Baseball's finally back in Washington!

[jaykno14]

Well first of all I would like to say that UD's great writing has inspired me to do something similar to what he does. I like all the graphics he includes with all the logos and pics. Also, I love the way that Craig is able to play out every game and go so in depth, which I don't have the skills to do so in a dynasty like Rebuilding the Great Red Machine. So...I have decided to do something similar to that by playing out every game still, but not going so in depth with the league and sticking to my own team's progress. I will give monthly updates going around the league and if anything big happens I will report it. Anyway...here's the first post coming up!

[jaykno14]

March 19, 2005



Bowden speaks to the Media

KING TAKES OVER NATIONALS
Bowden steps down as general manager for the Nationals

After long consideration, General Manager and Vice President of the new Washington Nationals, Jim Bowden, has decided to step down. "I feel that this team will be better off starting in someone else's hands. I have decided to go into broadcasting," Bowden announced at a press conference.

Bowden was hired by the Nationals on November 1, 2004 as an Interim General Manager while they waited for someone to come on and take his position. That person has arrived. Jason King, a little known scout in the Reds' orginization, has been brought on by Bowden to take over the Nationals. "King was hired by me while I was in Cincinatti and he would definitely have become a general manager or assistant general manager elsewhere," remarked Bowden about the 26 year old.

King is the youngest General Manager in the game now which was previously held by Theo Epstein the GM of the World Champion Boston Red Sox. The coincidence is that it is also his 26th birthday today. King was found commenting on the situation: "Theo Epstein is a great example of a young general manager suceeding. It doesn't matter what age you are."

The only question remaining is: Is Jason King too young to be a general manager in the big leagues? We are soon to find out.

[jaykno14]

Is there a reason that my picture isn't showing up? If anyone could explain it'd be helpful.

[UngratefulDead]

Originally Posted by jaykno14

Is there a reason that my picture isn't showing up? If anyone could explain it'd be helpful.

As far as I can tell you don't have the proper web address within the image tags. Try hosting the image at www.theimagehosting.com and linking to it from there.

[jaykno14]

Alright I think I got it fixed. Thanks.

[jaykno14]

March 21, 2005


Jason King has decided to keep Frank Robinson as manager

KING RETAINS ROBINSON

New general manager Jason King announced today that current manager Frank Robinson would be retained and will reamain the manager of the Nationals. Robinson has been with the club for the last three years and has posted a 233-253 record as their manager. The Expos, now the Nationals, were 83-79 in his first two seasons and last season they dropped to 67-95, which was good for last in the NL East.

Jason was found commenting, "Frankie is a really, really good baseball man. Even if we didn't want him back he would have remained because it is so late in the season, but this decision was solely based on what was good for the team. Me and Frank sat down yesterday and I knew instantly that he needed to remain."

Robinson was not found for comment.

[jaykno14]

(From Left to Right) Livan Hernandez, Esteban Loaiza, Tomo Ohka, John Patterson, and Zach Day will be the starting pitchers on the year for the Nationals.

Nationals Starting Pitchers

Our number one starting pitcher is Livan Hernandez, who is making $8 million through 2007. In the past Hernandez was known for the World Championhsip in Florida and for taking the Giants to the World Series in 2002. In 2003 he was brought on by the Nationals in late spring training in 2003 as a part of a four player deal. On his agenda he has a Fastball, Changeup, Curveball, and Slider. On a healthy year he will not have a problem at throwing 200 innings and recording an ERA around 3.50-4.00 with 15-18 wins. Hernandez's best year came in 2000 when he was 17-11 with a 3.75 ERA. The rotation all together is decent following him.
Second, we have starting pitcher Esteban Loaiza who was brought in on a $2.9 million deal for one year. Loaiza has struggled since having a 21-9 year witha 2.90 ERA in 2003 for the White Sox. Last year he was traded from the Yankees, who signed him to a contract before the season, back to the White Sox where he was 9-5 with a mediocre 4.65 ERA. Loaiza throws a 90 MPH fastball with a Changeup, Slider, and Curveball. Loaiza is an above average team's third starter and an average team's second starter. He won't walk many and won't strike out many, and is pretty even at the GB:FB ratio. I can expect about 6-7 innings per outing from him and a 4.25 ERA with 10-15 wins.

