National Record

I have followed sports for over 30 years and what I saw this week with the Washington Nationals was one of the more shocking and strange events I can recall. With his team playing well and overachieving in a tough NL East, Manager Jim Riggleman resigned after Thursday’s(June 23rd) victory over the Seattle Mariners, Washington’s 11 in 12 games.  Riggleman was under a 1 year contract and had asked several times to discuss an extension. With the Nationals 15-6 in June and over .500  this late in the season for the first time since 2005, the skipper told Washington GM Mike Rizzo that if the team did not pick up his club option he would not get on the team bus post game. The 58 year old Riggleman sited a lack of support of his leadership long term as the chief reason for his resignation.

After dealing with the initial shock of  his skipper’s resignation, Rizzo moved quickly to promote popular bench coach John McLaren to interim manager for the weekend contests(June 24-26). A close confidant of Riggleman, the situation had to be both awkward and difficult at times. McLaren was even ejected from the June 24th contest after umpires reversed a call that went against the Nationals(Terrible job by the umpires). However, McLaren’s days as leader of the Nationals ended after the June 26th victory. The team has a new skipper(see next paragraph) and the 59 year old will stay on with the Nationals as a west coast scout while also helping out with the organization’s Dominican academy.

The Nationals did not have to look far to find a suitable managerial candidate, promoting long time manager Davey Johnson, 68, to the position. A 13 year major league player who has been with the organization since 2006, Johnson is best remembered for managing the great New York Mets team of the 1980s(1984-1990) leading that team to the 1986 World Championship. His contract states he will direct the team for the remainder of  2011 then he will stay on as a consultant for 3 more seasons that allows him to be active in the selection of his successor. Johnson last managed in 2000 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and also skippered the Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles.  His managerial record stands at 1148-888. Interesting note: Johnson was the Manager for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics, which featured injured Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg.

The Washington Nationals have lost starting 1B Adam LaRoche for the rest of the 2011 campaign, as he is scheduled to undergo season ending surgery on a labrum tear in his left shoulder Thursday June 16th.  Laroche originally injured the joint early in spring and he tried to play thru what was diagnosed as a small tear. However, the problem grew worse and developed into a very large tear. Hitting only .172, Laroche went on the DL May 23rd and he was advised to shut it down completely for baseball activities  for two weeks, only doing physical therapy on the shoulder. When he tried to swing the bat Tuesday(June 14th) he saw no improvement and the Nationals medical staff along with Washington GM Mike Rizzo and LaRoche jointly decided to undergo the surgery. The team hopes to have him healthy by the start of the 2012 season. While the team loses a solid pro with gold glove caliber defense, Michael Morse has been red hot and has posted great numbers starting at 1B.(.347, 8 home runs, 17 runs, 27 rbi in 26 games as of June 15th)

The 2011 Washington Nationals had a hectic week with news on top prospects P Stephen Strasburg and OF Bryce Harper making head lines as well as the pending return of Franchise 3B Ryan Zimmerman(Abdominal surgery). OF Michael Morse continues to carry the offense(and my fantasy team!) while Manager Jim Riggleman has been forced to make some drastic changes in his batting order. The team consistently gets solid starting pitching but just does not have enough thump in the lineup to be much more than an 75-78 win type team, standing at 29-36 as off June 11th.

STRASBURG, HARPER NEWS: Nationals RH SP Stephen Strasburg(Tommy John Surgery) threw a bullpen session for the 1st time June 10th and is making progress as expected from the late 2010 injury.  His current rehab regime has the 1st pick in the 2009 MLB draft throwing 3 weekly bullpen sessions incorporating 30-40 fast balls per day. The Nationals hope to have him pitching in a game sometime in September. Meanwhile, OF Bryce Harper, the top pick in the 2010 draft, continues to destroy Class A pitching and created a stir after homering and blowing a kiss at the pitcher in a game June 6th.  As of June 10th, he is hitting .341 with 14 home runs and 43 rbi. His OPS? 1.039!!!!!!

ZIMMERMAN SET TO RETURN: 3B Ryan Zimmerman should return to the lineup Tuesday(June 14th) barring a set back in his final rehab game Sunday June 12th at Triple A Syracuse. The Nationals franchise 3B has 8 hits in 16 at bats while reporting no health issues. Zimmerman has battled health issues since spring training opened and appeared in only 8 games on the year.

