National Record

In a weekend where 4 of the Nationals National League East rivals got the weekend off due to Hurricane Irene, Washington played all 7 games, losing 6 straight to drop to 62-70 in 2011. The recent slump killed the momentum the club had built as they attempted to reach the .500 mark. The major culprit has been the offense in the month of August. While the team average is middle of the road(8th out of 16 NL teams) at .262 , The Nationals are 14 in runs scored. Playing in a division this good magnifies youth and inexperience and fans need to look at small victories within each game to be hopeful in 2012 and beyond. 

SS EXPRESS: Nationals RHSP Stephen Strasburg(Tommy John Surgery) threw a dominating rehab start for Triple A Syracuse August 27th, carrying a perfect game before the allowing 2 singles in the 6th inning to Rochester. He struck out 7 and allowed 1 run in the no decision, Strasburg is set to throw Thursday September 1st at Double A Harrisburg with a pitch limit of 75-80 or 6 innings . The Nationals like to have his rehab starts be at home sites and Syracuse is on the road this week so that is why the game is at AA. 

ZIM AT THE END: Nationals RHSP Jordan Zimmerman has started his last game in 2011 according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson. With his outing August 28th, the righty has reached the teams’ hard cap of innings at 161 and a third. This is Zimmerman’s first full season since returning from Tommy John surgery in August of 2010. 

NATIONALS NOTES:  Conflicting reports on the health of future hall of fame catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriquez(Right oblique strain) but he did take 25 swings off a tee without any issues August 20th. He did not swing hard but the Nationals hope to have 3 catchers available in September….  Nationals OF Rick Ankiel made one of the greatest throws you will see in all of 2011 in the 11th inning 5-4 loss at the Cincinnati Reds August 28th. Ankiel fielded a ball off the wall in right while playing centerfield in the 9th inning . He then turned and the former pitcher showed off his arm by gunning out Reds OF Dave Sappelt at 3rd base. Words do not do this play credit and all fans should go to Nationals site to view it. 

The Nationals franchise 3B Ryan Zimmerman won the National League player of the week for the 2nd time in his career for the week ending August 21st. He hit .312 with 3 home runs, 7 rbi and 23 total bases while collecting the 8th walk off homer of his career with a grand slam in Washington’s 8-4 dramatic comeback August 19th. Since making his major league debut in September 2005, he tops MLB in that stat. Zimmerman missed 58 games earlier this season with an abdominal injury and appears to be 100%, reaching base in 27 consecutive games while hitting .413 in that span. The 6th year major leaguer won the award previously on August 6,2007. 

The 2011 Washington Nationals keep playing and find some positive results with this week being a great example of that. With a come from behind win Sunday(August 21st)  vs the best team in the National League, the 5 time defending division champion Philadelphia Phillies, the Nats took 2 of 3 in the series. SS Ian Desmond hit game tying homer in the 9th while continuing to progress offensively after two sub .220 months(May, June) took a major sting out of his statistics. The month of August has been a  microsm of Desmond’s season, ending a tough 0 for 17 streak on August 11th before going on  a .286 spurt with 5 runs, a homer and 6 rbi. The 2nd year man seems to have responded to the support he has received from Nationals skipper Davey Johnson. As Washington prepares to open a series Monday August 22nd  vs the Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park, they stand at 61-64. 

STRASBURG SOCKED: RHSP Stephen Strasburg(Tommy John surgery) had his worst outing so far as he continues to rehab from his late 2010 injury Wednesday August 17th vs the Houston Astros Single A club. The #1 overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft, needed 49 pitches to record 5 outs. He gave up 5 earned runs on 4 hits and two walks and K-ed the last batter he faced. The velocity was fine(96-99 MPH) but command, control was not. Strasburg threw a bullpen session August 19th and was scheduled to throw 65 pitches or 4 innings in his next start at Class A Hagerstown. The team will then move him up to Triple A Syracuse if he has  no further setbacks. 

SEPTEMBER STARTERS: Next 7,8 days should be interesting with final waiver trade deadline approaching(August 31st) and the Nationals having some intriguing names they could possibly move. Veteran RHSPs Livan Hernandez(7-11,4.34 in 26 starts)  and Chien-Ming Wang(2-2,4.33 in 5 starts) could help a team at the back end of their rotation both have pitched in pennant races and the post season.  Washington will also shut talented youngster RHSP Jordan Zimmerman(8-10,3.11) as he approaches a team self imposed innings limit. Southpaw Ross Detwiller has pitched well since joining the rotation August 4th(3.38 ERA in 3 starts) and combined with young veteran John Lannan to give the Nats two  lefties in the rotation. We should get a clearer picture over the next 10 days. 

DANDY DAVEY:  When he took over the club after the sudden and shocking resignation of Jim Riggleman, Nationals manager Davey Johnson did think he would manage in 2012. However, many of players, several of them being key core guys, would welcome him back and have campaigned for his return. Lannan sites his ability to tell players the truth while 2B Danny Espinosa, a position Johnson manned for 13 years in the big leagues, mentioned his tips on defense. Washington has played solid ball under his tutelage(20-26) and would be smart to ask him to be behind the bench in 2012.  

The Washington Nationals continue to maintain their solid 2011 campaign as they stand at 57-62 as 0f August 15th. Considering both their injury situation as well as the division in which they play that is a respectable number. The remaining 6 weeks of the season are about building towards 2012 and beyond with guys like Pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Chien-Ming Wang getting healthy  as well as the young middle infield tandem of 2B Danny Espinosa and SS Ian Desmond gaining valuable experience. Fans need to see that is what these games are about. The talent is what it is but with major upside and room for growth. 

