GTFOS! Washington/Baltimore!

Week 5 Games in the Area!

2011-10-09T00:20:00.001-04:00

Sorry for not posting the past few weeks, I've been busy, but here are the games on tv this week!

Primetime:
Sunday Night Football: Packers at Falcons
Monday Night Football: Bears at Lions

Baltimore and Washington games:
FOX 1pm: Eagles at Bills
CBS 1pm: Titans at Steelers
CBS 4pm: Jets at Patriots

Enjoy!

Week 2 games in the area!

2011-09-14T14:00:00.001-04:00

So here's the upcoming schedule for this weekend!

Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Eagles vs Falcons
Monday Night Football: Rams at Giants

Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Ravens vs Titans
FOX 1pm: Cardinals vs Redskins
CBS 4pm: Chargers vs Patriots

Washington DC:
FOX 1pm: Cardinals vs Redskins
CBS 4pm: Chargers vs Patriots

As per NFL policy, anytime a team has a home game, no game may be played opposite to it on another network. Also, CBS has the doubleheader this week. Props to the folks at the506 for this information. Their site is of great use when networks host more than 1 game at the same time.

NFL Blackout Policy in our area!

2011-09-12T08:00:00.015-04:00

So, in the DC/Baltimore Area, the NFL has a Blackout Policy with either team hosting a home game. During Week 1, both teams had a home game, but the Ravens played at 1pm, while the Redskins played at 4pm. For the rest of the season, here's how it'll shape up.

Firstly, each station that has a double header is listed at the top. Then the list of possible games in included after the slots are reserved for each game.
Secondly, any local game (the Ravens and Redskins) will have their game shown in their entirety. If the game is at 1pm and it's part of a doubleheader, they will not cut away to show the second game. If the game is at 4:15pm and the 1pm game has not finished, it will cut from the 1pm game to the 4:15pm game.
Also, of note, if a station has a double headers, all their games will be scheduled at 1pm and 4:15 to help deal with overrun of the early games. If a station does not have doubleheaders, the games will start at 1pm and 4:05 pm because there is not the risk of early games overrunning the later game.
Third, the NFL rules prohibit other NFL games from being shown on local television stations while a local team is playing a sold out, locally televised home game. The rules are designed to encourage ticket-holders show up at the stadium instead of watching another game on television.
Fourth, when the home team is being shown on the network with the NFL single game, the doubleheader station can only air one of its games. When this happens, there are only two games shown in the market. However, when the home team is being shown on the network with the NFL doubleheader, all three games can air in the same market.

Week 1 - FOX
Ravens play at home against Steelers at 1pm. Redskins play at home at 4:15pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Saints @ Packers
Sunday Night Football: Cowboys @ Jets
Monday Night Football: Patriots @ Dolphins (early), Raiders @ Broncos (late)
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Steelers @ Ravens
FOX 1pm: No Game
FOX 4pm: Giants @ Redskins
Washington:
CBS 1pm: Steelers @ Ravens
FOX 1pm: Falcons @ Bears, Eagles @ Rams, Lions @ Buccaneers
FOX 4pm: Giants @ Redskins

Week 2 - CBS
Ravens play on the road against Titans at 1pm. Redskins play at home against Cardinals at 1pm.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Eagles @ Falcons
Monday Night Football: Rams @ Giants
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Ravens @ Titans
FOX 1pm: Cardinals @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Chargers @ Patriots, Bengals @ Broncos, Texans @ Dolphins
Washington:
CBS 1pm: No game
FOX 1pm: Cardinals @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Chargers @ Patriots, Bengals @ Broncos, Texans @ Dolphins

Week 3 - FOX
Ravens play on the road against Rams at 4pm. Redskins play Monday Night
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Steelers @ Colts
Monday Night Football: Redskins @ Cowboys
Sunday Afternoon Football
Both Markets:
FOX 1pm: Giants @ Eagles, 49ers @ Bengals, Lions @ Vikings
CBS 4pm: Ravens @ Rams
FOX 4pm: Packers @ Bears, Falcons @ Buccaneers, Cardinals @ Seahawks

Week 4 - CBS
Ravens play at home against Jets Sunday Night, Redskins play on the road at 1pm against Rams.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Jets @ Ravens
Monday Night Football: Colts @ Buccaneers
Sunday Afternoon Football
Both Markets:
CBS 1pm: Bills @ Bengals, Titans @ Browns, Steelers @ Texans
FOX 1pm: Redskins @ Rams
CBS 4pm: Broncos @ Packers, Dolphins @ Chargers, Patriots @ Raiders

Week 5 - CBS
Both teams have bye weeks
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Packers @ Falcons
Monday Night Football: Bears @ Lions
Sunday Afternoon Football
Both Markets:
CBS 1pm: Titans @ Steelers, Bengals @ Jaguars, Raiders @ Texans
FOX (1pm or 4pm): Seahawks @ Giants, Saints @ Panthers, Eagles @ Bills, Cardinals @ Vikings, Buccaneers @ 49ers
CBS 4pm: Jets @ Patriots, Chargers @ Broncos

Week 6 - FOX
Ravens play at home against Texans at 4pm, Redskins play at home against Eagles at 1pm.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Vikings @ Bears
Monday Night Football: Dolphins @ Jets
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
FOX 1pm: Eagles @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Texans @ Ravens
FOX 4pm: No game
Washington:
FOX 1pm: Eagles @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Texans @ Ravens
FOX 4pm: Saints @ Buccaneers, Cowboys @ Patriots

Week 7 - FOX
Ravens play on the road against Jaguars Monday Night, Redskins play on the road against Panthers at 1pm.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Colts @ Saints
Monday Night Football: Ravens @ Jaguars
Sunday Afternoon Football:
Both Markets:
CBS (1pm or 4pm): Broncos @ Dolphins, Texans @ Titans, Chargers @ Jets, Steelers @ Cardinals, Chiefs @ Raiders
FOX 1pm: Redskins @ Panthers
FOX 4pm: Packers @ Vikings, Rams @ Cowboys

Week 8 - CBS
Ravens play at home against Cardinals at 1pm. Redskins play on the road against Bills at 4pm.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Cowboys @ Eagles
Monday Night Football: Chargers @ Chiefs
Sunday Afternoon Football
Both Markets:
CBS 1pm: Cardinals @ Ravens
CBS 4pm: Patriots @ Steelers, Bengals @ Seahawks, Browns @ 49ers
FOX 4pm: Redskins @ Bills

Week 9 - FOX
Ravens play on the road against Steelers Sunday Night. Redskins play at home against 49ers at 1pm.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: Ravens @ Steelers
Monday Night Football: Bears @ Eagles
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS (1pm or 4pm): Jets @ Bills, Browns @ Texans, Dolphins @ Chiefs, Broncos @ Raiders, Bengals @ Titans
FOX 1pm: 49ers @ Redskins
FOX 4pm: Giants @ Patriots, Packers @ Chargers, Rams @ Cardinals

Week 10 - FOX
Ravens play on the road against Seahawks at 4pm, Redskins play on the road against Dolphins at 1pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Raiders @ Chargers
Sunday Night Football: Patriots @ Jets
Monday Night Football: Vikings @ Packers
Sunday Afternoon Football:
Both Markets:
FOX 1pm: Redskins @ Dolphins
CBS 4pm: Ravens @ Seahawks
FOX 4pm: Giants @ 49ers