MORE NATS NEWS: LF Michael Morse continues to be on fire and has carried his nuclear May(.403,6 homers, 15 rbi) into June(.295,3,12)…. OF Roger Bernadina(Left hamstring) and Ian Desmond(Left quadricep) are both battling leg issues and did not play Sunday June 10th. Each player has dealt with the injury for a while and should be monitored…. Riggleman has moved RF Jayson Werth into the lineup spot(1st game June 11th) with all of the injury and offensive struggles. He also batted the pitcher 8th in that game and SS Brian Bixler 9th… LHSP Jon Lannan(4-5,3.60) has been a beast over his last 4 starts(2-0,0.68 ).. Team was shut out for 20 straight innings from June 3rd to the third inning on June 5th… Nationals had two selections in first round of the draft earlier this week,selecting Rice 3B Anthony Rendon with the 6th overall pick as well as Kentucky RHP Alex Meyer at #23.

The 2011 Washington Nationals continue to battle and stand at 25-33 as of June 5th.  The record has not translated wins and losses wise but you see the talent this team has within the everyday lineup(OFs Michael Morse and Laynce Nix, 2B Danny Espinosa,SS Ian Desmond and C Wilson Ramos) as well as on the  mound(RHSP Jordan Zimmerman, RPs Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Doug Slaten) and can foster hope for the future. I did not even mention injured stars such as 3B Ryan Zimmerman and RHSP Stephen Strasburg, who are both rehabbing. Be patient fans, good days ahead for the Washington Nationals.

MR MAY: And this is meant as a compliment, not as the famous insult New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner put on hall of fame OF Dave Winfield after he signed him and let fellow HOFer Reggie Jackson leave, only to see Winfield struggle in the World Series, a stage where Jackson dominated, earning the moniker “Mr. October”. Free agent signee and Washington Nationals RF Jayson Werth really came on offensively in May, hitting .287 with 4 home runs and 14 rbi. The all star had a 14 game span where he went 18 for 52, a .346 clip. Very impressive when you consider how little support he has around him with 3B Zimmerman(Abdominal strain) being on the DL since early April.  This guy is a player, legit 5 tools guy who will hit around .270-.280 for the year.

RYAN’S HOPE: Speaking of Zimmerman, the team’s franchise 3b played his 2nd extended spring training game June 3rd, going 0 for 4, He also played 4 innings in the field. He is scheduled to start games at Class A Hagerstown Sunday June 5th. Interesting to note that he will be teammates with the organizations’s top prospect. OF Bryce Harper(.338,13 home runs 41 rbi in 54 games),who has been murder on minor league pitchers. The goal is have Zimmerman healthy and playing in the next home stand for Washington,which starts June 14th. Unfortunately, Harper might not be playing when Zimmerman is in Hagerstown. After taking a pitch of his ankle in a game June 5th, he limped off and their was no further update as I type.

UPTON RUMORS: Several reports have the Nationals interested in CF B.J Upton of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Upton, a child hood friend and teammate of Ryan Zimmerman, is hitting .230 with 7 home runs and 28 RBI, while playing an excellent CF and stealing 12 bases. No information if the two teams have exchanged trade proposals but CF is a major need for the Nationals and they have one of the better farm systems in the game. Washington CFs have hit a combined .226 with 2 home runs and 16 RBI with a .291 on base in 230 at bats. Not good.

OTHER NATS NEWS: LHRP Doug Slaten(Elbow) was placed on the 15 day DL June 4th after not losing velocity but experiencing pain when throwing his breaking pitches. RHRP Craig Stammen(5-3,3.84 in 10 starts at Triple A) will take his spot and serve as a long man…. RHSP Jordan Zimmerman has been outstanding all season and was great in May(1-2,3.23 with 30 Ks and 8 walks over 5 starts and 30 and two third innings). His first start in June: One earned run in 7 innings for a win vs the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks…. 2B Danny Espinosa continues to offer flashes of his tremendous talent, look at the  his late May run(4 homers in 5 games) included in that was a May 31st two homer game vs Philadelphia Phillies ace LH Cliff Lee. Although he is only hitting .214(as of June 5th),he has 33 rbi and 28 runs. This kid can play and will be a multiple time all star. Mark my words.