Nats see some positive signs
Back in spring training, Ryan Zimmerman heard all the dire predictions, but he never bought into them.
His pitching-deprived Nationals weren’t just going to be bad. They were going to be historically bad. That’s what the experts said.
“I’ve heard that we were going to be the worst team ever,” said Zimmerman, Washington’s young third baseman. “It’s kind of nice to not be that team now and have those people look back and say maybe they’ll look twice before saying that about not just our team but another team.”
Much like the ‘06 Florida Marlins, these Nationals have jumped ahead of schedule behind a demanding rookie manager (Manny Acta) with strong New York ties.
Unlike those Marlins, they have done so with a pitching staff lacking in hype or the blessing of Baseball America. Just the same, thanks to 20-somethings Jason Bergmann, Shawn Hill, John Lannan, Matt Chico and a handful of others, the Nationals enter the season’s final fortnight in fourth in the National League East.
Since a 9-25 start that threatened to prove the experts right, the Nats have played .500 ball entering the weekend and built momentum as they head into their new riverfront stadium next season.
“No one really expected us to be anywhere close to what we’ve done already and we still have a few weeks left,” Zimmerman said. “Everyone thought for sure we’d lose 100. We’re not going to lose 100. Everyone thought for sure we’d finish in last place. We have the chance not to finish in last place.”
Clearing the bases
Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis left Saturday’s game against the New York Yankees with a bruised right wrist after Chien-Ming Wang hit him with a pitch. … Roger Clemens will start tonight in the series finale against the Red Sox, Yankees manager Joe Torre confirmed. … Baltimore Orioles closer Danys Baez has a partial tear in his right elbow and likely will miss the rest of the season. … Orlando Hernandez‘s sore right foot is still bothering him, and the New York Mets may decide to skip his Monday turn in the rotation. … Arizona’s Edgar Gonzalez and Los Angeles’ Esteban Loaiza, two of the 13 pitchers from Mexico playing in the majors, will face each other today on Mexican Independence Day.