2009 MLB Season Thread

[Cujo]

Hey, hey. Cubs Win!

Hopefully my Northsiders are in first place to stay.

[BrySmalls]

It's one game guys. Relax. Plenty of time to get that to that magical 63-win barrier.

I fail to see how being down 8-2 in the 6th is specifically the manager's fault.

Hm, I don't know, maybe it was the bullpen selection after Lannan got lit up?

Or even starting Lannan since his last ST game didn't go so hot?

How bout the defensive ineptitude and shortcomings? Although Kearns did save a few runs.

And, even if it's only one game, but how many "HRs" did Bonifacio have with the Nats last year or can you point to any game last year where he was as effective as this opener?

So let's see what Olsen does against his former team......

[Jigga]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

[BrySmalls]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

I don't know what you're referring to.........

[Drew22]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

I don't know what you're referring to.........

But everyone else does and we agree with Greg.

[BrySmalls]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

I don't know what you're referring to.........

But everyone else does and we agree with Greg.

[Epiphanic]

Hm, I don't know, maybe it was the bullpen selection after Lannan got lit up?

Eh. Maybe. None of the bullpen guys did very well. Hinckley did get out of his inning without any runs, but he did walk two guys so not really good either. I think it was pretty obvious that the pitching staff was a big question mark at the beginning of the season so let's not get all bent out of shape when the inevitable bumps and bruises come. Furthermore, they were already down 6-2 going to the bottom of the fourth, so it's not like he was throwing guys out there in high leverage situations. It's probably a good idea to give relatively unproven guys innings in non-critical situations. I still find it hard to fault a manager completely when everyone sucks.

Or even starting Lannan since his last ST game didn't go so hot?

Again. Maybe. Who would've you gone with? Hanrahan? Cabrera? Olsen?

How bout the defensive ineptitude and shortcomings? Although Kearns did save a few runs.

What would your lineup have looked like? And why would your lineup do better? Did Acta have some really crazy defensive shifts on during the game? Or is the defensive ineptitude largely a function of the players on the field?

And, even if it's only one game, but how many "HRs" did Bonifacio have with the Nats last year or can you point to any game last year where he was as effective as this opener?

No, I can't. But I can guarantee that Bonafacio won't be going 4-for-5 every game this year. Some games players just click. It's part of the game. Furthermore, I don't think you really understand the concept of "just one game."

---------

Look, I'm disappointed the Nats couldn't win yesterday, but there's two more games in this series and 6 months left in the season. The team losing yesterday does not eliminate them from post-season contention or any goal you may have for this team.

[BrySmalls]

Hm, I don't know, maybe it was the bullpen selection after Lannan got lit up?

Eh. Maybe. None of the bullpen guys did very well. Hinckley did get out of his inning without any runs, but he did walk two guys so not really good either. I think it was pretty obvious that the pitching staff was a big question mark at the beginning of the season so let's not get all bent out of shape when the inevitable bumps and bruises come. Furthermore, they were already down 6-2 going to the bottom of the fourth, so it's not like he was throwing guys out there in high leverage situations. It's probably a good idea to give relatively unproven guys innings in non-critical situations. I still find it hard to fault a manager completely when everyone sucks.

Or even starting Lannan since his last ST game didn't go so hot?

Again. Maybe. Who would've you gone with? Hanrahan? Cabrera? Olsen?

How bout the defensive ineptitude and shortcomings? Although Kearns did save a few runs.

What would your lineup have looked like? And why would your lineup do better? Did Acta have some really crazy defensive shifts on during the game? Or is the defensive ineptitude largely a function of the players on the field?

And, even if it's only one game, but how many "HRs" did Bonifacio have with the Nats last year or can you point to any game last year where he was as effective as this opener?

No, I can't. But I can guarantee that Bonafacio won't be going 4-for-5 every game this year. Some games players just click. It's part of the game. Furthermore, I don't think you really understand the concept of "just one game."

---------

Look, I'm disappointed the Nats couldn't win yesterday, but there's two more games in this series and 6 months left in the season. The team losing yesterday does not eliminate them from post-season contention or any goal you may have for this team.

