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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?

3 Comments

September 3, 2011: On-Field Photo Day

By Maggie on September 6, 2011

On Saturday, September 3, the Nats gave their fans a chance to get up close and personal with the team. Fans stood on the warning track, while players, coaches, and broadcasters walked the field to shake hands, take pictures, and sign memorabilia (even though they weren’t supposed to).

We had a chance to talk to some of the players and shake their hands. Here are a few of the things we said to them.

To Rick Ankiel: “My mom loves you!” “Awesome – tell her I say hi.”

To Ryan Zimmerman: “Hi Ryan!” “…” [As you can see, he waved instead of responding. We forgive him, because he was on his way to talk to the Wounded Warriors.]

To Jonny Gomes: “Can I get a picture of your hair?” “Sure” (turns around) “Can you take off your hat?” “Sorry – gotta keep my costume on.”

To Stephen Strasburg: “I saw you pitch in Syracuse last Saturday – you were great!” “Wow, thanks for coming out.”

Also to Stephen Strasburg: “I like your socks.” (he wears them tall) “…Thanks?”

To Collin Balestar: “Big fan of the ‘stache” “Thanks – I’m thinking of growing it out again” “You should – get it full and powerful”

To Roger Bernadina: “I saw you play last Saturday in Syracuse – that was an amazing home run!” “Really? Thanks!”

If you had a chance to say something to any player, what would you say? Is there anyone you would be/were too nervous to talk to? (Maggie only managed to squeak out “Big fan!” to both Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen).

As always, the full album is here.

5 Comments

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.

6 Comments

Post-season Roundup: Best and Worst Games, plus some Miscellany

By Maggie on October 19, 2010

We are arriving at the end of our end of season write-ups. We have just a few more things to comment about, and then we’ll treat you to a photo post (which always seems more fun)! As another reminder, if you’re reading our blog regularly (or have read our archives and have an opinion), please take our end of season survey so that the First Ladies can make this blog better for you in the season to come!

Best Games

The consensus best game was the Strasburg debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 8. A beautiful night, a spectacular debut, fantastic offensive hitting from many members of the team, and an evening that ended before the First Ladies’ self-imposed 9:30 “bed-time”. We couldn’t have asked for anything more.
On July 27, it was t-shirt Tuesday, and Stephen Strasburg was expected to start. He was pulled at the last moment, and Miguel Batista stepped up and pitched a great game. Many fans attendees complained, but having “Miss Iowa” step up without signs of pressure and having the rest of the team show no signs of strain proved that the team didn’t need their rookie phenom to win games. Bonus: Ashley won a pre-game session of “One-Red-Cup”.
This is actually a tie, because Maggie and Ashley did not attend all of the same games – they decided to each pick an individual favorite. Ashley’s vote went to the September 24 game which featured an inside the park home-run by Willie Harris and two homeruns plus 5 RBIs by Adam Dunn.
Since Maggie wasn’t at that game, she chose the July 31 game that featured a 3-run walk-off home-run by Ryan Zimmerman that clinched the three game series over the Phillies. It was also Nyjer Morgan bobblehead night, and you can’t go wrong with awesome promotional items!

Worst Games

It’s horrible to say this – but Opening Day. Being overrun by Philthy fans, and then having to suffer a horrible loss was NOT the way to start the season.
The very next game that we attended was the April 7 debut of Jason Marquis. In the write-up you’ll see that we said it was a lot better than opening day, but as you can see, there wasn’t much that had to be done to improve. Marquis has a poor showing, the stadium was still overrun with Phillies fans, and the loss continued a streak that did not make us optimists.
There weren’t a lot of spectacularly bad games this year, but one of the more frustrating games was the September 12 game against the Marlins. The game seemed un-endingly long, and had a disappointing end to a game that was supposed to be a cheerful first viewing of Jordan Zimmermann for Ashley and Maggie.

Miscellany

The new opening montage was fantastic! The world of DC baseball depicted on an actual baseball featuring monuments and landmarks, with video highlights of the team in black, white and red.
We love the switch from the late inning music interlude of “Sweet Caroline” (which really, belongs to the Boston Red Sox) to Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual”, especially when the fan cam found fans doing the infamous “Carlton Dance”.
What were your favorite Nats moments this season?