Week 11 - CBS (Flex scheduling begins, so games may be moved around)
Ravens at home against Bengals at 1pm. Redskins at home against Cowboys at 1pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Jets @ Broncos
Sunday Night Football: Eagles @ Giants
Monday Night Football: Chiefs @ Patriots
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Bengals @ Ravens
CBS 4pm: Chargers @ Bears
FOX 4pm: Cardinals @ 49ers, Seahawks @ Rams
Washington:
FOX 1pm: Cowboys @ Redskins
CBS 1pm: No game
CBS 4pm: Chargers @ Bears

Week 12 - CBS (Flex Scheduling, so games may be moved around)
Ravens at home against 49ers Thursday Night, Redskins on the road against Seahawks at 4pm
Primetime
Thanksgiving Day Games:
FOX 12:30pm: Packers @ Lions
CBS 4pm: Dolphins @ cowboys
Thursday Night Football: 49ers @ Ravens
Sunday Night Football: Steelers @ Chiefs
Monday Night Football: Giants @ Saints
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Bills @ Jets, Browns @ Bengals, Texans @ Jaguars
FOX 1pm: Cowboys @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Patriots @ Eagles, Broncos @ Chargers
Washington:
FOX 1pm: Cowboys @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Patriots @ Eagles, Broncos @ Chargers

Week 13 - FOX (Flex Scheduling, so games may be moved around)
Ravens play on the road against Browns at 1pm, Redskins play at home against Jets at 1pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Eagles @ Seahawks
Sunday Night Football: Colts @ Patriots
Monday Night Football: Chargers @ Jaguars
Sunday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Ravens @ Browns
FOX 1pm: Jets @ Redskins
FOX 4pm: Packers @ Giants, Cowboys @ Cardinals, Rams @ 49ers
Washington:
FOX 1pm: Jets @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Broncos @ Vikings
FOX 4pm: Packers @ Giants, Cowboys @ Cardinals, Rams @ 49ers

Week 14 - CBS (Flex Scheduling, so games may be moved around)
Ravens play at home against Colts at 1pm, Redskins play at home against Patriots at 1pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Browns @ Steelers
Sunday Night Football: Giants @ Cowboys
Monday Night Football: Rams @ Seahawks
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Colts @ Ravens
CBS 4pm: Bills @ Chargers
FOX 4pm: Giants @ Cardinals, Bears @ Broncos
Washington:
CBS 1pm: No game
FOX 1pm: Patriots @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Bills @ Chargers

Week 15 - CBS (Flex Scheduling, so games may be moved around)
Ravens play on the road against Chargers Sunday Night, Redskins play on the road against Giants 1pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Jaguars @ Falcons
Saturday Night Football: Cowboys @ Buccaneers
Sunday Night Football: Ravens @ Chargers
Monday Night Football: Steelers @ 49ers
Sunday Afternoon Football
Both Markets:
CBS 1pm: Titans @ Colts, Dolphins @ Bills, Bengals @ Rams
FOX 1pm: Redskins @ Giants
CBS 4pm: Jets @ Eagles, Browns @ cardinals, Patriots @ Broncos

Week 16 - FOX (all afternoon games are on Saturday in observance of Christmas)
Ravens play at home against Cleveland at 1pm. Redskins play at home against Vikings at 1pm.
Primetime
Thursday Night Football: Texans @ Colts
Sunday Night Football: Bears @ Packers
Monday Night Football: Falcons @ Saints
Saturday Afternoon Football
Baltimore:
CBS 1pm: Browns @ Ravens
FOX 1pm: No game
FOX 4pm: Eagles @ Cowboys, 49ers @ Seahawks
Washington:
FOX 1pm: Vikings @ Redskins
CBS 4pm: Chargers @ Lions
FOX 4pm: Eagles @ Cowboys, 49ers @ Seahawks

Week 17 - BOTH (Flex Scheduling, so games may be moved around)
Ravens play on the road against Bengals at 1pm, Redskins play on the road against Eagles at 1pm.
Primetime
Sunday Night Football: TBD
Sunday Afternoon Games
Both Markets
CBS 1pm: Ravens @ Bengals
FOX 1pm: Redskins @ Eagles
CBS 4pm: Chiefs @ Broncos, Chargers @ Raiders
FOX 4pm: Seahawks @ Cardinals

That's how the schedule shakes up for now. I intend to list it weekly from here on out as well.

My thoughts on the Caps moves thus far

2011-07-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know exactly what's going on in George McPhee's mind, but he has clearly shown that he is willing to shake up the roster, and I doubt he's finished. The Capitals are going to try to clear some cap room and that means more players are getting traded, more new players are coming into DC, and expect to see some new faces once training camp opens. By the way, this is descending based on time.

Caps sign Ryan Potulny

He's going to the Bears

Marco Sturm signs with the Canucks

Known for a while he wouldn't be coming back, good to see him on him land somewhere he'll get ice time.

Caps sign Roman Hamrlik to a 2 year contract at $3.5 million per season

Hamrlik is a great defensive defenseman that can also put up points. With his signing, look for either Schultz or Poti to be traded. The Hamrlik signing is really good because it gives the Caps a true shutdown defenseman that can play against the top lines. Will we see him paired with Mike Green or Dennis Wideman?

Caps sign Joel Ward to a 4 year contract at $3 million per season

Joel Ward is a big tough winger that could be playing on the Caps third or fourth line depending on how the off-season progresses. He had 10 goals and 19 assists for a decent 29 points in the regular season, and he's not afraid to throw it down, but what really shocked people was his 7 goals and 6 assists in 12 playoffs games this past postseason. It could just be the beginning of things to come

Capitals deal Semyon Varlamov to Colorado for a first-round pick and a second round pick in either 2012 or 2013.

This is getting max value for a guy who we don't know whether he'll be in the NHL next season or not. It's unfortunate that he couldn't stick with the Caps, but he demanded too much money from a guy who has been injured way too many times. Not only that, I love the trade because Colorado could once again be a lottery picking team and I am gushing at the prospect of the Caps having a top-5 pick next season.

Boyd Gordon signs with Phoenix Coyotes: 2 years, $1.325 million per year

We've lost a guy that won us a lot of faceoffs, but that is the void Halpren is expected to fill. Wish him the best of luck and hopefully, it doesn't come back to bite us.

Caps sign C Jeff Halpren to a one-year deal for $825,000

The former captain has finally come back home. Halpren is a center who does PK and will most likely center the fourth line for us, although he can score, he can also play solid defense. He's our replacement to Boyd Gordon and it cost us $500,00 less than it would to keep Boyd.

Here's a look at the salary cap right now:

Name	Cap Hit
Forwards (13)
Alexander Ovechkin	$9,538,462
Nicklas Backstrom	$6,700,000
Alexander Semin	$6,700,000
Brooks Laich	$4,500,000
Joel Ward	$3,000,000
Eric Fehr	$2,200,000
Mike Knuble	$2,000,000
Jason Chimera	$1,875,000
Marcus Johansson	$900,000
Matt Hendricks	$825,000
Jeff Halpren	$825,000
D.J. King	$637,500
Jay Beagle	$512,500
	$40,213,462
Defensemen (7)
Mike Green	$5,250,000
Dennis Wideman	$3,937,500
Roman Hamrlik	$3,500,000
Tom Poti	$2,875,000
Jeff Schultz	$2,750,000
John Erskine	$1,500,000
John Carlson	$845,833
	$20,658,333
Goaltenders (1)
Michal Neuvirth	$1,150,000

Buyout
Tyler Sloan	$233,333

TOTAL	$62,255,128
Cap Room Left	$2,044,872

As you can see, there's still some wiggle-room. Also Braden Holtby's contract is going to be $637,777 next season. The Capitals still need to sign Troy Brouwer and Karl Alzner and with that, some players are going to be gone. D.J. King is going to be gone because the Capitals don't need him as evidenced last season. Also, Jay Beagle is not going to stay on the roster, odds are he's going back to Hershey, getting traded, or bought out. Right now, assuming the Caps sign Alzner and Brouwer and I think that Poti is going to be gone, I think the lines will look like this

Ovechkin - Backstrom - Knuble
Semin - Laich - Brouwer
Chimera - Johansson - Fehr
Ward - Halpren - Hendricks

Green - Hamrlik
Wideman - Schultz
Carlson - Alzner

Neuvirth

The Caps most certainly will be making a trade at sometime in the near future, just a matter of who goes where and what comes back...

