Washington

Early in the season, reliever injuries are mounting for Nationals

Published

2 years ago

April 23, 2022

Early in the season, reliever injuries are mounting for Nationals

Sean Doolittle doesn’t suppose he has a left elbow sprain due to a shortened spring coaching. Mason Thompson, equally, doesn’t suppose the abbreviated camp — shaved from six weeks to 3 after the 99-day lockout this winter — led to biceps tendinitis that has him on the injured record with Doolittle. However Hunter Harvey, a 3rd Washington Nationals reliever on the shelf, does suppose his hectic March performed a consider early season soreness.

Each arm and pitcher is totally different. However it’s laborious to not marvel how one other schedule shift is affecting the Nationals’ banged-up employees.

“Once I went by means of this as a participant in ’95, a number of these pitchers, April was fairly strenuous,” mentioned Nationals Supervisor Dave Martinez on Thursday, nodding to a earlier work stoppage. “I don’t know if it’s something associated to the quick spring coaching, however you’ve obtained to have a look at the quick spring coaching, attempting to ramp these guys up. … That is the explanation we tried to have so many various choices, in case one thing like this might occur.”

Svrluga: This season at Nats Park — loads of good seats and a quest to seek out pleasure

Doolittle, Thompson and Harvey usually are not the Nationals’ solely injured gamers. They’re simply the pitchers who made it by means of spring coaching wholesome and then landed on the 10-day injured record.

In any other case, starter Aníbal Sánchez has been out since his neck grew to become sore on the flight north from West Palm Seashore, Fla.; starter Stephen Strasburg remains to be working his method again from the thoracic outlet surgical procedure he underwent final summer time; starter Joe Ross is recovering from having a bone spur faraway from his elbow on March 7; reliever Will Harris is sidelined after present process proper pectoral surgical procedure in March; Gerardo Carrillo, a minor league reliever who’s on the 40-man roster, is now on the IL with shoulder discomfort; utility man Ehire Adrianza has a proper quad pressure; and third baseman Carter Kieboom has a flexor mass pressure in his throwing elbow.

Svrluga: Can Stephen Strasburg rediscover his dominant 2019 kind? ‘I actually don’t know.’

The absences have piled up rapidly. In Doolittle’s case, he tried to push by means of some lingering soreness and paid for it. Thompson, given down time to review his mechanics, feels he might enhance his sturdiness by elevating his launch level and getting the ball a bit farther away from his ear earlier than firing. And Harvey, a tough thrower like Thompson, mentioned his setback felt extra like a cramp than critical ache, making him assured he’ll throw once more quickly. Harvey is on the IL with a proper pronator pressure.

A little bit over two weeks into the season, the Nationals have an 11-man bullpen of Tanner Rainey, Kyle Finnegan, Steve Cishek, Andrés Machado, Victor Arano, Paolo Espino, Patrick Murphy, Austin Voth, Sam Clay, Francisco Pérez and Erasmo Ramírez. They’ve so many relievers, damage and wholesome, that Ramírez’s locker is blended in with outfielders and different place gamers. This was not the plan.

“The most important factor it affected was once I obtained DFA’d [by the San Francisco Giants in March], I had per week of determining the place I used to be going to throw the subsequent day,” Harvey, 27, mentioned Friday afternoon. “So I sat in Arizona for seven days looking for someplace on daily basis to play catch. That’s clearly robust to do once you’re from North Carolina and never having a complete lot …

“I simply suppose that one week, I wouldn’t actually say it put me behind. However it simply type of made it robust the place I felt like I wasn’t in nice form going on the market looking for any person. I performed catch with my spouse in the future, which isn’t the identical.”

Nationals preserve scrambling as Patrick Corbin has one other nightmare begin

Harvey was claimed off waivers by the Nationals on March 21. He appeared in a single official exhibition in West Palm, although did log further innings towards teammates. Again and again, Martinez informed reporters he needed to watch out due to Harvey’s intensive harm historical past. The warning has already been justified.