3 Comments

August 15, 2010: Washington Nationals vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

By Maggie on August 18, 2010

Game: #118 – Nationals vs. Diamondbacks
Starting Pitchers: Stephen Strasburg (#37, 4-3, 3.02) vs. Barry Enright (#54, 3-2, 2.91)
Final Score: Nationals: 5, Diamondbacks: 3
Nats New Record: 51-67
Play of the Game: Josh Willingham gets a 2-run dinger to deep left-field to tie the game and give the Nats some hope. What’s more amazing? This was his first homer in more than 6 weeks and he did it on a knee that is likely to put him on the DL in the not-so-distant-future.
Player of the Game: Ryan Zimmerman – with an HR of his own, and a spectacular backwards catch, he showed that he’s really the heart of this team. A friend who is not completely familiar with the Nats situation was thinking the team should trade him now, “while he’s still good”, but was pleased to be proved wrong when he heard that Ryan is younger than he thought, and also constantly improving his game, hence last year’s Golden Glove and Silver Slugger awards. Having a day of excellent play proved that he deserved both, and should be with the Nats for a long, long time.
Most Interesting Non-baseball Moment: Four runners took to the field – a guy first in short left field, followed by a girl in right. They ran, evading the security guards, only to meet up in center field and high-five. This was all apparently a distraction because they went away fairly quietly as another pair of women came out carrying a banner. I think most everyone at the game was pleased to see these people get taken down quickly. There is a place for protests, and that’s outside, where you got your permit. Doing something illegal that will delay a sporting event will only make people think you’re stupid and think poorly of your cause.
Who was there: Ashley, Maggie, and many of their friends and coworkers (too many to name individually!).
Our Records: Ashley – 8-8; Maggie – 9-10; (AND notable group members/previously appearing) Maggie’s Mom – 1-4; Jon – 3-0
Where did we sit: Our large group (we had 40+ people buy tickets) was in section 405, waaaaaay at the top. Despite being in what most would call the nosebleeds, we all had a great view, were covered by the overhang in case of rain (which was a threat), and the price was definitely right. If you’re interested in doing a group outing (20+ people) I would definitely recommend getting in touch with Nicole who tweets @NatsTix
Promotional Items: A back-to-school supply kit that neither Ashley nor Maggie managed to get a hold of. We got a closer inspection when the children in our group brought them out to look at, and they were really neat: Zimmerman themed binders and pencil case with items inside! Makes us wish we were 12 or under, or had children.
President’s Race: Teddy had the lead for half the race, but Abe eventually took the win (boo!)

Other Observations:
- We mentioned the protesters on the field above, but there was a larger, more legally gathered group before the game, urging Bud Selig – commissioner of Baseball – to move next year’s All Star game from Arizona. They marched in a circle yelling rhyming slogans. It was really interesting to see them, and then the counter-protesters who showed up. It’s one of those things that makes it interesting to live in Washington – we’re never for want of people who are unhappy with the way things are being run. But it’s great to see people’s right to gather and speak freely exercised in a peaceful way.
- If you get a group together – as suggested above – consider carefully where everyone will sit. The most difficult thing about being an organizer for an event like this is that you want to talk to everyone and to make sure they’re all having a good time. If you’re sitting 10 seats away…that’s nearly impossible. And it’s easier when large parts of the group know each other and will have other people there to converse with during the game (about baseball, of course – not shopping!)
- Even though Strasburg didn’t get the curly w for himself, it was good to see him pitch, and start to get back to his old form.
- Ashley had the good fortune to meet up with an old high school acquaintance before the game. He’s doing some interesting things now, and she’ll explain more about their reunion in a later post.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDlxIo86hSE]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwlkWXHM6qQ]

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

June 8, 2010: Washington Nationals vs Pittsburgh Pirates (Strasburg’s Debut)

