Not Enough

Just not quite enough yesterday from the Nationals. Not enough offense to support a solid start by John Lannan. They just didn't do enough to get the job done, and now they are right on the cusp of getting that 30th win. If they get it tonight, that means they've won four of the last five. However, if they don't, then it will be a little bit of a slump they are in. Win and the confidence goes up. Lose and you're stuck in a losing streak.

Anyway, like I said, Lannan was terrific. A few mistakes here and there, such as the two-run home run from the breaking ball pitch that he left hanging. But other than that, Lannan was absolutely excellent, and he's only 23 years old, meaning he's just going to get better (we hope). Paul Lo Duca stepped in as designated hitter, taking the place of Wily Mo Peña (thank God!). I am sorry but I just don't see much value in Wily Mo anymore. Can the Nats convert Lo Duca into an outfielder to take the place of this struggling slugger? It would be nice. Maybe even a first baseman, and Kory Casto can take the outfield. Anything to bench Wily Mo, who just hasn't been producing.

As SBF over at Nats320 said, we really need a slugger who can create the spark to get the offense going. That was what was missing last night. Someone who can get the home run or the extra base hit in order to spark the offense on a rally. None of that from the Nats last night. If we can get one, the picture gets brighter.

Jason Bergmann takes the mound tonight against the Twins. Can he rebound from a couple bad starts and go back to pitching at an all-star level? In his last start it appeared as though he gained back some of the confidence that he lost in the shellacking a couple weeks ago. We'll see, but I have my full confidence in this man. A 26 year old who will hopefully continue to improve.

Last night, the Celtics did exactly what I expected them to do. Win in 6 games over the Lakers. At the beginning of this series... I called it - Celtics would win in 6. Unfortunately I didn't blog about it, but please believe me! That makes me 2-0 on my NBA finals prediction... lifetime. The other series I called was way back in 2001... when I didn't even care about basketball. This year I gave it a shot... so we'll see what happens with it.

Tim Russert's remembrances will be televised from the Kennedy Center at 4 pm. I'll be watching, and I hope many of you will be too.

A New Feature

Bit of new features for you on the blog today... to the right you'll notice an updated blogroll. It shows you the last time the site was updated and the article title in that update. Click around some of the links.

Nationals begin their series in Minnesota tonight. I hope I can sneak a recap up on the site after the game, but if I can't, look for it tomorrow. John Lannan takes the mound for the Nats against Livan Hernandez of the Twins... yes, the former Nat. So we'll see what happens with that game.

The man I've really started to respect as of late is manager Manny Acta. The article in the Sports section today really does it. It shows you what a great man he is and how the dugout fight the other day was something out of the norm. Acta normally has a cool head, and I've heard him speak about that before. If he turns over a table or kicks things around, it's not going to change anything with the game. If he argues and yells at umpires, it's not going to change their minds or anything. Which is why I wonder why so many people criticize the job Acta has done. And I'm not talking about Nationals fans, but fans of other teams. They say that if he is such a great manager, they should be doing better. I saw a prediction before the season saying 59 wins this season. Acta and the Nats are on pace to defeat that. So, yeah, Manny's doing the job, I'd say. You'll see in a few years when these minor leaguers come up and show how good they are. Honestly, I'm telling you... give 'em a few years and these Nationals will be taking the next step, on their way to a playoff berth.

Big Russ

The media, the field of journalism, and the political world, all lost a respectable figure today in Tim Russert. He died of a heart attack at the young age of 58. Coronary thrombosis. Someone I woke up to on Sunday mornings to watch after coming home from 9:00 Mass. Someone that related politics to me and guided me in selecting my candidate for the 2008 Election. I always awaited to see who he had picked for the Sunday morning show, and always waited for the end to see what he had to say about the Sabres, the Bills, or any other Buffalo related news items. It was always a joy to watch Tim on these Sunday mornings.

I received the phone call this afternoon while cooking up my lunch and watching A Haunting. As scary as the episode was... I honestly thought I was asleep. My dad asked if I was watching the news, and I knew the news didn't start until 4:00... and it was well before 4. He told me the news and I didn't believe it. Thought he had read a joke on Wikipedia or something. What really made me think it was a lie, a sick joke was that the media hadn't even started reporting it. Then a few minutes... MSNBC broke in with the sad story. It all hit, but in the same sense it still hasn't hit me yet. Tomorrow I'll wake up and it won't have happened. Everything will be normal and it will just be a normal Saturday, and then Sunday will have the same usual Meet the Press episode with Russert grilling another politician.

Russert was also a native son of my second home... Buffalo, New York. There was a stretch in high school that I felt that Buffalo was almost a better home than the one I live in currently... a thought that I have since found wrong. But Buffalo has always been good to me, and for the fact that Russert was from Buffalo really made me pay attention to him even more. He felt the same way I did about the Sabres... through their losing streaks and their winning streaks, and all the boneheaded moments. Buffalo really lost a great man. He went to Canisius High School, a few blocks down from my sister's alma mater, Canisius College. Right across the street from where my grandma is residing in the Skilled Nursing Facility at Millard Fillmore Gates. Just down the road from Forest Lawn Cemetery, where Millard Fillmore himself is buried.

Russert had season tickets for the Nationals. Over at Nats320, Screech's Best Friend noted how he and Russert always spoke to each other about the Nats. I tell you what, the Nats are going to win it tonight. They have to in order to pay tribute to Russert himself.

