Strasburg confirmed for tonight's game.

Per Kirk Kenney, Strasburg will get the ball tonight. The game starts at 7 pm ET. I just switched my TV carrier (went to DirecTV from Comcast) just for this game, because it was to be shown on ESPNU, which Comcast doesn't offer. Welp, Dan Steinberg just broke on his Twitter feed that the game will also be shown on Comcast Sports Net.
This is a good thing for us local folks, and it's definitely worth flipping between Detwiler and Strasburg tonight.

Two quick notes, then back to work.

First... The Florida Marlins are interested in Daniel Cabrera. Seriously. Here's a link and everything. I can't make that shit up.

And second, I've had Wily Mo Pena in the back of my mind for some reason lately. So, I meandered over to milb.com to grab his stats. The Weapon of Mass Production is hitting a robust .225/.259/.325. Hope that works out for you, Mets. (Insert your own joke here as I'm all out.)

Now, if you excuse me, it's time to make the donuts.

Manny Acta needs to get medieval on some asses.

So, I'm watching last night's game epic screw job, and I'm fucking pissed. The whole Daniel Murphy homerun/no homerun thing had me fuming. Look... there are many factors that played into it (Dunn not hustling the most glaring), but here's the bottom line. The play was ruled as a triple on the field. In order to overturn the call there has to be "clear and convincing evidence."

The score was tied 3-3 with a runner on first and no outs when Murphy hit the ball. A runner was thrown out at home on the play, with the batter ending up on 3rd. It's still 3-3 but with one out, and a runner at third. The umpires adjourn to view the replays eat donuts and laugh about "how awful this Nats team is." Then, they waddle back out onto the field, and give the homerun signal.

The crowd goes bonkers, as the score is now 5-3 and there are no outs. This brings Manny to a fucking boiling rage. Remember, it requires clear-cut evidence to overturn a call on the field. Clear cut, my ass. I mean, this call was blown so bad, it looked like a Granny's Gone Wild porno. Manny can't, and won't stand for this shit, so he bolts out of the dugout to give the umps a big piece of his Dominican mind. I caught it on video and posted it below.

Look at that fire! Look at that intensity! He's laying it on the line, man! He's letting the umps know they destroyed that call, and is showing his squad how much a win matters to him.

Oh, wait. That's not actual video above. You see, the only one who argued the call was Adam Dunn (and props to The Big Donkey for that. Gotta sell it).

That's right. Manny did diddly squat. Fucking sat on his hands. Maybe said, "Gosh golly, I was sure that wasn't a homerun. Oh well, the umpires always get it right. Besides, who am I to argue with those guys? They're good family men."

Whether they got the call right, or wrong, it was a game changing call. Ryan Zimmerman said

"It was a huge blow"

Huge blow? It was a testicle shot. Good thing your mentor, leader, and motivator of the squad (cough, Manny, cough) let it be known that he was super fucking pissed.

Or, he didn't.

All I can say at this point, is that I hope to God I never find myself in a position where Manny has to stand up for me.

"Hey, Manny, you remember that one time that I had that 15 minute conversation with you in the clubhouse during the Nats open house for season ticket holders?"

"I sure do, and that was a good time. Thanks for coming out and supporting the team all season."

"Well, Manny, I'm glad you remember that meeting. You see... The police arrested and charged me with a murder. But... I couldn't have commited this murder. In fact, the coroner placed the time of death at the exact moment in which I was talking with you. Can you testify that I couldn't of committed this heinous act, since I was in your presence the whole time?"

"Well, wow. Gosh, dude. I mean... it is the police and all. They always get it right. Maybe I was talking to a hologram. Yeah, that must be it. I was talking to a hologram. Good luck to you! Come on out and support the team when you get paroled. Don't drop the soap."

Ugh.

Joel Hanrahan broken down way further than he should be.

Disclaimer first... If you ever decide you're gonna take a look at the last few outings by a pitcher and want to include data from Fangraphs, MLB, and baseball-reference... DON'T. Seriously. It's a waste of fucking time. I had my own opinion, but decided to let numbers back it up. Sure enough, I was correct, but I spent hours doing it and now have way too much information to use. It boggles my mind how much info is out there about the games. Down to every single pitch. It's fucking crazy!

