Chad Cordero threw a low fast ball to Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit who lofted a high fly ball to Jose Guillen near the foul line in right field. Catch made. Game Over. As the players gathered on the infield grass to begin their congratulatory hand-slaps, I glanced at the NL East standings. The Nationals, the team that every reputable sports magazine had in the cellar, was now perched high atop the division with a 47-31 record, a full four games in front of the still surging Atlanta Braves. They have the 3rd best record in baseball, and just swept the Pirates with two of their best players, Ryan Church & Nick Johnson, unable to play due to injuries.

The Nationals have two all-star caliber players, Chad Cordero and Livan Hernandez. The rest of the team are various levels of "good."

And I'm depressed as heck. Why? I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

If the Nationals were in fourth place right now, 37-41 or so, we'd be blogging our little hearts out, saying how great the team was doing, pointing to the young talent on the team and predicting that with another bat and a pitcher or two [provided by the new owners check book], the team could actually compete for a wildcard spot in 2006. The team could finish 79-83 and we'd all be out celebrating at our favorite night-spot.

How can we do that now? When you have the 3rd best record out of 32 teams, there is only one way to go, and that is down. Sooner or later, a team that gives up more runs than it scores has to begin to lose some games. At some point, all the injuries will take their toll, and the Nationals will hit a tailspin that they won't recover from. Cordero can't keep doing what he's doing. Man, there are so many chances to fail.

I'm just waiting for that other shoe to drop. I mean, it has to happen sooner or later, doesn't it? Finally, the talking heads on ESPN, the folks at Sporting News radio, the sports geeks at Fox are all finally saying, "Hey, the Nationals are for real. They will be in this thing until the very end." I don't care about them, though. I listen to the guys on the XM morning show, Buck Martinez and Larry Bowa. Both of them say that the Nats are a contender. I don't know, I just don't. I'm ready for the team to implode, but until they do, I'm going to enjoy every freaking second of this most amazing summer.

Now, on to the game.

The Nats won this afternoon 7-5, sweeping the series from the Pirates and finishing this short homestand 5-1. This was not the prototypical Nats game. Washington started off quickly, took a large lead, hit two homers, and did all this for Esteban Loiaza, the pitcher with the lowest run support of any starter in either league. The Pirates came back, though, and made those last few innings very uneasy for Nats fans. Chad Cordero, the "Chief," came in and quickly found himself with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. However, as he is want to do, he got those last three outs under trying circumstances without allowing a run to score, earning his 28th save and lowering his ERA to 0.87.

The Nationals mustered only 8 hits against the Pirates, but two of them were home runs. I have to apologize to Brian Schneider. I expected so much from him based on his numbers from last year. I thought a .265-13-60 kind of season was not impossible. But last month, Schneider was hitting .210 with no power numbers to speak of. Now, he's on track to hit .261-13-50. Frank Robinson warned me, but I didn't listen: "Brian Schneider is the streakiest hitter on the team. He'll go 'oh-for-May' but then come back and carry the team for a month. That's exactly what is happening. Vinny Castilla, who has been just a little less than dead the last month, went 2-4 with a home run and 3 RBI's, raising his average back up to .260.

Nats Notes: Junior Spivey's 10 game hitting streak came to an end this afternoon ... Cristian Guzman hurt himself running to first and was taken out of the game [no word as to his condition] ... Ryan Church's shoulders haven't gotten any better and was today placed on the disabled list ... Wil Cordero got his second hit of the year and raised his average to .057.

A week ago, the Washington Nationals swept into PNC Park in Pittsburgh and took 2 out of 3 games to take the series. It wasn't difficult to figure out how the Nationals did it. It was Jose Guillen. In the three games, the Washington right fielder went 8 for 14 with 6 homers and 6 RBI's. Following the final game, Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said that his team should never have allowed Jose Guillen to beat the Pirates. "He played for us, he began here," said McClendon, adding "if anyone knows his strengths and weaknesses, it's us. And we should never have allowed him to beat us."

The Pirates kept an injured Guillen in check Tuesday, holding him to a single in 3 at bats. McClendon reminded his pitchers not to let Guillen beat them. They tried.

With a runner on first and two out, McClendon walked Jose Guillen. That worked. With the bases loaded, Guillen was walked again. That didn't work quite so well. In the 8th inning, Carlos Baerga singled and Brad Wilkerson walked, bringing Jose Guillen to the plate. Jose juiced a Solomon Torres pitch deep but foul. McClendon came out to the mound and reminded the veteran pitcher than the Pirates weren't going to get beat by Jose Guillen again. Before McClendon could get comfortable on the bench, Guillen smoked a line drive towards third baseman Rob Mackowiak that bounced off his glove and rolled into foul territory, scoring Baerga from second base, giving the Nats the lead 3-2. Chad Cordero came in the 9th and recorded his 27th save, lowering his ERA to 0.89, which seems more a misprint than an earned run average.

It was a tough evening for me. I was watching the Braves - Marlins game on tv, and the Marlins kept getting runners in scoring position all night but couldn't score. I was listening to the Nats on radio, and Washington kept allowing Pirate runners to get into scoring position all night. A loss here and a win there, and the Nationals divisional lead would be down to just 1.5 games. Luckily, the Marlins withstood another Andruw Jones home run, and Jose Guillen befuddled Lloyd McClendon yet again, and this morning finds the Washington Nationals with a 3.5 game lead over the 2nd place Braves once again.

John Patterson's fate should have been much better. He had a runner on 3rd with two out, and two strikes on the batter when the rains came. Almost two hours later, Patterson returned to the mound, and promptly grooved a pitch to Rob Mackowiak who hit another tape measure homer against Patterson. Patterson gave up two runs in 5 innings and saw his ERA go up just a tinch, to 3.17.

Nationals "Ups & Downs": Junior Spivey, UP. Spivey has raised his average from .236 to .248 since he joined the Nationals, and is providing a reliable bat in the #2 hole in the lineup. He now has a 10 game hit streak. News that Vidro's return has been pushed back to the original target date of the all-star game isn't as scary with Junior jiving around second base. Brad Wilkerson, DOWN. Wilkerson went 0-2 and saw his average drop below .270 for the first time this year, to .269. Don't expect it to be much higher than that by season's end. Cristian Guzman, UP. After going 0-17 after going 6-18, Guzman got two hits tonight and looked like a professional baseball player.

Nats Notes: Another win today and the Nationals will have posted a 20-6 record in the month of June, the White Sox are 1.5 games behind Washington for best record for the month ... June's winning percentage is the highest of any month in the Expos/Nationals 37 year history ... Wednesday night's win guaranteed a 9th straight series win at RFK ... Chad Cordero has now converted 24 saves in a row ... The Nats are a season high 15 games over .500, and haven't been 16 games ove .500 since mid 1994 ... 29 of the Nationals 46 wins are the "come from behind" variety ... The Nationals are 26-14 since aquiring Marlon Byrd and 12-5 since trading for Junior Spivey.

The Nationals missed Dave Williams when they played the Pirates in Pittsburgh early last week. Let's take a look at the Steel City southpaw.

Age: 26 -- Throws: Left -- Drafted in the 17th round of the amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. -- First year in the majors: 2001

Williams has a fastball that, with the wind at his back, may reach 90 mph. However, his killer change-up makes it seem like it's 10 mph faster than is really is. He also has a good curveball, and great command of all three of his pitches. Williams has problems with right handed hitters, walking them in a far greater percentage than lefties. They hit him much harder than lefties as well. His mind seems to stroll when he's on the mound, and he tends to give up a higher percentage of runners in scoring position than a major league pitcher should.

Williams' Last four games: Innings Pitched: 20 -- Hits: 26 -- Runs: 12 -- Walks: 9 -- Strikeouts: 14 -- ERA:4.95

John Patterson's last for games: Innings Pitched: 24 -- Hits: 28 -- Runs: 10 -- Walks: 7 -- Strikeouts: 22 -- ERA:3.75

John Patterson has pitched well, and Williams has pitched 'ok,' with some fine games and some lousy ones in the past few weeks. Williams has given up 35 base runners in 20 innings, while Patterson has given up 35 baser unners in 24 innings. Patterson, then, has gotten himself out of more jams than Williams has.

NATS NOTES: The Nationals continue to sport the best home winning percentage in the major leagues, and have now 8 consecutive series in the friendly confines of RFK Stadium ... on the road, the Nationals have one more games than St. Louis, Arizona and Chicago ... The Nationals have the best record for the month of June in major league baseball with an 18-6 record, the Angles are 2nd and the White Sox 3rd ... The Nationals lead the majors in one-run victories with 19, San Diego is 2nd ... Chad Cordero has sent the franchise record for most saves before the all-star break with 26 ... Cordero has also set the all-time record for most saves in a month [13] and is two shy of the major league record of 15 ... Beginning tomorrow, 10 of the Nationals next 15 games will be day games [they have a record of 14-10 in day games] ... In the last 17 games at home, Nationals starting pitchers have a 1.73 ERA [wow!] ... a Nats win tonight will give them a record of 15 games over .500 -- it has been 9 years since the franchise has been those many games over .500 .

[June 28th] - It seems strange considering that Tuesday's game was only the 76th of the season, but it was a "must win" for the Nationals. After a loss to the Blue Jays Sunday afternoon, Washington had to prove they could quickly and effortlessly get back on the winning track. Even though the team has gone 8-5 during its last 13 games, it has seen its lead shrink from 5 games ahead of the Phillies to 2.5 games ahead of the streaking Braves, who whacked Dontrelle Willis and the Florida Marlins for yet another win tonight. A Nationals loss and the Braves would have been only 1.5 games behind the Nationals, and Atlanta would have begun to slowly circle the Nationals, sniffing for that first whiff of blood in the water. Not tonight, boys.

Forget Ryan Drese's numbers with the AL Texas Rangers. After three games Drese has proven he will be able to get the job done for the Nationals. Look at these numbers for the newest National:

Games: 3 ... Innings:19 ... Hits:15 ... Runs:6 ... Walks:6 ... Strikeouts:10 ... ERA:2.84

Ryan Drese has had one bad outing and two outstanding ones. I'd say that averages out to a very good job overall. How's he doing compared to the Brewers' Tomo Ohka?

Games: 3 ... Innings:20 ... Hits:25 ... Runs:9 ... Walks:1 ... Strikeouts:14 ... ERA:4.05

In a convoluted way, the Nationals traded Ryan Drese for Tomo Ohka and got Junior Spivey for nothing. Drese has outpitched Ohka thus far and Spivey has given the Nationals a much needed professional second baseman to play until Vidro returns.

Pirate Josh Fogg pitched well too, giving up 2 runs over 6 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4. He was staked to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, and kept it until the 4th inning, when he hit Jose Guillen and walked Vinny Castilla. Marlon Byrd tried to bunt the runners along, but popped the ball up along the 3rd base line. It came to rest by the feet of Josh Fogg, who tried to force Guillen at third. Oops. The ball bounced into short left field and Guillen scurried home with the Nationals first run. Moments later, Wil Cordero made an out, which isn't a surprise, but it was a productive one as his sacrifice fly scored Vinny Castilla. That ended up being the final score of the game, 2-1 Nationals.

