Wilfredo Lee - AP

1 day ago: Players from the Washington Nationals and the Florida Marlins brawl during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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The Florida Marlins' 34-year-old first and third baseman Wes Helms, a veteran of 12 major league seasons, appeared on Sirius/XM's MLB Network's Inside Pitch with Casey Stern and Jim Bowden this afternoon to offer one more opinion on the bench-clearing brawl that took place during the sixth inning of last night's game between the Fish and visiting Washington Nationals. In the game, Marlins' starter Chris Volstad hit Nats' outfielder Nyjer Morgan with a fastball in the top of the fourth in retaliation (most assumed) for a crushing hit on Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes in the previous game, but when Morgan decided to steal second and third and then scored on a sac fly in the at bat which followed his own, the Marlins apparently decided that further retribution was needed. In the sixth, with first base open following a leadoff double by Justin Maxwell, Volstad once again attempted to exact revenge, throwing a 90+mph fastball behind the Nats' outfielder, setting off the brawl that's been the subject of every highlight and talk show that covers baseball since it happened. 

Asked what he thought of the play at the plate the previous night in which Morgan ran over Brett Hayes, Mr. Helms said, "It was borderline, yes if he slides he's clearly safe, but Brett Hayes was on home plate, so, in baseball etiquette if he's covering home plate [Morgan] has a right to run over him," but according to Helms, "That wasn't really what triggered this,": 

Wes Helms: "What triggered it was the incidences before, so in our opinion and our minds, for him to do the things he did before the incident with us kind of made us think he's got bad intentions in his mind, because of his reputation of the past week or two, so the [play at home with Hayes] wasn't as dirty as something that we would've went after him for." 

Before Morgan decided to steal second and third after the first HBP, the Marlins, according to Mr. Helms were, "...done with it." The Nats trailed 14-3 at the time, and, "In our minds," Helms continued, "we're finished, we let him know that we're not going to stand for it, and then all of a sudden he gets on first base and takes off for second, and the first thing that goes in my mind is, 'O.K., what's this guy doing?' and I'm standing at third base just kind of like in awe of what's going on with this guy, I don't understand it, and then he takes off for third, and that put in my mind for sure and I know it did everybody else's this guy is just trying to be a total butt about the situation. He is totally going out of his way to show us up and that's just not good baseball etiquette. It's the intergrity of the game, it's bush league, you're down by eleven runs and he did that it just totally showed us that he's not playing the game the right way." 

"It was just something that don't happen too often in the game," Mr. Helms concluded, "...but something that's part of the game, it happens, it's happened in the past, it's not going to the last time that somebody does it, it just had to be a night where it was us and the Nationals." 

SB Nation Team Pick: $99 Golf Package at Compass Pointe for only $49!

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A lot of people seemed interested in the last SB Nation Team Pick that offered a substantial discount to a local golf course, so I figured I'd post this one too, as SB Nation Team Pick and the Compass Pointe Golf Course team up to offer, "...a round of golf, a cart, bucket for the range, lunch and a sleeve of balls, a $99 value for just $49." 

The Compass Pointe Golf Course is a premier 36-hole public facility of championship caliber golf designed by award-winning architect Lindsay Ervin which is located in Pasadena, Maryland, between Baltimore and Annapolis. The 36-holes - known as the "four nines" - offer a wide range of both terrain and challenges for all golfers, whether you're just starting out or are a scratch player.

• To take advantage of the offer, CLICK HERE. You have 5 days 6 hrs and 14 minutes as of 5:45 pm EST on September 2, 2010 to do so.

Perhaps Yunesky Maya could hear the Nats cries for help all the way from South Florida? Maya made another large step towards a callup and September rotation spot. After celebrating his 29th birthday Saturday, the Cuban righthander pitched five scoreless innings over Rochester before yielding a run in the sixth. Maya's line: (W, 1-1) 5.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K. Jason Botts' fifth inning grandslam provided all of the necessary offense in a 7-2 Chiefs win over Rochester.

I'm liking this Guzman for Roark and Tatusko trade more and more each day. Tanner Roark provided another shot in the arm for the Harrisburg rotation Wednesday night, yielding only one run in 6.1 innings. Shortstop Josh Johnson was the offensive star. He had two doubles and a walk on the night.  After his leadoff double in the 9th, he scored the winning run on an Edgardo Baez seeing eye single in a Harrisburg 2-1 win over New Hampshire. Harrisburg retains a 1/2 game lead over Bowie with the win.

Marcos Frias had one of his better starts of the year in a tough season. He allowed just one unearned run in a 4-2 Potomac win over the Salem Red Sox. Sean Rooney's two run homer in the fourth inning was the decisive blow for the P-Nats. Potomac's victory keeps them 1.5 games in front of Wilmington for the division lead.

Hagerstown won 9-1 in a laugher over the Lexington Legends. Big story in this one was the debut of 2010 second round pick Sammy Solis. Solis started the game and pitched two shutout innings, striking out one batter. Paul Applebee (W, 6-5) pitched the remaining seven innings for the win. JP Ramirez led the hit parade with two runs scored and two RBI.

Links and key performances after the jump:

• Brian at Natsfarm.com is going out on top. Huge loss for the Natmosphere as he focuses on his teaching career. Brian's half of what got me hooked onto the minors and he'll be sorely missed. If you've ever read any of his stuff, drop by and offer a parting note.
  
• Bud Poliquin from the Syracuse Post-Standard reflects on how Syracuse's season performance rates to some of their recent campaigns. In a nutshell, more wins and more buzz than recent seasons but the manager is still far from satisfied.

AAA Syracuse:

 

• Yunesky Maya, RSP: 5.2IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K, WP; 98 pitches, 62 strikes; 9 groundouts, 3 flyouts
• Fan Fav Boomer Whiting, LF: 0-4, BB, K
• Fan Fav Michael Martinez, SS: 3-5, R, 2RBI
• Fan Fav Josh Wilkie, RRP: 1.1IP, 0ER, 0BB, 3K

AA Harrisburg:

• Tanner Roark, RRP: 6.1IP, 5H, 1ER, 3BB, 2K
• Cole Kimball, RRP: (S, 11) 1IP, 0ER, 1BB, 1K
• Stephen Lombardozzi, 2B: 1-3, BB, SB, CS
• Chris Marrero, 1B: 0-3, BB, K, fielding error (17)
• Michael Burgess, RF: 0-3, HBP
• Josh Johnson, SS: 2-3, 2R, 2 2B, BB, K

High A Potomac:

• Derek Norris, C: 0-1, BB, K (Norris was ejected in the third inning)
• Bill Rhinehart, RF: 1-3, BB, K
• Tyler Moore, 1B: 2-4, R, K
• Marcos Frias, RSP: (W, 7-5) 6IP, 1R, 0ER, 3H, 2BB, 3K

Low A Hagerstown:

• Sammy Solis, LSP: 2IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB, 1K
• Paul Applebee, LSP: (W, 6-5) 7IP, 4H, 1ER, 0BB, 5K
• Rick Hague, SS: 2-5, 2R, 2B, BB, 2K
• JP Ramirez, LF: 2-5, 2R, 2RBI, 2B
• Destin Hood, RF: 0-3, R, 2BB, K
• Eury Perez, CF: 2-3, BB, CS

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

1 day ago: Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman, center, gestures after a bench-clearing brawl during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Marlins' first baseman Gaby Sanchez, the second man into the brawl last night that started when Fish right-hander Chris Volstad threw at the Washington Nationals' Nyjer Morgan for the second time in a HBP-filled affair in Florida, made an appearance on Sirius/XM's MLB Network Radio show Power Alley with Jim Duquette and guest host (and former major league pitcher) Jeff Nelson to talk about what went down in Sun Life Stadium last night. According to the first baseman, he blinsided and clotheslined the Nats' 6'0'' 175lb outfielder because he was "just trying to protect" the Marlins' 6'8'' 230lb right-hander. "I mean it's just one of those crazy things," Sanchez says, "I'm trying to protect Chris Volstad as much as I can in that situation." 

Jim Duquette: "What's going through your mind [when Morgan charged the mound]?"

Gaby Sanchez: "I wish that I could have gotten there before [Morgan got to Volstad] so he couldn't even take a swing at Volstad, and I could've tried to get into the middle of it, but, I mean, just like you said, he's very quick and he's the only one that knew what he was going to do, so...I mean I kinda knew in the back of my head that there was a chance that he would charge if he gets hit again, but he kinda stayed for a second and then all of a sudden threw his bat and then started to run so he kinda got, I think everybody by surprise. So, in my situation I'm just trying to do whatever I can to try to protect my pitcher and get him off him."

