Comments on: Roger Bernadina makes a bonkers catch to end the Nats-Astros game

By: zhomas75

zhomas75 — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 02:41:36 +0000

@recoveringcubsfan

Seriously you should GKY. You have posted one of the most astoundingly dumb comments I’ve ever seen. You disgrace all cubs fans everywhere. Davey Johnson has made the playoffs nearly every single year he has coached in the major leagues. He is a fantastic manager and recognized by everyone who knows anything about baseball as one of the best managers of the present era. The Nats have been a horrific team in their short existence and DJ has taken them to that next level. While many people expected them to be over .500 this year no one expected them to be this good. They are 24 GAMES OVER .500 for Gods sake and you are saying he is an old fool??? Keep saying that when the Nats are in the playoffs.

By: natslady

natslady — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:23:30 +0000

There is so much wrong with this I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s start with, where would you play Mr. Moore? He ain’t a great fielder, in fact, he isn’t even a good fielder, and his only “natural” position is first base, where, excuse me, you already have a Golden Glove-level player who is also a power hitter and hot as fire (Adam LaRoche). You could put him in left (maybe)–really? Instead of Michael Morse–also a power hitter, and proven and a marginally better fielder than Moore.

Chad Tracy wakes up in the morning hitting, and he did pretty well when he subbed for Ryan Zimmerman at 3B. Made a couple of nifty plays…

As for standing and watching games slip away–really? Which one? The one he inserted two relievers in the middle of at-bats? How much overmanaging do you want? The only game Davey seriously screwed up was the 9-0 game, and he took full responsibility. And it wasn’t the worst lesson in the world for a team to realize a 9-0 lead is not impregnable…

By: natslady

natslady — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:13:57 +0000

Yeah. And the name of the team is spelled right… well, so far, anyway…

By: Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:12:39 +0000

A few more inches to the left, and that ball hits off of the pillar that Bernadina disappeared behind, and the Astros win.

But that’s how it goes for the ‘Stros.

By: cur68

cur68 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 15:28:59 +0000

And there you see why I have this man-crush on Roger Bernadina. Don’t judge me.

By: term3186

term3186 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:56:34 +0000

0 breaks for the Astros. And that makes us what, 0-11 in extra innings?

By: kkolchak

kkolchak — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:39:43 +0000

@jea1978 – that has to be one of the dumbest comments I’ve ever read. So I guess if the Nats had a “better” manager, they’d have a .800 winning percentage right now?

By: hoober27

hoober27 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:37:02 +0000

With uniforms and everything?

By: trab1011

trab1011 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:22:40 +0000

What team are you watching? Do you even remember how bad we got raked by injuries to everyone but the starting pitchers? Who do you think got us through that? He does get credit for Lombo because it was his decision to give him a large role on the team. It was his decision to keep giving Bernadina playing time even as the starters got healthy. It was his lobbying that got Harper on the team two or three months earlier than Rizzo wanted. It was probably his decision to pull Rodriguez out of the closer’s spot and to elevate Clippard. Davey’s done just fine. Thank the lord we have him and not whoever is running the Cubs or half the other teams in the league. Enjoy your cheap shots on a good manager. He will stand there with that “idiot grin” as he adds “took a team to its first playoff birth” to a very, very strong resume in a few months.

By: jea1978

jea1978 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:08:24 +0000

kkolchak, if you think that a team’s record means the manager is doing a good job, then you are proven to be dumb.
Davey has done a good job of cycling guys in and trusting raw talent to add some value. But he has been miserably, flat out dumb much more often. He is definitely past his time, the only value he really adds is having the cache to say the young guys get to play. I doubt Riggleman could have gotten Harper up to the bigs as early as Davey did.
But recoveringcubsfan, you are wrong about bashing Tracy. Dude is a solid pinch hitter and has won a couple games for us this year.

By: kkolchak

kkolchak — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:38:25 +0000

Best record in MLB provess that everything you just said about Johnson is WRONG. But I wouldn’t expect a fan of a team that hasn’t won a World Series in over a century to be right about anything.

By: recoveringcubsfan

recoveringcubsfan — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:32:06 +0000

I agree with everything except your assessment of Johnson’s managerial skills. The guy is an old fool and when the game is slipping away he more often than not just stands there with an idiot grin on his face. Drives me nuts, like the steering wheel on the pirate’s pants. Or maybe he’s terrible with just pitchers and only mostly-bad with fielders. Lombo has been playing all year, somewhere on the field, so it’s not like Davey has to think very hard about him. Bernadina is the only defensive replacement in the OF now that Ankiel is (mercifully – how’s that for managing, that Johnson put Ankiel in the game all the time?) gone, and Mary Tyler Moore is a power bat so you can’t bench him everyday. I don’t think there’s much that can be screwed up for those 3 players, even by a world-class bumbler like Davey Johnson. I think the best thing he’s done lately is just not playing Chad Tracy, ever.

By: psuravens19

psuravens19 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 13:20:32 +0000

This play was amazing, not only the catch itself but when it happened. Having played baseball most of my life, I just marvel at how freaking good these MLB players are; they make these types of plays on a daily basis.

By: stex52

stex52 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:59:44 +0000

“luck for 2014″, not “lock for 2014″

By: stex52

stex52 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:54:14 +0000

Count on it, dude. Astros have a lock. You may be out of lock for 2014, also. I don’t see the cavalry coming over the hill next year, either.

By: shawon0meter

shawon0meter — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:52:03 +0000

Damn, that was nice!

The Cubs will never catch the Astros for the #1 draft pick at this rate

By: vcupats

vcupats — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:38:41 +0000

Washington Nationals: “Hello, we’re a major league baseball team…”

By: kkolchak

kkolchak — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:38:26 +0000

Look out, Flying SHARK!

One of the overlooked reasons for the Nats’ success is that they have a bunch of good young bench players (Lombardozzi, Bernadina, Moore) who Davey Johnson has been expertly managing to take advantage of their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

By: stex52

stex52 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:32:39 +0000

When you can’t get the breaks, you can’t get the breaks. And the Astros are about as broken as you can get. After yesterday it is nice to see a game won on a good play instead of a fiasco.

I saw Beltran take a win away from Berkman in that same corner five years ago. Only it was more of a bullet line drive and he was running flat out. That dude was some centerfielder in his prime. (See how deftly I try to change the subject).