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Mid-Season Assessment: “At least we were right about one thing…”

By Maggie on July 13, 2012

The Nationals start the second half of what seems like a beautiful season so far tonight. Back in early April, we posted our predictions for the coming season. I was fairly optimistic, and Ashley tempered my optimism. And apparently, we shouldn’t have been quite so moderate in our guesstimations. Let’s take a look at those prognostications and see just how things stand here before the Nats start up again.

1) Who will lead the Nats in home runs in 2012?

Original Answer: Ryan Zimmerman
Current Leaders: Desmond at 17, LaRoche at 15 … Zimmerman 8

Oh Ryan. He had a rough first half, and things didn’t turn around until about 3 weeks ago when he got that cortisone shot. In the mean time, Desmond is having a career season, and Adam LaRoche is getting off to a faster start than usual.
Modified Answer: LaRoche – I’m not sure Desmond can keep up his furious pace through the rest of the season though I’d love to see him try.

2) Who will lead the Nats in RBI?

Original Answer: Danny Espinosa
Current Leaders: LaRoche 53, Desmond 51… Espinosa 24

This prediction was probably wishful thinking in the first place. Espi had a great first half last year – would it be silly to think he’d repeat? Maybe he’ll bounce back in the second half this time around, but it looks like it’ll be difficult to catch up with LaRoche and Desi who are running away with this so far.
Modified Answer: If we’re going with the “second place guy takes it” again, then we’ll give it to Desmond.

3) Who will lead the Nats in stolen bases?

Original Answer: Roger Bernadina
Current Leaders: Espinosa 14, Desmond 11, Harper 10 … Bernadina 8

This is a situation where the Shark’s new role as a pinch hitter has hurt him. He’s still a speedster, as evidenced by the fact that he’s only 6 bases behind Espinosa despite his fractional number of plate appearances.
Modified Answer: Gotta give this one to the Kid. Harper loves to run, and I have a feeling he’ll do a lot of base stealing in the second half.

4) Who will lead the staff in wins?

Original Answer: Jordan Zimmermann
Current Leaders: Gonzalez 12, … Zimmermann 5

Poor Jordan. We should have known from last year that the team’s bad habit of not giving him any run support would hold over. He deserves a better win-loss record (and fingers crossed tonight gives him another W in that column).
Modified Answer: Gotta go with Gio. He’s a workhorse, and he seems to love pitching in Nats Park. I have a feeling this one is locked up.

5) Who will pitch more innings for the Nats this season: Chien-Ming Wang, John Lannan, Ross Detwiler?

Original Answer: Ross Detweiler
Current Leaders: Detweiler 78.2, Wang 23.2, Lannan 0

This is one of the few answer’s we’ve got right so far. Yay us! With Wang’s hip acting up again, and Lannan pouting in Syracuse, we’ll stick with our original answer.

6) Who will get more at bats for the Nats this season: Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina, Bryce Harper?

Original Answer: Roger Bernadina
Current Leaders: Harper 248, Ankiel 158, Bernadina 111

With Ankiel in a reduced role, Bernadina as pinch hitter, and Harper debuting in the big leagues WAY before anyone expected, it looks like we were wrong on this one.
Modified Answer: Harper. He’s run away with it so far, and the only way I see this changing is if the worst comes to pass.

7) Date of Bryce Harper’s Major league debut?

Original Answer: June 2
Actual Answer: April 28

We were OH SO WRONG. But really…whoulda thunk? And dude is really proving himself.

8) Which minor leaguer are you most interested in keeping tabs on this season (other than Bryce Harper)?

Original Answer: Anthony Rendon or Matt Purke (btw, check out that photo!)

With Rendon essentially out for the season with a broken ankle, and Matt Purke not starting his season until late May followed quickly by a trip to the DL, it seems that both of them won’t be doing much for a while. In the mean time, we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground about Alex Meyer who did an awesome job at the MLB futures game.

9) How many all-stars will the Nats have? Who?

Our Answer: 2, Zimmerman and Strasburg
Real Answer: 3.5, Strasburg, Gonzalez, Desmond (withdrew), Harper

Let’s give ourselves partial credit. Of course Strasburg would go – that was the obvious answer. But the other 2.5 (we’ll call them that since the Nats technically had 4 all stars, but only 3 showed up) were awesome surprises. Congrats to the team on making the great leap from the last few seasons when they had someone at the All Star Game only because every team HAD to have someone at the All Star Game.

