>> bob: that is downtown denver in the distance, loe do is what they call it. you hope they can shake that thing off and play a good ballgame the next day, but it is not happen sog far. >> rob: they're looking sluggish and it could be the altitude, it could be what happened last night. their pitchers are prepared. maybe jordan zimmermann left the field before they took the mound and you can't let it affect you. and you have to play five games

or four games. no, it is five games because you have four regularly scheduled. five games in four days. you have to shake that off. you have to stop worrying about what ballpark you're in and what the lineup is standing in important of you. the bottom line is, this wasn't the greatest hitting team and yet our pitchers were beat before they got to the mound. >> bob: the three who led off with the rockies, and then he becomethird nationals' pitcher of the day. helton is 2-3, a rbi double, a run scored in the fifth. >> rob: it is lard to believe that the same pitching staff that dominated the yankees that want to be better hitting in the major leagues right now. it is arena baseball in new york. they went in there there and

stomped all over the yaks. >> bob: and stopped a toronto ball club right after that that was leading the major league in hits. the nats won two out of three back-to-back series there. >> the stadium is not going to beat you. bad pitch selection, location, those are the thin that will beat you. >> bob: ron villone struggling lately. >> bob: a lead-off walk.

the nats have issued five walks today, and they have given up nine hits. get your red on. get all of the latest nats news, discount offers on face book. join the washington nationals facebook and add tiddy roosevelt as your friend. check out the notes for nats blog. here is atkins 1-3 be with -- with a base hit. he came in hitting .225. >> rob: the only way the nationals are going to get straightened out is in that

clubhouse. the players are going to have to police the o'players and make sure they all bring their a game to the field every day, every hour. >> bob: a pretty good jam there and a little pop-up for anderson hernandez. rob, that's what you talked about last night a guy hitting .225, jammed the heck out of it until he proves he can turn on it and do something with it. >> rob: what you do say is the guy is hitting .225. he is not hitting too many people, so i'm not going to be one of them. when you go out there, you have to have a little bit of an attitude. that guy is standing up there, maybe he can get a hit off of me. no, he is shipping .225. the only reason he is playing today is because they have won the first two games of this series. ms of these guys are back-up players. >> bob: that ball was drilled by tulowitzki to right field

and outta here! and the rockies lead 8-0. >> and the i don't have crockies have just hit their first home run of this series. it looks like a changeup down and away. >> rob: he crushed it to right center field. >> bob: and it is amazing it is 375 out there because the way it goes, it doesn't seem like it. he has the game's biggest hit, a three-run triple the last inning that made it a 2-0 game and now the rockies have tacked on five more runs.

but if you hit the ball to right center, it just jets out of here. not far from where ryan zimmerman hit his three-run home last night. that part of this ballpark, from that shrubbery there, all the way over to where the scoreboard ends, that has always been the jet stream part of this park where the ball just rockets out of here. and villone slips it by spilborghs for the second out here in the sixth.

here is torrealba with a walk and a double. what do you see about ron villone that has turned this thing around after he was so unhittable his first 10, 12 nationals appearances? >> rob: well, he's had trouble working ahead. when he was gifting guys out, it was 0-2, 1-2 on almost every hitter and then he could get the hitters with a good breaking ball and a good changeup down and away on righties, and then that sweeping curve ball to lefties, and when he gets behind, here you can see him get behind 3-0, and he walked helton. the changeup was a little bit too much inside to tulowitzki.

>> bob: 3-1. 17 scoreless innings in his first 19 appearances. high in the air. right field. austin kearns is stalking in, and looking rite into the sun and he makes the catch. tulowitzki atwo-run homer. zimmerman hit a three-run shot last night. and ryan leads off the seventh. . wait for something to happen. for business to pick up. but for you, it's time to kick it in gear. time to get going. time to get tough. take control. you're not gonna run and hide. because backing down's not your style. grab your bag. it's on. ( ding )

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  >> bob: most of the smiling faces are sitting on the first base side today. here is why. there was a good catch and driven in three. jorge de la rosa solid, and troy tulowitzki just made it with his 14th homer just a few moments ago. and top seven. here is zimmerman. the 81st pitch of the day by de la rosa. firestone is is a tradition of innovation. albert pujols is on base more

than anyone in the league, but they said young mr. zimmerman is right behind him. adrian gonzalez, he is in almost category and adam dunn and chase utley of the phillies. 3-0. in the series, a three-run bomb last night and he had a base hit in his first appearance on monday. 3-2. lately when they have been

getting ryan to two strikes, they have been dropping breaking balls, lefties and righties. >> rob: and you asked me about villone, the same thing about our hitters. you eve got all of these teams with their scouts sitting behind home plate watching every pitch on every one of our hitters, watching every pitch at home by every one of our pitchers, and they're ready. good job, guys. there is billy cher, and there is bob up there. i ran into him. he is for the reds. and you have people who are watching everything. and even if they're not scouting the nationals, and they strike out ryan zimmerman. they're just looking to write down their own notes on us anyway. so if you don't adjust. >> bob: and bob gephardt. >> rob: and if you just keep codoing the same thing over and over and over, that gets around. >> bob: and the g.m. here years ago, he was. >> rob: this is a great line behind home plate. >> bob: and we see them in the

media dining room. there's always a scout table so they're constantly exchanging information. it is not like they're ganging up on our ball club. they're doing it to anyone. >> rob: it is their job. they know baseball better than anyone. they can project like a straussberg. that's what they do. they been doing it for 30, 40, 50 years. >> bob: and i think 2 guy in the white ball cap might be cam. >> rob: it can't be. there is no way. i think it is. >> bob: the former g.m. of the pirates. >> rob: yes. those people whoa f know what they're doing. they're watching every move players make. and if you think it is going to get any easier as the season goes on, it is going to get more difficult. >> bob: and right now they're scouting de la rossa. they have the stopwatch on him. 1-9 in the series.

five strikeouts. and that's too tight. 3-1. >> rob: as i said before, there are also scouts that are evaluating for next year. when they go to their winter meeting after the season is over. they go down the list of players on the nationals free agent, guys that they want to trade for, and they see only of the errors that we have been making lately. that has been noted. and then they take notice of that. so if you think o, i'm just going to go through the motions the rest of the year, i have a contract, you may not get a contract next year. you may not be working next year. >> bob: 3-2 to dunn. and he'll take the one-out walk. >> rob: you might want to pick it up a notch. josh willingham homered in every national league ballpark except this one until last night. >> rob: his 10th solo home run.

there you can see it. we couldn't be prouder of mr. womenningham coming back after his brother's death and handling it the way he has. truly a class act. he is great to be around, too. >> bob: when his wife ginger told me in florida exactly what yosh said today, getting back to the ball club, being distracted because you have to concentrate on your work. i know josh is probably going to hang up the spikes sometime in late september, early october and that's when it is going to be tough for him to deal with going back to alabama and john is not going to be there. i lost my father 12 years ago to leukemia and i talked to my mom about it. you never get over it. you're never going to get past

it. you e ear just going to have to deal wit. for him it was his younger brother, 27 years young. >> bob: and before we get there, i said josh, are you talking about your brother being an organ donor. he said as long as we do it at the end. he said i'm not sure how long i can talk about it without losing it. josh did great for us and we appreciate him taking the time because it is so close to him. and that little dog tag you saw him wearing the other day. him wearing the other day.(.ecl) that's for his brother. he had it on during the interview. this is a special young man that the nats brought to this ball club this year. he has walked and flied to center today. i would love to see josh get a home run with somebody actually on base. he is the loneliest home run hitter in baseball this year.

