco and Drew were healthy and he could not get steady playing time. That's where the idea of getting him steady play time and 500 ABs came from.

I looked at Stark's column on ESPN today. He mentions that the Padres may decide to shop Greene and Kouzmanoff, but gee, they make me feel warm about our batting averages. Is Khalil Greene's bat a synonym for Bobby Crosby's?

JayB - Khalil would be a better option than Adam Everett and, as you point out, would be the glove-first short stop some have been looking for. So would Juan Uribe. There may be other options for gloves, but I don't think any with that kind of pop, too. It'd make Shawn Hill and the object of Barry's affection smile.

Greene is signed for $6.5 million for next year ($4.5 this year with 1/4 gone). uribe is signed for $4.5 million this year and will be a free agent next.

Why does everyone call D Young "The Meat Hook"? I remeber a basketball player at Univ of Florida who had that nickname, but I don't know why it's being used by DY (his nickname in Detroit). Please enlighten me

DandyDon, I once saw (can't remember where) an item where Dmitri said that he wasn't sure of the nickname's origin, but that it might be because of the way he hooks his arm when rounding the bases.

LAC,

Whether it be "Negative Nancy" or "Naive Nate" or whatever. I'm just pumped about Bergmann coming back and pitching well and helping us put it on the Mets....again.

Now, and I'm knocking on wood as I type this, let's hope we put a foot in the AngelO's ass this weekend....GO NATS!!

Thanks NatsFan1A. The basketball player at Florida was a fat post player named Dmitri...Something (mid 1990's), and he had a great lefty hook called "Da Meat Hook". Sort of strange that DY now has the name

Regarding "negative nancy's", Manny was quoted the other day as saying, in essence, that this team should be considerable better than last year's. Maybe they will be. Maybe this is the beginning. But up until now, this team hasn't played as well as it should considering the pitching upgrade.

I'd just assumed the nickname path was Dmitri -> Dmit -> DaMeat -> DaMeat Hook.

All the negative posters assume the young pitchers will be disappointments. Why not be more optomistic? In Detriot, several of the young pitchers became studs, and the team spent the FA money on the lineup. It takes luck (what "plan" doesn't), but it could happen here.

been hearing those "battle of the beltways" radio spots heralding interleague play with the angelO's. would be better served calling it the parkway series, or something like that.

I see the pattern Joe, until you get to the Hook part!

from what i've read, uribe's defense isn't what it used to be. scouts have been down on him.

greene is one of those "all or nothing" guys, the kind of guy we probably don't need one more of offensively. while he hit 27 HRs and had 97 RBIs last year, his average was 254 and his OBP was 291. just awful. 4 Ks for every BB. this year he's been even worse, with a 208 avg and 253 obp. and he's not slugging, either, with a slugging percentage at 318. not that our offense is doing much, another boat anchor at the plate won't do this team much good.

defensively, why would you compare him to flopez? flopez isn't playing SS this year and shouldn't be next year.

Well, once you get to "DaMeat" you gotta tack something catchy on the end -- DaMeat Cleaver? DaMeat Ball? DaMeat in the triple cheeseburger Dimitri had for lunch? "Hook" is probably about as good as it gets...

Yeah, you're right, it's better than calling him DaMeat Loaf. As long as he brings his bat, I'm OK with any nickname they come up with

I prefer just "Meat".

My litany is short these days.

Watching the highlights, it sure looked like a lot of the 51k announced crowd came, as they always say about DC, disguised as empty seats. Am I right about that? I'm certainly getting tired of hearing about it in DC, when it seems to be the case almost everywhere. Our DC crowds are geting an undeservedly bad rap. If only those seats behind the plate.
didn't look so empty and bad on tv.

Dunno where the name came from, but he told the Constituency via the media that his nickname was "Da Meat Hook"

Da Meat clearly comes from his name. No idea about the Hook.

JayB, Rauch for a shortstop is a very good idea. I'm not sold on Greene, but I think it's a great place to start the conversation. I suspect we might be able to get a middle-level prospect thrown in too, if a team were in a really weak division (say, the West) and wanted to ensure a spot in the playoffs.

Trading Rauch for a ss isn't crazy, I just don't think the Padres would go for it. They need hitters. Greene had a great offensive year last year, but he'd likely be another low average, middle of the lineup guy here. And he gets hurt a lot.

How about Rauch for Jed Lowrie? The Red Sox bullpen is hurting.

I don't understand the Rauch for Greene idea. Our shortstop is the only guy on the team who IS hitting (except for the backup corner man). At this point, I would say trade for any position player other than SS, 1B, or 3B. Of course, everyone needs hitting, have you seen the batting stats league wide? No steroids/HGH makes a big difference

i don't agree that greene had a "great offensive year" last year. you're looking at two stats to come up with that conclusion (HR/RBI) and ignoring other stats (AVG/OBP/OPS) which were mediocre to subpar, at best. it's hard to say someone had a "great year" when their on-base percentage was below 300 (and it's only been over 300 twice in his whole career).

