Roger Bernadina's father has passed away. He is traveling to Curacao for the funeral which is on Friday.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shark and his family.

The Sharker Games: Catching Fire

Bernadina is The Shark on Fire! Roger has been playing like he was reaped from an outlying district, paraded around in a flaming uniform, and then forced to destroy anyone who gets in his way. (for those of you don't get these references, go see The Hunger Games...or better yet, read it.)

But seriously, Roger "The Shark" Bernadina is ON FIRE!

Looks like Cinna is Bernadina's fashion designer!

How on fire is he? According to Federal Baseball:

Bernadina's now hit in 7 of his last 10 at bats after his 2 for 4 day, and he's 10 for 30 with a double and two home runs over his last 10 games, leaving the 27-year-old outfielder with a .298/.400/.447 line in Grapefruit League action

That is what we call SHARK MODE.

It seems like everyone in DC can't stop talking about The Shark.
Adam Kilgore at the Washington Post says:

After a mid-spring lull, Bernadina has caught fire (Adam must LOVE The Hunger Games!). In his past two games, Bernadina has gone 5 for 6 with two homers and a walk. He credited his work with hitting coach Rick Eckstein, focusing on keeping his body moving toward the pitcher, not bailing out before finishing his swing. 

“That’s the key,” Bernadina. “I was coming off the ball a lot.”

Mark Zuckerman at Nats Insider also wrote a great article about Bernadina:

Bernadina has also impressed lately in the outfield and on the bases. During today's game against the Astros, he went hard into second base to break up a double play and allow a run to cross the plate. Actually, he and his teammates thought he beat the throw and should have been ruled safe. 

"Whatever it takes to get the run in," he said.

MASN reported Manager Davey Johnson's thoughts on The Shark:

"He started the spring really swinging well, then he got into a little of a funk. Now he's coming back and attacking the ball," manager Davey Johnson said. "With his speed, you look at him as the kind of guy who can bunt, hit a few little soft liners in there, but he's got tremendous power. He's a big, strong guy. And he hasn't had a whole lot of baseball background, so he's still really just learning about himself. 

"But I like what I've been seeing the last two or three times out."

Everyone's favorite Nats reporter, Bill Ladson, got this great quote from The Shark:

Asked if he was worried about making the team, Bernadina said, "Nah, I don't worry about that. I want to get in a groove to help the ballclub somehow -- get on base. Whatever it is, I'll see what happens. I don't worry about that right now."

You don't need to worry, Shark. The odds are ever in your favor.

More to come.

Shark Hits the Fan (not literally)

To those of you here because you think that this is a post about Roger Bernadina punching Tyler in the face, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you...

The Nationals snapped an 11 games winless streak today, beating the New York Mets 12-0. Stephen Strasburg pitched a gem for the Nats and several players contributed to the blowout. None, however, contributed more than the Shark. Bernadina went 3 for 3 with a home run and 4 RBIs. This blasted his average up to .250, which looks golden next to Brett Carroll's own .227 average. When asked about the big game, Davey Johnson put his hand on his head, making a fin and said, "this game belonged to the Shark." The Shark couldn't be reached for questioning as he was already on his traditional post-game lap around the Earth's oceans.

It appears that the strange "toe issue" that was bothering Bernadina is a thing of the past. A couple more games like this will surely secure the spot for Bernadina on the Nats roster. We're definitely rooting for you here at Sharkadina (as if we have a headquarters where we write this crap). 11 days until opening.

In similar news:

Bill Ladson reports, "Nationals happy to end winless streak." Truly shocking, Bill...

More to come.

Breaking News: Sharks have toes!?!

Well, at the very least, The Shark has toes.  I know this because he had to leave Friday's spring training game, dealing with soreness caused by fouling a pitch off of a toe on his right foot against the Cardinals on Thursday.

This leads me to yet another revelation.

Sharks have feet too!?  This must be a recent evolutionary trait that came about as at least two members of the Shark family are playing baseball, a sport where it is helpful to have feet.

This is an incredible discovery and a major breakthrough in science.  Sharks are evolving from the ferocious creatures we all know, to something even more deadly.  The below photograph fully captures exactly what these new sharks look like.  Please share a moment of silence with me as we recognize the brave photographer who snapped this picture, moments before being swallowed whole.

A splitting image of Roger Bernadina

More to come.

Bryce Harper to Syracuse

Bryce Harper is learning how to be a Major Leaguer the best way he knows how- following in the footsteps of Roger "The Shark" Bernadina. You'll all recall that last year, Shark was sent to Syracuse during Spring Training where he played CF and put up some decent numbers. He got promoted to the Nats...and then sent back down again...and again...even during Shark Week!

He even looks like a shark!

Well, Bryce Harper was sent down yesterday. Want to know how long he will be in Syracuse? Federal Baseball has great article with a lot of opinions that you should check out. Basically, if he stays in the minors for at least 21 days then he wouldn't be a free agent until 2018 and could potentially save the Nationals millions of dollars. So that could have been why he was sent down...

Or it could be because Davey Johnson wants to see more of The Shark patrolling centerfield in DC this year. Yeah it's probably that and not the millions of dollars...

