It's On! Some Gamecast Fun: Sox - Nationals

Good times for The Nation in the nation's capital. The Red Sox (43-27) have been on a roll this June, winning 14 out of 19 games in the month. Combined with the loss last night from their bitter rivals, the Sox now have a 5 game lead, which is their biggest lead in the division in this young season. All of this recent success is making it more difficult for me not to dream about the playoffs now (It's only June, it's only June......). Meanwhile, the Washington Nationals (20-48) let's just say, have been less than stellar. Deemed out of it by about the 3rd day of Spring Training, the "Natinals" have been exposed by their less than mediocre pitching (5.19 ERA), which includes the 2nd worst bullpen in the majors (5.59 ERA). The chance of them losing 100 games is as much of a certainty as Sammy Sosa not going into the Hall of Fame in five years. Between the recent crowds at National Park (probably 96.8% Red Sox fans) and the caliber of the opponent visiting, this is pretty much this team's World Series. It showed last night, as the Nats kept it close until their bullpen became the Red Sox's biggest run producer in the 8th inning. Tonight features Jon Lester (5-6), who came off of a tough-luck, rain-shortened loss against the Marlins in which he allowed 2 ER in 5+ innings. He faces off against Craig Stammen (1-2), a young sinkerballer who recently got the 1st victory of his young career in his last start by shutting out the Yankees in the Bronx with 6 1/3 solid innings. With the matchup presented, I probably don't have to tell you what I expect from my Sox. So I won't. You should have heard the word already. Get excited for Gamecast #3!

7:08 PM - The Nats get three quick outs from the arm of Stammen, while going 8 for 8 in throwing strikes. Should I be scared?

7:11 PM - Old pal Willie Harris gets up, and promptly flies out. I wonder what he feels about his time with us in '06. Probably not too great, considering he only played in 47 games. Then again, he only hit .156, which barely gets over my weight. 1 down.

7:15 PM - Lester counters with a clean inning of his own. Good times! Sharing the feelings of what the Southwest Airlines commercial is saying repeatedly right now, "It's on." I heard Manny took a Southwest flight in a middle seat on his way to his minor league stint in Albuquerque. I mean, how crazy would it be if you had a rich and famous dreadlocked slugger sitting next to you on a $80 flight after he has stowed away his female fertility drugs? Only in America, folks.

7:19 PM - As Craig Stammen is continuing to mow us down, the "Paul McCartney coming to Fenway" conversation begins. Gets me thinking of my favorite Beatles song. "Here Comes The Sun" is a classic and my personal favorite. I know, I'm a sap.

7:21 PM - Stammen is now working on a no-hitter after another 1,2,3 inning in the top half. Not that a no-no matters in the second inning, but wanted to jinx him just in case.

7:25 PM - Looking at the crowd in Nationals Ballpark, I wonder how much revenue Sox fans bring to other teams. $10 million? $20 million? I have to look this up. Between Washington and Baltimore, that's like an extra 12 game home games we should get the gate receipts for. Wouldn't be surprised if they were selling Fenway Franks in the stands now.

7:29 PM - After a walk, the enigmatic Elijah Dukes gets a single with an assist from his broken barrel, as it whooshed towards Nick Green like a magnet. Even his bat has a violent mind of its own. Craziness. 1st and 3rd for the Nats with one out. Not liking this, considering Stammen is throwing like '06 Chien Mien Wang right now.

7:31 PM - Anderson Hernandez singles, driving in Willingham. 1-0 Nats. MVP of the game so far, Elijah Dukes's barrel.

7:33 PM - Double play and we're out of it. Kinda frustrating that we were one broken maple bat away from getting out of this inning unscathed. Long way to go.

7:40 PM - Nick Green swings at an awful pitch. Apparently forgot his driver. 2 down.

7:40 PM - Lester goes down after three strong hacks. Stammen now has thrown 28 strikes out of 33 pitches. Not liking this at all (You're throwing a no-hitter Stammen. That's right, you hear me!).

7:42 PM - Not only is Stammen shutting us down like Halladay, he can hit like Ichiro too. Never good to allow a lead off base hit, especially against the pitcher. C'mon Lester!

7:47 PM - Stolen base from old friend Willie Harris, probably bringing Varitek's percentage of throwing out runners to like 4%. I honestly don't remember him throwing out a runner this year, and I've seen a lot of games.

7:49 PM - Walk by Guzman. Lester not sharp so far. Dice-K says that this start is making him tense. Getting to the meat with Zimmerman at the plate. 2 on, 1 out.

