Will be away...

On a camping trip tomorrow through Sunday so no blogs or G+ posts until then! Have a good 4th everyone!

Washington Nationals...This year's Detroit Tigers?

Mediocrity. That's what we have been getting from the Washington Nationals this season. Unbridled, plain-as-day mediocrity. The kind that can kill your Natitude. So there's no chance for a rebound right? Are the Nationals destined for mediocrity and second place? Is there any hope?

Well, if memory serves me well, at this point last season the Detroit Tigers were pretty mediocre as well. We all know that they went on to the American League Pennant. Can the Nationals make a similar comeback?

As of now, exactly halfway through the regular season, the Nationals stand at 41-40, or one game over .500. After a win June 30 last year, the Tigers stood at 38-40. When they had completed 81 games, they stood at 39-42. So at this point, the Nationals have the better record. That's good.

However, when the Tigers were 39-40, the Chicago White Sox were only 3 games ahead of them for first place in the AL Central. This one advantage the Tigers had that the Nationals will not have: An easy division to play in. Right now, the Atlanta Braves are 6.5 games ahead of the Nationals, and are showing no signs of slowing up.

So, can the Nationals repeat the Tigers come-from-behind success story? The pieces are there. While the Nationals may not have Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, they have Bryce Harper, and although it may not seem it, all of the rest of the line-up are viable threats to put up productive numbers.

While the Tigers have the best pitcher in the game in Justin Verlander, and back him up with Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer, the Nationals have three legitimate aces, who are capable of matching the performances of the Tigers top 3. The Nationals also have Ross Detwiler, who, when healthy, is a legitimate #2 being used in as a fourth starter.

So the final verdict is, while it will not be easy, there is still a chance that the Nationals take the division title most predicted them to run away with. A Wild-Card is a better possibility, with the Nationals being 4.5 games out of the second WC. For all the Nationals fans out there's sake, I hope it goes well.

~TBC

Exciting News!

Hello Hello Hello....
I have some very exciting news for you! Drumroll please...

We are on Google+!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check us out at Diary of a Teenaged Baseball Chick, and remember to follow and +1 if you like it!

~TBC

It's all about me (Part 2)

Here we go...

First Baseball Moment: The year was 2010. The month: October. The event: the 2010 NLCS. This was when I really started to follow baseball and when I fell in love with the Phillies. Before that, all I remember of MLB is a brief pause from flipping channels in a hotel room to watch a little bit of a Cardinals-Astros game and seeing a game a Camden Yards. And then our fall vacation coincided with the NLCS, and the rest is history...so many great moments from that series. Most memorable: Jayson Werth's long throw from right field to third base to nab the super-villain named Cody Ross.

Best Live Baseball Moment: First visit to Nationals Park, Memorial Day 2011. Seats at field level on the third based side, right smack in the middle of Citizens Bank South. Doc on the mound, Rollins, Howard, Utley and Polanco in the lineup. Great game, lots of lead changes. Booed Werth, “Rauuuuuul-ed” for Ibanez (remember him?) . Sooooooo much fun!

Best Walk off Moment: Wilson Ramos’s three run homer in the bottom of the ninth to cap a five-run comeback by the Nats. One of the many Nats games I listened to in my bed that first year…

Best Baseball Moment: Can’t pick! Everything!!!!!!!!!!

ESPN or MLB.com?: MLB.com all the way. The At Bat App is amazing, even if I just have the free version. Yes, I know, I’m a cheapskate. But I’m also 15…

Favorite Ballpark Food: Soft Pretzels. That is all.

Radio or TV? We don’t have TV, so radio!

Favorite Baseball Blog: SweetSpot by David Schoenfield. So many good things…oh, and You Can’t Predict Baseball is hilarious.

Favorite Podcast: Well, it was Baseball Today…I listened to it religiously…until ESPN terminated it L. So now it’s a toss-up between Keith Law’s Behind the Dish, and the Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast. Enjoy both J

Writers I look up to: Well, both of these two’s pieces are ESPN insider, and since I don’t have insider I can’t read them, Eric Karabell and Keith Law.  Yes, this is 2/3 of the old Baseball Today Crew.  These two have molded me as a baseball blogger so much, and I do really look uo to both of them! Maybe if any of you readers have Twitter, you can tweet this post to them! I would really appreciate it!

