Washington-Nationals

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Dave doesn’t care much for baseball, but he loves the beach as much as the next guy.”] [/caption] The beach was a success, but I’m dead tired after my travels last weekend. Did I forget to mention that there was also a PERFECT GAME?! Too bad it was against the wrong team… 7 May NPB Hiroshima Carp (6) at Hanshin Tigers (10). Not the ideal start to a short series, but not terrible either. At least they’re scoring runs. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“It has nothing to do with baseball, but I hope to get to a beach this weekend.”] [/caption] Yesterday’s scores are brought to you by the warm beach weather that I crave and the letter ‘M’. NPB Off MLB Atlanta Braves (2) at Washington Nationals (3). Scott Olsen throws a near no-hitter as the Nats win yet another series pushing them to a tie for second with their 15-13 record. ...

The Lions went and slaughtered my precious Golden Eagles, leaving them with something to think about over the next two off days. It was not a great day for my favorite baseball teams. 05 May NPB Rakuten Eagles (3) at Seibu Lions (19)! The Lions really dished out some punishment. Rakuten is still miraculously in fourth place with its 16-21-0 record, but that’s no real consolation since there’s a three-way tie for first 6.5 games up. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“You’ll notice that most of this crowd leaving Nationals Park roots for the Phillies.”] [/caption] Even if the Orioles maintain their 0.259 win percentage for the year and manage to lose over 110 games, they will have something that the Nationals cannot have this year: passionate, devoted fans. It’s not their fault, they’ve only been a team for five years, after all, but I notice this distinct lack of energy when I go to the games. Sure, the crowds have been relatively thin thanks to the weather, but last night was beautiful weather combined with a home win and the crowds didn’t seem to know what to do yet. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I get to experience good weather at Nats Park for the first time since Opening Day above.”] [/caption] Who would have expected Liván Hernández to have a sub 1.00 ERA and one of the best records in baseball at this point in the season? Why do the Marlins seem to drop the first game of every series? Will either of these trends end? I hope one definitely does! ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“I did a search for “blooper” in Flickr to express my frustration and this unexpectedly came up. Not what I had in mind, but it relieves some of the stress.”] [/caption] My PS3 decided to stop reading discs correctly for the second time in its lifespan, temporarily halting my video game NPB season with the Carp just about to widen the gap between third and fourth by beating the Swallows. Hopefully I get the system back before next week, but it’s leaving me at a loss for stuff to play this week. Looks like L4D2 and Sam & Max will be getting my attention. ...

No matter how poorly my teams did or didn’t do today, nothing can match my disappointment in the Washington Capitals for losing Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs. Way to suck, guys. 28 April NPB Yokohama BayStars (2) at Hiroshima Carp (1). These close losses are the most heartbreaking ones. The Carp fall to 11-16-0 in fifth. At least the Swallows lost too. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Pre-Nats Strasburg.”] [/caption] In four Minor League starts, Stephen Strasburg has shown that AA cannot contain him. The Nats don’t want to rush him, but here are some numbers to consider. Innings pitched: 17.1 (that’s really 17.333, but baseball is strange about inning decimals) Hits: 7 Strikeouts: 23 WHIP: 0.577 (this is a measure of how many people reach base per inning, so just under 0.6 per inning) K/BB (Strikeout to Walk): 7.67 Earned Runs: 1 ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“375” caption=“Even Domo-kun is happy that the Orioles won”] [/caption] Normally your fourth win, twenty-four games into the season, is nothing to celebrate. When you do it against the Yankees, I think you can take a minute to be proud of notching a ‘W’. 27 April NPB Yokohama BayStars (0) at Hiroshima Carp (3). Nothing like a shutout to brighten your day. The Carp are sitting on an 11-15-0 record in fourth, just half a game shy of passing the Swallows. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“337” caption=“Fukudome ALMOST hit the game-winning walk-off home run. That’s enough for me to put a picture of him up today, haha.”] [/caption] It was a light baseball day yesterday with only two teams that matter to me playing baseball. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point in the offseason I became a Nats fan. The Marlins will always come first for me, but Washington has made a pretty good case for itself. I love an underdog and I love seeing the pieces of this team come together. ...