Clinch It Sooner or Later: Nationals Report Weeks 6-8

Clinch It Sooner or Later: Nationals Report Weeks 6-8: I see a pattern in my writing about the 2014 Washington Nationals baseball team, which I had an idea about reporting on once a week this se...

Nationals Report Weeks 6-8

I see a pattern in my writing about the 2014 Washington Nationals baseball team, which I had an idea about reporting on once a week this season, like 28 weeks or so:

It seems to be going further and further apart, meaning instead of once a week, the last post covered weeks 4 and 5 combined, while the first three were one per week.

Either I have become too busy, or a little bummed and apathetic, or simply uninspired and lazy.

But enough about me! The Nats are due this update for the last three weeks; I will dedicate a little extra ink to analyze the team and players, which still looks up as of the end of May. Eight weeks in the books?

The Braves did begin to lose the last few weeks, which gives the rest of the National League East hope. Despite poor play and injuries, the Nationals are still in it. And of course at the end of May, there is a ton of the season to play. Standings now are just an indicator of how things will turn out months from now.

Current standings?

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Atlanta	28	24	.538	-	18-12	10-12	175	170	+5	Lost 3	5-5	40.7
Miami	28	25	.528	.5	20-8	8-17	246	222	+24	Won 2	6-4	49.0
Washington	25	27	.481	3	14-14	11-13	203	202	+1	Lost 2	3-7	28.3
NY Mets	24	28	.462	4	13-17	11-11	204	212	-8	Won 2	4-6	20.8
Philadelphia	23	27	.460	4	11-15	12-12	200	228	-28	Won 1	5-5	10.8

The Marlins have played well the last few weeks; even the Mets and Phils are still within striking distance. But the Nats have faltered, for sure.

Some sure or easily winnable games have been blown. Like last night.

Against the surging Miami Marlins, the starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman fell behind 4-0, then was off the hook when the Nats scored 4 runs in two innings. Then in the 8th, the Nationals had the bases loaded and nobody out with the good batters of Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Adam La Roche up. 

Nada. Zippo. Neecheevo. (Not very good, those not up on Crimean language, for criminy's sake.)

And then they give up 4 runs in the 10th inning and game over, 8-5.

Relief pitching, as well as lack of opportunistic scoring on offense, has bitten the Nats again.

Yet, despite those current weaknesses, other than a bland scoring offense (the Nats had a three game streak this last week scoring one run each outing), perhaps the biggest poor trend is that the good/highly paid and rated Nat starting pitchers seem to give up their runs first. And to the team's credit, many times they overcome those early deficits and make it a game, with many come back victories, but a few others that come up short like the aforementioned game last night (May 28 2014, last of three games on Thursday, although the Wednesday night match up was postponed due to thunderstorms).

So the trends need to change for the Nats to be who they were overwhelmingly predicted to be both last year and this year, after a very promising 2012.

Positive recent developments:

Catcher and slugger Wilson Ramos has been back for over two weeks after getting hurt and placed on the DL (disabled list) since the very first week of April. His numbers should get better as he gets better rhythm and acclimatization. He hit a game tying homer last night (his first of the year, period), and all aspects of his healthy game make the Nationals better.

Adam La Roche is now off the more recent DL. He hit a two run homer his first day back after that leg injury related hiatus, but those were the only runs the Nats could muster. But he has been the most productive hitter for the Nationals, when healthy, all season.

Doug Fister is finally off the DL, and as a new acquisition starting pitcher I like his hustle and spunk. His first start in Oakland was a disaster, but he has shown the good stuff since.

Third baseman and sometime all-star Ryan Zimmerman is taking batting practice and is almost off the DL. Meanwhile, speaking of the DL, Bryce Harper will be there till sometime in July. Not good, but some guys are trying to take up the slack, like Nate McClouth, who seems to be finding his game lately (4 for 4 last night with a walk).