he looked that changeup all the way down and away. two balls and two two strikes. austin kearns is next. that is a fastball up. 3-2. and de la rosa is going to go to dibley here. >> rob: he is getting tired. he has 99 pitches and counting, and it is hot out here today. no air. they suck the air out of the stadium. i'm just kidding. it is just thin air. >> bob: 3-2. willingham will stay alive and chop it foul. >> rob: maybe they can store

energy from the solar panels? >> bob: i wonder where it goes. >> rob: it's got to go somewhere. >> bob: i know. maybe he is running that electronic scoreboard out there. there is a scoreboard with a little auxiliary board next to it. willingham rocks one into left and the nats have their first clean hit since wil nieves got one over the bag beginning the sixth. so it is first and second, one out, and austin kearns coming in. >> rob: there is a nice swing on the ball. head down. and that didn't work anymore. >> bob: that probably got a couple of scouts scribbling. >> rob: hopefully the solar panels are powering up the bats finally. de la rosa, five full counts in the last seven hitters.

bob a daka. -- bob a daka. >> bob: the rockies' bullpen has a seven inning scoreless run going. here is kearns. washington has hit into a double play and struck out. >> rob: i don't even know if he is available today just three days in a row. >> bob: you know the one thing about him, he does not have long ninth innings. >> rob: he pitches to contact. >> bob: yes. one, two, three, both times. he did strike out zimmerman. that is the longest at-bat anyone's had against him. one ball and one strike to

austin kearns who has driven in one run in seven weeks. >> bob: i'm sure he doesn't need the money, but he'd make a fortune if he did. >> rob: it is pretty simple. if you get behind 2-0, you try to get a pop-up. the fastballs, stuff like that. and i just think our young guys are overthinking. steve has tried to simplify it for them. he doesn't want strikeouts. he wants outs, period. whether it is the first pitch or the fifth pitch, get a guy out, period! another long count, 3-1.

>> rob: he is dog a wonderful job. -- doing a wonderful job. >> bob: and the count is full. >> rob: you can only do so much. the players have to execute. >> bob: oh, yeah. the managers will tell you all they can do as a manager is put the right people in the right spots based on their roster to do their job. >> rob: tracy, i watched him do an interview the other day and he say dos you take credit for the suck os of the rockies, blah, blah, blah. no. i let them go out and execute. [no audio ]

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 changeup, 3-2. that will give anderson hernandez a head start

at first. that could come in handy. todd helton will walk way we behind him. so anderson will get a good lead here. >> rob: he would like to get a ball in the gap, even a single. >> bob: the nationals get three runs on only two hits. seventh inning stretch time in an 8-3 game. 

 >> bob: nationals baseball on masn brought to you by southwest airlines. book your next trip at southwest.com. back her auto at coors field, the score is 8-3, the rockies over the nationals. >> rob: tomorrow on home depot covering the bases, we'll cover the bases with josh bard.

and home depot, everything you ever wanted to know about josh bard coming up tomorrow on covering the bases. julian tavarez is the new pitcher for the washington nationals. 39 games, and this will be the 40th for him. >> bob: for the rockies in the seventh carlos gonzales is in the pitcher's spot in the top of the order. well, you have to score three before you can score eight. and if the bullpen can hold down colorado here for six more outs or so, the nats might have a shot. we'll see how it all plays out. carlos gonzales, 2-3 today.

tavarez throws the fist pitch strike. quint nilla is hitting for josh bard. >> bob: his e.r.a. is in the affected. they're all charged to the starter. >> rob: it is his e.r.a. >> bob: yes, it is. 1-2 from tavarez to gonzalez. and he has a pop-up. it took wil nieves a while to find that ball, but it is well behind the screen. they have quite a game in

chicago. 2-1, braves over the cubs, and they're in the ninth inning. cow cammie and zambrano the starters. -- kawakami and zambrano the starters. the cubs just haven't been able to build any kind of win streak this year. they're still the best team on paper in the league. them and the dodgers? >> rob: yeah, i have to give the nod to the dodgers. they played so well on manny ramirez, while he was on suspension. they built a very nice lead in the national league west. >> bob: 23 games over .500 and they're 10-2 against the rockies. >> rob: solid starters, very good young starters, a very good bullpen. >> bob: if the rockies had sprit even with the dodgers, they would only be five out of first place. he scoops it and throws out

gonzales. >> rob: talking to orlando hudson, he say as guy who should be on the all-star team and he says i'd give up my spot, he said juan pierre. he was amazing in manny ramirez's absence. that is the key. the giants have the lead right now. the giants just lost randy johnson. he is out indefinitely. he has a strained left shoulder. >> bob: boy, he really hurt himself swinging the bat, didn't he? that is a if you believe off the leg of omar quintanilla. he is a little guy from high school in el paso. he was traded to the rockies with eric byrnes, the deal back in 2005 for the pitchers joe kennedy and jay las toic. that is a good slider by tavarez and quickly no balls and two strikes. >> rob: knocking at the back

door. >> rob: cork ball. >> bob: and a reminder. the nats are coming home a week from tomorrow after the all- star break. and he's going to have a mandatory team work-out on wednesday evening. it is a short break this year. i know at least the last three years the nats haven't had to play until friday after the break, but the cubs are coming in for four, so your ticket information, 888-62-nats or nationals.com. and go watch adam dunn and the nats take on al finance sew soriano. our old friend now that the cubs are coming. i saw where soriano got dropped to six knot the lineup the other day. >> rob: it is about time. he has about a 50 on-base

percentage. great power guy but not a lead- off hitter. >> bob: it is a lot of money for a one dimensional hitter. >> bob: i think the nats back in 2006 pretty much gathered their resources and were prepared to make a pretty good offer to alfonso soriano, somewhere in the area of $13, $14 million a year and then the cubs just came along and blew everybody out of the water and the nats are looking somewhere between $10 to $14 for a four or five-year deal. and that one drops in important of nyjer morgan and dexter fowler has his  

they have a number two hitter with 43 runs batted in. clint barmes is one of the best guys in the lead in that spot. he can give himself runners, but he can also drive some in. here is todd helton. and really when you look at the nats' bullpenno excuses. they have lots of rest toward the end of last week into this week because the starters were going pretty deep, ease pcialtly lannan and olson for two consecutive days and then stanen who pitched seven full innings here monday night.

2-1. >> rob: we're not the only ball club that has trouble in the bullpen. now they're going through it. they made the point before the game. oliver perez is pitching for the mets tonight. >> bob: that's how bad it has gotten for them. the nationals announced this morning that matt chico is now done with his medical rehab and now he is pitching. he is about to be pitching at double-a harrisburg. 2-2 to todd helton and the nationals are a little outside.

the 2-2 pitch right here. you have to go back door on helton. the cubs are coming to colorado for a four-game series starting here tomorrow. and they're back to .500. and if mr. helton doesn't swing, it's not a strike. he's at first base with two outs and garrett atkins will be the hitter. and the cubs' fist half of the season 41-40. that would have to be,

convenient though they're in the race, that would have to be one of the biggest underachieving performances in major league baseball. >> rob: the cubs could have bought a small country for what they have paid their free agents the last few years. >> bob: my, my. >> rob: a couple of division wins, but after that, nada. >> bob: and the ball club is selling for just under a billion. just $100million. >> rob: think when john henry first bought the red sox. they bought the red sox after they had been losers for about 80-something years for close to $700 million. >> bob: and the cubs going for 900. i just wonder what the maintenance costs are every year for wrigley field. i bet that place is not cheap to keep up.

0-# to atkins who is 1-4 today. the marlins are behind in the eighth inning in san francisco, 4-0 this afternoon that's the other n.l. east team in action. the ball gets away, but the runners don't advance. i think what happened is clint barmes looking in from second base lost sight of the ball.

>> bob: 2-2. he got him on a hard sinker. the rockies strand a couple. the top of the order in the eighth. morgan with all of that speed, gonzales and zimmerman. 

