HBURG 0 READ 0 Strasburg Bottom 2nd

HBURG 0  READ 0 Strasburg Bottom 2nd
Reading Gillies CF struck out looking but saw 7 pitches Galvis SS 4-3 2 pitches Brown RF 4-3 3 p Stavisky 1B 4-3 Spidale LF 6-3 Pinckney 3B K Nelson C Chavez 2B Cisco P Strasburg IP 2.0 R 0 ER 0 H 0 BB 0 K 2 Harrisburg 00 Reading 00 pitches 12+12=24 END OF 2 0-0

Strasburg goes 5 strong innings at Reading

Strasburg goes 5 strong innings at Reading
HBURG 1 READ 0 END 5TH strasburg rbi single Reading Stavisky F7 deep left field best hit ball so far tonight Spidale K passed ball allows runner to get to 1st U6 at 2nd Pinckney FC OUT 6-4 at 2nd Nelson FC Strasburg 64 pitches / 42 strikes IP 5.0 R 0 ER 0 H0 BB 0 K 6 HARRISBURG 000 01 READING 000 00

Strasburg no hits R-Phillies in chilly Reading

Strasburg no hits R-Phillies in chilly Reading
READING, PA ---- Righthander Stephen Strasburg pitched 5 innings of shutout no-hit ball, retiring the first 13 batters he faced, for his 3rd win of the season as Harrisburg defeated Reading 1-0 before an announced 4,156 at chilly FirstEnergy Stadium. Strasburg threw 64 pitches, 42 for strikes, allowing no runs, no hits, no walks and striking out 6 batters. The game time temperature was 53 degrees, but a brisk wind made it feel like it was in the high 40s. Strasburg consistently hit in the...

Strasburg: Rewind

Strasburg: Rewind
Fresh off a series victory for the Nats over the Cubs, the Harrisburg Senators completed a three game sweep at Reading 5-2. Matt Chico went five innings and allowed a hit and an unearned run to earn his first victory of the season. The Senators have won five in a row. Tuesday night, Stephen Strasburg no-hit the R-Phillies for five innings with no runs, no walks and striking out six. Thirteen batters in a row were unable to reach base for the Phillies. Afterwards, Strasburg answered...

Bryce Harper's Coach: "He is a good all around kid"

Bryce Harper's Coach: "He is a good all around kid"
A recent Baseball Prospectus article had some disparaging opinions regarding the makeup of 17-year-old phenom Bryce Harper. Kevin Goldstein wrote the article, "Future Shock: Bryce Harper" (April 22, 2010) on Harper as a player: "One scout called him among the worst amateur players he's ever seen from a makeup standpoint, with top-of-the-scale arrogance, a disturbingly large sense of entitlement, and on-field behavior that includes taunting opponents. He's just a bad, bad guy," said one...

Exclusive: One-on-One with Bryce Harper

Exclusive: One-on-One with Bryce Harper
With the June First-Year Player Draft now less than a month and a half away, I got another opportunity to speak with 17-year-old catcher phenom Bryce Harper as his season with the College of Southern Nevada heads toward postseason play. Harper leads the Coyotes in several offensive categories including batting average (.410), hits (64), doubles (14), home runs (21), RBIs (59), total bases (143) and slugging percentage (.917) in 47 games. CSN is 38-10 and 25-7 in conference play. We touched...

Matt Chico adds new pitch, gets win for Harrisburg

Matt Chico adds new pitch, gets win for Harrisburg
Senators pitcher Matt Chico continues to work hard to get back to the Major Leagues and had a very good outing this week for Harrisburg at Reading, his first win of the season. I caught up with Matt this week and he talked about the conditions of his start and his new pitch, the two seam fastball. "I had no problems in the 40 degree weather. It is cold but you are warm. "It wasn't bad. It was one of those games where I like the result but I didn't feel good. One of those nights I had...

New Perspective: Watching Strasburg on the Road

New Perspective: Watching Strasburg on the Road
I wanted to relay my experiences from my visit last week to Reading, Pennsylvania to watch Stephen Strasburg's start. Strasburg did very well in that game, going five innings, allowing no hits and retiring the first 13 batters he faced. Unlike Sunday's start in Harrisburg, Strasburg was in control from the start and even contributed the game winning base hit. It is always fun to watch opposing team's reactions to Strasburg, especially the fans, who booed Strasburg as he ran slowly to...

Strasburg versus Reds in June?

Strasburg versus Reds in June?
With the team announcement that Nationals number one overall selection Stephen Strasburg is moving on to the Syracuse Chiefs, I project the possible May starts for #37, and if all goes well, his first major league baseball start would be in early June for the home series against the Cincinnati Reds. Jim Callis, Executive Editor of Baseball America told me it makes sense for the Nats to have Strasburg in Harrisburg for a month, Syracuse for a month, then bring him up for 100 innings before...

Chambers insists Harper "very coachable"

Chambers insists Harper "very coachable"
College of Southern Nevada enters the final week of the regular season riding an eight game winning streak and a 42-10 overall record. The Coyotes are 29-7 in conference play, guaranteeing their 6th Scenic West conference regular season championship. They have two games remaining on their schedule at Salt Lake Community College, Friday and Saturday before the post season starts May 12th. Potential #1 overall selection Bryce Harper continues to lead the team with 21 HRs, .417 batting average...