Jeff Nelson: "I played a long time and there [are] idiots all over the league. And yeah, if you could you'd want to hit them all the time, every time at bat. And same with pitchers, it goes both ways. I look at what Nyjer did, and for one I want to ask, 'Why did Volstad throw behind him the second time?' He hit him one time, which is for what happened the night before with running over the catcher [Brett Hayes], and I looked at that play and, I don't know if you as a player, I don't know if you've ever run into a catcher, is that a situation like the last ten, fifteen feet, twenty feet, you're seeing a play and all of a sudden you have to make a split decision, 'Am I going to run this over or if I'm going to slide,' and all of a sudden maybe you do run the guy over and then you look at it that night or the day after and you're like, 'You know what, if I would've slid I would've been safe,' but I have to make a split second decision if I'm going to take this guy out or not, so I didn't understand why you guys threw at him a second time, maybe kind of explain that a little bit of your reasoning?"

Gaby Sanchez: "I mean I just took it as, we hit him the first time, I think we're up by eleven at that point in time and when he got to first he ends up stealing second and then stealing third, down by eleven. And that's the whole gist of the conversation, you know I heard, you really don't do that in baseball. I can understand if it's a four-run lead, and you know, they hit you on purpose and you go ahead and steal second and steal third, then I don't think it's anything of a big deal, but when the team's down by eleven, we're not really holding him on, we're not really doing anything and he ends up stealing second and then third, and I know a lot of the guys were upset about the whole situation, so just try to hit him again kinda thing." 

Jeff Nelson: "I can understand if it's late in a game, 7th, 8th, 9th game. If I'm a pitcher, I don't like when he's stealing cause all of a sudden I take up for my teammates and next thing I know he's stealing bags and that's a freakin' earned run and we're eleven runs up, but it's in the 4th and you've got to expect that they are going to run. If you weren't holding him on then you had to be playing close, and in that situation if you guys didn't want him to steal, and who knows what Nyjer's mindset is about, 'OK, I'm stealing this base no matter what.' But I didn't think, now if it's the other way, if they're up by eleven I can understand how you don't run, now when it's down, you're trying to do everything you can to come back that early. I don't think it's an unwritten rule about hey if you're down this much then you shouldn't be stealing, cause I mean if you guys are down and you're on the basepaths that early in the game, I mean anybody does it." 

Gaby Sanchez: "Yeah, I definitely understand both ways of it, it was just I definitely know he was stealing because he got hit. It wasn't, 'Oh, we're down by 10 or 11, I'm going to steal those to get to third, it was, 'You guys hit me on purpose so now I'm going to steal second, I'm going to steal third,' and I know that was his mindset, but I mean, it's over now, things are done, so you've just got to continue playing and you know we still have got another three games against them and I'm pretty sure that all of this is done with."  

There. Now you have both sides of the story. 

• Had enough brawl talk? Here's some other things to read to get you through the travel day before tomorrow night's game in Pittsburgh: 

• CSN Washington Holden Kushner: "Nats Worth Watching In 2011?"

Holden Kushner debates with his significant other as to whether the Nats will be competitive and exciting to watch next season: "You’ll have to depend on young guys like Jordan Zimmermann and Ross Detwiler to win 28-30 games next year like San Diego has gotten with young guys named Mat Latos and Clayton Richard. The Nationals defense has been consistently atrocious and the Padres have the best bullpen in baseball. Again, this is all possible, but definitely not probable."  

• Washington Post Nationals Journal Adam Kilgore - "Hello, Danny Espinosa. Goodbye, Scott Olsen?"

"Espinosa saw the ball skip into the outfield, a clear single. But Espinosa kept his eyes to the outfield as fielder Mike Stanton 'didn't come to the ball hard,' Espinosa said. 'The second I saw him not charging the ball hard, I made my break for second.'"

• NATIONALS NEWS NETWORK- Dave Nichols - "Random Thoughts For Off-Day Thursday."

"In non-Nyjer news, wow, was Scott Olsen bad. It's the second time since his return from the D.L. he's failed to make it out of the second inning. Overall stats since returning in seven starts: 32 IP, 1-6, 8.72 ERA, .331/.384/.574 against. Oh, and every start is another $100,000 down the drain."

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

1 day ago: Washington Nationals' Nyjer Morgan, center, is le off the field after a brawl during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010 in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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That was an interesting game last night. Nyjer Morgan has been out of control for the last week or so. I am really not sure what is up with him. I have never seen a player go from a nice likeable somewhat funny guy to a thug in such a short amount of time. Was this always there? Maybe it is just that his baseball IQ is that bad and he just doesn't get it. --Mark Zuckerman from natsinsider.com

The one interesting thing I found in Goessling's game story was that commenters told him he should have seen it coming. Seen it coming from when? We all knew the Marlins would want vengence yesterday, but Nyjer has never been like this before. In a way it is kind of sad. I don't know if something happenned off the field to set him off like this or what, but this just doesn't seem like the Nyjer we saw before. Maybe all the struggling has really gotten into his head and he just had to explode. I just don't know, but I don't think we should have seen or expected anything like this to happen. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com

There are a lot of blogs calling for Nyjer's head today. The one thing I disagree with here is saying Listach shouldn't have been involved. As a coach you have to stand up for your players. --Steven at FJB.com 

I remember when I was on the wrestling team in High School at my first meet in my first match I had no coach in my corner. Before the match began my opponent shock hands with the ref and the ref asked him about his family. I didn't have a good feeling in my mind at that moment. When the match started I was flat out dominant. I threw the guy around like a rag doll. This was going to be an easy victory, and then penalty for locking hands. My hands weren't locked, but there was no one there to defend me. After the ref called it two more times and I told him my hand weren't even touching on the last one he told me it didn't matter if they were close he would call it. I had a victory stolen from me by poor officiating, and there wasn't a coach in site to stand up for me. Nyjer may have been in the wrong, but he had twenty Marlins on top of him. Listach had to do something.   

And incase you haven't seen it here is the video of it. It has the Marlins commentators who also think Listach should have let Morgan get curb stomped by 20 Marlins. --Barry Petchesky deadspin.com

Morgan also had some other issues with a Marlins fan during Tuesday's game. --Dan Steinberg in The DC Sports Bog

 

The Nationals picked the perfect day to fire Rob Dibble. All of that news and more after the jump.

After his comments about Strasburg, and veiled threats to "irresponsible bloggers" it was just a matter of time before Dibble got let go, and yesterday turned out to be a pretty good day as it will be widly ignored due to the Morgan brawl. --J. Freedom duLac from The Washington Post

Rob Dibble finally says the right thing, but it is too little too late. --Dan Steinberg in The DC Sports Bog

Who should replace Dibs? The answer may be closer than we think, and might already be calling games. --Chris Needham at capitolpunishment.com

Does anyone really view Bernadina as a piece to be built around. I know I think of him as a below average right fielder, but if he moves to center he would be above average there. He isn't a superstar, but he is decent, and how many teams have eight superstars? You need roll players to win too. --Harper at natsbaseball.com

Maya made what is most likely his last minor league start, and Sammy Solis made his first professional start, and both of them did pretty well. --Byron Kerr masnsports.com

After Scott Olsen's terrible start last night have we seen the last of him? Also can you call someone a dirtball in a good way? A look at the future of the Nationals minus Scott Olsen and plus Danny Espinosa. --Adam Kilgore washingtonpost.com

So, telling everyone that a lot of guys have recovered from TJS and balancing it out by gently reminding people that Strasburg might never be the same is irresponsible? Two non-baseball guys that used to work in DC comment on how they think Boswell and others should be running around telling everyone the sky is falling. --Mike Prada from dc.sbnation.com

Wondering what to expect from Espinosa and Ramos and how they might be used. Rizzo and Riggleman say expect to see a lot of them. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com 

Nationals giving away free tickets. This is a good deal, but I hope it also comes with some lowering of ticket prices for those of us that already have season tickets. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com     

I am going to be enjoying some IC beer and Primanti Bros sandwhiches in the city of bridges this weekend. This will be the ninth city I have watched baseball in this year, which makes me really want to get a tenth city in. Anyone else out there going to venture up to Western Pa to remind them that Ovechkin is better than Crosby while watching some baseball? --Kristen Hudak from masnsports.com

Last week I wrote what might be the forward to the book I am going to be working on. It is still being edited and will be up in a week or so, but until I am ready to start working on the real book I have decided to write some sample chapters so i can get some early feedback and to get my mind fresh for the task. --Me at 'Til Death Do Us Part (Working Title)

General Baseball

The race between seven teams for four spots is exciting and could get even better as we get closer to October. Other things to watch include Joey Votto and Albert Pujols' race for the triple crown. --Joe Sheehan at si.com

Of course Omar Infante might have something to say about that. He already kept Ryan Zimmerman out of the all-star game why shouldn't he cost us the chance to see something cool that hasn't happenned for awhile. Jerk. --Jon Bois sbnation.com