NATS NOTES: Ryan Church and Nick Johnson were unable to play Tuesday night, but Jose Guillen, who was supposed to be out 3-7 games with a sore shoulder, played and went 1-3 ...note to rest of team: Be more like Guillen ... Cristian Guzman went 0-3 and for the umpteenth time this year slipped below the Mendoza line ... Vinny Castilla went 0-3 and continued to show signs of his "tired bat" as described by manager Frank Robinson ... Chad Cordero saved his league leading 26th game and lowered is ERA to 0.92

[June 28th] - Don't look now, but objects in your rear view mirror are closer than they appear. After a week of having a comfortable lead in the National League Eastern division, Washington has found themselves sliding from 5 games up on the Phillies to 2.5 games ahead of the surging Atlanta Braves. Now, don't get me wrong; it's not the Nationals' fault. They have won three of their last four series, going 7-5 during that span. Rather, It's the Braves, who it looks like they are beginning their annual "30-10" spurt that usually ends with them 6 games in the lead. That the Braves are doing it is not unusual. That the Braves are doing it with players most baseball fans have never head of is.

Ranger Langerhans. Kelly Johnson. Pete Orr. Wilson Benemit. Jorge Sosa. Kyle Davies. Who are these guys? Using a rag-tag team consisting of minor leaguers and major league retreads, the Braves are beating everybody right now, and beating them soundly at that. Langerhans, if given 500 at bats, would end the year at .250-23-86. Kelly Johnson would come close to those numbers as well. Wilson Benemit is hitting .327 filling in for Chipper Jones. And the scary part is that all of those veteran Braves players will start coming off the disabled list very soon. The Braves will then have two starters at several positions and a whole slew of quality starting pitchers to throw at their opponents.

So, is there any good news coming from Atlanta? Yes. Braves GM John Scherholtz has made it clear that there is not a single dollar to spend on acquiring new players, while the Nationals can likely add $5-7 million in payroll for the right player or players.

This is will be interesting to watch. Can the Nationals youthful demeanor withstand the charging Braves? Will the Braves have enough in them to catch, and then pass the Nationals? As the way the Nats team stands today, I'd have to say that the Braves could very well push pass them at some point. But remember, we start getting our disabled list entourage back very soon. And if Bowden trades for pitching, one great pitcher, two good pitchers, then the Nats will be in the hunt until the final week.

Pennant race in Washington. Amazing.

[June 27th] - A few weeks ago, George Soros announced that he would be part of a financial group seeking to purchase the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball. I angrily wrote that if Soros was in any way connected with the Nats, I would again become a Braves fan. I said that it wasn't a "Republican vs Democrat" thing. Bill Clinton, Al Gore, even John Kerry could buy this team and I would support them as owners. It's not that he's a liberal, it's how he's a liberal, using groups such as Moveon.org to act in ways that is not in the best interests of this country. I received several replies on my sight, one connecting conservatives to Nazism.

Well folks, it not just me. Read the following excerpt from a national internet site regarding George Soros as a prospective owner of Washington's baseball team. It should be noted that while this story is a Republican response to Soros, several Democrats have quietly suggested that perhaps Mr. Soros is a little to much of a lightning rod for a politically benign entity such as a baseball team.

Republicans Suggest Backlash Against Baseball If Soros Group Wins Bid To Buy Nationals [Mon Jun 27 2005 09:51:22 ET]

"Despite the Washington Nationals' successful start to the season, to some Capitol Hill Republicans there is a dark cloud on the Nats' horizon: the potential that their newly adopted home team could be purchased by billionaire financier George Soros! Soros has joined an ownership bid being led by entrepreneur Jonathan Ledecky that is angling to take over the Nats, who are currently owned by Major League Baseball. ROLL CALL reports: Soros pumped more than $20 million in the last cycle into groups seeking to unseat President Bush and elect Democrats and relates that the very prospect that Soros could have a stake in the team is enough to irritate Congressional Republicans. "I think Major League Baseball understands the stakes," said Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R), who recently convened high-profile steroid hearings.Davis said that if a Soros sale went through, "I don't think it's the Nats that get hurt. I think it's Major League Baseball that gets hurt. They enjoy all sorts of exemptions' from anti-trust laws. Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), vice chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that covers the District of Columbia budget, said if Soros buys the team and seeks public funding for a new stadium or anything else, the GOP attitude would be, "Let him pay for it."

I'm not suggesting that I like the innuendo of hostilities coming form Republican leaders. But it is expected. Soros has maintained a "trash and burn" political style which has polarized both sides of the spectrum. The folks at Major League Baseball needs to be very careful when choosing the new owner for the first place Nationals.
************************************************************************************* Monday evening update: I received a reply on this story from reader "Scott," who believed that my concerns about George Soros and his possible ownership of the Nationals were "absurd" and Scott informed that he will never read my blog again.

Thank you Scott; you proved my point. Obviously, Scott has been a regular reader of my blog, but once my site became something he no longer wanted to support, he changed allegiances and will get his information somewhere else. I, on the other hand, said that if the Nationals turn into something that I don't like, I would stop supporting them. Scott is angry at my "absurd" position, yet he did to me exactly what I threatened to do to a Soros led Nationals team. All of us have a choice in the marketplace, whether is it the marketplace of ideas or blogs or baseball teams. It would be wrong of me to support a team whose owner I so disagree with, just as Scott made that choice regarding me. Thanks Scott. We're really both on the same page here. We'll miss you.

*************************************************************************************

[June 27th] - It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Jim Bowden added Vinny Castilla and Cristian Guzman in hopes that their veteran leadership and still adequate skills would keep the Nationals at or near .500 for the next couple of years, or at least until the team opened its new park sometime in early 2008. By then, Bowden hoped, the new owner's pocketbook would have purchased enough talent to contend for the division title. Oops.

The Nationals are on track to win 94 games and win the National League Eastern division this year. They've done it with a combination of talent, luck, and smoke-and-mirrors. While we could find the Nats in the cellar come September, they are just as likely to be in first, second or third place, fighting for at the least the wild card. All of Washington [and me out here in Pocatello Idaho] is enjoying its first pennant race since the Roosevelt Administration. You can't have lunch at work, or enjoy a movie at Tysons Corners, without hearing friends and neighbors talking about what is turning out to be the most amazing summer in Washington since Watergate. But is it the best thing for the Nationals? By doing all they can to win NOW, is Frank Robinson and Jim Bowden in someway short changing the future of the team?

Several of the Washington Nationals are locks to be part of the team when the new stadium and bigger payroll kick in three years from now and others could be:

1B]Nick Johnson [age in 2008: 30] Expected production: .300-25-100

It is very likely that one of the first things Jim Bowden or his replacement will do when the new owner takes over is to sign Nick Johnson to a long term contract. Johnson is a really really really good player, but not a great one, but that suits the Nationals just fine. While he doesn't have the power numbers of a prototypical first baseman, his on base percentage [.443] and slugging [.512] add an additional dimension to his play not normally found at first. I'd guess that the new park will be along the lines of RFK [read: spacious] so his high on base percent and outstanding fielding ability makes him the Nationals' first baseman for some time to come. Minor league talent: Larry Broadway. Although Broadway has been hurt for much of the season, he is expected to be a solid major leaguer with numbers similar to Lyle Overbay of the Brewers. Excellent Trade fodder.

2B]Jose Vidro [age in 2008:34] Expected Production: .280-15-80

Jose Vidro has shown that he is getting fragile as he ages. But don't think that he's been "Cal Ripken" like during his career. Since he became a starter in 1999, he has missed 171 games, or almost 15% of the team's games due to injury. As he gets older, we have to consider that injuries will continue to hamper his playing time at second base. Junior Spivey is a solid second baseman and has produced well in a starting roll. Having both of them to play second would be ideal, but will Spivey accept such a roll? Spivey will be 33 in 2008. Minor league talent: Brendan Harris. Harris has already shown that he can hit major league pitching. He's good at second base, but not great. He has the ability to start for the Nationals. He will be 28 when the new park opens.

LF]Ryan Church [age in 2008:30] Expected production: .280-25-85

Church is another of the young Nationals that need to be signed to a long term contract as soon as possible. He has speed, power and plays well in the outfield. Church's on base percent of .381 and slugging percent of .581 are great. Church HAS to be part of this club if it's going to succeed in the second half of the decade.

CF]Brad Wilkerson [age in 2008:31] Expected Production: .260-23-75

Although most Nationals fans love Wilkerson, I think he is more of a hindrance than a help. Regardless of his .370 on base percent and good power, Wilkerson strikes out 30% of the time he comes to the plate, and I don't care what Bill James says, a strikeout IS WORSE than other types of outs. I'd prefer to trade Wilkerson for a real leadoff hitter [someone in the Juan Pierre mold]. Of course he would still be a good addition to the Nationals outfield in 2008

RF]Jose Guillen [age in 2008:31] Expected Production: .285-30-100

Let's face it, he hasn't transformed himself into "Mr. Likeable" overnight. Stories still surface that he can be surely and downright unfriendly in the clubhouse. Teammates are learning when and when not to engage him in conversation. Still, as long as he doesn't kill anybody, I want him in right field for many years, and Guillen has said the same thing. Minor league talent: Matt Cepicky. Cepicky has hit well everywhere he's played, averaging 15 homers and 70 or so rbi's. He's not a great fielder and has holes in his swing, but can play everyday in the majors and produce "acceptable" numbers.

C]Brian Schneider [age in 2008:32] Expected Production: .260-12-50

Schneider continues to be one of the best defensive catchers in the major leagues, and provides enough offensive pop to make any team he plays for better. However, 32 years old for a catcher is "getting up in years," and the Nationals will need to have someone in the wings waiting to start taking some of the load. Minor league talent: None to speak of.

So, with the exception of shortstop and 3rd base, the Nationals could conceivably [but likely wouldn't] still have 6 offensive starters in 2008 that they use today. There will be some trades and free agent signings, but the core of the team will still be productive in three years.

So what do we do with third base and shortstop?

There is ZERO chance that either Vinny Castilla or Cristian Guzman will make the trek from RFK over to the new ballpark, contracts be damned. So is it better to leave them where they are now, take up space, hope they get a timely hit or two and perhaps lead the Nationals to a wild card or division title, or do the Nats at some point make the decision to go with their younger players in preparation for the future?

Ryan Zimmerman, the number one draft pick in the amateur draft, is 11-21 with 2 homers in his young career. Certainly, he is making the transition quickly and effectively. What happens come September when the Nationals are still hovering around the top of the division, and Vinny is still slipping in all offensive categories, hitting only pitcher's mistakes? Wouldn't it make sense to let the kid take over, get 30 games under his belt and see if he's ready to take over next year? I'm not talking about overwhelming him; only if he's ready. I'd certainly rather have Zimmerman as a two year veteran in 2008 instead of an untried rookie. A move like this might hurt our chances this year, but would strengthen the team's foundation for 2008.

