Because that’s surely what this weekends Nationals & Orioles 3-game series feels like.  The visiting Orioles are 25-14 and a game up on the Tampa Bay Rays for 1st place in the AL East.  In comparison, the 23-15 hometown (and 2nd place) Nationals look like the underdogs heading into interleague play this weekend.

But regardless of current records and standings, it’s obvious that both of these teams have gotten off to tremendous starts.  But man have they gone about it in different ways.  To put it simply, the Nationals have had brilliant pitching and the Orioles have used their bats instead.  But no matter how to get to score more points than the other team, all that matters is that you do.

So what can we expect from each team this weekend?  What should we be looking for?  What are some keys to the series?

Pitching Matchups:

Fri (7:05pm) WAS Edwin Jackson (1-1, 3.71 ERA) vs BAL Jake Arietta (2-4, 5.21 ERA)

Sat (7:15pm) WAS Ross Detwiler (3-2, 2.75 ERA) vs BAL Jason Hammel (4-1, 2.68 ERA)

Sun (1:35pm) WAS Stephen Strasburg (3-1, 2.25 ERA) vs BAL (4-0, 2.45 ERA)

Series Record:

Washington 26, Baltimore 25

Nuggets:

-The Orioles have won 7 straight games on the road, and three straight overall.

-The Orioles’ Adam Jones has 7 home runs in his last 13 games

-The Nationals have not lost back-to-back home games since September 16th & 17th, 2011

-The Nationals rank 1^st in ERA, WHIP, and BAA

Keys the series from a Nat’s fan:

-More of the same from our starters.  The O’s offense could easily be the best this staff has had to face all year, but they need to approach them as if they were the Padres just the same.  It’s no secret that most of the O’s offense has come via the long ball and I think the Nats will at least have to keep up with them in that regard.  That means Adam LaRoche needs to stay hot and the Goon Squad needs to keep producing runs when given the chance.  Though they’ve had great years, none of the O’s pitchers are untouchable and I just don’t see 2 or 3 runs per game getting it done this weekend.  Matt Wieters and Adam Jones are superstars, they’ll do their thing.  I say worry about shutting down guys like JJ Hardy and Nick Markakis- let those guys beat you.

Key the series from an Orioles fan:

-The Deep Ball. The Orioles lead all the majors in homeruns. Adam Jones is leading the charge with 13 homeruns. In fact the Orioles are the only team in MLB to have at 7 or more guys with at least five homeruns.

-Don’t Help Them Out. The Nationals struggle to score runs. As of today they’re 26^th in the league in scoring. Fortunately for them their pitching staff has been so dominant that they haven’t had to worry. If the Orioles pitching staff throws strikes and makes the Nationals swing it should bode well. In return we need the defense (especially at the corners) to make plays when they ball comes their way. The Orioles will have a hard time scoring in this series so we need to make sure we aren’t giving free runs away

The Nat’s x-factor for this series?

I’d love to say a guy like Bryce Harper, but I honestly think it’s Ryan Zimmerman.  Big interleague rivalry series in your home park?  That’s a recipe for your superstars to shine.  I have faith Strasburg will be just fine on Sunday, but Zimm (one N) needs to be productive.  And it wouldn’t kill you to hit a HR would it, Ryan?

The Orioles X-Factor for this series?

Chris Davis. We’re going to need his bat and his glove to show up for this series. Davis has a tendency to disappear for stretches. However, he’s currently on a mini-heater going 5 for his last 8. We need him to supply some clutch hits as I imagine the Nat’s will pitch around Wieters to get to Davis.

Questions that will affect the outcome of the series?

What happens when power pitching meets power hitting?

How much of an impact will the O’s not having their DH be?

Who will Davey Johnson turn to in the 9^th?

How terrible will FP Santangelo and Mike Bordick be together?

Kevin’s prediction? 

2-1 series win for the Nats, winning tonight and Sunday.  #Natstown > #Birdland.

Wilkes prediction?

2-1 series win for the Orioles, winning tonight and Saturday. #OriolesMagic>#Natitude

This piece was a joint effot by @TheRealKRE (the Nats fan)  and @WilkesonWarpath (the Orioles fan) (do yourself a favor and follow both of us)

Part 1:

Part 2:

I am of the school of thought that you should get the pain out of the way early. So I would rather have the Caps lose earlier than in the Finals. (Of course I would rather have them win it all. Duh.) It frees my evenings/weekends up and doesn’t give me the built in excuse on a weeknight to throw down a few beers and more chicken wings than I need. It allows me to have more time for the gym, or laundry, or sleep. Maybe this is just be coping, but it is what it is.

Back to the looking into the future at what could have happened. Well, even if Caps had won, and won again, would we have been able to beat the LA Kings? Can anyone beat those guys for that matter. I generally stop watching the hockey playoffs when my team is out, but the Kings are exciting and I found myself turning their games on in the background. They are an exciting team who are playing some of best hockey anyone has seen all year and winning BIG.

