Center Field Gate

The Washington, DC chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association has voted Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman its 2009 Goose Goslin MVP Award. The award is voted on by the DC-IBWA — an organization that represents Washington Nationals’ internet writers, on-line media outlets, and bloggers. Goslin was a left fielder for the Washington Senators from 1921-30, 1933 and 1938. He also played for the St. Louis Browns (1930-32) and the Detroit Tigers (1934-37). As Nationals News Network notes in quoting from the Hall of Fame’s description: “Burly and strong-armed, Leon Goose Goslin swung the bat with Ruthian effort and forged a reputation as a powerful clutch-hitter. He spearheaded his teams to five American League pennants — three with the Senators and two with the Tigers. He drove in 100 or more runs on 11 occasions and hit .300 or better 11 times, compiling a .316 lifetime average and 2,735 hits. He led the Senators to a World Series title in 1924 with a .344 average and three home runs.”

Zimmerman played in 157 games for the Nats in 2009, hitting .292 with 33 home runs. 106 RBIs and 110 runs scored. His amazing defensive play at third base puts him in line to receive his first gold glove award. Zimmerman finished seventh in at bats, seventh in plate appearances, fourth in runs scored, eighth in extra base hits and sixth in RBIs in the National League. By any measure his was an extraordinary season.  

Zimmerman took first place honors with 88 points, including 14 first place votes. Nyjer Morgan finished second and Willie Harris a distant third. The Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year Award was given to John Lannan, with second place going to Jordan Zimmermann and third to Craig Stammen. The Frederick “Firpo” Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year award was given to a deserving Tyler Clippard. Other awards were given to Adam Dunn (Frank Howard Slugger of the Year), Nick Johnson (Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year), John Lannan (Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year), and Derek Norris (Minor League Player of the Year). Zimmerman took three awards in all: the MVP award, the Sam Rice Hitter of the Year award and the Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year award.

Voters for the awards were asked to name first, second and third place for each category. First place votes received five points, second place votes received three points and third place votes received one point. Twenty ballots from association members were submitted from the following online media outlets: Nationals News Network, Nationals Pride, We’ve Got Heart, Centerfield Gate, FJB, Federal Baseball, The Nationals Enquirer, DC Sports Box, Nationals Inquisition, Nats Fanboy Looser, Planetary Nats, Bang! Zoom!, Nats Nation, Let Teddy Win!, Nationals Review, DC Sports Plus, and Passing Time Between Wil Nieves Bombs. Full results can be found at Nationals News Network.

I like the Strasburg deal. I really do. Who doesn’t like the potential of a 100 mph heater and a killer breaking ball coupled with the grit of a Jonathan Paplebon?  The Nats get a great prospect for not goofy money and the kid gets a record contract and chance to shine. Everybody wins.

 
What I don’t like is all the breathless jabbering about it. Some people are talking about it like it’s their first kiss. On WJFK 106.7 FM “The Fan” (oh, please) just after the deal was inked, the announcer said all Nats fans must be “ecstatic” at the news. Pleased? Yeah, maybe. Optimistic, sure. Ecstatic? I guess. If I was ten. 
 
One of the blogs ran the banner headline: “Washington Nationals SIGN STEPHEN STRASBURG!!!!” (exclamation points in the original). Okay, they’re excited. It is a good day for the franchise. I get it. But I think I would have been more excited if they signed Roy Halladay. I am certainly not in the Thomas Boswell camp who said in yesterday’s Post that this signing is the Nat’s “redemption.” One 21-year-old can’t do that all by himself no matter how good he is. There are 24 other guys that need to help too. 

I’m from Missouri on this kid; show me then I’ll get excited. He’s a great college pitcher. Let’s see if that translates to effectiveness in the bigs. I’m willing to wait three or four years to find out if he’s got the stuff.  I don’t expect miracles (and neither should anyone else). And, by God, I hope he is great. But at this point he’s got tremendous potential and he’s completely unproven in a situation where the big dogs run.
 
Let’s all take a breath, get the stars out of our eyes, and wait to see what happens before we start planning to buy playoff tickets a year from now. Doesn’t the name Jordan Zimmermann mean anything?

