Possible Opening Day Roster for Nationals
If the season started this week, this is what the Nationals Opening Day line up could look like. You can’t be comfortable going into Spring Training with Alberto Gonzalez and Danny Espinosa has your only two options for second base. GM Mike Rizzo has added Chris Marrero to the roster this off season. He spent last year at Double A Harrisburg. For the Senators he hit .294, 18 home runs and 82 RBIs in 141 games. I would not be surprised to see him starting first base for the Nats this season. Even further I would not be surprised if he started Opening Day at first. Mark it. As for second base, Rizzo has to try and find a veteran to come in or will have to ride it out with Gonzalez and Espinosa. Now the reason I am calling out Marrero for first base and not someone like Mike Morse is because Rizzo has already said Morse is not being considered for the starting first baseman role. Nyger Morgan 8 Ian Desmond 6 Ryan Zimmerman 5 Jayson Werth 9 Josh Willingham 7 Ivan Rodriguez 2 Chris Marrero 3 Alberto Gonzalez 4 I am not even going to touch on starting pitching right now. The rotation could see a major overhaul here in the next couple weeks. Rizzo did say the signing of Jayson started Phase 2 of the Nationals plan. Apparently Phase 1 was building a system and drafting the right guys. Phase 2 is all about winning games and eventually championships. Oh, I know a lot of you guys don’t like the idea of Morgan in center field. But at this point Rizzo says they are going into Spring Training with Morgan as the starter. Follow on Twitter @kierancarobine
Nationals prove their Werth
The Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo says
this is a monumental day for the Nationals organization. And indeed it is. Only days after Washington saw their
slugging first baseman pack his bags and head to the windy city, they have
signed another big bat for their lineup.
Dubbed the most attractive free agent not named Cliff Lee,
Jayson Werth was coming out of Philadelphia finally living up to his 5-tool
projections.
The Nationals will give Werth $126 million over seven
years. When his contract is
finally up, Werth will be 38 years old.
Amazing any team would give a 31 year-old a seven year deal.
The thing to remember here is Werth is not the savior. This Nationals are still at least two
years away from winning with Stephen Strasburg missing next year and Bryce
Harper probably not ready until 2012/13.
But when you combine Werth with Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Willingham, Mike
Morse and company they will have a good core group for years to come. Willingham could become disposable with
Harper coming up and Roger Bernadina able to play outfield. And play it well.
The Werth signing does not make the Nationals a playoff
team, not even close. But it does
take a lot of the pressure off Zimmerman, who I am sure has been feeling it
when Adam Dunn was not resigned.
Rizzo says right now they have Werth penciled in to hit
middle of the order and play right field.
He hinted to the fact it was still early in the offseason so things
could change. Are the Nationals
really looking at another signing? Highly unlikely.
However, I do agree, it is still early. Things could a lot more exciting from
here on out.
Follow on twitter @kierancarobine
Dom Brown debuts, Oswalt to Phillies almost done
One of the most anticipated call ups in Phillies history, Domonic Brown made his major league debut last night for Philadelphia in right field wearing the number nine. Brown was called up after Shane Victorino was placed on the DL with an oblique strain.
Strasburg gets second chance against Braves tonight
Part of the Rookie of the Year ballot with be on display at Nationals Park tonight as Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals take on Jason Heyward and the Atlanta Braves.
Strasburg looks to avenge loss the Braves
Part of the Rookie of the Year ballot with be on display at Nationals Park tonight as Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals take on the Atlanta Braves.
Hamels tosses gem, Phillies complete sweep
Yes a Phillies win. And yes a four game sweep of the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds. All is good in Philly. Right? I don’t mean to get personal in a post game wrap up but this four game sweep doesn’t really make me feel any better. Yes, don’t get me wrong, a sweep is exactly what the Phillies needed going into the All-Star break. However, playing against such a potent offense like the Reds you would think a sweep means the Phillies were back to their normal ways of smashing the ball and putting up crooked numbers. Not the case. Except for the ninth inning Friday night, every inning the Phillies have scored in this series has only been the one run. It did work don’t get me wrong. But nothing is fixed. The starting pitchers, minus Kentucky Fried Blanton, really stepped it up. The trio of Kyle Kendrick, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels threw a combined 23.1 innings and allowed only 14 hits and one earned run. It was exactly what the Phillies offense needed only supporting their efforts with six runs over those three games. The one good thing about the offense is they are putting the ball in play only striking out four times in this game. Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each had a walk and a hit while Jimmy Rollins contributed the other two hits including an RBI single in the third inning scoring Ruiz for the only run of the game. That was all Hamels would need. He didn’t allow a run for the first time in his 18 starts this season. This does not mean he is back to his ’08 form yet but he is getting there. He worked out a bases loaded with no outs jam in the fourth. Hamels only struck out three but was able to trust the defense with balls in play. He also had three walk throwing 112 pitches. After escaping a jam in last night’s game, Brad Lidge came in for the ninth to record the final two outs for his sixth save of the season. He needed only five pitches to end the game. Worth noting: The Mets beat the Braves 3-0 which puts the Phillies 4 1/2 games behind the Braves and only a 1/2 game behind the Mets.