In 2013, the Baltimore Orioles drafted Harvey with the twenty second choose. Since, he’s had bother staying on the mound, stunting his capacity to thrive with a high-90s fastball and sider. When Doolittle went to the IL, Martinez promised to make use of Harvey in additional high-leverage conditions. Two days later, Harvey pitched a scoreless inning towards the Arizona Diamondbacks, throwing 12 pitches, then admitted that his arm felt off.

A youthful self would have tried to push by means of it. And as a complete, the Nationals’ bullpen is filled with relievers who’re both attempting to make it or show themselves once more. Doolittle, 35, signed again with Washington for one yr and $1.5 million. Thompson, 24, arrived within the Daniel Hudson commerce final July and needs to place himself sooner or later blueprints. Harvey is out to indicate he’s not only a former first-rounder who can’t keep wholesome — although, after all, that’s robust to do from the injured record.

“It’s important to fear about your arm first, even in the event you do wish to be on the mound and impressing,” Thompson mentioned Thursday. “As laborious as that may be, the primary factor is that you could’t be silly.”

“I’ve pitched with stuff like this earlier than and I’ll begin doing one thing totally different attempting to guard it after which I’ll find yourself blowing one thing out,” Harvey defined. “So I used to be similar to, ‘If there’s one thing we will do to go forward and knock it out after which be one hundred percent once more and simply get proper again in there …’ They usually have been like, ‘Yeah, let’s do this. Let’s simply play it and be smarter.’

“It’s solely two weeks into the season. So we’re simply going to get it knocked out after which go from there.”

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Washington

UK election results: 5 things you should know – Washington Examiner

Published

5 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

UK election results: 5 things you should know – Washington Examiner

Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to a resounding victory over the Conservatives in the United Kingdom Thursday evening, shaking up British politics as discontent grows with growing poverty rates and record-high energy prices.

After 14 years of Conservative governance, the Labour Party roared back after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for the snap election to take place weeks before the obligated date.

Here are five things to know about the landslide victory and what it means for America’s closest ally.

Who is Keir Starmer, the new prime minister?

Since being elected to the British Parliament in 2015, Keir Starmer has focused his efforts on making his party more electable. While he is a socialist, the new prime minister has moved to the center on some economic issues and has frustrated some pro-Palestinian factions of his party with his position on the war in Gaza.

Starmer promised “national renewal” as he gave a victory speech on Friday morning. He chuckled as he was congratulated by “Elmo” — or, rather, independent candidate Bobby Smith, who was dressed as the red Sesame Street character.

Labour was able to win 412 out of a possible 650 seats — almost 64% (despite only garnering 35% of the vote share), thanks to Britain’s first-past-the-post electoral system. The seat total was the party’s best showing since 1997, when former Prime Minister Tony Blair swept to power with 418 seats, and matched its 2001 total.

Keir Starmer (left) shakes hands with other candidates after he was elected for the Holborn and St. Pancras constituency on July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Sunak apologizes for brutal result

After Sunak’s party lost 251 seats in Parliament, he apologized for the brutal loss.

“This is a difficult day at the end of a number of difficult days,” the outgoing prime minister said Friday morning. “I am sorry. I take responsibility for the loss.”

Labour took 412 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. The Conservatives retained 121 seats as the country waits for the election results in two more districts.

Sunak said he would step down as the leader of the Conservative Party but “not immediately,” as he will try to firm up the succession plans before moving aside.

Liz Truss and other prominent Tories lose their seats

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was Britain’s shortest-serving leader as she spent just 49 days in the role, was among the Conservatives who lost their seats. She became the first former prime minister to lose her seat in 100 years.

In 2022, Britain elected her to lead the country by more than 26,000 votes. On Friday morning, Truss lost her race by 630 votes, a damning indictment on the country’s disenchantment with the Conservative Party.