10) Total wins and what place in the division?

Original Answer: 85, 2nd
Current Answer: 49 wins, 1st in NL-East, 1st in NL, 3rd in MLB … more than halfway there!

This is amazing. The team currently stands 10 wins behind their entire win total from both 2008 and 2009. They’ve got 79 more games to win the 36 games needed to meet our prediction. That’s .456 over the second half of the season. It’d have to be a big drop-off on the current pace, but that means this team is likely to at least meet and probably exceed our expectations.
We won’t amend our prediction (just because we’re cautious), but yeah. This is very good.

Essay Question: Single most important development for the Nats this season?

Original Answer: The team really needs to stay healthy. Physically, this includes trying to avoid silly injuries early in the season that could be avoided and not overworking injury prone players. Mentally, the team needs to keep up camaraderie in the clubhouse and not get caught up in early season hype until they’ve proven themselves.

Response to Essay: DAMN STRAIGHT. How many more games could this team have won early on if they’d had Morse from the get-go? Had Storen as their closer, and didn’t have to deal with the nagging Lidge elbow-issues. What if Zimmerman had gotten his cortisone shot earlier? Or if Werth could have continued producing in his sophomore season without the devastating wrist injury? If Desmond and Harper didn’t have nagging injuries that they’re playing through (to All-Star caliber), that might be holding them back from their full potential? Who knows what would have happened…but it would have been fun to watch. Thankfully the camaraderie has been there to make up for the other failings. This is a team with clubhouse chemistry like you would not believe, and they seem to be having fun, but also being realistic about expectations. Good on them!

Ok – the second half starts now. Good luck, boys!

2012 Pre-Season Predictions

By Maggie on April 4, 2012

With the start of the season fast approaching (Yesterday was the last spring training game? Tomorrow is opening day? Eep! Where has the time gone!), it means that the First Ladies are back with their pre-season predictions. As members of the DC-Internet Baseball Writers of America, we participate in a survey every spring and an awards vote every fall. We tend to like the predictions best because it’s something we can watch and judge ourselves against. As a note, most of these predictions were made while the First Ladies were out of town, so if things seem slightly off…we’ll just blame foreign air. Here’s our thoughts on this spring’s survey (which can be found here).

1) Who will lead the Nats in home runs in 2012?

Ryan Zimmerman

Zim seems to be back and healthy this spring (we’re very thankful for that), so with a full season ahead of him, we’re pretty sure he’ll make a mark. And with that lovely extension – he’ll want to prove he’s worth every penny and more.

2) Who will lead the Nats in RBI?

Danny Espinosa

This is one that after watching the Nats-Red Sox game we’re beginning to question (Wilson Ramos looked REALLY good). But now is not the time to go back on guesses. After a fall that looked more crash-and-burn than rookie of the year, we think Danny will come back to the season with something to prove, and that may manifest itself in pushing guys across the plate.

3) Who will lead the Nats in stolen bases?

Roger Bernadina

This is another hopeful pick. With the Shark back on the Opening Day roster, we’ve got high hopes that he’ll stick around for a while. And when you’ve got Bill Ladson trying to force the name “Speed Racer” on twitter…well, he’ll have to live up to that somehow. If the Shark doesn’t get a chance to munch on bases this year, expect to see Ian Desmond in this spot.

4) Who will lead the staff in wins?

Jordan Zimmermann

This was probably the easiest call we made. J-Zimm is back and fully recovered from Tommy John surgery. He has no innings limit (unlike Strasburg), and based on the glowing reviews of his shortened season last year, we can’t wait to see what kind of magic he makes.

5) Who will pitch more innings for the Nats this season? (Wang, Lannan or Detweiler)

Ross Detweiler

This was more strategy than anything else. By the time we made our guesses, Wang had already been injured, and he has a history of being a delicate flower. That leaves the choice between Lannan and Detweiler. Lannan had options left, and considering the shocking fact that the Nats exercised these and are having him start in Syracuse, this pick is looking pretty good so far…

6) Who will get more at bats for the Nats this season? (Ankiel, Bernadina, Harper)

Roger Bernadina

This is another shot in the dark, and here’s the reasoning: Ankiel is injured, and also old (and seems to be a placeholder for Harper). Harper is starting out in the minors, and while he will likely get to the Majors this season, he’s not going to play every day. That leaves Bernadina – who is on the opening day roster, and will likely fill in for both Ankiel and the also-injured Morse, before slipping into a more utility-outfielder role.

