A Few Good Men: 24 - Sean Burnett

Sean Burnett: Age 29 - 5 Years MLB Service

How he became a Nat: Acquired June 30, 2009 along with Nyjer Morgan, for Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge.

The Raw Numbers:
ERA - 3.81
K/9 - 5.9
WHIP - 1.361
WAR - 0.5

Key Stat: Right-Handed Batters Average Against - .297. Not good. While lefties hit at a .200 clip against him, righties eat him up with an almost .300 average and an OPS against almost .200 points higher compared to his OPS vs lefties. Hopefully the Nats realize he is eminently more hittable for right-handed batters and he should not be counted on to get a right handed batter out in any situation.

Best Game: He had a few very important games for the Nats this year, but nothing can beat the efficiency of a 1 pitch save. May 6th against the Marlins he relieved Drew Storen in the bottom of the 10th with the Nats up 3-2 but the Fish threatening with 2 on and 2 out. Chris Coghlan swung at the first pitch and flied out to center, ending the threat and giving Sean Burnett a one-pitch save.

Worst Game: April 27th against the Mets. Burnett entered the game at the beginning of the ninth with the Nats up 3-2 and proceeded to give up 4 runs on 4 hits while getting just 2 outs only to be lifted for Drew Storen. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise as this awful performance helped put the closer's job securely in Drew's hands.

Capball Grade: D+. He got some lefties out. Got a few saves. But the Nats asked him to (and frankly needed him to) be a go-to set-up man capable of getting righties and lefties out in the 7th and 8th innings. He blew 7 saves and allowed 44 percent of his inherited runners to score.

2011 Nats Status: He's under contract through 2012 with a mutual option for 2013. He should break camp as the go-to lefty out of the pen, but Tyler Clippard, Henry Rodriguez and possibly Ryan Mattheus should supplant him as straight set-up relievers.

Clipp and Burn Remain the Story in 2011

In 2010, the Nationals bullpen was the diamond in the rough during another sub-par season, but the stars of the 7 men in the 'pen were Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett. Sure, Drew Storen had a strong season and looks to be figuring out his issues from the spring this year, but he hasn't set himself apart from the crowd yet. Clipp and Burn have.

Tyler Clippard led the Nats in wins in 2010, though that's not something that's always good for a bullpen guy. In a few of those wins, Clippard was bailed out by his offense. But he's started out this season better than anyone could have possibly imagined. In 6 games, Clippard has thrown 8.2 innings, giving up just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10. His ERA is 0.00.

Sean Burnett had a staggeringly impressive 2nd half of 2010. After the All-Star break, batters hit just .196 off of him and he posted an incredible 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings. This year he's continued right where he left off, leading us to believe he will, in fact, lead the Nats in saves this year. In 4 games in 2011, Burnett has 2 saves, none blown. He's given up 3 hits and 0 runs.

There's a lot of talk of building the Nats bullpen around Drew Storen, and for good reason. Storen is consistently hitting 96 on the gun now, and his command is just getting better. He's getting more comfortable with his fastball and with himself. But let's not forget about the two guys that continue to be among the best under-the-radar relievers in all of baseball: Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett.

Without Clipp and Burn, the Nats easily lose another 5 games last year, and who knows how it changes their win total this season. But one thing's for sure, if they both continue on this pace, we might actually be talking about some more Nats relievers making the All-Star Game in 2011.

Nats Closer: Sean Burnett

When we covered our 25 in 25 about Drew Storen, we guessed that it'd be extremely unlikely that Storen would be the Nats closer to start the season. Coming into this past off-season, we figured that Burnett was ripe for another great season. He hasn't disappointed in his appearances so far, but we expected that. That's why we predicted that Burnett would lead the Nats in saves in 2011 way back on March 7th.

There are a whole lot of factors that contribute to Sean Burnett's success, so let's take a minute to look into the main 3:

1. Intimidation: No matter who you are and what side of the plate you hit from, Sean Burnett is an intimidating character. You never see him smirk on the baseball field; he has the right, hard nosed attitude; his off-to-the-side hat look just puts the persona together.
2. Left-handed: Burnett is a lefty that can get his fastball into the mid-90s. He throws from the left side of the rubber this season, making the ball all but disappear to left-handed batters that he's faced. On top of all that, he continues to succeed against righties.
3. Stuff: When he's pitching in short bursts, Sean Burnett's stuff is just nasty. It dances all over the place, and he has a power fastball to boot. He's a nightmare to face when you enter the late innings because of that.

We fully acknowledge that Drew Storen is slated to be "the guy" to close games as the Nats make their first playoff run sometime in the future. But for now, Sean Burnett is the one getting the job done. I strongly believe in building young talent, but let's not forget that Burnett is just 28 years old and is proving to the a major success story of the Nats bullpen.

