Technology... evolution

Four people have viewed this page this month with their Nintendo Wii. I find this information quite relevant.

The Nats start their annual trivial Parkway crapfest with the Orioles this weekend. This will allow the Mid-Atlantic region, via the power of MASN-HD extended coverage of Matt Stairs, likely serving as the designated hitter. Enjoy!!

Juiced Guns

Last night I caught Drew Storen's 9th inning. Very solid. What surprised me most though were the velocities the radar was throwing out. 97, 98, 97, 100! I was curious and went to Pitch f/x to consult.

Storen has been throwing rockets, but last night he topped out at 97, mostly sitting around 95. I guess we can add Turner field to the long list of juiced radar guns (see, Great American Ballpark). I like that he can reach back and find that extra juice (even though it got hit 390 feet), but Storen isn't the second coming of Billy Wagner... yet.

Gaudin and Gorzelanny...

So different, yet so much alike. Both can show you the stuff to get out of any situation with electric stuff, and both can walk the bases loaded on twelve straight pitches. Interesting that Rizzo added these two in the same offseason. The odd thing is that I have always thought both of these guys were on the cusp of becoming good, regular pitchers. Now the expectations for Tom Gorzelanny is to be better than Daniel Cabrera, and while Chad Gaudin could be this year's Clay Hensley, he could also be Brian Bruney. But at least we know they won't be putting pressure on the young middle of the infield.

Tough Way to Start the Season

In years past, the Nats' pitching has always done them in. Losing 8-5 (or 14-2, like last season's opening series against Philly) was more the rule than the exception. While watching Derek Lowe channel his inner Roy Halladay wasn't particularly encouraging, it's nice to see that Livan has yet to turn into a pumpkin.

Desmond probably will not last in the leadoff spot. Not sure who's job that should be at this point, but putting a fast runner at the top of the lineup should not be required. The moneyball A's ran Jeremy Giambi, quite possibly the slowest player in the league at the time, out of the top slot and the world continued to rotate and the A's won 100 games. Johnny Damon didn't handle the Coliseum, and Desmond still doesn't have the pitch IQ. If Ramos can get on base, slot him one. If Morse has the hot bat, let him lead off. Maybe the job is Espinosa's in the long run, but his 100 at bat resume leaves much to be desired. Hitting Werth second is a great adjustment; don't feel everything else has to be conventional.

What am I Missing Here?

Going into the off-season, I said that the Nats biggest deficiency was in center field. Nyjer Morgan imploded last year and while he wasn't a lost cause, he was far from a sure thing. Roger Bernadina lacks the defensive IQ to play mediocre center field, so the Nats chose this as their backup plan.

Ankiel is a great story and a great guy. This is his best selling point as this point of his career. He doesn't hit well enough to be a full time player, and he can't quite cover enough ground to be anything but an average CF on his better days. The K rates are too high, and the OBP slots him as a 7-8 hitter, of which the Nats have an abundance.

Bottom line- somebody must have REALLY thought Nyjer Morgan was going to be a Elijah Dukes-like nuisance in the clubhouse to abandon ship 5 days till opening day.

Inactivity

I apologize, but my new job actually forces me to, well, work during business hours instead of doing the detailed research I like to get done before writing an actual post.

As far as the Nats go, since the Werth signing, the have made several B and C level moves, basically playing a game of Gin Rummy with the bottom half of the league. None of the signings really jumps out and moves the Nats closer to .500; yet none of the moves looks to strap the franchise or leave them exposed for a tailspin to 100 losses. With such little drama and such little time to write, can you blame me for taking the month off. Plus, a couple of my favorite blog sources (FJB and Nats Farm Authority) shut their operations down.

1 month until pitchers and catchers... I'm sure things will ramp up.