May 18 2011 09:43 AM
Re: Community KTE - Nationals 5/18 + 5/19
This promises to be a brutal battle for fourth place, with the Mets sitting one game behind the Nats, and the Nats sitting one game behind .500.
Wilson Ramos has come along at catcher and has now displaced Ivan Rodriguez (and slowed his Quixotic quest fo 3,000 hits), starting 24 of 41 games to the quarterpole. Ramos is outdoing Josh Thole in simultaneously coming along as a catcher and a hitter, posting a .756 OPS. (Maybe having a veteran partner will help Thole.) He in fact is the only Nat regular besides Jason Werth to post an OPS+ over 100, matching Werth's 108 figure. So take him not lightly.
Though he has but two homers, the lineup juggling Nats have e'en been experimenting of late with Ramos in the cleanup spot --- the only rookie in the majors afforded that honor so far this season.
| “I was surprised when I saw my name in the cleanup spot,” Ramos said. “A couple days ago, I was struggling. For me today, it’s the start of a new season. I don’t care about what happened before. I’m going to concentrate on tonight, keep working hard. I’m excited for today to see my name in the cleanup spot.” |
For what it's worth, the Pirates batted .100 hitter Matt Diaz cleanup the same night.
He bats righty, came over for Matt Capps, and demonstrated that the Nats know one thing if nothing else --- good relievers are over-valued in the trade market, and only grow more so as the deadline approaches.
Don't take him lightly. Don't dread him, for Pete's sake, but don't take him lightly.
Let's talk first base.