At some point, Cristian Guzman's defense will not outweigh his poor performance at the plate. Sure, he may save 20 runs the rest of the year with his glove, but he might miss driving in 30 that another shortstop wouldn't. Should the Nats put Spivey at short and see what happens? Should Brendan Harris be given a chance? Again, these moves might cause short-term harm, but would certainly strengthen the team long-term.

My vote is to do what it takes to lay the proper foundation for the coming years. Sure, it'd be fun to win the division and see the team in the playoffs, but I'd much rather end the season with 85 or 90 wins and find out who can and cannot play short and third. The new owner could then sit down with Jim Bowden [or his replacement] and make reasoned decisions as to who to sign, demote, release, trade or outright to the minors. Yes, doing this might result in the Nationals not making the post-season, but the upside is far greater and more advantageous for the team.

But, I'm just one fan in Pocatello Idaho, and I doubt seriously that Frank Robinson or Jim Bowden will listen to me.

But they should.

The Washington Nationals depressed the heck out of me this afternoon as they lost to the Blue Jays 9-5. Ah, sure, they came back from a 5-2 deficit and tied the game on A Vinny "Tired Bat" Castilla double. Who cares? They lost. The Braves won, and now the Nationals are only 3 games ahead of Atlanta in the National League East pennant chase.

And they lost to a Canadian team!

Seriously, one of the problems of having been in first place for such a long time, and for having won so many games in a row at home, is that we as fans have gotten used to wins and find losing to smelly, stinky little minor league teams from a 3rd world country depressing!

Oops. Sorry. See, it even happens to me. I guess the boys can't be expected to win every game, can they? I think we should all take time to reflect, light candles and pray to whatever God or deity that makes us feel better. We'll all feel better tomorrow.

I mean, they're off and can't lose again. :)

Hey, they won 2 out of 3 and continue there unbelievable first place run. Who cares about the loss. All the Nationals have to do is win each series as they come along. Expect one loss, hope for two wins. Keep that up and it's pennant time in the Nation's Capitol.

It was all over the moment Livan Hernandez took to the mound Saturday night against the Blue Jays. Livan simply doesn't lose anymore, and with just a little bit of help from his "friends," he proved that you can be a big winner in the major leagues using guile rather than "stuff."

The Nationals have created a formula for winning: Strong pitching, timely hitting and outstanding defense. Throw in a "tinch" of teamwork, and *presto,* wins just flow off the assembly line.

The Nationals have been doing a much better job of plating runs in the first inning. A Brad Wilkerson walk and a Junior Spivey double put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Nick Johnson and Marlon Byrd singled, giving the Nats a 2-0 lead. A Marlon Byrd groundout in the 3rd and a Vinny Castilla single plated another run to give the Nationals a 4-0 lead. Greg Zaun tried to throw out a stealing Marlon Byrd at 2nd, but his throw scooted into centerfield, allowing Nick Johnson to score from 3rd. From that point, the Nats were on auto-pilot.

Hernandez pitched 7 innings, allowing 2 runs and 7 hits. As usual, he gave the Blue Jays many chances to score, and as usual, he thwarted them almost every time. Toronto chased him in the 8th when they got their 2 runs with a Greg Zaun single and an Alex Rios groundout. Luis Ayala slowed the threat and Chad Cordero came in the 8th and shut the Blue Jays down. He pitched a 1-2-3 9th to mark his 25th save, lowering his ERA to 0.94.

Marlon Byrd made another outstanding catch in the outfield, duplicating the one he made to end the game Friday night. He also threw out Greg Zaun at second base, ending a Blue Jay threat. Livan provided the pitching. Marlon Byrd provided the offense and defense [with a little help from his friends] and the entire team chipped in to secure yet another win for the Nationals.

I can't tell you how the Nats keep doing this. They're not dazzling anybody. They're playing just a little better than the opposition, but they're doing it each and every night they play. Across the baseball world, really smart people keep saying, "They look good now, but sooner or later they're going to come back to Earth." They've been saying that since the beginning of May.

The Nats go for a sweep tomorrow afternoon.

[June 25th] Tonight, Blue Jay southpaw Ted Lilly goes against Nationals ace Livan Hernandez in the second game of their inter-league series at RFK Memorial Stadium. Hernandez is 10-2 with an ERA of 3.34. Lilly is 5-7 with a 6.08.

Now, before you go running off to add the 44th win to the Nationals 2005 record, remember this: since Lilly beat the Nationals May 20th, he has lowered his ERA more than 2 runs per game. In his last two starts, he has pitched 14 innings, giving up 7 hits and 2 runs, striking out 16 and walking 5. He beat the Cardinals and Orioles his last two outings, not exactly last place teams. Hopefully, he'll return to his terrible self in time for tonight's game.

. [June 25th] For the past several weeks, as the Washington Nationals continued to not only hold but expand its first place lead in the National League East, all eyes have been looking forward, trying to see what opponents, what injuries, what problems lay ahead for a team never used to being if first place. Message to the Nationals: It's time to start looking back. In the words of Satchel Paige, "someone might be gaining on you."

The Philadelphia Phillies kept pace with the Nationals during their home winning streak 10 days ago, but their fell flat on their last road trip and are now 4.5 games behind the still surging Nats. They recently lost their most consistent pitcher, Randy Wolf, to Tommy John surgery that will sideline him for the better parts of the next two season. The Florida Marlins, just a year removed from their championship, are suffering from bat malaise, especially Juan Pierre and Mike Lowell. The clubhouse atmosphere is toxic and Al Leiter's position in the rotation is very very iffy. The Marlins are 5.5 games out. The New York Mets spent a lot of money, but put the cash into only 2 players. While Pedro Martinez is "light's out," Carlos Beltran, to this point in the season at least, is just an above average player. The rest of the pitching staff and most of the offensive lineup is iffy. They are 7 games out of first. Did I forget to mention anyone?

Going into the 2005 season, the whispers that "this was the year that the Braves would finally lose their dominance" in the NL East were more audible, and two weeks ago, they were darn near shouts of joy throughout the eastern NL cities. Anyone who thinks the Nationals were the team most decimated by injuries need only glance southward along I-95. The Braves have more stars on the disabled list than the Nationals have stars. Atlanta's three best starting pitchers, Mike Hampton, Justin Thompson and Tim Hudson, all former all-stars, sit on the DL bench, waiting for their chance to play again. Chipper Jones, "Mr. Brave," is on the DL with a recurring foot injury. Backup catcher Eddie Perez is also disabled. So what the Braves DL lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. Two weeks ago, the Braves were so bereft of breathing veteran players that they started seven [7] rookies in one game. Do the math: that means that only 2 players that night were playing in the bigs last year. Yet through all of this, even to the point of the team making the players wear "Hi, my name is..." tags, the Braves are gaining on the Nationals. Ten days ago, the Braves were 5 games behind the division leading Nationals. Today, with no starting rotation to speak of, they've gained a full game, even though the Nats have gone 6-4 during that time.

This is the point in the season where the Braves kick it into a gear that no other team has and z-o-o-m-s past everyone else into first place. The question must be asked, then: Can they do it again? Are the Nationals for real or will they simply be used as traction fodder for the oversized tires of the Big Braves Machine? Let's take a look.

1B]Adam LaRoche [projected 2005 stats] .254-19-98

LaRoche has improved from his rookie year in 2004, and is providing additional "sock" that was missing from 1st base last season. However, his OBP is only .313 and his SLG is .440, on the low edge of "ok" for a first baseman. * * IMPROVEMENT OVER 2004 * *

2B]Marcus Giles [projected 2005 stats] .284-14-49

Giles is becoming very consistent, and his 2005 numbers will be about where his 2004 stats were, although his OBP and SLG are somewhat lower. * * SAME AS LAST YEAR * *

SS]Rafael Furcal [projected 2005 stats] .222-11-55

Oh, where have you gone, Rafael? He's simply not the same player that he was last year. How bad is it? His OBP is .280 and his SLG is .344, both horrible numbers for a veteran like Furcal. His fielding hasn't been as sharp either. * * NOT AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR * *

3B]Chipper Jones [projected 2005 stats] .282-20-74

These down numbers are injury related for sure, but this is the 2nd down year in a row for Chipper. His OBP and SLG are fine, but Chipper needs to produce taters for the Braves to zoom past the competition this year. * * NOT AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR * *

LF]Kelly Johnson [projected 2005 stats] .243-16-73

Johnson has come out of nowhere and begun to produce some good power numbers. His OBP is .369, outstanding for a rookie. Each game, he gets better and more comfortable at the plate. While Johnson isn't as good as the tandem of Charles Johnson and Eli Marrero of 2004, by the end of the season, he will be. * * AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR * *

CF]Andruw Jones [projected 2005 stats] .269-49-112

Of course, Jones is unconscious right now. It looks like he's finally starting to become the player the Braves organization believed he would be for the past decade. Tremendous .575 SLG with decent .344 OBP. * * BETTER THAN LAST YEAR * *

RF]Brian Jordan [projected 2005 stats] .241-5-56 / Ryan Langerhans [.241-16-61]

Look, these guys aren't coming close to J.D. Drew's production last year. Langerhans will be a fixture in the outfield for years to come, but his .313 OBP and 100+ strikeouts make his talents more of a wash than a plus for 2005. * * WORSE THAN LAST YEAR * *

C]Johnny Estrada [projected 2005 stats] .275-8-77

Estrada is duplicating his 2004 rookie year pretty well, although his batting average and OBP had dipped significantly. Still, he's doing a good job. * * WORSE THAN LAST YEAR * *

The pitching staff is hard to compare because of the Breaves having 60% of the rotation on the disabled list. However, John Smoltz is on track to win 16 games with a 2.88, and Horacio Ramirez should end up with about 13 wins, although is 5.04 ERA is a real liability for the team. Justin Thompson has an ERA of 3.42, Tim Hudson 3.78 and Mike Hampton 1.83. Their replacements are Jorge Sosa [3-1, 2.97] and Kyle Davies [3-2, 4.75].

So, what does this all mean? It's hard to tell.

Of the position players, when compared to last year, two are playing better than last year, two are about as good as last year, and four are playing below 2004 levels. The pitching would have been much better had the injuries not occurred, but the replacements, Sosa and Davies, are doing pretty well in holding down the fort until the "big boys" return.

Andruw Jones has been carrying the Braves for the past three weeks, and his hot streak has made for a nice story, but count on the fact that it's going to end soon, and Andruw will again become that nice hitting, great fielding centerfielder that we know and love. Chipper's return will take up some of that slack, but let's face it: Jones hasn't put together one of those "monster" seasons since 2001 when he hit .330-38-102. Since then, he's produced more in the area of .315-24-100, good numbers but not big enough to make a large difference when he returns.