Caps re-sign Brooks Laich

2011-06-29T09:30:00.001-04:00

If there's one thing I've been expecting of Brooks Laich, it's that he would replace the player he was traded for 8 years ago, Peter Bondra, the greatest Capital ever to suit up for DC's hockey team. The Caps have signed Brooksie to a six-year deal at $4.5 million per and I'm happy to say that it's a relief that he's staying with the Caps. He is one of those two-way players that could eventually become a Ryan Kesler. Those of you who don't know who Ryan Kesler is, shame on you, he's one of the best two-way forwards in the NHL. He scores goals, plays great defense, is on the power play and penalty kill and one of the best overall players. More on the Caps salary cap after the jump...

Capitals current salary situation

Name	Cap Hit
Forwards (11)
Alexander Ovechkin	$9,538,462
Nicklas Backstrom	$6,700,000
Alexander Semin	$6,700,000
Brooks Laich	$4,500,000
Eric Fehr	$2,200,000
Mike Knuble	$2,000,000
Jason Chimera	$1,875,000
Marcus Johansson	$900,000
Matt Hendricks	$825,000
D.J. King	$637,500
Jay Beagle	$512,500
	$36,388,462
Defensemen
Mike Green	$5,250,000
Dennis Wideman	$3,937,500
Tom Poti	$2,875,000
Jeff Schultz	$2,750,000
John Erskine	$1,500,000
John Carlson	$845,833
Tyler Sloan	$700,000
	$17,858,333
Goaltenders (1)
Michal Neuvirth	$1,150,000

TOTAL	$55,396,795
Cap Room Left	$8,903,205

- The Capitals also placed Tyler Sloan on waivers, which indicates that they're either going to let him go,
or send him down to Hershey, or they could conceivably buy him out. It all depends on what Sloan
wants to do. But, assuming they re-sign Alzner, which is almost a gimmie, Sloan is either going to be in
Hershey or on another team at the beginning of the season. It only matters if the Caps buy out his
contract which is 1/3 of the original contract ($233,333). This also clears a little space so that the Caps
can bring up a rookie to play for their team come October. Also, when going into training camp, there
will be several players on entry-level contracts vying for a spot on the roster and compared to last
season, it won't be to fill a spot as it was with Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perrault fighting to center
a line, it'll be more like someone has to outplay a veteran to earn it.

- On the Semyon Varlamov front, all indications point to the Caps and Varly not coming to an agreement
any time soon. Either Varly will bolt to Russia or take the same contract that Neuvirth signed.

- From what I've heard, Karl Alzner is being offered a similar contract to what he had with a salary of
$875,000 minus the bonuses that he had received which were $850,000 for a total of $1,675,000 hit on
the salary cap. I believe it will be a short-term contract at 1 million per year and his next contract will be
the big one he's looking for.

- Mathieu Perrault is most likely going to be stuck at Hershey and will not count against the Cap next
season.

- Troy Brouwer and the Caps are still working on a deal, but Troy is eligible for arbitration and may take
that route if he feels that the Caps aren't giving him what he wants. The Caps traded for him, so there's
no way they're going to let him go unless another team offers more than $2 million, in which case, the
Caps will gladly take their first and third round picks. I believe it will be in the range of $1.6 million - $2
million, might be less if he wants to take a pay cut

The Capitals also have a long pipeline of forwards that could be coming up to training camp. I'm not listing defencemen or goaltenders because I'm pretty sure the Caps are in abundance of both right now.
- Mattias Sjogren signed with the Caps earlier this month for a two-year entry contract deal. He will be at
camp and had a stellar performance during the IIHF 2011 World Championships.
- Stanislav Galiev just had a monster season in the QMJHL with 37 goals, 28 assists and 65 pts in 64
games with a +36 and added 10 goals and 17 assists in 19 playoff games in the QMJHL playoffs and
also won the Memorial Cup
- Cody Eakin is another kid who could make an impact for sure. He was also a part of the Memorial Cup,
with his team losing in the semi-finals. However, he had a ridiculous season compiling 36 goals, 57
assists, and 83 points in 56 games, as well as 11 goals and 16 assists in 18 playoff games in the WHL
playoffs en route to winning the WHL. Expect to see him at training camp. He may turn out to be the
best player from the 2009 draft for the Capitals.

Here's the recent draft picks that won't be joining the Caps in camp for sure:
- Anton Gustafsson has decided he doesn't want to play in North America and his contract has been
suspended. When he does decide to come back, he still has to fulfill his entry-level contract with the
Caps.
- Evgeny Kuznetsov is taking another year in Russia before he decides to come back to North America
and try to make the team, he looks already as though he's NHL ready, but he's signed a one-year deal
with a KHL team and will be in Russia next season.
- Dmitri Kugryshev did not have a productive year at Hershey and will need more seasoning before even
thinking about coming up to the team.

That's all for now on the Caps off-season... more to come as they make moves in the future...

Capitals Impending Free Agency

2011-06-25T17:00:00.002-04:00

So, the Capitals have a lot of their players that are restricted free agents (RFAs) or unrestricted free agents (UFAs) and the goal is to get under the salary cap. This season it's been set at $64.3 million dollars. Looking at the table below, you can see who's signed so far and how much their cap hit is. Also, I will note that the Capitals have 10 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 1 goaltender on the roster for now. More on that later...

Current Capitals Roster

Name	Cap Hit
Forwards (10)
Alexander Ovechkin	$9,538,462
Nicklas Backstrom	$6,700,000
Alexander Semin	$6,700,000
Eric Fehr	$2,200,000
Mike Knuble	$2,000,000
Jason Chimera	$1,875,000
Marcus Johansson	$900,000
Matt Hendricks	$825,000
D.J. King	$637,500
Jay Beagle	$512,500
	$31,888,462
Defensemen (7)
Mike Green	$5,250,000
Dennis Wideman	$3,937,500
Tom Poti	$2,875,000
Jeff Schultz	$2,750,000
John Erskine	$1,500,000
John Carlson	$845,833
Tyler Sloan	$700,000
	$17,858,333
Goaltenders (1)
Michal Neuvirth	$1,150,000

Restricted Free Agents

Name

Last Year

Troy Brouwer

$1,025,000

Mathieu Perreault

$716,667

Karl Alzner

$1,675,000

Semyon Varlamov

$821,667

Unrestricted Free Agents

Name

Last Year

Jason Arnott

$4,500,000

Marco Sturm

$3,500,000

Brooks Laich

$2,066,667

Matt Bradley

$1,000,000

Boyd Gordon

$800,000

Scott Hannan

$4,500,000

Sean Collins

$650,000

What's the difference between RFAs and UFAs?
The difference my friend lies in the restrictions. An unrestricted free agent can sign with whomever they want come July 1st. A restricted free agent could sign with whomever they want, however, any offer they accept, the Capitals are eligible to match to retain the player. Also, all players that are restricted free agents must be tendered a qualifying offer by July 1st otherwise they become an unrestricted free agent. There is also compensation awarded if a team loses a restricted free agent. So the odds of the Capitals' restricted free agents coming back is pretty good.

