Nationals catchers stingy on stolen bases (LaRoche award finalist)

While watching the miraculous Royals comeback Tuesday and thrilling(!) 9-8 12-inning dispatch of the A's, I marveled at the speed and running ability of the home team. Kansas City stole seven bases in the game. During each comeback attempt, the Royals took an extra base on steals and wild pitches. Instead of relying on base hit after base hit, the Royals needed just a couple per inning to score runs. The Nationals were sixth in the National League in stolen bases with 101. The Dodgers (138) and the Reds (122) were at the top of the list. Pittsburgh was fourth with 104. San Francisco was dead-last in the league with only 56, almost half of what the Nationals and Pirates accumulated. Defensively, catcher Wilson Ramos has seen his caught-stealing percentage jump from 29 percent in 2013 to 38 percent in 2014. He allowed 34 stolen bases last season and 30 this year, and this season he played in 10 more games (87 to 77). He also caught more baserunners this season (18 to 14). Further, Jose Lobaton's caught-stealing percentage jumped from 14 percent in 2013 with the Rays to 33 percent this season with the Nationals. He had just one passed ball and two errors in 64 games. The Pirates' Andrew McCutchen had one stolen base in 14 at-bats against the Nationals this season. He had 18 stolen bases on the year. The Pirates' Starling Marte had 30 stolen bases, but was caught 11 times. McCutchen, Clint Barmes and Gregory Polanco were the only Pirates to steal a base off of the Nationals this season. The Nationals caught the Phillies' Ben Revere, the Reds' Billy Hamilton and the Marlins' Adeiny Hechavarria stealing seven times combined this season. The trio had five total stole bases against the Nationals. The Giants' Angel Pagan and Hunter Blanco each had 16 stolen bases, and Hunter Pence stole 13 bases. No Giants stole a base against the Nationals this season. Meanwhile, Denard Span (31) was fifth in the NL in stolen bases. Ian Desmond (24) was 11th. Dee Gordon of the Dodgers led the way with 64. Anthony Rendon had 17, so that is 48 stolen bases from the first two batters in the lineup. Jayson Werth had nine and Danny Espinosa had eight. So another important part of the Nationals defense as they head into the postseason is their catchers not allowing baserunners to advance consistently on steal attempts. In turn, Span and Rendon can be unleashed to put some pressure on the Giants or Pirates hurlers. Update: Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced Tuesday that Nats left fielder Bryce Harper, alongside Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros and Justin Morneau of the Colorado Rockies, have been added to the MLB All-Star Team led by Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell for the Japan All-Star Series 2014. The Japan All-Star Series 2014 will feature MLB All-Stars traveling to Japan this November to play a five-game series against "Samurai Japan" (Japan's National Team). Altuve, Harper and Morneau join previously announced participants Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners, Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles, Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. All-Star Series games will be hosted in Osaka (Kyocera Dome), Tokyo (Tokyo Dome) and Sapporo (Sapporo Dome). Two exhibition games will complement the five-game series, with one game in Osaka (Koshien Stadium) and the other in Okinawa (Okinawa Cellular Stadium). Update II: Craig Heist and I will host a "Nationals Postseason Show" Sunday morning from 8:30-11:30 a.m. on 106.7 The Fan. Then I will host the "Nats Insider Playoff Edition" from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Sunday. We will recap Games 1 and 2 and look ahead to Game 3. Call in or let me know in the comments section if you have any questions or thoughts for the show. Update III: Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche is one of the finalists for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, which will be announced as part of the Players Choice awards on MLB Network on Nov. 3 from 8-9 p.m.. The Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award is named in honor of the MLBPA's first executive director and given annually to the player who inspires others through his on-field performances and contributions to his community. The Players Choice Awards benefit the Major League Baseball Players Trust, the charitable foundation created and run by the players. LaRoche is joined by the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and the Cubs' Anthony Rizzo as the finalists for the award. "LaRoche focuses much of his off-field attention on the Wounded Warrior Project at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he regularly visits vets during their rehab and recovery," said a press release on the honor. LaRoche can regularly be seen visiting with veterans who attend Nationals games and the Wounded Warrior Celebrity Softball Classic has also been held at Nationals Park.