So, what was the bottom line that I saw with my eyes, and formulated in my head but wanted to back up with numbers? That Joel is more effective when throwing more fastballs, and getting away from his slider. Result? Confirmed. Also a result? Carpal tunnel syndrome.

Let's go back to May 18th. He entered the game against the Pirates down 3 runs. He ended up facing 7 batters, and the Pirates left that inning adding 3 more runs. Joel gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and had 2 strike outs. He threw a total of 32 pitches. 17 strikes and 15 balls. The break down on pitch type; 20 Fastballs and 12 sliders. He threw 13 of those fastballs for strikes, 7 for balls. He threw 5 of the sliders for strikes, leaving 7 thrown as balls.

The next bad outing for him was May 20th versus the same Pirates. He entered that game with the score tied in the 9th. He faced 7 batters. Again. He also got the loss in that game, giving up 3 hits, striking out none, and walking 1, which led to a run. He threw 35 pitches this time. 23 strikes and 12 balls. The pitch type was 20 fastballs, and 15 sliders. 15 fastballs were thrown for strikes, with 5 fastballs thrown for balls. The sliders broke down as 8 for strikes, and 7 for balls.

He then turns a corner of sorts. It was mentioned in the press somewhere (but fuck if I can find it now) that they were asking him to get away from the slider, and to rely on his best pitch... his fastball.

May 21st against the Pirates, he came in with a 1 run lead and got the save. He only had to face 4 batters, and gave up 1 hit, 0 walks, and had 2 strikeouts. The kind of line you love to see from a closer, right? He only had to throw 19 pitches that inning, as well. Here's where it gets interesting... 17 of the 19 pitches he threw were fastballs. 11 fastball strikes, 6 fastball balls, and 2 sliders, both for balls. He threw a slider to start the first batter he faced, and then brought it out once more... throwing it to the third batter he faced and giving up a single on that pitch.

On May 23rd he entered the game down a run versus the Orioles. He makes sure the score stays that way when he's done, too, giving our offense a chance for the win. He only faced 3 batters, and gave up no hits. He threw only 7 God damn pitches. All fastballs. No sliders. Five of the fastballs were strikes, with only two outside the zone.

Finally, his last game was May 24th, also against the Orioles. He got the save by coming into the inning up 3 runs, and leaving it that way. He faced only three batters again, this time throwing 13 pitches; with 12 of the 13 pitches being fastballs. He struck out two, with the third out being a 4-3 ground out. 8 strikes and 4 balls for the fastballs, with the lone slider being fouled off by the first batter with the count 3-2.

I think it's safe to say he's feeling good throwing his fastball, and it's about damn time, ain't it? He also did that throwing to Wil (1) and Josh Bard (2) both, so the game calling has been dictated to the catchers as well.

It's also safe to say I'm more comfortable with him coming in to close games than I have been all season. You can throw that fastball by guys, kid, so keep on keeping on. (He averaged 94.9 MPH/fastball those last 3 games.) If the offense could have scores two runs in the May 23rd game, his last 3 appearances would've garnered two saves and a win. As it is it's 2 saves.

So, to sum this shit up, I've got two pictures for you. The first being Hammer Hands well deserved Awesome Dude of the Day Medal, which I have been slacking on. My apologies, fans of the ADOTDM. I'll be sure to pick up the pace later.



The second picture is how much effort I put into this shit. And I will never do it again.*






*Probably a lie. There is a good chance I'll be bored enough at some point to break down something else that doesn't need breaking down.

Jim Bowden's Twitter feed is funny.

The only question is, does he mean it to be funny? I have two theories here. The first one is that no, he doesn't intend his Twitter feed to be funny. The second theory is that no, he doesn't intend his Twitter feed to be funny.