It is really unfortunate that Zimmerman plays for a losing team. If the Nationals had happenned to win or even be closer to .500 this year his name would be right in there for the NL MVP award. Here is a breakdown of all the races for awards, with no mention of Zimmerman and his NL leading WAR. --Cliff Corcoran from si.com   

Baseball is meant to be fun and teammates are meant to pick on each other, and what better way to do it than through at bat music. --Barry Petchesky from deadspin.com

The Astros got off to a pretty bad start, but with younger and more focussed players they are hitting a late season stride. --Ken Rosenthal foxsports.com

Certain cities might be in a pennant race, but you wouldn't know that from looking at attendance. --Ken Davidoff from newsday.com

By now i am sure you have heard about Chapman and his 104 MPH fastball. The question now is does he end up like David Price or Jonathan Papelbon, and does he really have value as a reliever. --Jack Moore at fangraphs.com

Here is how I viewthe debate on the value of a closer. It is like water. When you are drowning it is extremely overrated, but if you are walking in the desert it is extremely underrated. Look no further than last year compared to this year for the Nationals. Last year the Nationals couldn't do enough to get a closer, and this year the Nationals had enough guys that could be closers that they could afford to trade away Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos. --Joe Posnanski from si.com

Enjoy your off-day folks and I will be back tomorrow to bring you more on the evolution of the Nationals.     

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

1 day ago: Washington Nationals' Nyjer Morgan, center, is led off the field after a brawl during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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In light of the bench clearing brawl that followed Florida Marlins' starter Chris Volstad's second purpose pitch to Nats' center fielder Nyjer Morgan last night, a lot of discussion has focused on whether or not Morgan's decision to quickly steal second and then third in the next at bat after the beaning had reopened the situation for further retaliation after Morgan had barreled Florida's catcher Brett Hayes over the previous night resulting in what was later diagnosed as a separated shoulder. On the MLB Network's MLB Tonight highlight show, former major leaguer Harold Reynolds said, "I know they're losing, but there are protocols within the game, so once he did [steal the bases] then it's open war again, he brought that back on himself and that's why I think this thing continued to escalate." Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman, whose comments Mr. Reynolds referenced before expressing the opinion quoted above, didn't have any problem with Morgan's decision to take out the catcher in game two, or steal the two bases after he was hit in retaliation. When asked on the MASN post game broadcast if Morgan stealing the two bases was what reignited things, Mr. Riggleman had the following response: 

Jim Riggleman: "No, I think they were going hit him again anyway, and I'm glad Nyjer stole those bases to tell you the truth. They hit him, he went to first base, he took his medicine. I don't know that yesterday's play was right or wrong, but we were going to let it go. Nyjer went to first base, but if they hit you and you feel like you didn't do anything wrong, which that's the way Nyjer felt about it, he took those bases, that's his business. We'll decide when we run, we don't let anyone else decided when we run. So whatever their reason was for throwing at Nyjer again, I've got no problems with what took place after that.

Q: Was it professional to steal the bases after the HBP?

Jim Riggleman: "If [Morgan] felt that he had done something wrong than I would have put the hold on him, so I didn't put the hold on, he chose to run, I didn't know he was going to run, but I didn't care that he ran, because I know Nyjer felt that he didn't have a place to slide [the previous night], that's a decision he made. But right or wrong, they hit him and for him to steal the bases, I don't have a problem with it..."

It's a matter of Morgan's decision making in my mind, however. Morgan decided to run the Cardinals' catcher Bryan Anderson the other night on a play at the plate when Anderson wasn't standing over the plate as the Marlins' backstop had. Morgan's choice to hit the catcher instead of bothering to touch the plate was a bad one. It was a cheap shot and it also cost the Nationals a run as he came into contact with his teammates before going back to touch the dish and was called out. In the play at the plate against Florida, catcher Brett Hayes made a bad decision to straddle the plate and force Morgan to make a decision as he rounded third, and the choice to take out the catcher as opposed to sliding, and try to knock the ball free, was questionable in terms of his chances for success, but not outside the lines.

The decision Morgan made to steal two bases after he was hit, even with the Nats down eleven runs at the time, was pretty clearly an attempt to respond to the HBP. Can you honestly argue that Morgan's decision to steal the bases was solely about trying to get the Nats within 10 runs and cut down on the lead? Do you believe that? I think Morgan's decision to respond negatively to his manager's comments in the press recently was a poor one. I think his decision to run the Cardinals' catcher was a poor one. Should he have stolen the bases? Harold Reynolds doesn't think so, Rayn Zimmerman along with some of Morgan's teammates questioned the decision, but Morgan decided what he thought was the correct response. If he's given the opportunity to make his own choices and makes poor choices each time, isn't it about time you took the power to make those decisions out of his hands? Something tells me MLB is going to make the decision Jim Riggleman says he wasn't willing to, and "put the hold on him." Discuss...

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

1 day ago: Players from the Washington Nationals and the Florida Marlins brawl during the sixth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Browse more photos »

Tonight's Top 5: 

5. The Big Nothing: Half of the DC fanbase seemed convinced that Nyjer Morgan would get hit for what he did to Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes last night in another controversial play at the plate involving the Nats' increasingly volatile center fielder. Morgan was back at the top of the order after having been dropped to eighth by Skipper Jim Riggleman in the last few games. Morgan's there to be hit if the Fish chose to do so, but they don't in his first at bat of the night. Instead, Chris Volstad strikes Morgan out, lowering his AVG a little bit  to .257 on the season rather than putting him on base. 

4. 1.2 IP: In an August 11th start against Florida in Washington, D.C., the former Marlins' starter Scott Olsen got hammered by the team that drafted him with the 172nd pick in the 6th Round of the '02 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Olsen wouldn't get out of the second that night, surrendering five hits and 4 runs in the first and a solo HR and RBI single in the second before he's lifted for Miguel Batista after just 1.2 IP in which he surrenders 8 hits, 2 walks and 7 ER, the final run scoring on an RBI single after Olsen's exited. Tonight in Florida, it's the first time Olsen's faced the Fish since then, and it happens again. The 26-year-old left-hander gives up a walk, two singles and three doubles for 5 runs total on 5 hits in the first and then gives up a one-out double, walk and base-loading single before an RBI single Marlins' first baseman Gaby Sanchez, groundout by Donnie Murphy and two-out, two-run hit by Wes Helms chase Olsen from the game after just 1.2 IP in which he surrenders 8 hits, 8 ER and 2 BB. Make that 9 ER as Mike Stanton takes Olsen's replacement Craig Stammen deep to drive in the last of Olsen's 9 runs against...

• Chaos After The JUMP...

3. REVENGE!!: Top of the fourth, 14-3 Marlins in a blowout. After a called strike three on the opposing pitcher, Chris Volstad hits Nats' center fielder Nyjer Morgan in the numbers. Morgan's response? He steals second with Ian Desmond up in the next AB, sliding in headfirst and hard. Then in the same at bat, Morgan steals third. This is insane. Ian Desmond finally pops out to short center. Marlins' second baseman Donnie Murphy goes back for it, makes the grab and lands hard on his wrist. That didn't look good. Murphy leaves the field holding his wrist up. (Later diagnosed as a dislocated right wrist). That's two Marlins in two days who probably had their seasons ended on plays involving Morgan. The Fish don't like it. And because he didn't just take it but stole two bases and scored after getting hit, it probably isn't over... 

2. The BRAWL: As predicted earlier, It's not over...Justin Maxwell doubles down the third base line to start the Nats' sixth and that leaves first base open for Nyjer Morgan. Volstad throws at him again, behind him. And it's on. Nyjer Morgan charges the mound and throws a left cross at Volstad's head. First baseman Gaby Sanchez clotheslines Morgan, knocking him off his feet. Volstad pounces on Morgan as the Marlins pile on the Nats' outfielder. Nats' third base coach Pat Listach jumps into the mix. What is he thinking? And the benches clear!!! A full-out brawl on the field. It's madness. Nyjer Morgan's getting pummeled. Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman and Marlins' Skipper Edwin Rodriguez separate their players and then almost come to blows. Morgan's pulled out of the scrum, and he starts in on the fans, gesturing toward the furious crowd and pounding his chest, profanities are flying, Morgan's lost it. The Nats' center fielder has to be held down and guided off the field by the Nats' bullpen catcher. Morgan's done. He's officially lost it. Riggleman and Rodriguez are still jawing. Looks like no one got hurt but there are going to be a lot of ejections, fines and suspensions.....(ed. note - "Top of the seventh, two down. Gaby Sanchez is called to account for his clothesline on Morgan. Doug Slaten hits him. Slaten's gone. Jim Riggleman's gone. This is going to cause some bad, bad blood between these two teams. 16-10 in the seventh, and that's how it ends...")