Well… that’s all for today! We’ll see if I drop something else this week. My Rays fan family is coming up from FL this week so I won’t have much time.

Sayonara!

~TBC

It's all about me :) (Part 1)

Hello there,
So today I'm going to let you guys know a little bit more about me. I'm going to go with an interview type format, like "best this" or "favorite that". Here goes nothing...

Favorite team: Got to get the easy ones out of the way! The Phillies, obviously :P

Second favorite team: The Nationals...moving on...

3-4-5 teams: Giants, Rays, and for now the Red Sox (in no particular order).

Favorite players: Roy Halladay <3 Michael Morse :) Ian Desmond :D J-Zimm B-) Dustin Pedroia, Buster Posey, and many many many more....

Favorite defensive player: Roger Bernadina (The Shark) A-MAZ-ING in 2011!
                                                   
Most despised player: A-Rod....ew... doesn't he belong in Hollywood by now...

Most annoying player: Anyone with the last name of Upton. Giancarlo Stanton a close second

Favorite Rookie: Well if Dom Brown was a rookie I would go with him, but I guess Matt Harvey...I really don't know...all my favorite rookie played last season.

That's all for part one :) I will be away until Friday but I will try to write part two while I 'm on vacation and post it as soon as I get back :)

~TBC

Well...

It's been more than a year since this blog has come into existence! Wow, I can't believe it! Sharing my thoughts with you guys has been so much of a blast, and I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I did! Over the past year and a couple days, this page has had more that 850 views. That's more than two views a day!!!!!!! So a couple things that will hopefully make year number two as enjoyable as year number one!

1. I'm not sure if I will do recaps for everyday like I did last year, or more pieces on other things like specific players. Feel free to leave a comment on which you prefer.

2. I've got a couple updates in the works. Can't let you know what they are just yet...but I'm super excited to share them with y'all!

3. I'm going to tease it up  for my next big post...which will hopefully drop sometime this week.  Let's just say: It's about me :) So y'all can get to know me better!

Once again, thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog! You guys are my motivation to keep posting!

~TBC

Doc, Nats and Lee

Heyyyyyy there! It’s been a while! Sorry, I didn’t mean to go completely invisible, especially right smack in the middle of the season, but I had a couple busy weekends, and then two big test to study for, and then all of a sudden a quarter of the season had gone by! So I guess right now, just some quick points:

1. Oh Roy...

So two terrible outings followed by three decent ones followed by two more awful ones followed by the DL and shoulder surgery. Quite an unpredictable start to the season for Roy Halladay. Last I heard, he would start throwing in 6-8 weeks and I know he just went down to Florida to start his rehab. Most everybody is hopeful for a last August return for Halladay.

2.  Um…What’s going on?

Last time I checked the Nationals were supposed to easily win the NL East. They aren’t in first now, and they are only 1 game ahead of the Phillies. Pretty much all the lineup sans Harper is to blame. I knew that they made a mistake in trading Morse! He’s only hitting .244. but he has 10 homers, which would be second only to Harper. Besides for Haren, the rotation has been decent, with only Gio posting an above three ERA. In fact, Zimmermann has become quite the ace, and is currently in the top 5 pitcher in the league. So, if the Nationals start hitting, will everything right itself? They have dug themselves quite a hole, but remember that in 2010, the Phillies were 7 games out of first in July, and eventually not only won their 4^th straight division crown. And this Braves team has endured to September collapses in a row. So all hope is definitely not lost.

3. Guysssss, remember Cliff Lee?

Yeah, Cliff Lee, the one who was third in the 2011 Cy Young voting. The one who was completely forgotten last season despite posting a 3.16 ERA, thanks to dismal run support and  a 6-9 record. Yeah, there’s a reason the Phillies spent $120 mil on this guy. It’s because they knew that he would be a huge asset to their rotation for years. Whether because of his no nonsense personality or the fact that he has been overshadowed by fellow starters success, Lee has generated very little buzz in his first two seasons in Philly.  He’s been super consistent this year with a 5-2 record and an ERA under 3.  Oh, and he 3-hit the Marlins last night J

That’s all I’ve got for today folks!

~TBC