C'mon, Rausch. Close the Door

~~~




John Rausch strikes out Chris Snyder.
Then Alex Romero pops out.
Chris Young is Arizona's last hope, annnnnnd he flies out to Milledge.

GAME OVER

Thank you, Willie Harris, for the three run shot. Thank you, Tim Redding, for shutting down 8 in a row to start the game.

Goodnight all. See you tomorrow night.

						1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9				R		H		E
				NATIONALS		0		2		0		0		0		1		3		0		1				7		9		0
				D-BACKS		0		0		0		1		1		1		0		1		0				4		6		0

~~~

Hey Comcast, WTF?

~~~




Top of the 9th. Comcast abruptly switches from the game to a C-Span BOOK PARTY. What? We're switching back to XM and continue to hate the cable company. Dukes gets a leadoff walk, then picked off on an FC as Harris gets on. The Gooz singles. Two on. Then Aaron Boone walks and hey looky there are three ducks on the pond. Too bad we can't see it. The crowd has gone silent. Felipe Lopez comes up. First pitch in for a strike. Second pitch is in the same spot, but called a ball. Now it's 3-2. Lopez hits what should be a double play ball but BEATS IT at 1st. Dukes scores.

7-4 Nats

Milledge ends the inning with some weak stuff to 3rd. Checking Comcast ... and the game is back on. Some board op somewhere is hoping nobody noticed the interruption, but we know what he did. We know ...




~~~

That's Gonna Leave a Mark

~~~




Owings pa-LUNKS Macowiak right in the Skoal tin for a one-out walk. Later tonight, Rob and Lastings will compare bruises in the shower. Next Dukes drops one in to center. TWO ON. Looky here, we got us a rally here! LET'S GO HARRIS (clap clap clapclapclap).

WILLIE HARRIS HOMERS TO RIGHT FOR A 3 RUN SHOT!

I love that guy.

6 - 3 Natties - when was the last time we had a 3 run lead?

Next Guzman shoots one to right on a high and tight pitch for a double. Micah Owings is gone like a freight train. Bring in Max Scherzer, a dude with knee-buckling stuff. He starts off his night by striking out Aaron Boone, but then Dmitri Young walks. All for nothing as Milledge pops out to 3rd.

7th Inning Stretch

I'll take off the 8th inning, See you in the 9th.



~~~

Send In The Clowns

~~~




Redding gets hit on the first pitch. One on. Next batter gets on with a fielder's choice picking off the guy at 2nd. Then Redding walks the next hitter. Here comes Manny Acta. Redding is done. In comes Joel Hanrahan, the crazy ass reliever with problems with location, location, location. Welcome to How To Lose A Ballgame.
Hanrahan gets touched for a single. One run in with with out and men on 1st and 2nd.

Nationals - 3
Diamondbacks - 3
Bottom of the 6th

Happily, Hanrahan gets Micah Owings to ground into a double play and the inning is over. Jesus Flores will open the 7th.
~~~

Guz Comes Home

~~~




Milledge hits the first pitch to deep center. Guzman tags from third and scores.

3 - 2 Nattie Boys.

That means Redding has a lead and will likely come out for the 6th inning. Let's hope his fastball comes out with him.




~~~

5th inning Blues

~~~




Redding loads the bases. Micah Owings runs in 1.

2-2 ballgame

Orlando Hudson is at the plate with a 2-2 count. Deuces are wild as Zona starts figuring out Redding the third time around. Hudson fouls one off the front of his shin and goes to the ground. That'll give a guy pause. Nonetheless, he draws a walk and the bases are loaded for the second time in the inning. It's Redding's fourth walk. Next pitch is right at the noggin of Conor Jackson. What a mess. Now Jackson is 3-0 in the count. Redding fights back to a 3-2 count and Jackson flies out to Milledge. Is Redding done? How's he start so well and then get played so badly? The cigar is down to the bitter end. We're switching to the laptop and the TV indoors. Where is my Calidryl?