1. Danny Espinosa Debuts: Danny Espinosa, the Nats' '08 3rd Round pick out of Long Beach State University takes over at second in the bottom of the fifth with the Washington Nationals down 15-5. Adam Dunn's out of the game, Adam Kennedy to first, and Ian Desmond and Espinosa get their first chance to show Nats fans their middle infield of the future. Espinosa's first at bat comes with one out and Ian Desmond on second in the sixth, after the dust has settled. Espinosa sends a chopper to second on a 1-1 fastball from Marlins' right-hander Burke Badenhop and it takes a high hop over Emilio Bonifacio's head. RBI if it's not an E. It's not, and the first RBI double of Danny Espinosa's Major League career makes it 15-8 Marlins. Espinosa grounds out to second in his second MLB AB, and ends the night 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI.

• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

Num Name - Comments 1 Jorgath - 126 2 Princess Jazzy - 79 3 plebescite - 63 4 RobBobS - 60 5 HarmonK - 39 6 Nationalpastime9 - 34 7 souldrummer - 24 8 d_c_guy - 22 9 MissB - 19 10 Osley Sallent - 18

 

• Doghouse's Post Game WPA Graph: "Game 134: Madness?! THIS! IS! NAAAATSTOWWWWWNNN!!

via www.fangraphs.com

• One run not enough tonight: Mike Morse (+9.4%) hits an RBI single for the early lead (+8.5%).
• When does Maya get here? Scott Olsen (-53.8%) loses control on the game quickly, giving up 9 ER in 1.2 IP with 2 BBs and 1K.
• Not helping: Craig Stammen (-7.3%) finishes nailing the coffin shut with another 6 ER in 3.1 innings of relief.
• Punches do not count in WPA totals: Nyjer Morgan (-3.8%) is 0-1 with a HBP, 2 SB, and a run scored.  He also got ejected for some reason.
• Promising: Ian Desmond (+9.2%) is 3-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

• Final Score: Marlins 16, Nats 10.

Nationals now 57-77. 

via www.fangraphs.com

• One run not enough tonight: Mike Morse (+9.4%) hits an RBI single for the early lead (+8.5%).
• When does Maya get here? Scott Olsen (-53.8%) loses control on the game quickly, giving up 9 ER in 1.2 IP with 2 BBs and 1K.
• Not helping: Craig Stammen (-7.3%) finishes nailing the coffin shut with another 6 ER in 3.1 innings of relief.
• Punches do not count in WPA totals: Nyjer Morgan (-3.8%) is 0-1 with a HBP, 2 SB, and a run scored.  He also got ejected for some reason.
• Promising: Ian Desmond (+9.2%) is 3-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored.

MLB.com Video Of Washington Nationals/Florida Marlins Brawl...

Watch Nyjer Morgan absolutely lose it and charge Florida Marlins' pitcher Chris Volstad when the starter throws at the Nats' outfielder for the second time in tonight's game. Morgan's charges the mound. Benches clear. Ugly stuff...

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

1 day ago: Washington Nationals' Nyjer Morgan, center, is led off the field after a brawl during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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REVENGE!!: Top of the fourth, 14-3 Marlins in a blowout. After a called strike three on the opposing pitcher, Chris Volstad hits Nats' center fielder Nyjer Morgan in the numbers. Morgan's response? He steals second with Ian Desmond up in the next AB, taking out the Marlins' infielder with a hard slide. Then in the same at bat, Morgan steals third. This is insane. Ian Desmond finally pops out to short center. Marlins' second baseman Donnie Murphy goes back for it, makes the grab and lands on his wrist. That didn't look good. Murphy leaves the field holding his wrist up. That's two Marlins in two days who probably had their seasons ended on plays involving Morgan. And because he didn't just take it but had to steal two bases and score after getting hit, it probably isn't over.... 

It's not...Justin Maxwell doubles down the third base line to start the Nats' sixth and that leaves first base open for Nyjer Morgan. Volstad throws at him again. And it's on. Nyjer Morgan charges the mound and throws a left cross at Volstad's head. First baseman Gaby Sanchez clotheslines Morgan, knocking him off his feet. Volstad pounces. Nats' third base coach Pat Listach jumps into the mix. What is he thinking? And the benches clear!!! A full-out brawl on the field. It's madness. Nyjer Morgan's getting pummeled. Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman and Marlins' Skipper Edwin Rodriguez separate their players and then almost come to blows. Morgan starts in on the fans, gesturing toward the furious crowd and pounding his chest, profanities are flying, Morgan's lost it. The Nats' center fielder has to be held down and guided off the field by the Nats' bullpen coach. Morgan's done. He's officially lost it. Riggleman and Rodriguez are still jawing. Looks like no one got hurt but there are going to be a lot of ejections, fines and suspensions.....

J Pat Carter - AP

2 months ago: A small crowd watched baseball between the San Diego Padres and Florida Marlins Sunday, June 27, 2010 game in Miami during the fourth inning. (AP/ Photo/J Pat Carter)

View full size photo »

Next Game

Washington Nationals
@ Florida Marlins

Wednesday, Sep 1, 2010, 7:10 PM EDT
Sun Life Stadium

Scott Olsen vs Chris Volstad

--> Partly cloudy. Winds blowing in from center field at 15-20 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85.

DC Starting Lineup: 

1. NMIMH Nyjer Morgan - CF
2. Ian "Two-Spot" Desmond - SS
3. Roger "The Flying" Bernadina - LF
4. THE BIG = TWO PICKS - 1B
5. Michael "The Code" Morse - RF
6. Adam Kennedy (aka Dunnside Assistance) - 2B
7. Alberto "The General" Gonzalez - 3B
8. Wil "Blocker" Nieves - C
9. Scott Olsen - LHP

LINKS: 

Wire Taps: Washington Nationals' September Call-Ups? Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced...Bryce Harper?

posted by Patrick Reddington 14 minutes ago

0 comments | 0 recs

Washington Nationals Lose 1-0 To Florida Marlins In 10, But Jordan Zimmermann's The Story Until...

posted by Patrick Reddington about 8 hours ago

0 comments | 0 recs

Wire Taps: Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg Has John Smoltz and Tommy John To Turn To.

posted by Patrick Reddington about 19 hours ago

15 comments | 0 recs

Complete Coverage >

• For A Florida Marlins Fan's Perspective, Check Out The SB Nation's Marlins Site: FishStripes.

• Today's Starting Pitchers Are Going To Stare At You Now: 

Chris Volstad #41 / Pitcher / Florida Marlins

Height: 6-8

Weight: 230

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Sep 23, 1986

 

'09 Stats - (9-13), 29 GS, 159.0 IP, 5.21 ERA, ERA+ = 82, 5.29 FIP, 59 BB (3.34 BB/9), 107 K's (6.06 K/9), 1.43 WHIP. 

'10 Stats - (8-9), 24 GS, 138.2 IP, 4.61 ERA, ERA+ = 90, 4.41 FIP, 52 BB (3.38 BB/9), 86 K's (5.58 K/9), 1.41 WHIP.

vs DC - (4-1), 7 GS, 37.2 IP, 39 H, 24 R, 19 ER, 5 HR's, 20 BB (4.78 BB/9), 31 K's (7.41 K/9), 4.54 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, .267 BAA. 

Scott Olsen #19 / Pitcher / Washington Nationals

Height: 6-5

Weight: 215

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Jan 12, 1984

 

'09 Stats - (2-4), 11 GS, 62.2 IP, 6.03 ERA, ERA+ = 70, 5.24 FIP, 25 BB (3.59 BB/9), 42 K's (6.03 K/9), 1.72 WHIP. 

'10 Stats - (3-7), 14 GS, 73.1 IP, 4.91 ERA, ERA+ = 84, 4.39 FIP, 23 BB (2.82 BB/9), 49 K's (6.01 K/9), 1.43 WHIP. 

vs FLA - (1-2), 5 GS, 24.2 IP, 33 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB (3.28 BB/9), 19 K's (6.93 K/9), 6.93 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, .314 BAA. 

• Fish vs Olsen: 

Emilio Bonifacio - 3 for 10, .300 AVG, 2 3B, 2 RBI's. 

Wes Helms - 0 for 7, .000 AVG. 

Cameron Maybin - 1 for 8, .125 AVG. 

Logan Morrison - 2 for 2, 1.000 AVG. 

Hanley Ramirez - 4 for 13, .308 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI's. 

Gaby Sanchez - 0 for 3, .000 AVG. 

Mike Stanton - 2 for 2, 1.000 AVG, 3 RBI's. 

Dan Uggla - 2 for 13, .154 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI's. 

• Nats vs Volstad: 

Roger Bernadina - 0 for 4, .000 AVG. 

Ian Desmond - 3 for 7, .429 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI. 

