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The Mets have already played the Nationals twice this season (winning 2 and losing 4) so we don't need another in-depth preview. Instead, I decided to talk with your favorite Nationals fan, Jenn, who is now a blogger. Excerpts from our exchange follow, but first, a modified preview:
May 19, Wednesday (if you will be at the game, I will be sitting with my sons in section 112, row H): it will be R.A. Dickey (Buffalo: 4-2, 2.23 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) for the Mets and Livan Hernandez (4-2, 1.46, 1.03) for Washington. Dickey last started against the Norfolk Tides on May 14 and pitched 8 innings (starters can pitch 8 full innings?) and gave up 0 ER. Very few of the Nationals have faced R.A. (Robert Allen) and his knuckleball. Facing Dickey, Adam Kennedy is 4 for 15 with a HR, Ivan Rodriguez is 2-6.
Livan, pitching on only 3 days rest, is listed as 35 years old (same as Dickey) but I don’t believe it. He pitched 7 shutout innings against the Mets on April 11. In his most recent start, May 15 at Colorado, he went 6 and gave up 3 ER (where the heck was this last year?) David Wright is 12-36 lifetime against Livan with 4 HRs. Luis Castillo is 11-58, .190.
May 20, Thursday, will feature John Maine against Luis Atilano. Maine, one of the pitchers that Omar automatically slotted into the rotation despite injuries and a horrible spring, is 1-3, 6.13, 1.79. His latest stellar outing was on May 15 against Florida, when he threw 12 straight balls to start the game and lasted 5 innings, giving up 6 ER. He pitched better against these Nationals on May 10, going 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 hits, but lost 3-2. Ryan Zimmerman is only 7-37 against him but has 2 HR. I. Rodriguez is 3-3.
Luis Atilano, 3-0, 3.90, 1.55, was the winning pitcher in the aforementioned May 10th game, going 5 1/3, 0 ER, 5 hits (none of the Mets did anything worth mentioning against him that day). His most recent start was on May 15 at Colorado when he went 5 innings, 3 ER, 4 hits.
Both Maine and Atilano have gone 6 IPs at most this year. On a related note, as of Monday, the Mets were first and the Nationals fourth in IPs by their bullpen. http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog?nam ... id=5194303
More on the series from Adam Rubin: http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/p ... -nationals
If/when Washington goes to the bullpen, we might get our first look at Drew Storen, the 10th pick in the 2009 draft. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minor ... oren001dre
If you’re looking for Nationals blogs, besides Jenn’s (below),
http://firejimbowden.blogspot.com/
is good. The guy knows his stuff and provides thoughtful, measured comments.
Here are two others:
http://dcbb.blogspot.com/
http://www.federalbaseball.com/
Whenever the Mets play the Nationals, I compare David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman (this isn’t a good topic after last night). As we know, they’re boyhood friends and whenever either is on 3B, they have a conversation. A few years ago, my Nats friend Jeff told me that Zimmerman was as good as Wright and I told him that he wasn’t. He’s not: right now, he’s better (I apologize to Jeff).
Zimmerman: .318, 8/21/0 SB/1.102 OPS/21 K (110 AB).
Wright: .262, 8/26/8 SB/.885 OPS/55 K (141 AB).
If you’re looking for ex-Met property Chris Coste (who is wearing a Phillies hat in his ESPN picture even though he has since been the property of the Mets and Astros), he’s on the DL.
Not that I’m not wishing ill on anyone, but sadly, Willie Harris is not on the DL. Even thought he is only hitting .176 (3 HR, 10 RBI), if history repeats, he will be wearing the Elvis Wig after either or both of these games. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... ief_h.html.
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And now, my conversation with Jenn:
bmfc1: Your blog is called Nationals Fangirls http://natsfangirls.com/ so it's talk about which players are the cutest and what to wear to the games?
