Live Blog Game One NLDS

OK so it's the 4th inning and I'm just getting started.

Would this even be recognized as a no-hitter?  At least we know it won't be a complete game.

So much for that.  There goes the no-hitter.

I guess going halfway across the country meant Gio found that lack of control he lost coming over from Oakland.

Backwards K how about that TBS.

More Steve McCatty interviews please.

Only 9 more days of the "Teenage" accomplishments list?  I'll miss Tony C.

Just for my own edification, I'd like to know how much Capital One paid Jimmy Fallon to humiliate himself with all those accents (aside from the lobster guy which is clearly in his comfort zone) and I'd like to know how much Dish Network is lowballing WUSA. It must be a lot since they are annoying the F*&% out of me with those gd crawls.

God damn. We get it Gio. We're all saying the same thing

Adam Wainwright doesn't seem to have a problem with the shade, light shade thing.  Has no problem throwing strikes.

What would be the kangaroo court fine for a Cardinal that swings at the first pitch today?  $100?  $500

This has to be Gio's last batter.

Would Davey consider Lombo for game two if the Cards weren't throwing a lefty? Espi looks lost right now

It will be Gio's last batter.  2 runs in 5 IP.  It was ugly but at least it didn't get out of hand.  And although Lynn is really good, I'm glad to get into the Cardinal bullpen this early.

Our first key moment:  $126 million for this moment Jayson

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHJHHHHHHH.  Don't tell me strikeouts are not worse that other outs at this very minute.

That makes up for Some of the K last inning Jayson.  Not enough but some

I was going to say it must not be our day with the Harper robbery and LaRoche's error but hello Ryan Mattheus houdini act . . . no runs bases loaded no outs . . . you are telling me we have a chance

I'm 99% sure Espi did that on his own.  I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if Davey were still alive

TYLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.  TYLERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR  Again!

OK Drew Storen against their 1-2-3 hitters for a postseason win.

One kid and 15 social security recipients behind home plate tonight. Not good long term baseball

Again, it was ugly but Morse got it done. one down.  and the leadoff guy.

Why am I still nervous?  The Win Probability has to be over 50% right?

You can throw strike one? Someone tell Gio

Thanks Dick.  Announcer jinx of all time on the extra base thing

GAME OVER!   Thank you Tyler Moore and Ryan Mattheus.  Never expected to write that.  Now, we'll have at least two games in DC

Wow. The season isn't over.

INTERNET BASEBALL WRITERS ASSOCIATION: Washington, D.C. Chapter: DC-Internet Baseball Writers Association Announces 2012 Player Achievement Awards:

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I suppose something must be said at the conclusion of the 2012 season.  98 wins, an 18 win improvement, the NL East crown and the best record in baseball.  OK not bad guys.

Really, not a lot to say.  Other than it's not a fluke.  There aren't the otherworldly luck in close games the O's had or fluky out of career norm seasons by one or two players.  This was a team that started the year as a 80-85 win team with upside and ended the year as a bone fide 98 win team.

True you can point out that the rotation was healthy all season and maybe we got more than we could expect from LaRoche and Desmond but all in all really nothing that out of the ordinary.  Yes they had no serious starting pitcher injuries but that will happen with a young yet experienced rotation.  They lost Zim, Desmond and Werth for significant time and it really didn't slow things down.  Now they are better with those guys don't get me wrong but they were able to paste over any holes that appeared in the lineup with ease.

I can't even recall a serious losing streak although when you win 98 games that isn't likely anyway.  That strong stable of starters meant if you were only as good as your next day's starter, they were pretty damn good every day.

I think the two things that really elevated the team to this remarkable regular season were Gio's brilliance and of course Bryce.

I've already made my mea culpa on Gio.  Nothing in his past would indicate he'd be an easy top 4 Cy Young vote (R.A.'s got that sewn up sorry).  but he clearly is.  Dickey, Cueto, Kershaw and Gonzalez in any rational ballot.

But Bryce really moved the needle.  And the number that flabbergasts me is one that never gets talked about. It's not a new fangled stat either. It's 98.  That's in runs scored.  They flashed that number in a recent game and my jaw hit the floor.  Seriously, 98 Runs!  That's insane.  It's absolutely true (just Fangraphed it to be sure.)

Throw out every other number.  He's 14th IN THE MAJORS IN RUNS AS A 19 YEAR OLD.  Who missed three weeks!  Now a bit of this has to do with the guys hitting behind him driving him home and I under stand that but 98 runs is still a damn impressive number.  It really brings out a lot of those little things that Bryce brought . . . taking extra bases for example.  Also, Bryce got ON BASE.  Can't score if you can't get on.

