Just as players have quick turnarounds for day games after night games, so do writers. Thus, this morning, just a few quick notes as we await the finale of this series:
- I posted this in a comment to the Bob Uecker thread, but it's worth mentioning on the front page -- some great quotes from Uecker's career. Best wishes to Uecker for a speedy recovery. He's one of the good guys.
- Interesting historical comparison from Baseball Analysts on how certain managers handled certain players to get the most out of their talent, and how those lessons could be applied today.
- Rob Neyer on why attendance is down. Summary -- sports attendance is a trailing indicator of the economy, as Neyer puts it:
I can also predict that when people are convinced that the economy has really recovered, Major League Baseball's attendance will stop heading south and start heading north.
- Alfonso Soriano has newfound patience at the plate. And for those of you wondering when some of Rudy Jaramillo's work would show up, here's one of the results:
"It's the same approach. I just trust my hands more," said Soriano, who credits hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo with improving his mechanics -- specifically, getting his front foot down quicker -- to give him a split-second longer to recognize the pitch. "I've got time to see the ball," he said. "Having better timing. That's what hitting's all about."
- Finally, last week I asked Cubbie-Tim to help in moderating the game threads. Thanks to all of you, that's been a success. However, he can't usually be around during weekday games. So I have asked Arbusto and Galvan316 to take this role during weekday afternoon game threads; either or both of them may be around to help out. Just try to be nice to each other, and keep the profanity to a minimum, in the game threads. Thanks.
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Luis Atilano wasn't really on the Nats' prospect radar after last year; he pitched only a couple of games at Triple-A after posting a 1.48 WHIP and 4.16 ERA at Double-A. And he posted a 6.14 ERA in seven spring training appearances this year. Nevertheless, here he is in the Nats' rotation, and his first (and only) major league start vs. the Dodgers resulted in one run allowed in six innings. In short, who knows what to expect?
Ryan Dempster is off to a fine start -- his 1.08 WHIP ranks 12th in the National League after his four outings. His last two starts vs. Washington were in 2008; he had a win and a no-decision and a 1.88 ERA in 14.1 innings. Watch out for Adam Dunn, who has had a quiet series so far -- he is 4-for-11 (.364) with a HR and 10 walks against Dempster.
Today's game is back on cable, CSN Chicago. Not that this has any bearing on the result, but the Cubs are now 0-3 in WCIU-televised games this year. It's also on the Nats cable channel, MASN. Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.
Baseball-reference.com game preview
Please visit our SB Nation Nationals site Federal Baseball.
This afternoon's first pitch thread will be up at 1:15 pm CDT, and the overflows will post at 2:15, 3:15 and 4 pm CDT.
Discuss amongst yourselves.