7) Date of Bryce Harper’s Major League debut?

June 2

Fact: Maggie guessed this without looking at her calendar to see if there was a game being played that day, or even what day of the week that was. Turns out it wasn’t a terrible guess – it’s a Saturday game at the start of a homestand against the Mets. It potentially gives the team enough time with Harper in the minors to delay him being a Super-2, and would give the fans a lot of chances to see Harper play.

8) Which minor leaguer are you most interested in keeping tabs on this season (not Harper)?

Anthony Redon (or Matt Purke)

Rendon has a chance to make a splash this year. He was highly touted and while his position (3B) is fairly locked up at the big leagues, it will be interesting to see him develop starting at Potomac and working his way up. Other than Rendon, we’re eager to see what Matt Purke can do. Lefty pitchers can be VERY interesting.

9) How many all-stars will the Nats have? Who?

2: Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg

If Zimmerman bounces back from his shortened season the way we hope he can, he’ll be back at the all-star game. And what sort of NL manager would be able to resist the name-recognition and electricity of Strasburg on their pitching staff?

10) Total wins and what place in the division?

85, 2nd

This is where Maggie and Ashley had their only real disagreement. Maggie was more optimistic with 88 wins (probably because she was on vacation when she made her picks), and Ashley was more realistic with 82 (she was traveling for work). We’ve split the difference at 85 and will keep our fingers crossed that this is enough to get the DC boys of summer into second place.

Essay: What is the single most important development for the Nats this season?

We read this as more of “will the team need to develop over the season to be a winning team”, so here’s that answer:

The team needs to stay healthy. Physically, this includes trying to avoid silly injuries early in the season that could be avoided, and not overworking injury-prone players. Mentally, the team needs to keep up camraderie in the clubhouse and not get caught up in the early-season hype until they’ve proven themselves on the field.

So…with all that said – what do you guys think? Are we totally off base? Agree with our picks? Let us know in the comments.

DC-IBWA 2011 Player Awards Voting

By Maggie on October 7, 2011

As humble information managers (read: librarian & records manager) in our day jobs, it delights us to no end to have our little blog be called an “online media outlet” in the company of some fantastic Nationals baseball blogs. Even more enjoyable is being able to participate in the biannual rites of prediction-making and survey-taking that we milk for as many posts as we can. The most recent of these was the 2011 DC-Internet Baseball Writers Association Player Achievement Awards. Want to know how we voted, and why we chose who we did? Then read on. We’ll be presenting our first, second, and third place choices, along with the consensus winners of the award from the DC-IBWA.

Goose Goslin MVP: Michael Morse
First Ladies’ Choice: Morse/Zimmerman/Espinosa

Has any player meant as much to the Nationals this year as Michael Morse? Not only did he hit a lot of home runs, but he managed to knock in a lot of runs, and play good defense at both 1B and LF, but he cheered the spirits of Natstown with his catchy at-bat music and initiation into the joys of “Beast Mode”.

Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year: Jordan Zimmermann
First Ladies’ Choice: Zimmermann/Lannan/Strasburg

Recovering from Tommy John surgery is a very big deal. Recovering and thriving the way that Jordan Zimmermann did is nothing short of fantastic. He has definitely earned his place in next year’s rotation.

Frederick “Firpo” Marberry RP: Tyler Clippard
First Ladies’ Choice: Clippard/Storen/Coffey

Who else would we choose? If you look at his stat line for this year, it’s just ridiculous. Clippard more than deserved his spot as an All-Star, and proved it from March to September.

Sam Rice Hitter of the Year: Michael Morse
First Ladies’ Choice: Morse/Zimmerman/Desmond

This award is for “all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning”. Well, if you look at the National League batting average leaderboard, who sits at number 9 this year? Michael Morse. In fact, go to the National League batting leaders page of Baseball Reference, and do a Ctrl-F search for “Morse”, and his name comes up a LOT, and not in any embarassing categories either (I’m looking at Espinosa and Werth in Strikeouts). Seriously good stuff.