Our third starting pitcher is Tomkazu Ohka. Ohka was brought over from Boston in the 2001 season. He played in the Japan league for Yokohama from '94-'98 as a reliever. His best season came in 2002 when he was 13-8 with a 3.16 ERA. Ohka relies a lot on control and has the best control on the staff this year. In a good season, Ohka will win 10-12 games with a 3.75-4.50 ERA. Ohka's GB:FB ratio is 1 to 1 just like Loaiza's. Ohka throws a Fastball, Changeup, Curveball, and Slider, just like his other two companions.

The fourth starting pitcher in the rotation is John Patterson. Patterson was picked up off waivers last year from Arizona. Patterson appeared in 19 games last year, all starting, and recorded a 5.03 ERA with a 4-7 record. Patterson could someday be a number three or number two starter as he is only 27 years old. He makes $310,000 a year also. Patterson throws a 91 MPH Fastball, Changeup, and Curveball. He has a 3:2 groundball to flyball ratio. On a good year Patterson will win 8-10 games with a 4.50 ERA. I don't expect much out of him this year but in the future Patterson could be a key part in the Washington rotation.

The fifth and final starting pitcher is Zach Day. Day has been with the Nationals/Expos all of his career making his debut in 2002. Day has an amazing 7:3 GB to FB ratio, which is the best on the staff. Day has had control problems in the past and does not strike out very many batters. Day could be considered a better Jamey Wright becuase of his groundball ratio and his control ratings. Day will make $315,000 this year and is signed for only this year. Day throws a Fastball, Changeup, Slider, and Curveball. In a good year Day will have an ERA below 4 and 10+ wins.

Down on the Farm

Clint Everts is our best prospect in the minor leagues and is at A. Everts has the making of a staff ace and will throw in the 89-92 MPH range with his fastball. Everts looks to have excellent control and great movement. We hope that Everts is with the major league club by 2007 if not late 2006.

Our second best starting pitching prospect is Mike Hinckley who is currently on the DL but will most likely report to AAA once he is off. Hinckley looks to have great control and could evolve into a number two or number three starter, with the first being most likely. Hinckley throws a Fastball that usually tops out around 91 MPH.

Daryl Thompson is at A and is the third best starting pitching prospect in our system. Thompson could be a number four or possibly number three starter in his career. He throws a 94 MPH Fastball along with a Changeup and Curveball. It looks as though he could have above average control and movement.

The fourth and final starting pitching prospect is Collin Balester who is 18. Balester could be a bottom of the rotation starter and looks to have great stuff. His fastball tops out at 92 MPH. He will be at A for this year until he proves that he should be called up.

The best of the rest are Josh Karp who is at AAA and will be an emergency starter, Jay Bergman, Shawn Hill, Darrell Rasner, and Rich Rundles are all mid level prospects at AA.

[canadiancreed]

lord that doods suit in post #2 is just horrid!

[jaykno14]

Chad Cordero will look to rack up a bunch of saves this year for the Nationals.

Nationals Bullpen


Chad Cordero is the one and only closer of my bullpen. Cordero is a serviceable closer and won't dominate but will get the job done. He is 23 and this will be his first full year of closing. He will struggle at some points of the season, but will do well enough and could possibly get 25-30 saves this year.

Our setup man is Anotonio Osuna, who could also save a few games if needed. Osuna is a 31 year old veteran and can probably have a 2.30-3.00 ERA if he does well enough. He has great control and movement and has above average stuff. Osuna will clock his fastball up in the 92 MPH range.

Our second set up man is Joey Eischen who will face left handed hitters. Eischen is 34 years old and has pitched for four teams in his career. He will clock his fastball up in the 92 MPH range and has great movement.

T.J. Tucker is the next guy out of the bullpen. Tucker is 26 and has excellent pure stuff. His control rating is average and he will pit ground balls about 63 % of the time. His fastball reaches 94 MPH and he is one of the harder throwers out in the bullpen. This year he will most likely pitch in the 6-7 inning.

Luis Ayala is next in line for the middle reliever. Ayala is a 27 year old middle reliever who has a chance to be a set up man someday. He has excellent control and great movement and 7 out of 10 times he will throw the ground ball making it hard for homeruns to be hit off him.

The final man in our bullpen is Joe Horgan a 27 middle reliever. Horgan is a left handeder and does well against both sides of hitters. He has above average stuff, control, and movement. He was able to save 20 saves last year and that gives us flexibility to move guys around in the 'pen.

