Went to the game tonight with a friend from Charlotte, who enjoys baseball but isn't able to follow closely.
"Why," he asked in the first inning, "are the Nationals so bad?"
I told him I could go on all night but I'd give him the nutshell: The bullpen and defense. Yeah, lately the offense hasn't been so good but we know it is better than it is showing. The other stuff? Not so much.
Unfortunately, tonight's game made me look like a genius.
A change has to be coming soon, right? Like before Saturday's game? The look on Manny's face when he went to get Hanrahan was not one I've seen before.
Trouble is, I don't know if there's a better option down below. If there is (or isn't), someone please let me know.
Oh yeah. That's 3-16 with me in the house. I've now seen losses in three cities this season.
The actual game aside, I still like Camden Yards as much as any park I've been to and I've been to a lot of them. It looks as good as it did when opened.
Going to the Aquarium before tomorrow's game. We always enjoy visiting there. Maybe I can find a fish or two who can pitch out of the bullpen.
2 comments:
from a comment over at thenatsblog.com:
'One of the things that Earl Weaver did so brilliantly when he managed the Orioles was tp use the bullpen as a training ground for young pitchers. If you look back at the Orioles great pitching staffs in the 70s, you will discover that most of their great pitchers started in bullpen roles and only moved into starting as they matured and became ready. Weaver called it "putting them in a position to succeed" but it also provided him with a constant supply of good middle relievers, and sometimes closers.'
what do people think about this idea? it seems appealing to me since we've got guys like JD Martin and Ballester in the minors and Olsen about to push one of our other young starters out of the rotation. Could they possibly be less effective than the unstoppable team of Hanrahan and Colome?
I think that the bullpen as AAAA is a fine idea except putting Zimmermann in a position to hold a 7-0 deficit is not going to be much use as a learning exercise.
I missed the game yesterday. Any glaring defense, or just the ususal fat men in the outfield and SS/1b waddling around the place?
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