Frank Howard Slugger of the Year: Michael Morse
First Ladies’ Choice: Morse/Zimmerman/Ramos

How many times can we lavish praise on Mikey-Mo? One more official award will do. When you’re on the big board for Slugging, OPS, Home Runs, Doubles and Extra Base Hits…that’s the very definition of a slugger of the year.

Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year: Danny Espinosa
First Ladies’ Choice: Espinosa/Ankiel/Ramos

This is the time on FLoB where we remind ourselves that Danny Espinosa is a ROOKIE. Yes, he made quite a few errors, but how many other seemingly impossible defensive plays did he treat Nats fans to this season?

Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year: Jordan Zimmermann
First Ladies’ Choice: Strasburg/Wang/Zimmermann

Here is the first place where the First Ladies differ from the final standings, and from the voting tally, we weren’t the only ones who thought Stephen Strasburg belonged at the top of the comeback standings. Our reasoning for putting Stras as our first place vote is simple: 1 year ago at this time, Stephen was recovering from Tommy John surgery. In less than a year, he came back, lit up the minor leagues, and showed the Nationals that he is back and perhaps a little wiser than before.

Josh Gibson Humanitarian Award: Ian Desmond
First Ladies’ Choice: Desmond/Zimmerman/Lannan

Ian Desmond is this year’s nominee from the Washington Nationals for the Roberto Clemente award, which is given for positive contributions both on and off the field. Desmond has given so much back to the DC community, a fact that is evident in the predominance of his face at Nationals community events. Surely there are easier ways for a young father to spend his free time and off days, but Ian simply proves that he is more than deserving of this award.

Minor League Player of the Year: Bryce Harper
First Ladies’ Choice: Lombardozzi/Peacock/Harper

One last award where the First Ladies didn’t go with the crowd. Yes, Harper was the obvious choice, but as good as he’s been, he’s still young, and he didn’t get past AA-ball this year (a purposeful decision by the Nats management). Instead, we went with Maggie’s gut instinct of Steve Lombardozzi, who despite a potentially disappointing month in the MLB, displayed spectacular potential in both Harrisburg and Syracuse. We look forward to seeing Steve develop.

Biggest Surprise: Michael Morse
First Ladies’ Choice: Morse (seconded by Coffey’s enthusiastic running)

There are few among us who once the regular season started were saying that Michael Morse would be the biggest contributor to the Nationals this season. Oh, how he proved us wrong.

Biggest Disappointment: Jayson Werth
First Ladies’ Choice: Werth

Jayson Werth made 10 million dollars this year. As an outfielder, was he worth that? Not really. As a batter, was he worth it? Definitely not. Here’s hoping this was just a fluke, and that he proves his mettle in the years to come.

Will Ryan Zimmerman sign a contract extention before end of 2012: Yes
First Ladies’ Answer: Yes

If the Nationals don’t sign him to an extension before the end of 2012, they are stupid. And we think [and hope] they aren’t stupid.

Who won’t be on the Nationals 2012 Roster:
First Ladies’ Answers: Slaten / Gorzelanny / Maya / H-Rod / Wang / Cora / LaRoche / Marrero / Bixler / Brown / Gomes

It’s not that we don’t like these guys (well…some of these guys). We just think that some make better trade bait, and some just don’t fit the direction that the team is headed. This will be something to re-evaluate in the spring.

Favorite Professional Nats Writer:
First Ladies’ Answer: Mark Zuckerman

He’s really good at what he does – concise, appropriately humorous, with lots of interesting posts. If you’re not reading his column, you should be.

Favorite Nats Blogger:
First Ladies’ Answer: Andrew Kinback, Nationals Inquisition

We love bloggers with a sense of humor, who alternately do and don’t take things too seriously. He’s also active on twitter (@natsnq), which makes for good in-game commentary.

What do you think? If you had a chance to vote too, where would you differ from our (or the group’s) picks? Any other players on the Nats that you think could make a good candidate for team MVP?

