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Open Question: Thoughts on the 2010 Washington Nationals?

Soon the Washington Nationals will probably be the eighth team in baseball to be officially taken out of 2010 playoff contention (their “elimination number” is 10). They currently have the worst record in the National League East with 57-77 (.425).

The Washington Nationals are historically a poor team. Since starting in 1969, the franchise has a losing record of 3,155 wins and 3,486 losses. The team has made it to the playoffs just once (as the Montreal Expos in 1981), though some contend that they would have won the National League Pennant and perhaps the World Series in 1994, had the season not been shortened by a strike. When the franchise moved to Washington in 2005 they pulled a .500 average, but since then have had a losing record every season (last year they were the worst in MLB).

Let’s look at the facts about this year:

First game of season: Beaten by the Philadelphia Phillies 1-11 in Washington (Worst Loss of Season, April 5)

Best Victory of season: Defeated the Astros in Houston 14-4 (May 31)

DEBUT:
On June 8, Stephen Strasburg debuted against the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 14 in 7 innings and helping the Nationals win 5-2 (ERA for game was 2.57)

Longest Slump of season: Lost 12 of 15 consecutive interleague games to the Indians, Tigers, White Sox, Royals and Orioles (June 11-27)

TRADES:
- The Washington Nationals traded RP Matt Capps (3.43 ERA) to the Minnesota Twins for C Wilson Ramos (.258) & minor league pitcher Joe Testa
-The Washington Nationals traded IF Cristian Guzman (.271) to the Texas Rangers for two minor leaguers

SEASON STATS:

So far the Nationals have won 6 games and lost 6 games against the Atlanta Braves
The Nationals lost 10 of 15 games to the Florida Marlins
The Nationals won 7 of 12 games against the New York Mets
The Nationals lost 7 of 12 games to the Philadelphia Phillies

Best Nationals batting average: 3B Ryan Zimmerman (.298 average)
Most Nationals home runs: 1B Adam Dunn (33 home runs, 2nd most in National League)
Most Nationals RBI: 1B Adam Dunn (88 RBI, 4th most in National League)
Most Nationals wins: SP Livan Hernandez (9 wins, 9 losses)
Best Nationals ERA: SP Livan Hernandez (3.49)
Most Nationals saves: RP Drew Storen (3 saves)*
* (Not counting former Nationals RP Matt Capps [26 saves])

Washington Nationals team batting average = .256
Washington Nationals team ERA: 4.22
Washington Nationals team fielding percentage = .980 (3rd worst in MLB)

What are your thoughts on the Washington Nationals? What do you have to say about the trades, about the season, the players, the management, next year, etc?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSN/

http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/sortable.jsp?c_id=was

http://espn.go.com/mlb/statistics

Open Question: Thoughts on the 2010 Washington Nationals?

Soon the Washington Nationals will probably be the eighth team in baseball to be officially taken out of 2010 playoff contention (their “elimination number” is 10). They currently have the worst record in the National League East with 57-77 (.425).

The Washington Nationals are historically a poor team. Since starting in 1969, the franchise has a losing record of 3,155 wins and 3,486 losses. The team has made it to the playoffs just once (as the Montreal Expos in 1981), though some contend that they would have won the National League Pennant and perhaps the World Series in 1994, had the season not been shortened by a strike. When the franchise moved to Washington in 2005 they pulled a .500 average, but since then have had a losing record every season (last year they were the worst in MLB).

Let’s look at the facts about this year:

First game of season: Beaten by the Philadelphia Phillies 1-11 in Washington (Worst Loss of Season, April 5)

Best Victory of season: Defeated the Astros in Houston 14-4 (May 31)

DEBUT:
On June 8, Stephen Strasburg debuted against the Pittsburgh Pirates, striking out 14 in 7 innings and helping the Nationals win 5-2 (ERA for game was 2.57)

Longest Slump of season: Lost 12 of 15 consecutive interleague games to the Indians, Tigers, White Sox, Royals and Orioles (June 11-27)

TRADES:
- The Washington Nationals traded RP Matt Capps (3.43 ERA) to the Minnesota Twins for C Wilson Ramos (.258) & minor league pitcher Joe Testa
-The Washington Nationals traded IF Cristian Guzman (.271) to the Texas Rangers for two minor leaguers

SEASON STATS:

So far the Nationals have won 6 games and lost 6 games against the Atlanta Braves
The Nationals lost 10 of 15 games to the Florida Marlins
The Nationals won 7 of 12 games against the New York Mets
The Nationals lost 7 of 12 games to the Philadelphia Phillies

Best Nationals batting average: 3B Ryan Zimmerman (.298 average)
Most Nationals home runs: 1B Adam Dunn (33 home runs, 2nd most in National League)
Most Nationals RBI: 1B Adam Dunn (88 RBI, 4th most in National League)
Most Nationals wins: SP Livan Hernandez (9 wins, 9 losses)
Best Nationals ERA: SP Livan Hernandez (3.49)
Most Nationals saves: RP Drew Storen (3 saves)*
* (Not counting former Nationals RP Matt Capps [26 saves])

Washington Nationals team batting average = .256
Washington Nationals team ERA: 4.22
Washington Nationals team fielding percentage = .980 (3rd worst in MLB)

What are your thoughts on the Washington Nationals? What do you have to say about the trades, about the season, the players, the management, next year, etc?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSN/

http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/sortable.jsp?c_id=was

http://espn.go.com/mlb/statistics

Resolved Question: Thoughts on the 2010 Chicago Cubs?