Adam Dunn - 8 for 16, .500 AVG, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI's. 

Alberto Gonzalez - 1 for 4, .250 AVG, 1 2B, 2 RBI's. 

Willie Harris - 0 for 8, .000 AVG. 

Adam Kennedy - 2 for 7, .286 AVG, 1 2B. 

Justin Maxwell - 0 for 1, .000 AVG. 

Nyjer Morgan - 1 for 10, .100 AVG. 

Michael Morse - 0 for 3, .000 AVG. 

Wil Nieves - 1 for 4, .250 AVG. 

Ivan Rodriguez - 4 for 11, .364 AVG, 3 RBI's. 

Ryan Zimmerman - 11 for 18, .611 AVG, 2 2B, 2 HR's, 4 RBI's. 

• Mr. Wilbon?  Way To Go Nats!!!

• Who's Watching The Nationals?

Rob Dibble Done With Nationals, Says Team Source

According to a team spokeman, Rob Dibble will no longer broadcast Washington Nationals games. The spokeman said the decision was "permanent."

DIbble has made news twice in the last month.

First, he made inappropriate comments about two women sitting in the President's Club talking during the game. Dibble suggested they were talking about shopping, rather than the game, and that their husbands shouldn't bring them to the game next time.

Dibble issued an apology via his blog on MASN several days later, then on a broadcast the following day.

More recently, on his XM show, Dibble called into question Stephen Strasburg's fortitude after the pitcher was removed from the game with an elbow injury, only later to reveal the future of the franchise needed to have ligament replacement surgery.

The source said there was no permanent replacement as of yet, and studio co-host Ray Knight would continue as the color analyst at least through the end of the current road trip with play-by-play man Bob Carpenter.

More photos » Jeff Gross - Getty Images

about 1 month ago: ANAHEIM CA - JULY 11: U.S. Futures All-Star Danny Espinosa #8 of the Washington Nationals goes for the catch during the 2010 XM All-Star Futures Game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 11 2010 in Anaheim California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

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I thought it was a little odd that Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell stated unequivocally in his recent article entitled, "For Washington Nationals' real fans, September call-ups hold much promise", that, as he wrote, "Later this week, the Nats will call up catcher Wilson Ramos and middle infielder Danny Espinosa," since it hadn't officially been announced but only whispered about, until now...

MLB.com's Bill Ladson (@washingnats) just reported the following via his Twitter account:

"Breaking news: 2B Danny Espinosa and C Wilson Ramos were called up by the #Nats today."

(ed. note - "Further notes included RHP Collin Balester's name on the list of players called up to the Nats.")

Danny Espinosa, 23, an '08 3rd Round pick out of Long Beach State University, aka "The Shortstop Factory" as DC GM Mike Rizzo and others have referred to it, is a 6'0'', 190lb infielder out of Santa Ana, California, who was hitting .295/.349/.463 at Triple-A Syracuse after being called up from Double-A Harrisburg where he started the 2010 campaign and hit .262/.336/.462 with 16 doubles, 18 HR's and 54 RBI's in 99 games during his third season in the Nats' system. The second-highest ranked infielder behind his future middle infield partner Ian Desmond in the most recent Baseball America rankings of the top prospects in the Nats' system, Espinosa is expected to move to second, as noted in Mr. Ladson's tweet, since Desmond's already established himself as the Nats' SS. 

Wilson Ramos, acquired in the Non-Waiver deadline deal that sent former Nats' closer Matt Capps to the Minnesota Twins, was the second best prospect in their system before the trade (again according to Baseball America). Upon acquiring the 23-year-old backstop, the DC GM, Mike Rizzo, told a group of reporters that, "The odds are you'll see him in September, or maybe before depending on what happens in the major leagues." In 20 games and 79 at bats with Syracuse, Ramos hit .316/.341/.494 with 3 doubles and 3 HR's. On the year, the catcher's thrown out an even 50% of basestealers who've attempted to run on his arm. 

Collin Balester, an '04 4th Round pick from the Montreal Expos' last draft class, gets another shot in the Majors after having been called up and down several times already this season. In an earlier stint he struggled with control but showed signs of the stuff that keeps the Nats interested in what he could potentially bring to the bullpen. 

As Mr. Boswell accurately points out in the article linked above, in spite of the absence of Stephen Strasburg, the future is now for the Washington Nationals. And if Rizzo's focus this past offseason was on strengthening the Nats up the middle, the addition of the second part of the middle infield duo of the future along with the top catcher in the system and the emergence as Roger Bernadina as a reliable option in center with Nyjer Morgan confusing a lot of folks these days, it's going to be interesting to see just what the Nationals have in these young players as they get their chance to impress over the next month-plus...In Rizzo We Trust. Now time to verify some of his moves. 

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

2 days ago: Washington Nationals' Nyjer Morgan (1) collides with Florida Marlins catcher Brett Hayes at home plate as umpire Jim Wolf, left, looks on during the 10th inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010 in Miami. Morgan was out. The Marlins won 1-0 in 10 innings. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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Let's start off with something only slightly non-baseball related. Brian Oliver has been one of the best at what he does, and that is writing about the Nationals farm system. I have certainly learned a lot from him and his site about prospects in our system and prospects that we had just drafted. His contributions will certainly be missed. --Brian Oliver natsfarm.com 

The big story from last night's game should be Jordan Zimmermann, but it is going to be Nyjer Morgan, and things could get ugly today and the Marlins might be out for blood. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com

Last nights game was also a tale of two plays at the plate. One player slid and the other didn't, and the sliding player's team won. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com

In case you want a different take on the game that focusses a little bit more on Jordan Zimmermann's good night. --Dave Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com  

Yet another look at last night's game with an even more detailed look at Nyjer's exploits and his promise to slide the next time. --MissChatter from csn.com 

And let us not forget that today is September first. That means excitement and fun for us diehard Nats fans. --Thomas Boswell in The Washington Post

Strasburg's surgery is scheduled for Friday. I know we all hope that everything goes smoothly not just for the baseball career of Stephen Strasburg, but for his healthy and well being as well. --Mark Zuckerman natsinsider.com

More news and notes about the Nationals and baseball after the jump.

I am not the only person trying to get people to appreciate Ryan Zimmerman. This is a great read on a great player from a very good beat writer (sorry Adam not ready to call you great just yet). --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com 

The Nationals have had a different looking line-up for the past few days, and it has worked out pretty well. I was actually really wondering about this the other day. Since I have been doing this link post it seems at times that some of the writers are reading my mind, and answer my questions with out even knowing I have them. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com

This is another column that goes along with my line of thinking. I know other people don't agree with it, and I think it is an interesting discussion to have. The discussion is really the important thing here. Any debate I can spark with the links I post is good. Good healthy debate is one of the best parts of a community like this. The column itself is how the Nationals owe the fans a loud off-season due to the Strasburg injury. --David Aldridge from tbd.com

Here is something I don't agree with. I think the Nationals can get better next year even without Strasburg. --Brandon C at mlbdailydish.com

Maya is a player to watch this September. I sure hope so. Having him and Zimmermann might be just the tonic we all need. --Joe Lemire at si.com

Bryce Harper was left off the AFL roster for now, but here is a look at the players that are going. It isn't as exciting of a list as last season, but i am very interested to see how Burgess does. --Mike Prada dc.sbnation.com

Bryce Harper might have left school a year early not just to get into the draft earlier, but to avoid losing the ability to become a super two. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com

Adam Dunn's rumored request of 4 year $60 million seems more than reasonable. Vote here on what you actually think Dunn could get if he hits free agency. --Dave Cameron fangraphs.com

I might be a day late and a dollar short on this one, but I am doing a links column. In order for me to mention something there has to be a story on it. So a belated happy 75th birthday to Frank Robinson. --Cheryl Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

DC Media News

As far as I am concerned this thing is over. Mike Wise might have believed he had a point, but he didn't try and defend it and dig himself a deeper hole, he simply apologized and now we can all move on. This may not restore all his credibility, but it does make him look like a class act. --Dan Steinberg from The DC Sports Bog

Around the NL East

Jason Heyward is a great player, but did you know he was walked the sixth most of any player in a season when they were 19 or 20 years old. --Keith Law via Twitter 

Of course this begs the question of exactly how many position players have their been at this age and what it really means. Heyward's 67 walks are good for any rookie. It is higher than both Zimmerman and Hanley in their rookie season, and it is currently two behind Albert Pujols in his rookie year, but none of those players were 19 or 20. I looked up some players and what I found was interesting, but it also doesn't tell me much without more research. Both Robin Yount and Johnny Bench hardly ever walked in their age 19 and 20 seasons. Heyward is also ahead of both Griffey Jr. and A-Rod, but not by as wide a margin, and he is far behind Ted Williams and Mel Ott. Now I don't know if this says something about the different eras or the different positions that these players played, because Bench and Yount did not play offensive positions. It is a great jumping off point for even more meaningful baseball discussion, and it also makes me realize how little I look forward to having to watch the Nationals deal with Heyward on a yearly basis.

