{"id":1656,"date":"2011-06-15T09:46:10","date_gmt":"2011-06-15T13:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2011-06-15T09:46:10","modified_gmt":"2011-06-15T13:46:10","slug":"nats-rotation-cycle-14-goodbadsoso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=1656","title":{"rendered":"Nats Rotation Cycle #14: good\/bad\/soso"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1677\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ZimmermannJordandcist.comAP-PhotoManuel-Balce-Ceneta.jpg\">tation <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1677\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1677\" title=\"ZimmermannJordandcist.com(AP PhotoManuel Balce Ceneta)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ZimmermannJordandcist.comAP-PhotoManuel-Balce-Ceneta-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ZimmermannJordandcist.comAP-PhotoManuel-Balce-Ceneta-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/ZimmermannJordandcist.comAP-PhotoManuel-Balce-Ceneta.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1677\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jordan Zimmermann is pitching like the &quot;2nd ace&quot; that we all have hoped for.  Photo AP\/Manuel Malce-Ceneta<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The news this rotation is that <strong>Jason Marquis <\/strong>will <a href=\"http:\/\/www.masnsports.com\/the_goessling_game\/2011\/06\/jason-marquis-starting-five-game-suspension-tonight.html\">drop his appeal<\/a> of his undeserved 5-game suspension and serve it out.\u00a0 Reason?\u00a0 Because an off day in the schedule allows the rest of the starters to go on normal rest and Marquis will just move back in the rotation.\u00a0 So next cycle will only have four of the five pitchers reviewed.<\/p>\n<p>Good<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jason Marquis <\/strong>pitched an efficient game on 6\/9 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_10_wasmlb_sdnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>) getting his 7th win.\u00a0 6ip 3hits 1run 5k 3bb.<\/li>\n<li><strong>John Lannan<\/strong> throws his fourth excellent start in a row on 6\/11 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_11_wasmlb_sdnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>) to get the win.\u00a0 He&#8217;s now thrown four straight games with 0 or 1 run allowed and has lowered his season ERA to 3.60.\u00a0 Line: 6 1\/3, 6hits, 1run, 1k and 2 bbs.\u00a0 Not a lot of Ks, but he didn&#8217;t need them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jordan Zimmermann<\/strong> threw perhaps the best game any starter has thrown this year on 6\/12 in San Diego (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_12_wasmlb_sdnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>).\u00a0 7pm, 4 hits, 1 walk 0 runs and 10 strikeouts.\u00a0 Too bad his team couldn&#8217;t score him any runs, so the win was left for <strong>Todd Coffey<\/strong> to clean up.\u00a0 As was pointed out in another blog, his game score on the night was better than <strong>Strasburg<\/strong>&#8216;s debut 14-k game last June.\u00a0 This is Zimmermann&#8217;s 8th straight quality start, and his third straight start going 7 complete and giving up 0 or 1 runs.\u00a0 You can&#8217;t ask more than that out of a starter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bad<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>So it goes for <strong>Livan Hernandez<\/strong>: some good, some bad.\u00a0 His start on 6\/8 (<a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_09_wasmlb_sdnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was\">box\/gamer<\/a>) was definitely in the bad category, getting peppered for 9 hits and 6 runs by the light-hitting Padres.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yunesky Maya<\/strong> certainly pitched his last Nationals game on 6\/14 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_14_slnmlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>) for a while, and it was indicative of his previous outings.\u00a0 He failed to finish 5, gave up 6 runs on 9 hits and looked completely overmatched against a good hitting team.\u00a0 Stay tuned for a Maya-specific post coming up&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Starter Trends (last 5 starts only).\u00a0 Lannan rebounding nicely, as is Marquis.\u00a0 Zimmermann has been outer-worldly, while Maya is destined for a return to AAA.