Soon the Chicago Cubs will probably be the seventh team in baseball to be officially taken out of 2010 playoff contention (their “elimination number” is 11). They currently have the second-worst record in the National League Central with 57-77 (.425).

Despite not winning a World Series in 102 years, the Chicago Cubs are historically a decent team. Since starting in 1876, the franchise has a winning record of 10,222 wins and 9,678 losses. The Cubs have made it to the playoffs 18 times, won 16 National League pennants, and won the World Series in both 1907 and 1908 (defeating the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox, respectively). The past three seasons in a row the Cubs have had winning records; this year they probably will not.

Let’s look at the facts about this year:

First game of season: Beaten by the Braves in Atlanta 5-16 (April 5)
First home game of season: Defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 (April 12)

Longest slump of season: Lost 19 of 23 consecutive games to the Astros, Rockies, Brewers, Reds, Giants, Cardinals, Padres, and Braves (July 27-August 20)

Worst Loss of Season: Beaten by the Milwaukee Brewers 1-18 in Chicago (August 2)

Best Victories of season: Defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 15-3 in Chicago (August 4)
& Defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-2 in Chicago (August 30)

MANAGERIAL CHANGE:
On August 22, Lou Pinella stepped down from manager position early, saying he wanted to take care of his sick mother. Mike Quade became the interim Cubs manager.

TRADES:
- The Cubs trades RP Aaron Heilman (4.19 ERA) to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Scott Maine and Ryne White
- The Cubs traded IF Aaron Miles (.283) & Jake Fox (.240) to the Oakland Athletics for RP Jeff Gray (4.91 ERA) & minor leaguers
- The Cubs traded OF Milton Bradley (.273) to the Seattle Mariners for SP Carlos Silva (4.65 ERA)
- The Cubs traded IF Andres Blanco (.250) to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named
- The Cubs traded SP Ted Lilly (4.16 ERA) & IF Ryan Theriot (.287) to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2B Blake DeWitt (.265) and minor leaguers Kyle Smitt & Brett Wallach
- The Cubs traded 2B Mike Fontenot (.269) to the San Francisco Giants for minor leaguer Evan Crawford
- The Cubs traded 1B Derrek Lee (.282) to the Atlanta Braves for minor leaguers Robinson Lopez, Tyrelle Harris & Jeffrey Lorick

SEASON STATS:

So far the Cubs have lost 12 of their 16 games against the Cincinnati Reds
The Cubs have lost 10 of their 15 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Cubs have lost 8 of their 12 games against the Houston Astros
The Cubs have won 7 of their 12 games against the Milwaukee Brewers
The Cubs have won 5 of their 9 games against the St. Louis Cardinals

Best Cubs batting average: SS Starlin Castro (.317 average, 3rd best in National League)
Most Cubs home runs: LF Alfonso Soriano (21 home runs)
Most Cubs RBI: 3B Aramis Ramirez (69 RBI) & LF Alfonso Soriano (69 RBI)
Most Cubs wins: SP Ryan Dempster (12 wins, 9 losses)
Best Cubs ERA: SP Ryan Dempster (3.71 ERA)*
Most Cubs saves: RP Carlos Marmol (25 saves)
*(Not counting former Cubs SP Ted Lilly [3.59 ERA])

Chicago Cubs team batting average = .262
Chicago Cubs team ERA: 4.37
Chicago Cubs team fielding percentage = .978 (worst in MLB)

What are your thoughts on the Chicago Cubs? What do you have to say about the trades, about the season, the players, the management, next year, etc?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/

http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/sortable.jsp?c_id=chc

http://espn.go.com/mlb/statistics

Resolved Question: Thoughts on the 2010 Chicago Cubs?

Soon the Chicago Cubs will probably be the seventh team in baseball to be officially taken out of 2010 playoff contention (their “elimination number” is 11). They currently have the second-worst record in the National League Central with 57-77 (.425).

Despite not winning a World Series in 102 years, the Chicago Cubs are historically a decent team. Since starting in 1876, the franchise has a winning record of 10,222 wins and 9,678 losses. The Cubs have made it to the playoffs 18 times, won 16 National League pennants, and won the World Series in both 1907 and 1908 (defeating the Detroit Tigers and the Chicago White Sox, respectively). The past three seasons in a row the Cubs have had winning records; this year they probably will not.