Recapping 1 of 162: Opening Day

(Photo credit Joe Drugan/Capitol Baseball 2011)

After a cold, rainy Opening Day in Southeast DC, let's do the first evaluation of 2011's talent.

Livan Hernandez looked good. There are a surprising number of people in the blog world that have been critical of Livo's Opening Day appearance. In 6 2/3 innings, he threw 77 pitches and gave up just 2 runs on 5 hits. It's hard to ask for a whole lot more than that. His first two innings could have been better, but he was on fire for the rest of the game. Seriously folks, as a starting pitcher, you have to hope that your team can muster two measly runs to help you out. But the Nats didn't and Livan got the loss + quality start combo.

Sean Burnett made the Braves batters he faced in the 9th, lefties and righties alike, look silly. He continues to make a case for himself to be the Nats closer. One can't look into the fact that he pitched in the 9th inning today because it wasn't a save situation, but it'll be interesting to see how it rolls out over the next two weeks.

Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, and Adam LaRoche did exactly what they should be as the 2-4 hitters. They hit and created nearly all of the Nats offense. The rest of the team will have to help out if they're going to have any sort of offense this season. LaRoche also had a sick diving defensive play at 1st base that I guarantee Adam Dunn not only wouldn't have made, he wouldn't have even tried.

Danny Espinosa started the season out with a bang, too. He went 2 for 3, and one of those hits was a frozen rope to the left center field gap. He also made a running stop and put out at 2nd that had Nats fans (and Bill Ladson) extremely excited.

Ian Desmond looked downright uncomfortable at the plate. He'll certainly get his chance at the top of the order, but if Espinosa's first outing was any sign, he might end up in the top spot after all. On a happy note, Ian committed no errors today!

Finally, Tyler Clippard looked good, getting out of a jam with 2 inherited runners. But we're protesting saying much more than that because he no longer enters the game to Peaches. Not cool, Tyler...

What did you think about the Nats first game of 2011?

25 in 25: Sean Burnett (#7)

In 19 days, all the Nationals diehards will be preparing to head to Nationals Park on Opening Day. Until then, we're going to predict the 25 man roster. With one catch. We're going to do it one day at a time. This way, we can provide more in depth thoughts on who we think is going to make the roster, why we think so, and what to expect from them in 2011. On the morning of Opening Day, we'll post the real 25-man compared with what we predicted.

Today, we're adding Sean Burnett to our list of 25-man roster locks.

Why?: After starting his career as a starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004, Burnett disappeared into the minors for the next 3 seasons. After 2 seasons of failed starting in AAA Indianapolis, Burnett was converted into a bullpen role. After posting good numbers in Pittsburgh in 2009, he came to DC and lived up to his average expectations. But in 2010, he exploded. He appeared in 73 games and posted an unbelievable 2.14 ERA. The success of the 'pen revolved around Burnett as the season progressed, making him an indispensable part of that group.

What to expect?: This lefty specialist who had trouble getting lefties out in 2010 has little to prove after an otherwise outstanding season. Burnett should easily land a few saves this year, perhaps even in double digits as he shares the duties with Tyler Clippard and closer-of-the-future Drew Storen. It's also a pretty fair assumption that Burnett will figure out how to be a little bit better against lefties in 2011.

My bold prediction: Sean will wear his hat straight at some point this season. Count on it.

Most Improved/Impressive Nats: 2010 Edition

While national and local media will start covering the MLB Postseason and the start of the Caps season (is this finally the year for Lord Stanley's Cup?), we don't have to be done with the Nats 2010 quite yet. I think it's time to give credit where credit is due on the 3 (and a half) most improved and impressive Nationals this season. Disagree? Yell at me in the comments.

1. Sean Burnett - I think that this is hard to argue against. There's a real argument to be made that Burnett was the best pitcher for the Nationals. Period. (Besides SS, of course.) Now look at him in terms of improvement over the course of the season. Compared to the first half, his strikeout to walk ratio shot up, batting average, on base %, and slugging % against all plummeted after the All-Star Break.

2. Michael Morse - After months of coming off of the bench and still managing to hit close to .400, the new Michael Morse proved that he could still hit on a full-time basis. Although he struggled at first with the every day role, he came into it well as the season progressed. He finished the season with 293 plate appearances, a .289 batting average, a .352 OBP, and 15 homers. While his fielding and range are less than stellar, he's certainly not bad. And a lot can be learned in the field in the spring if he has in fact earned the right fielder's, or maybe first baseman's, starting job.

3. Ian Desmond - As much as I destroyed Desi before the All Star Break for his terrible fielding and his low average, I have admitted on a few occasions already that I was wrong. Let me do so again. I was w-r-o-n-g wrong. Let's just go over these stats between first and second half quickly for Ian.

