Hey! Was anybody worried? Thought I was stranded somewhere/abducted/institutionalized?
Well, in case you were wondering (and by you, I mean the five of you that my site stats are saying came between Monday and today), I'm still here. Work has just been a little bit crazy this week (yes I have a job), and today looks like it will be no different.
Hopefully tomorrow it will settle down some and I'll make some real updates. Until then, here's a quick team-by-team rundown of what's been happening in area sports in the last five days:
Nationals: Sucking.
1-3. Lost two of three in a weekend series against the Mets, then lost the series opener against the Reds. The Nats are now tied for last place in the National League East, where everyone thought they'd be all along. They are still only two games behind Philadelphia for the Wild Card with 37 games remaining, though.
Orioles: Sucking.
0-4. Swept in a weekend series in Cleveland. Lost the series opener with the Angels. Any slim hopes of playoff baseball in Baltimore that may have been ignited by the sweep over then-Wild-Card-leading Oakland are long gone.
D.C. United: Sucking.
0-1. OK, that's kind of harsh because they were on a six game unbeaten streak before losing to the Los Angeles Galaxy, 3-2, on Saturday, but we're working on a theme here.
Mystics: Sucking less than they were at last update.
1-1. The Mystics lost to Detroit on Sunday to fall a game behind the Shock for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East and drop their fifth game in a row, then redeemed themselves by beating New York in overtime on Tuesday while Detroit lost to the craptacular 4-27 Charlotte Sting (now 5-27!). The Mystics and Shock are again tied for fourth in the East, now with two games remaining in the regular season for both teams.
Since this is the most interesting thing going on in local sports right now, I'm going to talk about it more.
With two games remaining for both Detroit and Washington and the teams tied for the final playoff spot in the East with matching 15-17 records, things are getting interesting. This is especially true because the teams end their season with a head-to-head match-up. This, folks, is as awesome as women's basketball gets. With Detroit playing second-place Indiana on Thursday and the Mystics playing first-place Connecticut on Friday, there is a good chance that both teams will be sitting on 15-18 records going into Saturday's season-deciding game.
For Saturday's game, the Mystics will be playing for the second night in a row and will be traveling from Connecticut to the nation's capital after the 7:30 p.m. game against the Sun. Detroit has a day off before the crucial match, but they will have to play on Washington's home court.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Friday, August 19, 2005
MLB: Nationals 5, Philadelphia Phillies 4 (August 18, Game 2)
WP: Luis Ayala (8-6)
LP: Ugueth Urbina (3-1)
S: Chad Cordero (39)
WAS: 64-57 (3rd in NL East, 5 behind Atlanta, 0.5 behind Philadelphia, 0.5 ahead of Florida, 2.5 ahead of New York; 0.5 behind Philadelphia for Wild Card)
For much of yesterday's doubleheader, it looked like the Nationals were going to be swept and lose ground on both the Phillies and the Astros in the Wild Card race -- but then the Nats offense changed that in the eight inning of the second game.
After falling behind 4-0 with Ryan Drese pitching, the Nationals scored three runs in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Jose Vidro and a one-run double by Nick Johnson to cut the lead to 4-3. The score stayed that way until the eighth, when set-up man Ugueth Urbina came in for the Phillies. Urbina gave up a leadoff double to Jose Guillen, and with one out, Preston Wilson singled him home and advanced to second on the throw to the plate. The next batter, Carlos Baerga, did the same, and the Nationals took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth.
Mike Stanton got the first out in the eighth for the Nats, but gave up a single to Bobby Abreu, which prompted Frank Robinson to bring in the Chief, Chad Cordero, to get five outs for the save. Cordero got Pat Burrell to ground into the double play to end the eighth, then pitched a three-up, three-down ninth to record his 39th save.
The Nats head to New York to start a three-game set with the last-place Mets tonight at 7:10. John Patterson (7-3, 2.44 ERA, throws right) starts for the Nationals, facing Jae Seo (4-1, 1.35 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
Well, I was right for doubting Ryan Drese in a big game, but the Nationals bats and bullpen came through to get them a much-needed win anyway.
Down 4-0, it looked like the Nats were doomed to lose, because they don't score four runs in a game all that often, let alone four runs in five innings after falling behind 4-0. But some two-out hits in the fifth and clutch hitting in the eighth earned Washington the win and kept them within a half game of the Wild Card lead.
The Nationals now look to take the Wild Card lead when they play three against the Mets this weekend. Unfortunately, Houston and Philly get weak opponents in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, respectively.
