Daily Archives: June 16, 2009

Washington Nationals

2009 Record: 16-45 (.262)
2009 Pythagorean Record: 23-38 (.377)

2008 Record: 59-102 (.366)
2008 Pythagorean Record: 62-99 (.385)

Manager: Manny Acta (for now)
General Manager: Mike Rizzo (acting GM)

Home Ballpark (Park Factors): Nationals Park (101/102)

Who’s Replacing Whom:

• Adam Dunn replaces Lastings Milledge (minors)
• Corey Patterson is filling in for Josh Willingham (bereavement list), who replaces Wily Mo Peña
• Nick Johnson reclaims his playing time from Aaron Boone
• Josh Bard is filling in for Jesus Flores (DL)
• Anderson Hernandez replaces Felipe Lopez
• Alberto Gonzalez replaces Emilio Bonifacio
• Jordan Zimmermann replcaes Tim Redding
• Shairon Martis replaces Odalis Perez
• Ross Detwiler replaces Shawn Hill and Collin Balester (minors)
• Craig Stammen is filling in for Scott Olsen (DL), who replaces Jason Bergmann (minors) and Matt Chico (DL)
• Joe Beimel, Ron Villone, Kip Wells, Julian Tavarez, and Mike MacDougal replace Jon Rauch, Luis Ayala, Saul Rivera (minors), Garrett Mock (minors), Steven Shell, and Charlie Manning

25-man Roster:

1B – Nick Johnson (L)
2B – Anderson Hernandez (S)
SS – Cristian Guzman (S)
3B – Ryan Zimmerman (R)
C – Josh Bard (S)
RF – Austin Kearns (R)
CF – Elijah Dukes (R)
LF – Adam Dunn (L)

Bench:

L – Willie Harris (UT)
R – Ron Belliard (IF)
R – Alberto Gonzalez (IF)
R – Wil Nieves (C)
L – Corey Patterson (OF)

Rotation:

L – John Lannan
R – Craig Stammen
R – Jordan Zimmermann
L – Ross Detwiler
R – Shairon Martis

Bullpen:

R – Joel Hanrahan
L – Joe Beimel
R – Julian Tavarez
L – Ron Villone
R – Jesus Colome
R – Kip Wells
R – Mike MacDougal

Bereavement List: OF – Josh Willingham (R)

15-day DL:

LHP – Scott Olsen (shoulder tendonitis)
RHP – Kip Wells (strained adductor)
C – Jesus Flores (fractured shoulder)
1B – Dmitri Young (back)
OF – Rogearvin Bernadina (broken ankle)

60-day DL:

LHP – Matt Chico (elbow soreness)
RHP – Terrell Young (shoulder inflammation)

Typical Lineup:

S – Cristian Guzman (SS)
L – Nick Johnson (1B)
R – Ryan Zimmerman (3B)
L – Adam Dunn (LF)
R – Elijah Dukes (CF)
R – Austin Kearns (RF)
S – Josh Bard (C)
S – Anderson Hernandez (2B)

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“Where is she from?”

That’s what people, mostly friends and family, have said to me in private after meeting my friend Shannon Plumb. It’s her accent, you just can’t place it.  They ask, wondering if she’s a put-on artist.

She’s not. But she’s also the only true bohemian I’ve ever known. Completely unaffected, out-of-her-bird, inspired. Turns out she’s from Schenectady–by way of Pluto.

I’ve known Shannon for almost twenty years. We met at college. She used to wear a trenchcoat and carry around a thin boom box, playing Prince. Guys were bewitched by her.

She painted and acted and when we left school, she modeled, and hipsters and cool people were betwitched by her. Now, she’s married with two kids. Over the past decade, she has made a name for herself in the art world with her short films.

Shannon is a true original and one of my favorite people of all time. Loves Harpo, loves Buster, and even once had a nice jump shot (or so she says).

Here’s a mess of her movies.  Check ’em out.

I watched both the SNY/PIX and YES broadcasts of the games on Friday and Sunday, flipping around to hear how each covered the game. It was amusing. Both teams are solid (Al Leiter and David Cone joined Michael Kay on YES) but both lean towards their team. The SNY/PIX guys thought a called strike three to David Wright on Sunday was a terrible call; over on YES, David Cone said it was “borderline,” but close enough.  The SNY guys chided the new Yankee Stadium, chuckling and sneering. And they killed Joba Chamberlain and Jorge Posada on Friday night. Here’s Bob Raissman, writing in the Daily News, with the skinny.

Today’s news is powered by Red Barber and Mel Allen.  We lost Allen on this date in 1996:

• Tyler Kepner wonders if the Yanks pitching hiccups are tied to who is behind the plate:

One unsettling fact for the Yankees is the difference when Jorge Posada catches. With Posada behind the plate, the Yankees’ pitchers have a 6.31 E.R.A. The combined E.R.A. with Francisco Cervelli, Jose Molina and Kevin Cash is 3.81.

Posada has caught four starts by Chien-Ming Wang, whose job status is now evaluated on a game-by-game basis. Even removing those starts, the staff’s E.R.A. with Posada is still high, at 5.47. . . .

. . . Burnett, in particular, seems to struggle with him. In Burnett’s four starts pitching to Posada, opponents have batted .330. In nine starts with the other catchers, the average is .223.

When he lost a six-run lead in Boston in April, Burnett questioned the pitch selection, though he blamed himself, not Posada. Asked Sunday about the difference in pitching to the rookie Cervelli, Burnett gave a careful but revealing answer.

“I think it’s just a matter of — I don’t know if it’s the catcher — but we threw curveballs in fastball counts, we had them looking for something and they had no idea what was coming, I don’t think,” Burnett said. “That’s huge.”

[My take: Hmm . . . come 2010, could Cervelli see 100+ games behind the plate, with Posada at DH?]

• Cervelli serves notice:

Cervelli has provided the Yankees with an unexpected spark, after he was summoned from the Minor Leagues to lend a hand as the club waited for the returns of injured catchers Jorge Posada and Jose Molina.

Posada has since reclaimed his starting role, but Molina suffered a setback while on a rehab assignment and re-injured his left quadriceps, extending Cervelli’s big league stay for the foreseeable future.

“Sometimes, for one person to shine, something has to happen to someone else,” Yankees bench coach Tony Pena said recently. “Defensively, Francisco Cervelli is as good as any other catcher. There are very few catchers who can move behind the plate the way Francisco Cervelli moves.”

The Yankees were always high on Cervelli defensively, believing that he at least would project as a big league backup catcher, capable of spelling a starter for an extended period if absolutely necessary.

But Cervelli has exceeded expectations at the plate, especially considering he was batting just .190 at Double-A Trenton when he was called up. Cervelli’s three hits on Sunday raised his batting average to .298 (17-for-57) with two doubles and six RBIs in 19 games.

[My take: I don’t think the league has a “book” on him yet, but he sure doesn’t seem over-matched at the plate to date.]

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