Moyer sets HR record, Phillies offense pounds Blue Jays
After taking the night off yesterday, the Phillies offense
got it going early and often today against the Toronto Blue Jays in the series
finale of what was a road series in their home ballpark at Citizens Bank
beating the Jays 11-2.
Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Ben Francisco each had
three hits apiece for the Phils who have been on a scoring tear for the past
four series. They are averaging
almost six runs a game while playing the Yankees, Twins, Indians and now
Toronto winning 8 of 12. They
scored all their runs today without help from the long ball, which should be a
good sign their offense is clicking.
Jaime Moyer broke Phillies Hall of Famer Robin Roberts’
record of home runs allowed in a career.
Moyer gave up number 506 to Vernon Wells in the third inning but by then
it was already too late. Philly
bats chased Toronto’s starter Brett Cecil in the fifth inning after he allowed
seven runs and threw 97 pitches.
Phillies starters were showing patience at the plate, seeing almost four
pitches per at bat. Another sign
they are seeing the ball really well.
Record breaking jitters aside, it was business as usual for
Moyer. Other than the homer to
Wells, Moyer only allowed five hits and struck out seven before finishing out
the seventh inning. He is now tied
for the team lead in wins with Roy Halladay at nine. Over his last three starts, Moyer has thrown 23 innings and
only allowed five earned runs while striking out 17. The Phillies, not surprisingly, are 3-0 in those games.
The Phillies were without Placido Polanco for a second straight
game after he said he aggravated his elbow making a play in Friday’s game. He is scheduled to receive another
cortisone shot today which will likely keep him out until Tuesday at the earliest.
The only Phils starters without a hit were Jayson Werth and
Wilson Valdez. They both went
0-5.
Worth mentioning: Rollins,
Francisco and catcher Dane Sardinha each had two RBIs. I know all of you started him in
fantasy. Right?
A Battle for the Ages
The Philadelphia Phillies and New York
Yankees get set to start a three game series of inter-league play at Yankee
Stadium starting tomorrow night. Now I know one story line will be how
the Phillies have slowly dropped out of first place and sit firmly in third
behind the new look Braves and always-dangerous Mets. The other will
probably read as a never-say-die kind of team in the Yankees as they find
themselves tied atop the American League East with the Tampa Bay (no Devil
here) Rays.
There is another story here. The one
I see is the third and final game of this series. This game will feature
two of the four active pitchers to have at least 11 wins in 10 or more seasons.
The other two being Tim Hudson of the Braves and Tim Wakefield from
Boston.
Veteran lefties Jamie Moyer and Andy
Pettitte are tops on that list with 15 and 14, respectively, 11-win seasons. Moyer
has won at least 15 games five times while Pettitte has eight seasons of 15 or
more wins. These two pitchers have 40 years of Major League experience
between them. That’s 501 wins and only 337 losses. Combined
Pettitte and Moyer have pitched in 1,159 games for nine different teams. Over
1,000 games started and 68 in relief.
The numbers here are astounding. These
two have seen over 7,000 hits, 759 home runs, 58 complete games, over 2,500 K’s
and 2,075 BB’s.
This season has taken these pitchers on
opposite paths. While Pettitte is still acting like the ace of the
rotation going 8-1, 2.46 ERA, Moyer has struggled at times going 6-6, 5.03 ERA.
The Yankees are 17 games over .500 and tied for first place. The
Phillies who have spent most the last two seasons in first place are only three
games over and sitting in third.
I am not offering up any predictions for
this game or the series for that matter. I will, however give Andy
Pettitte the edge. Between the two veterans and 40 years of MLB service
he has one HR. And that is one more than Jamie Moyer. Of course
playing in an AL ballpark, this stat will not matter.
I will predict a huge aroma of Icy Hot and
Baby Powder.