Down on the Farm

Our one prospect is Bill Bray, a closer prospect that has excellent stuff and movement. He is 21 and at A. Bray should be at AAA at the end of the season but we don't want to rush him so well have to wait and see.

Ray Corcoran, Justin Echols, Ben Cox, and Benji Dequin are all prospects in our minor league system that will be at the ML level at some time. Corcoran and Echols are closest to the big leagues and Corcoran will probably be the first one called up for an injury.

[jaykno14]

Vidro will be the second baseman this year for the Nationals

Nationals Position Players

At catcher we have Brian Schneider who has been an Expo/National catcher since 2000. Schneider is in the top five of defensive catchers in the league with a phnenomonal arm and above average range. Hitting wise, he is average to below average with no speed.

At first base we have Nick Johnson is still young at 26. Johnson broke out in the majors in 2001 with the Yankees. He was brought to Montreal at the beginning of the 2004 season. Johson has an excellent eye and will usually be in the .400+ on base percentage range. He also will hit about 25 home runs a year with 90+ RBI's. He is an above average first baseman defensively.

At second base is one of the top second baseman in the league, Jose Vidro. Vidro has exceptional contact hitting with average power and an average eye. The last five out of six years (2004 being the exception), Vidro has hit over .300. In 2000 Vidro had a career year with 24 home runs with 97 RBI and a .330 batting average. He has played with Montreal/Washington since 1997 and is 30 years old. His current contract runs through 2008 worth $7 million a year.

Third base provides Vinny Castilla, who was signed to a $3.1 millon for two years after hitting 35 home runs with 131 RBI's and a .271 average. Except it was in Colorado. Still that doesn't take away what a phenomonal year it was for Castilla. Castilla has excellent home run ratings and above average contact ratings. He plays exceptional third base defense and is probably an early canidate for Gold Glove, which is a long shot with Scott Rolen in the same league as him.

We are weaker hitting wise at short stop with Cristian Guzman, who was once a top tier Minnesota prospect. Guzman plays gold glove short stop year in, year out, but has hit above .280 only once in his seven year career (2001). Guzman will be at the bottom of the lineup most of the season but if he heats up he could possibly be inserted at the second spot.

Left Fielder Brad Wilkerson hasn't really exploded the way he can yet, and I am hoping that this is the year he does so. Last year he was able to hit 32 home runs but he only hit .255 and had a mediocre 67 RBI's. He has above average contact, power, and eye across the board and has potential to become an excellent all around hitter. The 28 year old is exceptional at all the outfield positions and first base on the defensive side and if he wasn't a starter he would make a great bench player.

Center Fielder Termell Sledge was orginally a left fielder but his offensive ability made me put him in center field. Sledge has the potential to be a 20+ base stealer and could hit 40+ doubles at some point in his career. He also has a phenomonal eye and will have a .400+ on base percentage more than once in his career. Defensively, he can play every out field position and he has excellent range and a below average arm in the outfield. This year, I expect Sledge to hit .280 with 15-20 home runs and 60-70 RBI.

Right Fielder Jose Guillen made an explosion in Anaheim, but Jim Bowden decided to throw $3.5 million at him and it could be one of the biggest steals in the off season. He has potential to hit 25-30 homers in a year with 100+ RBI. He has an amazing arm out in right field and can cover tons of ground making him one of the best fielders at his position.

Down on the Farm

Our best hitting prospect in the minors is Larry Broadway, a 24 year old first baseman at AAA. He has potential to hit 35-40 home runs in his career with 115+ RBI. He will also hit .280 as a hitter. Fielding wise he is average all around and won't dazzle you with his glove but is serviceable. Expect Johnson to possibly be traded this July for the sake of giving him a position for the second half.

Our next hitting prospect is another first baseman, this time Josh Whitesell, who is 22. Whitesell is better all around and will probably hit better for average with 5-10 less home runs than Broadway. This guy could be traded away for help if we are in contention in July or he will be traded away next offseason. I have not decided what to do with him yet.

Brendan Harris is our best second base prospect and probably won't make it with the Nationals at the major league level as a second baseman. He will most likely be our future third baseman. He is comparable to Vidro in a much smaller way and has potential to hit way better than .300 but will only hit 15-20 homers a year. He is an above average fielder at third base and a below average fielder at second.