Rauch...trade...no. Cordero is down and no sense depleting the bullpen any further at this time. Guz is the best thing we have going right now with any consistency at all. Others have shown flashes here and there. Thats why we're 18-24. Can you imagine how the record would look if the bats suddenly woke up. It's just to early to have a major shake up. Nobody is running away with anything yet, so no need to panic. I've looked into my magic 8 ball and it says to stay the course for just a bit longer...and who doesn't trust the magic 8 ball? I know JimBow does.

The Nationals announced they have signed three teenage infielders from the Dominican Republic: Elvin Cuello, 16, Joseph Cabreja, 18, and Alex Romero, 18.

Watching the replay, bottom of the 8th, sparkly football-like double play by Boone and Guzman running down the basepath in front of Reyes like a big tight end in front of a cornerback.

Don Sutton: You know, this is not Aaron Boone's first day at the office.

Bob Carpenter: He lead Guzman just like a quarterback leading a receiver. A lot of people think that's interference with the runner, but not if you're about to get the ball.

Sutton: Run right down the basepath, why not?

Man, what a beautiful play Guzman and Boone had their heads so totally in the game. What beautiful baseball!

Carpenter: A breaking ball. He's got it- a fly ball. There's Willie Harris, and he's got it!What a great catch by Willie Harris-the best play by a Nats outfielder this year. Breathtaking!"
Sutton: " When Church first hit it I thought, "Here we go again-a tie. He had to run 95 feet to get to the ball! Just wonderful!"

Negative Nancy? Sounds like one o' them softball girls...

Boone catches that line drive while it's tailing down to his ankles. Nice pick! Then he turns to Zimm, who is just waiting for him since Beltran was running on contact. What a way to end the game! What a game!

Of the double play at the end of the 8th: Aaron Boone says, "Thats my first completion of my major league career. I pump faked and lead Guzzie and he caught it!" And Guzman's athleticism to run down the line, stay ahead of the flying Reyes, look the ball into his glove and then make that tag while holding the ball - truly Major League, best in the world, why we watch the game!

love the series win, all types of victories. this team is capable of winning just takes a season or two to realize it. lets go get those o's. we should take 2 or even 3 from those crab munchers. old bay sucks!

Sure, the Nats won the World Series, but that was the worst World Series win in the history of World Series wins. I mean, why did they let it go 7 games? It should have been a sweep.

JimBo better get something going and the Lerners better open up their wallets if this pathetic team expects to repeat.

Awesome, I thought I was the only geek who stayed up to watch the late-nite rebroadcast of the game I listened to this afternoon at work, just to see the late-inning fun!

Harris' catch was flat-out outstanding. Must've rewound my tivo 10 times...

Have a good weekend all, enjoy the 295 series (get yerself some crayab-cakes, hon!), I'll be listening in from some random AM station in West Va!

Cheers

I'm right there with you Flynnie. Just plain old beautiful baseball.

I loved this quote. Must have been pure instinct.

"I had no idea I was going to catch it," Harris said.

I was tracking the game on mlb.com yesterday afternoon and was, of course, thrilled with the outcome. However, watching the plays on SportsCenter this morning, I have to tip my cap to Boone, Flores, Lopez, Guzman, Harris and, of course, Bergman.

Harris catch was unreal and the top highlight on SC.
Boone's defense was awesome.
Guzman - I loved what Manny said; he learned from Philly and made the play this time.
Flores - Paul who?
Bergman - Welcome back, '07 version. Don't wish to see the old '08 version again.
Lopez - Clutch hitting.

My 2 cents for this weekends series in Baltimore. Boone at first all 3 games, let Hook bat DH. We need both of their bats in the line-up. Kearns needs to sit down for the weekend and let Harris play at least 2 games this weekend. Rotate Dukes, Milledge and WMP for the weekend. But Kearns needs to sit, regroup (his defense was awful this series) and maybe realize that it's not his JimBo given right to play OF every day regardless of his performance.

Just my 2c...

231, JayB and others on the trade ideas:

What I like about Greene / Uribe is that they are better options than pure glove guys like Adam Everett because at least they have one additional offensive skill (power) out of middle infield. If we get some pop out of the middle infield, it would allow perhaps to carry a Reggie Willits type in CF (high OBP, low power) or even one of the corners.

The trade talk simply recognizes that both of our starting MIs are not signed for next year. Despite yesterday's heads-up play, Guzman still has a range problem (again, by rep - I'm still staying away from stats).

I'll admit I'm going on Uribe's past rep and have not checked any of the defensive metrics or reports of what scouts say. He will not be 30 until next year. In the back of my mind, I think he had a legal incident in the DR last year, but I forget what it was. When has that stopped us?

As for Jed Lowrie - He is blocked for now, but with the way Pedroia dives, Lowell's age, and Lugo's erratic glove, I'm not sure the Sox will sell low now. Offseason, I had thought he'd be perfect for the Nats and a middle reliever would be the right price, but I think his early season play as a fill in has raised his price. OTOH, you could probably get Coco Crisp from them for a middle reliever. He's bounced back to his Cleveland numbers now that he's over his wrist injury from 2006, has great speed, gives you golden glove caliber CF, and is more affordable than AK next two years. AK could be a 4th OF for them. They've been known to eat a bad contract for something they want (Lowell coming off an awful year to get Beckett).