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August 27, 2011: Syracuse Chiefs vs Rochester Redwings

By Maggie on August 28, 2011

Every year when I was a child, my siblings and I came to Syracuse to visit our grandparents. My dad grew up here and his mother still lives here. A week and a half ago my mother sent me an email saying they were thinking of heading up to visit her over this weekend – would I like to join them? Sure thing – the New York State Fair is going on, we have dear family friends who live nearby that I don’t get to see nearly often enough, and when I checked the schedule, I noticed that the Syracuse Chiefs (Triple-A Affiliate of the Nationals) would be in town. I told Ashley that I was going out of town, and she replied back saying, “I hear that Strasburg might be making a rehab start on Saturday – you should get tickets!” I saw one more rumor on Twitter and thought, “Heck – if he doesn’t start, the tickets are still cheap enough that it won’t be a big deal.”

It turned out that I was very lucky. I snagged two 4th row from the field seats to see one of Strasburg’s best starts yet since coming back from Tommy John surgery. 7 strikeouts, 64 pitches, 47 of them for strikes, and a fastball that topped out around 98 (according to the most-likely broken Alliance Bank Stadium scoreboard). Strasburg knew he did well too – his quote from after the game was “The numbers did the talking.”

After five innings of no runs, no hits, no errors, Strasburg proved he was human by allowing two singles (only one of whom would go on to score). The Chiefs would go on to win the game 4-3…though they did it in dramatic fashion in the ninth with two runners on before getting the third out.

Not only did we get to see the spectacular pitching by Strasburg, we got a sneak preview of some of the other guys who will likely be called up in September – Roger “The Shark” Bernadina (who is already a Natstown favorite) who had a homerun and a double which provided the bulk of the Chiefs’ offense…

…Steve Lombardozzi Jr. who made a couple of amazing plays, as well as helping the offense with a hit and a stolen base, and Matt Antonelli who made the most incredible diving catch you’ve ever seen to end the painful 6th inning.

Chins up Natstown…September looks bright from Syracuse.

The rest of the pictures from this game can be seen here.

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July 2, 2011: Potomac Nationals vs Wilmington Blue Rocks

By Maggie on July 3, 2011

Starting Pitchers: Chien-Ming Wang (#38, 2.57) vs Elisaul Pimentel (#25, 4.07)
Final Score: Nationals – 14, Blue Rocks – 1

What are the elements of a beyond-awesome minor league game? How about a rehab appearance by an experienced major-league pitcher? How about players wearing jerseys that are as far as you can throw-back? How about an awesome giveaway item? How about a dominant offensive performance that included 4 home runs by the home team? And how about fireworks to top it all off?

Saturday night Ashley, Drew and I all attended the Potomac Nationals “History of Baseball Night”, which featured Abner Doubleday Bobbleheads, players wearing throw-back uniforms in the style of 1860s/Civil War soldier teams, and an excellent color guard in period dress (which means an all-wool uniform). We had fantastic seats – front row of the field box, right next to the visiting team dugout, which allowed us a good view of Wang as he pitched, and into the P-Nats dugout. The best part – these seats cost us $14 apiece and included seat-service for concessions so you don’t have to miss anything.

Wang pitched 4 excellent innings, and it was fun to see the Taiwanese media and all his fans watching with rapt attention to every move of his arm. It was also great to see the hot young players (particularly Hood and Peacock) doing great things for the offense – hitting home runs and just playing excellent ball. Since minor-league games tend to be more experiential, enjoy a few more pictures.

(full album from this game can be seen here)

Vote Michael Morse to the All-Star Game in the FINAL VOTE: http://atmlb.com/l1pGE4

June 11, 2011: Potomac Nationals vs Salem Red Sox

By Ashley on June 14, 2011

If you see Uncle Slam, you know that one of the First Ladies must have been enjoying herself at a Potomac Nationals game! In this case, it was Ashley, accompanied by husband Drew and camp friend Sarah.

After an unbearably hot week, a big thunderstorm rolled through Virginia late Saturday afternoon. Although this delayed the game an hour, the weather was crisp and cool – perfect for a night of minor league baseball.

There were three first pitches for the game, but Ashley’s favorite was by George Mason’s new basketball coach – Paul Hewitt. Hewitt coached at Georgia Tech while Ashley was a student there and took the team to the Final Four. Hopefully Mason will have as much success!