7:51 PM - Zimmerman strikes out. 2 down. I wonder if he is actually gonna go the long haul as being the Nats franchise player. I hope he has crazy incentives on his contract, like getting some under the table money whenever the Nats actually win a game (which probably won't be a lot). Or fully paid vacations to the Alps. Probably the only way I would stay with a team that averages only 22,000 a game while losing 100 of them. That attendance number seems real generous. Must have really spiked that number up the last couple of games.

7:52 PM - Nick Johnson grounds out to Nicky Green. I'm thinkin' that continuously getting into jams with this Nats team will screw us over eventually.

7:57 PM - MVPedroia breaks the no-no with his classic double down the line. Finally! Who says a fan can't control the outcome of a no-hitter?

7:59 PM - After a ridiculously low called strike to Youk, hitting coach Dave Magadan gets the boot. Very understandable. That pitch almost killed a gopher in the ground. Should give the ump Papi's eye drops. Even the Amica pitch zone said that was low.

8:01 PM - Youk walks to put runners in the corners with 1 out. J Bay Bay to the plate, who was called by "The Mayor" Sean Casey on the MLB Network as this week's "Mr. Clutch" on his segment appropriately titled "The Mayor's Office. Hope he proves it here.

8:03 PM - Strike 3. Gone on a "Bugs Bunny" curve. And you're welcome for the "Mr. Clutch" jinx. Errrrrrrr! C'mon Papi!

8:06 PM - Ortiz hits a moonshot! 3 run jack. Number 7 for the Big Man on a floating change-up. And I though I was gonna have to write a eulogy for his career two months ago. It's getting close to midnight as Stammen's outing is slowly turning into a pumpkin.

8:08 PM - And Varitek will pop out. Are you shocked? Still coming down from that homer high. 6 homers for Papi this month. Just found out that Papi got the 1,000th RBI in his great career. Could he be actually.........back? (Knockin' on some mahogany.)

8:10 PM - It's rare that you hear a song on a commercial repeatedly, and you actually like it more and more. Especially with an old song. Case and point, the Heineken commercial with Biz Markie's song "Just A Friend" being played while everyone sings in the cab. Love it when they bring the classics back.

8:13 PM - A 1,2,3 inning from Lester. The homerun ripple effect has soothed his mind a bit. Also makes me breathe easier. (YOOOU GOT WHAT I NEEEEEEEED!)

8:17 PM - Just reminded by Orsillo that Smoltz's debut is tomorrow. Never been so pumped to see a 42 year old have a debut with a team ever. Been waiting 5 months for this glorious moment.

8:19 PM - Green reaches on a nicely placed hit, as Guzman can't throw him out. Will the bunt be on with Lester? Why did I ask that question?

8:20 PM - Apparently, Lester practices his bunting. A sweet bunt moves Green to 2nd. 2 down with an opportunity to pounce.

8:21 PM - Base hit for MVPedroia. Drives in Nicky Green. 4-1 Sox. The world is coming back to normal.

8:23 PM - Opposite field, ground-rule double for J.D. Nats catch a break, but Stammen's inexperience is showing it's ugly head. Still 2 down.

8:25 PM - Stammen gets out of it, but the Sox add some padding to the lead. Sox Nation in D.C. rejoicing for the moment. 8, 9, and 1 hitters coming up in the bottom half of the 5th.

8:34 PM - Lester strikes out the side! Found his groove after a shaky 2nd inning. Ladies and gents, it's on!

8:36 PM - After Bay strikes out looking, Ortiz says, "shift this" and hits a dribbler to the opposite field. Should do that till his average gets to at least .260, then just hit bombs from there.

8:38 PM - Speakin' of bombs, 'Tek leaves the yard! That one left fast. Make that 6-1 Sox. Funny how 'Tek almost caught up to Ortiz rounding third. That homer marks the 11th for Tek, which is 2 shy of last year's total. Talk about coming back from the dead. Bye bye, Stammen.

8:43 PM - Old Yankee Villone finishes the inning, but the damage is done. Final line for Stammen; 5 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K, and 2 bombs allowed. Not exactly a repeat of what he did in Yankee Stadium last week. Kotsay now in at first.

8:52 PM - Not a good start for Lester, as he allows a single to Guzman, and a double to Zimmerman. OBP machine Nick Johnson to the plate. Starting to sweat, which either means I'm nervous, or I need to turn on the AC.

8:55 PM - Johnson taps back to Lester, putting Guzman in a bit of a pickle. Run denied. However, he does his job as he gets runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out.

8:57 PM - Lead cut in half as Josh Willingham goes opposite field. 6-3 Sox as the pickle works to the Nats' advantage. Probably not a good thing for my heart to be drinking this Coke now.

8:59 PM - Dukes strikes out. C'mon Lester. Don't make me throw my remote! I want to replace my TV, but not now.