  >> bob: let's have a look at some of our geico highlights today. and spilborghs who late, and he would drive in three. and it is a triple and he nailed morgan way back in the early part of the game. >> rob: well, nyjer tried to make something happen early in the ballgame. spilborghs made a great, great throw. >> bob: that is not a bad force out. >> rob: no, not at all. >> bob: facing the rocky right- hander matt daley who has made 19 appearances, a high e.r.a.

he has kind of an odd set - -- set-up. he is kind of a side winder. he was born in the area of old shea stadium, the flushing part of new york and he is a rookie for the rockies. morgans at that one. nyjer is hitting 2-3. he is now 7-23 as a nat. quintanilla stays in to play third base on the switch. morgan slaps one that will fall in left center. he's got to be thinking two here. all right. isn't he fun 20 watch? >> rob: yes, he is. don't look too fast. he'll slide by the bag. >> bob: he is 8-24 for morgan

with the lead-off double here in the eighth. he was at second base before we knew it. >> rob: well, the sinking fastball to left center and -- center field and he is off to the races. let's check this out. he has world class speed right there. >> bob: if he had to grab the bat he would have been in short left field. >> rob: or the south pole. i don't think either one of us knows what it is like to run like that. >> bob: it is fun to watch that's why speed never slumps. >> rob: the one thing about deion sanders, how fast he was from first to third. he never moved his arms. he ran almost like someone would climb a wall or a building, and he would warily

put his feet on the ground ground, he was so fast. >> bob: and with him it was how do you get him on first base? >> rob: absolutely. how do you get him on base? >> bob: i remember in his early days with the yankees, they were calling him freeon deion because he was just so cold with the bat, but when he got on base. alberto gonzalez is 1-3 today. >> rob: and one of the things about deion, he is one of my favorite teammates of all time. all of the show with all of the media, but behind the closed doors he is one of the best teammates. >> bob: good to know because we don't get the see that. >> rob: and one of the happiest guys. i remember one year i tore up my shoulder. he knew i had a fishing boat so every morning about 6:00 a.m., do you want to go fishing? >> rob: sure, deion. as soon as i can open my eyes. i'm down the street.

we'd go fishing. and i fished -- i fish about as well as i golf, which is not good. it was time well spent. >> bob: yes. >> rob: that's all he has ever said. he want as fishing show. fishing with deion. >> bob: gonzalez is trying to take that ball to right field. oh, flue. rocky hazing! the pink backpack to the bullpen! >> rob: he probably has gum and candy in there. that's so cool. what is that? dora the explorer? i have to figure out what it was on the back of the backpack. i had to do all of that stuff. >> bob: he's an old veteran. he has been up since the end of april. >> rob: and the trick to it is, too, depending upon the old ballparks, like say veteran

stadium. you used to have to go from the bullpen to get the soda from the mid to feel game and that was dangerous because you had to make it in and out by the time the two and a half minutes was up. you didn't want to be caught in the dug-out because if you had to get out to the bullpen you couldn't get out there. >> bob: you have to make sure the fanatic is done with his routine. >> rob: phenomenal. >> bob: a good battle here with gonzalez who was behind in the count 0-2. and he'll hit his ball to left center. morgan is going to tag woutfielder going back, he is going to go to third base. he's there with one out. ryan zimmerman with an rbi opportunity in a moment. johnny holliday, ray knight in the studio. "nats xtra" presented by verizon fios. and i was taking a quick peek at ross detwiler's number

numbers. i'm sure ray will break them down and have some of the same thoughts about pitch selection as you. john lannan and russ ortiz in the league lar game tomorrow night. so that's all coming up when we're done here at coarse field, the fastball up and in to ryan zimmerman. oh-fer three today and 2-12 in the series, looking for his 51st rbi. ryan is still just two hit ace way from 100. >> rob: the cubs, and the father, joseph rick et, the founder of amer trade and tom rick etc. is the ceo of capital l. l., one of four siblings that are

the owners of the cubs. they are the ones with the $9 hurch million bid for the cubs. >> bob: it took a while to figure it out. >> rob: yes. and joseph rick etc. would not allow -- the father, would not allow them to work at amer trade until they were 30 years old. just go out and do it on your own. >> bob: zimmerman bounces one out to tulowitzki. that's as good as a sac fly there. it works and the nat haves their fourth run of the day. kids be sure to sign up for the nats, the poe tom mack nationals' baseball camp. it is scheduled july 27-29. a great way for young fans to improve their skills. hands-on from favorite nats players and coaches. it is open to boys and girls 8- 14 and it includes instruction and t-shirt and lunch. two tickets for the nationals

game july 29. you can call or log on to potomacnationals.com. >> rob: it is only 30 minutes away. >> bob: so zimmerman does get his 51st rbi. and here is adam dunn who has driven in 59. so ryan zimmerman is right close to 100-rbi pace. -- to a 100-rbi pace. and we have stats to the suspended game that haven't been added to the totals yet for the nationals. zimmerman has an rbi in that game. >> rob: doesn't he have a home run in that game? >> gary: guzman and dukes and josh willingham has an rbi in that game that has yet to be added. and as does anderson hernandez.

i still laugh every time i think of adam dunn bunting and he said you're already out of the game. you can't play. he is like what? i can't play? he had already appeared in the game. the nats get a run on the morgan double, the zimmerman grounder and it is 9-4. ♪ yeah! announcer: there's having it done. then there's doing it yourself and saving. it's about sawdust in your boots. paint in your hair.

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  >> it is the bottom of the eighth inning here at coors field and colorado is in control 8-3. -- 8-4. >> and he has been on fire. he has knocked in four. he now has six home runs with 11 rbi's. and he leads in every nearly atlantic category including home runs, runs bat t -- batted in. and so a good one to keep an eye on down in hagerstown, bob? >> bob: he is considered the top overall catching prospect in the system and baseball america rated him the number six overall prospect at any position with the washington organization. thank you for that update and well done. and into the bottom of the eighth. it will be helton, tulowitzki and julian tavarez. toll wit ski, torrealba, pardon

me, with tavarez still in the game. by the way, we were just made aware of something which i suspected earlier. an error was taken off the total of troy tulowitzki last night a base hit. here is our ford drive of the game, the two-run homer back in the sixth. do you remember that play when he couldn't get the ball out of his glove? >> rob: there is no way that was a hit. 'boy they change it to a hit. i'm glad ryan zimmerman get as hit. >> rob: if you're a gold glover, you make that play. that's how they grade you. >> bob: that is pretty lame. they want to make a run for him to get the gold glove.

>> rob: you be the gum. >> bob: you tell us if this is a hit or an error. you be the judge. now, if that is a hit, ryan zimmerman is going to win the batting title. and if -- >> rob: and if that is a hit, then the ball that willie harris never got a glove on should be a hit. >> bob: exactly. zimmerman has that one as ryan snow board's bat barrels. one out here. so ryan zimmerman came to town monday with 95 hits so they had already added that total in there overnight, so he does have 98.

>> rob: he'll take it. torrealba 1-3 today with an rbi double and a walk. >> bob: the bouncer left side. zimmerman cuts it. hernandez ref lays it and down the line quickly and torrealba is pretty quick for a catcher. it will be a 5-4 fielder's

choice. and the hitter will be carlos gonzales now with two outs and a runner at first. in the ninth, the nat also have willingham, kearns and hernandez due up. they will be down by at least five. that ball is drilled to center. and morgan going back and back and back, and he slams into the wall. torrealba scores. gonzalez to third, and he has a single, double double and triple today. >> rob: well, mike rizzo, the general manager for the

nationals, signed carlos gonzales. he got three hits today including a triple, a double and a sings l. she a home run short of the cycle. he has raised his average up to about .220. he easily cruised into third. he has great speed show a big kid. >> bob: he hit that ball and morgan did nothing wrong. and he just nearly missed it. here is quintanilla again. he grounded out to dunn and here is tavarez again with two outs and unable to close out a scoreless inning. >> rob: he shot out of here yesterday, the line drive.

>> bob: running, sinking fastball. >> rob: all 10 runs have scored on extra-base hits today. >> bob: 14 ways hits. last night jordan zimmermann, four innings, they gave up the hour hits and lose and today ross detwiler and four-plus, and they have given up 10 runsen 14 hits now. >> rob: the starters they have definitely gotten better. their e.r.a. >> bob: a reminder, tomorrow night we eel join you from

houston 7:00 eastern time with the resumption of the suspended game. and the regularly scheduled game. the eighth inning is over. the rockies pick up another run and lead the nats 10-4 into the ninth. 