The other day we read about why the Braves will make the playoffs, and here is the Phillies viewpoint in typical brash and cocky Phillies attitude. There is nothing wrong with this attitude (I hope one day we can be a brash and cocky fanbase) with all their success they deserve it. --Pat Gallen at yahoosports.com

General Baseball

Did I need to mention again that Joe Posnanski is my hero. Not only do I think that he is the best baseball writer going right now, I think he might be one of the best writers period. He can critize players and viewpoints without coming across as overly harsh and outright negative. He has knowledge, tact, and can paint a picture with his words. He also has an understand of advanced stats, but at the same time has never lost the pleasure for watching baseball. Seriously his column on Mike Jacobs is one of the best reads ever. Yesterday he wrote about how much we love the homerun, and how sometimes we as fans judge a good season based entirely on the number of homers a player hits. --Joe Posnanski at joeposnanski.com 

The path to the playoffs and then The World Series won't be fun for left handed batters. People better not tell this to Chase Utley though. He has always hit lefties well in his career. He might have been on the losing team, but he may have had the best World Series of any player, and a lot of it was just killing lefty pitching. If the Phillies make it to the play-offs they can be very dangerous. --Ed Price aolfanhouse.com 

The game today will be interesting for many reasons. Olsen pitches again for the Nationals, and we will find out if he can continue to get better and stay healthy, we might see a little bit of fallout from the Nyjer situation, and the Nationals will try to win their first road series since May.     

Phoenix Municipal Stadium, home of the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. Washington Nationals' prospects will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions in 2010.

View full size photo »

• (ed. note - "This has only appeared in one place so far, (and was retweeted early in the a.m. by @NFA_Brian), so until it's confirmed it's just rumor, but the official Twitter of the Sports Radio 620 announce team (Jason Benetti and Mike Couzens) that calls Syracuse Chiefs' games, (@chiefsradio) has a Retweet on their front page that reads as follows, "RT @cespi7 Woken up at nearly 1am to hear that my brother was called up to the major leagues! SOOO PROUD @DE818." Click on those Twitter account links and draw your own conclusions.")

• SI.com's Joe Lemire has future-Nats' pitcher Yunesky Maya, the Cuban-born international free agent who was signed in late July, listed as one of his Top 10 September call-ups to look for in an article entitled, "Hard-throwing Chapman tops the 10 September call-ups to watch", writing that the 28-year-old right-hander, "...is expected to join fellow Cuban Livan Hernandez in the Nationals' rotation, though Maya won't be going very deep in games."

• While introducing the Nats' 2010 1st Round pick Bryce Harper to the baseball media in the nation's capital last week, DC GM Mike Rizzo told the press, when asked, that the plan for the 17-year-old catcher-turned-outfielder was to have Harper, "play in the Florida Instructional League with the rest of our top prospects, and that will begin in about two weeks, and from there, we're not sure. There's a possibility that he could play in the Arizona Fall League. We're going to take that step by step, and then he'll prepare for Spring Training next season."

• The Nats' prospect who will participate in the AFL, barring any changes (see: Norris, Derek):

• Adam Carr (RHP): '06 18th Round pick out of Oklahoma State, 26-years-old. 2010 Stats: Double-A Harrisburg: (6-1), 5 SV, 3.04 ERA, 2.70 FIP, 36 G, 50.1 IP, 14 BB (2.50 BB/9), 48 K's (8.58 K/9). Triple-A Syracuse: (0-1), 2.55 ERA, 13 G, 17.2 IP, 10 BB (5.06 BB/9), 15 K's (7.64 K/9). 

• Cole Kimball (RHP): '06 12th Round pick out of Centanary College (NJ), 24-years-old. 2010 Stats: Class-A Potomac: (3-0), 6 SV, 19 G, 24.2 IP, 1.82 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 8 BB (2.92 BB/9), 27 K's (9.85 K/9). Double-A Harrisburg: (4-1), 2.13 ERA, 35 G, 50.2 IP, 29 BB (5.15 BB/9), 69 K's (12.26 K/9). 

• Sammy Solis (LHP): '10 2nd Round pick out of San Diego University, 22-years-old. 2010 Stats: (9-2), 3.42 ERA, 15 G, 14 GS, 92.0 IP, 82 H, 45 R, 35 ER, 5 HR (0.5 HR/9), 29 BB (2.8 BB/9), 92 K's (9.0 K/9).

• Derek Norris (C): '07 4th Round pick out of Goddard, HS - Kansas. 2010 Stats: Class-A Potomac: 86 G, 64 for 273, .234/.420/.414, 16 2B, 11 HR's, 44 RBI's, 82 BB, 85 K's, 51% CS. 

• Stephen Lombardozzi (2B): '08 19th Round pick out of St. Petersburg College, FL, 21-year-old. Class-A Potomac: 110 G, 129 for 507, .293/.370/.409, 30 2B, 9 3B, 1 HR, 38 RBI's, 20 SB. Double-A Harrisburg: 19 G, 23 for 75, .307/.366/.547, 5 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR's, 8 RBI's, 3 SB. 

• Michael Burgess (OF): '07 1st Round pick out of Hillsborough, HS, FL, 21-years-old. Class-A Potomac: 101 G, 101 for 386, .262/.351/.430, 21 HR, 4 3B, 12 HR's, 70 RBI's. Double-A Harrisburg: 13 G, 11 for 45, .244/.358/.511, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR's, 6 RBI's.

Last season it was pitchers Drew Storen, Stephen Strasburg, Jeff Mandel, Josh Wilkie, Danny Espinosa, Chris Marrero and Sean Rooney playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. This time around the Nats' prospects will play for Double-A Harrisburg Skipper Randy Knorr and the Scottsdale Scorpions in Scottsdale, Arizona's aptly named Scottsdale Stadium, the spring home of the San Francisco Giants. The first game of the AFL season is scheduled for October 12, 2010 at 6:35 pm MST.

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

2 days ago: Washington Nationals' Jordan Zimmermann pitches during the first inning of a baseball game against the Florida Marlins, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Browse more photos »

Tonight's Top 5: 

5. Don't Run On Bernie!!!: Nats' right-hander Jordan Zimmermann needs just nine pitches to get through a scoreless first, but the second inning seems like it might take a little longer after Fish first baseman Gaby Sanchez starts the bottom of the frame with a double to the right-center gap out of Michael Morse's reach. Marlins' third baseman Chad Tracy flies to left center, and Sanchez decides to test Roger Bernadina's arm. Bad decision. Bernadina makes the catch and his throw beats Sanchez to third. Ryan Zimmerman applies the tag. Done. Double play the hard way, 7-5 DP, two down in the second. DON'T RUN ON BERNIE!!! How could you not know that by now, Gaby Sanchez? (According to @NatsTownNews on Twitter, that's Bernadina's 8th OF assist, good for 4th in the NL.) Zimmermann gets a groundout from Mike Stanton and the Nats' right-hander's through two scoreless and six Marlins.

4. 5-Straight K's!!: Fish center fielder Cameron Maybin grounds to first and almost beats the toss from Adam Dunn to the covering pitcher after the Nats' first baseman bobbles the ball, but Jordan Zimmermann gets over to cover, and decides he's tired of having to run off the mound, so he strikes out the next five batters he faces. Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes K's swinging and the opposing pitcher goes down looking to end the third. Emilio Bonifacio, Logan Morrison and Hanley Ramirez. K, K, and K.!! Looking, swinging and a foul tip into Nats' catcher Pudge Rodriguez's mitt. 5-straight K's for the Nats' 24-year-old right-hander, who adds another K for the final out of the fifth. That's 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K's through 5.0 scoreless in Zimmermann's second start in the majors after working his way back from Tommy John surgery last August.

3. Career High In K's!!...

With 7 K's through 5.0 scoreless and an inning/pitch limit having just come off a long rehab, Jordan Zimmermann needed just one more strikeout to tie his career high in what has admittedly been limited time in the majors. Zimmermann gets a fly ball to center from Cameron Maybin to start the sixth. Brett Hayes K's looking!!! Career high K total tied for the Nats' 24-year-old right-hander!!  (+1000 points) The opposing pitcher goes down too, swinging, 9 K's for Zimmermann!!! New Career High!! (+5000 points) If not for Marlins' starter Anibal Sanchez's 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB and 7 K's, it would've been a (near-) perfect day for the Zimmermann, who goes 6.0, allows 1 hit, 0 ER, 0 BB and collects 9 K's, throwing 86 pitches 55 for strikes and facing the minimum 18 batters...