Jenn: Ha ha, good one! We haven't posted anything yet about cute players or fashion, but I wouldn't rule it out. I notice that Metsgrrl recently posted something useful on how to dress for baseball in bad weather. http://metsgrrl.com/index.php/site/comm ... d-weather/ I feel strongly that fangirls should wear team colors as opposed to pink, and have been waiting for Majestic to sell authentic, Cool Base jerseys in women's sizes. Now, a girl has to choose between sweating to death in a women's polyester jersey, or swimming in a men's jersey. On the topic of cute players, I'm guilty of having a softer spot in my heart for certain players, but usually it's more about playing hard and being endearing in some way that's often unrelated to cuteness. Playing well is helpful, but a guy who really makes the most of whatever skill he has is more likely to catch my eye. Catchers have a huge advantage when it comes to capturing my heart, followed by pitchers.
How about you? What makes a player a favorite for you? Current favorite Met? And is he cute?
bmfc1: Interesting question because as you get older, you don't usually think about favorites. Having said that, I like players that give a damn, both about how they play and their team and for those reasons, I like Jose Reyes and Jeff Francoeur very much. For Jose, it's also his enthusiasm, his spirit, and the way he runs the bases. For Francoeur, it's his attitude and how he seems to be a great teammate (I just wish he didn't stink so much at the moment). Both give honest answers as opposed to David Wright who sometimes appears to be a robo-player. I have no idea if either is cute.
Since you like catchers, what do you think of Ivan Rodriguez? He's having a good year (.336/1/15). Is he back on the PEDs?
Jenn: What do you mean you don't have favorites as you get older? Hard for me to imagine not having favorites. Anyway, even though Pudge is a future Hall-of-Famer, I wasn't sure he'd become a favorite because loving a superstar is too easy. I don't think he's on PEDs, but rather think it was probably a little humbling for him when (apparently) the Nationals were the only team to offer him a 2-year contract. My take from reading about his work ethic and watching his energy on the field is that we're seeing a guy who is playing a bit of Screw You! baseball to silence the doubters. Plus he does the little things: he was charming when I stumbled all over myself asking for his autograph at the Nationals FanFest; and each game when the Nationals honor wounded servicemen, Pudge stops what he's doing to join the applause. I'm cheering for him.
Let's talk about the crazy season. Early on, some said the Mets would be even worse than the “lowly Nats.” I think it's fair to say the Nationals are exceeding expectations, but I don't know what to make of the Mets, who seem to be all over the place.
bmfc1: The Mets aren't very good--from the front office to the field--and that's what you should make of them. One flaw is that the manager is incompetent. He's a very poor strategist who over-manages almost every game. What do you think of Riggelman and how is he better than Manny Acta?
Jenn: I think that Riggleman is the right man at the right time. In addition to adoring him more than any catcher, I like his management style: committed to fundamentals, straightforward and respectful, strikes the right balance between protecting his guys and holding them accountable, and makes an effort to keep everyone involved. I bet he’s great to play for.
bmfc1: Based upon the games you've attended, tell us the difference between Phillies fans and Mets fans.
Jenn: This sounds like one of those questions with only one possible answer, such as, "How do you like my new haircut?" Of course, your hair looks terrific, and of course the typical Mets fan is the class of the earth compared to the typical Phillies fan. This year, I moved my season tickets from near 3rd base to behind the home dugout. Part of the reason: it was just too unpleasant to sit in my seats when the Phillies came to Nationals Park. Never had problems with Mets fans.
Your thoughts on the upcoming series?
bmfc1: My thoughts on the series are not good but being a Mets fan means not being optimistic most of the time. They're playing lousy ball and have gone from making me think that this might be a magical season to making me think dark thoughts. They’re only a .500 team and I have to keep remembering that to put their play in perspective.
Having said that, perhaps R.A. Dickey will confuse your guys, perhaps John Maine will get it together, and perhaps Willie Harris will be kidnapped for 48 hours. You?
Jenn: Ah yes, the Mets must hate Willie Harris! Despite our little rough patch the past few days, I'm feeling good about the Nats chances against your team this week. And I'm really looking forward to seeing Drew Storen's arrival at Nationals Park. That will keep my hope meter high, regardless.
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