no, he's calling up here asking me with that pitch was. >> bob: so, what's your ring tone when steve mccatty calls? [ laughter ] >> rob: it's like the bat phone. >> bob: they call him cat. >> rob: do-do-do-do -- >> bob: that's mccatty not manny. two on, two out here in the sixth. nationals lead 1-0. quite a ballgame. nats have out hit the blue jays 5-4. bard, harris and hernandez coming up bottom of the sixth. he's had 102. it's rod barajas, the number eight hitter f somehow he extends the inning and the blue jays have not tied the game or taken the lead, cito gaston would have to make that national league decision about whether or not to bat his pitcher who is pitching very well. >> rob: do you think that manny acta, jim riggleman and steve mccatty are contemplating gens getting tallet out of the game by walking barajas. >> bob: first base was open definitely. >> rob: that he be is open. >> bob: you don't want to let this guy beat you. >> rob: exactly. two outs. >> bob: that's a fastball down the middle. it had enough tail on it to get a little inside near the trademark of that bat. you jus

steve mccatty and manny acta could tell you it is what he learns after that. it is not easy to be up here in less than 10 career starts. martis. and think you have it all figured out. you never have it all figured out. david weathers is still learning and pitched in 2,000 games. >> johnny: still learning. count is 2-1 to alex gonzalez the reds shortstop. lannan retired the first two batters he faces. >> rob: let's take another look at home numbers. there he is. second right now in the national

they brought in steve mccatty. the starters have been stronger. the bullpen is much stronger than it was. we showed the graphic last night and that is a small goal that you have accomplished. now you have to get the offense on board. work on the defense every day you can. things can always turn around for a ball club and can always turn sour for another ball club. >> johnny: in your 7 years in the big leagues pitching, was that the biggest challenge you had was getting over losses and focusing on the next game? >> rob: i never had a problem getting over losses because i'm still not over them. [laughter]. >> rob: you never get over bad outings or losses. you learn to accept them and move on. and use them to build and make yourself into a stronger athlete and in this profession, you are going to have a lot more failure than success. look at the hall of fame hitters as the ball gets by nieves right there. runner moves up to second. >> johnny: it is a wild pitch charged to john lannan. >> rob: that curve ball rolls up his arm and then over his head. t

. >> rob: steve mccatty out. he has noticed something in the delivery here in the last 6 pitches of john lannan. probably, you know, one of the things pitching coaches are known for is taking inventory. what are you doing right here. get yourself back in focus. get yourself back into where you were the first four innings. it is kind of mind-numbing pitch after pitch and you sometimes get lost in what you are doing out there and you need somebody to snap you book in -- back in. >> johnny: of the managers you played for who was the most emphatic -- swung on and popped up. gonzalez will have a play on it. 1 pitch, steve mccatty comes out and whatever he said to john lannan worked. we go to the bottom of the 5th. it seems i've got three times the bills i used to. and they're getting in the way of things i'd like to do. with the money bar, i can move my money around instantly, so when there's more bills than usual, it's no problem. and i use the wish list to put any extra money aside for anything i want. being in cont

. >> rob: once again, steve mccatty and rick eckstein, control what you can control. if you can get three outs, get six outs, do that and hold your head up. it is just a question right now of some well pitched innings by the cincinnati reds pitchers. it has been a well fought series by the nationals. >> johnny: dead ball just foul down the 3rd base line. when you look at tavarez's resume, he was born in the dominican republic. started off with cleveland. went the san francisco, colorado, the cubs, pittsburgh, the cardinals, the red sox, the braves, milwaukee and he is still pitching. and still pitching effectively. grounded to second. alberto gonzalez an to first and there's one away -- on to first and there's one away in the 8th. follow the nats with our i touch. it features video aye lights and live -- highlights and audio broadcasts. visit nationals.com on your iphone on the ipod touch to purchase. a lot of nationals fans hanging around to see if this ball club can pull this out, tying it up for a run and take the lead and snap this three-game losing streak. brando

and you look at what steve mccatty has done, the new pitching coach. debbi had a chance to catch with up him. >> thank you, byron. let's talk about lannan. what is he doing? >> he is throwing strikes and getting more confidence, staying focused on the game pitch by pitch. he still is getting better. he is going after guys and he is trusting himself and making pitches. >> what do you think has been the key to the bullpen turning things around? >> i can't really say what that is. all i can say since i have been here for the most part, they have come in. they have been aggressive. going after it. and they are making pitches. what it comes down to is competing and making pitches. they have done a good job at that. >> scott olsen is heading to syracuse. can you give us an update on his rehab process. >> his bullpens have been very good. velocity was good. last time out, i think he topped out at 92. he is throwing the ball well and feels good. he is trying to attack the zone. when i say attack, i mean be aggressive. i'm excited for him to see what comes out