 >> bob: the nationals are three outs away from being swept right down the stream for the colorado -- by the c. crockies. tomorrow night, after the suspended game has been decided, john lannan throws for russ ortiz. lannan is 6-5. he's 3-0 career against the astros. he is definitely the leader of the pack right now. russ ortiz, he's back. he has a 4.11 e.r.a. >> rob: it is the clubhouse spring training. >> bob: yes. he has made 19 appearances. nine starts to r the astros and the opponents hitting .266 against him. >> rob: and he didn't do so well coming out of spring training. >> bob: a breaking ball fouls it. quickly 0-2. >> rob: by the way, did you see john lannan jump other r over the fence with the celebration?

>> bob: yeah. >> rob: ryan dempster did that with the cubs and broke his toe and he is now out for a month. i have the talk to him on the flight. no more jumping the fence stuff. >> bob: and he tried to pull that ball. >> rob: i'm going to go out there and con graduate my teammates. oh, i broke my toe. >> bob: they're not congratulating anyone ton third base side of the cubs today. the braves beat the cubs 4-1. florida has closed out a 7-0 shut-out of the giants in san francisco. hole staid, the staller there today and rod row ghee for the phillies and perez at home against the dodgers. 0-2 to womenningham here in the ninth. -- willingham here in the ninth. josh has a walk, in this series

4-10. he's been on base five times. he has a homer, his 10th of the year, and he has a seven-game hitting streak. 13 of his last 14 ballgames. the ball is up. he can't get to it. one out. >> rob: the 0-2 pitch here. quickie fastball, 92 miles per hour. up and in. next up is austin kearns. 

 anderson hernandez next and the fastball is right by kearns. two outs. verizon fios, "nats xtra" straight ahead. johnny holliday and ray knight, and what ended up as a pretty decent home stand has turned into the disappointment of the three-game sweep here of the rockies. >> rob: that is the ninth strikeout today for the nationals. >> and right now they're

throwing strikes. #. >> bob: the nats will fall to 9- 32 on the road. this one on the right side. three hours and three minutes. all rockies. think sweep the nats a-10-4 verdict today. back with more in a moment. because backing down's not your style.

grab your bag. it's on. ( ding ) >> johnny holiday and ray knight. "nats xtra" postgame coming up in a few minutes. this one not starting the way we envisioned. >> no, johnny. last night it was just a throw

away game. detwiler just didn't have it. hi didn't have any control from the get go and they were swinging the bat from the start. 14 hits. we had six walks. >> and we also had three errors in this ballgame. we'll talk about anytime a couple of seconds. let's go back out to bob and rob. >> bob: thank you, gentlemen. as johnny said, not the way we envisioned this road trip getting off to a start after the nats had played pretty well. the rockies sweep it. we'll be back with you tomorrow night at 7:00, the continuation of the suspended game and then the nats-astros at 8:05. visit masn.com for all of the news on the nats. this has been a parennation of masn. rob and i will see you tomorrow night from houston! >> welcome in, everybody.

johnny holliday and ray knight, "nats xtra" post-game. this is brought to you by verizon fios. they got blown out by a score of 10-4 in denver. look at the three errors. we talked about that in our pregame. the pitching wasn't there. just one of those let's just get out of town and start from scratch! >> yeah, john. this ballpark is tough to play in, especially the first time a lot of these pitchers never having thrown there. you can tell just throws away from contact. six walks today. three errors. 14 base hits that is 20 guys you alloy on base. you don't win many of those ballgames. >> when you talk about a defining moment, the rockies were up 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth and then they bust thins open in that inning. >> they did. and starting with base hits all over the field. and three guys on base, and then nice swing on a fastball

down in. and the bases clearing trip toll make it 5-0. they added another run in that inning. so pretty much by the fifth inning the game was blown open. the sad thing about it is we're facing a guy that gives up five- plus run as game. it is clear 5.55 and de la ressa and we didn't do anything against him. we finally put together a little bit of offense against other pitchers, but he shut us down allowing only four hits. >> he gets his sixth one of the year. detwiler ser still winless. he is 0-5. rockies 10-14-0. the nationals 4-7-3. nyjer morgan has a heck of a good day, 3-4, a double, scored a run. hernandez goes 1-4 acould believe of runs driven in. tulowitzki of colorado, 3-4 with a homer that is his 14th and spilborghs had the big trip that will cleared the bases, and the rockies get the room broom out and sweep the nats. i believe that is the seventh

series sweep the ball club has suffered this year. so it is on now to houston to begin a series tomorrow night down there. when you talk about ross detwiler, the last two games, ray, what has happened to him? he has really been off track. >> he has not had any control, johnny. h has 11.72 earned run average off the top of my head. he has given up -- let me look to make sure. 15 runs and -- in 12 innings. that is a 13.82 earned run average. he just has not been able to throw strikes. let me see what he has done today against colorado. not much. >> and the lead-off hitter, he walked. you just cannot do that. then a though adam should have come up with. and todd helton who had almost 500 doubles, about his 200 in the gap out to left center field, the third one we have seen in this series to drive in the first run of the ballgame. and then in the fourth, one

out. gonzales doubles down the line. and then after de la rosa k., fowler doubles. and a gallant effort by morgan as he gets back there. you can see how this ball just carries. you talk about a fast one. that is an airport out there. he has so much ground to cover there is no way for him to get to that ball. and atkins singles. a little bloop over second base. and here they followed that with a walk. and tulowitzki is loading the bases, and we know many this ballpark with those big gaps -- that's what he did all day. >> up and away. >> and still he works the count to 2-1. he rips the fastball down and in. and down the baseline. he puts the ballgame out of reach. >> and he's always thrown across his body. and when you don't finish by reaching down and basically

touching the ground, there's no way that the ball is not going to finish up and away, running away on the right-handed hitter. when you throw across your body, you must finish and it just didn't look like to me he has been able to finish his last three games. he is kind of cutting off his delivery. >> and detwiler, four innings. eight hits. the three walks, the three strikeouts, and the pitches, and he had 52 of those for strikes. on the other hand, jorge de la rossa shuts out the nationals. he is a slider to dunn. and then he starts off with the fastball. from this point on he threw changeups. changeups down bouncing. a changeup down to strikeout morgan. and another changeup down to strike out kearns. another changeup down to strike out belliard. you're going to see these pitches in succession here.

here is a changeup. and everybody is jumping out of there. he throws it 91, 92. he has always been a guy who gives up 10 hits a game in his career, 5.50 earned run average. it is not just the good guys that shut us down, sometimes these guys that are in the bottom of the rotation, the number five guy in the rotation can shut us down also. >> that lead-off batter, nyjer morgan, 3-4 today. gonzalez with a base hit, willingham with a base hit and same for hernandez and wil nieves and the nats come up short losing it and they got pounded today 10-4 by the rockiesment we'll continue more op of our nats' extra postgame brought to us by our good friends at verizon fios. stay with us. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not! he's just goofing.

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>> "nats xtra" post-game show on masn brought to you in part by verizon fios. over 100 hd channels and the

fastest internet. this is fios and this is big! 10-4, the final today out at coors field in denver, colorado. the rockies taking the broom out and sweeping the nationals. off they go to houston and you started today to take a little chart of pluses and minuses. i must give you a plus for that outfit, coat and tie. spectacular! but in the ballgame, there were some minuses once again, and you had recorded in this ballgame in the fist inning. in the second inning, and in the third inning, and you can't have more minuses than pluses. >> you can't. we had three pluses today, that i thought a little line drive base hit, two strikes, and a hit and run and then the sac fly actually. what happened, helton hits the ground ball to first aroutine ground ball and ends up adding two pitches. the next hitter he was able to get it out, but that should aren been the second out of the inning. and then he walks three on an 0- 2 pitch. four extra pitches there. he comes back and there are two

extra pitches. and he has six pitches there. and then he walks fowler on the 0-2 pitch. he took him even extra pitches to get the oh out, plus he throws the ball away. there on that error that they gave to adam. and so you can just see the little thins that we don't do -- it cost us two runs but what it ended up doing, double to left field. and it ended up costing 13 pitches in those first three innings. he ended up throwing 20 pitches per inning today. he was out of there in the fifth inning. those little things that we don't do stretches that pitcher out, and it becomes so pitch efficient and it is not always the pitcher. i mean, he has the two walks there. but it is the little thins, and the consequences of that is you're only going to go five innings. so we're going to start doing a little better break dunn on that and pointing out the thins that happen in the show why we don't play good fundamental baseball and just point out those little things and make them pluses and minuses.

