The Nats bats were swinging in full force last night as they recorded 4 doubles and 2 3-run home runs in an pounding of the New York Mets. Matt Chico, the lone starting pitcher who has survived this season, got his 6th win of the year last night. The Mets got on the board first, but the Nats stayed patient and scored 2 runs in the top of the 4th to take the lead. Austin Kearns, who has struggled a bit at the plate this year, belted a 3 run homer in the top of the 5th to give the Nats a 5-1 lead. In the top of the 9th, Ryan Langerhans essentially locked up the game when he hit a home run that drove in Felipe Lopez and Justin Maxwell. It’s great to see Kearns and Langerhans hit some big home runs! They have both had a frustrating hitting season. Robert Fick, who has really stepped up for the Nats this month, extended his hitting streak to 10 games. This game showed that the Nats could score under pressure, as they got 10 of their runs with 2 outs!
Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala and Jesus Colome came in to pitch 3.2 scoreless innings. As the season winds down, it is worth mentioning how great this bullpen has been over the season. Our starters often don’t last through the sixth inning, so these guys are seeing a lot of time. They have been able to consistently keep game close and give the offense a chance to win the game.Mike Bacsik, who has bounced from starter to the bullpen more times than I can count, will again take the mound as a starter in the series finale on Wednesday night.
Nats News:
RHP Shawn Hill is scheduled to undergo surgery for a nerve problem, and also to repair his shoulder. He is expected to be back by Spring Training.
Nationals Journal has done a position by position post about the bullpen. Barry Svrluga considers Jon Rauch and Luis Ayala to be locks for next season’s bullpen. Rauch is an example of why we have to look past the numbers when evaluating a player. Yes, he leads the Nats in wins, but most of those are only because he blew the lead and the offense was able to pick it back up. He is a shakier player than Saul Rivera, who I consider to be a necessary weapon in the bullpen.
Check out Mark Zuckerman’s individual awards for the Nats in his Washington Time’s article. We will also be doing postseason awards, so be sure to check back for that after the season!Photo Credit: AP Photo Kathy Willens
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September 25th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
“Rauch is an example of why we have to look past the numbers when evaluating a player. Yes, he leads the Nats in wins, but most of those are only because he blew the lead and the offense was able to pick it back up.”
So lets take a look at Rauch’s numbers: The 8 games Rauch has won this year the score of the game when he came in was either tied or the Nats were losing! Lets take a look at some more of Rauch’s numbers: Last 10 games:era@1.74, 10.1 innings, 3 walks and 15 K’s. Rauch’s Era for the past 30 days is at 1.32. You for some reason might have a problem with Rauch, however his numbers show that he is one of the best setup men in all of Baseball for 2007.
Get a CLUE!!
September 25th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Rauch is an example of why we have to look past the numbers when evaluating a player. Yes, he leads the Nats in wins, but most of those are only because he blew the lead and the offense was able to pick it back up.
You might want to check Rauch’s gamelogs on Baseball-Reference. None of Rauch’s wins this year were the result of his blowing a lead (either through giving up a run on his own or by allowing an inherited runner to score)and then vulturing the win. In his first six wins this year he gave up zero runs. In his 7th win (7/28), he entered a tie game in the 7th with two on and two out. He got the third out, the Nats scored three and Rauch gave up two runs in the 8th. In his 8th win (8/12), Rauch entered a tie game in the 8th and gave up one run. The Nats got him off the hook with two in the top of the 9th.
The Nats did win two of the games (6/13 & 8/3) in which Rauch blew a save, but he didn’t get the win in those games.
September 25th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
Exactly zero of Rauch’s wins came in games where he relinquished the lead. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
September 25th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
First of all, I want to apologize for incorrectly posting about Jon Rauch’s stats. You are correct that he does not have a win resulting from a blown lead that tied the game. That was my mistake and I should have checked the stats better prior to posting.
With that said, I still stand by my statement that Rauch is an example of why we have to look past the numbers when evaluating a player. I have attended over 40 Nats games and often there is a mumble of concern when we see Rauch warming up and entering the game. He has had a great September, however he continues to make me nervous when he takes to the mound.
The recent discussion on Nats Journal brought the issue up and I feel much more comfortable with Rivera, Ayala or Albaladejo in a game.
September 25th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
I read this and had to go back and look at the stats too. Two games came to mind right away. The Mets Saturday night game of the double-header in late July. Rauch pitched a nice 7th, but brought our 6-3 lead to 6-5 in the 8th and still got the win. I remembered being frustrated at Shea because Manny let Rauch bat to return in the 8th and that seemed ridiculous to us. He returned to give up 2 runs and be pulled after one out.
There was a game against Arizona too where he gave up a run in a tied 5-5 game, making it 6-5 Arizona but still got the win after our guys rallied.
He’s a good pitcher - I just don’t like his lock on the set-up position. Here’s hoping Ayala makes a case for taking it back in 08.
Anyway, aren’t win numbers for relievers almost meaningless? The luck of the timing of a late inning rally…