MORSE OK: Nationals 1B-OF Michael Morse, the team leader in all 3 major offensive categories, returned to the line-up Saturday August 13th after missing Friday’s game with an elbow contusion. Morse was hit by a pitch in the arm in the 7th inning Thursday August 11th but is ok. He is hitting .386 in August even after he was in a 1 for 12 slump before collecting two hits in his return. For the year he is batting .321 with 20 home runs and 69 rbi. 

SEPTEMBER STRASBURG: The best news of the week(and maybe the season) came Friday night August 12 with RHSP Stephen Strasburg’s 2nd rehab start after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in 2010. Throwing 3 shutout innings, he needed 33 pitches to record 9 outs with 5 strike outs! His off speed stuff looked good and he touched 99 mph once. Meanwhile, 26 of his 33 pitches were strikes and K-ed the lead off hitter on 4 pitches in each inning. Strasburg remains a good bet to make some appearances in September. 

LARGE LIVAN: 36 year old veteran RHSP Livan Hernandez did it all vs the 1st place Philadelphia Phillies with 6 plus innings of 1 run ball while he drove in runs with 2 separate singles August 12th . In the 4-2 win , he tossed 6 and 2 third innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits. 

NATS NEWS:   Future hall of fame C Ivan “Pudge” Rodriquez continues to make little progress attempting to return from a right oblique strain he suffered on July 8th. Manager Davey Johnson has advised him to relax and heal but the catcher might be done for 2011… Wang has looked progressively better with each start and he is slated to pitch the series opener vs the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday August 16th. In his last appearance, he carried a no hitter into the 6th and won for the 1st time since 2009. Wang tossed 6 frames of 1 hit ball while walking 2 and K-ing 1. 

The Washington Nationals continue to hover around the .500 mark at 55-59(As of August 7th) and continue to build for the future in 2012 and beyond. While improvement internally has been a positive(The hitting of SS Ian Desmond comes to mind) a return to health from ace Stephen Strasburg as well as veteran RHSP Chien-Ming Wang would go along way to have Washington win more games. The everyday lineup  has upside with a good blend of youth and experience. The rotation is better than you think and if you could add a Strasburg and/or Wang, starters like LH Jon Lannan and veteran Livan Hernandez would fit into the roles that they are better suited for. The back end of the bullpen, 8th inning on, is a team strength with both set up man Tyler Clippard and closer Drew Storen being among the top performers at their positions.   This team is further along  than most think and I look for brighter days ahead. 

STRASBURG START:  The #1 overall pick in the 2009 First-Year player draft Stephen Strasburg made his 1st rehab start August 7th at Class A Hagerstown after undergoing Tommy John surgery last September. He throw 31 pitches in 1 and 2 third innings(25 for strikes) and struck out 4 with his fast ball reaching 97 miles per hour. Strasburg allowed a solo home run among 4 hits but seemed to be healthy and free in his movement. The Nationals have set a schedule for the righty to make as many as 5 more rehabilitation starts(next August 12th)  in their system before he would rejoin the big league club in the final week of August or early September. He would more than likely replace RH Jordan Zimmerman, who the club wants to shutdown when he reaches a team imposed 160 inning limit, in the rotation. A good day overall for both Strasburg and the Washington organization. 

LEADOFF SOLUTION?: I Sang the praises of new manager Davey Johnson when he took over this club midseason and one player who taken advantage an opportunity given to him is OF Rick Ankiel. He has hit .310 since the all star break after posting a .232 clip pre break. However, he posted a .327 July and has carried that into August with .357 average. In 11 games batting leadoff, he has hit .306 with 2 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 runs, 11 rbi and a .327 on base percentage. Another factor in Ankiel’s recent success is his history with Nationals hitting coach, Rick Eckstein, who held the same position at the Cardinals AAA Memphis in 2007. That was the last stop in Ankiel’s amazing transition from pitcher to everyday major league player. Hats off to all involved here-Ankiel, Johnson and Eckstein. 

WANG BETTER: Chien-Ming Wang looked noticeably better in his 2nd start after missing almost 2 full seasons with shoulder issues, allowing 2 earned runs(6 total) in 5 innings vs the Atlanta Braves. Wang hurt his own cause with a throwing error but threw 54 strikes out of his 86 pitches, producing 10 ground ball outs from his 15 total.(The Taiwan native is a huge ground ball specialist) The Braves touched him for 7 hits while drawing a single walk. Wang did not strike out any Atlanta batters. Red hot 2B Dan Uggla touched him for a 3 run homer in the 4 run 5th inning.  He is scheduled to start Monday August 8th at the red hot Chicago Cubs. 

SCARY SCENE: Awful scene in the Nats- Rockies game August 4th when a line drive from Desmond struck Colorado RHP Juan Nicasio in the head. The blow fractured a C-1 vertebrae in his neck(In English, he has a broken neck without paralysis) and Nicasio remains hospitalized. He remains hospitalized after surgery and the doctors continue to monitor the internal bleeding in the right side of his head. Thoughts and prayers are with Juan and his family.

NATS NOTES: OF Jonny Gomes, acquired before the July 31st trade deadline, hit his first home run in 25 games August 7th to help the club defeat the Colorado Rockies 3-2. The shot came with a runner on and vs. RH Aaron Cook, who Gomes owns(.455 career average against)…OF Erik Komatsu, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for utility player Jerry Hairston Jr.  pre trade deadline, has major upside. He was Milwaukee’s minor league player of the year in 2010 and was hitting .294 with .393 on-base percentage in Class AA.