If the big 3 pitchers on the disabled list come back and continue to pitch before they were hurt, if Andruw Jones continues his record pace, if Chipper comes back and increases his production, if Ryan Langerhans and Kelly Johnson continue to improve as rookies, if Rafael Furcal decides he doesn't want to be lumped with Cristian Guzman as "largest disappointments" for 2005, if no other players go on the DL, If Dan Kolb finds his way back from his own little private world, then yes, the Braves should and likely will z-o-o-m past the Nationals and take their rightful place atop the NL East. But what's the chance of all 10 "has to happens" actually happening? That's a tough accomplishment.

All of this also assumes that the Nationals don't get any better. At current pace, the Nats will win 95 games, the Braves 86. Adding Jose Vidro negates Chipper Jones' return for the Braves. And remember this one very important fact: Atlanta management has repeatedly emphatically that they don't have ANY MONEY to spend for the rest of the year. Zero. Nada. Bupkus. The Nationals, however, have at least $3 million, and maybe much more to spend on talent this year. Major League Baseball, who owns the Nationals, initially had no desire to invest a single penny into the team for 2005 until they saw how the Nationals first place position has raised the selling price of the team. A few more dollars invested could win at least a wild-card, which in turn would make the team even more valuable. A very good investment for MLB.

No question, the Atlanta Braves have all the tools to restock their team with young players ready to go today. The Nationals minor league system is like a grocery store in the old Soviet Union. In two years, LaRoche, Estrada, Giles, Jones, Langerhans, Johnson AND Andruw will all be all-star type players. They very well may be restocking for another run of 14 consecutive pennants. If the Braves in fact do have a soft underbelly, this would be the year that it shows. The Mets can't supplant the Braves as best in the east. Neither can the Marlins. If the Phillies find another arm and Thome gets very, very hot, they might. And the Nationals? Well, the Nationals are the team to beat in the NL East right now, not the Braves.

It should be an interesting summer.

[June 24th] There are literally thousands of reasons why baseball in Washington is so very special. One of them is seeing whose at the game. On a warm summer evening, Robert Francis Kennedy Memorial Stadium was full of both postal workers and Presidents. George W. Bush, former owner of the one-time Washington Senators and current Texas Rangers, came to watch the game with Secretary of State Condy Rice, both guests of team President Tony Taveras. They enjoyed what they saw.

Behind six shutout innings from Esteban Loiaza, the Nationals continued their dominance in their home park, winning 3-0 and pushing their home record to a league best 25-9. The Nationals are now 43-30, 13 games over .500 for the first time this season. The Blue Jays fall to 37-37. They are now 4 games ahead of the new 2nd place team in the NL East, the Atlanta Braves, who beat the Orioles Friday night at Turner Field. Loiaza wasn't just the pitching star of the game.

Vinny Castilla and Junior Spivey opened the second inning with singles. Brian Schneider lined out and Cristian Guzman flied out to deep left-center field. With Esteban Loiaza coming to the plate, it looked like a wasted opportunity. Wrong. Loiaza pulled a curveball down the left field, driving in his first runs since 1998. Brad Wilkerson lofted a deep homerun over the rightfield fence to complete the scoring at 3-0.

With the news that Jose Vidro "tweaked" his knee while practicing in Pittsburgh Wednesday, Junior Spivey becomes an even more important part of the Nationals offense, and he is continuing his offensive rebound, going 2-4 and raising his average to .242. On the down side, Cristian Guzman is now 3 games removed from his last hit, and seems to again be uncomfortable at the plate. Nick Johnson got a hit, but hasn't really done any damage in more than a week.

It was so nice to see Esteban Loiaza pitch well and [finally] get a win. He is now 3-5, lowering his ERA to 3.63. The bullpen of Majewksi-Ayala-Cordero closed out the Blue Jays, allowing a combined 2 hits in 3 innings. Chad Cordero ho-hummed the Blue Jays in the 9th, saving his league leading 24th of the season. Cordero's ERA dipped below 1.00 to a teeny, tiny 0.97. Who woulda thunkd it.

Tomorrow, the Blue Jays Ted Lilly goes against Mr. National, Livan Hernandez. Lilly is 5-7 with an embarrassing 6.08 ERA, while Livan is 10-2 with a 3.34 ERA. I know, I know. Games aren't played on paper, which is good for the Blue Jays, because on paper, things look bleak for Toronto tomorrow night.

Ryan Church will miss the rest of the series due to an injury to his shoulder when he bounced into the wall while catching the last out of Wednesday's game against the Pirates. He is expected to play against the Pirates when they come to town next week.

[June 24th] The bad news is that the Toronto Blue Jays come into Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on a difinitive high, having just won three out of four games from the suddenly struggling Baltimore Orioles. The good news is that the Blue Jays spent their magic bullet Thursday against the Orioles, one Roy Halliday. The Blue Jays have won 37 games this year, and Halliday has won 30% of them. The last time the Nationals faced the Blue Jays, Halliday was the difference, beating Washington 7-0 earlier this season. Without him, the Blue Jays are 26-32, a very sub-par team. The Nats will face Josh Towers Friday, Ted Lilly Saturday and probably Gustavo Chacin on Sunday, all very winnable games.

FRIDAY MATCHUP: Esteban Loiaza vs. Josh Towers

Esteban says he is feeling much better and doesn't think his stiff neck will be an issue Friday night. For the season, Loiaza is 2-5 [bad] with a 3.87 ERA [good]. Esteban is still second in the major leagues in lowest run support for a starting pitcher, hence the good ERA and the bad won-loss record. Don't worry about him, though. He'll come through for the Nationals.

Josh Towers: Age: 28 -- Drafted by: Baltimore [15th round, signed as free agent by Blue Jays in 2003]. Throws: Right -- Bats: Right

Towers has four pitches and throws none of them very hard. What he does is throw strikes all game long. His fastball barely reaches 90mph on a good day. Towers is a competitor who isn't afriad to push hitters around with his location. If his curveball is on, you're in trouble as a team. If he is having trouble with curve location, Towers is going to get whacked around very hard. He gives up too many hits, but doesn't walk many. He has a career 30-29 record with a 4.88 ERA.

Towers has pitched poorly his last six games, dating back to his loss to the Nationals. In 31 innings, he has given up 50 hits and 27 runs while striking out 16 and walking 11. Over those six games, Towers have averaged only 5.2 innings per start, giving up 8 hits and 5 runs per start. He has a 7.75 ERA over those last six games.

Helping Towers is the fact that he is on the road and playing at night. Josh is 3-3 away from Toronto with a 4.26 ERA. At night, he is 4-2 with a 4.01 ERA. So without question, he is better away from the Rogers Centre.

Hopefully, the RFK magic will continue a little longer. The Nats could easily win 2 out of 3 and further pad their lead in the NL East. Of course, that's what we said the last time these two teams met.

Nats Notes for Friday, June 24th:

Nationals lead the major leagues in come from behind victories with 27 ... the just completed 5-4 road trip saw the team increase their lead in the NL East from 1.5 games to 2.5 games ... Washington has a string of 10 straight home wins going into tonight's game ... the home winning percentage of .727 leads the major leagues, the White Sox are 2nd ... the last home series the Nationals lost was April 25-27 against the Phillies ... the Nats are 15-5 in June and are only 5 games off the franchise record for wins in the month ... half of all Nationals games played since May 8th have been decided by one run ... Washington leads the major leagues with one run victories, San Diego is second ... 13 of 17 saves by the "Chief" have been one run varieties ... his 1.00 ERA is the best of all the closers in the major leagues ... the Nationals are 10-5 in interleague competition.

I don't know that I will ever be able to properly thank all of you who take the time to visit my site and read my musings about our Washington Nationals. It takes a minimum of 25 hours a week to keep the blog looking fresh and fun for you. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy each and every minute that I invest in the "Beltway Boys." But while I enjoy doing this for you, know that I do it for myself as well. It's very cathartic. I was a gangly teenager living within the beltway when Robert Short carpetbagged his way to Arlington Texas, and part of me, a large part I'd say, has felt jilted and alone since. Thirty-four years is a long time to feel jilted. So to now be able to connect with the Nationals, and re-connect with the Senators through this site has meant a great deal to me. It's a win-win situation.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not getting thousands of hits a day, but I do get enough to make the time and the effort feel worth while. I don't pretend that I'm a journalist, or that that anyone within the "baseball" community visits. That just couldn't happen. Could it?

It could.

I sat down this morning and began to look at the dozens of new emails in my in-box. This one wants me to buy an Ipod. That one suggests I need Viagra. Another wants me to subscribe to the Toronto Globe & Mail. Darn. I shouldn't have given them my email address. Delete. Delete. Delete. I clicked the delete on the next one down and glanced over to check it's title: "a sports illustrated writer has a question" it read. Hmmm. Probably spam from S.I. wanting to give me a free phone with a new subscription. Just before I hit delete, I scrolled over and opened the email, more out of curiosity than anything else. Below is the email, with personal information removed:

Hi Mr. Rushdi-- My name's Danny xxxxx and I'm a reporter at Sports Illustrated. I'm writing an article about the Nationals this week, and I stumbled across your blog... I was hoping you'd have some time to chat about being an original Senators fan, and now rekindling that enthusiasm for the Nationals. If you're free in the next few days, my number is 917-xxxx-xxxx, or if it's more convenient, I can call you. Let me know, and I look forward to talking, Danny

My immediate reaction was disbelief of course. I mean, what's the chance of a Sports Illustrated writer being one of the few people to visit my site. But, there was a phone number. So I called. To my surprise, Danny answered the phone. He returned my call in just a minute; I assume so that he could pay for the call, and I'm guessing he also recorded the conversation. We talked for almost a half an hour.

Danny is a kind and gracious young man. We never talked about the Nationals. No mention of Jose Guillen or Brad Wilkerson was ever made. No discussion of the Nationals amazing season ever surfaced. The story, from what I can tell, is about us, the Nationals fans who have shown a love so great for our new team that we gleefully give up much of our "down time" to write, attend games, wear apparel and generally support all things National[s]. We talked about what it was like to lose the Senators, and how that loss touched the heart of the city. As the questions progressed, it became very clear that Danny wanted to understand not how I felt about the Nationals team, but rather how I felt about baseball returning to Washington. Some of his questions had no immediate answer; I had to pause and ponder often in order to give him an honest and relevant answer.

None of this was about "me." Danny saw within "us," the Nats Nation, a burning love for Washington's new baseball team, a desire to give not just our money, but our time, our talents and our abilities to make the Nationals a success. As the season progresses, the "bandwagon" is becoming full of Washingtonians who are on board because the team is a success. We were there before opening day. We were there before the Mayor said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Baseball is back in Washington!" We were sketching uniforms with a myriad of team names last July. We've created dozens of ball parks and lineups. We read the newspapers in New Orleans, Harrisburg, Vierra and Savannah to see how the "kids" are doing. Danny is impressed with this side of Nationals baseball, and that's what he's going to write about.