So I ask you, can anyone (let alone the Caps) beat the Kings? Chime in on Facebook or tweet us @BallHogsRadio and let us know what you think.

Check out some of their ridiculous playoff highlights here:

So what can you expect? RG3 will definitely drop some cliché lines. It’s kind of his thing. To the point where is nauseating. Seriously, he talks like an ADIDAS ad. Who says “Go Catch Your Dream”? None the less you’ll get some of that. Jay will of course ask to see his socks. The crowd will eat it up. They always do.

You know he won’t make any Grossman like promises. He’s smarter than that. He’ll probably say something like “I’m looking forward to getting with my teammates and working hard this year”. That’s pretty much what I’m expecting from him.  Maybe Jay Leno will have him throw a football in washer and dryer (or some other whacky Late Night bit). I doubt it though. Overall, it’ll probably be uneventful. Most of these interviews are. The reason you need to watch is because it represents a changing of culture. With RG3 the Redskins go from being a joke in Jay’s awful monologue (seriously he’s terrible) to being praised. A change is underway Redskins fans.

-) He’s 19 and he’s playing professional baseball. When I was 19 I was getting turned down by girls at frat parties while drowning my sorrows in Keystone Light…

-) People are comparing him to Mickey Mantle. Not shabby when you’ve only played about 20 professional games. 

-) He signed a 5 year, $10 million deal (which is actually a steal for the Nationals). I’d have to work for the next 150+ years to make what he’ll make by the time he’s 24.

All that’s great, but you want to know what really makes Bryce Harper’s life better than yours? Pictures like this…

Continue to dominate young man…

Picture via: Yahoo.com (Tracy Lee)

Not Happening! 

That probably doesn’t  come as a surprise to most but Mike Shanahan told Mike Florio today on Pro Football Talk that he isn’t interested in HBO Hard Knocks coming to DC.  So for those that have always wished and hoped to see our team in the summer series, it doesn’t look like it’ll happen, at least not on Shanahan’s watch.

Shanahan went on to say: “I just don’t feel comfortable in that situation.” “I just like players to concentrate on their jobs, I don’t know if thats old school or what, for me, I just don’t feel comfortable with that atmosphere.”

You can watch Shanahan’s full-interview with Mike Florio from today, here.  He talks about McNabb, RG3 and much more…

The Nationals lost to the Padres last night 6-1, but that isn’t the whole story of the night. Apparently Stephen Strasburg “misplaced” some “hot stuff”. Ahem.

I have done this before and it is not fun at all. Its feels like lava on your wedding vegetables. Leave us a comment below or chime in on FB or Twitter if you have every “misplaced” any of the “hot stuff”.

Check out the video of Davey Johnson and Strasburg comments about it:

]]> http://www.ballhogsradio.com/2012/05/16/stephen-strasburgs-misplaced-hot-stuff-video/feed/ 0 http://www.ballhogsradio.com/2012/05/16/podcast-ball-hogs-radio-05-15-12-nick-and-joe-from-shell-shocked-sports-in-studio/ http://www.ballhogsradio.com/2012/05/16/podcast-ball-hogs-radio-05-15-12-nick-and-joe-from-shell-shocked-sports-in-studio/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 15:06:08 +0000 MJ http://www.ballhogsradio.com/?p=6706

Make sure you subscribe on iTunes to get these automatically downloaded!

On this show:

• Seg1: Caps Game 7 Loss; Hunter leaves the team; Loser Mentality in DC
• Seg2: The boys get into it about the Caps loss, good enough/loser mentality
• Seg3: Nick and Joe from Shell Shocked Sports (@ShellShockUMD) in studio talking Terps Part 1
• Seg4: Nick and Joe from Shell Shocked Sports (@ShellShockUMD) in studio talking Terps Part 2
• Seg5: Last Call

See… I like EB and there’s a really good chance I like the 50+ people who retweeted and the hundreds others who shared EB’s sentiments.  My problem is that in this instance, I don’t agree with any of them.

Do I agree that they “played their asses of and fought hard?”  Of course I do.   Unfortunately as a sports fan, one focused on winning and/or continual improvement, relishing in the fact that they “played hard” and “showed great effort” while ignoring the outcome isn’t plausible for me in year-5 of our “run.”