Desmond calls on Double-A coach to refine hitting

Desmond calls on Double-A coach to refine hitting
Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond went 2-4 with a home run, a single, 2 RBI and a run scored in the Nats 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night at Nats Park. Desmond is batting .338 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI in last 6 games. His homer was number two on the season and came off Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami in the fifth inning. "He just threw me a slider. I was able to stay through it and get enough of it to get it out of the park. I was looking for it. He gave it to me. That's...

Game 2 Braves preview: Atilano riding sinker to Big Leagues

Game 2 Braves preview: Atilano riding sinker to Big Leagues
Nats starter Luis Atilano learned his best pitch the sinker from the Nats organization. He will prominently display that pitch again tonight as he takes on the Atlanta Braves in his 3rd overall start and 2nd at home. I asked Luis what he felt about his 2-0 start: "I feel happy about it. I am keeping my focus from day to day. I am trying to get quick outs during my starts." "I am working pitch by pitch. I am not trying to do too much. A lot of times I am behind in the count. But that...

Chambers dispels Nats job rumor

Chambers dispels Nats job rumor
College of Southern Nevada baseball coach Tim Chambers told me that he has "absolutely not" been offered a job with the Nats. Tim said he called the Nats Assistant General Manager Roy Clark last night and they joked about how the media frenzy with him and the interest in his player, Bryce Harper, most likely fueled this type of speculation. "I was a 'bird-dog' while Roy was with the Atlanta Braves. As a matter of fact, when Clark left the Braves, the team sent me a letter that I was no...

Going for the win in the 10th

Going for the win in the 10th
Braves closer Billy Wagner, from nearby Crozet, Virginia, came on in the 10th inning with the lead and was able to stop the Nats rally. Wagner allowed a single by Cristian Guzman and it looked like the Nats would have a chance to tie or win the game. But Wagner retired the next three batters to notch only his third save of the season. Ian Desmond was next and was not asked to bunt with a man on first and no outs. Manager Jim Riggleman wanted to go for the win with the bullpen getting heavy...

Game 3 preview vs. Braves: Nieves on Olsen's hot start

Game 3 preview vs. Braves: Nieves on Olsen's hot start
Nats left-hander Scott Olsen gets the start tonight against the Braves' veteran Tim Hudson as the Nats look for their fifth series win of the season. Olsen, coming off a lights out performance in the win over Florida last Friday night, is 7-1. He tossed six innings and allowed five hits and no earned runs, while striking out four and walking three. He has a current 13-inning scorelesss streak. Catcher Wil Nieves likes what he has seen so far from Olsen: "He has been attacking the strike...

Strasburg ready for next step in Syracuse

Strasburg ready for next step in Syracuse
The next step in Stephen Strasburg's seemingly meteoric rise is Syracuse as he gets a chance to see what he can do at the Triple-A level. Jason Benetti, play-by-play announcer for the Chiefs, sat down with Strasburg as he arrived in Syracuse and asked him how his life has changed since being selected as the #1 overall selection. "Oh, obviously there are a lot more people watching me," Strasburg said. "I never knew this would happen so fast. I am learning along the way." What did Tony...

Strasburg lights out against Gwinnett

Strasburg lights out against Gwinnett
Syracuse Chiefs starter Stephen Strasburg rolled past the Gwinnett Braves in his Triple-A debut from a sold out Alliance Bank Stadium. Strasburg continued to hit 96-99 miles per hour on his fastball, a drop off the table curve ball and an assortment of off-speed stuff that confused the G-Braves hitters. Strasburg also added 2 RBI as Syracuse led 3-0 when he left the game. He had run scoring single in the 2nd inning and a perfect bunt in the 4th that scored the 3rd Chiefs run. His line was...

Rizzo and 33 days

Rizzo and 33 days
With the Nationals' victory over the Florida Marlins 3-2 Sunday, the Nats are 17-14 and won their 17th game of the season 33 days faster than last year's pace. The Nats did not secure the team's 17th win until June 11 last season and by then the Nats were close to 20 games out of first place. I caught up with Nats General Manager Mike Rizzo during the game and we reflected on the Nats great start and how he played it in spring training. He said he told the team to do three things this...

Looking closer at the Adam Jones enigma

Looking closer at the Adam Jones enigma
O's outfielder Adam Jones is struggling at bat, and the worry for fans - and for team officials as well - is that this could be more than just a slump. It hasn't been only a series, road trip or month where Jones has been not great at bat, but all season, and his struggles date back well into last year. This time in 2009, Jones was looking great at the plate, just like the All-Star he would soon be. But the story has been different since the first of June last season, after Jones' torrid...

Bryce and Bruney

Bryce and Bruney
Just so you have them when the Nats pick Bryce Harper with the number one overall selection, here are his stats: Bryce finished his first collegiate regular season with a .417 batting average, 71 runs, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, 68 RBI, .917 slugging percentage, .509 on-base percentage, grounded into only 2 double plays, 16-20 stolen bases, .982 fielding percentage, 165 total bases in 55 games. The College of Southern Nevada finished 43-13 and won the Scenic West Conference. The...