>> the pluses and minuses you record, that obviously is the same thing manny acta and steve are writing down, fellows, to the pitching staff? >> they write there in their mind. i know as a manager you always know what happens. there is a little thing that goes off in your mind. you played so much baseball, johnny, everything that you do is about baseball. you do see thins other people don't see. and you see him, and he goes back to the mound and he just throws the ball and throws the pitch there. before you know it it is 3-2. he walks the guy. the next guy hit as bomb. so you go back to that 1-2 pitch when he just missed. the umpire may have missed a call and it is a negative. it is a small inside-the-game type thing. when the ground ball is hit to shortstop, with a runner on first and you don't turn the double play, although you get an out alot of people say that's all right that's okay. when a runner is on second and third and you hit a ground ball infield out and you're down

five runs, somebody is patting you on the back for driving in that run? that is no good. you need to drive in both of those runs. so those kind of things you have to have greater expectations to create greater situations. >> and the nats drove in no runs the first six innings and they finally got do the board with a little offense in the seventh and they also tack one on in the eighth inning. you can take a look at how they got those three runs in the seventh. >> adam walked. willingham had a good series. five times he was on base. he ripped the base hit to left field. he guilty a base hit last night with a walk and then hernandez, and he will give us two runs. this is clearly the only threat of the game. and knife ease, he get as good pitch and he drives to left field. and he gets the sacrafice fly. that has to be a plus. we haven't been able to do that. so we're able to put the two, three runs on the board there to make it 8-3. but we never had a chance.

>> ever since nyjer morgan has joined the ball club, he is getting the hits, causing half okay on the base path. he is running down balls. he barely missed one over his head in center field, and he had three of the seven hits today for this ball club. >> and that is good. >> it starts off with an infield hit. anytime you have an infield hit gets the defense back, that is something, a baseball play, and that is a plus. and then we had a hit and run right behind that. he got thrown out at third which i thought was a good, aggressive play. and then he slaps the ball to third base. ken griffey jr., all nyjer has to do is put the ball on the ground and make contact and he'll do that. then he hits the ball nice to center field and he easily coasts to second base. and i think the more that you see him the better we'll be. you just can't get down four, five runs by the fourth, fifth inning and have a chance to win with this ball club.

there are guy miss . the middle of the lineup that strikeout. we don't make enough contact in the middle of the lineup. >> 2 one thing about him, he'll battle the pitchers. he'll give you a good at-bat every time he is s thereupon. >> he will. he got two strikes. he choked up. he waited. two balls off the plate and then he guy saw he was waiting there and busting him inside and he froze him. but he is going to learn. he understands the game. as i often refer to my dad, bless his heart, he's a ballplayer. he knows how to play the game. >> he sure does. we'll talk about a couple of other games today in major league baseball. the braves an cubs. they went at it. we have highlights. the nats fall in denver today 10-4 to colorado. for business to pick up. but for you, it's time to kick it in gear. time to get going. time to get tough. take control.

you're not gonna run and hide. because backing down's not your style. grab your bag. it's on. ( ding )

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braves -- oops, they take a quick 1-0 lead. now the top of the sixth. casey kotchman get as held of one. it is a two-run cushion enough for the broadways to win it. and wilson is hitting .418 in his last 15 games. and in san francisco today on the coast. top of the fourth, no score. and jorge cantu scores and jeremy hermida gunned down at the plate. 1-0, florida. and volstad in the jam. and volstad forcingish caw what for a double play. top of the five, the runner at third and bonifacio skies one to center. volstad attempts to help himself. the sac fly gives the marlins the 2-2 lead and they win the ballgame. volstad, a complete game shut- out that is the first of his career and what a career this

guy is going to have. he is some 22 years of age. a nice win now. let's go now to manny acta talking about this ballgame, the loss to the rockies in denver. >> yeah, he had no command of any of his pitches, but i don't know if he was intimidated by the altitude and he didn't throw no breaking balls that is a big pitch for him b's his curve ball. perhaps he didn't feel like he could throw for strikes. he still needs the throw it. >> how taxing has this series been on your bullpen? >> it wasn't so bad because of the job that they did the first day and because of how those guys pitch. and so our bullpen was pretty fresh. and it was okay. but it is just disappointing the way we played against the braves at home and come over here and play this way. >> and is it maybe time to get detwiler learning a little bit back in the minor ? >> i get the guys here and i

play them. we all know that this kid was not going to ever five days going to cruise here. he was pitching in a ball last year so we have to take that into consideration. >> what was the most disappointing thing about this series? >> well, the fact that, you know, we played so well over there and we felt that we was going to score a few more runs than we did over here coming in here, and we didn't. >> was the release point, was it for ross again oh today? >> when you don't throw strikes, your release point is part of it, obviously. even in the first two innings when he got out of it, he was a little bit erratic. >> manny, three more errors today. what are you seeing there defensively? >> well, tw of them were by adam and we didn't bring adam here to play defense. we brought him for his 40th home run and rbi's which he is going to get. so, you know, just it has been part of our team for the season

so far. >> and how tough was de la rosa up until the seventh inning today. >> good stuff. this guy, he pitched very well against us last year, too. he was pitch manager the mid 90s with a good changeup and slider. he has a good repertoire so when he throws strikes, he's tough. and he threw strikes today. so he got us that inning. >> and one thing about adam dunn, the guy plays wherever manny acta wants him 20 play. he is not a first baseman. everybody knows that. >> attitudewise you want 25 guys like dunn. he is challenged defensively. but you're going to be challenged at first base. you go from the outfield to the infield and it is not an easy place to play. you to be able to take enough ground balls. if he worked over there enough -- i really think that is his position. he is 6 '6". he'll play well over periods of time. he has just never had a shot to play over there over a long period of time. and i believe take he would be better if he played over there more. >> and the nat also fly tonight from denver to houston to begin

a series against the astros tomorrow night and john lannan will get the ball from manny acta, the left-hander. the ace of the staff. we'll hear from ross detwiler when we come back with more "nats xtra" postgame! how far can you see?