By Maggie on June 9, 2010

Game: #059 – Nationals vs. Pirates
Starting Pitchers: Stephen Strasburg (#37, 1-0, 2.57) vs. Jeff Karstens (#27, 1-2, 5.20)
Final Score: Nationals: 5, Pirates: 2
Nats New Record: 28-31
Plays of the Game: The Home-run derby that this game became. Yes, Strasburg made his debut, but Zimmerman, Dunn and Willingham all proved that they will not be forgotten.
Player of the Game: Stephen Strasburg – who else? Dominated this game from beginning to the end of the 7th inning. Gave up a home-run but didn’t get flustered. 14 strikeouts and 0 walks. As Maggie tweeted last night, it’s like asking for a pony for Christmas, and getting a baby unicorn.
Favorite Non-baseball Moment: Strassy gets two shaving cream pies to the face in quick succession, followed by a crowning with the silver Elvis wig.
Who was there: Ashley, Maggie, Maggie’s Dad, and 40,000+ of their closest friends.
Our Records: Ashley – 5-5; Maggie – 4-7, Maggie’s Dad – 3-3
Where did we sit: Ashley was quick on the draw at ticket time and got us three seats in Section 108, Row X (closer to the field than you would think). A good view, good access to concessions and restrooms, and a couple of balls came to our general area (a few fouls, and the Hammer homer), which could prove interesting in the future.
What did we eat: Maggie and her dad started off with hot dogs that were so ordinary (but good!), that they forgot to photograph them. Ashley had a much more photogenic and value-oriented meal – the Shrimp Po Boy from the Triple Play Grill. This was definitely $9 worth of food, but like many of the other sandwiches at Nats park, the bun fell apart rather quickly (like many of the other buns with Nats park sandwiches). She ended up eating the (heavily battered) shrimp by themselves without the bread. During the bottom of the sixth inning (yes – we missed Dunn’s homer, we’re still sad about that), Ashley and Maggie ventured to the Nutty Bavarian to get cinnamon roasted nuts and a churro for Maggie’s Dad. Unfortunately Ashley got the last bag of pecans (she’s very sorry!) and Maggie had to settle for the cashews, which were still delicious.
President’s Race: It was like the 3rd field gate exploded with the Racing Presidents, Racing Pierogies, Non-racing Sausages, and the two random guys on Segways (who were they, anyway?). Quite the event. Still sad that Teddy didn’t win (Tom took the checkered flag just ahead of our beloved Rough Rider), but we honestly think we would have exploded from Nats awesomeness if that had happened.

Other Observations:
- Tuesday, June 8 will probably go down as the most perfect night of baseball that Ashley or Maggie (or Maggie’s Dad) will ever see. It was so perfect, and in ways we didn’t expect. The metro was crowded, but not unreasonably so, and the traffic driving into the city was heavy, but again – not unreasonably so. There weren’t huge lines at Will Call or the Ticket lines. There weren’t huge lines to get food/beer (and what lines there were seemed to move quickly… which we chalk up to having better trained servers and more places open). The weather was beautiful – not too hot, not too cold, low humidity, and no bugs. The stands were full of people cheering for our team. People were actually enjoying the game, and paying attention – yelling at each other to stand when the count got to two strikes. There 100mph fastballs, double plays, and homeruns! It was everything that was good about baseball distilled into 2.5 hours.
- Ashley met Ken Burns (who threw the first pitch), and thought that was pretty neat. She didn’t get a chance to really talk to him because they were moving the line along, but he was really nice and friendly. Ken also told Dan Steinberg of DC Sports Bog that Strasburg’s start was “unbelievable”.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyQ9q15f7tY]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8znx8Est9ig]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JyHBT8lYZQ]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si6CIjIrrJw]

(a VERY full album from this game can be seen here)
(LOTS more videos from other games can be seen here)

1 Comment

May 29, 2010: Syracuse Chiefs vs Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees

By Maggie on June 1, 2010

Game: #050 – Syracuse Chiefs vs. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Starting Pitchers: Stephen Strasburg (#37, 3-1, 1.27) vs. Tim Redding (#23, 0-0, 3.86)
Final Score: Chiefs: 2, Yankees: 3
Chiefs New Record: 28-20
Play of the Game: Chase Lambin, Chiefs second baseman, slides home hoping to beat a throw from the outfield. Instead of sliding in directly, he comes in behind the Yankees catcher and reaches behind to tag home plate. The crowd goes WILD!
Player of the Game: What can I say – despite this being his first AAA loss, Strasburg was great. He got up to at LEAST 99mph, and was impressive up until the 6th inning when he just fell apart.
Favorite Non-baseball Moment: Watching a couple fratty guys in the front row talk smack with the 8th grader sitting near them.
Who was there: Maggie (and more than 13,000 – a full house – other fans hoping to get a glimpse of the wunderkind)
Her Record: Maggie – 2-7
Where did she sit: Section 112, row C. This is just to the left of the home dugout, a great area for getting player signatures, and watching ballplayers come and go before and after innings. These are also some of the most “expensive” seats in the house – purchased online, my total came to $13.50 (a real steal if you’re used to DC prices).
What did we eat: A hot dog and a Saranac pale ale. The beer was good, the hot dog was pathetic (a little burned, the bun all squished up and split down the middle).

Other Observations:
- During the top of the fourth, I was filming the at-bat. All of a sudden, a foul ball comes screaming at us! If the ball hadn’t bounced on the dugout railing, it would have probably hit me.
- I sat next to a guy who hates the wave. WHO HATES THE WAVE???
- Syracuse has a train that runs behind the outfield. Not a kiddie train – a real-deal functioning diesel train. It’s awesome to watch it chug and toot in the middle of the game.
- Strasburg had a balk in the 6th. I didn’t see it happen, and I still don’t really know what it means to balk.
- He did not seem happy to be taken out after walking a dude and generally having a bad inning. Syracuse fans gave him a standing ovation, but one drunk dude two rows in front of me got a little obnoxious about the fact that Strassy didn’t tip his cap. One of the security guys in the dugout got into it with the drunk dude, and security was eventually called. If this guy hadn’t insisted on being so loud with his displeasure at Stras not tipping his cap, nothing would have happened. He wasn’t kicked out, but he got a warning.
- Jason Bergman was lip-singing along with the Outfield’s “Your Love”. It was kind of awesome to witness. He later watched the game, staring lovingly – as if he wanted to be in there (which I’m sure he did).
- According to the people sitting near me, I’m a “creepy stalker chick” because I happen to know things about Strasburg (I remembered his birthday because it’s 3 days before mine, I know where he went to school because I’m a Nationals fan, and he was THE NEWS last summer, and I know what kind of car he drives because it was in the Syracuse newspaper article I read that afternoon). I didn’t hound him for an autograph (didn’t stick around after the game), and I know quite a bit about the other players too. I think I proved I was a legit fan (and not a Strasburg stalker) by being able to talk about the OTHER Syracuse players that were being sent up/down (JD Martin, Justin Maxwell).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbsIRpz-8k]
(full album from this game can be seen here)
(more videos from other games can be seen here)

4 Comments

April 12, 2010 – Random Update

By Maggie on April 12, 2010

As the Nats have been on the road, Maggie and Ashley haven’t posted (no games to attend!), but we haven’t stopped thinking about our boys. In fact, Ashley is just now posting her pictures from last Wednesday’s game, for you all to enjoy.

Ashley has been out of town, and on her flight, Air Tran’s magazine proved a font of Nationals enjoyment with an interview of Ryan Zimmerman.

Maggie’s grandmother lives right outside of Syracuse, and mailed a set of articles cut out of the newspaper to her this afternoon. One about Stephen Strasburg, one about Justin Maxwell, the 50th anniversary of the Chiefs, and many more from the Opening Day paper.

National League East Standings - 4/12/10

To top it all off – the Nats are now 3-4. Last year at this point, they were still 0-7. Progress, people. It doesn’t need to happen all at once. But being out of the cellar of the National League? Priceless.

(full album from this game can be seen here, including one where Tyler Clippard licks his face)

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