Who will the Caps re-sign?
Every team has to have at least 20 players. However, it is generally advised to have 22 to 23 players on the roster to provide for depth, the Capitals had 23 players last season to start. That being said, with 17 players under contract and another 4 as RFAs, the Caps will have 21 players. However, I don't believe all 21 will be on the opening day roster. Jay Beagle can still go back and forth from Hershey, so he may or may not make the team. I highly doubt DJ King will remain with the team, he didn't provide much, if anything at all this season. Mathieu Perrault will probably be signed to a contract that will allow him to go back and forth like Beagle. Karl Alzner is a lock to remain on the roster. Semyon Varlamov is a huge question mark due to the emergence of Braden Holtby.
In terms of the UFAs, they must re-sign Brooks Laich. I believe Boyd Gordon will also be re-signed as he is a key face-off man on the penalty kill and took the second most face-offs after Nicklas Backstrom and won 58% of them. Enough babbling, time for the breakdowns

Forwards
They have 10 forwards currently on the roster. Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin, Eric Fehr, Mike Knuble, Jason Chimera, Marcus Johnasson, and Matt Hendricks are not going anywhere. DJ King and Jay Beagle are the interesting guys on the roster right now.
I highly doubt DJ King will make the opening day roster. He played in only 16 games, and not even 100 minutes on the season. I highly doubt he will be back this season as Matt Hendricks has been willing to throw it down with pretty much everyone. Throw in John Erskine and DJ King's role on the team in unnecessary. Jay Beagle can go back and forth from Hershey, so he will most likely start the season down there. That leaves it at 8 forwards. The Capitals are going to need at least four forwards and will probably start the season with 13.
Who to sign?
That being said, they must re-sign Brooks Laich. He is huge on the power-play, penalty-kill, and pretty much everywhere he's on the ice. Troy Brouwer will be signed before July 1st. You don't trade a 1st round pick for the rights to a guy and then not sign him. Among the UFAs, Matt Bradley has not been tendered an offer yet, so it appears he may not be returning to DC. Boyd Gordon will also likely re-sign. That will leave two spots available as to whether the Caps will sign Marco Sturm or Jason Arnott remains a mystery.
Their potential line combinations, should they sign who I recommend they do looks like this:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble
Semin - Laich - Brouwer
Chimera - Johansson - Fehr
? - Gordon - Hendricks

As you can see, they could use a winger on the fourth line, however, i think the plan is to move Chimera down to the fourth line, move Laich to the wing with Johnasson, and still try to acquire a second-line center. The second-line center has been the biggest problem for the Caps since Federov left, they've tried Laich, Fleischmann, Brendan Morrison, Eric Belanger, Johansson, Perrault, and now Arnott. So it'll look more like this:
Ovechkin - Backstrom - Knuble
Semin - ? - Brouwer
Laich - Johansson - Fehr
Chimera - Gordon - Hendricks

Another way to go is to find someone on the market that could complement Alexander Semin. One of these days, I need to do a thorough analysis on him. He's one of the most baffling players in the NHL. He has so much talent, yet injuries, lackluster play, and whatever is going on in his head prevents him from being a top-10 player in the NHL. The only other center that I think will help this team is Brad Richards, but he's going to be way out of their price range if they resign who I think they should. They will most likely try to bring back Arnott at a reduced price (maybe $3 or $3.5mil?) and try one of the Hershey guys.

Defensemen
They're going to re-sign Karl Alzner, and then they're going to be in a spot of trouble in terms of whom to start. They'll have Mike Green, Dennis Wideman, Tom Poti, Jeff Schultz, John Erskine, John Carlson, and Tyler Sloan. Odds are, Tyler Sloan will be riding the pine and John Erskine and Jeff Schultz will also swap riding the pine. That gives the Caps a ton of scorers on defense in Green, Wideman, and Carlson. Don't forget, Poti also used to pick-up power play time and with Alzner playing defense predominantly, this team looks really good on defense. Obviously Alzner and Carlson will be paired up and I think Schultz/Erskine will be paired up with Green which will make an interesting combination of Wideman and Poti. Sorry Scott Hannan, but barring a trade, odds are you're not coming back. Sean Collins will most likely return to Hershey.

Goaltending
This is by far the most interesting situation. You have three goalies that are studs. Michal Neuvirth played the most this season with 45 starts, a 2.45 GAA and a .914 SV %. Good for 25th and 14th among goalies who qualified. Semyon Varlamov on the other hand, had some pooor luck in 25 starts and only 11 wins while posting a 2.23 GAA and a .924 SV% good for 4th and 6th in the league respectively. Braden Holtby did even better with a 1.79 GAA and .934 SV%. His only problem though is that he got wrecked in shootouts. Absolutely wrecked, see the Caps-Rangers game on January 24th. Varlamov is trying to re-sign with the Capitals, but teams in the KHL have been pursuing him with rumors of $4 million a season circulating around. In games Varly has started, he's received 1 goal or less of support in 10 of his games. So 40% of the time his team didn't give him a chance to win. In those 10 games, Varly is 0-8-2. Take that out of his 11-9-5 record and all of a sudden it looks really good. It's like really good pitcher that receives no run support. Braden Holtby still needs to work on improving in shootouts and playing with more consistency, so it would make sense for the Caps to re-sign Varly, but not for more than $2 million a year.

Recap
Sign: Troy Brouwer, Karl Alzner, Mathieu Perreault (to Hershey), Semyon Varlamov, Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, and find a second-line center. I am guessing that the Caps will have about 3 to 4 million to sign Arnott or another center, if they can find one, or try to work a trade with their abundant amount of defensemen. If Varlamov asks for too much money, he's not coming back. Gordon is almost a lock to come back, Laich will command a lot of money on the open market, so it's up to him whether he wants to come back or take more money elsewhere

Still up in the air: Jason Arnott, Matt Bradley, Semyon Varlamov, Brooks Laich

Guarantee they won't be coming back: Marco Sturm and Scott Hannan

Washington Capital's 2011-2012 schedule

2011-06-24T23:30:00.002-04:00

The Capital's schedule was just released this past week, and now's a great opportunity to do an analysis on the upcoming season. A few things to point out, they're making three trips to Winnipeg. Obviously the NHL failed to change their divisions and the Caps might suffer for it.

The Caps will have their first road-trip in Edmonton and Vancouver at the end of October. There's a brutal stretch in November where they'll play 7 games in 12 days from November 15th to November 26th, including the first three of those on the road. December, January, and February don't look too bad, but March is an entire brutal month with 16 games in 31 days. They start with four games at home, go to Boston, come back for Toronto, then a four game trip to Nassau and Winnipeg, then Chicago and Detroit back-to-back followed by a trip to Philly and coming back to play Winnipeg in a back-to-back. They pretty much are playing every other day.