\u00a0 Marquis continues to improve his trade value.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lhernandez\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 good,soso,soso,good,bad<\/li>\n<li>Marquis\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 bad,soso,good,good,good<\/li>\n<li>Lannan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bad,great,good,good,good<\/li>\n<li>Zimmermann\u00a0 good,good,good,good,great<\/li>\n<li>Maya\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 bad,soso,good,bad<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Relievers of Note and other News.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A recent spate of sub-par outings by guys in the bullpen has the team over-relying on <strong>Tyler Clippard<\/strong> and <strong>Drew Storen<\/strong> for late inning success.\u00a0 We need to get <strong>Sean Burnett<\/strong> back in the saddle and pitching the way he did last year.\u00a0 However the addition of the next guy may help.<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ryan Mattheus<\/strong> gets his long awaited shot at the majors, having been <a href=\"http:\/\/web.minorleaguebaseball.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&amp;lid=117&amp;sid=t552\">added to the 40-man<\/a> on 6\/10\/10.\u00a0 Mattheus has been <a href=\"http:\/\/web.minorleaguebaseball.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?pos=P&amp;sid=t552&amp;t=p_pbp&amp;pid=458919\">pitching in the minors since 2003<\/a>, was our trade bounty for <strong>Joe Beimel<\/strong> in 2009 from the Rockies, and has fully come back from Tommy John surgery.\u00a0 We were sitting at 39\/40 on the 40-man after <strong>Broderick<\/strong>&#8216;s dfa, so no corresponding move was needed.\u00a0 His stuff looked pretty nasty during his debut on 6\/14; he had a couple of Ks and looked pretty confident.\u00a0 Per <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brooksbaseball.net\/pfxVB\/pfx.php?month=6&amp;day=14&amp;year=2011&amp;game=gid_2011_06_14_slnmlb_wasmlb_1%2F&amp;pitchSel=458919&amp;prevGame=gid_2011_06_14_slnmlb_wasmlb_1%2F&amp;prevDate=614\">pitch f\/x<\/a>, he averaged 93 and hit 94.5 mph on his fastball and showed a huge gap between his fastball and off-speed stuff.\u00a0 I&#8217;m not sure I believe that he showed 4 pitches (fast, curve, slider, change) but he definitely showed 2 fastballs (a 2 -seamer and 4-seamer) that both showed life, and he&#8217;s got a Clippard-esque delta from fastball to changeup.\u00a0 If Mattheus turns into Clippard v2.0, I&#8217;d be very happy.<\/li>\n<li>Mattheus replaces <strong>Cole Kimball<\/strong>, who has &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/blog\/nationals-watch\/2011\/jun\/10\/kimball-shoulder-inflammation-its-just-something-y\/\">right shoulder inflammation<\/a>&#8221;\u00a0 and went on the 15-day DL.\u00a0 Kimball has been pretty effective thus far, but is walking guys far too often and the rest may do him some good.\u00a0 But as is apt to happen to guys getting their first shot at the bigs, he has been in pain since April and f<a href=\"http:\/\/www.masnsports.com\/the_goessling_game\/2011\/06\/cole-kimball-finally-admits-shoulder-problems-heads-to-dl.html\">ailed to tell anyone<\/a> about it.\u00a0 Now he&#8217;s got such bad rotator cuff inflammation he may not pitch for weeks.\u00a0 Well, at least we get to see what Mattheus can do.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tom Gorzelanny<\/strong> pitched a rehab start in Syracuse on 6\/13, putting him in line to re-take his rotational spot during this next cycle.\u00a0 Per <strong>Ben Goessling<\/strong>, Gorzelanny is already <a href=\"http:\/\/www.masnsports.com\/the_goessling_game\/2011\/06\/nationals-injury-updates-laroche-kimball-bernadina.html\">back with the team<\/a> and is ready to go.\u00a0 Based on Maya&#8217;s last outing, I&#8217;m guessing Gorzelanny will be activated sunday morning to make his next start.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>I&#8217;ve a bit behind on these rotation reviews, having captured the data but not really done any analysis.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s the good\/bad\/soso from the 12th and 13th cycle.<\/p>\n<p>During the <em><strong>13th Rotation cycle<\/strong><\/em>, our crew had perhaps its best 5-day run since the first week of the season.\u00a0 All five starts were strong.\u00a0 Even Maya had a strong start, the first of his major league career.