“I think the issue we faced as Conservatives is we haven’t delivered sufficiently on the policies people want,” Truss told the BBC after her loss. The former prime minister faced widespread criticism for sparking financial turmoil during her chaotic 49-day rule.

Penny Mordaunt, a onetime Conservative leader of the House of Commons, also lost her seat by under 2 percentage points. Mordaunt, who served in Sunak’s Cabinet, suffered a narrow defeat to Labour’s Amanda Martin.

Nigel Farage finally becomes an MP

Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage gives a victory speech after winning his seat at the Clacton Leisure Centre in Clacton, England, on July 5, 2024. Britain’s Labour Party is headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval. (Joe Giddens/PA Wire/PA via AP)

While Labour took home landslide wins, the Reform U.K. party snagged significant wins, claiming a historic four parliamentary seats. Nigel Farage became a member of Parliament for the first time, celebrating as his party tracks to become the third-largest party in Britain. Farage says Reform U.K. will “now be targeting Labour votes.”

Former President Donald Trump congratulated Farage, a longtime ally who shares similar views on immigration.

“Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country! DJT.”

Farage was a central player in the Brexit fight, and his participation in the election this year was a last-minute surprise. After formerly leading the U.K. Independence Party and the Brexit Party, Farage announced last month he was going to run for leader of the Reform U.K. party.

His Reform U.K. party as a whole, however, fell victim to Britain’s electoral system, winning 14% of the vote share but only four seats. The Liberal Democrats, meanwhile, traditionally the country’s third-biggest party, won 71 seats with just 12% of the vote.

Scottish National Party suffers bloody nose

The Tories weren’t the only ones who faced a string of defeats on Thursday.

The Scottish National Party, which has dominated politics north of the border for more than two decades, was reduced to just nine seats, losing 37 and garnering just more than 700,000 votes. The shellacking was the party’s worst performance since 2010 and came after more than two years of chaos.

The Scottish independence movement’s leader, Nicola Sturgeon, unexpectedly resigned last year. Her successor, Humza Yousaf, was also plagued with difficulties, resigning in May after serving for only 13 months.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The party only competed for the 57 seats up for grabs in Scotland. A resounding victory there would have given teeth to the renewed independence referendum, but leadership problems along with fractured feelings about the referendum slowed momentum for the movement.

“We are experiencing something that we have not experienced in quite some time,” the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said. “We are going to be beat in Scotland, and we are going to be beat well.”

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Washington

Washington Post Publishes Mock Withdrawal Speech For Biden

Published

11 hours ago

July 5, 2024

Press Room

Washington Post Publishes Mock Withdrawal Speech For Biden

The editorial board of The Washington Post published a mock speech in which President Joe Biden announced the abandonment of his 2024 reelection campaign.

The faux address — under the headline of “What if Biden spoke these words?” — imagined Biden delivering the news to Americans on Thursday, Independence Day, a week after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump sparked calls for him to end his run.

The key part in the Post’s essay read:

My season of service is nearing its close. This was a hard truth to face. But it is the natural course of things — as evident as the progression from spring to summer, from fall to winter. This is why I have decided to withdraw from the campaign for president of the United States.

It envisioned Biden announcing new debates between potential nominees, including Vice President Kamala Harris, and concluded with the president urging Americans to “search your soul as I have” when they go to the polls in November.

Some people on social media suggested it was the Post’s call for Biden to quit the race. Others were simply confused by the editorial.

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Washington

WATCH: ‘A Capitol Fourth’ concert and fireworks in DC – WTOP News

Published

18 hours ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

WATCH: ‘A Capitol Fourth’ concert and fireworks in DC – WTOP News

The annual “A Capitol Fourth” show returned to the District this Fourth of July on PBS. The show took place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Alfonso Ribeiro hosted the event. It featured music performances from famous singers such as Smokey Robinson, Fantasia and Darren Criss followed the traditional fireworks.

Watch an archive of the event below.