The Nationals played well enough to beat the Mets the last two of a three game series. Bryce Harper came up big in the last bat yesterday, and more on that in a few (he hit a two run homer in the 13th inning or so)...
Having opened the first full week of the "Dog Days" of August, the Nationals have benefited greatly from a terrible losing streak of the Braves. Yay!
And now I continue this a couple days later, after another extra-inning win, another big clutch victory but this time against the nemesis current second place Braves. The Braves have had the Nats' number the last few years as the Nationals have emerged as a powerful new team.
To put it into context, Washington started showing real talent and promise in 2011, when they almost finished .500 for the first time in a while after some long, struggling years. Then the team won a bunch of games in 2012 before precipitously falling in the last game of the division series against St. Louis, where the young recovering ace Stephen Strasburg famously was limited to 175 or so innings pitched and no action in the playoffs.
Last year, 2013, was a major disappointment most of the season when it came to wins, and even though by the end they were playing well, the Braves were the team they could never catch, a lot of "too little too late" of a season. The Atlanta Braves have played well against the Nationals this year so far and in previous seasons, so Atlanta is the barometer of where Washington wants to be.
So fortunately for the Nats the Braves went on the aforementioned calamitous West road trip, going 0-8 against the Giants, Padres and Dodgers.
The would-ace Strasburg came up very disappointing against them Friday night, allowing about 3-4 home runs and 7 runs before the Nats rallied to make it 7-6, a loss all the same.
But Tanner Roark ( a young and new yet very inspiring and tough Nats pitcher) kept them in the late rain delayed game and then Kevin Frandsen after Will Ramos did the damage with the bases loaded to get the 4-1 win.
As stated, Strasburg has struggled and now has a losing overall record. Gio Gonzalez has also scuffled in his starts and is not doing well in the wins column. Fister and Roark are the horses, while Jordan Zimmerman has done middle of the road, which is usually still very good.
The Nationals relievers have struggled a bit out of character of late; a week ago there were a couple of games where the opponents like the Phillies or Marlins, possibly Mets damaged whomever came off the bench, or the bullpen as it were. (Note: a friend who does not watch or follow much baseball said "bullpen" Friday night, related to work, and it is noteworthy that that friend has watched and enjoyed a few baseball movies, but still I found the reference amusing.)
Ryan "the Natural" Zimmerman is still hurt. The Nats acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from the Cleveland Indians, who has been a shortstop but they play him at second base. The addition is now a week in and seems to have been fruitful.
The rest of the players are doing all right: Adam LaRoche being particularly hot as of late (hitting a homer to get the one run for the team last night until extra innings), and especially Denard Span with a 13 game hitting streak and 35 game on base streak, all are contributing. Rendon, Werth, Ramos, now part timer Espinosa, Frandsen, and more recently used Hairston... And of course the relievers like Stammen, Detwiler, Blevins, Clippard, Storen, Soriano and recently acquired hard pitching journeyman Thornton. He is impressive. The commentators remarked that the Nats now have two high 90 mile per hour left hand relievers. The pitching is really good. Good enough to be champs, the conventional wisdom says.
And then there is Bryce.
Legends Live Hard.
How is that , you ask? Much of life is about a messiah, a golden child, a miraculous talent that brings all of the people with him/her to the promised land. This is the hope and curse of Bryce Harper.
Now in the 3rd season of his heralded tenure, the heir apparent wunderkind is just now starting to do the things that were expected of him since being the number one pick back in 2010, due to the terrible losses the team was accruing back then.
He is part and parcel of the "Movement", which has brought fans and critics alike to the table of aspirations that posit the Nationals will win.
Strasburg, 2009 number one pick, heralded at San Diego State. and then Bryce, a heralded teenager with power at the age of 16, noted in Sports Illustrated and other such baseball rags, is the One.
Neo. Hercules. Crazy Horse.
He is the face and hope and cause celebre of the Nationals organization. He is as follows in the August 2014 Wikipedia extract:
Having opened the first full week of the "Dog Days" of August, the Nationals have benefited greatly from a terrible losing streak of the Braves. Yay!
And now I continue this a couple days later, after another extra-inning win, another big clutch victory but this time against the nemesis current second place Braves. The Braves have had the Nats' number the last few years as the Nationals have emerged as a powerful new team.
To put it into context, Washington started showing real talent and promise in 2011, when they almost finished .500 for the first time in a while after some long, struggling years. Then the team won a bunch of games in 2012 before precipitously falling in the last game of the division series against St. Louis, where the young recovering ace Stephen Strasburg famously was limited to 175 or so innings pitched and no action in the playoffs.
Last year, 2013, was a major disappointment most of the season when it came to wins, and even though by the end they were playing well, the Braves were the team they could never catch, a lot of "too little too late" of a season. The Atlanta Braves have played well against the Nationals this year so far and in previous seasons, so Atlanta is the barometer of where Washington wants to be.
So fortunately for the Nats the Braves went on the aforementioned calamitous West road trip, going 0-8 against the Giants, Padres and Dodgers.