Kory Casto is our third base prospect and it will be between him and Harris for me to decide who will be the future third baseman of the club. Casto can hit 35+ doubles a year and will hit .300 with 20 home runs. That would probably be his peak anyway. Fielding wise he can play all out field positions and third base. That gives me the option to move him to the outfield if I want to keep him and Harris.

Our final hitting prospect is Ian Desmond, a 19 year old at A. He is a SS that will possibly hit .280 and steal 30+ bases a season. He is a future lead off hitter. He also has great range as a short stop and will be in the top ten defensively every year.

[jaykno14]

Sledge will be the first National to come of the bench this year

National Bench

At catcher we have a backup in Gary Bennett, who was with the Brewers last year. Bennett is above average defensively and will fill in for Schneider once or twice every week. Bennett really hasn't hit well in his career with a career .247 average. His ratings tell me that he'll hit .240 with five or less homers which isn't really appealing to me.

Tony Blanco is our backup first baseman. Blanco is another first base prospect but isn't as highly touted as Broadway and Whitesell. Blanco will have an average career and could start for some lower tier teams. His potential ratings tell me he'll hit .280+ with about 20 homers and 70-80 RBI. That is his potential but it may be different than what he'll pan out to. Blanco will start when needed but other than that he will be used as a pinch hitter.

Carlos Baerga is a 36 year old back up infielder. Baerga has played with five teams and Washington is his sixth. He has a career .292 average and his best year came in 1993 when he hit 21 homers with 114 RBI. He also hit .321 that year. Baerga had a really good career but in the past couple of years he has come off the bench. We expect him to fill in at second and short sometimes but will mostly be a pinch hitter.

Jamey Carroll is a 31 year old backup third baseman. Carroll has very low power ratings but can hit .280 or so in a good season from him. He has been with the Expos/Nationals for the past three years and they are the only team he has played for. Carroll is able to play second, third, and short stop off the bench.

Ryan Church is the first backup outfielder on our team. Church is expected to split starts with Termell Sledge in Center Field. Church has ability to hit .275-.280 with 10-15 home runs THIS year but has potential to be able to hit 20-25 home runs in the future. He can play all outfield positions and has exceptional range and a great arm out there.

Our final bench player is out fielder J.J. Davis. Davis, 26, provides a lot of pop off the bench. He will probably hit 10-15 home runs off the bench and could easily fill in if any of our out fielders get hurt. Davis will hit .270-.280 range and can play every out field position but excelling at the corner positions. He is probably the first pinch hitter we'll use off our bench and could even get some starts.

[jaykno14]

Sledge and Vidro both homered in the Nationals' debut as a Major League Baseball team

Nationals Win in Cincinnati; Get first win out of the way

Although Livan Hernandez didn't have his best outing, the National's new offense carried the team yesterday winning an extra inning game 7-5.

Hernandez didn't start off too well giving up a two run homerun in the bottom of the first inning to Sean Casery after he had given up an infield single to D'Angelo Jiminez the second baseman. Eric Milton was pitching shoutout ball until the top of the fifth inning when Jose Vidro and Termmell Sledge hit back to back home runs and then Schneider hit a sigle and scored three batters later on a two out single from Jose Guillen the new National. In the top of the sixth the Nationals added one more off of a Livan Hernandez one out RBI single that drove in Sledge. The lead would be short lived though, as Hernandez gave up a three run home run to Adam Dunn, his second of the day, after giving up a hit to Sean Casey and walking Ken Griffey Jr. In the top of the seventh the Nationals were able to score a run for the third straight inning when Nick Johnson drove in Cristian Guzman, who had doubled to lead off the inning. The game went eventless and into extras until the top of the tenth. Jose Vidro led off the inning with a solo home run that was followed up by Termmell Sledge's second home run of the day. That put the lead at 7-5 which was held up by Chad Cordero who got save number one on the season.

The winning pitcher of the game was Joe Horgan who came in on relief in the bottom of the eighth and allowed only two base runners and no runs to score. Kent Mercker got the loss for Cincinatti. Adam Dunn led the Reds offensively going 2-5 with a home run and three runs batted in. Meanwhile Jose Vidro and Termell Sledge combined to go 6-9 with four home runs, five runs, and four runs batted in.

Tomorrow's matchup will be Esteban Loaiza versus Paul Wilson and on Wednesday it will be Tomo Ohka versus Aaron Harang.

