Nats Enquirer

Video: Stephen Strasburg enjoys Wale, Lil Wayne, Garth Brooks

2013-05-21T13:35:16-04:00

So Stephen Strasburg will need to be almost perfect to help save Davey's sinking ship tonight. Up above, video of Strasburg doing an interview with Dr. Dre's Beats TV during the Nats stop in LA, in which he discusses how his grandmother taught him to play baseball, and reveals what's on his iPod:

"I'm extremely eclectic. I got a little bit of everything. I got some Wale, Lil Wayne, Slipknot, Incubus, Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean."

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Bryce Harper returns to lineup: "If I bang it up or something it's right back to square one."

2013-05-20T22:07:48-04:00

So Bryce returns to the Nationals lineup tonight, batting third: there he is above taking BP as seen on MASN tonight. And here's Harper talking about how sliding could be a problem tonight on MASN's Nats Xtra pregame show:

"It was more of just running on it. Sliding. things like that. I think the slide's probably gonna hurt the worst. If I bang it up or something it's right back to square one. So hopefully I don't do that."

Please don't slide.

Meanwhile, Jayson Werth could miss another two weeks. That hammy is strained.

(Screencap via MASN/TV)

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Ryan Mattheus' choice of Spring Training t-shirt for postgame interview was perfect

2013-05-19T20:37:22-04:00

Repeat after me: It's only Spring Training. Oh, wait...

Padres 13, Nationals 4: Spring Training called. It wants its March-split-squad lineup back. Bryce Harper's status up in the air for tomorrow. Jayson Werth back by the All Star Break, maybe?

Dan Haren (5 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 HR, 1 WP) stunk out the joint; Ryan Mattheus (1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB) turns 7-4 game into a dumpster fire. Much respect to Mattheus for standing up and facing the music after the game (video here, via MASN).

Henry Rodriguez pitches for the first time in 8 days, his inning included a SMH-Rod wild pitch, a walk, an error, and three stolen bases. He got out of it without giving up a run!?

Silver lining: Danny Espinosa goes 0-4 but only strikes out once. Good thing he's trying to play through that little shoulder thing. Season ending surgery in 5...4...3...

Cheer up, Nats fans: Zach Duke starting tomorrow. He'll probably pitch the first no-no in Nats history or something...

(Screencap of dejected Ryan Mattheus via MASN/TV)

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Jordan Zimmermann: “I just made two mistakes."

2013-05-19T10:31:06-04:00

"He pitched an unbelievable game and swung the bat better than most of the guys in the lineup. It’s a waste we couldn’t pull this one out. That’s a tough loss."
(Davey Johnson on Jordan Zimmermann, 5/19/2013)

"I just made two mistakes."
(Jordan Zimmermann, via Washington Times, 5/19/2013)

Padres 2, Nationals 1: Wasted effort. 85-pitch complete game loss for Jordan Zimmermann. Unfortunately, he had to be perfect, but a HR, throwing error, too much to overcome.

Steve Lombardozzi caught stealing twice. Davey, why'd you send him in the 9th with no outs and Zim at the plate with a 3-2 count?

"I got my best up there, 3-2 count. I’m expecting us to put it in play. I’d do it every time."
(Davey Johnson on decision to send Lombo with Zim at the plate, 3-2 count, 5/19/2013)

The sun rises, the sun sets, and Danny Espinosa goes 0-3 with 2 strikeouts.

(Screencap of dejected J-Zimm via MASN/TV)

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Bryce Harper likely to sit the rest of the weekend with a bruised left knee

2013-05-18T19:59:10-04:00

And so, Bryce Harper is out of the Nationals lineup for Saturday night's game due to a bruised left knee. Sounds like he'll miss the rest of the weekend in San Diego:

Bryce Harper will miss today and likely tomorrow with a bruised left knee. He had an MRI on his abdomen yesterday, which came back clean.
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) May 18, 2013

Bryce Harper said his left knee is barking a little, still sore from wall collision. Thinking a day or two. Wants to be ready for SF
— Amanda Comak (@acomak) May 18, 2013

Meanwhile, Jayson Werth is off to Chicago to see yet another doctor about his hammy...

