Adam Dunn Prepares For 1B By Practicing Jiu-jitsu

Kung-Fu DONKEY

Pitchers and catchers weren’t the only ones in Viera working out this week. Lots of Nationals players showed up early in an effort to make some drastic improvements over the past two 100+ loss seasons.

A big part of the Nats’ problems has been team defense. And while the SABR-heads out there will tell you that there are better defensive metrics for judging fielding abilities, one still can’t help but notice the Nats led the majors in errors last season – an honor they certainly would love to pass on to another team this season.

The Nats made some defensive upgrades over last year’s opening day roster: Nyjer Morgan makes a much better defensive CF than Lastings Milledge and Adam Kennedy will certainly be an improvement over the Ronnie Belliard/Alberto Gonzalez combo and in the event Jesus Flores goes down (yet again) the Nats have a future Hall of Famer to back him up behind the plate. Three of those four “up the middle” positions upgraded in 2010 makes for a potentially better season already.

However, one other move that was made late last year was the move from LF to 1B for the man they call “The Donkey.” Adam Dunn struggled in the World Baseball Classic at 1B, but over the course of two months, Dunn showed signs of actually being able to play the position at a minimum service-ably.

When it came to covering the bag and receiving throws from other infielders, Dunn looked like he might have been playing 1B his whole life, but when he had to move and field the ball himself (whether a grounder or a pop-up), Dunn looked like a little-leaguer at times.

So Dunn came to camp looking to improve:

"I've taken a lot [of ground balls]. I don't know how many," Dunn said. "I don't even want to throw a number. It's just more learning, showing me how to get ready. I didn't even know what foot to take the first step with, to lead with…”

Fielding often starts “from the ground up” and, as such, Dunn’s been working with coaches Tim Foli and Pat Listach on his footwork. He’s also been taking Jiu-jitsu in the off-season in an effort to achieve better balance on the diamond. Jiu-jitsu – literally translated – is “the art of softness” which is essential to playing infield. Outfielders can be large lumbering oxes (or donkeys) but infielders have to have great footwork and great hands to make some of the plays that are required of them – especially on the major league level.

So between intense focus in Spring Training and his new found love for the martial arts, here’s to hoping Dunn can provide more to the Nats at the first sack than they’ve had over the past bunch of years between an ineffective Dmitri Young and an oft-injured Nick Johnson. Plus, perhaps now we as Nats fans have the possibility that Chase Utley hits a screamer down the line trying to turn it into a double when….WHAM! … he’s struck by a spinning heel kick knocking his teeth down his throat – Kung-Fu Donkey style.

Hey Florida, F**K YOU!

It’s been a while since my last post. No, I haven’t gone anywhere I’ve just been knee-deep in my own baseball season. You see, our playoffs start on Saturday and I maintain the website for the league so my job is crucial as we near the end of the season. Managers want updated stats and standings so they can size up their opponents for playoff positioning.

With all of the rain we’ve had in the Northeast this year, it’s been exceptionally difficult to keep up with the schedule and in a league where you normally play one or two games per week, we have teams cramming five games into seven days. In fact, personally I’m in the middle of four games in three days (we played last night, we’ve a double-header tonight and then our final game tomorrow night before our playoffs start on Saturday). We’re talking 35 years or older and guys who work regular jobs. We’re gonna have some tired arms.

Anyway, last night I caught and hit at the top of the lineup. Tonight I am scheduled to make my first ever in my life start on the mound and then I am scheduled to catch game two. I’ll be quite fatigued but I will persevere and hopefully once we are eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday, I’ll be less “busy” and onto more important things – like this blog.

Anyway, after the last post (The Division Of Suck), the Nats dropped two straight to the AA Pirates but managed to secure a split of the four game series. The new contender for The Division Of Suck comes from Kansas City who now stands a mere 6 ½ games back and they’re falling fast.

In other news, Stephen Strasburg still hasn’t signed yet and Ryan Zimmerman is getting his shoulder examined after being struck by a ball. Austin Kearns has gone on the DL but I think that actually IMPROVES the team.

But the most important news happened last night – WE FINALLY BEAT THE F***ING FISH! WOO-HOO!!! Seriously though we hadn’t beaten them at all this year – including a three game sweep at Washington in which the Nats blew late inning leads in each of the three games (including my son’s first-ever major league baseball game which makes me hate the Marlins more than any other NL East “rival”). So it feels great this morning.