While the Nationals may be good, the Nationals' fans are great. And come next Wednesday, all of America will understand just how lucky the team really is to have us all. We do make a difference.

Ryan Zimmerman more than made up for his professional debut last night. Zimmerman, who went 0-4 with two strikeouts last night, stroked his first homerun of the year, a line shot over the rightfield wall to give Savannah a 1-0 lead over Charleston in South Atlantic League action Wednesday night. But offense wasn't the only reason that the Nationals made the University of Virginia star their number one pick in the recent MLB amateur draft.

Later in the game, with runners on first and second, a Charleston batter smoked a line shot towards third. Zimmerman lunged to his right, stabbed the ball, touched the 3rd base bag and threw the ball to first to complete the remarkable double play. Nationals GM Jim Bowden has repeatedly said that Zimmerman's defense is ready for the big leagues right now.

Zimmerman has been promised that he will only be at Savannah for two weeks. He will then be promoted to AA Harrisburg as promised. Don't be surprised if Zimmerman receives a "cup of coffee" with the big club this September, especially if Vinny Castilla continues to struggle throughout the summer.

[June 22nd]For all the home runs and dazzling defensive plays, it was one little single late in the game that made all the difference between a disappointing road trip and a successful one.

Brian Schneider, left in the game to bat against a lefty relief pitcher, plunked a two strike pitch the other way into left-center field to score Ryan Church from 2nd base. All the other heroics wouldn't have mattered had Schneider not come through.

OK. Now to the cool stuff.

The Nationals are finally, finally beginning to realize that the game begins in the first inning. After scoring in the first inning in the first two games of the series, Jose Guillen stepped to the plate against Josh Fogg. Strike one. Strike two. Instead of wasting a pitch, Fogg threw a fastball down the middle and the former Pirate hit it deep over the left-center field fence. A Ryan Church double scored Nick Johnson and it was 2-0 going into the bottom of the first. I ran to the bath room. I came back. It was 3-2 Pirates. Jason Bay, the former Nationals minor league prospect, homered deep to left, and Rob Mackowiak followed with a 470 foot drive than landed in the Allegheny River. Ouch. Matt Lawton continued the long ball barrage with a deep bomb of his own in the 2nd. However, that was it for the Pirates. They were shut out the rest of the way by John Patterson, Hector Carrasco and Chad Cordero.

The Nats tied the game in the 5th on a very interesting play. With Jose Guillen on first and Jamie Carroll on 3rd, Josh Fogg picked off Guillen and the Pirates got him in a run down. They did everything perfectly. That is, besides forgetting Carroll at 3rd. The diminutive infielder scampered home before Guillen was tagged out to tie the game. Schneider's bloop single in the 8th scored the winning run for the final 5-4 score.

Jose Guillen went 4-5 with two homers and ended the series 8-14 with 4 home runs. Guillen now has 15 home runs for the year. Junior Spivey went 2-2 and is showing signs of life at the plate, although his 67 strikeouts for the season is 4th in the league and just a few behind second place Brad Wilkerson. It looks like Cristian Guzman's 2nd hitting streak is over as he went 2-12 against the Pirates. Carlos Baerga got another pinch hit and is beginnng to show me that he has a real talent for bench work. Wilkerson, Carroll and Guzman had "ofers."

John Patterson. Sigh. John Patterson. I'm ready to finally admit that he isn't as good as his numbers suggested early in the season. I think he's a 14-12, 3.75 type of pitcher, good for a number 3 pitcher, but not for the #2 guy in the rotation. If the Nationals have any hope of staying in the hunt for the NL East title, they have to got another arm, and I don't think there is one available, especially at our price range.

Yes, another one run victory. I'm proud of the boys for getting out of one nasty jam in the 7th inning. With the bases loaded, Carrasco got Tike Redmond to ground to Nick Johnson, who threw home to get the 2nd out of the inning. He then struck out Jason Bay to end the inning.

But none of this would have made a bit of difference if Ryan Church hadn't finished the game with 2 out in the 9th inning. After two easy outs, Humberto Cota slammed a deep fly to left that at first glance looked like it was heading out. Church sprinted towards the wall, and while battling the sun, twisted back across his body and snatched the ball inches in front of the fence. That ball should have been a double, possibly and triple, and who knows what might have happened.

After losing to the Pirates Tuesday night, I felt the "doubts" creeping back at me. You know, we've all felt them: "No way the Nats can keep this up." They proved me wrong again. They went 5-4 on this road trip, winning two of the three series. They now return home to play the Blue Jays, and have the opportunity to give Toronto some "payback" for their last series.

Wow. The beat goes on.

Nats lose 11-4. Brad Wilkerson hit his first home run since the Spanish Inquisition. Hmm.... I guess that about sums it up for Tuesday night's game. Except, has anyone else noticed that this is the 3rd time this road trip that the Nats have given up 11 runs in a game this roadtrip? And, Will the real Ryan Drese please stand up? OK. Now I'm really done. Catch you after the early game today.

So, which Oliver Perez will the Nationals see tonight when the Pirates take on the Nationals at PNC Park. Last year, Perez had a break-out year, going 12-10 with a sparkling 2.98 ERA and 230 strikeouts. Most within the organization thought he "turned" that corner from thrower to pitcher. Things have changed this year, however.

Thus far, Perez is 5-5 with a whopping 6.22 ERA. What has changed in just one year? Well, he is on pace to give up 40 more hits, 35 more walks, and strikeout 50 less than last year. He is also giving up twice the number of home runs. He's just not as accurate as he was last year. His command is still there, however, so he's as apt to pitch a shutout and strikeout 15 as he is to give up 7 runs in the first inning. Perez is coming off his worst start of the year, giving up 6 runs in 6 innings against the New York Mets.

Perez is fearless in his approach to pitching -- nothing scares him. He has multiple arm angles, and at times looks like the Marlins Dontrelle Willis. He has a plus 90 fast ball and a slider that makes his fastball look 100+. A lefty, he can hold runners at first as good as anyone in the league. On the negative side, he's 'Tom Glavine' like in the first inning, where he hopes to contain the damage rather than get a 1-2-3 inning. Surprisingly, lefties hit him pretty well. Hear that Brad Wilkerson?

It will be interesting to see how Ryan Drese does tonight. In his second start with the Brewers, former National gave up 5 runs in 6 innings. We'll see if if Drese can continue his magic tonight in Pittsburgh.

It shouldn't be this way. The city of Pittsburgh is a renewed, revitalized city based more on technology than the old smelly steel mills that kept its skies gray for a century. Today, the skyline is sleek and modern, creating a 21st century city out of what once was the most archaic and mundane of America's eastern cities.

Forbes Field was replaced in the name of modernism, and for 40 years, Three Rivers Stadium became yet another symbol of Pittsburgh's inability to "get it right." Over the past decade, Pittsburgh has become a city of new hope and new dreams. The keystone to Pittsburgh's rebirth lays along the banks of the Ohio River: PNC Park. Pirates owner Kevin McLatchy, who when he purchased the club said "If the city builds me a new park, I will be able to infuse the necessary resources to make this team a winner for decades to come." Uh-huh. The city of Pittsburgh kept its part of the bargain, but McLatchy has not kept his.

The Pirates should have returned to the promised land by now. Gone should have been the pain of Pittsburgh fans as they have watched their stars depart for greener pastures since the early 1990s. But no. The names have changed, but the result remains the same. A team with a small payroll continues to try balance the budget without concern to wins and losses. There is no hope for the future. Unless the Pirates start to win, team ownership can't expect more than 20,000 fans per night, and unless the Pirates begin to draw more than 20,000 fans per night, ownership has no intention to increase the payroll.

The Pirates fans have continuously suffered since the day that Barry Bonds left many years ago. Within a few seasons, the entire core of that championship team were helping other teams win championships. We should feel so lucky. Our first year back in the "bigs," with a $47 million payroll, we're in first place, have the second best record in the National League, and trades have already been made to better the team. And that's the difference. Nationals management wants to win, while Pirates management doesn't want to lose money.

How sad. The Pirates fans deserve so much more.

The Washington Nationals put a serious thumping on the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday night at PNC Park. Well, to be more precise, former Pirate Jose Guillen put a thumping on his former team. Oh sure, it was a team effort, but Guillen hit two home runs for the second time this season as the Nationals beat the Pirates and their top starter Mark Redmond, 7-4. Chad Cordero saved his league leading 22nd save.

Redmond, who had a 2.80 ERA beginning the game, gave up 6 runs and 10 hits in 7 innings. His ERA is now 3.14. Livan on the other hand pitched a typical Livan game. Lots of hits and walks, lots of double plays, ultimately ending in a win. Only 2 of his runs were earned, and for the 5th consecutive game, Livan's ERA dropped. It now stands at 3.38.

Junior Spivey is beginning to hit for his new team, garnering two hits and raising his batting average to .229. Cristian Guzman also continues to improve with the bat, getting a triple and a single. He now is hitting .212, a good number considering he was at .170 just a few weeks ago.

I listened to the Pirates feed, and they indicated that Brian Schneider was the one hitter that destroyed Pittsburgh pitching. He was 14 for 32 going into tonight's game, and went 3-4, raising his average to .260, perfect for a defensive catcher. Marlon Byrd went hitless and saw his average drop below .300 for the first time this season. The Nationals got 12 hits, getting more than 10 hits the last two games in a row. Been a while since they've done that.

Let's talk about Vinny Castilla for a second. I was worried that once the weather got warm, and once his 37 year old legs began to tire, that the Nationals' 3rd baseman might see a significant drop in production during the second half of the season. I'm afraid it has begun early. Already in a 17-77 slump, Vinny went 0-4 and is now hitting only .258, simply unacceptable for a power position on a team with little power as it is. What can we do? Maybe Jose Vidro can play 3rd when he comes back, leaving Junior Spivey at 2nd. Or perhaps Brendan Harris, who already has proven he can hit major league pitching, might be recalled from AAA New Orleans.

The Nationals are now 41-29, and are a full 3 games ahead of 2nd place Philadelphia. The team continues to play well, and they continue to draw well when at home. How well? The Washington Nationals have had more crowds of more than 28,000 this year than the expansion Senators had during their entire 10 year run in the 1960s and early 1970s. The Pirates' announcers said that the Nationals are drawing "well" considering they play in a "dilapidated" park. Sigh. I wish all these journalists and announcers would visit RFK before making light of it.

The magic continues.

Now, if this was the guy leading the Pirates on to the field tonight for their game against the Washington Nationals, I'd be scared. But he's not. Roberto Clemente is "Mr. Pirate," and there aren't any replacements for that title on this team's roster.

That said, I'm still concerned. The Nationals rolled into Cincinnati a few weeks back and swept the Nats, and did it easily at that. The Pirates aren't as bad as the Reds, but they aren't very good either. They have a few starters who will be all-stars during their careers, but no one player that can carry the team on their back for a couple of weeks at a time, guys like our own Livan Hernandez and Nick Johnson.