10/08/11 - vs Carolina Hurricanes

10/10/11 - vs Tampa Bay Lightning

10/13/11 - @ Pittsburgh Penguins

10/15/11 - vs Ottawa Senators

10/18/11 - vs Florida Panthers

10/20/11 - @ Philadelphia Flyers

10/22/11 - vs Detroit Red Wings

10/27/11 - @ Edmonton Oilers

10/29/11 - @ Vancouver Canucks

11/01/11 - vs Anaheim Ducks

11/04/11 - @ Carolina Hurricanes

11/05/11 - @ New York Islanders

11/08/11 - vs Dallas Stars

11/11/11 - @ New Jersey Devils

11/12/11 - vs New Jersey Devils

11/15/11 - @ Nashville Predators

11/17/11 - @ Winnipeg Jets

11/19/11 - @ Toronto Maple Leafs

11/21/11 - vs Phoenix Coyotes

11/23/11 - vs Winnipeg Jets

11/25/11 - vs New York Rangers

11/26/11 - @ Buffalo Sabres

11/29/11 - vs St. Louis Blues

12/01/11 - vs Pittsburgh Penguins

12/03/11 - vs Ottawa Senators

12/05/11 - @ Florida Panthers

12/07/11 - @ Ottawa Senators

12/09/11 - vs Toronto Maple Leafs

12/13/11 - vs Philadelphia Flyers

12/15/11 - @ Winnipeg Jets

12/17/11 - @ Colorado Avalanche

12/20/11 - vs Nashville Predators

12/23/11 - @ New Jersey Devils

12/26/11 - @ Buffalo Sabres

12/28/11 - vs New York Rangers

12/30/11 - vs Buffalo Sabres

12/31/11 - @ Columbus Blue Jackets

01/03/12 - vs Calgary Flames

01/07/12 - @ San Jose Sharks

01/09/12 - @ Los Angeles Kings

01/11/12 - vs Pittsburgh Penguins

01/13/12 - vs Tampa Bay Lightning

01/15/12 - vs Carolina Hurricanes

01/17/12 - vs New York Islanders

01/18/12 - @ Montreal Canadiens

01/20/12 - @ Carolina Hurricanes

01/22/12 - @ Pittsburgh Penguins

01/24/12 - vs Boston Bruins

01/31/12 - @ Tampa Bay Lightning

02/01/12 - @ Florida Panthers

02/04/12 - @ Montreal Canadiens

02/05/12 - vs Boston Bruins

02/07/12 - vs Florida Panthers

02/09/12 - vs Winnipeg Jets

02/12/12 - @ New York Rangers

02/13/12 - vs San Jose Sharks

02/17/12 - @ Florida Panthers

02/18/12 - @ Tampa Bay Lightning

02/20/12 - @ Carolina Hurricanes

02/22/12 - @ Ottawa Senators

02/24/12 - vs Montreal Canadiens

02/25/12 - @ Toronto Maple Leafs

02/28/12 - vs New York Islanders

03/02/12 - vs New Jersey Devils

03/04/12 - vs Philadelphia Flyers

03/06/12 - vs Carolina Hurricanes

03/08/12 - vs Tampa Bay Lightning

03/10/12 - @ Boston Bruins

03/11/12 - vs Toronto Maple Leafs

03/13/12 - @ New York Islanders

03/16/12 - @ Winnipeg Jets

03/18/12 - @ Chicago Blackhawks

03/19/12 - @ Detroit Red Wings

03/22/12 - @ Philadelphia Flyers

03/23/12 - vs Winnipeg Jets

03/25/12 - vs Minnesota Wild

03/27/12 - vs Buffalo Sabres

03/29/12 - @ Boston Bruins

03/31/12 - vs Montreal Canadiens

04/02/12 - @ Tampa Bay Lightning

04/05/12 - vs Florida Panthers

04/07/12 - @ New York Rangers

More on the Capitals to come this weekend as the NHL Draft, and impending free agency arrive.

VS

2011-05-20T16:15:00.001-04:00

21st Overall (5th NL East) 20-23 Record 19-23 23rd Overall (5th AL East)

25th Overall 157 Runs 166 22nd Overall

30th Overall .246 Batting Average .223 17th Overall

28th Overall .690 On Base + Slugging Percentage .637 19th Overall

23rd Overall 32 Home Runs 40 13th Overall

28th Overall 481 Total Bases 547 21st Overall

7th Overall 37 Stolen Bases 19 26th Overall

12th Overall 3.59 ERA 4.43 26th Overall

12th Overall 26 Quality Starts 24 15th Overall

9th Overall 135 Walks 143 13th Overall

24th Overall 280 Strikeouts 281 23rd Overall

7th Overall 13 Saves 7 29th Overall

24th Overall .257 Batting Average Against .259 26th Overall

	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	BAA	ERA
Friday
Marquis, Jason (5-1)	8	1	1	51.1	58	24	21	3	10	31	1.28	.283	3.54
Arrieta, Jake (5-1)	9	0	0	51.1	42	23	23	7	21	46	1.23	.221	4.03
Saturday
Lannan, John (2-4)	9	0	0	47.2	55	25	24	4	22	26	1.62	.299	4.53
Guthrie, Jeremy (1-6)	8	1	0	53.0	53	23	23	9	9	32	1.17	.262	3.91
Sunday
Zimmermann, Jordan (2-4)	8	0	0	48.0	48	26	22	2	11	35	1.23	.259	4.13
Tillman, Chris (2-3)	8	0	0	38.2	45	23	23	2	15	26	1.55	.287	5.35

Lineups

Suny:
The Orioles have a very potent lineup, boasting the likes of Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee, and of course, Mark Reynolds. This team has power almost entirely through it's order when you factor in Luke Scott and J.J. Hardy. After starting April off slow, the Orioles' bats are showing some signs of life in May. Adam Jones is hitting .388 this month and Vladdy isn't far behind at .361. Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds have found their power swing as they each have 3 homers this month. Strictly based on career numbers, their lineup is still under-performing. Could this be the weekend their bats finally come to life? Brian Roberts and Derrek Lee will not play this series. J.J. Hardy came back from injury earlier this week, but now they've lost Roberts. His career performance against the Nationals wasn't that good, but his presence at the top of the lineup will be missed. The Orioles are going to have the looks below for fielding, not sure for hitting because they've mixed it up quite a bit in the past few days with the injuries.

Career Numbers against the Nationals
C - Matt Wieters               (7 G,   2 Runs, .273 BA,   .680 OPS, 0 HR,   3 RBIs,   6 TBs)
1B - Luke Scott                (21 G, 13 Runs, .257 BA,    .807 OPS, 4 HR, 5 RBIs, 35 TBs)
2B - Robert Andino         (15 G,   5 Runs,   .273 BA,    .606 OPS, 1 HR,   4 RBIs, 14 TBs)
3B - Mark Reynolds        (21 G,   16 Runs, .294 BA, 1.025 OPS, 7 HR, 16 RBIs, 42 TBs)
SS - J.J. Hardy                 (22 G,     9 Runs, .215 BA,    .614 OPS, 3 HR, 7 RBIs, 30 TBs)
LF - Felix Pie                   (10 G,     1 Run, .125 BA,    .347 OPS, 0 HR,   0 RBIs,   1 TB)
CF - Adam Jones             (18 G,   16 Runs, .400 BA, 1.097 OPS, 4 HR, 14 RBIs, 44 TBs)
RF - Nick Markakis         (29 G, 10 Runs, .289 BA,    .723 OPS, 1 HR, 13 RBIs, 78 TBs)
DH - Vladimir Guerrero (5 G,     3 Runs, .412 BA, 1.121 OPS, 1 HR,   7 RBIs, 11 TBs)

The two guys that lack pop are obviously Pie and Andino, but they're speed guys. Hopefully they can do some damage on the baespaths against the Nats.