2. Nyjer Morgan Does It Wrong: No score after nine, and the Nats' much-maligned center fielder Nyjer Morgan takes a one-out walk from Marlins' right-hander Clay Hensley in the top of the tenth. A wild pitch from Hensley moves Morgan to second and Alberto Gonzalez takes the second-straight walk. Adam Kennedy grounds into a force at second, but they're not going to get Kennedy at first, Marlins' shortstop Hanley Ramirez is throwing home cause Morgan's going for it. The throw beats Morgan to the plate, Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes............gets crushed. Morgan lowers the BOOM on the Fish backstop but he holds onto the ball. Morgan walks back and steps on home just in case. Hayes is not getting up. Double play to end the Nats' tenth. 

1. Hanley Ramirez Does It Right: Rookie closer Drew Storen takes the mound in the Marlins' tenth. Two pitches, a fastball and a sinker both at 93 and outside to get a groundout from Logan Morrison. One down. Hanley Ramirez rips a single back up the middle and takes second on Storen a little too easily. Pudge is out for a talk. A one-out walk, and only in baseball, grounder through short by Chad Tracy, Roger Bernadina wants outfield assist no.9 and he charges and comes up throwing toward home. Pudge catches it, Ramirez slides and his foot crosses home as Pudge tags his chest. Safe, even though Pudge can't believe it. 

• Miss The Game? Then You Don't Know What Jordan Zimmermann's K Icon Is? Get In There...I Mean, The DC Faithful Were Watching...

Num Name - Comments 1 Doghouse - 114 2 Princess Jazzy - 103 3 souldrummer - 100 4 RobBobS - 84 5 Nationalpastime9 - 73 6 RoscoeNats - 47 7 Dave at NNN - 33 8 HarmonK - 28 9 PerryMason - 22 10 Benson L - 18

• Doghouse's Post Game WPA Graph: "Game 133: How to (and not to) beat the throw home."

 

via www.fangraphs.com

• Dominant: Jordan Zimmermann (+37.3%) goes 6 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB and faces the minimum, allowing one baserunner who gets erased on a double play.
• Decent: Tyler Clippard (+26.3%) pitches 2 perfect innings of relief, striking out one.
• Still not in a hockey game: Nyjer Morgan (+4.0%) is out at home in the 10th when he tries to bowl over the catcher instead of sliding under the tag (-22.8%).
• Heartbreaker: Drew Storen (-35.1%) gives up the losing RBI single (-28.3%).

 

• Final Score: Marlins 1, Nationals 0.

Nationals now 57-76.

via www.fangraphs.com

• Dominant: Jordan Zimmermann (+37.3%) goes 6 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, 0 BB and faces the minimum, allowing one baserunner who gets erased on a double play.
• Decent: Tyler Clippard (+26.3%) pitches 2 perfect innings of relief, striking out one.
• Still not in a hockey game: Nyjer Morgan (+4.0%) is out at home in the 10th when he tries to bowl over the catcher instead of sliding under the tag (-22.8%).
• Heartbreaker: Drew Storen (-35.1%) gives up the losing RBI single (-28.3%).

J Pat Carter - AP

2 months ago: A small crowd watched baseball between the San Diego Padres and Florida Marlins Sunday, June 27, 2010 game in Miami during the fourth inning. (AP/ Photo/J Pat Carter)

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Next Game

Washington Nationals
@ Florida Marlins

Tuesday, Aug 31, 2010, 7:10 PM EDT
Sun Life Stadium

Jordan Zimmermann vs Anibal Sanchez

--> Partly cloudy. Winds blowing in from center field at 10-20 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 90.

DC Starting Lineup: 

1. Adam Kennedy (aka Dunnside Assistance) - 2B
2. Ian "Two-Spot" Desmond - SS
3. Roger "Three-Spot" Bernadina - LF
4. THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! - 3B (Word.)
5. THE BIG DANGLING IN THE WIND - 1B
6. Michael "The Code" Morse - RF
7. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez - C
8. NMISMH!! - Nyjer Morgan - CF
9. Jordan Zimmermann - SP

LINKS: 

Washington Nationals 9-3 Over Florida Marlins After 3 Hour Rain Delay.

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Game 132: A good night in Sun Life Stadiu_

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Nationals 2010 At Bat Music

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Complete Coverage >

• For A Florida Marlins Fan's Perspective, Check Out The SB Nation's Marlins Site: FishStripes.

 

• Tonight's Starting Pitchers Are Going To Stare At You Now: 

Anibal Sanchez #19 / Pitcher / Florida Marlins

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 27, 1984

 

'09 Stats - (4-8), 16 GS, 86.0 IP, 3.87 ERA, ERA+ = 110, 4.60 FIP, 45 BB (4.81 BB/9), 71 K's (7.43 K/9), 1.51 WHIP.

'10 Stats - (11-5), 28 GS, 153.1 IP, 3.29 ERA, ERA+ = 126, 3.36 FIP, 57 BB (3.35 BB/9), 119 K's (6.98 K/9), 1.36 WHIP.

vs DC - (4-0), 11 GS, 64.1 IP, 56 H, 24 R, 19 ER, 4 HR, 35 BB (4.90 BB/9), 44 K's (6.15 K/9), 2.66 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .236 BAA> 

Jordan Zimmermann #27 / Pitcher / Washington Nationals

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 23, 1986

 

'09 Stats - (3-5), 16 GS, 91.1 IP, 4.63 ERA, ERA+ = 91, 3.59 FIP, 29 BB (2.86 BB/9), 92 K's (9.07 K/9), 1.36 WHIP.

'10 Stats - (Minors) - (1-2), 1.59 ERA, 10 GS, 39.2 IP, 27 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 2 HR, 6 BB, 31 K's, 0.83 WHIP. 

'10 Stats - (0-0), 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 11.25 ERA, ERA+ = 40, 5.85 FIP, 1 BB (2.25 BB/9), 4 K's (9.00 K/9), 2.00 WHIP. 

vs FLA - (0-0), 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 6 K's, 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, .261 BAA. 

• Nats vs Sanchez: 

Roger Bernadina - 1 for 7, .143 AVG, 2 BB, 1 K. 

Ian Desmond - 4 for 8, .500 AVG, 1 2B, 1 RBI. 

Adam Dunn - 5 for 17, .294 AVG, 2 2B, 2 RBI's, 7 K's. 

Alberto Gonzalez - 3 for 9, .333 AVG. 

Willie Harris - 0 for 5, .000 AVG. 

Adam Kennedy - 2 for 5, .400 AVG. 

Justin Maxwell - 1 for 3, .333 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI. 

Nyjer Morgan - 1 for 5, .200 AVG. 

Michael Morse - 0 for 3, .000 AVG. 

Wil Nieves - 0 for 2, .000 AVG. 

Ivan Rodriguez - 2 for 5, .400 AVG. 

Ryan Zimmerman - 7 for 30, .233 AVG, 1 2B, 1 RBI. 

• Mr. Wilbon?  Way To Go Nats!!!

• Who's Watching The Nationals?

More photos » Greg Fiume - Getty Images

2 months ago: WASHINGTON - JUNE 08: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on June 8, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

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As Washington Post D.C. Sports Bog writer Dan Steinberg wrote yesterday in a post entitled, "Tommy John wants to help Stephen Strasburg", in a recent interview on 106.7 The Fan in DC's "Parker and Parker" show, former Major League starter Tommy John said he would like to talk to the Nats' 22-year-old right-handed starter Stephen Strasburg, who was recently diagnosed with a "significant tear" of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and was reportedly headed toward the elbow reconstruction surgery named after the first pitcher to undergo the procedure. According to former Atlanta Braves' starter John Smoltz, who was forced to undergo the procedure after his 12th season in the majors at 33 years of age, Mr. John called him as well before he went under the knife, as Smoltz recounted recently on the MLB Network's "MLB Tonight". "Tommy John called me," Smoltz explained, "...and said he had the surgery at 32 and pitched 11 years after the surgery, and this is when nobody knew anything, and he basically had the rehab set by himself."

The former Cleveland Indians' prospect, who went on to pitch for the White Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, Angels and A's in his 26-year-career and was, coincidentally (not ironically, no) also in his 12th season, though 32-years-old, when he underwent the procedure which would thereafter bear his name, is the original member of what Mr. Smoltz describes in the interview as, "....a big old fraternity of guys that have gone through it and will give him insight. He’ll be certainly with the best of care and he’ll have the knowledge that goes all the way back to Tommy John."

Mr. John told 106.7 The Fan's Parker and Parker that Strasburg's fastball might not be the same as it was before he suffered the injury:

"...so what if he only throws the ball 93 to 94 miles an hour, does that mean the surgery was a failure? I think if he does that that he will be even better, because then he'll learn how to pitch. He won't rely on just raring back and throwing the ball as hard as he can, which probably led a lot to the injury that he has now."

