Nationals Arm Race

"… the reason you win or lose is darn near always the same – pitching.” — Earl Weaver

Nats Rotation Cycle #11: good/bad/soso

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Welcome Back Maya; will your 2nd stint be better than your 1st? Photo: via thenatsblog.com

We enter the 11th “cycle” of the rotation.  Through the first 10 times through the rotation, only Livan and Lannan have made all their starts.  Gorzelanny (as the 5th starter) missed the first rotation, Marquis missed a game in the 4th cycle because of the proliferation of DHs and rainouts, and Zimmermann missed the 5/17 phantom rain-out.

Big news this cycle: Tom Gorzelanny is going on the DL after his last start with “elbow inflammation.”  He was erratic in his last start, but this comes with no warning of any previous elbow issues.  Sunday will require someone to come up from AAA.  My guess is Maya (confirmed with his call up and 5/29 start), based partly on performance and partly because Meyers (the most deserving AAA starter) probably needs a bit more seasoning and isn’t on the 40-man.  I’m sure the team would like to keep him off the roster as long as possible at this point.  Maya last pitched on Monday, which would give him 5 days rest.  Detwiler would be going on regular rest but has not been pitching well at all.

Good

  • John Lannan had nothing to show for easily his best performance on the year 5/27 (box/gamer), with Drew Storen getting both the blown save and the win when Michael Morse hit a walkoff homer.  Lannan’s line: 7 2/3, 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks and 5 Ks.  The performance couldn’t have come at a better time for Lannan,
  • Jordan Zimmermann put in another quality start on 5/28 (box/gamer), and once again failed to get any run support.  Line: 6ip 5h 2run 1bb 4ks.

Bad

  • Yunesky Maya didn’t capitalize on his 2nd shot at the major league rotation on 5/29 (box/gamer), struggling and tiring (?) in the 5th inning before getting removed.  Final line: 4 2/3, 6 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks 3 Ks.  Maya was at 90 pitches when he got the hook.  He’ll have at least one more start before Gorzelanny comes off the DL; unless he pitches 6 shutout innings or something close to it, he’s heading back.  There’s no one else (even Lannan) who is in danger of losing their spot right now.

Mediocre/Inconclusive

  • Livan Hernandez had the quality start on 5/24 (box/gamer) (the first time in a while he’s gotten any sort of run support), but his bullpen conspired against him and the Nats took the loss.
  • Jason Marquis leaked hits and walks all day, and gave up a homer to his counterpart Zack Greinke, en route to  his 2nd loss on the season on 5/25 (box/gamer).

Starter Trends

MLB Trends (through maya 5/29)
Lhernandez    good,bad,good,good,bad,good,soso,bad,good,good,soso
Marquis    good,good,good,soso,great,bad,good,soso,bad,soso
Lannan    good,soso,soso,bad,soso,good,really bad,good,soso,bad,bad,great
Zimmermann     good,good,good,bad,bad,good,good,great,good,good
Maya        bad
(Gorzelanny    soso,good,soso,good,great,good,bad,soso,bad->dl)

Written by Todd Boss

May 30th, 2011 at 6:18 pm

2 Responses to 'Nats Rotation Cycle #11: good/bad/soso'

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  1. Marquis mowed down a tough Phillie’s lineup. So add another good to his line. The starters have been consistent all season. The bull pen has recently developed the yips but mostly it has been the lack of bats until the last two games.

    Sec 204 Row H Seat 7

    1 Jun 11 at 9:23 am

  2. Ugh, i just realized how badly formatted the trend line is. I’ll have to clean that up from here on out.

    Definitely giving Marquis a “good” in the next iteration. His new middle name is “mid season trade.”

    Todd Boss

    1 Jun 11 at 9:42 am

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