elliottditman

Small goals to get to big finishes

Small goals to get to big finishes
Last season the World Champion Phillies won the NL East by three games over The NY Mets. The Phillies finished 2008 with a 92-70 record. My wife Jonna helped me do this, so if my math is wrong, blame her, she has the Masters in teaching. The Nats can finish 92-70 if they set small goals the rest of the season. First, the Nationals have to put April in a box, put it on a shelf, and never open it. The 5-16 start....Not good. However, a 4-2 record in May is good. Not counting Saturday's...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Instant replay creates confusion in place of clarity

Instant replay creates confusion in place of clarity
Instant replay was supposed to review possible game changing home runs. What it did last night in the Nats' 5-2 Loss to the NY Mets was anything but. Gary Sheffield apparently hit a three-run HR in the bottom of the sixth inning off of Nats lefty John Lannan; Adrian Johnson who was working third base in the game called the fly ball to left field a home run. As all good managers should do, Manny Acta challenged the call, and the four umpires got together and decided to watch the replay....
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

The Kids are Alright

The Kids are Alright
One of the weak spots for the Nationals since they moved to DC has been their pitching; but there are a couple of youngsters who are going to change all that. Jordan Zimmermann and Shairon Martis are two of the best young pitchers I've seen in the last 20 years. Now, I won't compare them to Hall of Fame pitchers, because I think that just adds too much pressure. They are good enough to stand on their own. I will tell you - believe the hype. Jordan has great command of all of his...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Jordan Zimmermann Nationals Rob Dibble Shairon Martis
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Japan replaces Cuba as the Best Team on Earth

Japan replaces Cuba as the Best Team on Earth
When Japan won its second straight WBC title last night, it sent a message to the rest of the baseball world--"We are The Best"--Japan may not have the stars Major League Baseball has during its regular season, but when Japan puts on its international baseball uniform, it is way above The rest of the baseball world. In 2006, in winning it's first WBC Championship, Japan outscored its opponents 57-18 while only committing seven errors in six games. Not much has changed in three years, as...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

This team is better than the 1-10 start

This team is better than the 1-10 start
I wasn't here last year, so I didn't get to see all 102 losses; but I would guess many of those could have gone the Nationals' way if the players were ready on every play and every pitch. All baseball players and professional athletes are not that much different when it comes to natural talent; but when it comes to winning close games, it's the player who's mentally stronger that usually comes away with the victories. A team is not measured by its best players, but by its 23rd and...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Meet the new guy

Meet the new guy
For the many who may not know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Rob Dibble, and I played 7 1/2 seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds, from June of 1988 to 1996. I was an All-Star and NLCS co-MVP in 1990 while a member of The World Champion Cincinnati Reds. As a Team, we swept The AL Champion Oakland A's. As a major league pitcher, I reached 500 K's faster than Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller. While it took them over 500...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

'Pitching and defense win championships'

'Pitching and defense win championships'
When the Washington Nationals sent Lastings Milledge down to Triple A, it helped to loosen up the log jam in the outfield; but it should also help the pitching. You always hear the phrase "pitching and defense win Championships," but why? Pitchers are very simple creatures. We just want to know that when we make a mistake, there will be a teammate out there on defense who can run it down. If we know that mistakes will be caught, we can take more chances, meaning, we will challenge...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Never take the job lightly

Never take the job lightly
Part of what makes up a big league pitcher is learning the major league hitters. It's as big a part of your game as mastering off-speed pitches when you are behind in the count. You have to know when they aren't catching up to your fastballs and when they're setting you up to throw another breaking ball. What makes this such an important part of your game is that all hitters want to be the hero; all hitters get paid to beat you; and they don't care if you lose your job. Baseball...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Don't look back

Don't look back
The Nationals have to keep pushing forward and forget what people say. You can't go back and change history, nor can you go back to last season and try to win more than the 59 wins we finished with. What we can do is prove all the nonbelievers wrong by winning The NL East. The same people who said before the 2008 season that the Tampa Bay Rays who won 66 games in 2007 had no chance are choking on plenty of crow this year. The Rays went from 66 wins to 97 in one year and won the AL...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Meet the new guy