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welcome pack -- welcome back, everybody. "nats xtra" postgame brought to you by verizon fios. the final is 10-4 as the rockies knock off the nationals. there you see a beautiful scene of mile high denver, colorado. the upcoming schedule tomorrow night, the continue os of the suspended game starts at 7:05, and the regularly scheduled game will take place after that. ray andly be with you after the suspended game against -- gets completed. that is the one from may 5. it was 10-10 in 2 bottom of the 11th, one out and the nats batting and elijah dukes was on first. and you can see the astros' pitcher troy hawkins was on the mound. he will be allowed to pitch if houston sees him and we have a plethora of guys available for

this game tomorrow night, the continuation game. >> and we know that, and clippard wasn't here and burnett was not here and i'm not sure ifberg map was here. that is three pitchers -- pitchers. >> it is academic. >> because we're the home team and that takes care of that. we hope you'll be with us tomorrow night starting at 7:00. and then the regular game will start after that, the regularly scheduled game. what happened with ross detwiler today? his explanation from the clubhouse. >> well, you know, i was getting ahead of some people and then just not finishing them off, and, you know, i was leaving some pitches up and i got hit. >> and the fastball? >> and you were in some pretty

good stretches. [ inaudible ] >> for the most part, yes, and there were some pitches that were left to the release point. [ inaudible ] >> did you feel good at all in your bullpen session before the game? >> yeah, it was fine and in between innings i was warming up and the curve ball, and just what it came down to is i didn't execute it. >> and was the altitude a factor at all a factor in your mind? >> no, i don't think so. >> were you trying to get a command and feel for thins every five days, is it tough to do that in this setting? >> i'm making mistakes. i think that is the big difference.

if you make a mistake, they're going to make you pay for it. >> 77 of your 89 pitches were fastballs. any reason for not going to some of the off-speed stuff? >> i just don't think i had great command of my off-speed stuff today and you go with what you had. >> and you can see that ross wasn't exactly thrilled to be talking to us. >> i don't blame him either. it shows concern for the young guy. >> and they just got to learn that these people ask him questions, johnny, and they will. it is just like anything else. you just got to express what you feel. you're so afraid of saying something as a young player. but, you know, he's not happy. how can he be? the difference between a veteran pitcher and a guy like ross, you'll go do that breaking ball. it is not going to take you 70 of them to decide to go to something different. it just seems like these young guys get stuck on that one pitch and they throw one breaking ball and it doesn't

look good do them and they leave it. you can't do that. you have to pitch with three pitches as a starter. you can't pitch with two as a starter. you might as well start developing that breaking ball. when it doesn't feel good, you better find it. when i'm hitting i have seen them have a terrible breaking ball the first inning, a terrible in the third. by the time they get to the fifth or sixth, they have worked it out and they can get you out with it. >> and there is a guy who has worked things out because she the ace of the staff. there he is. john lannan starts tomorrow night in houston. [ and he has a 2.370 earned run average. and his earned run average is down to 3.45. he has done a great job for us. >> and then russ ortiz, the guy you faced, will be pitching for the astros tomorrow night. >> oh, man! >> that is a pretty good. and he was bounced around. he actually has seven appearances, and he just started in the rotation,

johnny, june 11, four starts and he pitched very well for them. >> and you mentioned when you asked who is pitching for houston and the name russ ortiz, he says he is still pitching? so he has been around a little bit. >> he has been around a while. he is a big stud with the giants. he hurt his should, lost his confidence, but they had him in the bullpen and he has pitched lights out and now they have inserted him in the starting rotation. >> this is not the way you want to start the second half of the season with a loss. there is nothing you can do about that except let's work and take some games down in houston and get it rolling after the all-star break. >> we just have to play better. we've said it all year. i think it is individual commitment. >> and we all start tomorrow night at 7:00. we hope you'll be here on masn hd. for ray knight, johnny holliday, good night!

>> the mets are collapsing as of late, just like they did at the end of the two previous seasons, although we're in the middle of this one. adam ruben, mets beat writer for the "new york daily news," joins us now break down what's happening in new york. adam, theningry-riddled mets have lost four straight, not even scoring a run in the last 22 innings. how deep do their woes run? >> i mean, it is very bad right now. i guess the positive thing is they'll spare their fans grief at the end of the year, but as you mentioned, they haven't scored since saturday when fernando nieve drove in a run. it's not confident it's going to get much better tonight withr oliver perez returning from a two-month absence on the mound with a 9.97 e.r.a. >> it seems the mets are battered physically but also mentally after yesterday's loss to the dodgers.

david wright said, "i just think we stink right now." he went on to say, "we're not playing very good baseball. i don't think anybody's having very much fun right now." not a good sign. what's the mood in the clubhouse? >> they're trying to stay positive, but there is realization setting in they don't have the bullets to compete with the teams they're playing. they struggled against the phillies. the dodgers no easy task. david wright is bearing the brungts of it. he's being asked to do a lot, probably trying to do too much. he went 0-11 over the weekend against the phillies and was hitless again yesterday. it's a tough go for david. his average has plummeted from the league best down to the .320s. >> they lost 8-0 to the dodgers. game two is this evening. adam rubin, appreciate your insight. thank you. >> thanks, michele. >> big news out of toronto. j.p. ricciardi making it no secret he's shopping roy halladay. we welcome in the blue jays' beat writer for the "toronto

star." morgan, what's the latest on the halladay situation? >> the latest is j.p. ricciardi is still open to the possibility of trading halladay, but i think you need to qualify that statement. it's not like he's shopping. he said he'll listen to offers, and he wants a lot. he's not going to trade him for one guy or two guys. he's going to want some big league ready prospects and some guys for the future. he's open to the possibility, but he want a lot. from year to year i think ricciardi is always willing to listen to offers. whether or not he's going the act on them is something different. i think the bigger change is coming from halladay because halladay... this has been the issue that's surrounded him all season. he hasn't really talked about it until yesterday. you know, when he said, look, i would love to stay in toronto, but i really want the win, as well, and i realized these two goals aren't always compatible, so i think the big change is in

halladay and the sort of shift in his attitude that he's now willing to think about playing someplace else, even though he reiterated toronto would be the number-one option. it's still a possibility. he might wind up playing someplace else. >> morgan, if he's willing the play someplace else and j.p. ricciardi is listening to offer, what's the likelihood this guy actually gets dealt? >> that's a good question. it's going to depend on... i think what the blue jays have to decide between now and the trade deadline is if they're going to be buyers or sellers, if they think they can make the playoffs in '09 or 2010 with the nucleus of the team they have right now, or will they have to rebuild? the moment they decide they have to rebuild, that's the moment they have to figure out how to get as much as they can in exchange for halladay. i get the impression from talking to halladay, and he wasn't subtle about hinting that he would rather the blue jays rebuild without him than rebuild around him.

so once the jays figure out what they want to do with this club, they may want to stick with this group and go forward into 2010. they may be able to hang on the halladay. but they got to kings halladay they can win, because if they can't convince him they can win, then he probably doesn't stick around after 2010. >> morgan campbell from the "toronto star," thanks so much for the time, morgan. >> no problem. >> now for the angels' perspective on a possible move, we bring in bill shaken, national baseball writer for the "los angeles times." bill, the angels right now are sharing the lead in the a.l. west with texas. tetell us how likely they are to make a push for roy halladay. >> they've already started to look into it. the question being how many pieces would you have to give up from the major league team to get a guy like that. do you create more holes than you solve in making a deal like that. >> who do you think the deal would center around? >> well, the blue jays have given off mixed signals to

different teams. clearly they want a lot in return. there are some reports they want a shortstop. there are others they want pitching. they're going to want a lot. and they have good pitching deptd beyond halladay, so it's not as if they're disaster that they can't rebuild for five years from now. they want some guys that can help them and help them soon. you're looking at the best hitting prospect, the best pitching pros prospects probably from any organization and for the angels that would be brandon wood, the shortstop and third baseman, and the pitcher would depend on who they like but certainly sean oh sullivan, a right-hander that helped the angels this year would be one guy. their double a left-hander would be another. >> what else is the team exploring leading up to the trade deadline? >> what they'd really like to get, what they think they have mar realistic chance to get is a relief pitcher. their bullpen has been awful this year. it's been a little better as of late, but their plan was to have scot shields, their trusty setup

man and perhaps escobar be the bridge to fuentes. escore bar is hurt and possibly out for the season. shields is hurt for the season. they'd like to get somebody with some experience in that role. >> we shall keep a close eye. bill shaikin from the "los angeles times." thank you so much for joining us, bill. >> thank you. >> well, still to come, from the mountain west to the b.c.s. they've agreed to something. we'll tell you what it is as we keep you current

>> after being left out of the official b.c.s. formula for years, the mountain west conference announced today it would sign a contract to become a member of the b.c.s. elite. the mountain west had complained for years that it was not part of the college football formula that automatically competes for a b.c.s. national championship. just yesterday the senate held a hearing to discuss the legality of the b.c.s. here's what to watch for tonight