Because of the rain delay, Ashley, Drew, and Sarah had lots of time to relax and watch the players warm up. As always, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Above, Higley shows his friends a little dance.

These two played catch in the outfield to limber up. They seemed a bit more focused than their teammates.

The pitcher warmed up while ignoring the hijinks around him.

Like this! (Although you have to admit, that takes talent).

The boys in the bullpen drew pictures in the dirt.

Finally, we all stood for the National Anthem and the game got underway.

The first several innings went by quickly (the entire game was about 2.5 hours) with both teams evenly matched. The light faded pretty quickly by the time the action started to heat up, so there aren’t as many pictures of the game as normal. However, in the bottom of the 6th, the P-Nats scored on an error and took the lead. In the 7th, they scored again on a sac bunt and kept the momentum to win the game.

It’s a bit blurry, but here you see the start of a double play in the 8th. The P-Nats tagged a runner out at third and the batter (#10) decided to try to make it to second base. Right about now, #10 is realizing that he can’t get to 2nd, so he decided to turn back to 1st…

And was rewarded for his judgement with a tag out at the base. Great job P-Nats!

The night ended with a refreshing chill and a fabulous fireworks show. On our way out, Chairman/CEO/First Base Coach Art Silber was at the gate to shake hands with the fans. It was a small gesture that meant a lot – it’s great to see how invested he is with the team. We can’t wait to get back down to Pfitzner Stadium again soon!

(full album from this game can be seen here)

April 9, 2011: Potomac Nationals vs Lynchburg Hillcats

By Maggie on April 12, 2011

Neither Maggie nor Ashley can resist a deal. So when Groupon posted a deal a few weeks ago for tickets to the opening weekend to see the Potomac Nationals, we had to take advantage. $6 for a grandstand seat and a hot dog. Not bad at all. Add in a beer and splitting parking, and this was a $15 outing to see professional players, sit 4 feet from the PNats bullpen, and take advantage of a fabulous minor league team.

Fabulous because they’re coming off a year as the Carolina League champions. The players received their rings at Spring Training, but this was an opportunity for the team to celebrate with the fans who go to their games on a regular basis. And we weren’t disappointed. Eury Perez had a slick first inning where he stole two bases, and scored a run. Steven Souza had an amazing diving catch in the 4th inning, and a towering 3-run homer in the 9th (which brought the team within 1).

It may have been cold (pitchers in the bullpen were wearing at least 3 long-sleeved layers in the 47-degree weather), the scoreboard may have shown the same pictures for all the Nationals players during the first four innings (no, the entire team isn’t identical to Jeff Kobernus) and eventually gone completely dark during the ninth inning, and troops of tween girls may have tromped loudly on the bleachers while bugging pitchers for autographs, but there’s nothing like it.

But where else can you go where the mascot comes and pulls your hat over your eyes, sits down for a while to show you his replica championship ring, and even lets you try it on (all the while ignoring mob of children who have suddenly invaded)?

Where can you get THISCLOSE to a pitcher as he warms up to close the game, and then ask him about the logistics of minor league teams after he gets the save? (the question – do visiting teams have to bring their own rosin? answer – yes, opposing teams don’t/can’t provide equipment).

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: minor league baseball is great. Get yourself to a game – you don’t have a lot of excuses. The Potomac Nationals are in Woodbridge. The Frederick Keys (an Orioles affiliate) are in Frederick (a short 45 minute drive north from DC). The Hagerstown Suns are in Hagerstown (northwest Maryland), which is about 90 minutes away, but has the additional draw of Bryce Harper. Next time you’re visiting family or friends who don’t live near a big city…do a quick search online, and find a team nearby (they’re EVERYWHERE).

Normally we give you more specific details on the game, so here are a few of those. Danny Rosenbaum started for the Nationals, and Arodys Viscaino started for the Hillcats. Jason Lowey got the save for the Hillcats, as he finished things out with a 6-5 win for Lynchburg.

(full album from this game can be seen here)

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Post-Season Roundup: Players and DC-IBWA Voting

By Maggie on October 5, 2010

Since the season is over, we have decided to do a round-up of all the things that make going to see baseball at Nationals Park interesting and fun. First up is something fairly technical. Our blog is part of the Internet Baseball Writers Association DC Chapter, and as such, we vote on player awards. The results came out today, and we thought we would share how and why we voted the way we did. Votes are shown in (1st/2nd/3rd place).

