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.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
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.)
It seems like everyone in DC can't stop talking about The Shark.
Adam Kilgore at the Washington Post says:
MASN reported Manager Davey Johnson's thoughts on The Shark:
You don't need to worry, Shark. The odds are ever in your favor.
More to come.
But seriously, Roger "The Shark" Bernadina is ON FIRE!
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| 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.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
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.
More to come.
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.
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| A splitting image of Roger Bernadina |
More to come.
Monday, March 19, 2012
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!
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| 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.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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.
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!
More to come.
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.
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| Dentists remove Bernadina's teeth |
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| Bernadina Fans at a Spring Training game |
More to come.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
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:
The Nats resume their spring schedule tomorrow against the cardinals, with more of the above expected.
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:
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| Explosive, to say the least... |
More to come.