Nationals Get Revenge, Destroy Cubs 13-0

After a disappointing Fourth of July performance yesterday, the Nationals came roaring back this afternoon with a 13-0 drubbing of the Chicago Cubs. It was clear that the contest would be one-sided very early on, as the Nats batted around in the third - the only players who didn't record at least one RBI or run scored in that inning were Bryce Harper and Gio Gonzalez.

But Harper and Gonzalez eventually joined the hit parade in what was truly a team effort. Gonzalez pitched eight innings, scattering four hits and allowing no runs in his sixth win of the season. According to manager Matt Williams, the lefty asked to go back out for the ninth, but as Gonzalez was at 110 pitches, Williams sent Craig Stammen to the mound to get the final three outs.



The victory signaled a return to business as usual for the Nats, who had a five game winning streak snapped by the Cubs yesterday. After a long stretch where multiple players were out with injuries, it seems Nationals fans are finally seeing the team they expected at the beginning of the season, and the results are exactly what they had hoped for.

Though the red-hot Braves are still in first in the NL East, Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has high hopes for the Nats - vowing that unlike last season, the Braves won't be able to pull away.

The rubber match of the series is tomorrow at 1:35, and the Nationals have a challenge ahead with Jake Arrieta on the mound for the Cubs, while Jordan Zimmermann will take the ball for the Nats.

How did the Red Sox become baseball villains?

Source

When the Red Sox clinched their World Series berth last Saturday, there were floods of delirious celebratory tweets, Tumblr posts, and Facebook updates on their respective timelines. Sure, there were the scattered mourning Tigers fans, and the bitter Yankees fans - which is certainly to be expected.

But what I didn't expect to see was a single disdainful tweet, from (of all places) a Chicago Cubs fan. It said something like, "How did we end up with an all-villains World Series? #RedSox #Cards"

Less than a decade ago, Red Sox fans were constantly lumped together with Cubs fans like that one: lovable losers everyone can root for because of the hopelessness of their respective plights.

Red Sox fans and Cubs fans were permanently dejected and cynical. The baseball world would collectively pat us on the back sympathetically, half-jokingly referencing the Curses of the Bambino and the Billy Goat.

Nine years and two World Series wins later, the Red Sox are no longer hard-luck also-rans, and we fans gleefully gave up the "lovable" part to shed the "loser" label for good. Our jubilee at breaking the curse in 2004, and then adding another title in 2007 for good measure, began to grate on fans of less fortunate teams years ago.

None of that is exactly news, but to be termed a "villain," the very term we've so long hurled at our hated Bronx-dwelling division rivals, is hard to swallow.

In a certain way, it's almost delicious to feel the jealousy of other teams' fans, but to call our team "villainous" when it's primarily made up of home-grown talent and journeyman free agents seems unfair. Gone are the days when the Red Sox front office entered a bidding war to sign whatever free agent would cost the most.

Instead, Ben Cherington and co. ignored the Josh Hamilton offseason circus (to the chagrin of some fans who have been mysteriously silent since May) and signed mid-range players like Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Koji Uehara, and Stephen Drew.

This team overcame preseason expectations to pull together one heck of a 2013 campaign. This is a team that put the entire city of Boston on its back after an unthinkable tragedy, and with a rallying cry of "Boston Strong," proceeded to own the American League. They wear their team spirit on their faces in the form of lumberjack beards - and how can you villainize a lumberjack?

In the end, I suppose it doesn't much matter whether casual baseball fans can get behind us; there will never be another 2004, and there shouldn't be. The 2004 playoff run was something unique, nerve-wracking, and beautiful.

The 2013 playoffs haven't been nearly as terrifying: the Red Sox haven't faced down elimination all year. But 2013 is shaping up to be just as special, albeit in a different way.

After all, I'd rather be a villain in the World Series than a saint playing golf.

Interleague Hope?

Once again the Red Sox are on the precipice of being back where they were on Opening Day: back at .500. After a masterful performance from Jon Lester last night, albeit with a 3-run homerun hiccup, the Red Sox held on for the win and brought their dismal record to 32-33.  With one more game against the Cubs, then three more against the struggling Marlins, and finally a three-game set against the second-place Braves, the Red Sox have a chance to wrap up interleague play above .500.

The Sox were supposed to have Josh Beckett pitching for them tonight in the third and final game against the Cubs, but he's been placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.  When reporters asked Beckett for comments about his situation, he refused, telling them he would talk about it on Tuesday.

Now, I could get into how flipping annoying it is that Beckett can't be bothered to address the media, but that's old news, and we've discussed it in this space more than once.  Instead, we'll do a short preview of Beckett's fill-in, Franklin Morales.

Morales hasn't started a game in more than three years, but he has had some rather long relief outings lately.  So far this season, Morales has pitched 23.2 innings, and has a very respectable 3.04 ERA. In the year since Morales came to Boston from the Rockies, he's had some success, and he seems to be excited for the opportunity to start.

Clay Buchholz, on the other hand, was asked about the possibility of him starting this evening on his normal four days of rest, but he chose to take the start against the Marlins on Tuesday at Fenway, after the offday.

It's the story of the season: the much-hyped Red Sox pitching staff continues to struggle, underperform, and end up on the DL.  Hopefully Morales can do something relatively rare for the Sox this season, and get the win.

No, not THAT Chris Carpenter...

You can follow Carpenter on Twitter: @ccarp37

So we finally know who we'll be getting in exchange for letting Theo head out to Chicago... Chris Carpenter, Cubs pitcher. Our new Chris Carpenter even has the same middle name (John) as the other Chris Carpenter, but ours is ten years younger.

Hopefully he can live up to the other Chris Carpenter in time - he seems to have had a promising start. Just twenty-six years old, Carpenter broke into the bigs at the end of last season, and tossed 9.2 innings over ten games, recording a 2.79 ERA, 7 walks, and 8 strikeouts.

Unsurprisingly, he does not have an entry in the 2012 Bill James Handbook, and he's yet another righthanded option for the bullpen.

The Red Sox and Cubs will each owe the other a player to be named later as part of the compensation deal.

Fan-FAIL

Today's a really busy day for me, so since I'll have very little time, here's a series of photos documenting some failures on the part of the sports' fan.

We'll start off with a college hoops game... How do you spell O-H-I-O?

More spelling problems from the good people of New York... Unless they meant "JEST," as in, "Our entire fandom is a joke."

You knew those NASCAR fans wouldn't disappoint. Dude, if your back is hairy enough to allow this, please keep it covered up.

I know those Wrigley Field bleachers get a lot of sun, but seriously? You're wearing a baseball cap with a brim designed for just this purpose. Turn it around, you look like an idiot.

I sincerely hope this was a one game thing... I mean, it shows a lot of dedication. But let's be honest: A*Rod never deserves to be mentioned with Jeter... You just can't compare them. And to immortalize A*Rod on your shaved head? TACKY.

And in case you thought I was being biased, here's some of Red Sox Nation's very own... Work on that depth perception, kids: you'll get-em next time.