In the immediate aftermath of one of this season’s more-than-typical collapses — in which nothing worked — the Washington Nationals rebounded for a 2-0 defeat of the Cincinnati Reds, in which everything worked. Garrett Mock, on the heels of a steady start against the Showboats (which he won 5-2) pitched a six inning gem and the Nats took the second game of the four game set against the Redlegs 2-0. Mock got into trouble in the sixth inning, when he loaded the bases, but he was able to pitch out of the jam. Other than that, Cincy’s bats remained silent and Mock remained steady; he threw 101 pitches, 59 of them for strikes.

After a shaky outing on Thursday, the Nats’ bullpen was superb, with Jorge Sosa, Sean Burnett, Jason Bergman and Mike “Heart Attack” MacDougal blanking Dusty Baker’s pitching-light Red Stockings through three perfect innings. MacDougal sailed through the ninth, recording his twelfth save. The game could not have been scripted any better: the starting pitching was strong, the relievers looked untouchable and (while the Nats were not overpowering at the plate) the Anacostia nine got hits when they needed them — on improbable solo shots from Wil Nieves and Ronnie Belliard.

Down On Half Street: The clock is ticking on the deadline for signing first overall pitching messiah Stephen Strasburg. Bill Ladson and the Washington Times are reporting that the Nats met with Strasburg last week in Southern California. Ladson reports that team officials came away from their meeting impressed by the young righthander. If he is signed, Strasburg may be called to the big club in September . . . It seems notionally true, particularly in the wake of Jordan Zimmermann’s impending Tommy John surgery, that the Nats may need Strasburg more than ever. But that knife (so to speak) cuts both ways. The Nats are in a need of a young starter — true — but Zimmermann’s injury points up the fragility of young arms, particularly as the Nats were careful not to overpitch J.Z., setting strict limits on his pitch and game numbers . . .

As Ladson points out, David Clyde and Ben McDonald are the only other two pitchers in MLB history to be drafted #1 and pitch in the majors in the same year. Clyde was rushed into the Rangers’ rotation (as a way of bringing fans to the park) and didn’t pan out, while McDonald battled arm problems during a curtailed career . . . Scott Boras is apparently telling reporters that Strasburg deserves the same level contract (about $50 million) as Daisuke Matsuzaka. If true, Boras may want to rethink his peroration: Dice-K is 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA and is battling “shoulder fatigue. He is probably out for the season . . . Everyone is remaining silent on the Nats’ chances and most particularly Strasburg’s agent; but that’s not unusual for Scott Boras, who usually negotiates to the last second . . .

The Washington Nationals swept the three game series against the Diamondbacks, with a decisive 9-2 skinning of the rattlers on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park. The victory followed a thrilling 5-2 win on Saturday. The Nats have now won eight in a row and will get a day off before embarking on a semi-extended road trip. In both of the last two games an otherwise shakey starting rotation provided consistent outings — with Garrett Mock beating Dan Heren on Saturday and J.D. Martin besting Yusmeiro Petit on Sunday. It was both Mock and Martin’s first major league victories. Mock and Martin were not overpowering, but they were good enough to allow Nats’ interim manager Jim Riggleman to mix-and-match a bullpen that had been putting in extra innings. The Nats bats continue to heat up: Adam Dunn hit his 30th home run on Sunday, Ryan Zimmerman went 3-5, and Alberto Gonzalez seems to be rediscovering his swing — he went 2-4 on Sunday.

The bats of Dunn, Guzman, Zimmerman, Morgan and Willingham — at the heart of the Nats’ order — figured big in both games: accounting for six of Washington’s eight hits on Saturday and nine of 16 hits on Sunday. But the key to Washington’s sweep of the Diamondbacks may well have been Elijah Dukes, who notched ten RBIs of a total of 21 runs the ballclub scored. Dukes unlikely resurgence makes up, at least in part, for the departure of Nick Johnson to the Marlins. Equally impressive was the Nats’ newest find: reliever Jorge Sosa. The former Braves, Cardinals and Mets journeyman pitched 2.1 innings on Sunday, which followed a one inning no-hit-no-run relief effort on Saturday. It’s clear that the deceptive Sosa has found a place at the back of the Nats’ bullpen. He may even vie, at some point, with Mike MacDougal for the closers’ role.