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quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. reid mr. president? the presiding officer: mr. majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. reid i understand we are in morning business. the presiding officer: the senator is correct. reid i ask unanimous consent on monday, july 13, after the prayer and pledge and leader

remarks the senate proceed to calendar number 89, s. 1390, department of defense authorization bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i would no now ask that morning business be closed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i appreciate everyone's cooperation. as i've said, on a number of occasions here, it may not appear that a lot of work is being done, but we've got committee action take place. we've got a lot of work on health care today. we've had energy meetings today involving six committee chairs. then we're trying to figure out

how we can proceed into next week. so i appreciate everyone's patience. now, what is the pending business? the presiding officer: h.r. 2892. mr. reid: is that the homeland security appropriations bill? the presiding officer: yes. mr. reid: mr. president, i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the byrd substitute amendment, number 1373, to h.r. 2892, the homeland security appropriations act, for fiscal year 2010, signed by 17 senators as follows: reid of nevada, murray -- mr. reid: i ask that the reading of the names be waived. officer sphe. the e presiding officer: without

objection. mr. reid: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on h.r. 2829, the homeland security appropriations act for fiscal year 2010, signed by 17 senators as follows: mr. reid: i ask, mr. president, consent -- unanimous consent that the reading of the names be vitiated, waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i also ask consent that the mandatory quorum with respect to these cloture motions be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent on thursday, july 9, when the senate resumes consideration of h.r. 2892, there be 10 minutes of debate prior to a vote in relation to the kyl ale 1432 with the time equally between senators tester

and kyl, upon the use or yielding back of the time, the senate proceed to vote in relation to amendment number 1432. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to a period of morning business, with senators aplowed to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kaufman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. kaufman: mr. president, this week many clashes have erupted between the minority uighur community and the equity nick group in china. reports indicate that the chinese government has responded with a heavy hand deploying police and paramilitary troops, establishing a curfew, closing mosques, cutting off internet and mobile phone access and rounding upped and arresting innocent civilians. the state-control media reported

that at least 156 chinese citizens have been killed. more than 1,000 have been injured and approximately 1,400 have been arrested since the clashes began earlier this week. i am deeply concerned about ongoing tension in china and believe that loss of life, suppression of freedom and violations of basic human right suns conscionable in china and anywhere else in the world. today i call on all parties to demonstrate restraint, end the violence, cease persecution of minorities, and protect fundamental human rights. i also call on the chinese government to open internet and mobile phone access, end jamming of international broadcasting and lift the grave and growing restrictions on the press. we all know that independent djourningalists have been censored for decades in china, a fact painfully evident as we try to understand how recent demonstration metastasized into violence in china. according to the state

department report on human rights for 2009, the chinese government has increased cultural and religious oppression of ethnic minority including the muslim uighurs t appears the as tensions rose, members of the uighur community took the streets resulting in a crackdown on sun daism the exact circumstances by which violence transpired remains unclear. largely because the government sensors information including the official number of casualties. in what can only be described as questionable, these numbers have remained stagnant for the past two days despite ongoing violence and civil unrest. in recent year, the chinese government has demonstrated great efficiencicy in monitoring the internet and restricts web sites such as facebook, mysparkes twitter, utube, blogs and other outlets to monitor the free exchange of ideas. use of jamming of the internet

and the voice of america and radio free asia. in shin gong specifically, it shut down more than 90 uighur internet forums, and cut off internet and mobile phone access in the past week. in fact the top community official in the capital of shinjong province confirmed that the government cut off internet access to the region. because of such limitations, the population now believes that the uighurs are solely responsible for the ongoing arrests. such misperceptions have elevated the level of ethnic tension. by creating a vacuum of information in and out of the city, the chinese government has exa. certificate bated the crisis. while the casualty numbers remain uncertain, it is clear that recent developments have incurred an immeasurable human toll, including but not limited to the loss of innocent liven lives. there have been pickets of children in hospitals who have been forced to witness violence

against their parents. "the washington post" reported emotional stories of women demand return of their missing husbands and the u.k.'s guardian revealed the vision of an elderly woman on crutches in front of a police riot bus, an image recommen reminiscent of on square. these glimpses of ongoing developments stir empathy and anger and it is essential that the whole story be told among the international community and also within china. this is why i call on the chinese government to provide unimpeded press coverage and internet access, allowing journalists to report without restrictions. i condemn the continued repression of the uighurs and violence perpetrated against all innocent civilians in china and hope that the ongoing arrests will still be brought to an end.

mr. leader -- mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, -- i'm sorry. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, thursday, july 9. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two liards be reserved for their use later in the day and thereby a period of morning business for 95 minutes with senator durbin controlling the first five minutes, the republicans controlling the next 60 minutes and the majority controlling the final 30 minutes and with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. further, i ask that following morning business, the senate resume consideration of h.r. 2892, the homeland security appropriations act, as provided for under the previous order. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. kaufman: mr. president, under previous order, shortly after 11:00 a.m., the senate will proceed to vote in relation to the kyl amendment, number 1432. additional roll call votes are expected to occur throughout the day as we work towards completion of the bill. earlier tonight i filed cloture on the homeland security appropriations bill and the substitute amendment. as a result, rule 22 requires that all germane first-degree amendments be filed at the desk prior to 1:00 p.m. tomorrow. i hope that cloture will not be necessary and that we will be ail to complete action on the bill tomorrow evening. if there is eno further business to come before the senate, i ask that it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate will stand adjourned until july 9, thursday, at 9:30 amendment of

these policies been done it? >> the u.s. government? the private. >> some of it is government rates. >> it is not public funding. >> probably donations.

>> i want to say from me, my tax dollars. >> how is c-span funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span is a public service, private business initiatives new government mandate, no government money. >> now helsing on the obama administration's proposal to create a new consumer financial protection agency. it would assume the responsibilities held currently by several different agencies. bobby rush of illinois chairs the commerce subcommittee on consumer protection. this is about three hours and 20 minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> this subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection will now come to order. the purpose of today's hearing is to hear witnesses on the

subject of the proposed consumer financial protection agencies-- agency in preparation for the consumers and the ftc, and i certainly want to welcome all of the witnesses, mr. bayh and chairman leibowitz and the chair recognizes himself for five minutes for the purposes of opening statements. i would like to thank all of my colleagues and all of the witnesses who diligently worked to prepared testimony over the fourth of july holiday, so that today's hearing would be as meaningful as possible. as we commence our examination

of the administration's proposal to create a new financial-- a new consumer national protection agency. my view on the matter is fairly straightforward. i believe that the ftc should remain intact as it is currently constituted and that this committee and subcommittee should continue to oversee and authorized the ftc. the commission, which was established in 1914 during our nation's progressive era, was designed to be a regulatory agency with disinterested expertise to ensure compensation and to promote free enterprise and those prescient concerns are as vital today as they were almost a century ago. the commission operates best as a lone eagle from high above the

agency can survey the marketplace and swooped down on predators that to receive an unsuspecting and misinformed consumers. the hizer and the farther away that the ftc is from other agencies and the entities that it regulates, the better it is at spotting the unfair and commercial trading practices and isolating those practices that is cast their shadows. similarily by staying at a distance the agencies can keep would-be captors that bakewell and achieving its critical mission of protecting consumers. looking at all reliable industry, the commission has performed commendably for a

small and scrappiest of. working on a bipartisan commission, and possibly 1100 dedicated employees spread out across three bureaus, the bureau of competition, a consumer protection and economics. although the expertise, the ftc's statutory tools under the ftc act to assist in an antiquated form of rulemaking under the magnuson-moss axe with anemic litigation authority. these tools may be successful at lending glancing but they failed to back the full punch of deterrence that businesses will respect and consumers deserve. currently the ftc's disposal is

its expertise and its agency crafted instruments of research and policy and steady development, a consumer complaint and education competition, a legal analysis and economics. what the ftc does well it has done without the-- relative to its sister agencies and what it hasn't done particularly well-- well in the process of being fixed. just a few weeks ago our subcommittee worked intently to markup h.r. 2309, the credit and debt protection act, which directed the fcc to adopt rules using apa rulemaking authority that would address the unfair and deceptive acts and practices in the area of lending, automobile finance, mortgage and forecloser rescue and debt

settlement. are subcommittees' objected with for more authority upon the ftc and equip it with the fish and resources in the areas of credit and debt and a rulemaking proceedings and bring enforcement detering the threat of civil penalties. our committee has worked devotedly in the past more than a few times with members in the financial services committee to hold up the ftc best practices for banking agencies to emulate and to improve the ability of bank regulatory agencies to protect consumers by issuing unfair and deceptive rules under the ftc act. i have witnessed their respective chair of the committees on energy and commerce and financial services and joining and introducing h.r.