The 2005 Pirates have a team ERA of 4.05, certainly competitive but not low enough to give you a chance to win every night. Offensively, Pittsburgh is batting .257, again, good enough to win, but not on a regular basis.

Pittsburgh's rank among the 16 National League Teams: (The Nats score is next to the Pirates in the parenthesis. Example: Hits:14(11) ..... 14 is the Pirates rank, 11 is the Nationals rank. Average:12 (9) ... Runs: 15 (14) ... Hits: 14 (11) ... Total Bases: 14 (15) ... Doubles: 8 (T8) ... Triples: 1(2) ... Homers:12 (5) ... Strikeouts: 8 (9) ... Stolen Bases:15(16) ... Double Plays: 14(15) ... Left on base: 4 (8) ... On base percentage: 14(10) ... Slugging percent:11 (15)

Pitching Total Wins:11 (2) ... ERA:7 (6) ... Complete games:10 (14) ... Shutouts:5 (9) ... Saves:4 (2) ... Hits allowed:3 (9) ... Homeruns allowed:5 (2) ... Hit batter:3 (7) ... Walks:15 (11) ... Strikeouts:14 (15)

1B]Daryle Ward .276 – 11 – 40 (.332 OBP - .505 SLG)
Projected 2005 Stats: .276-28-103
Ward is a left handed slugger with great power. Like many lefty power hitters, however, he’s too aggressive and tries to hit the ball 600 feet each at bat. He does hit in the clutch and drives in more than his share of runs. Defensively, he’s barely MLB adequate. He’ll never be an everyday player in the major leagues, though several teams will try during his career. However, there is nothing wrong with being a quality platoon player in the major leagues.

2B]Jose Castillo .265 – 3 – 20 (.309 OBP - .377 SLG)
Projected 2005 Stats: .265-10-64
2005 is Castillo’s second full year in the major leagues, and he has shown improvement in many areas. He’s more powerful, strikes out less, but doesn’t walk at all, as his .309 on base percentage attests. The future looks bright, and to be honest, he’s doing more than any healthy 2nd baseman the Nationals have in the fold.

SS]Jack Wilson .231 – 4 – 13 (.270 OBP - .360 SLG)
Projected 2005 Stats: .231-10-32
By the numbers alone, it’s hard to believe that this is the same guy who roamed short for the Pirates last year. In 2004, Wilson hit .308 with 11 homers and 59 RBI’s. This year … well, this year things aren’t “quite” the same. Can you say Cristian Guzman? Defensively, he is tremendous, with soft hands, wide range and a strong arm. He runs well and sprays the ball against both lefties and right-handers. However, he doesn’t walk nearly as much as he should, and his average seems below his talent level.

3B]Freddie Sanchez .289 – 0 – 11 (.347 OBP - .393 SLG)
Projected 2005 Stats: .289-0-32
Sanchez’s numbers are based on 150 at bats, so it’s not like he got called up two weeks ago. It’s not that he’s not a good player. It’s that he’s not a good third baseman. Sanchez is a contact hitter who never strikes out. He uses the gaps effectively and his instincts are worth .10 points on his batting average. Isn’t as selective as the Pirates would like, but that is a relatively minor flaw.
Without question, Sanchez is a stop-gap until they can find someone with power to play the corner position. For now, the Pirates have two 2nd baseman playing at the same time.


LF]Jason Bay .299 – 12 –33 (.384 OBP - .574 SLG)
Projected 2005 Stats: .299-29-80
Would you like to have Jason Bay as a member of the Nationals organization? You did. Omar Miniya, in one of his many BAD moves, traded Bay and another player to the Mets for a major league utility infielder who was released 5 months later. Oh brother. Bay is a disciplined hitter with solid power. Combines slightly above average speed with quality base running skills to become great on the base paths. He doesn’t do well when he is behind in the county, and curves and change pitches can make him look bad.

RF]Rob Mackowiak .309 – 6 – 34 (.400 OBP - .482 SLG)
Projected 2005 stats: 309-15-72
Mackowiak’s projected stats are not an aberration; lat year, he hit 17 homers and drove in 75 RBI’s. Mackowiak doesn’t walk enough, strikes out too much, yet his OBP remains in the .385 range for his career. He has decent speed but doesn’t steal, pointing to the fact that he isn’t the best base runner on the major leagues. He is a quality defensive player. Mackowiak isn’t the kind of player that a team wants to build around, but he’s certainly good enough to have on a team in a pennant race.

RF]Matt Lawton .265 – 7 – 27 (.367 OBP - .433 SLG)
Projected 2005 stats: .265-20-80
Matt Lawton has been a consistent producer since his days in Cleveland. He has speed and power, runs the bases well, and covers great range in the outfield, though his arm isn’t as strong as it was earlier in his career. Lawton is a hard-nosed guy who takes baseball seriously. He’s a fun player to watch.

C]Humberto Cota .254 – 4 – 18 (.309 OBP - .355 SLG)
Projected 2005 stats: .254-11-52
Cota is beginning to prove himself as a major league catcher. He will never hit like a Mike Piazza, or a Brian Schneider for that matter. But he will provide occasional pop, drive in some runs when you don’t expect it, and let the opposing team know that home plate his is office and you have to go through him to visit. He has a great arm though he isn’t throwing out a high percentage of base runners, but that will come with time. He’d be a great catcher on a power-laden team, but is a detriment on a weak team like the Pirates.


Pirates Overview:
Number of Superstars: 0
Number of Stars: 1 [Jason Bay]
Number of Quality Players 1 [Matt Lawton]
Number of Decent Players 4 [Mackowiak / Ward / Wilson / Castillo]
Number of Below Par Players:2 [Orta / Sanchez]

Not a single Pirates player could break into a healthy Nationals lineup with the exception of Jason Bay, who I would rather have than Brad Wilkerson. There are no budding superstars, no top-notch rookies. The Pirates are another small market, small payroll team trying as hard as they can, but with little success.
Go Nats.

A Day after I lambasted outfielder Brad Wilkerson for just not being what the Nationals need in the outfield during this pennant drive, for striking out too much, for going weeks with little or no production, the on again / off again centerfielder was on again, going 3-5 with 4 runs batted in and no, repeat NO, strikeouts. Gee, maybe he reads "The Beltway Boys."

After getting bombed in the first two games of the series, Washington came back to salvage the final game behind a 15 hit attack. Sunny Kim pitched another exceptional game for the Nationals since being recalled from AAA New Orleans, giving up only one run in 5 innings, striking out 5 and walking only 1. His ERA dropped to 2.81.

Let's talk about Jamie Carroll for just a moment. Carroll has a career batting average of .272, and many new Nationals fans [me among them] said, "Hey, let's play him full time at short or second -- he's a good player." Well he is, but he isn't able to play on an every day basis. When he does, his production drops considerably. Now that he's getting more rest, he's playing better again. Filling in for Vinny Castilla at 3rd base Sunday afternoon, Carroll got 3 hits and has raised his average to almost .260. Another benefit of the Junior Spivey trade.

So, a third way into this 9 game road trip, the Nats are 3-3, with 3 more games to go against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Are we satisfied with a 3-3 record so far? We darn well better be. The Rangers and Angels have a combined record of 76-59, a .562 winning percentage. So, against the top two teams in the AL West, on the road, we split. I say wow! The Nationals played so much better in Los Angeles because the Angels have a more traditional ballpark, more conducive to the Nats style of play. The Ballpark in Arlington, although attractive, is not a place to play NL, station to station, good pitching and defense type of ball, the Nationals style of play. The close-in outfield fences and small amount of foul territory take away many of the Nationals strengths. If the Texas park benefits offense, why then didn't it help the Nationals too? With that smaller outfield, the outfielders play much closer in, and are better able to stop bloop singles and cut off potential doubles. Our kind of an offense plays better in Denver than it does Arlington.

So, we're off to Pittsburgh, where the Pirates currently sit in 3rd place in the NL Central with a record of 31-36. They are 16-17 at home, and are 4-6 in their last 10 games, Certainly ripe for the picking. I'd guess the Nats will win 2 out of 3, and end the road trip with a record of 42-30. The Phillies, currently in 2nd place, 2.5 games behind, goes to New York to play the Mets, the worst in the division.

The main point all Nationals fans need to remember is that we shouldn't be in a pennant race; we shouldn't be in first place, and we shouldn't care less about the standings right now. Repeat after me: A .500 record in September is great ... a .500 record in September is great...." That we are in 1st place right now feels great. Listening to Jeff Brantley wax poetic about the Nationals this evening on Baseball Tonight is tremendous. But winning the division will hurt the Nationals, and we don't want that. The new owner will say, "Hey if we can win the division [or wildcard] with a $47 million dollar payroll, why should I invest in a larger payroll?" No, lets finish well, but have a couple glaring weaknesses that need fixing. Let's let the new owner's checkbook make us even better than we are.

[June 18th] Yeah, yeah, I know. The Nationals lost to the Texas Rangers 8-1 Friday Night in Arlington Texas. John Patterson pitched badly enough to lose but could have won on another night. Cristian Guzman continued his to push to distance himself from the Mendoza line by getting 2 hits, one a home run. But the Nationals loss means nothing. The Angels clobbered the Nats 11-1 a few nights ago and Washington came back to win the last two games of the series. They're just as apt to do that again.

No, the problem isn't the loss. The problem is Brad Wilkerson.

For those of you have been reading my site for any length of time knows that I shy away at being negative; I always look for the silver lining. I mean, that Hitler fella created a highway system so great that one of the first things that President Eisenhower did was to duplicate it here in America. See? There is always something positive if you look hard enough. That brings us to the aforementioned Mr. Wilkerson.

While still drooling over the prospect of a baseball returning to Washington, I began to research the Expos players, and Wilkerson intrigued me above all else. He had speed. He had power. He could lead off. He could bat cleanup. He cold do so many things.

And he was so young. He could only get better.

But I have begun to realize two things about Brad Wilkerson. One, I don't think he is going to get better, and two, his strikeout totals are becoming disruptive to the team. I sat down in my comfy chair last night just in time to hear Brad Wilkerson strike out to begin the game. His next at bat, with two runners on and two outs, he struck out again. He struck out one more time, going 0-5 with 3 strikeouts, lowering his average to .275.

Some say a strikeout is just an out; no more and no less. I say that is bunk. Let's go back to Wilkerson's 2nd at bat last night and change the outcome. Runners on first and second with two out. Wilkerson grounds to shortstop Michael Young who throws the ball over Texeira's head and down the right field line. Both runs score and the Nats are ahead 2-0. Or perhaps he hits a fly ball to right that should have been caught, but Hidalgo lost it in the lights and those two runs scored. Unearned runs score every night in major league baseball, but to get an unearned run, the ball has to be put in play. Who among us doesn't remember the "rain game" between the Braves and Nats earlier this year at RFK? The Braves player hit a grounder to Guzman at short, who threw the wet ball wide of first allowing two runs to score. If that player strikes out, the Nats win and Cordero gets the save. But the ball was put in play, and the Nats lost the game.