I'll try my best to play Acta right now and try to assemble a decent starting 9 (on paper):

Guzman - SS

Milledge - CF

Willingham - LF

Dunn - 1B

Zimmerman - 3B

Dukes - RF

Belliard - 2B

Flores - C

Pitcher

Rotation: Olsen, Lannan, Martis, Zimmerman, Cabrera;

Bullpen: Balester, Mock, Hinckley Rivera, Shell, Sosa; Closer: Hanrahan

[Don]

to enrage Nats fans even more, from the Bog:

I'll probably always be something of an outsider in D.C., because I'm not from here. I didn't live through Gibbs I or the Bandwagon, the Penguins in the '90s or Wes Unseld-as-GM. Still, I think I'm getting to understand the mindset of that rarest of creatures: the all-D.C.-sports die-hard. Here are a few rules: Philly is the (metaphorical) enemy, in every sport. The invasion of fans from rival cities is an inevitable plague best left unmentioned. And the active courting of visiting fans (ahem, S.O., ahem) is craven betrayal of the grandest hope, which is normalcy. Just make us like a regular sports town. That's all we want.

Stan Kasten hasn't been here as long as I have, and he hasn't learned the rules. Stan is brilliant in many ways, but if you're representing D.C. sports you can't--CANNOT--open your arms wide in a fuzzy embrace of visiting Philly fans. You might as well just take the D.C. off your caps at that point.

Kasten was on the Jody Mac and Harry Mayes Show today, the mid-day sports radio program of ESPN 950 in Philadelphia, and he turned the segment into an advertisement for next week's home series with the Phillies. Good tickets, apparently, are still available. The first question was about the Nats' roster, and after Kasten wound his way through that question, he ended with this. Unprompted.

"It will be fun, and I think Philly's our best, closest National League rival. We always have great games with them here, because there's so many Philly kids in college here. So we always have great, enthusiastic crowds, and we hope you all come back again. We have an opening day here Monday, we'd love for all our Philly fans to come down, because I know it's gonna be so hard to get tickets in Philadelphia this year. It'll be much easier if you drive down the road and come see us in Washington."

No, Stan, no. Stop now. Hang up the phone. Tell them you just realized you have a lunch appointment. Tell them you need to go watch a MASN re-broadcast. Don't make it any worse.

"You can come here early, we open two and three hours early, have a good time," he said later, when asked specifically about visiting Nats Park. "The neighborhood, which had so many plans for an exciting nightlife waterfront area, frankly has been pushed back a year or two because of the economy, so there's not a lot in the neighborhood. But let's face it, any trip in Washington, which is among the world's most visited cities, among the world's best tourist cities, there's plenty else to do if you want to make a day of it or a night of it. But I promise you, just coming to a ballgame will be more than worth the trip."

Guh. Please. Stop.

"No, we want to play you, we want to see you here, and we would WELCOME your fans here," he said later, when the hosts joked about avoiding this improving Nats ballclub. "And I've got to tell you, I have gone to enough games in three different sports in Philly to tell you that I haven't always felt welcome in your parks, ok? But you can root for whoever you want, you will be welcome when you come to Nationals Park."

Rational D.C. fans don't want anything approaching hostile conditions for visiting fans. They don't want violence, they don't want profanity, they don't want beer throwing, they don't want rudeness. They want laughs, and good times, and fun. But they don't want their faces rubbed in these visiting invasions, either. They don't want to be shamed.

"Hey, you've got an opening day hat!" Kasten said, when asked about any giveaways on Monday. "It's a Nats hat, which is ok, but we do feature for sale many Philly hats in our store, so come on by."

Good gracious me on the tombstone of Walter Johnson, really? You're going to say that on Philadelphia airwaves? "We do feature for sale many Philly hats in our store?" That's not being tone-deaf, that's deliberately going out of your way to play everything in E-flat when you're living in a D-major city. I'm trying to think of a more blasphemous thing a D.C. sports executive could say. Yup, still trying.

To be fair, there was one moment of sanity, when the hosts were talking about what Philly fans could expect, one moment when Kasten said the exact right thing.

