Author Topic: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2  (Read 19219 times)

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Offline Dixon Ward

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #550: April 02, 2011, 06:36:47 PM »
really enjoyed my first game of the season. the defense looked outstanding compared to some of the games i saw last year.

Offline hammondsnats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #551: April 02, 2011, 06:40:29 PM »
the defense by espinosa, desmond and burnett in this one ... holy crap :clap:

Offline PC

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #552: April 02, 2011, 06:53:42 PM »
Doug Slaten has faced two batters and hasn't retired either of them.  His ERA is ∞.

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #553: April 02, 2011, 07:14:10 PM »
I only heard a few innings, but Ramos is a MONSTER. He's a hitting machine!

Offline NatsDad14

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #554: April 02, 2011, 07:18:37 PM »
Doug Slaten has faced two batters and hasn't retired either of them.  His ERA is ∞.
You are wrong. His ERA is undefined.

Online imref

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #555: April 02, 2011, 08:09:12 PM »
Great game - different team this year

Offline natsfan4evr

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #556: April 02, 2011, 08:13:25 PM »
I know it's early, but this team really excites me.
Their defense is light years better than last season's monstrosity of a team, and the bullpen looks solid. Burnett didn't look like the situation fazed him at all...what a stud!

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #557: April 02, 2011, 08:13:37 PM »
Oh yeah, I wonder if Werth can stay in the batting title race?

Offline Obed_Marsh

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #558: April 02, 2011, 08:39:09 PM »
Just got back home from the game  :w: and a little dinner to warm up. :D

Great baseball day  :woop:, the weather left a little to be desired. :? I don't recall hail this time of year. :evil:

Offline tomterp

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #559: April 02, 2011, 10:25:30 PM »
My only complaint today was bringing in Chad "Gas Can" Gaudin.

I had no complaint about bringing him in, and no complaint about kicking his ass right back out again too.   :?

Online imref

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #560: April 02, 2011, 10:47:43 PM »
Just got back home from the game  :w: and a little dinner to warm up. :D

Great baseball day  :woop:, the weather left a little to be desired. :? I don't recall hail this time of year. :evil:

we were out at a little league practice from 1-3 today in Prince William County, I think the weather changed every 15 minutes. 

Online imref

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #561: April 02, 2011, 10:48:10 PM »
I know it's early, but this team really excites me.
Their defense is light years better than last season's monstrosity of a team, and the bullpen looks solid. Burnett didn't look like the situation fazed him at all...what a stud!

Same for Clippard, the high heat was impressive.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #562: April 02, 2011, 10:53:24 PM »
Same for Clippard, the high heat was impressive.

Gritty performance by Clippard today.  Loved it.

Online imref

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #563: April 02, 2011, 10:55:14 PM »
Gritty performance by Clippard today.  Loved it.

and his reaction on the DP, he seems like the kind of guy who makes going to the grocery store into a competition.

Offline GNatsNoMore

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #564: April 02, 2011, 11:37:25 PM »
Thoughts from going to the game today (I didn't get to read the whole thread, so, no, I didn't put you on ignore if I'm repeating some others' impressions) :

1)  What a great game (well worth sitting out the rain delay)!  (On the other hand, being pelted with pieces of ice (hail) hurts, and my toes were telling me all game - when I could feel them, anyway - that there's a reason that historically the season has started one or sometimes even two weeks later than it did this year.)

2)  Danny Espinosa looked really good to me today.  He made two excellent defensive plays early (one of which saved a run).  Another time caught a ball so close to the ground I thought he short hopped it.  He also knocked in the first run with an RBI.  I felt like he and Werth kind of set the tone for the rest of the team early.  Go ahead, accuse me of being the opposite of Sportsfan,  but after seeing him in person today, I just got this feeling that he really could be a future star in the making.  

3)  Morse had a broken bat sac fly. :shock:   I don't think I've ever seen one of those in person.  It showed how strong he really is.

4) Ramos looked really good offensively.  Three singles, two of which were really sharply hit.  I thought he was described as a strong defensive catcher when we got him.  

If Morse and Ramos continue as starters, and continue to perform, we could definitely score more runs this year than last.  

By the way, Slaten has WHIP of infinity after 2 game appearances, but no measurable ERA at all, since he has pitched 0 innings so far.


Offline UMDNats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #565: April 02, 2011, 11:42:39 PM »
Good work by the defense all game long and great game by Ankiel.