You can follow me on Twitter @kierancarobine
Oh the Memories
Ah Memorial Day. Maybe one of the most wrongly celebrated days in modern American history. This is a day to honor those who fight every day to make sure we can have our cookouts and beer binges on this last day of May. It is for those men and women who have given our lives so we can have this extra day off and to shorten our work week. So Thank You to all military personnel who day in and day out fight for us! Now, for me, on this Memorial Day I will be remembering something else along with the brave souls in uniforms. I remember a day when crooked numbers were plentiful and joyous fans by the handful would pour out of Citizens Bank Park onto Broad Street. I remember the Philadelphia Phillies as one of the most offensively scary teams in all of baseball. This is something the town of Philadelphia has not seen in awhile. The Phillies have lost six of their last eight and have only scored seven runs in those eight games. They have been shut out of five times including three in a row to division rivals the New York Mets. Now the good news is they Phillies had a big enough lead to where there are still sitting (barely) on top of the division by half a game. That half game lead over the Braves makes this series, which starts today, very important. The Phillies have grown accustomed to sitting on top of the division this year and most of last season. But unless the bats wake up they might be looking up to their rivals instead of down. The Phillies are hitting .186 since May 22 and have not hit a home run in 54 innings. They have not scored a run in 69 of the last 74 innings. The normally dangerous 3-4-5 hitters of the Phils Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth are a combined 11 for their last 84. Werth went 0-4 last night with four strikeouts. And for you beard fanatics counting at home thats 0-17 since he shaved the beard. Bring it back Jayson, bring it back. The Phillies are playing the Braves for three games, then after a four game set with San Diego they will welcome back Florida for three games. If the bats don’t get to work, the Phillies could be bottom of the barrel after those 10 games. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this. Follow me on Twitter @kierancarobine
Lidge returns, Blanton Happ to follow
Brad Lidge is back. And tonight, hopefully he will officially be back closing out Kyle Kendrick’s first decision of the 2010 season. Kendrick has filled in as best he could thus far. He has not factored in a decision in any of his first four starts this year. His +7 ERA only seems manageable now that it’s in single digits. Before his eight scoreless innings against the Braves (which the bullpen blew. Again no decision for KK) his ERA was steadily climbing towards 20.00. But with Lidge back and the possibility of him closing out the game tonight, I can not help but wonder if he might be closing out Kendrick’s season as well. Kendrick was battling Jamie Moyer all Spring Training for the final rotation spot. And while pitching in all ‘A’ games and pitching well, he took a back seat to Moyer who struggled in mostly ‘B’ games. But 8 million sitting in the bullpen looks a lot different from 400k rounding out the pitching staff. I guess when it counts Moyer has pitched well this season going 2-2 with an ERA just above five. Joe Blanton, despite getting rocked a bit in his last rehab start, says he is ready to return to the big league club. And soon behind him will be JA Happ and Jimmy Rollins. Now we all know once Rollins comes back it will be Wilson Valdez on waivers. He is all out of options so will have to get passed up by the rest of the league before going back to Lehigh Valley. And with the injury bug biting a lot of teams already this year, that seems unlikely. Antonio Bastardo has been optioned to Lehigh to make room for Lidge. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro brought in former Mets pitcher Nelson Figueroa to help out in the pen. J.C. Romero is back, and bullpen residents Chad Durbin and Ryan Madson are not going anywhere. So who leaves once Blanton and Happ come back? Who are the odd men out? My list is Kendrick, Danys Baez, Figgy, or David Herndon. Herndon was a Rule 5 pick from the Angels and would have to be returned to LA if removed from the 25 man roster. While he pitched great in Spring Training earning him a spot in the pen, he has struggled in relief in 8.2 IP with a +6 ERA. Another option to leave would be Figueroa. I know Rube thought he would be a good mid-game inning eater but Durbin and Jose Contreras if needed they can throw two or three innings. Kendrick will be a good 4th or 5th starter some day but it is hard to see when he fits in here. Unless he can get steady work he will continue to be unable to locate pitches. He has as many walks as he does strikeouts this season (9). Ultimately I think Kendrick moves to the bullpen once Blanton returns and Herndon is released. As for Happ’s return I think this will cause Rube to release Figgy. I only say this because Baez is set to make 2.5 million so the Phillies must have a lot of confidence in his abilities. As for the Philly Phaithful, the jury is still out. With the Phillies playing well enough to only spend their, now, third day out of first place since May 2009, the return of Blanton and Happ will be huge. I am all for letting the Mets ‘peak’ this early in the season and see them run out of steam come the All Star break. Follow me on Twitter @kierancarobine
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