1-9. Two disastrous losses in a row. Where do we go from here?

[BerkeleyNat]

"He's our closer, he'll bounce back and we'll continue to give him the opportunity." he said.

That statement says it all about Manny. Do we need anymore evidence that this guy has got to go? Hell, I haven't even begun to talk about his infatuation with the rapper formerly known as Lastings.

[DCFan]

my uncle got (4) free $60 face value tickets for tomorrow's game

This should be happening with greater frequency from here on out.

[hammondsnats]

just fire him now and get it over with before it gets worse.

[JMW4th]

real MCs would be ashamed to count Milledge among their number. stick to criticizing his play.

[sportsfan882]

Rizzo speaks:

By the way, because the team wants Elijah Dukes to get the regular at bats in CF, the Nats did not promote Lastings Milledge. Nor did they really consider it. Milledge could be in Syracuse for a while.

"The guy coming in, he's going to be a backup player," Acting GM Mike Rizzo said. "I didn't want Milledge to be a backup player. He needs to get his at bats every day down there. That's the reason we brought up Bernadina, and it's the reason why we're bringing up Maxwell. It gives you a defensive guy that can play center, and a guy that is going to come off the bench."

Hanrahan remains the team's closer. Manny Acta said so. Rizzo said so. This makes sense only because Washington really has no backup plan. Sure, you could try Tavarez, but he took the loss today. You could try Beimel, the team's best reliever, but that removes your eighth inning guy, fixing one problem and opening another. Really, the Nats committed to Hanrahan long ago. And they are committed to him for better or worse. If Hanrahan falters, Washington is stuck without a legit contingency plan.

Rizzo called the bullpen a "concern." He elaborates: "Well, yeah, we're blowing a lot of games in the ninth inning. We've played well enough to win four or five games. And yeah, there's a concern in the bullpen. But Hanrahan is our guy. He's got a good arm. He's got good stuff. He's a young closer, and you've got to go through growing pains. But if I looked you in the face and said I'm not concerned about the bullpen -- I can't say that. We've put ourselves in position to win several games here and we haven't done it. But Joel gets the ball tomorrow in the ninth inning with the lead."

[sportsfan882]

RZ and Dunn refuse to blame Joel:

Two of the vets I spoke with after this game were both able to talk for three or so minutes without once casting blame on Hanrahan. In fact, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn found every way to find blame with their own effort -- despite the fact that the lineup scored six runs in the first two innings against Josh Johnson, the erstwhile NL ERA leader. Said Zim: "When we get ahead 6-0, 5-0, we need to kind of step on their throat rather than saying, OK, we're ahead, blah-blah-blah and just kind of try and coast. It's not like we're trying to do that, but we need that killer instinct, I guess."

[wpa2629]

Awesome ... really such joyous news about Joel .... sigh


I hate my life

[PatsNats28]

Awesome ... really such joyous news ...


I hate my life

I know you're not serious, but it's kind a stupid thing to say... I mean, I get emotional about watching sports but you gotta remember that the Nats are the ones who are freaking up.

[wpa2629]

I know you're not serious, but it's kind a stupid thing to say... I mean, I get emotional about watching sports but you gotta remember that the Nats are the ones who are freaking up.

Of course they are -- but I'm a Nats fan, I'm a Caps fan, I'm a Wizards fan, I'm a Redskin fan and I'm a Maryland fan ---  HELLO!!!  DAGGER!!!


I hate my <sports> life ...

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Where do we go from here? No doubt to 1-10.

I have to say whatever the case, this is the lowest and most ashamed I have ever been as a Nationals fan.

[PANatsFan]

real MCs would be ashamed to count Milledge among their number. stick to criticizing his play.

That's why we call him "The Rapper" - he sucks at that too.

[Obed_Marsh]

I am glad they are being strict and holding everyone accountable.

I hope the whipping continues until the wins arrive. I'm with Dibble: if you cannot do the job, we'll find someone who can.

I'm looking forward to every player being replaced by a better player. No one is untouchable on this pathetic excuse for a major league baseball team.

[BerkeleyNat]

Where do we go from here? No doubt to 1-10.

I have to say whatever the case, this is the lowest and most ashamed I have ever been as a Nationals fan.

We go nowhere...that's where we go. Those of us that post on here are diehard fans and will still support this team, but what about the fringe fans? Attendance will nose dive as this team wallows in mediocrity. If they won't make change now, hopefully they'll get the message and do it in the offseason. In the meantime, when do the Ravens start camp?