[jaykno14]

Washington (0-0) vs. Cincinnati (0-0)

GAME 1: See the Article

GAME 2: Well the undefeated Nationals are set to take on Paul Wilson and the Reds for the second game of a three game series. For us we have newly signed Esteban Loaiza, who will be making his first start as a National (even though every pitcher who starts for us will be making their first start for the Nationals but in Loaiza's case it his first start for the Nationals/Expos). In the lineup Ryan Church was initially suppose to start but because of his big game yesterday, Sledge will get the nod in center field over Church. We started off quickly as Sledge (because of my genious managing move) hit a one out double to bring his average up to .833 (No that's not an OPS) and was driven in by Jose Vidro. Vidro was able to get to first base on a wild pitch and then was driven in by Vinny Castilla on a ground out to third. Just like that we were leading 2-0 and it looked like it was going to be another good day. We scored again in the top of the third on a RBI single from Vinny Castilla, who drove in none other than Termell Sledge (Sledge walked to get on). We were winning 3-0. The game was eventless until the top of the sixth inning when Jose Guillen led off the inning with a double, which was followed by Nick Johnson with another double. Johnson was thrown out trying to make it a triple but was still able to get the run in. We were now winning 4-0. Just for your information, Esteban has pitched a no hitter through six innings and it looked like we would quickly get the Nationals' first no hitter out of the way. Ouch. Jinxed it. The first hit came from Austin Kearns to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Loaiza quickly struck out the next two batters and Kearns was caught stealing to end the inning. In the eighth inning both teams went down 1-2-3 which brought us into the ninth inning with the Nationals ahead 4-0. Other than a Brain Schneider double (by the way we have a hit a number of doubles it seems like) we went down without any runs again. Loaiza would try to complete the one hit shutout in the ninth inning. The inning was led off by Willy Mo Pena (awesome name) who hit a double and then D'Angelo Jiminez was walked to put guys at first and second with no outs. Loaiza was able to get Sean Casey to fly out to center but Pena advanced to third. The next batter was Austin Kearns, who ended the no hit bid, and then also ended the shutout bid with a ground out to second base. Griffey grounded out to second to end the game and the surprise Nationals were 2-0. Loaiza goes to 1-0, while Paul Wilson goes to 0-1.

GAME 3: In the final match of the three game series, which features your Washington Nationals going for the orginizations first ever sweep, Tomozaku Ohka will pitch for the Nationals versus Aaron Harang. Again Sledge got the start for Ryan Church after doing well last game again. Ohka is a extreme control picture so we probably shouldn't expect the four walks that Loaiza gave up yesterday to happen again. The Reds were the team starting off quickly this game. In the bottom of the first, D'Angelo Jiminez led off the inning with a single which was followed by another single from Sean Casey which put men on first and third. Austin Kearns grounded into a double play, which allowed Jiminez to score but we got two outs off the double play. The game was again uneventful utnil the fifth. Before that we had only three hits and we struck out six times. In the bottom of the fifth they scored yet again when Aaron Harang, yes the pitcher, doubled and was bunted over to third by D'Angelo Jiminez, and driven in by a ground ball from Sean Casey. So that put us in a hole, down 2-0 and we need to mount a comeback in order to gain the sweep. The sixth inning was uneventful as it saw both teams come up scoreless and it saw us go 1-2-3. In the top of the seventh our bats finally came back up from the dead. Well sort of. Jose Vidro led off the inning with a solo home run but we were unable to amount anymore runs, and we were still down 2-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh. In the seventh we made a double switch putting pitcher Antonio Osuna in Brian Schneider's spot and bringing in Gary Benett to catch and bat in the ninth spot, which was due up second in the coming inning. Osuna was able to work 1-2-3 keeping the score at 2-1. In the top of the eighth we were able to amount one hit, except it was with two outs and it was only a single so the guy never got around to scoring. Osuna was again able to retire Reds' hitters 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth while facing the 3-4-5 hitters. So it came down to the top of the ninth for us to avoid our first loss of the season. The inning started off beautifully when Jose Vidro, make that HOT hitting Jose Vidro, tripled. Next up was Vinny Castilla, who was 0-2 with a walk so far. He got his pitch and drove it to left for a double and driving in Vidro to tie the score up at 2! Jose Guillen was due up next and they intentional walked him to create a force out at any base except for home. That brought up Nick Johnson. I was debating whether I should bunt with him until I finally decided to have him bunt. F*ck! He strikes out fouling off all three attempts. That is when I decided (in yet another brilliant manager move) to pinch hit J.J. Davis. Here's the call: Davis steps in. This is his second pinch hitting experience on the season. Here is the 2-1 pitch and he lines it to center! Castilla is around third and headed for home...Griffey picks it up quickly and throws the ball. A one hop strike and he iss...OUT! Ohh what a play by Griffey to save the day for the Reds and theses fans are going wild! Damn. Thats all I can say. Well there is still only two outs and up next is Guzman. He saves the day with a double that drives in both Davis and Guillen and it puts us up 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth. I decide to bring in Chad Cordero for his first save opportunity. Oh and it coulding be any easier. Except for a single for Larue, he mows down the hitters and the Nationals record their first sweep. Osuna gets the win while Kent Mercker gets his second loss already on the season.

