By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Wang threw six shutout innings to lead Taiwan past Australia 4-1 in Saturday's opening game of the WBC.
By the time Ross Detwiler returned to the Nationals' clubhouse Thursday night, 83 text messages were waiting.
If there was one image the Washington Nationals may remember from a game they would surely love to forget, it was of Carlos Beltran. Standing on the top step of the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout after his second two-run homer of the game, Beltran reveled in a curtain call while Chien-Ming Wang stood emotionless on the mound.
The first game of a three-game series between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers was postponed Tuesday due to inclement weather in the D.C. area. The game will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader on Wednesday with the first game beginning at 4:05 p.m. and the second starting approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
The chants were so loud Roger Bernadina could hear them reverberating as he walked through the tunnel toward the visitors' clubhouse at Minute Maid Park Tuesday night. Reveling in another victory, the Washington Nationals turned the music up and awaited their hero of the night.
As the ball cracked off Michael Martinez's bat and bounced through the right side of the infield, Ross Detwiler never took his eyes off it. He watched Bryce Harper gather it. Watched him unfurl his body and send the ball rocketing toward home plate.
The Washington Nationals open the second half of the season Friday night in Miami as the best team in the National League, leading the East Division by four games. The second half will bring a pennant race to D.C., and the Nationals will be tested.
Michael Gonzalez was a member of the Washington Nationals for just more than two weeks when he got Ross Detwiler's ear in the bullpen. Detwiler had made four appearances out of the bullpen after Chien-Ming Wang had bumped him from the rotation, and he'd gotten mixed results.
Hitting Chien-Ming Wang's sinker used to be like taking a swipe at a bowling ball.
Maybe it's a cruel fact for Chien-Ming Wang that he has the misfortune of struggling in one of the best rotations in the major leagues. Maybe it's by contrast that Wang, the most veteran of the staff and its second-highest-paid member, has his issues magnified because of the four who come before him.
A sinker, when thrown with the velocity and weight that Chien-Ming Wang can throw it, is a devastating pitch. Hitters compare it to a bowling ball, they find it impossible to lift and they pound their bats into the ground on the way back to the dugout almost as hard as the balls they roll over hit the infield.
Carlos Gonzalez hit three home runs in his last three at-bats, Michael Cuddyer had a grand slam and Dexter Fowler also homered, leading the Colorado Rockies past the Houston Astros 13-5 on Wednesday night for their third win in a row.
Giancarlo Stanton hit his 12th home run in May to tie the franchise record for a single month and the Miami Marlins earned their 20th comeback victory Wednesday night, completing a three-game sweep of the first-place Washington Nationals with a 5-3 win.
It won't be until Tuesday or Wednesday, but at some point this week, Ross Detwiler will take the walk from the Washington Nationals' dugout to their bullpen. After nine starts, six exceptional and three mediocre, Detwiler's current stay in the starting rotation is over.
Davey Johnson's gait Friday night was a bit slower than usual, the Washington Nationals manager dealing with a lingering toe injury. For Ross Detwiler, it just meant he had longer to stare at the man who came to end his night.
"I don't try to put my best foot forward when we're down," he said, acknowledging as much.
Nationals get blown out by Cardinals with chance to clinch NL East title →
"No matter what my spot is with the team, I think the only thing I need to do is get my sinker back," Wang said through his interpreter. "Hopefully, I can get back to the rotation. But I just want to keep doing my job, get my sinker back."
