Shark leads Nats to victory against the Anti-Shark

For the 8th consecutive game, Roger Bernadina has led off the game.  And, for the 8th consecutive game, the Shark made everyone question why he started the season in Syracuse.  The Shark finally got support in the final game of the Marlins series, with the Nationals deciding to shark up and win.   The Nats scored 6 runs in the first inning (which was kicked off by a Shark bunt single) off Marlins start Javier Vasquez, and then held on to beat the Marlins 8-4.

The Sharkplug had a very impressive game, going 2-4, with a run and an RBI (he's now batting .344!!).  He also added a walk, which raised his on base percentage to above .450.  The Shark is playing exactly how we expected him to going into the season.  He now is boasting a 4-game hit streak (in which he is 7 for 15, batting .466)!  Equally impressive is that he also has a 4-game walk streak, which is exactly what you want from a leadoff hitter!  Even more impressive is that the Shark still has more walks than he has strikeouts this season.  This is exactly what Tyler and I were predicting when we nicknamed Roger Bernadina "the Shark" last August (the story of that game will be posted soon. Until then, message Tyler and tell him to hurry up with the edits)!

More Game Tidbits:
Logan Morrison has been emerging as the Anti-Shark recently.  Morrison plays left field for the Marlins.  He has shown glimpses of shark-like defense (by throwing out Jason Marquis at 3rd) but has failed in other regards (with an error in the first inning).  Apparently he is known as the Honey Badger.  He and the Shark seem to be building a rivalry, challenging eachother with hard hit balls.  They boast similar styles of play and I look forward to seeing the battle rage between the Shark and the Honey Badger this season.  If you are on twitter, message Morrison, @LoMoMarlins, and see if we can get him to acknowledge the rivalry (and the fact that he is scared to death of the Shark).

Todd Coffey got crushed in the elbow on a line drive by Emilio Bonifacio.  After the game, Coffey stated, "I just wish the Shark could have saved me from that ball, too." The Catch by the Shark on Friday, you'll remember, was made possible by Mike Stanton hitting a ball pitched by Todd Coffey. As impressive the Shark is on defense, he couldn't save Coffey, on that one...or perhaps, he didn't want to?

ESPN Shark:
Congratulations to all!  The Shark's catch beat out Yuniesky Betancourt's behind the back play for ESPN's Web Gem of the Year (so far).  Unfortunately, there is already a new challenger.  Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto made a behind the back snag of an Albert Pujols grounder.   If you are interested in defending the Shark's title, go to the ESPN MLB Site, scroll down and vote Shark. He's currently down 44% to 56%...

Here are three reasons why you should vote for the Shark over Johnny Cueto

1. You are on Roger Bernadina's Unofficial Blog, so you don't care about Johnny Cueto
2. Roger Bernadina's catch saved probably 2 runs and kept the game tied, Cueto's snag happened with no one on base and a 3 run lead
3. The Shark's "Catch" required athleticism, Cueto's was pure luck.

UPDATE: Johnny Cueto's behind the back catch has apparently won.  This goes to show that the Nationals need a stronger fan base, because that play was infinitely less impressive.

All-Star Shark:
A Sharkadina Thank You (probably worthless...) goes out to @ihearttyrone for voting Shark!

Follow @ihearttyrone's lead.

 VOTE SHARK FOR 2011 ALL-STAR GAME!

More to come.