Nats Playoff Picture

(Photo: dbking)

Now that the regular season has finished up, it's time to look toward the post-season (that is still fun to say/type/write!). The playoff picture is set for the Washington Nationals...kinda.

First off, with the Nationals 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday, they clinched the best record in the National League and will have home field advantage throughout the post-season. They were tied with the Reds for the best record in baseball, but with today's win they take that crown.

For the Nationals opening game of the 2012 National League Division Series, they will play the winner of the Wild Card Round between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves. The outcome of the game, which will played Friday at 5 PM EST, will determine the final two pitching rotation spots. If the Braves win, expect to see John Lannan in the rotation.

No matter the outcome, the Nationals will play their first two games of the five game series on the road at their opponent. The last three games of the series will be played at Nats Park. The series begins this Sunday at 7 PM EST. The Nationals won't have their first home playoff game since the club came to D.C. in 2005 until next Wednesday.

Gio Gonzalez will open the series this Sunday and Jordan Zimmermann will follow after that. The rest of the rotation depends on whether the Nationals play the Cardinals or the Braves.

Keep in mind, this is a best-of-five series for the Nationals. If the arrive at Nats Park next Wednesday in a 2-0 game deficit, each game could be the final game of the season. Luckily, the Nationals are very successful at home and should be able to hold that home field advantage through the playoffs.

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Johnson Hurts Nerves

Johnson, center, should be just fine despite his recent injury. (Photo: Miss Chatter)

Usually in the late August to early October days we seen players that are a bit dinged up. They can still play, but they are a little sore. A tender ankle here. A tender hand there. It's expected and practical after a grueling 162 game regular season. However, rarely do you see a manager banged up.

Nationals 69-year old manager Davey Johnson left the game today in the seventh inning after his leg went numb. James Wagner of the Washington Post has the complete story here.

The report says that Johnson originally felt the numbness in the third inning. He took some medication to see if it would go away and that didn't help. In the seventh inning, Johnson decided to leave the dugout to get further treatment.

He left to get an x-ray done which revealed that two discs in his spine were narrowing (a normal thing). Due to the narrowing, they were pressing against the nerves and thus his leg went numb. To combat that, Johnson has taken some medicine to help the swelling and if it still doesn't subside, he will have to get a shot.

This will not effect Johnson's ability to manage in the playoffs. After the way this season has gone, I don't think he'll let anything effect his ability to manage in the playoffs. He's a modern day Lou Brown (for you young kids, he was the manager of the Indians in the popular baseball movie series "Major League").

Like everything else this season, Johnson is using humor to get through the situation. When asked about his level of concern for his leg, Johnson simply said "I don't want to miss a step going up (the dugout) and doing a header like Gio or somebody."

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Source: Washington Post

Life After Strasburg

Gio Gonzalez, above, will be the Nats ace in the post-season. (Photo: Geoff Livingston)

As the Nationals clinch the NL East Division Championship with a loss last night, I couldn't help but come to the realization of something: Once Strasburg got shutdown, the Nationals pitching staff has considerably dropped off.

Strasburg was shutdown for good following a 9-7 loss at the hands of the Miami Marlins. It was by far Strasburg's worst start of the season and some credited that due the fact that he was about to be shutdown. I, personally, think that the Marlins just got the best of him that night.

Since then, however, the Nationals are 11-11 and haven't been able to string together more than three wins in a row and have lost as many as three in a row. Tonight against the Phillies, the Nationals will be looking to stop a two-game losing streak.

Over the past 22 games, the Nationals have given up more than five runs eight times. Twice they have given up more than ten runs including a 12-2 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals. Just once have the Nationals pitching staff shutout a team.

Could the Nationals pitching staff be losing steam? A rotation that was once dominant and tops in the major leagues has been vulnerable as of late and that leaves a lot of decisions as to who will be the starting pitchers in four-man post-season rotation.

The obvious first choice is Gio Gonzalez. He has one 20+ games and has been lights out for the Nationals. He will likely be the starting in game one. The next easiest decision is to put Jordan Zimmermann on the rotation. Zimmermann has been getting better and better as the season goes on and look to him to fair well in the post-season.

The last two spots will likely come down to Ross Detwiler, Edwin Jackson, and John Lannan. All three were at one point dominant in the season. Lannan has the least amount of experience in the MLB this season, but, that does not mean he isn't the least qualified.

This season, Jackson has been much more consistent and reliable one the mound. He also doesn't take long to settle into a groove. So with that in mind, I'm labeling Jackson as the third man in the rotation.

The final spot will come down to Detwiler and Lannan. When at their best this season, both have been lights out. However, when teams are able to string a few hits together, things fall apart quickly for these two.