Was I pleased in 07′/08′ when we finally made the playoffs for the first time in 3-years and took Philly to a 7th game?  Yes I was!  Was I pleased with the teams effort in 08′/09′ when we knocked off the NYR in round one and then pushed the eventual Stanley Cup champs Pittsburgh Penguins to a game 7?  I most certainly was and I know 99% of Caps fans were too.  At that stage, we felt we were “getting there” with this core group of Ovie, Backstrom, Semin, Green, Laich, etc… We had made the playoffs two years in a row, improving each of those two years and all believing in Ted’s plan of growing, cultivating, etc… we were headed in the right direction.  So we thought…

Three years later with that same core, we have nothing more to show for it and in many cases have regressed significantly.  We barely squeaked into the playoffs finishing with a 7-seed all the while allowing our performance to force out the coach along the way.  At this stage of our teams run, applauding them on “effort and playing hard” rather than wins and championships, I consider to be a “losers mentality.” 

You think sports fans in Boston are satisfied with 2nd round exits from their teams?  NO WAY.  You think fans of Duke, North Carolina, Red Wings, LA Lakers, etc… are “cool” with early round exits in postseason play?   Shoot… Magic Johnson went on-air and said the Lakers fans may force a Mike Brown exit if the Lakers lose in the first round, thats because they don’t accept losing, some DC fans do.

I’ll hit you with one of my favorite metaphors:  there stood a group of sheep in the field.  Enjoying the afternoon , a dad and son stared in the direction of the sheep with admiration of the pure whiteness and beauty of the sheeps coat against the backdrop of the green grassy hills   A few hours later, after a snow storm had passed through the area, the father and son went back outside to check on the sheep to notice that the coat of the sheep that they once thought was so beautiful and white was in fact more dirty and brown then they originally thought.

You see… when you look at sheep among a green backdrop their coat is going to look much better than it is, but when you put that same coat up on a backdrop of pure whiteness like snow, it exposes all of the sheeps imperfections.

The same theory can hold true with our Capitals.  DC sports haven’t been very successful and in fact is considered the least successful sports town since 1998.  So when you look at our most successful team, the Capitals, compared to the other DC teams, they look pretty freaking good.  5-straight playoff runs, sell out crowds, all-stars, etc… they’re at the top of the list.  Unfortunately, if you want to put your grades against the worst in the class, you’ll look much smarter than them, but it doesn’t mean your smart.  Just because the Caps are better than the others, doesn’t mean their in fact in a good state.

What do DC fans say when our team has another early post-season exit, “I’m proud of you guys,” “yall fought hard,” “played your butts off.”   Remember the Chris Rock “thats what your supposed to do” jokes?  ”I aint never been to jail” – “you aint supposed to go to jail.”  - That reminds me of this: you all played hard and showed great effort… thats what they’re supposed to do.  Why are we applauding that and ignoring the big picture?

You can make up whatever excuses you’d like: “we played the top-2 teams in the NHL?”  But weren’t we the team that had the best record in the East the last two seasons and “supposedly” improved our team in the off-season?  ”Well we switched strategies in mid-season.”  Isn’t that because the team played so poorly they got their coach fired and hadn’t the previous coaching regime tried various strategies in the past, all of which got us no further than the second round.

Look at it from this perspective:

Lets take the Thunder and compare them big picture to us. Ovie is the star like Durant.  Westbrook is his “robin” the way Backstrom is to Ovie.  Ovie and Durant came into their leagues at 20 and both made the playoffs in year 3 at the age of 22.  Durant and co. followed in the same upward trend that Ovie and co. started in, but just slightly better.  Both had 1st round exits year one.  We made it to round 2 in year two, they made it to round 3 in year two, either way, we both were showing improvement, growth and hope for the future.

Year 3 (of the playoff runs) we both had stellar regular seasons earning the number one seed, we got bounced in the first round, the Thunder did not having beat the Mavericks in round one. Well, lets say they did lose to the Mavericks in this past series, what a tragedy and embarrassment that would’ve been.  The Thunder have the best chances of getting to the finals this year and being picked to do so, as were the Caps in our year-3.

Ok, so in our hypothetical, the Thunder move on past their embarrassing first round sweep from the Mavs and bring back their “core.”  They once again have a great regular season.  Year four of the playoffs, they win the first round but then get swept in the second round by, we’ll say by the Nuggets.  Are you kidding me?  This team STILL can’t get out of the second round and just now got swept by the Nuggets?  Durant and Westbrook, at home again after just two rounds of basketball.

Okay, so year 5 of the Durant/Westbrook regime.  The season gets off to a rocky start, the Thunder are struggling, Scott Brooks gets fired mid-season, the Thunder barely squeak into the playoff (embarrassing knowing that the Thunder have one of the top-5 players in the game and were 1-seeds the previous two years).  Bounces go their way and they squeak out a first round series and then once again get sent home in the second round.

If that were to be how the next couple years played out for Durant and Westbrook, I promise you, people wouldn’t be saying, we’re proud of you, “you’ve done good.”  They’d be saying is this for real?  They just don’t have it.  This is unacceptable.  I feel the same way about the Caps right now.