MVP: Zimmerman/Dunn/Rodriguez. Zimmy was an obvious choice for first place – he’s the heart and soul of the team. Dunn puts up big offense (38 HR? 100+ RBI?), and can squeak one out for the Nast. We chose Pudge as our third place MVP, because he lent an air of validity, and provided a veteran presence behind the plate for the many young pitchers who came up this year.

Starting Pitcher: Hernandez/Strasburg/Lannan. We chose Livo for #1 because he provided a steady presence all season, winning games, and eating up innings. Strasburg was like a Roman candle – a few fantastic shots, but flaming out way too soon. Lannan had a rough start, but after going to AA for a while, he came back strong – better than we had seen him in the past.

Relief Pitcher: Capps/Storen/Clippard. Sure, Capps was traded at the end of July, but that doesn’t change the fact that he electrified any game he was in, and got a ridiculous number of saves. Storen stepped up to the plate in a big way, coming in to the Bigs in early May, and proving he had the stuff. Clippard had a fantastic beginning to the year, a bit of a slump in the summer, and came back strong at the end of the year, coming up when he needed to.

Hitter of the Year: Morgan/Zimmerman/Morse. Sure, Morgan had a tough year – but every time he gets on the bases (which was decently often enough for our tastes), he was a danger to steal; he’s got a bunch of work to do in the off-season, but dude is bursting with potential. Zimmerman is a solid hitter who does what he has to do, day in and day out. Morse came in to the year with a lot to prove, but based on how he came up big quite a few times – we like the way he hits.

Slugger of the Year: Dunn/Zimmerman/Willingham. Easiest vote of the year – choose your Home Run buddies, and it’s a straight ticket.

Defensive Player of the Year: Rodriguez/Zimmerman/Bernadina. We gave Pudge the first place nod because of his strong defensive catching skills. Runners trying to steal had a tough challenge when going up against Pudge. Zimmerman earned himself a Golden Glove last year, and definitely could do it again this year based on spectacular plays from third. Finally – as for Bernadina, they don’t call him the “Flying Dutchman” for nothing – dude made some spectacular diving catches this year, and played excellent outfield all year long.

Comeback Player of the Year: Hernandez/Bernadina/???. We had a hard time coming up with players, because it meant thinking back to last year. But we did know that Livo had been pulled from nowhere last fall to shore up the pathetic pitching staff, and then did an amazing job this past year to show that he was worth the risk. Bernadina broke his ankle last spring, and came back to a spectacular season. We couldn’t think of a third, but Jordan Zimmerman showed up on the group list, and we should have thought to put him on our list.

Humanitarian of the Year: Lannan/Zimmerman/Willingham. Lannan’s Cannons is an adorable philanthropic endeavor. We love seeing his banner hanging in the 200 level, and seeing footage of him working with child cancer patients! Zimmerman does a fantastic job with his ZiMS foundation to raise money and awareness for MS, a cause close to his heart since his mother has MS. Josh Willingham was nominated for the Roberto Clemente award for his foundation which gives opportunities to underserved kids in his hometown of Florence, Alabama.

Minor League Player of the Year: Espinosa/Tyler Moore/???. We chose Danny Espinosa as our top player in this category because he made such a big splash during his September call-up. We both had a chance to see Tyler Moore play in Potomac, and he did a fantastic job. Despite having gone to a number of minor league games this year, we couldn’t come up with a third player.

Survey Questions:
1) Who do you think will NOT be part of the organization next year:
Mench, Nieves, Olsen

2) How long will Dunn’s next contract be:
3 years (but we really hope that

3) Who was the biggest pleasant surprise:
Michael Morse (especially after he cut his hair and got rid of that ridiculous mullet!)

4) Who was the biggest disappointment:
Marquis

5) Who is your favorite professional Nats writer:
Adam Kilgore (Maggie loves the Nationals Journal)

6) Favorite non-professional Nats blog/writer:
Nationals Inquisition (His irreverent humor about the team and the game made us laugh more than we would like to admit. He also said things we wish we had the guts to say.)

To see how everyone else voted, and to learn a little more about the DC-IBWA, please take a look at the results:
DC Internet Baseball Writers Association.