. >> rob: if you're steve mccatty, you want to see the evolution of guys like stammen.e going to have gays -- have days where you don't have your best stuff. detwiler had one really big mistake. other than that, it was an excellent day for detwiler. >> bob: do you see a difference now in the way our young pitchers are approaching hitters? >> rob: absolutely. they're trying to work ahead. they're working with their best pitches and getting beat on some of their best pitches instead of nibbling around the plate and trying not to get beat out there. you're going to have to pitch to contact. that's what steve preaches. go out with your a game. see what happens three times through the line up. i think a lot of guys were worried about the end result before they went out and performed and performed and executed. i think you have to have an idea when you take the field as a pitcher. steve is telling the guy, it's on yous. >> bob: completely fooling upton on that pitch. two outs. >> rob: julian tavarez veteran with a sideline slider. b.j. upton will walk back to the dugout. >> b

steve mccatty, you have done well, sir, but so have your young kids. ultimately, it's their responsibility. here is kevin millar hitting .246. kevin did appear in the ball fame last night, 8th inning as a pinch hit and flied out with the bases loaded. the nats made big pitch after big pitch last nightpreventing toronto from winning in regulation and can you do the same thing for the blue jays' bullpen until the 112th inning. that was some battle last night. 2-1, taking four hours to play 11. 14 pitch first that game last night. 14 pitchers in that game last night. good - looking fastball. detwiler just missingwith that one. kevin millar, in his 12th year, .277 career hitter. >> rob: great guy to have on your ball club. >> bob: just ask the marlins, red sox and orioles. >> rob: did everything the way it is supposed to be done. >> bob: and if you are not doing it as a teammate, he will tell you to cowboy up and do it the right way. one of the best lines ever. kevin millar knows what it's like to value being a professional ballplayer. had he to make his w

as i said today, steve mccatty issed howing these guy -- is holding these guys accountable for their performances. >> johnny: and zimmerman draws another walk. today we are kind of giving you up close and personal. my good friends at home depot with adam dunn and his mom has some thoughts about her son. >> we never knew what to expect with adam. when he was 18-month-olds, he hid in the fireplace from me. couldn't find him for that minutes and he opened the glass doors and said hi, momma. >> johnny: and his mom was thrilled. how about that. hiding in the fireplace. >> rob: yeah. >> johnny: there's some ammunition next time you see adam. zimmerman at first. carlos fisher facing his first batter walks him. so, dunn against fisher now with a man at first. the tying run down there. pretty good numbers in the 7th inning or later for dunn. walk, struck out swinging and flew out to center. i know how nice it is for adam to have his mom and dad watching this ballgame today in person. swing and a pop up on the infield. and there's one down. so, hairston with an easy grab at third. zimmerman st

. >> rob: steve mccatty told me he is more impressed with relievers coming into the game and not allowing runners not to score. so he wants to see joel han ran what leave those guys there. >> bob: e.r.a., scores, that does not matter. >> rob: e.r.a., that's jumping to relievers. >> bob: hanrahan stems out. >> rob: once again, forget the runners. you have two outs, forget the get the hitter. get the hitter. >> bob: hanrahan, a perfect 8th inning wednesday against the reds after allowing runs in three consecutive appearances. six days ago, mike mcdougal named the closer. 2-1. nick johnson can't get it. this game is tied and runners all over the place. it's a 3-3 game. nick johnson was holding the runner. the ball was spinning right off his glove and we'll see how they score it. >> rob: well, he fell behind 2- 1. pretty decent pitch on the outer half. gross pulls it down the line. >> bob: they gave him a base -- yeah, that's a base hit. three in this inning, 5 in the game. in fact, it will be a double because the ball went down the line. that one is charged to craig stammen. he is still resp

shark stadium in florida, it's the first of three games with the florida marlins and i'm joined by steve mccatty. first of all, you've been doing a great job. scott olson makes his return to the big league roster in the starting rotation with the nationals. what can we expect from him? >> he's been up to i think it's 86 pitches in syracuse, we'll just watch, because this heat takes a lot out of you, we'll see how he's doing. if he spots his fastballs and gets some quick outs, he can get us a little deeper in the game. but i expect him to use his fastball, his velocity has been a little better than when he left. >> kind of the most mature i think you could say as far as baseball goes is john lannan. other than olsen who has over 100. he's really progressed into the ace of this staff. in june every start he's averaged over seven innings. kind of break down john lannan. what does he do on his side days? how's his approached change at the major league level? >> i can't say what his approach was before i got here, because i don't know what he was doing, but since he's been here when he goes out and w