Offline hammondsnats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #566: April 02, 2011, 11:43:31 PM »
you can tell how much Werth appreciates Ankiel being here.  i remember when they signed rick, Werth made comments saying he was excited.  during camp, Werth came out and said the CF competition is wide open and people needed to start looking @ Ankiel as a series option. 

today when he hit the HR, the whole dugout was going nuts and Werth was leading the charge.  then postgame Werth stated how much he respects Ankiel because he was a former pitcher and how hard he plays.  then he brought up the fact Ankiel came back from that injury suffered couple years back when he was on the cards and went face first into the wall (google it if you don't remember, pretty nasty stuff).

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #567: April 02, 2011, 11:48:13 PM »
Ankiel had a game.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #568: April 02, 2011, 11:48:41 PM »
you can tell how much Werth appreciates Ankiel being here.  i remember when they signed rick, Werth made comments saying he was excited.  during camp, Werth came out and said the CF competition is wide open and people needed to start looking @ Ankiel as a series option. 

today when he hit the HR, the whole dugout was going nuts and Werth was leading the charge.  then postgame Werth stated how much he respects Ankiel because he was a former pitcher and how hard he plays.  then he brought up the fact Ankiel came back from that injury suffered couple years back when he was on the cards and went face first into the wall (google it if you don't remember, pretty nasty stuff).

i kind of laughed it off when FP said it today, but the clubhouse definitely seems to be better put together this year. Werth has an awesome attitude. They seem a lot looser, a lot more fun, a lot tighter as a team. I mean all these guys on the roster earned their places/deserve their roles based on their playing time. No sour apples.

i like ankiel and am definitely rooting for him. I could feel his HR today after he just missed on 3-0. i hope it continues. i am not a big small ball fan but the scrappy nature of this team is evident to me. we may not be .500 or anything, but i think this year the team could actually be headed in the right directon.

Offline hammondsnats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #569: April 02, 2011, 11:50:59 PM »
i kind of laughed it off when FP said it today, but the clubhouse definitely seems to be better put together this year. Werth has an awesome attitude. They seem a lot looser, a lot more fun, a lot tighter. I mean all these guys on the roster earned their places/deserve their roles based on their playing time. No sour apples.

i like ankiel and am definitely rooting for him. I could feel his HR today after he just missed on 3-0. i hope it continues. i am not a big small ball fan but the scrappy nature of this team is evident to me. we may not be .500 or anything, but i think this year the team could actually be headed in the right directon.

he almost hit one on thursday, any other day this season that's a goner. 

as for attitude, it does go a long way.  maybe moreso in baseball than any other sport.  it's such a long season, you're on the road a lot, anything can happen at any moment, etc.

before the game the dugout was pretty alive, people shaking hands/hugging/doing their pre-game rituals ... they looked pumped up.  and as i mentioned earlier, the fact they showed up so early for defense practice and to get some extra swings in the cage (players called the practice) ... shows a lot of class.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #570: April 02, 2011, 11:51:28 PM »
and it was great to actually see some nice defensive plays made. i hope it can continue all year long. espinosa is really good at 2B and werth is great in RF so far other than that one gaff

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #571: April 03, 2011, 12:04:30 AM »
also, nice job by the nats to hire another PR person in FP. he doesn't cheer like dibble, but all he does is talk about small ball and how improved the team is. i swear if i hear bob and FP go on and on about how the giants won the WS because they had great fundamentals (as if they were the only team to do so; every WS team has great fundamentals)...it's gonna be a long year.

i do like FP though, smart guy, good delivery. just a nats PR guy though. which is fine.

Offline GNatsNoMore

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #572: April 03, 2011, 12:06:05 AM »
One or two other comments.  That suicide squeeze today was a thing of beauty.  It had me jumping out of my seat!  How many of those did we have all year last year?  I missed a lot of games, but I can't remember a single one.  Bo Porter might be worth a few wins this year.

I also felt like the players were playing with more poise/confidence.  I saw a lot more communication among the infielders, and between the infielders and the pitcher.  That's got to be a good thing.

Offline PANatsFan

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #573: April 03, 2011, 12:07:34 AM »
I love me some squeeze bunts.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Nationals vs Braves, Game 2
« Reply #574: April 03, 2011, 12:08:19 AM »
i didnt like the suicide squeeze call but it worked out because ankiel made a great play. if that thing backfires like it usually does with us, we're all pissed off. given ankiel's swings today i would've prefered to let him swing away, but the call worked so it was fine.