Series Scores

Game One: Washington 7, Cincinnati 5
Game Two: Washington 4, Cincinnati 1
Game Three: Washington 5, Cincinnati 3

Player of the Series: 2B Jose Vidro: 7-12 (.583/.615/1.500) 3 homers, 4 runs batted in, 5 runs, and 4 extra base hits.

[canadiancreed]

this format looks kind of familiar

[jaykno14]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

this format looks kind of familiar

Yeah it is similar to UD's. I have been trying to think of a new format but I haven't been able to figure one out. The first few series may be like this one becuase they were written out before I even posted the first post of this dynasty, but as I get along in the season I will try to figure out a new one. I know it isn't good to copy what someone else does (especially when they do it 10 times better than you) but I will ask for some slack until I figure out another way to post a series by series update, which is what I was aiming at with this dynasty.

[canadiancreed]

kidna reminded me of mine actualyl but yes i see the smilairity to UD's as well

[jaykno14]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

kidna reminded me of mine actualyl but yes i see the smilairity to UD's as well

Ahh O.K. Now that I look it is similar to your's and UD's.

[jaykno14]

Sorry for the delay of an update. School has been really busy lately and I will probably be able to find time tonight to be able to play out some games.

[jaykno14]

Washington (3-0) vs. Atlanta (1-2)

GAME 1: Well the Nationals bring their undefeated record into Atlanta, who lost two out of three to the Marlins. This is their home opener, and 50,083 fans showed up to show their support for their team. We send out John Patterson, who is making his first start of the year, and he will be facing Mike Hampton, who is also making his first start of the year. In the top of the first, Cristian Guzman picked up a rare one out walk and then Guillen singled him to second. After that I attempted a double steal and Guzman got caught at third. Dumb move on my part. Castilla was still able to single in Guillen, and we had the 1-0 lead at the end of a half an inning. Patterson was able to strike out the first batter looking, but he then gave up a walk and then a triple to Marcus Giles, which was followed up by an Andruw Jones solo homerun. Patterson got out of the inning giving up one more hit but no runs. The game went uneventful until the bottom of the sixth when Andruw Jones hit a solo home run to but the Braves up 4-1. In the bottom of the seventh I decide to bring in Luis Ayala to pitch after I put in a pinch hitter for John Patterson in the top of the sixth. After a lead off double from pinch hitter Julio Franco, Ayala was able to get them to go down 1-2-3 to end the scoring threat. We again went down in the top of the eighth without any runs. Atlanta put salt on the wound in the bottom of the eighth when a 4-4 Giles hit another single to left, and that was followed by Andruw Jones' third home run, which made the score 6-1 in favor of the Braves. I decided to bring in T.J. Tucker from the bullpen before anymore runs were let up and after a one out single to Eddie Perez, he was able to get the Braves out. So we went into the top of the ninth in a pretty deep hole down 6-1 and in danger of our first loss. To start the inning off, Vinny Castilla continued to rack up RBI's with a solo home run that made it a tad more interesting at 6-2. That was followed up by Nick Johnson's flyout to left field. Then Jose Vidro singled, which was followed up by Termell Sledge. Here's the call: Termell Sledge is stepping into the box now. He is 0-2 with a walk today so far, all of his at bats came against Hampton. Relief pitcher Chris Reitsma looks in for the sign and comes back together. Reitsma takes a lonnng look at first base and here's the pitch...It's hit deep...Jordan's racing back...it's at the wall annnd...GONE! Sledge has made this game a lot more interesting with a two run home run to bring the Nationals back within two. So now that our bats decide to wake up with two outs to go, it makes the game a lot more interesting. They finally brought in closer Danny Kolb to prevent anymore runs from scoring. Schneider flew out to left and it looks like our rally will come up short. Oh no. You stick right here. Pinch hitter Ryan Church forces a walk and then advances to second on a wild pitch from Kolb. That is followed by Wilkerson who gets hit by a pitch, and that puts runners on first and second with two outs. Cristian Guzman is next up and he is able to hit it to the short stop who makes an error to load the bases for Jose Guillen. Guillen really works the pitcher and is able to force a walk, which brings in another run to make the score 6-5. Vinny Castilla was next up and was set to do a lot of damage. It's just...he struck out. So the rally comes up short and the Nationals drop their first ever loss. Hampton got the win, while Patterson took the loss with Kolb picking up the save.