i learned from steve mccatty. i learned from jim palmer when he was in here. jim palmer, obviously i idolized him and had a fraction of the career he had but he, you know, he will give you information if you just ask him. >> johnny: sure. >> rob: and there is so many of those wonderful guys. i learned from keith hernandez up in new york and when he comes here i'm pumping him for information. you can never get enough information off of these veteran and older guys who were exceptional athletes. >> johnny: got the bases loaded, two down, the reds are, with a ball and two strikes to brandon phillips. both times up he has grounded to guzman at short. a base hit. past the first base bag. one run will score. and the reds have got two more in, they lead it 3-0.  gonzalez and cueto score.   just inside the fir  and it's 3-0 cincinnati >> rob: i told you about these outside pitches right here, walk a couple guys, then you get a nice pitch, a jam sho

steve mccatty is all business. >> bob: breaking ball that was outside. this is just like drag net, rob, just the facts. >> rob: sometimes too many facts make me nervous. close. kevin millar next here in the 7th inning. this toronto ball club is not done hacking. as rob mentioned, they lead the major league in hits. the nationals, in 17 innings, have held the blue jays to 12 hits. i know, there we go again. >> rob: that's all right. i think the jinx is about over. you tried to do it last night. 0-8 in extra inning games. >> bob: by the way, ross detwiler retires 19 batters in the game for the first time. it's his deepest effort. t-shirt tuesday coming, nats and red sox. first 10,000 fans receive that curly w present the by hard science cafi. there are just a few tickets left. get them now. tuesday, wednesday, thursday. 202-675-nats. detwiler really got his pitch count down in the 5th and 6th innings. really, the 4th, 5th and 6th. 54 pitches the first three innings and only 4 total the next three. millar, flyball to right. lee -- elijah dukes. i always lov

steve mccatty is very articulate in the way he expresses not only what he wants from his pitchers, whathers right now. >> rob: and you have to demand it. your job's at stake. shairon martis is going back for a refresher course at triple-a. it's simple, it's black and white. do your job or else. or else we'll get someone else that can do the job. you're up here to get outs. you're not up here, this isn't an instructional league. the major leagues. so i think he just wants guys to be confident, throw strikes and attack the strike zone. >> bob: on a damp night like tonight, doesn't carry. off the bat of ronny paulino. @ú oof! i hope he has that insurance. aflac! you really need it these days. how come? well if you're hurt and can't work it pays you cash... yeah to help with everyday bills like gas, the mortgage... ...and groceries. it's like insurance for daily living. so...what's it called? uhhhhh aflaaac!!!! oh yeah! that's it! aflac. we've got you under our wing. a-a-a-aflaaac! >> bob: willie harris was leading off yesterday in the 7th inning, in a close ballgame. the nats led 2-1 and h

>> rob: no, if he throws a ball right here, steve mccatty is going to come up here and smack somebody bob: he'll have to go to the truck. >> rob: it's 10-10. now it's ok. now we can talk about it all you want. >> bob: i know. i hate friday night brawls in the booth. we've had too many of them. >> rob: yeah, you and charlie fighting over hot dogs. it's ugly. >> bob: he's off this inning. what do you expect? i don't know how you do two innings at a time. that must be exhausting. here is scutaro who bounced back to the pitcher first time up. that's a good fastball when you're ahead just moving off the plate. a tradition of innovation, firestone. most starts by national league rookies. shairon martis is right up there with 13 with are karakma of atlanta. a line drive. anderson hernandez, yeah, you hit it near that kid, he'll catch t he's proven that. again, i ducked into manny's office after the ballgame last night, we chatted for a minute about what anderson hernandez did early in that game last night, rob. when he made those two plays, that sent a message to craig stammen i don't have t

still, steve mccatty is wondering as most of us are where that 2-2 pitch was. boi. >> bob: nice night at nationals park. cloudy but not overcast. it's a nice night at the park. toot struck out looking first time up. he's way off the plate. he actually makes contact. guzman to first and the blue jays one of the best hitting teams in the league shutdown through four. hey, there's a shutout streak going here. how come? well if you're hurt and can't work it pays you cash... yeah to help with everyday bills like gas, the mortgage... ...and groceries. it's like insurance for daily living. so...what's it called? uhhhhh aflaaac!!!! oh yeah! that's it! aflac. we've got you under our wing. a-a-a-aflaaac! i've never been all that great with my money. probably because i've never had much. but now that i'm making more, it's time to be a little smarter about how i manage it.. with the calendar, i can schedule all my payments. and when funds are low, danger days help me stay out of the red. i can also transfer money with just a click and a drag. so maybe i'm better with money