Where to start? Oh, how about his very last tweet:

Peavy for Poreda and Richard? The other 2 prospects better be top prospects or the Padres pre-ejaculated in this deal......20 minutes ago from web

Now, are we really, really supposed to take trade advice from Jim Bowden? Also, how high up prospect wise can they possibly be if Poreda and Richard are the Sox #2 and #3 prospects in their entire fucking system? JimBo wants their #1 through 4? Dude... news flash... Peavy ain't that awesome away from spacious Petco. All right, I take that back. He's still good, but he ain't exactly Moses on the road. He has a 2.81 home ERA compared to 3.82 road one. His opponents slugging percentage is .334 at home, but .419 on the road. But the most telling statistic (in my eyes, anyway) is that he has only given up 51 HR in the fucking HUGE Petco compared to 84 on the road. Which means (if my ape math is good) he gives up a HR every 51.2 at bats at home, and one every 27.5 at bats on the road. Good still? Yeah. Worth the top 4 prospects of anyone's organization? Hell. No.

What else can we find here. Oh...this from last night:

Congrats to Kris Allen and America for over 1 million votes! Congrats to American Idol for the best show in Prime Time and in my Life Time!about 13 hours ago from web

Well now. Good to see Mr. Bowden likes to challenge himself with his nightly TV viewing. Yup... when I think best prime time show in the last 47 years (his age), American Idol is right on the verge of being mentioned. No. No. It actually isn't. Sorry about that, Jim. Doesn't even break the top fucking 25*. Seriously, Jim? The greatest show in 47 years? Not M*A*S*H, The Wire, Seinfeld? Maybe Bob Newhart or I Love Lucy? I mean... shit... I'll take 30 Rock over American Idol for best show on this year.

(*Full disclosure - I did watch most episodes of American Idol this year, and I like the show. It just sure as hell ain't the best show on TV the past 47 years.)

And here's another gem:

Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey's fight against vaccines with the possibility of their correlation with the increase in autism should be heard8:59 PM May 16th from web

Well, I'll leave that to my epidemiologist wife to tackle. (And she did in the comments. But you can clickie here in case you don't read the comments. Warning - geeky link with lots of science talk.)


This tweet really got me chuckling at JimBo:

Obama after receiving a team jersey from Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins, asks, "can I have the WS ring too?"...u gotta love Rock Obama!4:18 PM May 15th from web

Really, Jim? You and the President are so tight you can call him "Rock"? Wow, I had no idea. I mean... Jesus, you're a fucking player!

And lastly, as to end it on a Nats note:

I need a helicopter on tuesday....Ducks and Lakers playing same time in Southern Cal.....anyone have one I can borrow for a few hours?3:17 PM May 11th from web

Hey... Jim. You can't afford a 'copter after all the money you skimmed from all those poor Latin kids? What, did you blow it all on Sunglasses, Segways, and highlights in your hair? For shame, sir. For shame. I hope you lose it all in some Ponzi scheme, Jimmy.

Stammen, Detwiler, and a bet.

Lots of things going on behind the scenes, but no official word yet. That leaves us on our own to figure out what the fuck is going on.

Here's what we know:

• Ross Detwiler is starting Saturday's game.
• Daniel Cabrera was in the bullpen all game yesterday. He also didn't seem comfortable in the chairs. He has freaky long - giraffe like- legs.
• Now, Craig Stammen is getting the start tomorrow.

Now, with Stammen coming in tomorrow, we're one man over the 25 man roster limit. The Nats can't part with another position player, so that means it has to come from the pitching staff.

But who? How serious were they with DCab in the pen yesterday? (I say not much, since he didn't warm up yesterday. I think pretty much everyone else besides him warmed up. Maybe Kip Wells didn't? I know Joel, Mock, Julian, and Colome warmed up at least once.)

I haven't been able to figure out the rotation since the doubleheader fucked it all up. But, for what it's worth, mlb.com had tomorrow's start belonging to Cabrera. So, that seems to mean Cabrera is out, no? I'll wait until it's official before I start weeping with joy, however.

My guess at the rotation is Lannan, ?, Zimmermann, Martis, Detwiler. Just who sits in that ? spot? Is this a one start audition for Craig?

And finally... I bet Joel $20 that I could throw within 19 MPH of him over at the new bar-ish place that opened up outside the center field gates. They have a real nice looking radar station all set up. Right next to the bean bag toss stations. (Nuh uh. Ain't gonna get me to call it by its lamer known name. No way. Ever.) Anyway, Joel seemed like he wanted to take my money, but I highly doubt he would show up over there for lil' old me. Thinking back on it, actually, it may have been one of my stupider ideas. I blame it on the beer.