Meet the new guy
For the many who may not know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Rob Dibble, and I played 7 1/2 seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds, from June of 1988 to 1996. I was an All-Star and NLCS co-MVP in 1990 while a member of The World Champion Cincinnati Reds. As a Team, we swept The AL Champion Oakland A's. As a major league pitcher, I reached 500 K's faster than Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller. While it took them over 500...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

'Pitching and defense win championships'

'Pitching and defense win championships'
When the Washington Nationals sent Lastings Milledge down to Triple A, it helped to loosen up the log jam in the outfield; but it should also help the pitching. You always hear the phrase "pitching and defense win Championships," but why? Pitchers are very simple creatures. We just want to know that when we make a mistake, there will be a teammate out there on defense who can run it down. If we know that mistakes will be caught, we can take more chances, meaning, we will challenge...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Japan replaces Cuba as the Best Team on Earth

Japan replaces Cuba as the Best Team on Earth
When Japan won its second straight WBC title last night, it sent a message to the rest of the baseball world--"We are The Best"--Japan may not have the stars Major League Baseball has during its regular season, but when Japan puts on its international baseball uniform, it is way above The rest of the baseball world. In 2006, in winning it's first WBC Championship, Japan outscored its opponents 57-18 while only committing seven errors in six games. Not much has changed in three years, as...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Plenty of progress is possible in only a short time

Plenty of progress is possible in only a short time
As the season winds down, try and stay positive and build for tomorrow. I know it sounds cliche, and maybe it is; but it's how we deal with failure and stay grounded in this game. No matter how the season ends in DC, there will be some who wish to break down the season into numbers and how the team finished. Once again, I will remind people that it only takes a year to turn a negative into a positive. Let's take Tampa in 2007. They finished the year with 66 wins and 96 losses and...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Small goals to get to big finishes

Small goals to get to big finishes
Last season the World Champion Phillies won the NL East by three games over The NY Mets. The Phillies finished 2008 with a 92-70 record. My wife Jonna helped me do this, so if my math is wrong, blame her, she has the Masters in teaching. The Nats can finish 92-70 if they set small goals the rest of the season. First, the Nationals have to put April in a box, put it on a shelf, and never open it. The 5-16 start....Not good. However, a 4-2 record in May is good. Not counting Saturday's...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

Sorry if I hurt your feelings...

Sorry if I hurt your feelings...
I've been told on more than a few occasions that I'm a little rough around the edges, that maybe I'm a little harsh. I'm sorry you feel that way, but get in line. My wife has told me that, so has my mother--and they love me. But I'm going to tell you about five baseball players who were 'harsh' with me, but helped me become less selfish and more of a team player in my playing days. Let's start in the minor leagues. A man, a very good player and my pitching coach in Triple-A...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

The Kids are Alright

The Kids are Alright
One of the weak spots for the Nationals since they moved to DC has been their pitching; but there are a couple of youngsters who are going to change all that. Jordan Zimmermann and Shairon Martis are two of the best young pitchers I've seen in the last 20 years. Now, I won't compare them to Hall of Fame pitchers, because I think that just adds too much pressure. They are good enough to stand on their own. I will tell you - believe the hype. Jordan has great command of all of his...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Jordan Zimmermann Rob Dibble Shairon Martis
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

This team is better than the 1-10 start

This team is better than the 1-10 start
I wasn't here last year, so I didn't get to see all 102 losses; but I would guess many of those could have gone the Nationals' way if the players were ready on every play and every pitch. All baseball players and professional athletes are not that much different when it comes to natural talent; but when it comes to winning close games, it's the player who's mentally stronger that usually comes away with the victories. A team is not measured by its best players, but by its 23rd and...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest
elliottditman

This year's Nats know what they're playing for

This year's Nats know what they're playing for
In another couple of weeks the Nats will start Spring Training for the 2010 season. What you, as loyal fans, really want to know is how is this team going to play? Well, me too! What I will tell you first, is that everyone, from the Lerner family to Drew Storen and Danny Espinosa, care very much about what is going on in DC on and off the field. As I and the players - Zimm, Dunn, Willingham, Morgan, Lannan, Stammen, and Clippard, to name a few, as well as manager Jim Riggleman, GM...
Continue reading
0
Tags:
Nationals Rob Dibble
LinkedIn Pinterest



LATEST ORIOLES NEWS

LATEST NATIONALS NEWS

        Next
1 2 3