This home run looked like to accounted for six runs. Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Nationals beat the Phillies today. In lieu of actually attempting to provide a rational examination of the loss, I have instead decided that verbally assaulting members of the Nationals makes considerably more sense.  First, Gio Gonzalez may be good at throwing baseballs, but he can not fully close his mouth.  This is one of my biggest pet peeves.  When I had children, I only had a few hopes and dreams concerning my descendants.  I wanted them to have mouths that close and I did not want them to be assholes.  I am pretty sure that Gio Gonzalez can not close his mouth and based on his last two appearances against the Phillies, he is obviously an asshole.  Second, I do not like any of the players currently residing on the Washington roster. (more…)

Look familar? Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

Did anyone ever wonder what would happen to Vance Worley if he didn’t get that comeback sinker on the inside part of the plate?  If so, your question was answered today.  Worley’s final line over six innings was eleven hits, five runs (two on home runs) and two walks.  He entered the fifth inning with a 1-0 lead, stranding a crap ton of baserunners and battling to keep his team in the game. 

 Here are some more questions:  Who would you least like to watch beat the Phillies with a home run?  If you picked Bryce Harper (this kid is my personal selection) you would be happy to know that he ended the day 0-4 with five men left on base with the most terrible haircut that I have ever seen on a millionaire.  I am including Donald Trump in the previously stated group of haircuts…..it is that bad everyone.  If you picked Jayson Werth, who’s struggles with men in scoring position date back to his days as a Phillie, you may begin punching/throwing your computer out the window.  Werth smacked a three run home run into the left field bleachers on a fastball that Worley did not get far enough inside.  (more…)

Strasburg is on a short leash after coming off of Tommy John surgery just a year ago. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

The Nationals staff begins with young phenom Stephen Strasburg. One year removed from Tommy John surgery, Strasburg is showing fans and opposing hitters just what all the hype is about. His 1.42 ERA, coupled with 19 strikeouts in as many innings is impressive. But, is he Roy Halladay good? Doc has a 1.17 ERA through as many games, racking up 4 more innings than Strasburg.  Advantage Phillies.

Cliff Lee and Jordan Zimmerman match up in the number two slot in their respective rotations. Zimmerman is another recovering abuser of his elbow ligament (2 years clean and sober) and has been downright filthy thus far. His sharp slider working off a high 90’s heater coupled with pinpoint control makes Zimmerman look like a right handed Cliff Lee. Lee’s continued success this year was highlighted by a 10 inning shut out performance against the Giants (the Phillies of course neglected to score any themselves). If these two pitchers matchup this season expect a fast game, as they both don’t hand out very many free passes. Its a close call, but Lee gets the edge on experience.

Third up are Cole Hamels and Gio Gonzalez. Both teams feature two of the best lefties in the game, who would easily be the staff ace on most ball clubs. Hamels weapon of choice is his fading change up, where as Gonzalez relies on a hard breaking curve that is equally dominant. Both pitchers have wracked up high strike out numbers (Hamels: 23 Gonzalez: 21) and don’t show any signs of letting up. A shaky start against the Mets has Hamels’ ERA a run higher than Gonzalez’s, but both have been dominant early on. I’ll give the slight edge to Gio. This isn’t a knock against Cole, but on the Phillies front office that traded Gio away for Freddy Garcia, Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

"No love for big Joe?" Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The fourth spot features two youngsters on both sides in Vance Worley and Ross Detwiler. The Vanimal has picked up where he left off last year, freezing batters with his tailing fastball, including an 11 K performance against the Friars. Detwiler has been even better posting a 0.56 ERA in his first three starts. If these two kids pitched in the 50’s, they would be described as having moxy. I would call it chutzpa, but whatever word you choose these two bring an attitude to the mound that wills them to succeed. I’ll give the win to Detwiler by a nose, but Worley isn’t far behind.

The two rotations appear to be evenly matched based on the individual matchups. The teams 5^th starters don’t offer much of a tiebreaker either as Blanton and Edwin Jackson are the epitome of average. The deciding factor that separates the Phillies rotation from the Nats is experience. It may sound like some hokey intangible attribute, but the Phillies have been their before and won. Hallday and Lee have won Cy Young awards. Hamels is a former World Series MVP, and even Joe Blanton has won a World Series game. By comparison the mantle in the Nationals clubhouse remains quite thin, lined with a few all star games brought over by Gio Gonzalez from Oakland. The Nats young arsenal does boast an array of intimidating fastballs and wicked off-speed stuff, but until they beat the Phillies and win in October their anointment as the best in baseball will have to wait.

You can follow Ethan’s Phillies thoughts on Twitter @Yearinbaseball and on Facebook.