‘Waiting for the call’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

Stephen Strasburg has a 21 1/3 scoreless inning streak playing for the Triple-A Syracuse Cheifs. He has and line that reads just as pretty, if not prettier, than a vast majority of pitchers at the Major League level at the current time.

That line reads: 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 18.1 IP, 4 H, 22 Ks, 4 BBs.

The question remains: when will his final minor league start take place?

Well sports fans, that start could be tonight. It could also be next week. Here’s the situation:

If tonight continues to be another routine outing for the talented 21-year-old, he has a shot at being called up this week. That would mean he could pitch in his hometown of San Diego when the Nationals visit the Padres in a few days. Which would be a particularly nice opportunity for a Major League debut since Strasburg played college ball for San Diego State.

If Strasburg does make the start in San Diego, that means no Major League debut on his team’s home field in Washington. Tickets sales for the projected June 4th start have been going since we all first heard word that it was even a semi-probable rumor. The buzz generated in this town about the odds of Strasburg’s first start being at home have even gone as far as to encourage District sports junkies to agree that Strasburg is one of the city’s top athletes … and he hasn’t even played here yet.

Either way, the time is coming and coming soon. There’s no way it isn’t with those kinds of numbers.

Update as of 3:33 p.m. – You can watch Strasburg’s start tonight live at 7:00 on MASN and MASN HD.

‘Vietnam Veteran Memorial Wall – Washington, DC’
courtesy of ‘BAR Photography’

A man who went into cardiac arrest Saturday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is alive today thanks to four bystanders at the scene, according to The Washington Post.

The incident occurred around 12:10 p.m. according to individuals present at the time. One man who is a prosecutor in Union County, N.J. named James Tansey said it was an “amazing event” to see the four bystanders approach the collapsed man and bring him back to life.

“He was gone,” Tansey told The Post. “No heartbeat, no pulse” and not breathing, he continued.

Tansey was joined by fellow memorial visitors who just so happened to be two paramedics and a doctor.

One of the paramedics proceeded to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for about four minutes Tansey told The Post, before the National Park Service arrived at the scene with an automated external defibrillator that ultimately restarted the man’s heart.

The man was apparently stable when taken to the hospital.

What a pleasant act of kindness, don’t ya think?

‘Chain Bridge’
courtesy of ‘NCinDC’

The Chain Bridge was supposed to finish its maintenance cycle, and reopen today in its new 3-lane format, but sadly the rain prohibited the line painters from doing their work over the weekend. That meant it was back to one-lane in each direction for morning rush, and evening rush will be the same way. DDOT says they’ll be able to properly finish the painting and reopen the bridge in 3-lane format “by midweek”.

Photo By Cheryl Nichols, Nationals News Network

The Nationals (22-22) allowed their opposition to hit the second inside the park homerun in the past four days today in game two of this Orioles series and still came away with a 7-6 victory. Today’s win brings Washington’s record back to .500 and places them in a tie for third place with the Florida Marlins in the National League East.

A stand-out moment came when Nyjer Morgan had a little temper-tantrum in center field during the fourth. Morgan allowed Ty Wigginton to hit the inside the park two-run homer, forcing Josh Willingham to pick up the ball and complete the play after Morgan had already thrown his glove to the ground.

After the game, Manager Jim Riggleman said Morgan approached him when the inning was over and said, “I thought the ball went over the fence.” Either way, the ball going over the fence is no excuse for making a scene in front of 30,290 people in the middle of a routine play.

When asked why he refrained from taking Morgan out, Riggelman responded that keeping him in was a necessary move for both the clubhouse and the roster, especially since Pudge left the game in the fourth with a lower back strain. Continue reading →

Photo By Ian Koski, Nationals Daily News

It was no secret going into last nights’s interleague match up that Nationals (21-22) starter Scott Olsen wasn’t quite his usual self, according to Manager Jim Riggleman after the game. Olsen served up four runs in the first three innings to the Orioles, dropping the Nationals’ record below .500 for the first time since April 15 (4-5) and exited the game in the third due to tightness in his left shoulder.

While there was no mention by Manager Jim Riggleman regarding whether or not the tightness is a direct result of Olsen’s shoulder surgery last year, Riggleman did say that there was a noticeable difference in the lefty’s throwing during his pre-game bullpen session.

A surprise move by Riggleman came in the third inning after taking Olsen out. He sent Livan in to pinch hit before sending in Miguel Batista in to pitch. When asked why pick Livo over another bench player, Riggleman said the decision was made because it was too early to send in one of his other bench players. Fair enough – a trip to the bench players before the fifth is a bit of a downer should you need those bats or arms later in the game. Either way, it was nice to see Livo even if it was only for one at-bat. Continue reading →