July 20 is now Heinie Manush Day

Posted by Brian Dautch on May. 10, 2009 at 4:26 PM
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Mark has done a terrific job of not only chronicling Zim's remarkable 28 gamer (as of this writing), but also of putting it in the context of other Washington hitting streaks.  And one name rises above all the others.  Is it Sam Rice, whose amazing catch in the 1925 World Series is still regarded as one of the Fall Classic's greatest plays?  Is it Goose Goslin, whose heroics in the '24 Series helped the Senators capture their only world championship?

Nope.  It's Heinie Manush.  Heinie Manush!

First of all, let me just say the man's name not only writes its own jokes, it practically is a joke in and of itself.  Can you imagine him sticking out his right hand to make someone's acquaintance and saying, "Heinie Manush"?  Wouldn't the response be, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?!?"  Heinie Manush sounds like the kind of risque act you could only see at a Roaring '20's burlesque show.  Heine Manush sounds like an expletive you'd say while thumbing your nose at someone (or worse).  Heinie Manush could almost describe a physical response to indigestion.

You get the idea.  But seriously...Heinie Manush is in the Hall of Fame.  Did you know that?  Of all the Senators whose names belong in the same sentence as "Hall of Fame," does "Heinie Manush" leap to mind?  Probably not, if only because no human being in the known world can say that name with a straight face. But he led the American League in hitting in 1926, meaning he bested the likes of Ruth and Gehrig in that category.  He also has well over 2,000 hits, including more than 400 doubles.

That's my Heinie!  (OK, fine...his name was actually Henry.  But if I were him, I would have changed to Heinie just because of the utter perfection of it.)

So on July 20, this great man's birthday, I ask you to think about just how much you love Heinie, ok?

     

Bagging the Season: From the Team's Perspective

Posted by Brian Dautch on May. 1, 2009 at 11:48 AM
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My distinguished colleague Mr. Hornbaker recently wrote about how painful it is, as a fan, to witness this failure night after night.  But at what point will the Nats themselves actually forego the rest of the year, and which veterans will be traded when they do?

The funny thing is, the Nationals actually have several individual players who might be of use to other clubs.  They aren't losing because they lack individual talent; it's because they're not playing well enough as a team.  Take a look at last night's lineup, for example.  Theoretically, Guzman, Johnson, Dunn, Dukes, and even Kearns (think on base percentage) could at least be somewhat desirable to other teams for one reason or another.  That's basically 62.5% of the lineup, if you don't count the pitcher's spot (5 players out of 8).  Obviously Zimmerman is staying put, as are Flores and probably Hernandez.

The starting pitching  probably needs to stay relatively intact, mostly because of their youth, while the relief corps probably needs to be placed in a time capsule so future generations can learn from how horrible they were.

Other notes:

--Speaking of the starting pitching, there's something about John Lannan that no one (to my knowledge) has mentioned.  When you're the #1 pitcher in a rotation, isn't it difficult to go out there against the Cole Hamels of the world and feel like you've got no chance unless you're almost perfect?  There must be a psychological burden that accompanies such a status, a burden that is not conferred upon third and fourth pitchers in a rotation.  I hope Lannan doesn't cave in mentally and doubt his own abilities; just seeing that zero in your personal win column can do things to a man. 

--I hope someone throws something very loud and heavy in the Washington clubhouse this weekend.  There's only so much of this "compete for eight innings but have one horrible inning in there somewhere" stuff that anyone should be expected to take.  Just destroy the living hell out of the place and get it out of your system.  Then go out and win 7 out of 10.  It's kind of like fighting and then having make up sex, but not really.

--18,007 last night.  As I scanned the crowd, there were lots of Cardinals supporters...maybe even 4,000-5,000 altogether.  That means only 14,000 of "us" at most.  Just saying.

     

Here we go again?

Posted by Brian Dautch on Apr. 6, 2009 at 10:48 PM
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Well, that was certainly a splendid display of professional baseball, no?

Let's review:

--Emily Prettyface all but destroyed his old mates.  That's a fairly rough translation of his name, by the way.  I'm not exactly a UN linguist over here.

--Ryan Zimmerman returned to his nasty habit of throwing the ball straight into the ground when he has tons of time to set his feet and make an accurate toss.  Immediately thereafter, he fanned on a Marlin bunt, even though he was playing way in on the play.

--John Lannan's attempt to turn the corner led to his GPS flashing "dead end".  He didn't exactly shower himself in glory in his first foray into the role of a number one starter.

--You know it's bad when one of your guys crushes a three run homer and it barely matters in the outcome of the game...

--...because the opponent follows it with a four run homer, also known as a grand slam, in their very next turn at bat.

Yikes.  Wow.  Ugh.  Etc.

However, it's only one game and we can take another run at these guys Tuesday night.  I mean, it's not like we have Tony Armas, Jr. starting or Mike Stanton, before throwing even a single pitch, somehow committing a...

Never mind.  Let's go ahead and make ourselves a .500 ballclub next time out.

     

Lofty Expectations

Posted by Brian Dautch on Mar. 22, 2009 at 12:29 PM
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All ballparks have unique elements to their seating arrangements.  Some stadiums cleverly sneak in seats wherever they can (or, ahem, wherever they can’t…although that’s no match for this).  Some had outfield seats that are seemingly closer than those behind the plate.  Heck, some even have seats that aren’t technically in the stadium at all.

While Nationals Park may not have anything quite that original, it does have one area that offers a really cool perspective: The Red Loft.  First of all, there’s lots of fun stuff to do.   Uh, responsible fun, natch.  Secondly, the Loft offers kind of a cool perspective on the game.  And thirdly, the seats are a semi-reasonable value at $35 per single game.

A few words of caution.  As much as I enjoy the Loft, beware the Red Porch.  Look in the lower left hand corner of this shot: railing and glass prison!  (I can understand the glass and the top railing, but must all those bars be present in addition to the glass?)  The Loft has almost no such concerns.  Also, check out this close up.  The first row has relatively low and unobstructive plexiglass, whereas the second and third rows have needlessly high railings.  While it’s tough to find tickets for Row A through the team, someone offered them on StubHub at face value for a game I’ll be attending against Toronto.  A random glance through other games suggested similar availability.

Looking for interesting views, minimal competition for a well-staffed bar, and a miniscule chance to catch a truly prodigious home run?  Give the loft a shot.  Granted, not many guys have hit the ball that far in Washington.  But hey…you never know.  Tell ‘em Walk Off Balk sent ya!  (Even though I’m pretty sure they will have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.)

     

The Zimmerman Quandary

Posted by Brian Dautch on Mar. 13, 2009 at 3:50 PM
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When a player is signed and instantly marketed as the face of a franchise, that status carries with it certain hopes and expectations. The player becomes instantly visible, the center of attention, and is often a hotter commodity than the club itself. Sometimes, the face of the franchise finds himself way in over his head! 

But then there’s the hard, cold reality of the player’s statistics. In Ryan Zimmerman’s case, those statistics leave him in a comparable position to Eric Chavez, or Andy Carey, or perhaps even a certain area HOFer. (Yes, I chose that last one because it prominently features a truly glorious adult beverage.)

That’s quite a range of possibilities, isn’t it? Zim could be just like a respected current player, a long forgotten old timer, or one of the greatest players ever to work the hot corner.

But whichever career trajectory he’s on, this would seem to be the year to cement it. His rookie days are long over, his injury has healed, and the club has gotten him a new heavy hitting friend. This is it, Zim. What’s it gonna be? All time great…or just another would-be face of the franchise who almost no one remembers anymore?