Brad Wilkerson has averaged about 150 strikeouts a year. This year he will end up with more than 170. I took a quick tour through the MLB stats world and found that the typical leadoff hitter strikes out about 75 times a year. So Wilkerson fails to put the ball into play 95 more times than any other leadoff hitter in the major leagues. Who knows how many unearned runs that will cost the Nationals. Outs can be productive as well. With a runner on 2nd and one out, a long fly ball can move that runner to third. A strikeout can't. With runners on first and second and no outs, a ground ball can move them to second and third. A strikeout can't.

As of this morning, Brad Wilkerson is striking out 29% of the time he comes to the plate. Let's compare that to his fellow Washington Nationals: Nick Johnson: 20% -- Jamie Carroll: 17% [Spivey doesn't have enough at bats with Nats yet] -- Cristian Guzman: 18% -- Vinny Castilla: 13% -- Ryan Church: 24% -- Jose Guillen: 17% -- Brian Schneider: 11%. The closest to Wilkerson is Ryan Church at 24%, but that can be chalked up to his youthful inexperience. The "sluggers," Johnson, Castilla and Guillen average an astonishing 17% strikeout rate, a full 12% below the Nats leadoff hitter.

Will Brad Wilkerson get any better? The Braves Nation has been waiting for Andrew Jones to become the player everyone predicted. He is 28 now and he is what he is. I am afraid that Brad Wilkerson, age 28, is what he is. Knowing that, does he fit in with the long term plans of the Washington Nationals? We know he isn't a leadoff hitter. We know that while he hits .345 against lefties, he only bats .235 against righthanders. We know that he hits well on the road [.310] and does poorly at home [.231]. So at home, against a right hander, he is basically an automatic out.

Ever wonder why the Nationals do so poorly in the 1st inning? Does it ever vex you as to why we can't score early? In my view, it's because more often than not, we start almost every game with a strikeout. It's time we trade Wilkerson to someone who needs a power hitter for a genuine leadoff hitter, someone who can provide some instant offense.

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel much better now.

I understand that not a single person on the current Texas Rangers roster has ever heard of Bob Short. That doesn't matter. They are guilty by association, the progeny of the devil reincarnate. Once the Washington Senators left Washington and RFK for Texas and Arlington Stadium, they ceased being the Washington Senators. They no longer brought joy to my life. They were the enemy. Bob Short ripped from my life the only thing that made me happy, and he did it for all of Caesar's gold. Today, Washington is the better baseball town, has the better team, and hopefully, we'll prove it over the weekend. Finally, the ghosts of Washington baseball have the chance to get even.

The Rangers have a record of 35-29, 1 1/2 games behind the division leading Angels. They are 19-13 in the Ballpark in Arlington, one of those "cookie cutter" ballparks that were created during the stadium feeding frenzy of the past decade. The Ballpark is a suburban park created to give the impression of being an urban enviornment. The Rangers are a team built around their park, a team of homerun hitters, adequate fielders and so-so pitchers.

The Nationals are a team that, like the Rangers, seem to be built for the spacious green of RFK. The Nationals are a line-drive team with timely offense, quality defense and great pitching. The old axiom, good pitching beats good hitting, will be put to the test this weekend in Arlington.

Rangers Scouting Report:

1B] Mark Teixeira .286-17-50 .340 OBP, .540 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .286-43-127
Mark is a pure hitter in the mold of Todd Helton, with a great swing from both sides of the plate. His plate discipline is the best and his power is unlimited. He is slow, however, and doesn't run the base paths very well. Defensively, he's a good offensive player. Don't look for Nick Johnson type moves from this young man.


2B] Alfonso Soriano .294-18-44 .332 OBP, .589 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .294-47-116
Alfonso is a smaller frame version of Vlad the Implaler. He is a free swinger, and can drive most any pitch in most any locations to or over most any outfield fence. Once he takes that swing, he has the speed to turn outs into singles, singles into doubles, etc. Because of his strength and speed, he scores a lot of runs because he's always in scoring position. On the down side, he swings from the heels and strikes out way to often for a middle infielder. He also almost never walks as his .332 OBP indicates. He could be so much more if he just waited back on a few pitches each at bat. The reason his team[s] are always looking for a new position for Soriano is because he's a liability no mater where he plays.

SS]Mike Young .318-8-37 .373 OBP, .477 SLG
Projected 2005 stats:.318-20-84
He is like Nick Johnson in that he can hit to any field, and do it with power. He hits both righthanders and lefties equally, and his average speed is couterweighted by his Pete Rose like hustle. He could add 10 points to his batting average if he would only bunt, and isn't the best at hitting the breaking ball.



3B] Hank Blalock .286-11-33 .349 OBP, .483 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .286-28-97
He is one of the few multidimensional sluggers on the Rangers' roster. Although he hits homers with the best of them, he walks often, although he is one of "those" 150 strikeout types. He's got good speed for a slugger, but doesn't run well on the base paths.



LF] Kevin Mench .300-11-36 .365 OBP, .570 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .300-31-100
Mench hit righties decently, but absolutely destroys lefties. He is very adept at driving in runs. Mench's problem is that he is a dead pull hitter which severely limits his batting average. As good as Mench is, it is doubtful that he will become an everyday player anytime soon. He is a liability in the outfield and tends to wilt with the hot Texas summer.


CF] Lance Nix .244-4-27 .265 OBP, 410 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .244-13-88
Finally, a Rangers player that you can get out without using Kryptonite. Nix is has played about 700 major league games, and has averaged a home run every 27 at bats, showing he has the potential to be a good mlb power hitter, but he's not quite there yet. In his best minor league year he hit 21 homers, so he can pop the ball. Nix strikes out too often; he is on track to strike out 120 times this year after 118 k's in 371 at bats last year. Good pitches are his enemy, bad pitches are his friend.

RF] Richard Hildago .227-12-33 .265 OBP, .410 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .227-33-92
I guess there is nothing wrong with the Richard Hildagos of the world filling up the bottom of the AL lineup cards. He never gets on base, and his only hits are homeruns. Hildago is on track to hit 20 doubles, 0 triples and 33 home runs. He's going to walk 55 and strikeout 135 times. He has the power to change an occasional game with a homerun, but can do little else. He has a gimpy knee that slows him in the outfield. He's a dead pull hitter which allows the defense to set up to take away many of his would-be base hits.

C]Rod Barajas .252-5-23 .307 OBP, .411SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .252-15-64
At age 30, he's just now beginning to catch full time. He's got pop in his bat, but strikes out 3 times more than he walks. He's got a good arm but is slow, even for a catcher. Many of his swings result in ground balls right to the infielders.

DH] David Dellucci .253-10-23 .416 OBP, .506 SLG
Projected 2005 stats: .253-28-64
Dellucci is one of those very few DH's who is listed as a "very good outfielder." Based on how limited Hildago is in the outfield, it makes you wonder why these two aren't reversed. Dellucci as a career .261 batting average, so he's hitting within his range this year, although he's showing more power than in past years. He strikes out a lot - he'll end up with 125 this year, and that's no surprise. What is a surprise is that he'll end up 2005 with 125 walks as well. Don't expect to see him against any southpaws, as he simply can't hit them. Heck, based on his numbers, I'm not sure he sees them.

All season long, Nationals naysayers have been pointing to one particular stat as proof that the Nationals are maintaining their hold on first place with little more than smoke and mirrors. Going into the Angels series, the Nationals had been outscored as a team by exactly two runs in 63 games. See? There's the proof! You can't continue to win when you give up more runs than you score.

Uh huh.

The Washington Nationals beat the first place Angels 1-0 Wednesday night, winning their second in a row and taking two out of three in the battle between division leaders. In the three games, the Nationals scored 8 runs, the Angels 14.

Uh huh. No way the Nationals can keep it up.

Throughout the Nationals Nation, it could be heard: "Oh my, Tomo Ohka pitched a shut out last night and won his first game as a Brewer. Maybe this wasn't a good trade!!?"

Uh huh.

True, Ohka did pitch a shutout, giving up 9 hits while striking out 6. But he did it against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and I'm not really sure if they count Tampa's games at the Elias Sports Bureau -- it being a minor league team and all. Ryan Drese, however, the man who replaced him in the starting lineup, the guy we got for nothing, nada, bupkis, pitched even better and against a first place team. Drese pitched 8 innings, struck out 3 and gave up only 2 hits. All game long, his sinker coaxed ground out after ground out. Brian Schneider's deep homer to right in the 6th off of Bartolo Colon, who pitched a great game as well, gave Drese all the support he needed. When the Nats failed to score in the top half of the 9th, it was Chief time.

Uh Oh.

Now, I normally don't get concerned unless Cordero puts on more than 2 runners. When he loaded the bases with nobody out, I got concerned. I was worried. I mean, bases loaded -- nobody out -- what, there's like 87 different ways to score from third with less than two outs, right?

Uh huh.

Steve Finley: K
Benji Molina: Flyout
Dallas McPherson: K

Save number 21 for Chad Cordero.

The Nationals again showed their temerity as they won yet another one run game. With the Phillies loss to the Mariners, the Nationals are now a full 3 games in front of the Phillies in the NL East standings. The Mets lost. The Braves lost. The Marlins won.

So, a third way into the latest road trip, the Nationals are 2-1, heading into Texas to face Kenny Rogers. Will they be the giant killer? Somehow, I just don't think so.

Thank you Jim Bowden. You're not the jerk that members of the Reds say you are.

Fox Sports is reporting this morning that the Colorado Rockies offered the Washington Nationals outfielder Preston Wilson in exchange for Ryan Church and Zach Day. In addition, the Rockies would have paid $3 million of the $7 million still owed to the slugging outfielder. Jim Bowden turned them down.

Wilson is currently batting .276 with 11 home runs and 35 rbis; nice numbers but certainly tainted by the rairified air of Denver's Coors Field. He has a poor .338 on base percentage and is on target to strike out 150 times again this year. He is also in his free agent year.

Ryan Church is having a great rookie year, and will only get better with time. GM Jim Bowden said recently that Church will be a .300 hitter with 30 homers and 30 steals.

Jim, sometimes, the best trades are the ones you never make. Let another team get stuck with Wilson's salary and strikeouts. Remember, being in a pennant race is just a bonus for this team. We need to give Church a chance to grow and play every day.

Tuesday Night's game was perhaps the most important game the Washington Nationals have played all year. Sure, opening day was special, the first game at RFK was huge, and that just completed 10 game winning streak was out of this world.

Then they got pummeled 11-1 by the Angels Monday Night.

The Nationals had two options; they could come to the ballpark Tuesday evening and revert back to that so-so team that was as likely to win that day's game as they were to lose. They could have easily said" Well, these guys are good, so their is no disgrace in losing to them." The Nationals of a couple of weeks ago, perhaps even a month ago, might have lost to the the Angels 11-1 the previous game and said, "Hey, no big deal; we'll get them tomorrow." No. This team was angry.