Troubling trends: 

Anthony Rendon as second baseman (but temporarily at 3rd in lieu of Zimmerman) has a great bat, but has not been hitting as well the last few weeks as when he started. I still have a lot of hope in his batting, his plate control, getting on base and being productive. His defense is good.

Ian Desmond has flashes of greatness, but not consistent as he should be.

Jayson Werth is not hitting as well as last year, which is hard to do. Still time for him to gel.

Danny Espinosa gets playing time with Rendon at third, but I am concerned with his plate discipline. Soon he will get less playing time.

Stephen Strasburg pitches well, but gets dumb losses, either due to early runs given up or lack of offense. Last year's (2013) poor overall output is looking a bit like this year. Frustrating.

Gio Gonzalez is not pitching as well as past years, but we still love his spirit.

More concerns:

Tanner Roark gets many good starts, but is still new to the majors. But I think he is a keeper and should do well with more productive batting behind him.

Pitcher Jordan Zimmerman is consistent and should be a double digit winner.

New pitching starter Blake Treinen is still a question mark. We shall see.

The relievers have their issues; Tyler Clippard has slipped many times, the final closer Raphael Soriano is overall solid, but a few middle releavers like Aaron Berrett and a couple others need to do better.

Easier said than done.

Let's see how the Nats do at home this weekend with the visiting Texas Rangers.

Time to use some home advantage, and their healthier players, and some home team advantage, as heretofore they are only .500 at 14-14.

That is the update up to week 8 or so.

Hope to be back sooner for week 9. And have more wins.

Go Nats.

Blog it. EMC.

The Russian Case

The Russian Case of Why We (the Russians) are the Best Hope for the World

[2022, May update: Russia is going hard on its southern neighbor.

CLARIFICATION: A dialectic is what happens when bisecting, or dividing, the THESIS and the ANTITHESIS. The middle choice, or path, is what Russian political scientists and artists from a hundred years ago would argue was the true way to arrive at truth, artistic form... If you saw this in a visual diagram, you would see two arrows point opposite of each other, but the dialectic arrow would be a compromise of the two. A third way.]

The rest of the world does not understand how right we are.

That is why "might makes right", in the case of the Commonwealth of Russia. Russia is mighty, and we are the true hope of right progress in the world. We have had some down times in the last couple of decades, but that is because our own people were being pulled between false theses...

Let me explain. Allow me to clarify. Permit me to expound, and please entertain what I say to you:

Russia is the reason humanity has hope. Because the answers are found in the middle.

Much of the world does not understand the concept of dialectic, or dialectic materialism, which is what Russia has been developing with mixed results since the days of Dostoevsky and Darwin. Or even before. The Age of Enlightenment had its bright stars, many Russians among them.

And Russia is the answer. Many Soviets (Russians and other proletariat comrades across our planet, from Chile to Laos) believed that the answer lied in Communism. We have seen this was not exactly true. But it was a necessary experiment to continue to arrive at, to evolve at where we need to be. The Chinese, and other cultures recognized that. World wide intellectuals and others with clear thinking still do. They have always recognized the power and virtue of eliminating the absolute and corrupting wealth strangle hold by the elite bourgeoisie. This mega-rich greed chokes and stifles all of us, the 99 percent who struggles to work and live. The workers need a chance, because we are all fed by the same sources. We all eat and breathe the same materials. One human (a super star celebrity or business magnate) does not deserve any more health care or favor than the lowest street urchin, or disabled senior, or physically or mentally deficient soul. We are all equal, the West proclaims, no? But they do not follow their own beliefs! The West is full of hypocrisy, as is the East...A sensible middle way synthesis is what is necessary, is empirically and logically sound.

In the Orient, nor does the antithesis have the correct way, which in the 21st century has been manifest as extreme Islam, or Wahabbism. It is the antithesis of capitalism and Westernism, because based on its fundamentalist interpretation of the Quran and hadith of the prophet Mohammad, there should be no financial interest of money and capital,  nor should there be principles of modern capitalism as we know it, nor should there be a democracy of the people, which is considered the ultimate good of the Western World. Or even education for the girls and women who make up half of our population!