This really could prove to be a turning point for the Nats this year. They finally overcame a team that owned them for nine games this year – but it’s how they did it that makes it so special. The Marlins had their usual late-inning lead and a great pitcher in Josh Johnson on the mound. The score was 4-0 in the eighth and Josh Johnson runs into trouble – with nobody out he allows three straight singles by Willie Harris, Alberto Gonzalez and Wil Nieves to load the bases (these guys are the Nats 6, 7 and 8 hitters!). Then manager Jim Riggleman pinch hits for pitcher Ron Villone and brings up the oft-criticized “Fat” Ronnie Belliard. Belliard rips a two run double to pull the Nats to within two runs. Josh Johnson gets pulled without recording an out in the eighth and is replaced by some joker named Renyel Pinto (I’ve never head of him either).

Nats leadoff hitter, Nyjer Morgan gets an RBI groundout to second and the Nats are only down one.

Pinto gets pulled for Kiko Calero (is it me, or does that sound like the name of a doll you’d buy for your infant daughter?). Calero works a full count to Cristian Guzman and Guzman wins the at-bat with an RBI single. He then gets Josh Willingham to pop-out to first base.

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez then brings in a lefty by the name of Dan Meyer (not to be confused with Lane Meyer of “Better Off Dead”) to face the Big Donkey. Adam Dunn takes a 3-2 pitch deep and the Nats have now scored SIX RUNS in the eighth to take the lead!

That’s where the score stood in the ninth when Mike MacDougal actually made it stick – although he did allow a walk and a double, but got out of the inning unscathed with a double play grounded into by Jeremy Hermida.

So we finally beat the f***ing Marlins and we beat them the way they beat us most of the year – in a heart-wrenching fashion. Hopefully the boys can keep it up and carry this momentum through to tonight. The Nats will send their “ace” John Lannan to the mound so they’ve got a great shot to ensure a series victory tonight – and in a season to forget, it would sure feel nice to stick it to the Marlins for a change.

Collin Balester Gets Another Chance

Looks Like A Curveball - And Bally's Got A Good One

Here’s Collin Balester’s chance. He finally got the call-up last week and in his only appearance so far, he was the pitcher of record in the rain-delayed-and-shortened nightmare against the Cardinals last week. Tonight, he will not have to worry about the raindrops at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

Balester has a great shot at putting the Nats up 2-0 in the four game set because the Brewers counter with Carlos Villanueva who hasn’t made a start since last May and has struggled in 81 relief appearances since. Villanueva has pitched well against the Nationals in his career going 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in five appearances but those were all in relief.

Balester should get help from the Nats’ big three in the middle of the order: Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham. Zimmerman is heating up as he’s 8-for-23 (.304) with three homers and five RBI over the last seven days. Read yesterday’s post about how white-hot Dunn has been but add to that a 2-for-3 night last night with a double, a walk and two RBI. Willingham is up to .298 on the season and has played better since being given the starting RF job. However, his last seven games have him on a blistering pace: 10-for-23 (.435), four homers, four doubles and 12 RBI including two grand slams in last night’s game. He’s slugging 1.130 over his past seven games.

It’s no wonder the Nationals have won six-of-eight with all of the offense being put up.

So it’s up to Balester tonight to keep it going. The Nationals are 6-7 since firing Manny Acta and 6-2 since interim manager Jim Riggleman took the team to task after losing five straight out of the gates following the All-Star break.

Hopefully Collin can get the fastball up around 94-95 like he’s been known to do early in his career. I believe the trick to holding the Brewers at bay is to mix the speeds of his pitches well. If his fastball is coming in at 94, it’d be nice to see if the stint in the minors had him working on his changeup. The Brewers have some serious pop in their lineup with the likes of Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun anchoring the middle of order. Braun and (especially) Fielder can be had as long as that changeup is working. And if “Bally’s” curveball is working and he’s throwing it for strikes, the Brewers could find themselves down 2-0 in the series.

Bally’s gonna have to be good because the Nats are going with Garrett Mock tomorrow (and he’s been awful since being called up) and J.D. Martin on Thursday (and he’s making just his second career big league start).