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September 4, 2010: Potomac Nationals vs Kinston Indians (DOUBLEHEADER)

By Maggie on September 4, 2010

Game: Potomac Nationals vs. Kinston Indians (doubleheader!)
Final Score: Nationals: 2, Indians: 0 ; Nationals: 5, Indians: 7
Who was there: Maggie
Where did she sit: Field Box 3, Row D, which was very close to the P-Nats dugout.

Other Observations:
- In the past, Ashley has done photo blogs to describe these games, and now Maggie understands why! The games lend themselves more visually than to stats and box scores. It’s more of an experience than anything else.
- If you’ve never been to a minor-league game (especially at the lower levels), it’s a mix between high-school football game, family reunion, and small-town Fourth of July. Players, fans, and coaches have more of a chance to interact, and some of the players even have their livelihood supported by members of the booster clubs. It’s more community than entertainment.
- This particular evening provided that elusive baseball experience – the doubleheader. With single-A ball, this is more doable for the regular person. The game lasts for 7 innings instead of 9, which meant that the first game only lasted 2 hours. Unfortunately, the second went a little later, and because Maggie had an event on Sunday and a long drive home, she ditched after 2 hours with the P-Nats down by 3 (and going on to lose).
- Uncle Slam, the Potomac Nationals mascot spent most of the two games flirting and blowing kisses to Maggie.
- It appears that a number of the P-Nats have decided to take up mustache-growing with the end of the season in view. It was a fairly impressive showing.
- With a win in the first game, the Nationals take first place. Yay!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpQywi6k3EE]

(the rest of the album from this game can be seen here)
(videos from this and other games can be seen here)

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August 14, 2010: Richmond Flying Squirrels vs Portland Sea Dogs

By Ashley on August 17, 2010

Game: Richmond Flying Squirrels vs Portland Sea Dogs
Starting Pitchers: Lively (2-3, 4.79) v. Rice (3-2, 3.12)
Final Score: Flying Squirrels: 5, Sea Dogs: 6

Ashley’s Record: 8-10

Another great night to be at a minor league game! The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a AA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. You wouldn’t know that by looking at the team though – their red and black uniforms proclaim them to be all Richmond. The Flying Squirrels played a pretty good game, but it went into extra innings and they lost in the 10th. The stadium wasn’t bad (no matter what the Richmond Braves thought about it, it’s still better than some), and the weather was perfect!

Ashley went with her cousin John (who lives just minutes away from “The Diamond”), and he scored the game. It was fun to watch him – Ashley hasn’t done that in about ten years and has lost most of her knowledge of how it’s done! Ashley and John sat on the first base line and had a great view of the game. Their neighbors were pretty cool too – one was a retired Negro League player and one was a Flying Squirrels season ticket holder and youth league umpire. Both were quite talkative and fun to hang out with! Now, on to the pictures…

Meet Nutzy. He’s the Flying Squirrels Mascot and 100% muscle (according to his bio). Ashley thinks he looks a little sinister, but the kids seemed to like him.

Next up, a fashion parade. Item #1: All of the players wore matching black/red striped socks. In case you haven’t noticed, Ashley has a thing for socks.

Item #2: The Sea Dogs first baseman wore his pants like a teenager… baggy.

Item #3: It was the Domino “Jersey off the Back” Auction, so the players all wore jerseys with their numbers pictures as dominoes instead of numerals. This was a nod to Flying Squirrels Chief Executive Manager Chuck Domino as well as a charity auction to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation of VA.

The crowd got to see the Sea Dogs manager get in a fight with the umpires. Their batting coach eventually got thrown out of the game. (Disclaimer: Ashley can’t identify who is in the picture below… there were several Sea Dogs getting in the faces of several umpires. Only one was ejected.)

Ashley was very excited to find that the Flying Squirrels have a great sense of humor. The night gave her a new reason to love Chick-fil-a:

The Maids sponsored the grounds crew:

And a man riding a flamingo threw hot dogs into the stand:

If you want more pictures, look for them here.

Finally, Ashley leaves you with this quote from the “A-Z” guide in the game program: “Zebra: The Flying Squirrels currently do not have a petting zoo with a zebra, however many staff members would like to see that happen.”

Now that’s a game plan fans of any team can get behind.

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