<\/p>\n<p>Good<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Livan Hernandez<\/strong> was strong through 7 but gets loss on 6\/4 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_04_wasmlb_arimlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0 Only 4 hits thru 7complete but his offense disappeared.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jason Marquis <\/strong>was excellent until he got ejected in rather ridiculous fashion on 6\/5 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_05_wasmlb_arimlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>).\u00a0 He was ejected in a highly charged game featuring lots of HBPs and other bad blood between teams, but there&#8217;s just no way he was purposely hitting a guy on an 0-2 count.<\/li>\n<li><strong>John Lannan <\/strong>looked great on 6\/6 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_06_wasmlb_sfnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>)  but bullpen blew it.\u00a0 7 innings, 4 hits and only 1 run.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jordan Zimmermann<\/strong> threw his 7th straight quality start on 6\/7 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_07_wasmlb_sfnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Yuniesky Maya<\/strong> had his best MLB start, by far, on 6\/8 (<a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_08_wasmlb_sfnmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was\">box\/gamer<\/a>).\u00a0 He got an early hook though and Burnett blew the game for him.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Relievers of Note News.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Nats placed <strong>Doug Slaten<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20110604&amp;content_id=20031652&amp;notebook_id=20032092&amp;vkey=notebook_was&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">on the DL<\/a>, called up <strong>Craig Stammen<\/strong>.\u00a0  Slaten complained of &#8220;shooting elbow pain&#8221; that has lasted for 2 weeks,  but one could see this as the continuation a convenient trend of the  Nats using the DL to hide off their underperforming players.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The <em><strong>12th rotation cycle started<\/strong><\/em> on a blisteringly hot Memorial day at the  park, where the temperatures neared 100.\u00a0 The Phillies were in town,  which meant an invasion of Roy Halladay-jersey wearing obnoxiousness.\u00a0  To make matters worse, the Nats were lined up to go against the #1-2-3  starters on the best rotation ever constructed.\u00a0 How&#8217;d we fare?<\/p>\n<p>Good<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jason Marquis<\/strong> pitched very effectively while his teammates battered <strong>Cliff Lee<\/strong> for 6 runs on 5\/31 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_05_31_phimlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>) and he got the well deserved victory.\u00a0 Line: 6 1\/3, 2 runs, 8 hits, 0 walks, 4 Ks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>John Lannan<\/strong> put 8 guys on in 5 1\/3 innings and worked in and  out of jams in pretty much every inning, but allowed only one unearned  run and got his first ever victory over Philadelphia in the series  finale on 6\/1 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_01_phimlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>).\u00a0 A tough third game to a tough series (hot streak, two day games out of three throwing off everyone&#8217;s sleep patterns).<\/li>\n<li>Another excellent start from <strong>Jordan Zimmermann<\/strong>, opening up the Arizona series on 6\/2 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_06_02_wasmlb_arimlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>) with a 7inning 1run performance.\u00a0 Line: 7ip, 6hits, 1run, 4ks and 1 walk.\u00a0 I&#8217;d love to get an interview with <strong>Steve McCatty<\/strong> and find out if Zimmermann has changed his approach; he&#8217;s striking out guys at a 33% lower rate than last year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mediocre\/Inconclusive<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Livan Hernandez<\/strong> opposed <strong>Roy Halladay<\/strong> on 5\/30 (<a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/gameday\/index.jsp?gid=2011_05_30_phimlb_wasmlb_1&amp;mode=recap&amp;c_id=was&amp;partnerId=rss_was\">box\/gamer<\/a>)  and did his best to keep his team in the game.