Tonight the Nats take on Jae Seo, an excellent pitcher from South Korea who has posted an incredible 1.35 ERA in five starts this season. Luckily, the Nats will send stud John Patterson to the hill, who boasts a 2.44 ERA.
LP: Ugueth Urbina (3-1)
S: Chad Cordero (39)
WAS: 64-57 (3rd in NL East, 5 behind Atlanta, 0.5 behind Philadelphia, 0.5 ahead of Florida, 2.5 ahead of New York; 0.5 behind Philadelphia for Wild Card)
For much of yesterday's doubleheader, it looked like the Nationals were going to be swept and lose ground on both the Phillies and the Astros in the Wild Card race -- but then the Nats offense changed that in the eight inning of the second game.
After falling behind 4-0 with Ryan Drese pitching, the Nationals scored three runs in the fifth inning on a two-run double by Jose Vidro and a one-run double by Nick Johnson to cut the lead to 4-3. The score stayed that way until the eighth, when set-up man Ugueth Urbina came in for the Phillies. Urbina gave up a leadoff double to Jose Guillen, and with one out, Preston Wilson singled him home and advanced to second on the throw to the plate. The next batter, Carlos Baerga, did the same, and the Nationals took a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth.
Mike Stanton got the first out in the eighth for the Nats, but gave up a single to Bobby Abreu, which prompted Frank Robinson to bring in the Chief, Chad Cordero, to get five outs for the save. Cordero got Pat Burrell to ground into the double play to end the eighth, then pitched a three-up, three-down ninth to record his 39th save.
The Nats head to New York to start a three-game set with the last-place Mets tonight at 7:10. John Patterson (7-3, 2.44 ERA, throws right) starts for the Nationals, facing Jae Seo (4-1, 1.35 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
Well, I was right for doubting Ryan Drese in a big game, but the Nationals bats and bullpen came through to get them a much-needed win anyway.
Down 4-0, it looked like the Nats were doomed to lose, because they don't score four runs in a game all that often, let alone four runs in five innings after falling behind 4-0. But some two-out hits in the fifth and clutch hitting in the eighth earned Washington the win and kept them within a half game of the Wild Card lead.
The Nationals now look to take the Wild Card lead when they play three against the Mets this weekend. Unfortunately, Houston and Philly get weak opponents in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, respectively.
Tonight the Nats take on Jae Seo, an excellent pitcher from South Korea who has posted an incredible 1.35 ERA in five starts this season. Luckily, the Nats will send stud John Patterson to the hill, who boasts a 2.44 ERA.
WNBA: Indiana Fever 67, Mystics 57 (August 18)
WAS: 14-16 (5th in East, 10 behind Connecticut, 4 behind Indiana, 3 behind New York, 0.5 behind Detroit)
The Washington Mystics' tough schedule is getting the better of them, as they dropped their fourth straight game last night, losing to the Indiana Fever, 67-57. The loss puts them in fifth place in the East, which means that the Mystics would be staying home if the playoffs started today.
They are half a game behind Detroit, who plays tonight at Los Angeles.
Last night, Indiana's Tamika Catchings pretyt much single-handedly took down Washington, scoring 23 points, dishing out six assists and grabbing six rebounds, all of which led the team.
Delisha Milton-Jones and Chasity Melvin both scored 20 points for the Mystics, with Melvin also grabbing 10 boards for a double-double. Alana Beard was shut down by the Fever, only managing six points on 2-for-8 shooting.
The Mystics next game is in Detroit, where they will face the team they are trying to overtake for the last playoff spot on Sunday at 5 p.m.
THOUGHTS:
Not good.
Now the Mystics have to sit and watch and hope that Chamique Holdsclaw and the Los Angeles Sparks can knock off Detroit so that Washington will be back in a tie with Detroit for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.
Sunday's game in Detroit is now a must-win for the Mystics, because a loss would at least put them one game out of the playoffs with three games remaining, and could put them two games back if Detroit wins tonight.
For the Mystics to have any shot at making the playoffs, Alana Beard is going to need to take more than eight shots per game.
The Washington Mystics' tough schedule is getting the better of them, as they dropped their fourth straight game last night, losing to the Indiana Fever, 67-57. The loss puts them in fifth place in the East, which means that the Mystics would be staying home if the playoffs started today.
They are half a game behind Detroit, who plays tonight at Los Angeles.
Last night, Indiana's Tamika Catchings pretyt much single-handedly took down Washington, scoring 23 points, dishing out six assists and grabbing six rebounds, all of which led the team.