Detwiler takes a couple innings to settle into a groove. Usually, you'd like to see your starting pitcher be settled and ready to roll as you start the second inning. That is not always the case for the Detwiler. At times, Lannan can be the same way. It can sometimes take him two to three innings to settle in.

So how do you decide? Well, when things get a little out of hand early, who's able to recover the best? In my opinion, it's Ross Detwiler. When things go wrong early for Lannan, they stay wrong until he's finally pulled from the game. For Detwiler, he's able to regain his composure and the damage that has already been done will be the only damage that is done.

So here's my post-season starting pitching staff:

1) Gio Gonzalez
2) Jordan Zimmermann
3) Edwin Jackson
4) Ross Detwiler

We could probably expect the bullpen to be the likely suspects of Craig Stammen, Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett, and Drew Storen.

Like I stated above, the Nationals starting pitching has fallen off since Stephen Strasburg was shutdown. They have a .500 record and there are still two games left in the season. Hopefully, the Nationals haven't peaked too soon. This team has a lot of talent and a lot of potential to go deep into the post-season.

Got an idea for the Nationals pitching staff? Leave a comment below stating who you would pick and why.

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CHAMPS!!!

At about the same time Danny Espinosa fielded a ground ball to end the eighth inning, the Pirates did the same to end the game against the Atlanta Braves. In doing so, they clinched the NL East Division Championship for the Washington Nationals.

While the Nationals lost to the Phillies 2-0, there is still plenty to celebrate. This is the first division championship for the DC ball club since they came to the district back in 2005. When watching the team and fans celebrate, you'd never have known that they lost the game.

It's symbolic, in a way. On the same night that the Phillies, who dominated the NL East as of late, are in town, the Nationals clinch their first ever NL East title. Also, the Pirates defeated the long time kings of the division, Atlanta Braves, to hand the Nationals the crown.

It's a changing of the guard. The Nationals have officially completed one of the greatest single season turn arounds in D.C. sports history. They went from a team that lost at least 100 games twice in the past four season and was in the cellar of the division, to a team that will nearly win 100 games and will be at the top of the division when all is said and done.

You can't help but feel the same joy and happiness that we saw when the Nationals players got the word before the ninth inning that they were the NL East Champs. They way the dugout, and Nats Park, came apart after seeing the official announcement was put on the board was sensational.

What made the evening so special was how the players returned to the field following their initial celebrating to celebrate with the fans. All season long "Natitude" has grown in D.C. and it boiled over into one extravagant climax following the game. Players were high-fiving with fans and some even sprayed champagne into the stands.

It's time, D.C. Year after year we've seen the Wizards fall short, the Capitals come so close, and the Redskins collapse in the playoffs. This time, however, the Nationals are stepping up to the plate to bring a title back to D.C.

The playoff are right around the corner and I just have one thing to ask...

Are you ready, DC, to show your #NATITUDE?

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Meriweather Out A Week

Meriweather, above, will miss at least one week after re-injuring his knee. (Photo: Keith Allison)

For the fifth consecutive week, the Redskins will be without safety Brandon Meriweather after he and Aldrick Robinson collided in pre-game, yes pre-game, yesterday. Meriweather re-injured his PCL and MCL in his left knee. Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk has the latest here.

In what will likely be seen on "Come On, Man!!!" tonight on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, receiver Aldrick Robinson collided with Brandon Meriweather in pregame yesterday. Robinson was running a pass route into the endzone where Meriweather had his head down.

Robinson and Meriweather collided and before he hit the ground, it is reported that Robinson was unconscious. Meriweather re-injured his knee on the collision.

Both were immediately removed from the game squad and taken to the locker room so they could be looked at by the training staff. An MRI today confirmed Meriweather's injury.

Once again, the Redskins have been bit by the injury bug in pre-game. If you recall last year against the Patriots, starting tackle Jammal Brown was injured simply running out of the tunnel. He was forced to miss time because of a knee injury. Maybe the Redskins should skip warm-ups...or maybe be a little more relaxed with it.

Anyways, it would have been nice having a Pro Bowl safety in the secondary against Matt Ryan and the high flying Falcons. Their passing attack is one of the most deadliest in the league with Roddy White and Julio Jones as weapons to throw to.

Meriweather, for sure, and Robinson will likely miss this weekends game and could both possibly miss week six as well. Meriweather has yet to appear in a regular season game for the Redskins.

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Source: Pro Football Talk

Wizards Sign Point Guard

In lieu of John Wall missing the next 8 weeks due to a knee injury, the Washington Wizards signed point guard Jannero Pargo to a one-year deal. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors has the full report here.

This is simply a depth signing. The Wizards have Shelvin Mack and AJ Price as their primary point guards through preseason and into the regular season. Signing Pargo gives them another option at the position.