As of now the job is up for grabs between Shark, ricK "striKeout" anKiel, and Brett "1HR/YR" Carroll. Here's the latest:

If "mix and match" means "Bernadina wins the job outright and anKiel is the 4th outfielder (at least for 21 days until Harper comes up)," then we're all for the mix and match!

More to come.

Shark Batting Title

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today, I (Terry) officially turn 25, and what a day it has been, and hopefully will continue to be.  I had a delicious breakfast, got a new bike for my birthday (so I can continue to bike to work like Tyler Clippard), and best of all, my hometown team, Detroit Tigers, are playing the Shark and the Washington Nationals.  

At least in terms of spring training, the teams are pretty evenly matched, tying their first matchup 5-5.  Ignore the fact that the Nats lost 6-3 in their second matchup and the teams are still tied (also, ignore the fact that the Nats are down 9-6 right now...)!  The Shark, however, manages to thrive against Tigers. Last time he singled against Tigers ace, Justin Verlander.  Today, he singled against their next best pitcher, Doug Fister, and added an RBI to boot.  He also added a single 6th to bump his average to .250.

His RBI was the Shark's first "official" RBI of the spring (you will recall that when he drove a run before, the game was called...) and his 5th hit.  The most intriguing part of this Spring, however, is that he has cut way down on his strikeouts, and increased his walks.  Already this spring, the Shark has walked 5 times, compared to only 6 walks.  Considering that last season, Bernadina walked 22 times, compared to 63 Ks, we see that his Sharksight is honed in.

Batting averages matter little in Spring Training.  Jose Reyes batted only .281 in Spring Training last year, then led the NL in batting during the regular season, and had a remarkably similar BB/K rate (3/3).  I'm not saying that the Shark will definitely lead the league in batting this season, but he probably will.

Other News:

There were several reports of Shark chants while Bernadina was batting during yesterday's game.   Tyler and I reacted the same way, repeating "no way" until someone with sense slapped us back into reality hours later.  Here are some of the tweets about the awe-inspiring occurance.

Jawsome.

More to come.

Even sharks need dentists

Despite having a solid spring, Roger Bernadina sat out for the second consecutive day today.  Fear not, though.  The cause was not related to his stats.  Rather, Bernadina sat out because apparently, even Sharks need to go to the dentist.  Apparently, while feasting on the Cardinals this weekend, the Shark chipped a tooth and had to get it removed.  It's those hollow bird bones... they ruin everything.

While the surgery was successful (for everyone except the dentist, who hasn't been seen since the moment the tooth was removed), the Shark was still too woozy from the 15 elephant tranquilizers the dentists had to use to sedate him, to play in today's game.  Hopefully he will be back in the lineup tomorrow.  By that point, a new tooth will have moved into the place where the other was removed, as with all Shark's teeth.

We managed to dig up a picture of the dentistry procedure.  Even with the sedatives, it was hard to keep Bernadina still.

Dentists remove Bernadina's teeth

In other news, there were Shark fans spotted down in Florida at a recent spring training game.  A very special thanks to our absolute favorite photographer, Cheryl Nichols, for breaking the story and providing photographic evidence of the Shark fans.  We love supporting the Shark and are glad there are others out there!

Bernadina Fans at a Spring Training game

More to come.

Spring Shark Domination

Davey Johnson, looking to keep a sharkplug in the 4-3 Nationals, started the Shark again today.  This is following his start against AL MVP Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers yesterday (which ended in a tie by the way).  This was a brilliant play on his move as the Shark rewarded his manager with a 2-out RBI single off Jake Westbrook to give the Nats an early 1-0 lead.  Unfortunately, the game was postponed due to rain, so the game/stats will not count.  It did raise the Shark's spring BA to .333, albiet briefly.

Fortunately, the Shark's single left an impression on the Cardinals/fans/everyone due to the strange conditions surrounding the pitch.  Below is a screen shot of the single:

Explosive, to say the least...

The Nats resume their spring schedule tomorrow against the cardinals, with more of the above expected.

More to come.

Shark vs Tigers

It would be crazy to miss the opportunity to promote a battle between two ferocious species. The Shark-led Washington Nationals split squad faced off against the Detroit Tigers today.  The Detroit Tigers started reigning Cy Young/MVP Justin Verlander while the Nats led off with their own MVP (Most Valuable Predator).  The Shark got the upper hand in the first inning, singling off Verlander.  Apparently, even a 24 game winner fears the bite of the deadliest sea creature.

Unfortunately (and probably wrongly) the Shark was thrown out trying to steal second although Detroit Tigers radio announcer Dan Dickerson claimed that the Tigers probably caught a break on the call.  After the inning, there was a brief delay of game as Bernadina charged Tigers catcher Alex Avila, dismembering him.  One lucky fan snapped this photo right before the brawl.

Alex Avila and Roger Bernadina battle it out

A quick google search reveals a much more epic Shark/Tigers battle, but things don't look as positive for the Shark...  If it were Bernadina, those tigers would be fish chum.

3 Tigers vs Bernadina hardly seems fair...for the Tigers

At the time of this post, the Nats were down 4-3 and the Shark had been replaced by Destin Hood in the field.