h.r. 3525 to tackle some of these challenges. further, i offered an amendment to h.r. 3526, which was issued by the tara financial services committee in the 110th congress to acquire come to require a ga of report investigating federal banking and credit union regulation in preparation for unfair and deceptive acts and practices by depository institutions. this push and pull between our respective committees has pressured financial services including banks and depository institutions to balance their allure of problems and determination of safety and soundness against the needs of consumers. this collaborative working relationship between committees as we use accessible bills to

safeguard consumers of financial services and consumer credit products and is a viable example of the independent agencies that would be affected by the administration proposal as it will allow each of them to maintain their independence and prospective biases, experience and expertise when addressing serious problems that affect markets applied and consumers. i wanted thank the witnesses for being here today and for taking a timeout from their busy schedules to meet and to participate in this hearing and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from what california, the ranking member, mr. radanovich for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman ended morning. i appreciate your calling today's hearing on this important topic. whenever something goes wrong in this country washington proposes

a solution regardless of whether the situation calls for one. however well-intentioned actions they really worked out because they are often undertaken as a knee-jerk response. we have seen many unintended consequences of rust legislation in recent history. for example the sarbanes-oxley eckberg webb's we have seen improvement in the markets the toward new compliance cost to the detriment of many small and medium-sized businesses. in another example last congress we enacted a law in response to lead paint on toys. the paint violated an existing standard but what was the compliance problem rather than a deficience standard problem that led to numerous cots, new mandates that but many small and medium-sized business-- businesses out of business because the cost was too high without any corresponding increase in safety. this is not to say weaknesses in our system don't exist. they obviously and clearly to. the failure of so many financial

institutions and the ongoing problem of foreclosures on mortgages, some are worse never should have taken out are evidence of that. if the bailout of banks and firms really necessary to save the financial system something clearly needs to be done to address the systematical is. fraud and deception by both lenders and far worse than the mortgage market with ran rampant. the fbi reported an increase in fraud by more than 400% since 2005. few people question anything was wrong in the market until home prices started plummeting and borrowers began defaulting. it uniformity and the enforcement of existing laws can address these problems i would support that. apart from a lack of systemic risk regulated to prevent future collapses required of a taxpayer bailout i was still trying to understand what holes exist in the ftc's consumer protection authority and to what extent the government contributed to the crisis with its intervention in

housing policy. i am far from convinced the market problems require the creation of a federal regulator as contemplated by the administration's proposal. fannie mae and freddie mac are under government control in part because they did what congress and the government wanted, extend homeownership to as many people as possible under the watch of the federal regulators. fannie and freddie along with the federal housing agencies and programs were encouraged to extend credit and when they did in their shareholders paid the price for failing. to accomplish the policy goal of extending homeownership to as many people as possible changes in lending standards had to occur. the lowering of lending standards meant more bowers qualify for loans that could not afford. my point is that laws on the books did not stop people from taking out friskier mortgages either in spite of or because of rapidly increasing home prices. nor has it stopped regulators and law-enforcement from prosecuting those who we now know committed fraud and broke the law.

while many experts believe the regulators perform their duties in adequately i will leave that to the financial services committee to decide but with regard to the ftc it seems to me that we are throwing out the baby with the bathwater by stripping the authority over consumer protection for financial products and services when the one agency that has performed well. if we agree we need legislation we should take the approach of legislating with a scalpel whether then with a bulldozer. with that said i have two primary concerns with this proposal. i.t. creates a federal entity with an enormous scope of authority. the sweeping authority to anew agents zuber financial products that would cover every sector of the economy osi understand the draft legislation would touch everyone from a certified public accountant to a realtor and subject them to new tax to fund the agency. second unconcerned about transferring functions from the ftc to a new agency without any evidence it is necessary or it

will be as effective as a regulator at the ftc has. by removing the ftc's authority we could lose the ftc unique expertise in balancing consumer protection and competition. finally, the legislation contains several new broad authorities for the ftc regarding rulemaking authority and civil penalty authority. i have disagreed with these and do not need to repeat them at this time however it you have questions of the witnesses regarding these provisions and i will ask them when they are appropriate. want to welcome the members to the panel as well in yield back mr. chairman. >> chair thanks the gentleman and the chairman of the full committee is recognized for the purposes of an opening statement for five minutes. >> i want to thank you mr. chairman for holding this important hearing. last year as chairman of the house oversight committee, i held several hearings examining the causes of the financial

crisis. those hearings revealed that the government regulatory structure to meet the complexities of the modern economy. if we found regulatory agencies that have fully abdicated their authority over banks and had done little or nothing to curb abusive practices like predatory lending. the prevailing attitude was that the market always knew best. federal regulators became enablers rather than enforcers. the obama administration has developed an ambitious plan to address these failures and to strengthen accountability and oversight in the financial sector. today's hearing will take a closer look at one piece of that plan. the proposal to treaty single agency responsible for protecting consumers of financial products. a new approach is clearly warranted. the banking agencies have shown themselves to be unwilling to

put the interests of consumers ahead of the profit interest of the banks they regulate. and the structure and division of responsibilities among these agencies has led to a regulatory race to the bottom. the federal trade commission has taken steps to protect consumers but its jurisdiction is limited and it has been hampered by a salote and burdensome rulemaking process. i am pleased that this subcommittee is holding today's hearing in examining the administration's proposal carefully. there are two areas in which attention and focus from this committee are particularly needed. first, the new agency must be structured to avoid the failures of the past. it only makes sense to create a new agency if that new agency will become a strong authoritative voice for consumers. and second, we must ensure that

the federal trade commission is strengthened, not weakened by any changes, unlike the banking agencies. ftc has consumer protection as its core mission. in recent months, ftc has taken great strides to protect consumers of financial products, bringing enforcement actions against fraudulent debt settlement companies and writing new rules governing mortgages. the administration's proposal would give most of the ftc's authority over financial practices and some of the ftc's authority over privacy to the new agency. at the same time the administration proposes to improving ftc's rulemaking authority enforcement capabilities. it is not clear what impact these proposals would have on at tc-99 or its ability to perform its consumer protection mission.

as we build a new structure for protecting consumers of financial products, it is our responsibility to ensure that we do not weaken the agency currently responsible for consumer protection, and this and many other areas. once again i thank chairman rush for holding this hearing and i welcome our witnesses to the committee and look forward to their testimony. >> the chair thanks the chairman of the full committee and now the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. stearns for two minutes for the purposes of an opening statement. >> good morning in thank you mr. chairman. this is a very important hearing. it is important for us as members of this the committee and in terms of our jurisdiction and what the implications are for jurisdiction in the future. the administrations's proposed consumer financial protection agency is relevant. it is an idea that a lot of us

have mixed reactions on, has implications for subcommittee. although this is only one component of the administration's broad reaching financial regulatory reform proposal it certainly is important part of that overall program has and it needs a detailed examination. we must carefully consider the long-term effects that this will have on the federal trade commission. the consumers that is charged with protecting and our industry. currently the federal trade commission has broad authority to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices in the credit and debt carries and the ftc has notably ben an effective and reliable agency in terms of consumer protection. however this new agency, the cfpa, proposes strict federal-- of virtually all of its consumer protection authorities pertaining to financial practices and even some of its privacy