Pargo entered the league eight years ago as a member of the Lakers for the 2002-2003 season. He appeared in 34 games in his inaugural season and averaged 2.5 points per game in 10.5 minutes per game.

His best season came in 2006-2007 when he appeared in 82 games for the New Orleans Hornets and started seven games for them. He averaged just over 20 minutes per game and just under ten points per game that season.

Last season, Pargo played in 50 games for the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged 5.6 points in 13.4 minutes per game. In four post season appearances, he scored 16 points and with five rebounds and six assists.

Mack, Price, and Pargo will all be getting reps at point guard. While there is a steep drop-off from Wall, all three do have the skills to be a temporary replacement at the point guard position.

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Source: Hoops Rumors 

Redskins defeate Bucs 24-22

In the words of the great Bill Cowher, "so what if we won ugly?" That's exactly what the Redskins did yesterday in their 24-22 win over the Bucs...they won ugly.

It was tale of two halfs for both teams. The Redskins came out fast and hard in the first half and rang up 21 points on a Buccaneers defense that prides itself in run defense. Alfred Morris had already surpasses the most yards allowed on the ground by the Buccaneers before we even got to half time.

With about five minutes to go in the first half, Redskins rookie running back Alfred Morris had what is possibly his best run of the season. He took the hand-off to the left side and found the hole early and exploded through it. Once he got to the second level he made two more Buccaneers miss before dashing 39 yards to the endzone for a touchdown.

Morris finished with 29 carries for 113 and one touchdown. Morris gained nearly 90 yards in the first half.

Check that stat one more time: he gained nearly 90 of his 113 yards in the first half. So what happened in the second half?

The Redskins offense simply came apar t in the second half. Robert Griffin III had a sensational first half that even included a five yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw play. In the second half, however, the Redskins offense was hard pressed to get anything going.

What made things worse that the Buccaneers offense finally found their spark. Receivers Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson came to life and, with the help of quarterback Josh Freeman, led the way for the late third quarter/fourth quarter comeback.

It was all setup late in the third quarter when Freeman connected with Williams deep down the right side for a 65 yard pass play. Just a few plays later, Freeman then found Jackson for a seven yard touchdown pass and the rally was on.

Going back to a Connor Barth field goal just before the half, the Buccaneers scored 20 unanswered points against the Redskins. Two of the scores were touchdown passes. Following the 65 yard pitch and catch to Williams, Freeman started to find his groove.

With 1:42 left in the game, the Redskins found themselves down by one after Barth hit a field goal to put the Buccaneers in the lead. It was time for Robert Griffin III to have his first two minute drill comeback.

Griffin started it off with a 15 yard pass to Santana Moss. It was Moss' second catch of the day. He then follow that when he found Fred Davis for a team high fourth time on the day for 20 yards. Griffin then kicked off the hurry up and found Evan Royster for four yards and then Griffin himself scrambled for 15 yards all the way down the Tampa Bay 26 yard line.

Griffin the connected with Moss for a third time for a seven yard completion to the Buccaneers 24 yard line. In just over a minute and a half, Robert Griffin III had directed the offense down the field and had set-up Billy Cundiff for the game winning 41 yard field goal.

Now, that field goal was by no means automatic. Cundiff had already missed three kicks from 47, 57, and 31 yards away. This one from 41 yards had everyone on pins and needles.

Cundiff booted the ball and sailed from right to left across the upright and just barely squeaked inside the left upright and through. With three second left, the Redskins were winning 24-22.

Tampa Bay would try a little trickery on the kickoff return, but ended up fumbling the ball out of bounds. It was official. Robert Griffin III had successfully completed his first two minute drill comeback.

Robert Griffin III finish the game 26/35 with 323 yards passing. He also carried the ball seven times for 43 yards and a touchdown. Alfred Morris was the games leading rusher with 113 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. His mom was in attendance at the game.

Fred Davis led the way for the receivers. The Pro Bowl tight end finished with four receptions for 70 yards. Josh Morgan also had four receptions for 62 yards. Leonard Hankerson had the most catches with seven to go along with 57 yards receiving. In his first game since week one, Pierre Garcon had one catch for 20 yards and he recovered a fumble in the endzone for the Redskins first touchdown.

Safety Madieu Williams led the defense in tackles with seven. Reed Doughty followed with six tackles. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall had the defenses only takeaway of the day when he intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter.

Next week, the Redskins take their 2-2 record and head home to take on the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are 4-0 with wins against the Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, and Panthers. The secondary will once again be tested by the precision of Matt Ryan and his weapons of Julio Jones and Roddy White. Kickoff is at 1 PM EST.

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