Hoist a tall one boys. Great season.  Which will not be diminished by anything that happens from now on.  Postseason is a crap shoot.

And one more thing, STFU you stupid troll Christine Brennan.

Nationals clinch playoff spot, first for D.C. team since 1933 | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports

Nationals clinch playoff spot, first for D.C. team since 1933 | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports:

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For such a big deal, it doesn't feel like a big deal.

I mean I started this blog with the idea that it would be an accomplishment to reach 43 wins . . . the low standard to ensure forgetability for bad teams or 63 wins to avoid the dreaded 100 loss season.  Of course they weren't successful in the latter and thanks to Riggleman (thought we forgot what Jim did for us not as the Nats manager but sweeping that last series in Seattle and gifting us Strasburg).

Even though playoff baseball is devalued, this is a franchise that has played what 5 postseason games period.  Haven't had a postseason game in Washington since 1933.  That's exorcising a lot of demons and ending a lot of narratives.  I'm all in favor of ending sportswriters narratives.

Side note: how freaking good was Ross Detweiler last night?  Spotting a 95+ FB all over the place.  Am I crazy for thinking that I wouldn't be ashamed to have him start a post season game?  And he's the 4th starter. h/t to Davey for having the guts to put him in the rotation from Day One (we'll just all agree to forget the regrettable CM Wang era OK).

Storen was pretty special too.  That's a key to postseason success -- 8th and 9th inning shutdown guys.  Pretty glad to go into a series with Clip and Storen at the end right now.  And I'm confident Davey will keep them both fresh.

Honestly, how can anyone other than Davey get a vote for NL MOY.  Making the Lannan/Detweiler call out of ST, the way he's handled he bull pen from Day One mixing and matching and generally creating favorable late inning matchups all year long, having a productive bench and using it and finally and IMHO the key move convincing Jayson Werth to be happy in the spot he belongs -- leading off.  How many managers would have both the smarts and the balls to tell a 6' 5" $126m guy he's no longer a "power" hitter and get him to go where he makes the team work best as a high OBP leadoff guy.  Short answer not many.  (Would Manny Acta? I doubt it.)

How the Nationals Were Built - The Triangle Blog - Grantland

How the Nationals Were Built - The Triangle Blog - Grantland:

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Expos apologist forgets that it was the Expos that made the hideous Colon deal which is just as responsible for the bottoming out as anything else.  Oh and Omar's terrible drafting after the first round.  Lots of 1st rounders go bust but usually teams find mid round gems.  Not under the late term Expos.

I'm sure I could look this up but I prefer to just ramble on and say I am certain there were times in 08 and 09 when an overmatched Nats team walked into Philly or SF or anywhere really and had their asses handed to them.  Where is was so patently obvious which was the better team. The games not even close.  Well, payback's a bitch Chicago.

Oh Noes? What if the steroid narrative is bunk?

Was MLB's Juiced Era Actually A Juiced-Ball Era?:

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What will lazy sportwriters do now?  Although the evidence is not definitive, it does appear MLB was complicit in trying to"juice" the game via modification to the ball itself.

Check this quote:
The 49.1-foot discrepancy in flight for two balls at the extremes of tolerance is roughly three times the distance produced by a three percent increase in batted ball speed. That's according to the rule of thumb cited by Nathan in his evaluation of data on home run distances, whereby each additional mile per hour of batted ball speed increases the fly ball distance by 5.5 feet. That's a lot of extra homers added to the ledger without anyone violating the rules.

If you have ever wondered why some pitchers can be picky about the ball, the specs for MLB baseballs is a 1/4" in diameter and 1/4 oz in weight.  I couldn't tell the difference but I would be willing to bet someone who played the game would.

Interestingly, they even note that gameballs for minor leagues flew on average 8 feet less than MLB game balls.  Sort of explains how a guy can go from minor league double machine to home run derby guy without juicing doesn't it?

The larger point I'm making is: we've slipped into a convenient narrative for the late 90s early 2000s regarding the "steroids" era.  Oh records from that time are suspect, everyone was juicing and the game was just out of control.  Well, we still don't know how many were doing it  (and we never will) and we don't know if it helped or hurt.  (BTW -- why isn't it ever discussed that pitchers juiced too. Doesn't that even things out?)  This narrative while easy is not complete nor correct.  The so-called "steroid" era is not different than any other era and attempts to portray it as such as just ill informed.