Chris:
The Nationals have been hitting pretty poorly all season, but somehow they've been able to scrap up enough hits to float around the .500 marker. Part of the reason for this is they've been focusing a lot more on playing small ball: infield hits, bunting for hits, stolen bases, and being aggressive on fly balls. The Nationals are on pace to increase their number of stolen bases by 25% from last year (110 last year, already close to 40 this season). Despite their numbers, Werth, Desmond, Espinosa and even Morse are all destined to break out of their poor hitting streaks. Adam LaRoche is a guarantee also. Laynce Nix has been the only National hitting pretty consistently, and Roger Bernadina has been a great addition since being called up to play for the injured Rick Ankiel. I don't expect a hit parade out of either of these teams this weekend, but with Baltimore's mediocre pitching, I think the Nats can get a good morale boost from this series.

I also wanted to post this picture of a former Oriole who now plays for the Nats. Any guesses?

Lineups haven't been set yet, but this is about what I expect:

Career Batting Numbers Against the Orioles
CF - Roger Bernadina     (7 G, 3 Runs, .261 BA, 0.857 OPS, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 13 TBs)
SS - Ian Desmond           (5 G, 3 Runs, .071 BA, 0.259 OPS, 0 HR, 0 RBIs, 1 TBs)
RF - Jayson Werth           (7 G, 3 Runs, .143 BA, 0.515 OPS, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 7 TBs)
DH - Laynce Nix              (8 G, 2 Runs, .167 BA, 0.481 OPS, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 6 TBs)
1B - Adam LaRoche        (10 G, 9 Runs, .412 BA, 1.180 OPS, 3 HR, 7 RBIs, 24 TBs)
2B - Danny Espinosa       (Has never faced Baltimore)
C - Wilson Ramos           (3 G, 0 Runs, .091 BA, 0.258 OPS, 0 HR, 0 RBIs, 1 TB)
3B - Alex Cora                 (47 G, 12 Runs, .330 BA, 0.773 OPS, 1 HR, 11 RBIs, 42 TBs)
LF - Michael Morse         (12 G, 0 Runs, .259 BA, 0.644 OPS, 0 HR, 3 RBIs, 8 TBs)

Starting Pitching

Suny:
The Orioles have three good pitchers coming out for the series. Arrieta has been having a great season for the Orioles. Guthrie has been of a victim of poor run support and Tillman has been inconsistent, but when he's on, he's very good.
Jake Arrieta is going up against Jason Marquis in what should be a phenomenal duel. Arrieta has 7 quality starts in 9 games started. The only time he lost was when he got shelled by Texas in his second game of the season. In May, he's pitched 3 games, won 2 of them with a 2.37 ERA, averaging 7 K's per outing and at batting average against of .167. Phenomenal numbers folks.
Jeremy Guthrie has been the victim of poor run support, the Orioles have scored more than 3 runs only twice, and both time the Orioles won, although Guthrie only received the win in one of those starts. He's had a couple rough outings, but the Orioles refuse to score when he pitches, and as a result, he has a poor record. Don't underestimate him though, he's very effective if the Orioles can put up some runs.
Chris Tillman started the season with 6 no-hit innings against Tampa. It's been up and down since, he's had good outings, and bad ones... except when he has bad ones, they're really bad...He has also failed to get past the sixth inning, having pitched into the seventh only once. His last start, he gave up no runs in five innings, but the Orioles bullpen failed to hold the lead, although, there were a lot more issues that game than simply the bullpen. Tillman has a chance to win when he goes out on Sunday.

Chris:
The Nationals are the only team in the league to have their starting pitcher go at least 5 complete innings in every game this season. That's an amazing feat, but they don't have the wins to show for it due to the lack of run support. This team has done a complete 180 since last year both in their pitching rotation and in the bullpen, but can't find the offense to support them. Maybe when Strasburg and Harper play together we'll have everything we need? Ok, sorry, getting off topic.

Friday night brings Jason Marquis to the mound. With a 5-1 record, he's easily the best National's starter this season. He's also got 3 wins against caliber teams: Florida, Atlanta, and San Francisco, all of which he had great run support and defense behind him. And at $7.5 million this season, I think it's been worth it so far.

Saturday we see John Lannan, who hasn't been too sharp, but really hasn't been that bad either. He has a decent WHIP (1.62) but it could be better, and with better control, he could bring down his number of walks per game (average about 3 now).

Sunday we get to see Jordan Zimmermann, a young, underhyped pitcher who is also dying for some run support in what has been great outings. I'll give a better preview before Sunday's matchup.

Bullpen

Suny:
The Orioles bullpen can be summed up in one word. Horrendous. They're 29th in the league in ERA at 5.05, a WHIP of 1.53, a BAA of .274. They've blown a ton of saves, they suck in close games, and they've been exhausted thanks to Wednesday night's 15 inning game against the Yanks. I'm just going to concede this to the Nats.

Chris:
Let's see, who've we got in our bullpen? Just, Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett, and Drew Storen. Oh wait, that's amazing. Storen has been on a tear this season, going 9/9 in save opportunities, as well as 3 wins and 2 holds. With a 0.38 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in 23.2 IP, I think he can be considered a dominant closer in the league. Tyler Clippard has 9 holds with a 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 25.0 IP, and Sean Burnett has 4 holds, 4 saves, but hasn't been as good as the way he started the season.

THE CAPS ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND!

2011-04-23T17:49:00.003-04:00

As I begin typing this, Alexander Semin has just scored the third goal for the Capitals to give them a 3-0 lead. This was a lob from Marcus Johansson that Semin shot out of the air past Lundqvist. Ovechkin's goal to give the Caps a 2-0 lead was nothing short of greatness. He blew past Marc Staal and deked Lundqvist and shot it in backhanded. The Rangers were upset with the Caps in the crease after Mike Green scored on the power play, but they only have themselves to blame.

Throughout this game, the Rangers could not sustain consistent zone time. The Capitals were in the Rangers zone a lot this game. But even so, most of their goals came from breakways or odd-man rushes. This is something the Capitals have improved on this year... and Neuvirth just made an insane save against Derek Stepan with 1:48 left. Henrik Lundqvist played very well this series, however some bounces didn't go his way. Marian Gaborik for one, but also the fact that the defense hung him out to dry at some points during the game.

The Capitals commitment to defense has lead them to this point, where they can effectively shut down teams... and as I say that, the Rangers score, and we have some of the players going at it. You can be sure that the fireworks are not done. I believe Neuvirth can also lead this team to the promised land. His only loss was on two fluky goals, he hasn't given up any soft goals this postseason and I expect his play to continue. But most importantly, the Capitals defense has committed themselves to helping Neuvirth win games for them. As I type these final words, the horn has sounded and the Verizon Center is celebrating. I truly hope that this is just the beginning of a long playoff run.

Feel free to add your comments and thoughts below

Finally, some wins for the O's!

2011-04-21T19:00:00.001-04:00

It's been a strange start to the season for the Orioles. After going 6-1 to begin the season, they went on an 8-game losing streak, but never fear, the Minnesota Twins came to town and the O's are ready to bust out the brooms tonight!