GAME 2: Well the Nationals look to get back at even ground here today after a rally came up short last game and caused the first loss the Nationals have ever had. Our ace, Livan Hernandez, is going up against John Thompson who is making his first start. In inning number one, both teams go down 1-2-3. In the top of the second Jose Guillen doubled but was the only one to get a hit and was left stranded at second base. Although nothing happened in the top of the third, Livan Herndandez continued to hit the ball hard with a double to left field but was to later be left on with Ryan Church and no runs score. Finally, in the bottom of the third inning some action started. Raul Mondesi singled and was able to steal second. Rafael Furcal then hit a RBI single to make the score 1-0. Next, Chipper Jones singled which moved Furcal to second base. That was followed up by a two RBI single for Marcus Giles to put the Braves up 3-0. In the top of the fourth inning we were able to get one run back on a bases loaded walk for Livan Hernandez, but we then stranded three men on base. They added to their score in the bottom of the fifth on a Chipper Jones single which drove in Rafael Furcal (he doubled). That made the score 4-1. In the bottom of the sixth inning they added another run off of Joey Eischen who came into pitch. He gave up a single to Brian Jordan and then hit Adam Laroche. Mondesi then singled which drove in Brian Jordan to make the score 5-1. Eischen was able to get out of the jam with no further damage. Finally in the top of the seventh Ryan Church and Jose Vidro had back to back hits. One batter later, Jose Guillen hits a two RBI double to left center field to bring us back within two at 5-3. We got them down the next inning 1-2-3. In the eighth Schneider led off the inning with a walk which was then followed up by Cristian Guzman's single. Unfortunately, the next three guys, Tony Blanco (PH), Wilkerson, and Church, all struck out. Joe Horgan was then brought in in the bottom of the eighth inning and mowed them down 1-2-3. In inning number nine, we found ourselves again down in a hole with only three outs to go. Danny Kolb was brought in to rack up the save for the Braves. We'll see about that. Jose Vidro led off the inning with a double to right field. Vinny Castilla flew out to right after that and that made it one down. Jose Guillen next forced a walk to put guys on first and second with one down. Kolb's control problems continued with a walk to Nick Johnson to load the bases for Brian Schneider, who K'ed on a 3-2 pitch. Chris Reitsma is now brought in to face Cristian Guzman and to get the last out for the Braves. Here's the call Guzman is batting eighth here today after batting second in yesterday's ball game. He steps in with two down and the bases loaded with his team down 5-3. The ultimate pressure situation. Reitsma looks in at the sign. He shakes off the first. Finally he finds one he likes. From the stretch and here's the pitch...Guzman hits it down the first base line and in to right field it goes! Vidro is in and Guillen is on his way around. There's going to be a play at the plate and here's the one hop throw and he isss...SAFE! The National's dugout erupts! They have come back again only this time they tie the game! The pitchers spot is due up next and we don't want to stop there. I decide to pinch hit J.J. Davis. He singles to left field, and Johnson, who advanced to second on Guzman's hit, comes around to score the go ahead run to make it 6-5. And we don't stop there. Nick Johnson hits a two RBI double to left field to bring in Davis and Guzman to make the score 8-5 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. I bring in Chad Cordero, who has two saves on the year and is looking for his third. 1...2...3. And we complete the improbable comeback, all with two outs, to even the series at one. Joe Horgan gets the win to go to 2-0, while Kolb gets his first loss and Cordero gets his third save. Vidro, Guillen, and Guzman combined to go 9-14 with five runs and four runs batted in.