In Mr. Smoltz opinion, the Nats' '09 no.1 overall pick is a little more advanced than Mr. John seems to think, as Smoltz says the young starter has an advantage over other pitchers who have undergone the procedure, "...he’s a big league pitcher even though he doesn’t have big league time. What I mean by that is that he knows how to pitch." And though he may not, "...be the guy who throws 98-, 99-miles an hour. He will develop in a way that will benefit his future, if handled correctly." Smoltz says that only part of his own game that was affected by the procedure, was his slider: 

John Smoltz: "The only thing I had to change was the fact that my slider was thrown with a certain force that I couldn’t throw anymore. What I mean by that is I had a four-seam slider that I really snapped at the end and I changed sliders and didn’t really lose much. As a matter of fact, I thought consistency in my slider was better. But for the most part, I didn’t have to change anything at all."

Baseball America's Jim Callis (@Jim CallisBA) wrote on Twitter yesterday that a scout he'd spoken to said, "Strasburg will get [his] fastball back but [the scout] wonders about curve. Says curve ranks w/Koufax, Blyleven & Gooden as best of last 50 yrs." As Mr. Smoltz explains, however, his own situation was different, as was Mr. John's:

"...my situation is a little different: I pitched with a tear in my ligament for a long time because my mindset was ‘I’ll pitch as long as I can until it tears and then I’ll retire.’ Well, I did that for quite some time, I was able to be successful even though my arm wasn’t at my best, so when I had the surgery and I felt the way I did in two, three months, I couldn’t believe the difference because of how long I pitched hurt."

The Nationals believe, after reviewing the medical records, that Strasburg's injury was an accute one, as opposed to a result of long-term wear, so there's no telling exactly how he'll recover, but his teammate Jordan Zimmermann has already reportedly offered his help to the Nats' young ace. St. Louis' Cardinals' starter Chris Carpenter reached out to Strasburg too, as MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported in an article entitled, "Carpenter boosts Strasburg's spirits". There's a long line of pitchers who've had the surgery and returned to the top of the game that Strasburg can look to and turn to as he fights his way back, "...unfortunately, [injuries] like this happen in the game," Carpenter told Mr. Ladson, "Guys get hurt. Guys work hard and get back and have success. He is going to be fine."

Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore wrote Monday in an article entitled, "Stephen Strasburg sees doctor, surgery likely coming this week", that Strasburg had visited with California-based Dr. Lewis Yocum yesterday, but it's seen as a formality and DC GM Mike Rizzo tells Mr. Kilgore that, "'Assuming that it's Tommy John, we're going to get it done as soon as possible,' General Manager Mike Rizzo said. 'Probably sometime this week.'" When it's over Strasburg will be part of a fraternity that's impressed by what they've seen out of the once-in-a-generation pitcher, and it looks like he'll have all the help and advice he needs as he works his way back to the mound in Nationals Park.

More photos » Wilfredo Lee - AP

3 days ago: A trio of baseball fans attempt to wait out a torrential downpour during a rain delay before the start of a baseball game between the Florida Marlins and the Washington Nationals, Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

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I did everything I possibly could to help the Nationals win last night. I listened to the Dexter soundtrack, I smoked a cigar, and I cooked and ate cuban spiced pork. Of course then I had to wait three hours for the game to even begin, and couldn't make it until the end. I went to sleep right after Zimmerman's long homerun. I figured it was as good a time as any. --MLB Video

The outfield may have been underwater, and Michael Morse was wondering how much water he was going to have in his shoes, but the Nationals played a clean game. --Mark Zuckerman at natsinsider.com

When you have an ERA over 7.00 and most of it is from pre-injury starts then it is a good idea to look beyond your numbers. Jason Marquis has been the pitcher the Nationals thought he could be in his last three starts. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com 

Nyjer Morgan doesn't agree with Riggleman batting him 8th, but he is still going to play hard. --Faran Fagen at nationals.com

Here is another take on the entire Nyjer thing, and from watching the video that wasn't just a hard play. The entire plate was open. All Nyjer had to do was slide and he was safe. The catcher was out of the baseline and wasn't waiting for a throw. If Nyjer was paying more attention to Pujols than to the catcher then that is his problem. At that point in time it doesn't matter where the ball is as he is already committed to going home. He has to judge by the catcher if he is going to slide or try and run him over, and the catcher never tried to block the plate. Nyjer's baseball IQ this year has been Nook Loganesque. Nyjer's comments just sound like a guy working his way out of town. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com 

This Strasburg news isn't likely to go away for awhile. More on that, and another DC media personality that might want to quickly learn the phrase, "No comment." After the jump.

The man who is less famous than the surgery named after him wants to help Strasburg. --Dan Steinberg from The DC Sports Bog

Mark Prior doesn't know why everyone is asking him about Strasburg, and then gives some pretty insightful comments. Look, Mark if you don't want people to keep asking you a question give them a terrible answer. Don't answer in an intelligent and informative manner. --Sports Radio Interviewers at deadspin.com 

Strasburg's presence made money for the team. So, how much are they likely to lose while he recovers? --Maury Brown bizofbaseball.com

Some people are not taking this news well, and even think Nats fans should pull a Rip Van Winkle until 2013. --Harper from natsbaseball.blogspot.com

Jim Bowden says it doesn't alter the plan, but then says to wait until 2014. --Jim Bowden from sportingnews.com

Losing Strasburg is a problem, no doubt, but if he alone is not the answer then his injury cannot be considered something that cannot be overcome. Next year the Nationals could still have the best rotation they have ever had since moving to DC, and that isn't including any free agents (doesn't have to be a big name could be a lower level guy like De La Rosa). --Mark Zuckerman natsinsider.com  

Dave had some random thoughts yesterday. He is right Livan most likely won't have as good of a year next year as he did this year, but if anyone believed he would have as a good a year he wouldn't only cost $1 million. In baseball money that is basically free. If Livan does anything next year it is a bonus, and a 4.50 ERA and 200 innings is well worth $1 million. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

A comparison of bonuses to sugested slot. I think the Harper and Taillon slots are flipped. I can't imagine the second overall pick having a higher slot than the first pick. --Jim Callis from baseballamerica.com

If Livan was looking forward to seeing his brother in September it won't happen now. El Duque has walked off into the sunset for perhaps the final time. --Mark Zuckerman from natsinsider.com

Former Expos closer Luis Ayala signs with Rockies. --Ben Nicholson-Smith mlbtraderumors.com 

Looking for something to do Thursday September, 23? Watching a screening of Ken Burn's The Tenth Inning sounds like the perfect way to spend and evening. --Cheryl Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com 

DC Media News

The job of the media is to report the news. Not to make the news, or to become news themselves. It never ends well when media members become news. Mike Wise better learn the phrase, "no comment," or he might be keeping Rob Dibble company. --Dan Levy at presscoverage.com

Do you know how many times a day Jeff Pearlman or Rob Neyer retweet something from Keith Olberman, or how many media members critized Glen Beck last weekend. None of them were from The Post though. They have a rather strict guideline when it comes to dealing with social media. --Barry Petchesky from deadspin.com

Around the NL East 

Everyone keeps expecting the Phillies to catch and beat the Braves, but the Braves aren't the Mets and are likely to hold onto their NL East lead. --Alex Remington at yahoosports.com

Pete Rose recorded a series of videos and in this one he explains why he couldn't play today, because he didn't like striking out, and also something bad about Ryan Howard hitting opposite field homers. --Graham Bensinger from yahoosports.com 

General Baseball

Vin Scully might have the best voice ever for a baseball announcer. Listen to his soothing tones as you watch someone recreate Kirk Gibson's walk-off in RBI Baseball. --Owen Good kotaku.com

Tony La Russa has made it a habit to call out players for being lazy. Colby Rasmus is now the target of his furor. Ryan Zimmerman makes everything look effortless. Does anyone think he is lazy, or just super talented? With both Matt Kemp and Colby Rasmus on the outs with their teams this could be a good year for the outfield trade market. --Bernie Miklasz at stltoday.com 

It may not have increased the White Sox chances by much, but aquiring Manny did increase their chances and in the end all it cost was money. --Jon Paul Morosi 

Baseball is trying to become a world wide sport, and atracting a country with over a billion people is never a bad idea. A look at baseball's attempt to infiltrate China. I know Wang isn't seven feet tall and isn't from mainland China, but he was a pretty good pitcher while on the Yankees and from what I have heard he was a pretty big star in Asia. I just find it funny that this article acts like he never existed. --William Wan in The Washington Post

That is all for today. Let's hope the Nationals can repeat the success they had last night, but without the rain and three hour delay. It will be fun to see how Zimmermann does in his second outing off the DL. The Marlins have some good hitters, but they will strike out.