I didn't catch either game in it's entirety, but the O's shelled Carl Pavano and got to Nick Blackburn early. Then they got good starting pitching from Jake Arrieta and Zach Britton. Looking at the first 17 games for the Orioles, whom are 8-9, there's a few things that stick out.
Pitching
-In the Orioles wins, they had 7 quality starts, in losses, they only had 3.
-The Orioles have also given up the sixth fewest hits in the league, but they've also given up the sixth most home-runs and 8th most doubles
-Of the 20 home runs given up, 14 have been solo home runs, second most in the AL
-With nobody on base, the Orioles have the sixth best BAA at .222
-With runners on, it climbs to .258
-With RISP, it becomes .275
-And... with the bases loaded it becomes .444
-However, with RISP and 2 outs, it's .197

Interestingly, the Orioles have a .132 BAA while playing on turf...

Hitting
-Baltimore has the seventh worst batting average in baseball
-Baltimore has the third worst on base percentage in baseball

Runners in scoring position
-The Orioles have the best second best batting average in baseball with RISP
-they also have the second best batting average in baseball with RISP with two outs
-Matt Wieters is 6-for-6 with RISP
-Orioles' OPS is .951 with RISP
-Derrek Lee has had 0 hits in 12 chances with RISP. He's also struck out 8 times as well.
Against lefties, the Orioles are batting .205 with 12 runs and 4 homers.
The Orioles are 1-3 against lefties, all three losses coinciding with their losing streak.

Orioles are tied for the league lead in stolen bases against

Just from those stats alone, you can determine the following:
1. The Orioles will most likely win if their starters give them a quality start
2. The Orioles are hitting with runners is scoring position
3. Problem is getting runners on base
4. The Orioles need to start hitting if they want to go anywhere this year
5. I also expect at some point Vladdy and Lee to start hitting

More thoughts to come on the O's as the season progresses!

Ron Burgundy Said It Best...

2011-04-21T15:30:00.004-04:00

-- "I'm in a glass case of emotion!" --

Last night's Capitals game put even the most loyal fans in a state of fear and doubt before pulling off a 4-3 double OT win.

I'll be the first one to admit that I didn't start following hockey until I jumped on the Capitals bandwagon when they made the playoffs in 2008. However, that's one of the greatest choices I've ever made as a sports fan. I quickly acclimated myself to the sport, watching as many games as I could. I started going to games, despite the growing demand and increase in prices and even got myself a #30 Varlamov jersey after his Superman acts in goal in 2009. I don't consider myself a diehard fan of the sport, but watching the Capitals definitely provides my daily dose of adrenaline during the winter.

I half expected last night's game to be a blowout for either team. The Rangers were going to throw Boudreu's words back at him for insulting their home arena, or the Capitals were going to be so angry for losing game 3 that they were going to prove their dominance over the lowly bluecoats.

However, since their home sweep last week, the Caps hadn't played hockey like a #1 seed should in 5 straight periods, losing game three, and putting themselves in a 3-0 hole in game 4. I literally had my head in my hands. Another flop by a local DC team. You can ask just about anybody that I said weeks before the playoffs, that if the Capitals had to play the Rangers in the first round, then bye bye Stanley Cup.

Someone should have slapped me and told me to get my head on straight.

Everybody knows the Caps changed their playing style to focus on their defense half way through the season, but last night, they finally brought out their true team identity.

The Caps came out in the third period playing like they used to. Forget defense, they had to score goals. We the fans haven't seen that in a long time. After tying the game and going into overtime, they reverted straight back to their new defensive ways, eventually leading to that game winning goal by Jason Chimera, his second game winning goal of the series.

The Capitals proved why they're the best team in the NHL right now. They might not be getting dominant wins, but they're proving their dominance in other ways on the ice. No other team can bring out their inner monster without damaging their normal body. The Caps didn't even look tired in either OT period.

I expect game 5 at home in DC to be like kids at the playground, not just for the fans, but the team as well. The Rangers are depleted, and the Capitals have finally figured out the playoffs, and learned a lot about themselves in the process.

I'm Chris Brese. You stay classy, DC.

Nationals Split Doubleheader

2011-04-21T10:00:00.000-04:00

The Nationals lost the second game of their doubleheader 5-3 against the Cardinals last night. I caught bits and pieces of the game but was glad to see the Nats came from behind twice to tie the game before giving up the final two runs. And once again, the Nationals' starter Zimmermann gave another 6 innings start. These guys need to start giving 6-7 on a constant basis, but I'll take it.

One thing I noticed is that the Nats continue to score runners in scoring position. They're okay about not leaving too many men on base (only a total of 8 the entire day yesterday compared to the Cardinals 19), but the players that get left on base are generally always on 2nd or 3rd base. I think once Ryan Zimmerman comes off of the DL, GM Riggleman needs to make a lineup change. Here's what I would propose:

1. 2B Danny Espinosa - Gets real good hits and is very speedy. However, doesn't walk often.
2. SS Ian Desmond - Desmond gets on cold and hot streaks, not just days.
3. 3B Ryan Zimmerman
4. RF Jayson Werth - We spent a ton of money for his power. Why does he not bat 4th already?
5. 1B Adam LaRoche
6. CF Rick Ankiel - Ankiel has a lot of speed. Think of this as a second leadoff spot.
7. LF Michael Morse/Laynce Nix - Morse hasn't been hitting well as of late, but Nix has. Expect these 2 to continue to take turns in the field for awhile.
8. C Wilson Ramos - Ramos has a lot of power. I put him in the 8th spot only to spread that power, and bring guys like Ankiel and Morse home.
9. Pitcher

I think by spreading the power, this lineup can be a lot better. The way I set it up above splits this team into almost 2 separate lineups, instead of putting all of the weaker hitters at the bottom of the lineup.

Today's game is at 1:45 in St. Louis, and we'll see Tom Gorzelanny against Kyle Lohse. I'm not a big fan of Gorzelanny, and I hate to say it, but Lohse has pitched 2 straight good games. Both teams will be tired and won't want to play a day game after yesterdays doubleheader, but they have Pittsburgh to look forward to starting tomorrow night.

Ryan Zimmerman Rehab

2011-04-21T09:17:00.000-04:00

A quote from Ryan himself: "Ran into this guy after rehab today. I think being in the presence of his Tiger blood is already giving my rehab and the team a step up. WINNING!"

Ryan Zimmerman on WhoSay

Nationals win first game of Doubleheader 8-6

2011-04-20T17:37:00.000-04:00

The Nationals won their 4th straight game by winning the first game of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6.

The Nationals looked like they were going to blow out the Cardinals in the first game of today's doubleheader. They went into the bottom of the 3rd inning with a 7-0 lead. With the help of Pujols' and Colby Rasmus' solo home runs, the Cardinals came back to within 2 runs at 7-5. Lance Nix gave the Nats an insurance run in the 8th with a solo blast to right field.

John Lannan had another solid start going into the sixth inning. The Nationals have had 16 straight games with their starting pitcher giving at least 5 complete innings.

Unfortunately, this game went longer than it needed to. It's too bad the Nationals relief couldn't keep the Cardinals offense down, because they had to bring in some of their relief stars: Clippard, Burnett and Storen. Let's see how game 2 goes, and hopefully they won't have to make a 2nd appearance.

Lineup changes for the 2nd game include Wilson Ramos in for Pudge Rodriguez at Catcher. At time of writing, I'm not sure of who else is going to start.

I'll post a writeup tomorrow about game 2 and some thoughts about the day in general.

On another note, Caps/Rangers game 4 at 7 pm! C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!!!

Nationals at Cardinals Postponed

2011-04-20T09:08:00.000-04:00

The Nats and Cards game was "rained out" last night. A huge storm rolled through Saint Louis bringing bouts of thunderous rain, giant hail and tornado warnings around their schedule game time yesterday. Fortunately, the stadium is still in tact and today looks like a great day for baseball!