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#Chaditude

2013-05-18T09:55:45-04:00

"(I was) fired up. As a collective group we (on the bench) haven’t really come in and won a ballgame for us yet… But that’s something that can kind of get us going."
(Chad Tracy, via Washington Times, 5/18/2013)

Nationals 6, Padres 5: Return of the Good Sqaud! Chad Tracy pinch-hit HR in the 10th inning bails out Nats after Soriano blows save in the 9th. Drew Storen survives 10th for first save since 2012.

LaRoche, Zimmerman, LaRoche, and Tracy go deep (video of all four homers here)

Death, taxes, and a boatload of stikeouts for Danny Espinosa (0-4, 3K).

Death, taxes, and another throwing error for Ryan Zimmerman. Here's Zim on the tough scoring decision for his 9th inning "error":

"I would never complain about a play, but that’s not an error. I don’t know if they have Brooks Robinson as a scorekeeper here or what. . . . I’m almost near second base and throwing across against not a slow guy. If that’s on the base, it’s bang-bang. We’re not supposed to complain about that stuff, but that one’s a little ridiculous. I guess if anyone deserves to get errors put on them right now, it’s me. But that’s over the top." (Ryan Zimmerman, via Washington Post, 5/18/2013)

(Screencap via MLB.com/MASN video)

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Video: Bryce Harper hits 432 foot HR into a hedge at Petco Park

2013-05-17T12:22:14-04:00

Well, Bryce Harper destroyed a baseball Thursday night at Petco Park. Hit it into the hedges in deep center -- 432 feet according to Hittracker. Video above.

(Screencap via MLB.com/MASN video)

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Bryce Harper and Johnny Manziel hug it out at Petco Park

2013-05-17T07:55:37-04:00

So Johnny Football threw out the first pitch before last night's Nats-Padres game at Petco Park, posed for a picture with fellow Texas A&M Aggie Davey Johnson, and hit a home run during BP. He also had a pregame chat with Bryce Harper, which ended with a bro-hug, of course. (Screencap via this MLB.com video)

Harper and Manziel's friendship started on Twitter, of course. via Nationals Journal:

"I clicked on his Twitter one day. It happened to say he was following me. I followed him back. He shot me a message. I shot him a message. I got his phone number, and he texted me. We text three or four months, something like that. He texted me last night, ‘I hear you’re in San Diego?’ us 20- and 21-year-olds have to stick together that are in this type of deal."
(Johnny Manziel on Bryce Harper, via Washington Post, 5/16/2013)

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Homecoming King

2013-05-17T07:28:17-04:00

"He had a different mentality tonight. He’s not letting the little things bother him. Guys hit the ball hard, had good swings off him, and it was more of ‘OK, hit this one.’ It wasn’t ‘Oh no, what do I do now?’ It was that bulldog mentality, that horse mentality. I’m going to come right at you. Here it is, hit it."
(Kurt Suzuki on Stephen Strasburg, via Washington Times, 5/17/2013)

Nationals 6, Padres 2: Stephen Strasburg registers longest start of his career in his first ever start as a pro in his home town (8.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 117 pitches, 68 strikes). More importantly, Stras didn't melt down this time after another Ryan Zimmerman throwing error loaded the bases in the fifth.

Adam LaRoche extends hitting streak to 13 games with a home run (video here).Ryan Zimmerman keeps hitting (video here). Banged-up Bryce Harper destroyed a baseball (video here).

Update: Danny Espinosa didn't play, still managed to strike out twice somehow.

Meanwhile: Ross Detwiler's MRI shows "irregularity". Not good; Jayson Werth's hammy apparently still has a stomach bug.

(Screencap of Stephen Strasburg double-fisting Powerade between innings via MASN/TV)

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Update: Bryce Harper's hair is on fire tonight

2013-05-16T22:32:46-04:00

And so, despite pain in his abdomen after crashing chin-first into that pesky wall at Dodger Stadium, Bryce Harper is back in the Nationals lineup Thursday and back to "playing like his hair is on fire". In his first AB, he grounded into what looked to be a double play, and attempted to take second with his helmet flying off on a bad throw to first. He was gunned down, but not for lack of hustle. His hair is on fire:

(Screencaps via MASN/TV)

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