A gamer in one of the NY papers referred to the "fancifully announced" crowd numbers.

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Watching the highlights, it sure looked like a lot of the 51k announced crowd came, as they always say about DC, disguised as empty seats.

Chico, very good gamer - you're perfecting what made Barry so good: tying in multiple stories into one. However, I don't think you can use the word "pinged" in a major league context unless you're talking about the game the guys play in the clubhouse involving a table, plastic ball, and 2 paddles. By all means, next time you're at Rosenblatt in early June "ping" it up....but outside of Omaha, that just doesn't fit.

Flynnie, "sparkly" is a word for softball girls. Guys who play hardball cannot be sparkly.

Nats fan in NJ,
What I liked about Lopez's 8th inning was the spot-on sacrifice. He didn't think it too much, wasn't trying to belt it out of the park, he was getting the run in and keeping the game going the right way. Loved it.

I didn't see the game, but I went through each inning, play-by-play on Gameday at least THREE times and I think this is my favorite game yet.

BTW, I'm sure most of you know this, but just in case: the MLB Gameday archive link is an awesome way to recap the game. It's always under the box score for all games on the official website. You can expand the box to see every pitch in addition to every play description. And now they even put video links right on the key plays. It's really awesome.

http://tinyurl.com/63ts9t

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but the Post's article about the new Wilson Bridge dedication ceremony has a picture of Senator John Warner symbolically tightening the final bolt (at least the online version does). And guess what? The Senator is wearing a Nationals hat!

Local politicians love the Nats. I sat down the row from Tom Davis on opening night, and he seemed to have a Stewart O'Nan-like fixation on getting a baseball. Although he just used his glove, not some tricked out butterfly net.

The Univeristy of Florida basketball player to whom DandyDon was referring was Dmitri Hill, so that line of reasoning holds up.

I believe it was Hill's baby hook shot that was first referred to as the Meat Hook, I could be way off there. At least that would explain the Hook part, though.

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I'd just assumed the nickname path was Dmitri -> Dmit -> DaMeat -> DaMeat Hook.

It's exactly the kind of situational hitting the team has been lacking. He waited for a pitch up, then he drove it deep enough to score. Great AB.

By the way, does Chico still work here? No sign of him since he curesed the no-hitter.

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What I liked about Lopez's 8th inning was the spot-on sacrifice. He didn't think it too much, wasn't trying to belt it out of the park, he was getting the run in and keeping the game going the right way. Loved it.

"the Post's article about the new Wilson Bridge dedication ceremony has a picture...."

Does it also have pictures of me going up and grabbing every one of those idiots by their scrawny necks and throwing them off the bridge for creating a completely unnecessary traffic jam during rush hour? Or maybe I just dreamt that part...

The following blurb was in the NYT. Looks like the Nats stirred up the proverbial hornet's nest...

On Thursday, Billy Wagner's targets were a bank of empty Mets lockers across from his, lockers whose occupants had already departed for the day after the team's dispiriting 1-0 loss to the Nationals. "Can somebody tell me why the closer's being interviewed and I didn't even play" Wagner said. "Why they're over there not getting interviewed? I get it. They're gone. Shocker." Wagner's anger, and gestures, seemed to be particularly directed at the locker of Carlos Delgado, who lined into a double play to end the game. Delgado, who has not been much of a Mets voice in his three seasons in New York despite his veteran status and who has been booed often in 2008, left Shea Stadium on Thursday before reporters ever had a chance to interview him. For the angry Wagner, the issue was accountability, and in raising it he was echoing a complaint made last year by Paul Lo Duca, when he was the Mets' catcher. At that time, Lo Duca suggested that reporters seek out some of the Mets' Hispanic players for comments instead of continually coming to him. "Some of these guys have to start talking," he said. "They speak English, believe me."

I thought this was interesting. I just happened to check the Balt. Sun to see what they were saying about the weekend series with the Nats. An article there reports that Screech and the racing presidents were at the inner harbor and the ESPN zone handing out Nats pocket schedules and such yesterday. I thought that was great. Angelos had no real reaction other than to say..its a free country. GO NATS...defeather dem burds.

Billy Wagner is a jerk

Agreed 506, Billy Wagner is a huge jerk; however, he may be onto something with this one.

First, how cool is it to have the Nats game highlights in the first quarter-hour of SportsCenter (okay, I know it's mostly cuz they were playing the Mets, but their snazzy defense was what got the attention). I saw that Willie's catch was a Web Gem nominee, but did it win? I didn't really see any of the others.

The follow-up story was video of Wagner's postgame comments. I LOVE IT! That oughta make for fun times in the Mets clubhouse! And, they go play the Yanks this weekend with all their angst and tantrums by little Steinbrenner. Oh, that'll be a fun series.

Of course, my attention will be focused on B'more. I LOVE that Screech and the Rushmores were canvassing the Inner Harbor! Wave to ol' Peter "Droopy" Angelos!

Go get 'em, Nats!

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