Showtime

Don't you love watching "checkout time @ the LaRoche Motel"? LMAO
Fastballs check in; Adam checks 'em OUTTA HERE!! 2-0 Nats, top of 2nd.
Strasmas on the mound. I got me a good feeling tonight.

This HAS been awhile, hasn't it?

Wow. 9 months since I last wrote a blog here? Amazing...lol
Anyway, nice to see the Nats pull one out today against the Mets.
And only 161 more games to go...
So, I'm trying something new--from here on out, these entries get posted on Facebook as well as Twitter and/or Google+. Which means I can't use bad words (like I used to...lol) any more.
So if you read this on FB, make the attempt to follow me on Twitter. Really.
I'll do this whenever I get a chance. For some reason I can't put up pictures here (like I once did), but otherwise I'll try to give you my take on the Nats...lol
Bye for now...

Can't wait...

And we wait for the Nats for begin their World Series Natitude run...oh, and also defending their NL East Championship.
This'll be fun...lol
More extensive blog entry, the closer we get to Opening Day. Till then...World Series Natitude!!

So now you KNOW...

Only two more to go.

Two more starts for Stephen Strasburg, and then he gets shut down for the 2012 season. This coming Friday at home against the Marlins, and then a week from Wednesday (9/12)...against, dare I say??...the Mets.
(Oh, get your tickets early for both games, won't you? LMAO)
Look, we've known since the start of the season this was happening. No one had an inkling the Nats would have the season they're having...not even me.
So you'll understand why I'm not sweating this. I have all the confidence in John Lannan to pick up where Strasburg leaves off.
(And if that's not confidence, you tell me what is...lol)
Now if we can have the Braves start losing, so that they're out of the wild card picture...that'll make me so happy.

Cheers, Chipper!!

After watching Stephen Strasburg do his shit tonight...all 10 K's of it...we know the Nats have this series with Atlanta won. Only the game tomorrow is left.
Which means it's Chipper Jones' last appearance in Washington. So this is as good a time as any to salute Chipper, before the season (and his career) ends.
You have to understand, 20 years ago he was what Ryan Zimmerman is now...THE man at 3B. (Although my friend Mike just might disagree and put David Wright's name in place of Zim. Why quibble? LMAO)
Which reminds me...how come Fredi Gonzalez didn't have Chipper pinch-hit w/2 out in the 9th? You could've just as easily had him bat instead of Juan Francisco. Wonder if they talked about that during the Braves postgame show?
Anyway, the Nats are now 7 games up on Atlanta for the division lead. First Place Nats...that does have a nice sound to it, don't it?

This is NOT a collapse, I tell you...

Okay, so the Nats salvaged something out of this series with the Phillies. It's not the end of the world, you know.
But what pisses me off, is the absolute arrogance and piety of these so-called Philadelphia sports "fans" on Twitter. So I said last night, "You're in LAST place. STFU." Whereupon...
They come after me with a vengeance. And no originality, either...you know, typical "hey yo, living at home, etc." Trolls.
(Thankfully it didn't show up in my timeline...but it did in a few of my followers' lines. Que sera, sera...)
At any rate, to the game itself last night. Anyone doubt Jayson Werth didn't want payback, after how Phillies fans laughed at his hurting his wrist back in May?
He contributed, as did Adam LaRoche by smacking a homer. And who the fuck was Michael Martinez trying to impress, thinking he could run on Bryce Harper? Bro threw you out, clown!!
Ah, it's great to be in 1st. Yet the front office sticks to the plan to shut  down Stephen Strasburg after 160 IP. I got mixed feelings on this, but...I look at it as being on the safe side.
Still, there's this twinbill today w/the Marlins. Yes kids, a real honest-to-God twi-night doubleheader. Game 1 at 4, Game 2 around 7.
Fire sale Phillies and Marlins. And now Cliff Lee is on waivers. Mike Rizzo, are you listening? Make sure he doesn't go to Atlanta or the Mets...all right? ROFL
OK, done here. God, why aren't people following this blog? Come September this may be the only place to find out about the Nats...lol

Halfway home after tonight

Game #81 starts in a moment...and the Nats sit at 48-32.
Let me say that again. The Nats are 48-32, and atop the NL East. Sinking in yet, America?
This is fun. And oh yes, Strasmas goes against Drew Pomeranz...meaning we get to see two guys from the '09 NCAA tournament go head-to-head as pros (since they didn't in college*).
*Strasburg at San Diego State, Pomeranz at Ole Miss
At any rate, the so-called "experts" can shut up now. This Nats team is for real.
Now if they just get a top notch pitcher by the trade deadline to step in when Strasburg gets shut down in September...

A little late, but...

In case some of you may not have read the piece I wrote earlier this week about my trip to Boston--you can find it here, btw--I'll hit the high moments for you.
For starters, the trip up (via Amtrak) was nice for the scenery...though seeing all the boats around CT and MA almost made me want to break out into the "Gilligan's Island" theme. Still, it made the time whizz by...7+ hours worth from DC to Boston.
After taking time out at our hotel room to rest--and by "we", I mean my brother Larry and me--it was time for the game.
(And yes, the seats were uncomfortable...but that didn't matter. Being at Fenway Park made up for it.)
As always, Stephen Strasburg put on a show. But Bryce Harper upstaged everyone by hitting one out to deep center to insure the Nats would win the game. 7-3 was the final.
Next day, back on the train bound for DC. 8 hours later, and after a subway ride to bro's SUV, we made it back to Luray before 8 p.m. Saturday night.
Scratch this off his (and my) "bucket list"...lol
Now, the pictures that accompany this piece:
1) I'm on the right, and Larry in the center, in a pic from July of 2010 @ Nats Park.
2) The skyline of NYC, as we were coming up.
3) Selected pics of Fenway Park...including the Green Monster.
4) Strasburg on the mound. (This was as close as my cell phone camera could get.)
Up until this weekend w/the Yankees, the Nats were 6-0 on their road trip by sweeping the Red Sox and Blue Jays. These last 2 games, however, have been losing efforts. Not the way to show the baseball world you're serious about being a contender...though we're still your first place Nats.
Just so you know...lol

Two weeks (and counting)...