The main thesis of the planet Earth in the last decades has been authored by the West, embodied in the United States of America with its traditional allies: Great Britain, France, Netherlands, the Scandinavian peoples and more begrudgingly Germany and Spain. And the other tag-alongs, of course: Canada, Australia, like much of Latin America and now Japan, and others. Even India seems to support this "capitalist thesis".

The Western thesis is what has forged much of the current capitalist model of the world, no argument.

And the current fighting and "Arab Spring" of the Middle East, plus the conflict of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the unrest across Muslim Africa is very much dealing with the tension between these two poles: Western "democratic" capitalism and Eastern Muslim wahabbism, which counters or opposes the basis of the former.

As we Russians know since Marx and Engels, and probably more importantly Vladimir Lenin, that the middle line, or dialectic, between the two theses that are the antipoles of the modern world, is the most proper way to achieve maximum positive results.

Russia understands this. In the 1800s, geniuses following in the human evolutionary chain like George Hegel, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Charles Darwin learned that the best will rise to the fore, the strongest survive. But unlike fascists such as Adolph Hitler or Francisco Franco, or misguided Socialists like Mao Zedong or Ho Chi Minh, or the delusional Western leaders like Winston Churchill or Dwight Eisenhower, or their more recent counterparts such as George Bush or Tony Blair, Russian leaders like Mr. Putin understand human history and interpret the results scientifically, rationally, and properly.

If Afghanistan had not been caught in the cross-hairs between the Western pro-U.S. mujahadeen and the Wahabbi extremists such as the late Osama Bin Laden (supported by both, ironically), this country would be a wonderfully productively place today, while currently in 2014 it is still a backwater and threat to all, internally and externally. As would all the former Soviet Socialist Republics in the USSR, if the Russians still had more influence in the Muslim "Stans".

But between greedy money grubbers and Muslim jihadi militants, the world is continually confused by the binary of false messages. East or West. Neither is best.

Only by recognizing and accepting the middle path, the Russian dialectic, as some Buddhists or Daosists claim the middle in word only, but by truly implementing the synthesis that is embodied in the Russian dialectic as the proper system of human advancement can the world be saved. Or at least the world will continue to improve, instead of digressing into worse misery than ever before.

And now Ukraine, in 2014, as Chechnya (Georgia, 2008) before and so many other places across the global map have fought and bled and sacrificed, confused by the ideological battle lines more than the physical and tactical ones, must figure out where Russia is the answer.

Still confused?

No worries. The truth will increasingly become evident. Why? Because we Russians are strong enough to prevail.

Blog it. Eduard S. Ruskiliya.

The Day of the Book of Mormon--Part II

The Book of Mormon had an original printing of some 5,000 copies in upstate New York back in in the 1830s. Since that time, the book has been printed and re-printed in many other languages. It is crossing the globe in its own way.

Some have claimed that they have proven it is untrue.

Others have claimed that they know it is true.

Perhaps many are undecided, or perhaps more people do not care. They see no relevance in it.

For the believers in the book, it has a special place and relevance.

The book itself does not claim, nor its believers claim that it replaces the Holy Bible as many of its detractors purport. Latter-day Saints believe it helps complete the knowledge and surety of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is as its sub-title, another Testament of Jesus Christ.

For many, figuring out whether this is true is not easy. Maybe it was not meant to be so.

In many ways, similar to other alleged holy books that have been introduced to humanity across the millenia: many believe in these books, trying to replicate their counsels and wisdom or values. And use their teachings as doctrine.

People become somewhat of a product of the beliefs of the books that they espouse. In the case of Mormons, who most undoubtedly view themselves as Christians, this encompasses the Holy Bible and other books, both ancient and more modern.

Muslims accept the Holy Bible as the Word of God, but the Koran trumps it. Jewish people use the Torah as their standard scripture, and other further texts like the Midrash add to their understanding. Buddhists, Hindus and other major and minor religions have their holy or sacred texts.