Let’s look at the facts about this year:

First game of season: Beaten by the Braves in Atlanta 5-16 (April 5)
First home game of season: Defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 9-5 (April 12)

Longest slump of season: Lost 19 of 23 consecutive games to the Astros, Rockies, Brewers, Reds, Giants, Cardinals, Padres, and Braves (July 27-August 20)

Worst Loss of Season: Beaten by the Milwaukee Brewers 1-18 in Chicago (August 2)

Best Victories of season: Defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 15-3 in Chicago (August 4)
& Defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-2 in Chicago (August 30)

MANAGERIAL CHANGE:
On August 22, Lou Pinella stepped down from manager position early, saying he wanted to take care of his sick mother. Mike Quade became the interim Cubs manager.

TRADES:
- The Cubs trades RP Aaron Heilman (4.19 ERA) to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Scott Maine and Ryne White
- The Cubs traded IF Aaron Miles (.283) & Jake Fox (.240) to the Oakland Athletics for RP Jeff Gray (4.91 ERA) & minor leaguers
- The Cubs traded OF Milton Bradley (.273) to the Seattle Mariners for SP Carlos Silva (4.65 ERA)
- The Cubs traded IF Andres Blanco (.250) to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named
- The Cubs traded SP Ted Lilly (4.16 ERA) & IF Ryan Theriot (.287) to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2B Blake DeWitt (.265) and minor leaguers Kyle Smitt & Brett Wallach
- The Cubs traded 2B Mike Fontenot (.269) to the San Francisco Giants for minor leaguer Evan Crawford
- The Cubs traded 1B Derrek Lee (.282) to the Atlanta Braves for minor leaguers Robinson Lopez, Tyrelle Harris & Jeffrey Lorick

SEASON STATS:

So far the Cubs have lost 12 of their 16 games against the Cincinnati Reds
The Cubs have lost 10 of their 15 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Cubs have lost 8 of their 12 games against the Houston Astros
The Cubs have won 7 of their 12 games against the Milwaukee Brewers
The Cubs have won 5 of their 9 games against the St. Louis Cardinals

Best Cubs batting average: SS Starlin Castro (.317 average, 3rd best in National League)
Most Cubs home runs: LF Alfonso Soriano (21 home runs)
Most Cubs RBI: 3B Aramis Ramirez (69 RBI) & LF Alfonso Soriano (69 RBI)
Most Cubs wins: SP Ryan Dempster (12 wins, 9 losses)
Best Cubs ERA: SP Ryan Dempster (3.71 ERA)*
Most Cubs saves: RP Carlos Marmol (25 saves)
*(Not counting former Cubs SP Ted Lilly [3.59 ERA])

Chicago Cubs team batting average = .262
Chicago Cubs team ERA: 4.37
Chicago Cubs team fielding percentage = .978 (worst in MLB)

What are your thoughts on the Chicago Cubs? What do you have to say about the trades, about the season, the players, the management, next year, etc?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/

http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/sortable.jsp?c_id=chc

http://espn.go.com/mlb/statistics

Resolved Question: Do you see a problem with this N.C. Hispanic pastor facing possible deportation over old crime?

ATLANTA (ABP) — A Hispanic North Carolina pastor is scheduled to have a bond hearing in Atlanta Sept. 2 in the first stage of deportation proceedings against him — the consequence of a 15-year-old crime he committed before accepting Christ.

Leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina have been soliciting urgent prayer for Hector Villanueva, pastor of a Spanish-speaking church in Siler City, N.C. He was arrested Aug. 19 by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and taken to Gainesville, Ga., to be held.

Villanueva, 40, has lived in the United States since he was 3. He is a legal resident with a green card and Social Security card. He and his wife, Martha, a U.S. citizen, have four children and are in the process of adopting two foster children.

Martha Villanueva told an Associated Baptist Press reporter Sept. 1 that her husband has a North Carolina attorney who specializes in immigration, Jorgelina Araneda, advocating for him. She said she was en route to Atlanta for the hearing, hoping that her husband can get out on bond so they can contest his deportation.

“I just know that my husband has not done anything illegal anytime recently,” she said. “This is a very old case that they brought up and I know that he’s a different person than he was then; he’s changed and I just — I just don’t know what else to say. I just want him home; he’s needed here.”

Martha Villanueva told the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer a lawyer alerted her husband several months ago that his green card might be in jeopardy because of a “commercial burglary” conviction in the mid-1990s.

He was homeless at the time and apparently tried to cash a check that wasn’t his. He became a practicing Christian while in jail and dedicated his life to the ministry. Martha Villanueva admitted that in his former life her husband did some things of which he is not proud.

After moving from California four years ago, Villanueva helped North Carolina CBF Hispanic Leader Coach Javier Benitez start Iglesia Bautista la Roca in Raleigh, one of a dozen congregations that form the state organization’s Hispanic Network. He recently started a new church in Siler City.

His conviction surfaced in a background check after he applied for U.S. citizenship. Under current immigration law, any non-citizen convicted of an “aggravated felony” faces deportation, whether or not they have served their sentence.

http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/5663/53/