Live Chat: Bryce Harper's MLB Debut with Nats Talk On The Go

Today is the biggest day for the Washington Nationals since Stephen Strasburg made his MLB debut on June 8, 2010. Baseball's top prospect, Bryce Harper, will debut in left field for the Nats tonight against Chad Billingsley and the Los Angeles Dodgers. To make it even better, Strasburg will start for the Nats tonight, too. It's going to be a DC baseball extravaganza, and we're going to cover it all live.

The game starts at 9:10 pm EDT, and the guys from the podcast Nats Talk On The Go will hop on with you about a half hour before that to start fielding your questions and chat with you about Harper, Strasburg, and everything Nats. Join us for some fun.

The Sky Is Falling

The Nationals history with injuries is brutal. I know it. You know it. Hopefully one day Lee Kuntz and his staff can know it too. If you are a listener to Nats Talk on the Go, you have heard Joe and I harp time and time again on the Nationals incredible proclivity for injuries. And now it seems as if the Nationals are bitten yet again by the injury bug.

So far this offseason/Spring we have seen a myriad of debilitating injuries that have been completely mis-managed:

- Sammy Solis: According to reports, Solis reported that he was feeling elbow pain near the end of his Arizona Fall League stint but it was decided by doctors that he would be fine with a "special throwing program". Later in the Winter it was announced that he was "doing well" in his recovery from elbow pain. Fast forward to Spring Training, after his first bullpen session it was discovered that he did indeed tear his UCL and needed Tommy John Surgery.

- Michael Morse: In early March Morse strained his Right Lat Muscle and was immediately listed as day-to-day - meaning that he might be ready soon. Not so much. When Morse was finally ready to start playing again, he actually wasn't and immediately re-injured his Lat. Rizzo himself admitted that "we tried to get him ready as quick as we could". Now the slugger and heart of the lineup is in the middle of a six-week no-baseball-activity shutdown.

- Drew Storen: This Spring, Drew Storen was pitching incredibly well until a bout of elbow injury hit him pretty good. Immediately after the soreness Nationals doctors decided that it was simply inflammation and prescribed rest for the closer. Once again, the Nationals training staff thought he was ready so they had him pitch on a mound. Days later, Storen was under the knife to remove bone chips in the fireballer's elbow. How a professional training staff can miss bone chips floating in an elbow baffles my mind.

- Ryan Zimmerman: What is there to say. The Nationals Face of the Franchise was scratched from Saturday's game at the last second (forcing customers to watch Mark DeRosa in the 3-hole) with right shoulder tightness - though this is not the same shoulder that hampered Zimmerman in 2008. The release during the game said that Zimmerman wasn't concerned and that he should be fine to play Tuesday. Well, last night was Tuesday and instead of Nationals fans watching Zimmerman man 3rd until the wee hours of the morning, everyone was waiting for the results of Zimmerman's MRI (while watching DeRosa hit 3rd again).

That's 4 players who went from simply day-to-day style injuries to 3 players missing significant time and 1 player waiting on the results of an MRI.

There have been serious miscalculations with all of these (and more) injuries from the Nationals training staff. Something has got to give.

How long do you think Zimmerman will be out? Sound off in the comments!

Nats Talk On The Go: Episode 17

This week's Nats Talk On The Go episode is full of positive stuff, including lots of wins, a continuously impressive pitching staff, and some surprisingly impressive offensive numbers from a few key players. Unfortunately, we also have to talk about the offensive reality of an inability to drive in runs and the continued effect of injuries on the team. If you can't stream it below, subscribe on iTunes or download it here.

More Fun With Pitching Prowess

As we have talked about on this blog last week and in the latest edition of Nats Talk on the Go (available on iTunes!), this Nationals pitching staff is really good at their jobs. And it doesn't just extend to starters, but more on that in a little bit.

Anyone that has been here for a while knows that I am a huge stat fiend, in that I love finding obscure stats that either tell a story or don't mean a hill of beans. It's fun. And this is one of those blog entries.

So sit tight and enjoy the ride.

Let's start with something that we discussed last week, Bill James Game Score. Everyone here knows Bill James (at least pretends to) as the stat guru behind Moneyball; the book, not the incredible Aaron Sorkin film.

Here is the basic formula:

1. Start with 50 points.
2. Add 1 point for every out recorded.
3. Add 2 points for every inning completed after the 4th.
4. Add 1 point for each strikeout.
5. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed.
6. Subtract 4 points for every earned run allowed.
7. Subtract 2 points for every unearned run allowed.
8. Subtract 1 point for every walk.
9. Done.

That's it. Pretty simple stuff. All told, the highest possible (9 inning) game score would be a 114 - with Kerry Wood's 20 Strikeout game in 1998 being the closest for a 9 inning game at 105.

Now that all of that nonsense is out of the way, let's see how the Nationals Starters fare on the National League Leaderboard so far (Top 50 Performances - there are some ties):

#2 - Edwin Jackson - 4/14 vs. Reds - 87

#9 - Gio Gonzalez - 4/12 vs. Reds - 80

#10 - Gio Gonzalez - 4/17 vs. Astros - 79

#17 - Stephen Strasburg - 4/11 vs. Mets - 74

#31 - Ross Detwiler - 4/10 vs. Mets - 68

#31 - Jordan Zimmermann - 4/13 vs. Reds - 68

#31 - Jordan Zimmermann - 4/18 vs. Houston - 68

#35 - Stephen Strasburg - 4/5 vs. Cubs - 67

For those of you scoring at home, that is 8 Nationals performances on the Top 50 Pitching Performances so far. Eight. The next closest team is the Phillies, with 5 after Cliff Lee's 10 Inning masterpiece last night.