• Batting average: 1st half - .255; 2nd half - .283
• On base percentage: 1st half - .297; 2nd half - .320 (although that still needs improvement)
• Errors: 1st half - 21; 2nd half - 13.

While 13 errors in the 2nd half is still more than the top 6 MLB shortstops committed all season long, he cut the errors after the ASB by over 1/3. And Desmond is still a rookie! Have you seen him throw across the diamond? It's like a bullet.

And finally, I think an Honorable Mention is due: Matt Capps - The Capper is where he belongs now, in the playoffs for the first time in his career with the Minnesota Twins. Capps was the Nats lone All-Star representative (although Zimmerman was screwed, don't even get me started), and he was certainly the Nationals most consistent player, earning 26 saves in 30 opportunities. He's done the same in Minnesota, earning 16 saves in 18 opportunities. I hope Jon Rauch (another former Nat) can get himself healthy to set up Capps in the playoffs. They'll be hard to beat in the playoffs.

So that ends this summary of 2010. Stay tuned for another post featuring the most disappointing players of 2010 in the near future.

Who is this Sean Burnett guy?

Seriously. I'm not sure where he came from, but he's absolutely been the Nationals most improved reliever in 2010. It's easy to say that Tyler Clippard has been the Nats best, what with his 11 wins and 2.77 ERA. But the fact of the matter is, we've seen this with Clippard before. His walks per 9 innings, strikeouts per 9 innings, and strikeout to walk ratio are all nearly identical between 2009 and 2010.

Sean Burnett, though, is a different story. His lowest ERA earned in any given season was 3.12 in 2009 when he split time between the Pirates and the Nationals. This season, his ERA currently stands at 2.26. But what really shows Burnett's improvements are some other stats.

In 2009, Burnett gave up almost 1 home run every 9 innings. This year, it's 0.5 per 9.
Last year, 4.4 walks per 9 innings. This year: 2.9.
Last year, 6.7 strikeouts per 9 innings. This year: 9.2.
Last, but certainly not least... last year, 1.54 strikeout to walk ratio. This year: 3.21.

Right handed batters are still hitting an outrageously low .189 against him. His WAR is 1.8, putting him almost in starter-value territory. His WAR is this high, even though he has a 1-7 record, because he has had immeasurable value to the Nationals this season.

These are remarkable improvements for a pitcher that was thrown out of Pittsburgh in favor of Joel Hanrahan. I'm certainly not knocking Joel, and I wish him success in his future, but it must have been insulting for Burnett. He came to DC to start this year with something to prove. And he's proved everything he's needed to this season. He's established himself as a crucial member of the 2011 Nationals bullpen.

Losing Confidence in Storen?

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

On Monday this week, I wrote about the Nats "closer" Drew Storen. I say "closer" because the Nats are still embracing the closer by committee situation with him and Sean Burnett. But in the non-save situation on Tuesday night, and a 5 run lead for the Nats, it was the perfect opportunity to give Storen some confidence.

Storen threw heat at times, nibbled at times, but for the most part, he attacked hitters as he should with a 5 run lead. He surrendered a home run to Astros third baseman Chris Johnson, but it was irrelevant. It was a solo shot. The Nats were still up by 4. Riggleman stuck with him.

Then, Storen flashed some leather on a nice defensive grab on a chopper back to the mound. There were 2 outs. And for some reason, instead of throwing nothing but bullets for strikes, he pitched around Jason Castro and walked him. Castro is barely hitting above .200.

While an inexcusable mistake by Storen, there was just 1 runner on base, with a 4 run lead still in tact with 2 outs. Riggs had other thoughts and he pulled Storen in favor of Sean Burnett. In his post game press conference, Riggleman said, "I felt like the best way to get that next out was to bring Burnett in.... I was a little more confident that [Burnett] coming in fresh there to face a guy off the bench, turning him around right handed, was a little more to our liking."

Sure, Sean Burnett has been incredible in the bullpen. And yes, he got the final out of the game on just 1 pitch when he came in. But did Jim Riggleman have such little confidence in Drew Storen that he decided to pull him with a 4 run lead? The tying run was still in the hole at that point.

As I said on Monday, the difference between being a closer and being a middle reliever is mental. Entirely mental. So what does it say when the manager says, "we're gonna go with someone else here, even though you got us 2 outs and we're up by 4"? To me it says, "we're not confident you can finish this game." I have a feeling that's what it says to Drew Storen, too.

Either way, the Nats got the Curly W, avoiding a 5 game losing streak. More importantly, the Nats cannot lose 100 games this season! Sound the alarms, tell your friends, kiss your spouse, "Yes We Did!" and all that. The Nats are a triple-digit loss team no more in 2010.

Now if they could just figure out who was going to close games for them, it'd be one more step in the right direction toward 100 wins instead.