Delisha Milton-Jones and Chasity Melvin both scored 20 points for the Mystics, with Melvin also grabbing 10 boards for a double-double. Alana Beard was shut down by the Fever, only managing six points on 2-for-8 shooting.
The Mystics next game is in Detroit, where they will face the team they are trying to overtake for the last playoff spot on Sunday at 5 p.m.
THOUGHTS:
Not good.
Now the Mystics have to sit and watch and hope that Chamique Holdsclaw and the Los Angeles Sparks can knock off Detroit so that Washington will be back in a tie with Detroit for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East.
Sunday's game in Detroit is now a must-win for the Mystics, because a loss would at least put them one game out of the playoffs with three games remaining, and could put them two games back if Detroit wins tonight.
For the Mystics to have any shot at making the playoffs, Alana Beard is going to need to take more than eight shots per game.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
MLB: Philadelphia Phillies 2, Nationals 1 (August 18, Game 1)
WP: Vincente Padilla (6-11)
LP: Tony Armas Jr. (7-6)
S: Billy Wagner (29)
WAS: 63-57 (3rd in NL East, 6 behind Atlanta, 1.5 behind Philadelphia, 0.5 ahead of Florida, 1.5 ahead of New York; 1.5 behind Philadelphia for Wild Card)
Tony Armas Jr. worked out of numerous jams, but a two-run double by Bobby Abreu in the second inning was all the Phillies needed, as the Nationals bats couldn't get anything going against Vincente Padilla or the Phillies bullpen. The Phillies won, 2-1.
The Nats got one run in the second on a Cristian Guzman RBI single, but they would not score for the rest of the game.
Armas went five innings, giving up five hits and walking six, but only giving up two runs in the loss.
Game two is at 7:05 p.m., with Ryan Drese (3-6, 4.69 ERA, throws right) facing Cory Lidle (9-10, 4.61 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
The Nationals have to find some offense. A 2-1 loss to a guy who has had a rough season is not what the team needed, especially knowing that they are sending Ryan Drese and his 0-5 record/6.93 ERA over the last five games to the mound tonight.
Luckily, the Phillies are sending Cory Lidle, who has been hoooorrrrible lately, going 1-4 in his last six starts and posting an 8.31 ERA. Maybe that spells good news for the Nats bats. They need it.
LP: Tony Armas Jr. (7-6)
S: Billy Wagner (29)
WAS: 63-57 (3rd in NL East, 6 behind Atlanta, 1.5 behind Philadelphia, 0.5 ahead of Florida, 1.5 ahead of New York; 1.5 behind Philadelphia for Wild Card)
Tony Armas Jr. worked out of numerous jams, but a two-run double by Bobby Abreu in the second inning was all the Phillies needed, as the Nationals bats couldn't get anything going against Vincente Padilla or the Phillies bullpen. The Phillies won, 2-1.
The Nats got one run in the second on a Cristian Guzman RBI single, but they would not score for the rest of the game.
Armas went five innings, giving up five hits and walking six, but only giving up two runs in the loss.
Game two is at 7:05 p.m., with Ryan Drese (3-6, 4.69 ERA, throws right) facing Cory Lidle (9-10, 4.61 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
The Nationals have to find some offense. A 2-1 loss to a guy who has had a rough season is not what the team needed, especially knowing that they are sending Ryan Drese and his 0-5 record/6.93 ERA over the last five games to the mound tonight.
Luckily, the Phillies are sending Cory Lidle, who has been hoooorrrrible lately, going 1-4 in his last six starts and posting an 8.31 ERA. Maybe that spells good news for the Nats bats. They need it.
MLB: Philadelphia Phillies 4, Nationals 3 (August 17)
WP: Jon Lieber (12-10)
LP: Esteban Loaiza (7-9)
S: Billy Wagner (28)
WAS: 63-56 (3rd in NL East, 5.5 behind Atlanta, 0.5 behind Philadelphia, 1 ahead of Florida, 2 ahead of New York; 0.5 behind Philadelphia and Houston for the Wild Card)
With Houston losing, the Nationals had a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the Wild Card standings. Instead, they couldn't get their offense going and they lost game two of their four game series with the Phillies.
The Phillies got two runs in the first inning off of Esteban Loaiza, then the Nats tied it with a Vinny Castilla solo homer and a Jose Vidro RBI single in the top of the third. But in the bottom half, the Phillies added two more on a Bobby Abreu double, and that was all Jon Lieber and the Phils needed.