Personally, I don't give a crap about steroids.  But I'm stuck living in this world where sportswriters love the stuff and infect historical discussions with it every chance they get.  Oh the lamentations I will have to ignore come the 2013 HoF ballot.  I know its too much to ask to say just let it lie.  but can we please have some perspective.

Also, I AM NOT IN PANIC MODE YET.  Losing streaks are inevitable and after such a great run to be expected.  We're just one quality start away from putting all this behind us so cheer up.

Boz -- All is forgiven

Visiting the Washington Nationals - Grantland:

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Yes, Thomas Boswell, all is forgiven.  At least when I realize that we could have a pretentious blowhard like Charles Pierce scribbling for us instead.

Of course he's not here every day and can't be bothered with any minutia like oh understanding why the ball park was "ridiculously expensive" (hint for you CP -- it had to do with the District and the politicians who insisted on a municipally owned park.  If you can't figure out why, then I suggest you try building a parking garage in the District and see how quickly they politically-connected cement companies scurry out from the woodwork.)

Let's beat the old "they lost two teams, they don't deserve another one" horse to death again.  Yes, Havana IS a much better spot for an MLB team than the 7th largest media market in the country.  I'm sure all of us would be dying to hop in our Piper Cub's and meringue down to Havana to smoke cigars and complain about capitalism.  Hey CP, I'll bet those '36 Olympics were such a hoot -- bet you wish you were there too. They really knew how to celebrate human achievement with totalitarian style.

So, DC losing teams is just desserts but Montreal losing a team it didn't give a shit about, in a crummy stadium that was a health hazard is a crime of the century?

Nice for noticing that there are National's fans Mr. Pierce.  Did they just materialize in the past week?  Or were there 2 million + in 2005?  Surprise?  A Winning team means fans go to the park.  Losers mean they don't.  Amazing insight. I really must ensure the continued daily delivery of dead trees in order to savor your wisdom.

I will give him credit for the Whitey Ford reference in re:Gio.  Perhaps if he had stuck around and seen the other four members of the starting staff he might have laid off the doesn't look like an NBA 3 meme.  Pretty sure ZNN, Stras, Detweiler and EJ would all man the small forward position.

I do have to agree with at least one thing . . . the worst part of the pennant race baseball in DC will be the endless cameos of "important" people in the stands.  Hard as it will be to believe, their insipid BS when they get camera time will be even worse than that of ordinary LA or NY based celebrities who at least will be trying to move product rather than compete to get their snouts in the public trough the deepest.

On a small baseball note, kudos again to Davey.  Making the Werth hit leadoff is something only a guy like him could do.  In other words, despite the fact it makes far more sense than any other lineup configuration, Werth's stature would disqualify him in the eyes of most "baseball" men.  Davey, while being a "baseball" man is also smart enough to know what's going to help his team win.

It hard to imagine, when I started blogging here the goal I had in mind was 63 wins.  Now, it may be a .500 season before the end of August.

Shut down Stephen Strasburg, or just let him pitch? - ESPN

Shut down Stephen Strasburg, or just let him pitch? - ESPN:

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or beat a dead horse whichever you prefer.

The only sensible reaction comes from Ben Sheets, man to whom I would have given $10m to not pitch, who says whatever the decision, the team has to be 100% committed to it.

I agree.  Have a plan and stick to it.  Gather what info you can and make the choice that you believe serves the long term interest of the club.

Sure I'd like to see Stras pitch in meaningful games late in the season (avoiding the jinxing postseason verbiage) but if the Plan has been to limit innings and everyone's on board then just do it.  Don't listen to the tougher than thou might only have one chance at it crowd.  Those are the same people in the folding chairs at every Little League game who can't understand why the 12 year old ace can't pitch just one more game so their benchwarmer can play in the next playoff round.

Sure Strasburg's built like a workhorse and I'm sure its in his nature to want to pitch. But he's already broken once and he's still young, he's far from being beyond the reach of pitching injury from overuse.

And Orel and Carpenter's experience doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the pitch em till their arms fall off crowd.  Does anyone have an example where a guy went too many innings and his team didn't win?  Then that guy was never the same and the team faded.  I'll bet that example exists but we'll never know.

No reason to believe that 2012 is some magical year that cannot be repeated.  The Phillies repeated from '08 to'11 without much problem.  Can anyone see a team with Stras, Gio and ZNN at the top of the rotation being anything other than a post season contender in 2013? With the two wild cards hell and yes.

Relax people, the Nats haven't won anything yet.  Are we really going to get all Atlanta-like complacent after one season if they don't win?  Settle in folks, we've got a few years of contention to enjoy.  We've suffered through what the Astros are now, now its time to enjoy it.