The would-ace Strasburg came up very disappointing against them Friday night, allowing about 3-4 home runs and 7 runs before the Nats rallied to make it 7-6, a loss all the same.
But Tanner Roark ( a young and new yet very inspiring and tough Nats pitcher) kept them in the late rain delayed game and then Kevin Frandsen after Will Ramos did the damage with the bases loaded to get the 4-1 win.
As stated, Strasburg has struggled and now has a losing overall record. Gio Gonzalez has also scuffled in his starts and is not doing well in the wins column. Fister and Roark are the horses, while Jordan Zimmerman has done middle of the road, which is usually still very good.
The Nationals relievers have struggled a bit out of character of late; a week ago there were a couple of games where the opponents like the Phillies or Marlins, possibly Mets damaged whomever came off the bench, or the bullpen as it were. (Note: a friend who does not watch or follow much baseball said "bullpen" Friday night, related to work, and it is noteworthy that that friend has watched and enjoyed a few baseball movies, but still I found the reference amusing.)
Ryan "the Natural" Zimmerman is still hurt. The Nats acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from the Cleveland Indians, who has been a shortstop but they play him at second base. The addition is now a week in and seems to have been fruitful.
The rest of the players are doing all right: Adam LaRoche being particularly hot as of late (hitting a homer to get the one run for the team last night until extra innings), and especially Denard Span with a 13 game hitting streak and 35 game on base streak, all are contributing. Rendon, Werth, Ramos, now part timer Espinosa, Frandsen, and more recently used Hairston... And of course the relievers like Stammen, Detwiler, Blevins, Clippard, Storen, Soriano and recently acquired hard pitching journeyman Thornton. He is impressive. The commentators remarked that the Nats now have two high 90 mile per hour left hand relievers. The pitching is really good. Good enough to be champs, the conventional wisdom says.
And then there is Bryce.
Legends Live Hard.
How is that , you ask? Much of life is about a messiah, a golden child, a miraculous talent that brings all of the people with him/her to the promised land. This is the hope and curse of Bryce Harper.
Now in the 3rd season of his heralded tenure, the heir apparent wunderkind is just now starting to do the things that were expected of him since being the number one pick back in 2010, due to the terrible losses the team was accruing back then.
He is part and parcel of the "Movement", which has brought fans and critics alike to the table of aspirations that posit the Nationals will win.
Strasburg, 2009 number one pick, heralded at San Diego State. and then Bryce, a heralded teenager with power at the age of 16, noted in Sports Illustrated and other such baseball rags, is the One.
Neo. Hercules. Crazy Horse.
He is the face and hope and cause celebre of the Nationals organization. He is as follows in the August 2014 Wikipedia extract:
Harper won the 2010 Golden
Spikes Award, awarded annually to the best amateur
baseball
player.[4]
Going into the 2012 season, baseball prospect-watchers, including
Baseball
America, MLB.com,
and Baseball
Prospectus routinely ranked Harper as a top-3 prospect. He
made his MLB debut with the Nationals on April 28, 2012. Harper was
selected for the 2012
All-Star Game, becoming the youngest position player to ever be
selected.[5]
He has been touted as a "five-tool
player".[6][7]
He has been chosen as the No. 2 corner outfielder in the MLB by
professional baseball analytics.[8]
Do you get the picture? Despite many injuries and as many controversies about his character and "hot-headed youthful impudence", and quite a few young player mistakes, the promise may still be fulfilled.
This year. He has shown all the promise in spurts and small portions.
He may be Mickey Mantle. But we know he isn't. And just as young or heralded as Harper has been for his short lived existence, Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, who has been every bit of crazy good (and healthy) with numbers, production and healthy presence to back it up, has been the One. Only a year older but entering the majors at the same time, Mike Trout might be better than Mantle, or Mays, or Griffey or Bonds. I am throwing around a lot of known home run hitters, but Trout is not just a swinger for the fences. The guy plain hits.
So Bryce may never overcome the shadow of Mike Trout. Time and serendipity will tell. Health? Team? Players behind and in front? Even the talent of the pitching.
Trout plays most games with the designated hitter while Harper does not. That should translate to a few points on the offensive production scale in the former's favor. We shall see.
But for now, they both are doing their jobs: helping their competitive teams win.
Long live the legends that always will be, and the thousands who never fulfill the promise.
But we try.
And baseball, a silly but grand American and increasingly international game, will always live up to the legend of what might be. No matter how late in the season, no matter how buried in the standings, a legendary act or feat may still be achieved.
Play on, Bryce.
There once was my favorite player of all time, Tim Raines Senior. Rock. He was great and deserves the Hall of Fame, but his numbers could not compare to Ricky Henderson.
But Raines was as productive as the legendary and recently passed Tony Gwynn, first ballot HOFer.
It's okay. Raines will get there. It is not too late.
Bryce should too. Decades from now. The promise, the pick and flower of Nevada.
Blog. On. EMC
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