This breaking, bad news gives me all the more inspiration to succeed in the journalistic world. I told my dad that because Russert was probably the journalist who had the MOST impact on me... without a doubt the most impact on me, I would pay tribute to him if I got a television show. The typical signing off that Russert does on every Sunday morning. He always did it in the most special way, that would always make the viewers wait until the bitter end to see what he had to say about Buffalo and to tune in next week. My next post will be on Sunday where I pay another tribute at the end of that upcoming entry. Remember, if it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.

Hmmmm

Ten men left on base today. Eleven hits with only five runs scored. Where the hell is the offense? I just can't believe how frustrated I am with this team. When is Manny going to learn to bench Wily Mo Peña, one of the SLOWEST outfielders and the WORST hitters in the game? A sure fly out with any other left fielder in the game... but Wily Mo is Wily Mo... and it just almost looks like he's not even trying in there. Bench Wily Mo and hopefully the offense improves. Even Langerhans would be a better bat.

Elijah Dukes is showing the bright future that so many expect him to have. He hits that ball HARD! An RBI triple that hit the ground before the right fielder could even take two steps! Amazing! His fielding skills are impressive and he has an absolutely ROCKET of an arm that he occasionally displays even when he doesn't need to. If he stays out of injury and out of trouble, he could be the future of the left field. I say left field because once Austin Kearns comes off the DL and back to the lineup, he'll be thrown in right field, I'm sure.

Jason Bergmann struggled today, but sort of got out of his funk. Hopefully his next start will be better, and hopefully that ERA will drop throughout the season. He didn't find his spots today in the first and second innings. That's definitely something to work on. In the first inning, he took a ball off the butt which was ruled an error for some reason. But hey at least it didn't count as an earned run when Doumit homered. Should the Nationals send Bergmann down for someone else? It might just be time to do that. You don't want to lose control on the part of the team that has been the best all year. If they do send down Bergmann, it would be smart to call someone up other than Garrett Mock or Tyler Clippard so that others can get a bit of experience. I'll keep an eye on the Bergmann situation to see if anything happens with that.

So we head to Seattle for a three-game series that goes for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Maybe they'll win a series for the first time in five attempts (last series win was May 15 against the Mets). The time is right for the offense to step up.

DC Sports Fan article!

Hey everyone - there's a new article I wrote over on DC Sports Fan! It's been posted now.

To access it, click the link on the right sidebar, or go here.

Kenny

Dugout Fight?

The news has recently come out about a scuffle between outfielder Elijah Dukes and manager Manny Acta. The Washington Times' Nationals beat writer Mark Zuckerman even went as far as calling for Dukes to be cut. Although a slightly unprofessional comment by Mr. Zuckerman, this move has been brought up by fans who are tired of Dukes' off-field issues. But wait... this is the only issue we know about since Dukes came to the Nats. It seems as though after Milledge's home run last night, he and Dukes began to celebrate with what seemed to be a previously thought out celebration sequence. Acta yelled at him, and a bit of a verbal argument started. It didn't seem as though any punches were thrown. If Dukes were to be cut, what would happen with our outfield? Right now, we have Dukes-Milledge-Peña out there. Once Kearns comes back, I'm guessing that Peña will sit down. And if any problems transpire with Dukes, then after Justin Maxwell gets off the DL in the minors, he might be called up to replace him.

It's good to see Manny Acta getting on top of the unprofessionalism. If he keeps doing that, maybe this team will finally buckle down and get going. And speaking of unprofessionalism, why is Zuckerman writing as a fan rather than an unbiased reporter? Maybe Acta should give him a talking to as well.

Sweet Victory

When you're at your lowest performance, in a funk, it's tough to pull out of it. It's tough to put bad showings behind you. So when the Nationals fell behind tonight 4-1, it was easy to say this team was finished. But not all was done, and the Nats, thanks to a huge seventh inning and a huge contribution by a lot of players, stormed back to knock off the Pittsburgh Pirates, IN PITTSBURGH, by the score of 7-6.

Ronnie Belliard came off the DL today and had a FANTASTIC game. Three hits in four at bats, including TWO home runs. Two home runs that showed everyone the Nationals can be an offensive minded team. Two home runs, that when joined by three others, proved to be the difference. How about Elijah Dukes, Cristian Guzman, Lastings Milledge, and Jesus Flores continuing to swing hot bats? Milledge and Flores had two of the other home runs tonight (Dmitri Young had the one not yet mentioned). Guzman had another two-hit night and so did Dukes. Just a few of the folks who continue to step up in the face of all the injured players.

The lineup simply hasn't been the same without Johnson, Zimmerman, and Kearns in it. Young and Boone - I love having you both in the lineup, but you have been struggling late and Johnson was really performing quite well this season. Kory Casto just isn't the same as Zimmerman. And let's face it - Wily Mo Pena is just flat out bad. A slugger who only has ONE home run as of tonight. A 298 pound Dmitri Young has more than that. Pena has been pitiful. Also, the bullpen suffers without Chad Cordero. When he is back, Luis Ayala and Saúl Rivera will have less pressure on them. So will Jon Rauch. Or will Jon Rauch be the closer? That's a question for another day.

Until these guys all get back off the disabled list, for now let's enjoy Curly W #26, and let's give a tribute to Ronnie Belliard, who really stepped it up tonight. Maybe he's the spark this team needs to get back on track. We'll see tomorrow.