9:02 PM - Inning over. Feeling a little better. Probably more as a result of the NESN John Smoltz commercial that was just showing. Hope he comes in throwing strikes and not pull a Dice-K. Would like to think he will do the former. Lester's line; 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K, no complaints (now, haha).

9:04 PM - As the righty Lugo comes in, Nats manger Manny Acta makes to move to our old, "even-keeled" friend Julian Tavarez. Can't wait for his "El Tiante" delivery. That, and him pointing to 1st on every groundout. I miss the personality we use to have on our team.

9:11 PM - Tavarez puts a 0 on the scoreboard for the Nats in the 7th. Randomly thinking that the "President's Race" thing is probably the most entertaining sideshow in an ordinary Nats game. Sad when a bunch of dudes in presidential mascot suits trying to out sprint each other has more appeal than the team they are putting on the field. Masterson coming in for the bottom half.

9:17 PM - With one out, our jilted friend Josh Bard doubles down the line on Masterson. You can't tell me that he didn't circle the Red Sox series on his schedule when he arrived in Washington. I almost feel sorry for the kid that we've tossed him out twice. It's like getting the chance to date some hot, quality chick, then get dumped not once, but twice just when you think the interest starts building while the chick says the classic, "It's not you, it's me" line. Be even weirder when the ex comes over in a police escort. Who says I have no compassion?

9:20 PM - Kotsay makes a beautiful diving play, and for the moment saves a run. Not bad for the one-time starting centerfielder for the Oakland A's. 2 down.

9:22 PM - The world is starting to turn upside-down again. Guzman triples to the right-center field gap. 6-4 Sox. Now starting to pace around my room.

9:24 PM - PHEW! Zimmerman falls two feet short of forcing me to halt this gamecast for a "slightly damaged" laptop. Ellsbury makes another quality catch off the wall. Game is becoming too close for comfort. Lefty Joe Beimel coming in for the Nats.

9:29 PM - Beimel throws a 1,2,3 inning. I really hope the bullpens didn't switch personalities. Ok, I'm happy again, because I just saw the Biz Markie commercial. Sweetness! (BUT YOU SAY HE'S JUST A FRIEND. BUT YOU SAY HE'S JUST A FRIEND!)

9:38 PM - One thing I hate is when a batter walks after an 0-2 count while looking overmatched. This is how teams rally. After a walk to Dukes, big, bad Adam Dunn gets introduced. It's time for the funky Okajima. Guy looks like a 6'6'' guitar player in a country band. He even has a country name. Well, he is from Texas. Look for him to go deep.

9:42 PM - Another 0-2 turned 3-2. ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I feel the vein on my head.

9:42 PM - The country boy walks. Two guys on that should have been gone 4 pitches into the at bat. Reeeeeeeeaaally hoping that the bullpen personalities didn't switch. Ronnie Belliard to the plate.

9:48 PM - BELLIARD STRIKES OUT! Sweet curveball thrown by Okajima in an at bat that was too long for comfort. 9 pitches of hell. Would like some insurance, and now! It's the 9th inning in the capital. Mike MacDougal to the mound.

9:56 PM - Another 1,2,3 inning from the Nats bullpen, who have only allowed 1 BB and recorded 3 Ks in 3 2/3 innings. Papelbon's coming in (in prayer position, especially because he hasn't pitched in 3 days). Bard looking for some sweet revenge.

10:00 PM - Bard will have to wait tomorrow for some vengeance. Flies out to J Bay Bay in foul territory. 1 out.

10:03 PM - Somebody has to give Ellsbury a body pad to wear in centerfield. Great catch! Didn't know Willie Harris had warning track power. One more Papelbon!

10:04 PM - YES! First 1,2,3 save from Papelbon in recent memory. Got a little tense with the late game pressure in the end, but I have no complaints for the final result. Already we've done another thing that the Yankees couldn't pull off this season at home, beat the Nats twice. Lester is back at .500, Papi hit another bomb (his 1st road HR), and we win another on the road (8 out of our last 9 outside of Fenway). Apparently, this makes us one out of only two teams in the AL that have a winning record on the road (L.A. Angels being the other). Not bad from a team that couldn't find any groove outside of Fenway early in the season. My thoughts immediately go to tomorrow, as Smoltz takes the mound for the 1st time in a Red Sox uniform. Nobody was as excited for this transaction as I was, and I hope it pays immediate dividends. I know this isn't Johan Santana, but it will kind of be like '07 Schilling. It'll be a guy who doesn't have the stuff from his heyday, but a guy you have confidence in to make the right pitch when it counts. Even though it be great to have a dominant start from him tomorrow, I know that this will be looked at as a more valuable transaction towards the final days of the season. Hope those are in late October. Folks, it's on!