[Dave B]

We go nowhere...that's where we go. Those of us that post on here are diehard fans and will still support this team, but what about the fringe fans? Attendance will nose dive as this team wallows in mediocrity. If they won't make change now, hopefully they'll get the message and do it in the offseason. In the meantime, when do the Ravens start camp?

what attendance? the 19k who showed up (or paid, who knows if they showed) on a really nice friday and saturday on the first home weekend of the season?  the lrners really crap the whole freaking town.  they turned gold into crap in the blink of an eye. freak them. freak stan kasten. freak manny acta

[BerkeleyNat]

what attendance? the 19k who showed up (or paid, who knows if they showed) on a really nice friday and saturday on the first home weekend of the season?  the lrners really crap the whole freaking town.  they turned gold into crap in the blink of an eye. freak them. freak stan kasten. freak manny acta

The attendance can get worse. There's nothing to look forward to with this team. I think you'll see very few Nationals fans at the Boston series. We'll basically be renting out our stadium to Boston fans for a three game exhibition against our AAAA team. The front office must know that we've got nothing as they have already whored themselves out trying to rent out our stadium to Philly fans. I really wonder how many other teams would let things get this bad and still not make any changes?

[jhuterp]

We go nowhere...that's where we go. Those of us that post on here are diehard fans and will still support this team, but what about the fringe fans? Attendance will nose dive as this team wallows in mediocrity. If they won't make change now, hopefully they'll get the message and do it in the offseason. In the meantime, when do the Ravens start camp?

Mediocrity???  That's where we were at 81 and 81 in 2005.  If the team was mediocre attendance wouldn't be an issue.  This team sucks ass!  They will get the attendance they deserve and if so it will be the lowest in the majors.  Understand this isn't a reflection of the fan base or DC as a baseball town, it's a reflection of Jimbo (our illustrious former GM), Stan, the Lerners and the dysfunctional organization they've created.

[hammondsnats]

The attendance was low today b/c of the Caps game.  Even with a crappy team, if it's nice out people will come out for day games (and weekend ones). 

But I agree this team needs to turn things around before it gets really bad.  They'll set all time low attendance numbers.  They'll still get the support from us diehards, and then gain more fans like the Caps have had when they being to win.  I would do anything to have the Nats in the Caps position (all the young talent realize their potential, an ownership group that cares about the team and fans and success, a solid coach, excited fan base).

[sportsfan882]

The attendance was low today b/c of the Caps game.  Even with a crappy team, if it's nice out people will come out for day games (and weekend ones). 

But I agree this team needs to turn things around before it gets really bad.  They'll set all time low attendance numbers.  They'll still get the support from us diehards, and then gain more fans like the Caps have had when they being to win.  I would do anything to have the Nats in the Caps position (all the young talent realize their potential, an ownership group that cares about the team and fans and success, a solid coach, excited fan base).

the caps are no better than the Wizards circa 2004-2007. good regular season team but peter out in the playoffs. it's a joke.

I want a team that can can win it all year in and year out.

[Cinqo de Mayo]

I was at the game today, and honestly, no one played particularly well. The no-name replacement shortstop made an error in the ninth that allowed Hermida's homer to be a game-tier. Nonetheless, I was shocked that Hanrahan repeated last night's mistake, and it was obvious that the game was lost on that pitch.

The Nats have no heart, and that falls on ownership and management. I won't be surprised if the Marlins sweep the season series against the Nats. The Marlins are in for a rude awakening when they play a real major league team.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

The Nats have no heart, and that falls on ownership and management.

I don't think that completely falls on ownership and management, in fact, I think very little of it does. Majority falls on the players who don't have the mental makeup to be competitive and take the responsibility of actually winning. These guys are complete wusses. At least Paul Lo Duca had the sense to call this team a bunch of squirrels when they sucked.

[hammondsnats]

the caps are no better than the Wizards circa 2004-2007. good regular season team but peter out in the playoffs. it's a joke.

I want a team that can can win it all year in and year out.

omg dude c'mon.  that's everyone's goal.  to get there you have to do well in your regular season.  that's something we haven't come close to touching.

[Minty Fresh]

I know where I go from here....

[sportsfan882]

omg dude c'mon.  that's everyone's goal.  to get there you have to do well in your regular season.  that's something we haven't come close to touching.

In the Caps' and Wizards' cases I'd just assume suck and be a lottery team than lose in the first round year after year.

[hammondsnats]

In the Caps' and Wizards' cases I'd just assume suck and be a lottery team than lose in the first round year after year.

have the caps lost yet?  no.  they are only going to get better too with all that young talent.

the wizards have had the worst luck w/ injuries.  but they are still better off than t-wovles, clippers and plenty of other teams.  they've had some solid seasons in recent years.  (p.s. the cavs are like the marlins of the nba to the zards)

i love to win and want my teams to have solid seasons, but damn dude it's asking a lot to be perfect.

[sportsfan882]

have the caps lost yet?  no.  they are only going to get better too with all that young talent.

the wizards have had the worst luck w/ injuries.  but they are still better off than t-wovles, clippers and plenty of other teams.  they've had some solid seasons in recent years.  (p.s. the cavs are like the marlins of the nba to the zards)

i love to win and want my teams to have solid seasons, but damn dude it's asking a lot to be perfect.

asking a team to win a first round series isn't much. especially considering when you have the greatest regular season in team history and are a #2 seed. it makes the season feel like a complete waste.

Winning in the MLB is much, much harder to do than in hockey and basketball.