____________

I left Saturday’s game, albeit, fairly pleased with their effort and fight in both series but overwhelmed with the fact that this group has so badly underachieved in the past five years that giving them compliments felt like telling a grade school kid great job in the kickball game even though they lost 15-0.  I felt proud of certain players like Holtby, Hendricks, Chimera and a handful of others because they really took their games to the next-level, but I didn’t feel proud of the “Caps” – How could I?  We came up so short AGAIN.

My fellow DC sports fans, we need to expect nothing but the best and if our teams at least aren’t heading in that direction we need to demand that they do so.

Ironically, I’m entering my 5th year at my current company (yes, Ball Hogs is not my full-time job) and I can PROMISE you that if I hadn’t closed some Stanley Cup-size deals my boss still wouldn’t be saying “good job buddy, you tried hard,” I can promise you that.  As for the Capitals, excuses no longer exist, cause over the 5-years we’ve tried just about everyone of them, DC needs to see some progress and fans need to start expecting it!

Make sure you subscribe on iTunes to get these automatically downloaded!

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE ON ITUNES

As we continue our BHR exclusive spotlight series, we welcomed Washington Post’s sports reporter Gene Wang in-studio with us.  In one of, if not the most entertaining interviews we’ve done to-date, Gene shared his favorite moments in his 20+ years of working for the Post, how journalism has changed over the years due to social media, etc… and how he got the sports “swiss-army knife” role that he currently is in.  Does the number of Twitter followers get brought up when Gene has his annual review with his editors?

Gene also dug in-deep and talked about the scary moment last year in China with the mens basketball team and what it was really like to be apart of that experience.  Lastly, in my favorite question of the night, you will LOVE Gene’s response when asked how he feels when professional journalists like himself, who work for prestigious publications like the Washington Post are now forced to compete with these “bloggers” writing in their basement.

Check out the two-part interview below:

On this show:

• Seg1: Caps Talk/Reliving the Nightmare and where it ranks among other DC sports nightmares
• Seg2: Gene Wang Part 1
• Seg3: Gene Wang Part 2
• Seg4: Last Call (Gene Wang in-studio) – (TO’s financial mess, Concussions discussions, Harper beaning, Lamar Odom not getting paid, etc…)

MLB.com has a sequence of every batter Davis faced in the 16th and 17th inning

Trivia Nugget: Chris Davis is the first person since Rube Waddell (1905)  to go 0-8 and pick the W as the winning pitcher.

After the game Davis was interviewed by Jim Hunter and Rick Dempsey on MASN and delivered an awesome interview

The newest Ball Hogs Radio Network show is here! The Red Porch Report is a show dedicated to talking about the Washington Nationals. New episode every Monday morning so be on the lookout!

On this show:

• State of the Nationals
• Bryce Harper
• 3 Up/3 Down (Player Stock Report)
• Much More!

Got plans on Sunday May 20th during the day?

Make your way out to Shirley Povich for the Bethesda Big Train Celebrity softball game at 1:30 on May 20th.  Tickets go for $10 a piece ($8 for kids) and additional proceeds going to Bethesda’s Big Train foundation helping fund the revitalization of local ballfields.  You can purchase tickets here.

Bethesda Big Train has strategically aligned the teams for the celebrity athletes to battle the local media personalities, including our very own Adam Bradley.  The lineups are as follows:

Athletes:

• Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans Hornets)
• Brandon Banks (Washington Redskins)
• Shelvin Mack (Washington Wizards)
• Lorenzo Alexander (Washington Redskins)
• Chris Wilson (Washington Redskins)
• Terrance Austin (Washington Redskins)
• Kareem Moore (Washington Redskins)
• Kedric Golston (Washington Redskins)
• Darell Young (Washington Redskins)
• Antwann Randle El (Former Redskin & Steeler)
• Sean Mosely (Maryland Terrapin)
• Walt Williams (Maryland Terrapin)
• Byron Moutin (Maryland Terrapin)
• Laron Profit (Maryland Terrapin)
• John Booty (Former Philadelphia Eagle)
• Baby Shaq (AND1 Basketball)
• Pat the Roc (AND1 Basketball)
• Angela Rypien (Baltimore Charm)

VS. 

DC Media Personalities:

• Dan Steinberg (Washington Post)
• Mike Wise (Washington Post)
• Chris Johnson (1067 The Fan)
• Kevin Schaffer (1067 The Fan)
• Rocky Parrish (1067 The Fan)
• Chris Styles (Hot 99.5)
• Ivan Carter (Comcast SportsNet) 
• Andy Pollin (ESPN980)
• Dan Hellie (NBC Sports)
• Adam Bradley (Ball Hogs Radio)*
• Antonio “The Cuban Cigar Smoker” (93.9WKYS)
• Julie Donaldson (Comcast SportsNet)
• Kristen Berset (CBS, WUSA9)
• Lake Lewis (Sports Journey Network)
• Tom Doyle (Washington GreenHawks Owner)