The Nats cut the lead to one in the seventh on a Castilla sacrifice fly, but couldn't tie it up as Ugueth Urbina and Billy Wagner shut them down in the eighth and ninth innings.
The loss sets up a series/second-place-in-the-division/Wild-Card-lead deciding doubleheader today in Philly. The first game is a 1:05 start, with Tony Armas Jr. (7-5, 4.33 ERA, throws right) facing Vincente Padilla (5-11, 4.65 ERA, throws right).
Game two is set for 7:05, with Ryan Drese (3-6, 4.69 ERA, throws right) going against Cory Lidle (9-10, 4.61 ERA, throws right) in what was supposed to be Tuesday's match-up before the game was postponed.
THOUGHTS:
OK Nats, today is the day to get it done.
The loss last night stung, because Esteban Loaiza didn't pitch particularly poorly and the team was in the game to the end, but today should be interesting with four pitchers who have all posted similar ERAs this season.
The first game, in my mind, is the big one, because Tony Armas Jr. is on the mound, and he has been good in his last two starts (one run in 10 innings) and has been fairly consistent all year. If the Nats can't take game one, though, they have to rely on the much-maligned (by me, at least) Ryan Drese, who has stunk lately and showed no signs of improving in his rain-shortened third of an inning on Tuesday.
A pair of wins today could mean first place in the Wild Card standings, and would at least mean second in the NL East and no more than half a game out of the Wild Card.
A pair of losses, on the other hand, could mean fourth place in the division and would mean being three games behind the Phillies for the Wild Card.
A split? Well, splits are for wusses, and it wouldn't really change much. The Nats would remain a half game behind Philly for second in the division. In the Wild Card race, a split wouuld mean that at worst they would fall a full game behind Houston, at best they'd be a half game behind the Phillies.
At the very least, it should be an exciting day/night of Nats baseball.
LP: Esteban Loaiza (7-9)
S: Billy Wagner (28)
WAS: 63-56 (3rd in NL East, 5.5 behind Atlanta, 0.5 behind Philadelphia, 1 ahead of Florida, 2 ahead of New York; 0.5 behind Philadelphia and Houston for the Wild Card)
With Houston losing, the Nationals had a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the Wild Card standings. Instead, they couldn't get their offense going and they lost game two of their four game series with the Phillies.
The Phillies got two runs in the first inning off of Esteban Loaiza, then the Nats tied it with a Vinny Castilla solo homer and a Jose Vidro RBI single in the top of the third. But in the bottom half, the Phillies added two more on a Bobby Abreu double, and that was all Jon Lieber and the Phils needed.
The Nats cut the lead to one in the seventh on a Castilla sacrifice fly, but couldn't tie it up as Ugueth Urbina and Billy Wagner shut them down in the eighth and ninth innings.
The loss sets up a series/second-place-in-the-division/Wild-Card-lead deciding doubleheader today in Philly. The first game is a 1:05 start, with Tony Armas Jr. (7-5, 4.33 ERA, throws right) facing Vincente Padilla (5-11, 4.65 ERA, throws right).
Game two is set for 7:05, with Ryan Drese (3-6, 4.69 ERA, throws right) going against Cory Lidle (9-10, 4.61 ERA, throws right) in what was supposed to be Tuesday's match-up before the game was postponed.
THOUGHTS:
OK Nats, today is the day to get it done.
The loss last night stung, because Esteban Loaiza didn't pitch particularly poorly and the team was in the game to the end, but today should be interesting with four pitchers who have all posted similar ERAs this season.
The first game, in my mind, is the big one, because Tony Armas Jr. is on the mound, and he has been good in his last two starts (one run in 10 innings) and has been fairly consistent all year. If the Nats can't take game one, though, they have to rely on the much-maligned (by me, at least) Ryan Drese, who has stunk lately and showed no signs of improving in his rain-shortened third of an inning on Tuesday.
A pair of wins today could mean first place in the Wild Card standings, and would at least mean second in the NL East and no more than half a game out of the Wild Card.
A pair of losses, on the other hand, could mean fourth place in the division and would mean being three games behind the Phillies for the Wild Card.
A split? Well, splits are for wusses, and it wouldn't really change much. The Nats would remain a half game behind Philly for second in the division. In the Wild Card race, a split wouuld mean that at worst they would fall a full game behind Houston, at best they'd be a half game behind the Phillies.
At the very least, it should be an exciting day/night of Nats baseball.
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