"Well, first of all, the aggravating thing for me is the last few years, the Philly games, it feels like a damn Philly home game," he said, even using the correct profanity. "Ok, that's the annoying thing, because the Phillies are so good, or have been recently, we are so close, and so we DO get a lot of fans from Philadelphia. And we have so many college kids here, so there are an awful lot of Philly fans here. Now building teams go through that--road teams attract more customers than you would like as the team is building. The better we get, that's gonna turn over quickly, and it'll quickly become a lot more Nats fans, outnumbering Philly fans, but Philly fans always seem to have a good time."

This is the point. This is what you say. It's unfortunate, but inevitable, especially for teams from Philly, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and the like. It's a fact of life. It will gradually change as wins come--see the Caps--but never entirely disappear--again, see the Caps. So haha, Philly radio hosts, you're right, we'll probably see a lot of your people here next week, and we'll shake their hands and say hello and then just wait for them to leave.

But we won't encourage them. We'll never, ever encourage them. Civic pride is more important than selling a few more beers.

[cappital92]

Honestly, I don't mind. I'd much rather have 35,000 show up to see the Nats vs. the Phillies or Mets than 17,000. At least the stadium will look less like a funeral home.

But, I am not liking how the management's going with the team. If they were still in RFK, I'd actually encourage them to move. The city seems like they don't want the Nationals. D.C. doesn't really need a baseball team to feel "major league". As a baseball fan, I'd much rather have the Charlotte Grays or Portland Beavers with a deeply devoted fanbase than the Nationals and their lukewarm group of former Senator and Oriole fans here in the area. Would I like to see them here? Damn straight. But they say you're only as strong as your weakest member. If that's the case, I'm not sure how MLB's going to have a decent product in the future.

[Don]

Honestly, I don't mind. I'd much rather have 35,000 show up to see the Nats vs. the Phillies or Mets than 17,000. At least the stadium will look less like a funeral home.

But, I am not liking how the management's going with the team. If they were still in RFK, I'd actually encourage them to move. The city seems like they don't want the Nationals. D.C. doesn't really need a baseball team to feel "major league". As a baseball fan, I'd much rather have the Charlotte Grays or Portland Beavers with a deeply devoted fanbase than the Nationals and their lukewarm group of former Senator and Oriole fans here in the area. Would I like to see them here? Damn straight. But they say you're only as strong as your weakest member. If that's the case, I'm not sure how MLB's going to have a decent product in the future.

i'd rather it feel like a funeral home than anything remotely related to philly. and it doesnt help that they'd rather court other teams fans rather than their own. the Nats are taking the lazy way out and youre ok with it, go move to philly. it comes down to management, not league status. if there was a glimmer of hope for this team people would come out, its baseball. but theres no glimmer of hope. minor league or major league, if youre not having a good time going out to the ballpark youre not going to go, especially when everyones broke due to the economy.

[rams80]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

To be fair...at least his team genuinely sucks.

[IronChefShark]

Lincecum looks like today, but the Giants win thier opener over the Brewers 10-6.

[NJTank]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

To be fair...at least his team genuinely sucks.

Give him a break he's nuts about the Nats

[Breakwood]

2-0 baby! 162-0 here we come!

[speedy]

2-0 baby! 162-0 here we come!

It means nothing unless you're 173-0.

[Jigga]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

To be fair...at least his team genuinely sucks.

Give him a break he's nuts about the Nats

Or just nuts.

[patsox]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

To be fair...at least his team genuinely sucks.

Give him a break he's nuts about the Nats

Or just nuts.

Or just bat crazy.

[BJBerthiaume]

Twins are picking up right where they left off last year. Alexi Casilla base hit to center and the Twins score 3 in the 9th to beat the M's 5-4. If they play like this every game, Minnesota and it's surrounding supporters will have the biggest heart-attack rate in the world.

[DEAD!]

Okay, you're turning into the tNak version of Nats fans...please stop.

To be fair...at least his team genuinely sucks.

Give him a break he's nuts about the Nats

Or just nuts.

Or he's a Cracker Jack.