Each culture that derives their light and knowledge from their respective books have results and cultures that they produce.

As Jesus says, by their fruits ye shall know them.

Are Mormons representational of their holy books?

Is there a relationship that Latter-day Saints have with their peculiar holy texts?

I think that they do possess this special contract.

More later...

Nats Around Week 4 or 5, Writers Muse

I meant to write about the Washington Nationals about every week, but that will be nearly impossible, even after lapsing during week four or so.

2014. Still. Good times.

Tonight is Friday, the weather is good tonight in May.

Family is okay. Sweet. Working, learning, playing. Sleeping, napping. All in good time.

Writers write. Workers work. Speakers speak.

Many better writers than myself have dedicated part of their minds' eyes and ink to the "American" game of baseball.

As I was preparing to go abroad for a couple of years, there was a poet laureate who was named Major League Baseball Comissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti.

He loved the game. I think Hemingway did, too.

I guess I love it. I watch the Nationals, like I have something invested.

The last two weeks have been all right for them in a couple of respects.

The Atlanta Braves tanked a few games. Important. Their offense is not so good.

The Nats have won some games, not beating the world by any means, but holding their own, not getting swept, winning winnable matches...

And tonight? They go on a West Coast trip, and enter the new guy: Doug Fister. Should be another ace, a new acquisition this season.

Harper is out with thumb recuperation till July, Ryan Zimmerman is absent at third, but ample replacements are doing the job.

Anthony Rendon is doing fabulous, LaRouche is a stud with timely hits and ribbies, Werth is good as usual...

The surprising Miami Marlins are surging, but I like the Nats while some real talent is hurt.

And now Mister Fister.

Mister Fister. Sounds great.

We shall see tonight in Oaktown.

GO NATS.
2014 might be the year.

Blog it. EMC.

The Day of the Book of Mormon---Part 1

I originally began writing this post the day after Sunday, April 27, 2014, because that was the Sabbath that my family gave a Book of Mormon to a neighbor that we have known over 4 years. And that brought on a few thoughts that I wanted to record.

The Sabbath is the day that many or most Christians around the world celebrate and worship the Lord, Jesus Christ. A small minority of those followers are Latter-day Saints, members of a relatively new faith tradition officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This faith, a church in existence since the 1830s, claims that it is the restored organization of the of the Lord from two thousand years ago. It has a president and its leader is known as a prophet, seer and revelator in the tradition of Peter, who replaced the Savior as head of the worldwide church of original New Testament Bible times. It has a quorum of 12 apostles as the ancient Christian church started, as well as many other features claiming the proper authority to be Christ's church in the last days before His return.

Making this Christian faith perhaps most unique is the scripture used and shared to all, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

It claims to be a record of ancient people who lived before, during, and after the time of Jesus Christ, and largely takes place in the New World, now known as the Western Hemisphere, the Americas.

It is an object of scrutiny to the religious and secular world. It is an object of sacred wisdom to those who believe in it. Like the Bible, it purports to be the word of God and helps those who study it to grow closer to God, understanding His purposes more fully and knowing more of this part of humanity, the history of God's family here as well as farther away, such as the history of the Israelites and Jews of the Old and New Testaments .

Part of the controversy and dubious claim to many regarding the Book of Mormon is its origin and alleged translator, Joseph Smith. Some believe that he made it up. Others believe Joseph as like so many other historical religious figures, a gifted leader or creator of a new movement, but ultimately a liar or delusional, or perhaps deceived.

The Book of Mormon is supposed to be part of the test in order to discern the difference.

The Book of Mormon is supposed to be a book to help God's family in the days it has been revealed.

It is supposed to be a sign of the times, and a signal that Christ will soon return, according to Christian belief in the Bible, and even Muslim and Jewish belief throughout their histories.

It is supposed to be a test for us as much as we test it.

It is said that we will be judged by the books we read.

We believe this is one of them.

More later.

Blog on. EMC.