More to come.

Shark Face/Off

Well, The Shark didn't play in today's Spring Training game against the Astros, in which Tom "Sloth" Gorzelanny gave up eight runs (they don't call him "Sloth" for nothing, folks). We will have more news tomorrow after The Shark shines in left field and batting lead off. I'm personally predicting an infield single in which he beats the throw by using his Shark Speed.

Moving on...I always thought that Terry was the only person out there who spend time photoshopping images of Roger Bernadina. Well, it turns out I was wrong. While I was doing some Googling for images to work into the blog, I stumbled upon a startling discovery. Someone had photoshopped Bernadina's face over my own. Here is the original, from the first time I ever met The Shark in person:

Now take a look at this:

NOT a sanctioned Sharkadina photoshop

I don't know if I am more disturbed or honored by this. Some guy named "griff" posted this on the forums over at Ballparkguys.com. I suppose any way The Shark name is spread is good. Even if it does mean creepily superimposing his face over mine...

I would even take it a step further, and volunteer for the procedure from "Face/Off" (one of my favorite movies ) and switch faces with him. Actually, it would probably be funnier if we did a "Freaky Friday" thing. Hijinks would ensue with me playing professional baseball and Bernadina working at children's theatre! I love it, I'm going to work on that script right now and mail it to Hollywood! I would cast Will Smith as The Shark and a Shia LeBeouf-type as myself (important note: I didn't say Shia LeBeouf, just a "Shia LeBeouf-type").

For the record, the last time we saw Bernadina, we gave him his own Shark hood. His has yellow eyes (mine are green, and Terry's are blue- that's the only way to tell us apart at games). I'd like to think he carries it around with him and is in fact wearing it in Florida right now, but he might have thrown it away. Oh well.

More to come.

Helllooooo NURSE (Shark)

The Washington Nationals kicked off their spring schedule (on schedule) with a 1:05 game against the Houston Astros.  New Nat Edwin (nickname to be determined) Jackson made his Washington debut with positive results, allowing one hit and walking two while not allowing a run to score.  Despite his pitching efforts, the Nationals lost 3-1, and are officially 0-1 so far this spring.

But who cares about that?

The most important thing here is that Roger "The Shark" Bernadina made his spring debut today, and made a jawsome first impression of 2012.   Starting in left field and batting 8th, the Shark went 2 for 3, with a double and a run scored (it was the only run the Nationals managed to score).  One day in, things couldn't look better.  As everyone thought that he would, the Shark came to Spring Training with an fire in his eye.  No slow start for the Shark.  He's here to leave an impression.

His competition, however, showed up to play as well.  RicK AnKiel, starting in center, tripled (going 1-2) but failed to score.  Brett Carroll, also went 1 for 2, coming in to replace AnKiel halfway through the game.  Young Bryce Harper ended the game 1 for 3.  Xavier Paul went 0 for 1 and was the last out of the game.  I am still not convinced that he exists.

Despite the competition, the Shark outplayed, outswam, and outeverythinged all other Nationals today.  It is something that we can start getting used to.

Before I go, I leave with some pictures of the Shark taken by Shark fans @AllStars_S2  and @NatsHR2Win.  A very special thank you to both of these guys for risking their lives by getting so close to the Shark.

Bernadina at the plate, moments before his double

Bernadina scoring the run, moments before he eats Randy Knorr's leg

Bernadina doing his pre-batting practice stretches (note Knorr's leg)

More to come.

Let the Shark Games Begin

The Nationals kicked off their spring training games today with an exhibition game against the Georgetown University Hoyas.  Sadly, the Shark did not make an appearance in the game (I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow), but the Nationals still managed to win 3-0.  The real spring training games start tomorrow when the Nationals face the Astros at 1:05.  If the Shark is in the starting lineup, I'll definitely have to watch the game, and watch as he feeds on Astros pitching like the Magalodon feeds on blue whales.  For Tyler and I, spring doesn't begin until the Shark takes the field.

Fortunately for us (as we are ready for spring to begin), there has been a slew of Shark related news as of late:

• First, and most importantly, the Shark was resigned by the Nationals today along with Drew Storen.  This definitely can't be a bad sign (it shows that the Nationals want to keep him).

• More proof of that is that according to a Nationals source, there are no talks of trading the Shark, despite the team's seemingly constant pursuit of a new center fielder...

• The Nat's Blog wrote a great article about chances of the Shark landing a spot on the Nationals team, entitled, "The Shark's Final Chance to Hunt."  Not only do we love the use of the Shark nickname, but the article also talks positively of Bernadina's chances to leave a mark this spring.

• BABY SHARK ON THE RISE!! Will there be a Shark Rivalry in the Beltway Series?

• It's official, Major League Baseball has added a second Wild Card slot to the playoffs.  This will definitely help the Shark-led Nationals chances to secure it's first berth since coming to DC.

Things are definitely looking up for the Shark and the Nats.  I'm definitely excited for the games to start tomorrow, so we finally see some 2012 Shark Action!

I leave you with a picture of the Shark and his brother Roderick taken at their last family reunion.

Roger and Roderick Bernadina

More to come.