Why are the Nats suddenly playing so well . . .? The answer seems obvious: good pitching, timely hitting, good defense. All that. For sure. But then, you know (and, I mean, this is just a suggestion) it’s pretty hard to ignore the role played by this guy:

Down On Half Street: The Boston Globe is reporting that the Boston Red Sox, reeling from their slapping at the hands of the New York Gothams, have reportedly put a claim in on Nationals’ shortstop Cristian Guzman, who has been placed on waivers. The Nats can either pull Guzman back, let him go, or work out a deal sometime in the next 48 hours. The Red Sox have had trouble filling their hole at short — Julio Lugo is gone to St. Louis and Jed Lowrie is on the DL . . . I haven’t met a Sox fan yet who isn’t absolutely ecstatic about getting rid of Lugo: “thank God he’s gone,” they say. And you can see why. I mean, his replacement (the aforementioned) is like ”the second coming” of the second coming: except that he’s hitting .143. Oh no, what will they do without him? . . . Hey, maybe they should trade Clay “can miss” Buchholz (ERA: 5.33) and a boatload of other “can’t miss” players for Roy Halladay, who’s only the best pitcher in baseball . . ..  Nahhhhhh .   

We are pleased to announce that there’ll be a twenty minute special report on Lowrie’s status on Boston Red Sox ”Baseball Tonight,” right after the fifteen minute special on David Ortiz (which follows the sixteen minutes on the Bosox vs. the Bronx series, which is the single most important baseball series this year — not counting the Angels-Rangers tilt going on right now too, of course), so be sure to stay tuned for that compelling report . . . and, oh yes, later on in the program, we’ll be presenting our special segment, “that’s not television, that’s boring”  . . . speaking of the DL. It could be bad news for Nats’ starter Jordan Zimmermann, who is experiencing continued elbow soreness. He is scheduled to have x-rays of the elbow examined further on Monday by the nation’s leading baseball orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. Andrews isn’t examing the elbow, mind you, he’s so good all he needs to do is look at the x-rays. In any event, this is not good news . . . but hey, here’s my question and it’s damned important: do you think that Joba Chamberlain should stay as a starter, or go back to the bullpen? huh? huh? huh? do ya? do ya? do ya? . . .

The Nats have dropped two to the Colorado Rockies — the first a pitcher’s duel that showed why Jason Marquis is on the NL All Star Team (and should be named its starter) and the second a mistake-filled and embarrassing loss characterized by missed opportunities and indifferent play. Marquis was the story in the first game. The economical former Cardinal and Cub threw 104 pitches, 75 for strikes. Craig Stammen, the Nats rookie who has had several difficult appearances over the last month, matched him nearly pitch-for-pitch, throwing 98 pitches, 62 for strikes. Stammen showed he can throw his first pitch for a strike — something he has had difficulty doing. The only drawback to Stammen’s performance was a rocky first inning, which was the difference-maker in the game. The second match-up was entirely different, a loss that resulted from humiliating breakdowns in nearly every part of the game.

The mistakes made by the Nats in their 5-4 loss are almost too numerous to list, but here are a few of them: poor starting pitching (Jordan Zimmermann couldn’t make it into the fifth), Ryan Zimmerman’s inability to stay out of the doubleplay (after a three run homer he hit into two — numbers 15 and 16), Josh Willingham’s puzzling failure with runners in scoring position (he has ten homers, all of them with no one on base), Cristian Guzman’s continued indifferent defense (nonchalanting and then booting a catchable ball in a clutch situation), Julian Tavarez’s inability to throw strikes to poor hitters (he walked two Rockies’ in the eighth inning) Joe Beimel’s brain-lock in throwing to the wrong man covering second (he overthrew the bag on a potential doubleplay) and, most embarrassing of all, Austin Kearns’ belly-flop between first and second on a pickoff throw from Rockies’ pitcher Alan Embree. The result was a scorebook anomoly: by picking off Kearns, Embree got the win without pitching the ball. 