We aren't done yet though.

Let's take a look at WAR so far in 2012.

Your National League Leader in Pitching WAR? Gio Gonzalez with 0.8. So far that is a .267 WAR/start - averaged out to a full season? 8.5+

Who is second on the National League Pitchig WAR Leaderboard? Stephen Strasburg with 0.7.

Jordan Zimmermann, not to be outdone, spun a terrific start and now places 5th in the NL in WAR - right behind Gio and Strassy with a 0.6.

Not to be left out in the cold, there a few relievers that want to be invited to the party.

Craig Stammen is currently tied for 3rd in WAR (0.3) for National League Relievers, behind Aroldis Chapman and Bryan Shaw.

Tyler Clippard is right behind him, tied for 7th with a 0.2 WAR.

As a team? The Nationals Pitching WAR of 3.4 of twice that of the 2nd place teams (the Mets and Cardinals). While also leading handily in K/9, FIP, xFIP, HR/9, ERA, SIERA, and BAA (Batting Average Against).

Phew.

Yes, I know that it is terribly early and it isn't very likely that Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg will post 8+ Wins Above Replacement throughout an entire season. But I have been feeling pessimistic about sports lately, due the fact that I have suffered losing for so long I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. So this is my attempt to break through that fog through Sample Size Alert stats.

Let's just enjoy the show while it lasts!

Nats Talk On The Go: Episode 16

This week, we talk about the Washington Nationals' prodigious pitching and their awful offense. Well, maybe it wasn't quite as awful as you may think. We spend a lot of time both praising and criticizing Ian Desmond, and we talk about about Adam LaRoche and Jayson Werth, too.

Offensive Offense and Prodigious Pitching

The hometown Nationals are off to their best start since baseball arrived in DC at 5-2. There are a ton of reasons why the Nationals are getting the job done (the Pitching Staff, LaRoche, Desmond) but there is an alarming trend that should scare the pants off of Nats fans.

The sheer lack of hitting with Runners in Scoring Position. More commonly known as RISP.

Let's take a quick gander at the Nationals effectiveness game-by-game with RISP:

- Yesterday - 3-2 win vs. Reds - 2 for 7 - LaRoche and Desmond with the hits

- April 11 - 4-0 win vs. Mets - 1 for 14 - Flores with the hit

- April 10 - 6-2 win vs. Mets - 4 for 14 - Werth (2), Bernadina, and Ramos with the hits

- April 9 - 4-3 loss vs. Mets - 2 for 9 - LaRoche with both hits

- April 8 - 4-3 loss vs. Cubs - 2 for 5 - LaRoche and Desmond with the hits

- April 7 - 7-4 win vs. Cubs - 3 for 5 - Bernadina, Tracy, and Lombardozzi with the hits

- April 6 - 2-1 win vs. Cubs - 1 for 7 - Desmond with the hit

For those of you scoring that home, that's a whopping 15 for 61 since the season started and only 7 for 35 in the past three games.

To put it another way - the Nationals BRS% (Base Runner Scoring Percentage) is 3rd worst in all of baseball with 10%. Meaning only 10% of Nationals base runners are scoring.

And while the offense struggles to get runs across the plate, the Pitching Staff is showing exactly what they are made of.

The last three starting pitching lines for the Nationals are as follows:

- Gio - 7 IP. 2 H. 0 R. 0 ER. 0 BB. 7 K. Game Score - 80

- Strasburg - 6 IP. 3 H. 0 R. 0 ER. 3 BB. 9 K. Game Score - 74

- Detwiler - 5 IP. 2 H. 0 R. 0 ER. 1 BB. 6 K. Game Score - 68

This is absolutely a case of "anything you can do, I can do better". Detwiler pitches a gem, Strasburg ups the ante and Gio ups it again by posting the 7th best MLB pitching performance of the season thus far (per Game Score).

I know that it's still early in the season (Sample Size Alert!), but if the offensive and pitching trends continue, I think we are going to be looking at a lot of 2-1 games... Get the heart meds ready...

Ozzie and Castro: An Odd Couple

Sorry, but I must step outside the Natosphere for just a moment and discuss the ongoing situation with Ozzie Guillen, the Miami Marlins and Major League Baseball. In case you've missed it, Ozzie has been suspended 5 games for remarks made in adoration of the former President of Cuba. Where do I begin?

In any other MLB city would this have been almost inconsequential. In Washington, maybe it puts the heat on President Obama over Cuba. In Philly they might boo for a few days, but hey, they are going to do that anyway. Maybe in Atlanta he is run out of town for professing love for an 86 year old man. But a suspension? Can Major League Baseball really let teams suspend players or managers who make comments that some of its citizens may disagree with? Will the Nats suspend a player who says he is against statehood?

Now the Marlins argument, that he represents their organization when he acts and speaks, is disingenuous at best, and a cheap ploy to bring in Cuban fans at its worst. You do not go get Ozzie to be your manager and expect him to be a role-model for your city and team. He skipped the White House for Hugo Chavez. He used an offensive slur while describing Jay Mariotti. There is no way the Marlins did not see this sort of thing coming. And to now cry foul, is both naive and hypocritical.

Fidel Castro is 86 years old. Yes, he once stood for the Cuban Missile Crisis and big red (Read: communism) right in our back yard. But his time as a villain has come and gone.

Were Ozzie's comments a mistake, probably. But a 5 game suspension for what amounts to sympathy is crazy. And while it is not against the law, it is contrary to how things should work in a free country.

What say you Natstown?