\u00a0 He ends up with a no  decision, giving up 4 runs in 6 1\/3.\u00a0 He nearly pitched his way out of  the game in the third, when the Phillies strung together 5 straight hits  (including two solo homers).\u00a0 In typical Livan fashion, he worked his  way out of the jam and then pitched 3 more scoreless innings.\u00a0 The  offense (amazingly) really got to Halladay, and its a shame the bullpen  dropped the ball after getting 4 runs on the best pitcher in baseball.<\/li>\n<li>I&#8217;m not quite ready to judge <strong>Yunesky Maya<\/strong>&#8216;s 2nd (and  presumably last) start as completely bad.\u00a0 I think he was just unlucky,  and possibly the victim of a trigger-happy manager addicted to matchup  managing.\u00a0 Instead of letting Maya try to get out of his own jam, he  brought in <strong>Doug &#8220;The firestarter&#8221; Slaten<\/strong> to throw three straight balls, then groove a 3-0 fastball for a bases-clearing triple.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Relievers of Note and other Pitcher News.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sean Burnett<\/strong> blew Livan&#8217;s win for him on Monday, and has really struggled this year.\u00a0 <strong>Adam Kilgore<\/strong> reports that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.masnsports.com\/the_goessling_game\/2011\/05\/nationals-pirates-rainout-rescheduled-for-july-2.html\">Riggleman is standing by his guy<\/a>,  which I suppose is admirable considering the distinct lack of  left-handed reliever talent we have in the system right now (in case  you&#8217;re wondering, that&#8217;s close to zero.\u00a0 Check out our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/teams\/WSN\/2011-organization-pitching.shtml\">lefty-reliever depth<\/a> at this link here).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mark Zuckerman<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.natsinsider.com\/2011\/06\/zim-in-viera-wang-ready-to-leave.html\">reports<\/a> that <strong>Chien-Ming Wang<\/strong> is (finally) ready to leave extended spring training and go out on a  rehab assignment.\u00a0 This means he&#8217;s going  to supplant a starter,  somewhere in the system.\u00a0 I&#8217;d guess he&#8217;s going  to Potomac to start, as  they seem to have the least-performing  collection of starters right now  and he&#8217;d completely overmatch the  younger hitters in low-A.\u00a0 The  implication of his going out on a rehab  assignment is this: he only  gets 30 days in the minors (probably about 6  starts) before the Nats  have to make a decision on what to do with  him.\u00a0 He has no minor league  options, so in 30 days he either joins the  25-man roster, goes back on  the DL or is DFA&#8217;d.\u00a0 After all we&#8217;ve  invested in him (and for the sake  of his career), I&#8217;m hoping he still  has something left.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thoughts on the offense (dated 5\/31, but still applicable right now).<\/p>\n<p>All of a sudden, we have what looks like a halfway decent offense.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/teams\/WSN\/2011.shtml\">As of 5\/31<\/a>, here&#8217;s the OPS+ figures of our starting 8 out-field players:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>C: Wilson Ramos, 105<\/li>\n<li>1B: Michael Morse, 128<\/li>\n<li>2B: Danny Espinosa: 112<\/li>\n<li>SS: Ian Desmond: 73<\/li>\n<li>3B: Jerry Hairston Jr: 85<\/li>\n<li>LF: Laynce Nix: 148<\/li>\n<li>CF: Roger Bernadina: 75<\/li>\n<li>RF: Jayson Werth: 117<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When Ryan Zimmerman comes back (he&#8217;s sitting at 185 through 37 plate  appearances) we&#8217;d have 6 of 8 positional players being above the mlb  average at the plate.\u00a0 That&#8217;s really good \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The news this rotation is that Jason Marquis will drop his appeal of his undeserved 5-game suspension and serve it out.\u00a0 Reason?\u00a0 Because an off day in the schedule allows the rest of the starters to go on normal rest and Marquis will just move back in the rotation.\u00a0 So next cycle will only have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlbpitching","category-natsrotationreview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1706,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions\/1706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}