MASN commentators could hardly believe what they were seeing. Going into a commercial, play-by-play announcer Bob Carpenter told his audience: “We’ll try to explain this one when we get back folks.” Color commentator Rob Dibble, meanwhile, was nearly enraged by Cristian Guzman’s error at shortstop. When Carpenter theorized that Guzman was more used to the sure bounces of Minnesota’s astroturf, Dibble waved him off. “I don’t buy it,” he said, and added that he thought that Guzman was “just lazy.” His solution? “Sit him down. Bring in Alberto Gonzalez.” Following the game, however, Manny Acta blamed walks for the loss — and downplayed the Nats poor infield play. This could have been predicted: Acta was clearly steaming when he walked to the mound to relieve Tavarez, who (along with Kearns) has to be on a short string in Washington. “I don’t think I’m as disappointed at the defense as the walks,” Acta said. “I think walks are a curse, and that’s been the recipe for us. We didn’t even have to rely on our defense if we didn’t walk those two guys in that inning. It’s a combination. I think you just got to go after guys and make them swing the bat.”

The Nats Return Home. The Nationals had a chance to take the final game of a three game set from the Phish in Miami yesterday and show off their new talent. Neither happened. Newcomer Nyjer Morgan remained on the bench and highly touted lefthander Sean Burnett gave up a home run in his first appearance. The Nats woes continued: poor fielding, quiet bats in clutch situations and a pathetic showing from the bullpen. The Nats are now “oh-fer” in their last ten outings against the Marlins. Time to get out of Miami. The Nats woes might well be reaching into the team’s psyche: otherwise steady third sacker Ryan Zimmerman has registered three errors over the last two games, Anderson Hernandez’s bat has gone silent, Nick Johnson’s BA has plummeted, Adam Dunn’s goal of hitting over .300 for the year now seems a fantasy. The front office is scrambling to deal with the continuing crisis, sending Elijah Dukes to triple-A, and talks about dealing some of the team’s major parts is heating up, with Nick Johnson apparently being targeted by the Chokes. The only good news to come out of Florida, it seems, was the continued stellar showing of first year talent Jordan Zimmermann, who went six innings and threw 100 pitches, 74 for strikes.

Down On Half Street: Nats Park should fill up this weekend for a series against the Chops – the weather will be good and its the July 4th weekend. Which brings me back to those early season “Baseball Tonight” predictions that Nats attendance would continue to plummet. That hasn’t happened. The Nats now stand 24th in attendance (true: hardly something to brag about), but are within easy reach of K.C., San Diego and the O’s. The team finished 19th in attendance last year and if they finish out of the bottom ten (with the worst record in the majors) it will be evidence that baseball can thrive in Washington. And Tim Kurkjian-and-crew can eat their words . . . I can’t quite get past this talk that the Nats are going to trade John Willingham. What for? A rightfielder who can hit? He is a rightfielder who can hit. Not everything can be solved by trading away your best players . . .

Speaking of eating crow: I am not preparing to eat crow over my early season prediction that the Baby Bears (aka, “the North Side Drama Queens”) would finish first in the NL Central, despite the  fact that Lou-and-crew have apparently decided that they can lose as well with minor league players as they can with stars hitting .230. Sam Fuld started in left field last night against the Ahoys and the Cubs best pitcher is . . . Randy Wells, a lifetime triple-A hurler. Randy Wells? Who the hell is Randy Wells? The Cubs are acting more like a passle of whining kids than a ballclub. Lou went after Milton Bradley for his poor performance (more precisely, he called him “a piece of . . .”), beat writers have called for the unconditional release of Carlos Zambrano (no kidding), and Aramis Ramirez continues to nurse a dislocated shoulder. But I will eat crow on Jason Marquis. I couldn’t wait for the Cubs to get rid of him. And so they did. He’s now 10-5 with a 3.87 ERA for the resurgent Rockies and pitching like he’s Ferguson Jenkins. This must seem like sweet justice for Marquis, who blistered the Cubs for not having any confidence in him . . . in this, at least, the Cubs can best the Nats — the troubles the Baby Bears are having are from the neck up. Lou actually looked deadpan into a WGN camera last week (during a pathetic 6-0 pasting at the hands of the Pale Hose) and shrugged his shoulders. But last night, finally, he seemed reengaged. The camera caught him expressing his view of the third base ump (”fat f — k”) and, one inning later, a poor call at first brought him headlong out of the Cubs dugout. He was immediately tossed, redfaced. About time.