They'll play a double header today, the first game starting just after 2 pm EST, and the second around 8:15 pm EST. The Nationals haven't played since Sunday, when they swept another double header against Milwaukee. Expect John Lannan to come out refreshed and ready to pitch in the first battle. He has a history of putting some hurt on the Cardinals. He doesn't strike out many, but he doesn't let them get on base too often either. He faces Jake Westbrook, who hasn't been terribly great so far this season, so this should be a good matchup for the Nationals, who are hoping to earn their first 4-game winning streak on the season. Their last 4-game streak came at the very end of last year.

Game 2 places Jordan Zimmermann against Jaime Garcia, who has faced the Nationals just once in his career. This will be an interesting fight as both pitchers have had Tommy John Surgery in the last 2 years, and are still working to find their groove with their respective teams.

I'll post a quick review of the first game later this afternoon, but will likely miss the second game to watch the Capitals play game 4 in New York tonight. I'll catch what I can though.

Oh! One last interesting note. If the Nationals win both games today, and the Phillies and the Marlins both lose their games, the Nationals will be tied for first place in the NL East. The probability of this happening? Pretty low. Cliff Lee is on the mound for the Phillies, and he's just as dominant this season as he has been in the past.

Nats Weekend Roundup (Winning! Duh...)

2011-04-18T13:59:00.002-04:00

Great weekend for the Nationals and their fans. Saw a lot of great things this weekend from the whole team. In the first game of yesterday's double header, every starter got a hit, including the pitcher. Pudge hit his first home run of the season, and it was a sweet 3-run shot. Danny Espinosa had 6 RBIs with a 3-run HR, and a bases loaded, bases clearing triple yesterday. And Jayson Werth ran hard on the bases to score the winning run in the 10th inning on Friday. A sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers came at a beautiful time in the season: the beginning. Let me show you what I mean.

Year	First Sweep
2011	April 15-17 (vs Mil)
2010	June 8-10 (vs Pit)
2009	August 4-6 (vs Fla)
2008	June 13-15 (@Sea)
2007	May 11-13 (vs Fla)
2006	May 23-25 (vs Hou)
2005	April 14-17 (vs Ari)

Notice the dates for those series sweeps. Except for their inaugural 2005 season, the Nationals never achieved their first sweep until at least a couple of months into the season. (Essentially when their season was already over).

Last year (2010), their first sweep wasn't until June against the Pirates, who at the time were essentially a minor league AAAA team. And the first game of that particular series? Stephen Strasburg's astonishing major league debut. So of course the team was clearly just riding along the awesome train for that sweep.

Also notice, all of their first sweeps are at home, except in 2008 against Seattle. But the 2008 Mariners team was the second worst team in baseball. Just slightly ahead of who? The Nationals of course. So that series doesn't even count as games played.

So here's what I'm getting at: getting this first sweep just 3 weeks into the season shows the turn around this team is going through. The Nationals may only have a handful of popular players, but they're the only team in MLB who has gotten 5 or more IPs from their starting pitchers in every game so far. They have 3 relievers contending for the closer spot. They have a clear candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2B Danny Espinosa (I used to watch him play in Potomac). Ryan Zimmerman is a back-to-back Silver Slugger (and should be back-to-back Gold Glover). Their only blowout this year was an 11-2 loss to the Braves in their opening weekend. But that's nothing to be ashamed about. They even had somewhat respectable losses to Philadelphia's kings Lee and Halladay.

Don't get me wrong, the Nats aren't making the playoffs this year or next, because as an NL East team, you have to win the division to make the playoffs since there are too many other good teams out west. But when Ryan Zimmerman comes off the DL, and Strasburg makes it back into the rotation next season, and big shot Jayson Werth picks up his bat some more, this team is going to be great. And they're going to be great quickly, and they're going to be great for a long time. Jump on the bandwagon now and start supporting the Nationals. Tickets to the games are fair priced (especially from StubHub) and the stadium is gorgeous, and it's a fun time for everybody, so go hit up some games (might I suggest April 30 for free umbrella day against the reigning World Series champs?)

The Nats are off today, with away series at St. Louis (where Carpenter won't be pitching this series and Pujols is in a slump) and Pittsburgh. Expect the Nationals to come back home next week to face the Mets with a positive attitude and a contending winning average.

Washington's unfortunate Game 3 loss....

2011-04-17T18:20:00.000-04:00

Well... it had to happen at some point... the Capitals had to lose in the playoffs...

It's not so bad, the Caps showed an ability to come back from deficits twice. Dubinsky's goal was kinda fluky, but oh well, the Rangers had to win one. Now I'll be able to go to Game 5. In my opinion though, the Capitals have got to stop committing dumb penalties. They gave the Rangers 7 power-plays and some of those penalties overlapped into 5-on-3's. There's no way that you can play such undisciplined hockey and still win.
They came close, they came really close, but in the end, it doesn't really matter because they put themselves in this situation. Dubinsky's game-winner was scored with John Carlson in the box, one of the Caps best defensemen. Not only that, the Caps had numerous chances to put the puck in the net and did not do so. Two of the goals scored against Neuvirth can be blamed on the defense. Karl Alzner both times was involved, and this isn't to say Alzner is a bad player, but the first time, there were two Rangers in front of the net. Alzner took one of them and the rebound bounced to the guy that was wide open in Vinny Prospal. The third period was fluky in that Alzner guessed Dubinsky was going around the net, he went to the front, Alzner still had position, but it hit him and flipped up in the air and ended up in the back of the net.

Ovechkin had a great goal driving to the net and Knuble had a great goal posting up on the power-play, there were a lot of great chances as well, Semin diving to the net, Green juking to the net and so on. But when you look at it as a whole, the Caps doomed themselves with the ridiculous amount of penalties incurred. They had two penalties in EACH of the first two games, they doubled their total from the first two games, simply in this game for a total of 8 penalties. They need to play disciplined hockey if they want to win. Sure, they can take 2 or 3 penalties a game, but they can't take 8. Some of the them were ticky-tack, but regardless, the Caps need to fix their play if they want to win Game 4.

Welcome to GTFOS! Washington/Baltimore!

2011-04-16T18:06:00.000-04:00

So in here, my fellow writers and I hope to cover the sports in the Washington/Baltimore metropolitan area. The plan here is to cover the following teams:

Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Orioles
Washington Redskins
Washington Capitals
Washington Nationals
Washington Wizards
DC United

I myself follow most the teams listed above and I will be having more writers join me as this page picks up. I can tell you now that I'm very excited about this page as no longer will I have to waste space on the main page writing about my thoughts for the local teams and can actually use that page for what it was intended for, discussing sports as a whole and in terms of fantasy and not simply focusing on one specific team as I have a tendency to do with the local teams (namely, the Orioles, Redskins, and Caps for me). While traffic on my main page has picked up recently, which has made me very happy, I'd also like to focus on efforts to draw in more colleagues that would like an outlet to post their knowledge and thoughts regarding sports in any manner. It will also give me a chance to ease up on the posting I have done since the beginning of April which was when I finally decided that I want to actually put in effort into this blog and make something of it, instead of it just being my thoughts and sometimes my colleagues, I want to break it up so that there is the actual GTFOS! and also the GTFOS! that focuses on the teams in the area so that readers may actually be able to choose what they want to read and what they don't want to read... and with that I open GTFOS! Washington/Baltimore!