Washington-Nationals

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Strasburg-mania was in full force last night.”] [/caption] It’s the debut everyone was talking about, Stephen Strasburg, and I was there. Seated near the field, just past first base, I had a chance to really see the vertical break on his pitches and their effects on batters. 4-Seam Fastball This is the one everyone has heard of. Strasburg regularly broke 100 mph with his pitches in college. Then he signed with Washington and was throwing in the mid-90s all through AA and AAA. He had to either be lulling the competition into a false sense of security or just working on the rest of his arsenal, because his 98-102 fastball was back in full force last night. Hitters were completely embarrassed by it, no one could keep up, and I couldn’t move my eyes fast enough half the time. It’s that good. ...

After two shaving cream pies, Strasburg got the silver Elvis wig for his game performance too. I’ll have a more detailed analysis about Strasburg’s start, but 14 strikeouts is not bad at all. Seven of those came in a row from the 5th to 7th innings. An impressive young pitcher. 08 June NPB Neither of my teams played. MLB New York Yankees (12) at Baltimore Orioles (7). My friends asked me to go to this game with them, but I couldn’t pass up seeing Strasburg. I’m surprised the Os scored so many, but it wasn’t enough for the Yankee juggernauts. Their record falls to 16-42. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“The old Shea home run apple. I hate this thing.”] [/caption] My friend Lee has somehow got his girlfriend into baseball, probably by pure force of will. This would be great, except she’s a Mets fan now and she loves to trash talk each time the Mets beat the Marlins. Thanks, Lee. 4 June NPB Softbank Hawks (4) at Hiroshima Carp (5). A huge fourth inning, including two RBIs by Eric Stults, puts Hiroshima just far enough ahead to win the game. ...

Ken Griffey, Jr.’s retirement was overshadowed by the perfect game controversy of the same day. I just wanted to take a few moments to state that he had an amazing career that should be honored. It’s a shame to see him out of the game, but I’m so glad he played. 03 June NPB No games. MLB Baltimore Orioles (3) at New York Yankees (6). When you put David against the Goliath that is C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees, you should expect this, not the Biblical outcome. The Orioles record is now 15-39. ...

The biggest story in baseball today is the blown call by Jim Joyce in the Tigers game last night. Umpires make mistakes, it’s a fact of baseball, but it’s rarely a mistake this huge that costs a man history. Armando Gallaraga, for his part, is taking it in stride. He says he knows he did it, so he doesn’t care, but I’m more concerned with the fact that: 1. The history books will say he didn’t, and 2. Something needs to change. Bad umpiring has been a story in baseball since last year’s World Series and it’s not getting any better. I think that MLB needs to do something to increase the accountability of its umpires. I kind of understand why it is that they try and keep umpire disciplining on the down low (votes of confidence and all that), but that needs to change. In this case, it doesn’t really matter anyway. Diehards will remember Jim Joyce long after this game is done. He will probably be booed every time he shows his face in Detroit. I would feel worse for the guy if he hadn’t made such a terrible call, but I just can’t feel sympathy for him yet. Not this close to botched history. ...

Three of my teams managed to notch wins in the final innings of their respective games. It takes a lot of luck and skill to take a game in the 9th. Bravo, teams. 1 June NPB Hiroshima Carp (5) at Nippon-Ham Fighters (4). Eishin Soyogi gets the walk-off RBI single in the 9th to push the Carp ahead while Ryuji Yokoyama holds on for the save. Hiroshima’s record rises to 21-31-0 after the tilt. ...

I’m gonna blame Memorial Day weekend for making me forget that I was supposed to do this yesterday. All those barbecues were so good! 28 May NPB No games (with the Carp or Eagles) MLB Baltimore Orioles (0) at Toronto Blue Jays (5). Division rival mega match! Ok, I can’t keep a straight face on that one. The AL East’s two least interesting teams (to me) start a series that will inevitably bore me to death. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I don’t have any pictues of Kenta Maeda to put up, so this is the next best thing.”] [/caption] I don’t know why I’m surprised to see Maeda pitched when I see the Carp played a shutout. He really is the best pitcher in the Central League so far. 27 May NPB Chiba Lotte Marines (0) at Hiroshima Carp (3). Maeda scatters four hits over 8 while Yokoyama notches the save. This brings Hiroshima’s record up to 20-29-0 in fifth. ...

Q: When is it ok to get swept by the Red Sox? A: NEVER! 27 May NPB Chiba Lotte Marines (9) at Hiroshima Carp (1). When you give up four home runs in one game, it takes some mighty fine offense to catch up. Hiroshima’s offense is so streaky, this will never happen when they need it. The Carp record declines to 19-29-0 in fifth. I want to see them be < 10 games back for the rest of the season. Come on, guys! ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Seibu gets its revenge.”] [/caption] Hiroshima takes an ugly loss from the first place Lions, but at least they won the day before. 25 May NPB Saitama Seibu Lions (10) at Hiroshima Carp (7). Takeya Nakamura blew this game open in the third with a grand slam. Hiroshima desperately tried to recover in the 8th with a five-run rally partially fueled by a Kenta Kurihara blast, but it wasn’t enough. The Carp record drops to 19-28-0 in fifth. ...