Craft Beer of the Week (7/21)

A strong welcome back from the All-Star break is in order for the Craft Beer of the Week.  It comes from the Weyerbacher Brewery in Easton, Pennsylvania and it is called Blithering Idiot.  The beer lives up to it's name by having an 11.1% alcohol content so be careful when drinking it lest yee wishes to become a blithering idiot.  Do not let the potency dissuade you from trying a really good beer that is sweet to the taste, smooth going down, and gets you tipsy in no time flat.  Please drink it responsibly while you celebrate a fruitful, although abbreviated, week for the Washington Nationals.

Weekly Record: 2-1
Overall Record: 53-43
Standing: Tied for 1st in the NL East with the Braves

The Nationals proved they can hang with the tops of the National League by taking two of three from the Brewers this weekend.  They had two hard fought games, and one that they ran away with, but it is good to see them come out on top in a series that was being heralded as a possible playoff matchup.  There was still some All-Star hangover for some, especially the pitching staff.  Gio Gonzalez's missed flight back from the All-Star break translated into three earned runs in three and a third innings yesterday which gave him an early exit.  Rafael Soriano blew his third save of the year yesterday when he gave up a tying run in the top of the ninth, and Stephen Strasburg picked up his fifth loss in seven appearances on Friday.  The Nats didn't necessarily give Strasburg the necessary run support going 1-10 with runners in scoring position, but this is the third time Strasburg has given up 4ER or more in his last seven starts.  Over those seven starts he has a 4.64 ERA, so it may not be time to push the panic button but it is cause for concern. 

Luckily, the Nats bats were cracking in this series.  The Nats hit .327 as a team for the series and they got 11 or more hits in every game.  Jayson Werth continues to show his clutch hitting with a walk off double to win the game on Sunday, and Ryan Zimmerman's performance this series proves why he gets paid the big bucks.  He was 6-12 with 5 RBI's, 1 HR, 2-3 RISP, and a .500 OBP. Keep it up Zimm.  It was also a pleasant return for Bryce Harper and Denard Span.  Harper went 5-10, Span wen 7-13, and both of their OBP's were above .500.  With Werth and Zimmerman hitting as well as they are, and with Ian Desmond continuing to drive in runs every time he makes contact (3 more RBI's this week to give him 60 for the season), it is good to see that these guys can have Span and Harper on base to make their hitting more damaging to the opposition.  The one hitter that may need a little more time to get back in the groove is Anthony Rendon.  Rendon followed up the All-Star snub buzz with a 1-14 performance against the Brewers.  If Span is getting on base at the rate he is going, we need Rendon to return to form. 

It is only a three game sample, and the Nats still find themselves in first place in the NL East, so no reason to panic yet., but the NL Wildcard situation should give us motivation to keep pace with the Braves.  There are now four teams tied for the NL Wildcard: Washington, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco; Two teams that are a half game back (Milwaukee and St. Louis); One team that is two games back (Pittsburgh); and one that is three games back (Cincinnati).  That leaves 8 teams for two wildcard spots.  Lets keep it going this week on the road against Colorado and Cincinnati and put some distance between us and the rest of the NL.