~~~

HR DBACKS

~~~




Orlando Hudson smacks a 1 run homer in the 4th. 2 - 1 Nats with one out. Let's see if Redding recovers. Not looking good as he walks Tracy and throws a wild pitch. Tracy to 2nd. Upton at the plate with 2 balls and no strikes. My ankle is suddenly itchy as hell.

On the 3-2 pitch, Upton pops out. Damage contained. Redding takes a breath. The cigar store guy sold me these Buteras, saying they were every bit as good as my Monte Cristos. They're not horrible, but I'm still making a note that Cigar Store Guy is a liar.





~~~

Redding

~~~




TR starts the night with 8 outs in a row. Then he walks the pitcher, but there's no shame in that when Micah Owings is hitting better than most of the Nats (.286). No damage as he shuts down leadoff hitter Chris Young (NOT the Chris Young of San Diego who got smashed in the face by Albert Pujols).

Nats get nothing done in the top of the 4th.



~~~

Boone

~~~




Aaron Boone nails a two out double. The guy's a hit factory. D Young
squanders it by hitting over to first.




~~~

You're Gonna Need An Ocean of Calomine Lotion

~~~




Picked up a large dose of poison ivy a few days back. It wasn't bad
when I noticed it on my arm. Then the right side of my mug blossomed.
Still, not much of a bother. Now The Netherlands are involved and I'm
geting a little concerned.

Bottom 2nd, Tim Redding has retired 6 iin a row. He's a deep thought
pitcher with a tricky slider.

Arizona's local ads suck every bit as much as DC. Lots of spots start
with, "hey Diamondback fans ...". Absoltely no production elements
into and out of innings.

~~~

Looks good there

~~~




Middle of the order got the memo: Get some hits. One single, then Milledge is
drilled in the back and stumbles to first. A sac bunt moves them over. A single by Jesus Flores runs in two.

2-0

Sent while listening to baseball.

~~~

Liveblogging Nats vs Dbacks

~~~




1,2,3 down wends DC in the first.

Then 1,2,3 went Arizona. Its like a waltz in Phoenix tonight.

Earlier today, the Rockies were up 9-1 against the Cubbies. They wound
up losing 10-9.

Here in Virginia, The Nationals Postie is chilling' on the deck with a
cold beverage, a #4 cigar, some leftover pizza, and the home team play
by play on the ExEm. The zen of it is laying over it al like syrup on
pancakes.

~~~

Sent while driving.

UPDATE: Burn After Reading

~~~









~~~

There's Yer Problem Right There

~~~




Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)


in·fi·del ˈɪnfɪdl, -ˌdɛl/ - Pronunciation[in-fi-dl, -del]

–noun
1. Religion.
a. a person who does not accept a particular faith, esp. Christianity.
b. (in Christian use) an unbeliever, esp. a Muslim.
c. (in Muslim use) a person who does not accept the Islamic faith; kaffir.

~~~

Clear My Sept 12 Schedule!

~~~





John Malkovich, being John Malkovich


The Coen Brothers have a new flick coming out. Wait ... I can say that better.

THE COEN BROTHERS HAVE A NEW FLICK COMING OUT, MAN!

From the stills, which are shimmering with bright characters, and the plot line, which looks to include a little mystery, and a bit of comedy, along with a healthy dose of intrigue which, you know, since it's a Coen Brothers film, the uh ... dialog ... will naturally - could well naturally be ... uh uhhh ... the kind of thing that, this looks like it could be, and I'm just, if the whole thing pans out well, then this could be kind of, uh ... uhhhh. Y'know? New shit has come to light, man. That's what I'm blathering about! I got information--new shit has come to light and--shit, man!

It's tentatively being called "Burn After Reading". Details here. We'll let you know if we get any more leads. We got our detectives workin' in shifts.

Happily, the Nats are in Florida playing the Marlins on Sept 12.
Life does not start and stop at their convenience ...

~~~

Now that IS Friendly

~~~













~~~

Photo coitusy of EKMS

Sayyyyyyyy!

"Big win, nice park, what's next, fireworks??"