August 13, 2010 [LINK / comment]
Somehow the Washington Nationals have fallen into another bad slump, with five consecutive losses. On Wednesday Stephen Strasburg had the worst outing of his first ten starts in the majors, giving up six runs in less than 4 1/3 innings. He is now 5-3. Well, nobody's perfect. Last night Livan Hernandez gave up three runs in 6 1/3 innings,
So, it's a perfect time for me to head up there and rally support for the "D.C. 9"! I just hope it doesn't rain like it did last night...
Tension is mounting in the NL Central Division, as some pre-game trash talk escalated into virtual gang warfare on the field. MLB suspended Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto for seven games, and gave shorter suspensions to both managers, Dusty Baker (Reds) and Tony La Russa (Cardinals). See MLB.com.
I learned from Mike Zurawski that the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, Stu Sternberg, is ramping up the pressure to get a new stadium built. He says that the Rays will consider any ball park in the Tampa Bay area; the Rays will "rise above municipal boundaries to find an optimal site." He even hinted that the Rays might not honor the contract to play in Tropicana Field until the end of the lease, which expires in 2027. He says "baseball will not work in Downtown St. Petersburg." See wtsp.com.
More stadium news to follow...