Here’s to you Collin Balester and here’s wishing you success in your start against the Brewers tonight. Make it good and give the Nationals a tough decision to make when Jordan Zimmermann comes back off the D.L.

Adam Dunn Is Good For The Nationals - Yeah, I Said It

How Much More Does This Guy Have To Do?

One thing’s for sure, if you’re looking for someone to pin the blame for the Nationals’ awful season, you really can’t look at Adam Dunn.

Dunn’s numbers this year indicate he is having his finest year as professional baseball player. I lifted the following examples from baseball-reference.com to indicate just how effective Dunn has been:

Starting with the basics, his batting average is the best it’s ever been for a single season. "The Big Donkey" carries a lifetime .249 average and in his best season (2004) he hit .266 for Cincinnati. Right now, he’s hitting .275 and that was after an awful May (.243) and June (.241). He’s on fire this month hitting .325 for the month of July.

His homeruns have dropped off since early in the season. He looked like a sure lock for the All-Star game with 16 homers through May, but he’s hit only 9 since. Still, he’s tied for third in the National League with 25 so far and he’s on pace for 43 homers this year which would be his second best output of his career (behind 2004 when he hit 46).

In the other “triple crown” category – RBI – he sits at 71 through 98 games which puts him on pace for around 108 which would also eclipse his highest total to date (106 in 2007).

His OBP of .402 would also be a career best, his OPS of .952 would be second best in his career (.956 in 2004) and he’s hitting lefties (.261 in 2009) better than he ever has in his career.

Plus, in the 11 games since the All-Star break he’s hitting a blistering .351 with 2 homers, 3 doubles, 6 walks and 9 RBI.

But enough about the offense, let’s focus on what it was that bugged me about Dunn’s signing in the off-season – his poor defensive play in the outfield.

I don’t necessarily agree with the defensive metrics out there, typically. I find it difficult to quantify a player’s defensive abilities with numbers and standards. When judging a player’s defensive abilities, I believe the best way to evaluate them is simply to watch them play.

Admittedly, I hadn’t seen much of Dunn before purchasing the MLB.tv package back in June, but I like what I’ve seen – for the most part – and Dunn, in my opinion, hasn’t been as bad as advertised.

Speaking with fellow Nats fans on WNFF.net, I have heard that Dunn’s defensive play has been less than stellar this season, but recently it has picked up. In one of the games this weekend, Bob Carpenter and Rob Dibble (the Nats television broadcast team) made mention of Dunn working hard with Nationals coach Marquis Grissom on his play in the outfield.

Dunn’s nickname isn’t “The Big Donkey” for no reason. He’s still a lumbering oaf in LF, but at least he’s not the train-wreck I thought he’d be. I’ve seen him play fundamentally sound outfield, mostly, and his defense certainly hasn’t cost the Nationals much of anything; plus, his offense certainly more than makes up for any defensive deficiencies he may have.

Lately, there’s been talk of what to do with some of the players since the trade deadline is rapidly approaching. It was mentioned that Dunn may be shopped and that some initial offers have come through; XM-175 reported last week that an inquiry was made by the Tigers for Dunn to become a DH and another quip came across from Nats beat writer Chico Harlan: “The Nationals are said to be demanding excessively high returns for Dunn. One source called the Nationals' asking price ‘painful.’”

I’d be in favor of trading a bunch of guys: Nick Johnson makes sense since he’s a free-agent at the end of the year, Cristian Guzman seems like he’s not interested in Washington any more, Josh Willingham may be able to fetch something decent and Ron Villone and Joe Beimel provide some veteran experience out of a bullpen, plus they’re lefties.

I don’t see how trading Dunn who’s having the best year of his life and is still under contract for another year and is in the prime of his career and is apparently committed to improving his defense is such a great idea. Seems to me the Nationals benefit from having his bat in the lineup and with Nyjer Morgan playing CF next to him, Dunn’s defense won’t be nearly the hindrance we initially thought it would be.

Seems to me that if the Nationals are serious about fielding a major league lineup to score runs for this young staff, a guy like Dunn would be valuable; at least more-so than a handful of marginal prospects. Let Dunn play out this year and see where we are as an organization next year. If we really have turned a corner, perhaps Dunn will stay beyond his two-year contract and the Nats can win with him here.

Hard to believe it, but I used to hate this guy.