GAME 3: Well this is what they call the rubber match of the series. Making his first start of the year, we have Zach Day going for us on the mound. In my opinion, Day is as excellent as a number five starter out there and I don't think there is anyone as good as him. His counter part will be John Smoltz, who can do it all and in his first start in over three years (is that right?) he pitched beautifully and has a 1.50 ERA. So to start of the game we come out of the gates wheelin' and dealin' when Wilkerson hits a lead off single and one batter later Vidro does the same thing to move Wilkerson to second base. That is followed up by a Vinny Castiilla double, which scores Wilkerson and advances Vidro to third with one down. Unfortunately, we are not able to cash in on the multi run opportunity and we settle for one. In the bottom of the first, Zach Day is able to avoid any trouble after giving up a two out single to Marcus Giles who is just a beast this series against us. As long as he didn't score we're O.K. In the top of the second Cristian Guzman hit his fifth double, which leads the league, but was stranded on second base as no one could get him in. The game was uneventful until the top of the fourth inning where Brian Schneider hit a two out single and that was followed up by a triple from Cristian Guzman to put us up 2-0. Guzman was stranded when Day grounded out to the short stop. Despite a one out triple in the bottom of the fourth by Johnny Estrada, we hold them to no runs and we go into the top of the fifth leading 2-0. With one out Ryan Church came up to bat and hit a clutch solo home run to raise the lead to 3-0, and put us in good posession of the game. Zach Day had only 65 pitches in the first five innings. The game was eventless until the top of the seventh when the Bravies brought in Chris Reitsma. Wilkerson doubled and was driven in by Jose Vidro who doubled but tried to stretch it into a triple and was thrown out. Again, Day mowed them down in the bottom of the seventh and the Braves brought in Tom Martin to pitch and try to keep the game as close as possible. Well the top of the eighth was led off by Jose Guillen home run and it didn't turn out that way so the score was now 5-0. Martin was able to get out of the inning but not before he made the deficit bigger. Finally in the bottom of the eighth the Braves got something going. Chipper Jones led off with a single which was followed by a Marcus Giles' double. On his way home, Jones was thrown out at the plate and the score was still 5-0, but not for long. Andruw Jones hit his fifth homer of the year that brought the Braves within three runs at 5-2. At that we brought in relief pitcher T.J. Tucker who got the third out with a fly out. In the bottom of the ninth we brought in Chad Cordero to record the save. He did so allowing only one baserunner, for his fourth save of the year. Day goes to 1-0 and Smoltz starts off '05 with a 0-2 record.

Series Scores

Game One: Washington 5, Atlanta 6
Game Two: Washington 8, Atlanta 5
Game Three: Washington 5, Atlanta 2

Player of the Series: OF Jose Guillen: 6-11 (.545), 1 home run, 4 runs batted in, 4 runs, 3 walks, 2 doubles, 3 extra base hits

[jaykno14]

President Bush shakes catcher Brian Schneider's hand after throwing out the first pitch.

Baseball's finally back in Washington: 'Home sweet home'

Washington National fans came in all ages and sizes. There were kids, parents, grandparents. Did I mention Presidents? A long and fun filled day came to an end as closer Chad Cordero struck out Jeff Bagwell and 53,354 fans screamed at the top of their lungs as the Nationals remained in first place.

The day started out with President George W. Bush throwing out his fourth first pitch of his two terms. It was a strike. A sign of good things to come? We'll see.

Esteban Loaiza got the first batter, Craig Biggio, to fly out on a 1-0 pitch and followed that with two strikeouts to begin the Robert F. Kennedy's first home game in over 53 years. The Nationals also went down 1-2-3 to begin the game and into the second they went.

Finally, after another 1-2-3 inning, in the bottom of the second the Nationals came alive. It was led off by Jose Guillen who singled to center field. That was followed by first baseman Nick Johnson homering to put the 'Nats' up 2-0. In the bottom of the third the Nationals scored again as Brad Wilkerson worked a lead off walk and was then driven in by Ryan Church who hit a two run home run to right field. In the top of the fifth Morgan Ensburg tripled to left field and was driven in by Luke Scott on a single. In the top of the sixth the Astros scored again as Criag Biggio, who tripled, was driven in by Adam Everett on a sacrafise ground ball to make the score 4-2. That would be it as the Nationals didn't score again and they held the Astros to no runs and they remained in first at 6-1.

Tomorrow, is an off day for the Nationals and they will resume action on Wednesday as they take on the Astros again.