Come June 8th, and I'm pretty sure I'be talked about it, I'll be at Fenway Park to see the Nats take on the Red Sox.
(This is on my brother's "bucket list", BTW.)
What'll happen with this blog, is I hope to write about the experience as the trip develops...40 hours altogether, from leaving here in Luray (around 4 a.m. Friday morning) to coming back close to 7 or 8 p.m. Saturday night.
God, I hope WiFi works along the Amtrak corridor...lol
(Oh, I'm on the right in both pictures.)

So, wadda ya think?

Curt Schilling said it himself on ESPN earlier tonight..."The kid can play".
Need I say any more?
Two days of Bryce Harper, and two days of memorable moments. Starting with when he showed up in Dodger Stadium on Saturday...after getting notified of his callup from Syracuse. Bryce in LF, and batting 7th...with Strasburg on the mound.
And for 7 innings, it was memorable. Strasmas striking out Dodgers at will, and Bryce getting his 1st MLB hit...and later his 1st RBI on a sac fly.
(Oh, and about the idiot behind home plate who mooned when Bryce got his hit...dude, you're not in Boston. Have better class, douchebag.)
Unfortunately, on Saturday night, we saw the Henry Rodriguez of 2011 rear his ugly head. It was not pretty...or "Pretty Fricking Bueno", as it were.
No, sad to say, he couldn't find the plate...and got pulled in the 8th. Leave it to Tom Gorzelanny to give up the walkout HR to Matt Kemp in the 10th for the 4-3 loss.
Today (Sunday)? More of the same...though the one bright spot was seeing Tyler Moore make his debut (and get his 1st MLB hit). 2-0 Dodgers win.
But, as I hashtagged on Twitter today, "The Future Is Now And Loving Every Minute of It". Enough said.

First-place Nats...SUCH a nice ring to it

At last, there's a cushion between the Nats and Mets. 1 1/2 games separate them...and who figured we have Atlanta to thank for this?
Keep it up, Atlanta...LMAO
Anyway, I think we can now say the NL agrees with Gio Gonzalez. All I wondered was, had he hit it out (instead of Justin Maxwell hauling it in on the warning track)...would the crowd have torn the joint down?
Funtime In Southeast D.C., I call it...although this probably says it better:
Natitude.
Enjoy it, America...it's for real!!

Already, a season-defining series

So here we are 4 (or 5) days into the 2012 MLB season, and for the Nats it's already make-or-break time.

Yes, kids, it's time for "Meet The (2012) Mets". Thought you'd enjoy that one, Mike...lol
At any rate, 1st place in the NL East is at stake these next 3 days. And yes, you have to wait till Wednesday for the main event...Johan Santana facing off against Stephen Strasburg.

Oh, what fun so early in the season...LMAO
Gee, I wonder if it's too early to call in to WFAN and gloat about the Nats. Nah, I'll wait...until we're solidly in 1st later on in the year. (Hint, hint.)
It's wonderful to actually write this entry on the computer instead of using my phone. I'll have to remember this now. LMAO

Have fun, Mike, watching the Nats make a run at the wildcard this year...

Gary

To "Begin the Beguine" for another year

So now spring training is done for 2012. Good.
Come Thursday, the Nats launch an assault on the wildcard in the NL...which means it's time to give my prediction on how (and where) the Nats will finish.
Last year I said it would be 77-85...and it wound up 80-81. So I'll just reverse those numbers, and say 85-77 (and contend for the wildcard).
Oh, and 2nd or 3rd in the NL East, too. Meaning, ahead of the Mets and Marlins...again!! (Just like last year...lol)
This year I can honestly say the Nats are a playoff-caliber team...provided everything falls in place. And by that I mean Stephen Strasburg fully recovers from Tommy John surgery (just as Jordan Zimmermann did last year).
Now add Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson to this rotation, and there's no telling what'll go down. Plus, I can say I have no reservations about Henry Rodriguez sharing the closer duties w/ Brad Lidge (until Drew Storen comes off the DL) at the start of the season.
All this, and Bryce Harper, too...
What, you didn't think I was leaving him out of this piece? Personally, I'm holding out for seeing him up w/ the big club by the time my brother and me go to Boston on June 8 to watch the Nats take on the Red Sox.
(His "bucket list" deal...before he retires from the government...and truthfully my only chance to see Fenway Park. I may never get this chance again.)
So that's it. Have at me, people...lol

Strasmas 2.0 begins now

Sharing is caring...which is why this link from Nats Insider appears here.
Strasburg to start March 4 vs. Astros
At any rate, the Stephen Strasburg "Legion of Doom and Destruction Tour" starts in earnest next week in Viera.
You've been properly warned, MLB Nation...LMAO

Hey, Strasburg's ready...lol

As long as he gets the job done this year, who gives a rat's ass how many innings Strasmas puts up?
I just love how the "experts" now start calling the Nats contenders. Really? Where were you bastards LAST year?
At any rate, let spring training commence!!
Strasburg to throw between 150-160 innings - MLB - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy Advice