They came back to the park Tuesday afternoon ready to redeem themselves. They were a first place team playing a first place team. These were the NEW Nationals -- the first place, in your face, no disgrace Nationals who wouldn't take an 11-1 pummeling lightly.

Livan Hernandez didn't have his good stuff last night. No, that's not quite true. He didn't any stuff last night. He flirted with disaster all evening, eventually holding the Angels to 3 runs over 6 innings, giving up 9 hits and walking 3 -- not exactly the stuff to write home about. But the fact that he didn't have his stuff isn't the story. No, the story is that Livan Hernandez willed himself to keep the team close, and that he did. By the time he departed, the score was 3-1.

It could have been worse. With the bases loaded and two out, and with Livan seriously struggling, Darin Erstad sweet-spotted a sharp ground ball that should have scored at least two and broken the game wide open. Instead, Junior Spivey made a play at second that ESPN nominated for a web-gem that saved the inning, and ultimately, the day.

Nothing much happened until the 8th inning, when the Angels of Los Angeles over by Anaheim that once was in California that started in Los Angeles lost their cool.

And the game.

Brendan Donnely entered the game, but never threw a pitch. Tipped off by the Nationals' video technician, Frank Robinson asked to have the Angels reliever's glove inspected, and within moments, "quite a bit of pine tar" was discovered. Good bye, Mr. Donnely. Angels manager Mike Scioscia got angry. Then he got mean. He told Frank Robinson that he was going to "undress" each and every Nationals player for the rest of the series. What? That's like a husband catching his wife cheating, and the wife saying that she would have him watched 24/7 from that point on. Frank got mad, and deservedly so. True to his word, Scoscia "undressed" Gary Majewski when he came out to pitch the 8th inning.

Enter Jose Guillen.

Each time Guillen had come to the plate, the Angels fans let him have it with a cascade of boos normally reserved for the most hated of players. Monday night, Guillen dinked a single and drove in the Nats only run, but no one hardly noticed. Tuesday night, however, they noticed Jose Guillen. Jose's fiery personality has remained in check pretty much all season. Tuesday night, however, he lost his cool, which is wrong, but for the right reason. He was in the background while the bru-ha-ha was occurring on the field during the 8th inning until Mike Scioscia began his verbal barrage against Nats manager Frank Robinson. Guillen entered the fray to protect his manager. It took two coaches and all the strength they could muster to drag Guillen into the dugout to give him a chance to cool off. Once the game began again, Scott Shields came in and promptly hit Ryan Church. A purpose pitch? Enter Jose Guillen, who launched a laser over the left field fence to tie the game. The crowd grew quiet, then erupted in yet another crescendo of boos. Guillen watched the ball, flipped the bat, and s-l-o-w-l-y toured the bases, enjoying the moment. The Nats scored 3 more runs and ultimately won the game 6-3. Gary Majewski won the game and Scott Shields took the loss.

The Nationals showed me so much Tuesday night. After being the "darlings" of all baseball media, they were trounced by the Angels and relegated to back page news. They could have enjoyed the run, and quietly reverted back to the team they were before the winning streak. But they didn't They came back from that loss with a vengeance, determined to keep winning, demanding of themselves their very best. I waited to see if this was a winning team, or a team of winners. They are both.

A quick thought on the Jose Guillen / Mike Scioscia situation from last year. Based on how I saw Scioscia treat a hall of famer like Frank Robinson, maybe Guillen's actions, while not justified, were perhaps now more understandable.

regardless, the Nationals increased their lead in the NL East to 2 full games over the Phillies. If Philadelphia cools off while we remain hot, we could find ourselves 6 games up going into July.

Man. Who woulda thunkit.

A few months ago, the Washington Nationals officials were ready to announce that RFK Stadium was to be "partially" renamed within "a few days." At first, it was to be a financial institution and later one of the military organizations.

I haven't heard a word since. Does anyone have any updated information about the naming/renaming of RFK? Please leave a reply to this post with any info you may have.

Thanks.

Excuse me? The Nationals lost last night and somehow this is good news?
You bet it is. Michael Jackson was a winner just down the highway, so the world again is in balance.

Too many wins in a row makes a team think they can just "phone in" their games, that the team is so special that somehow, some way, they're going to win that next game. The Nationals are good, but they're not that good. They needed a reality check, and they got it. All of a sudden, they no longer have the longest winning streak in the NL this year; they're just one of several teams fighting for 1st place in the NL East.

Another concern is what happens to a team after a winning streak ends. Just ask the Yankees. After winning 10 games in a row, they soon found themselves going 2-8 over their next 10. At last glance, they were still falling off the face of the Earth as if Columbus was wrong and the world was indeed flat.

Monday night's game was so bad that there is no need to review it. We lost 11-1. Jose Guillen drove in the only run [at least that's something]. No one played particularly well. Tuesday night will say a lot about the Nationals as a team. After winning 10 in a row, after getting their brains beat in, which team will show up? Will it be the one who has been in first place for more than 10 days, or will it be the one who got swept by the Reds 2 weeks ago?

One thing that we must all remember: We are fans of a .500 club. We are fans of a club that will likely win as many games the rest of the year as they lose. While we are fans of a team that won 13 out 14 games, we are fans of a team that hasn't proven capable of contending for first the rest of the season, little along remaining there. There are more questions than answers that dot the starting lineup. We cannot all of a sudden switch gears in mid season and have expectations of Cardinals and White Sox fans. Not only must we consider that the Nats will come back to Earth, we must assume it. With a few exceptions, this is the same team that limped home from "that" road trip just a couple of weeks back.

We want this team to finish 3rd or so, within shouting distance of first place. The new owner will take a look at the team and say, "Wow, they're only a bat and a pitcher away from winning it all." He'll then run out and find us one of each. But what if, Heaven forbid, we actually win the division? We'll likely get squished in the playoffs, and the new owner would say, "Hey, these guys won their division, why spend more money on the team when I can keep the payroll at $50 million and still be competitive." No, we don't want that. C'mon guys, go 84-78, finish 3rd, and then we'll have the chance to build on that effort.

Please?

Hidden behind RFK Stadium's concrete pillars and elevated upper deck, cut off from the community by a circular cavern, a pretty amazing thing is beginning to happen. If you pull into the parking lot early in the morning, just before the sun begins its arc across the sky, look eastward, and, when the morning fog begins to rise, when the dew sparkles on the grass just right, you can see them. The ghosts of Washington baseball have finally been freed by the play of the first place Nationals, and are part of a mass exodus of unfulfilled dreams and dashed hopes that no longer reside in Washington. The Nationals have evicted the century of losing from the minds of all Washingtonians. That is, those with a heart.

Up until Sunday's game, I believed that the Nationals were winning all these one-run games with smoke and mirrors, and it was just a matter of time before the "fairness fairy" would even out the Nationals won-loss record. I now realize that may never happen. It's not smoke and mirrors that the Nationals are using during this 10 game win streak, but rather talent, ability, desire, and fun-de-men-tals. Oh yes. Great coaching. Add that to the mix too.

Junior Spivey has told anyone and everyone willing to listen that he was sooo happy to be part of the Washngton Nationals. He puncutated his thanks with a long home run off the back wall at RFK this afternoon.

The more the Nationals win, the harder it is to find the words worthy enough to describe the efforts put forth by the team. For now, I'll just say that never in my wildest imagination did I expect Nick Johnson, John Patterson and Ryan Church to come through like they have this year. That the Nats won 3-2 is almost an afterthought. Right now, it's all about the love affair between the team and the city.

As much as we love them, they love us. Every night. Just look at the standings.

John Patterson has proven himself twice this year. The first time was during his first four starts, when he gave up only 3 runs in 27 innings for a sparkling 0.98 ERA, coming out of nowhere to be the Nats #2 starter. Over the next three starts, however, things turned sour. The next three starts, over 13 innings, saw Patterson give up 11 runs, raising his ERA to a "lofty" 2.98. All of a sudden, John Patterson seemed more like Tomo Ohka than Jim Palmer. A stint on the disabled later, however, and big John was proving himself yet again. In his last three starts, Patterson has pitched 18 innings, giving up only 3 runs and lowering his ERA back down to a stunning 2.54. He is back on track to be the #2 guy in the rotation, and a solid #2 guy at that.

John Patterson won the game for the Nationals Saturday night. The offense reverted back to its usual, sputtering self, producing only 4 singles, a double and a triple, this against Jamie Moyer, who had a 5.21 ERA going into the game. Had the team not been protected by that magic shield of perfection that has enveloped the Nationals for more than 10 days, I would have been worried. But until a team shows that it can penetrate the Nats anti-trouble bubble, I'm not too concerned. One hit ... 14 hits. It doesn't matter. The Nats will win.

With each game, the Nationals are showing that they have two of the best pitchers in baseball, and one of the best rotations. John Patterson's emergence as a top-flight starter has further solidified this team's already bright future. To be a champion in major league baseball, you MUST have two great pitchers and three solid guys to fill out the staff. With Livan and Patterson, we've got the two great ones. I'd resign Esteban Loiaza, who is without question is back from his self imposed black hole of last year. Tony Armas is good enough for the number 5 slot. The question now becomes Ryan Drese and can he fill the #4 slot, both this year and long term.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Nationals are 10 games over .500, but the Phillies are matching them win for win. The magic has to end sooner or later. The question then becomes, how does the team react when it does? Do they do a nosedive and end up back around .500? or are they mature enough to rebound and start a new streak?

Of course, they way they are playing, we may never find out.

Lefthanded veteran Jamie Moyer takes the mound tonight for the Seattle Mariners and goes against one of the pleasant surprises of the year so far, righty John Patterson. The Nationals go for their 9th win in a row while Mariners try to build on the good work they began earlier this week while playing the Florida Marlins.
Jamie Moyer, 42, is not the same pitcher he was two years ago, but his years of experience help him get through games when his "stuff" just isn't there. From 2001-2003, Moyer won 54 games while losing only 21. His ERA during that period was a stingy [for the AL] 3.30. Last year, however, he imploded, recording a 7-13 record with a gruesome 5.23 ERA. Moyer's walk to strikeout ratio, hits to innings, etc. haven't changed since his glory days. He just gave up a bunch more runs in 2004.

He's winning more in 2005, but he's also giving up the same number of runs as 2004. Moyer is 5-2 with an ERA of 5.21. He's pitched a little better the past couple of starts but not much. Here are his last 5 starts: 1] 6 innings, 4 runs 2] 6 innings, 1 run 3] 8 innings, 3 runs 4] 5 innings, 6 runs and 5]2 innings, 6 runs Moyer's ERA was 6.33 five games ago, 5.21 now, so he is pitching better.

After two subpar games before going on the disabled list, Nats hurler John Patterson is again as sharp as he was at the beginning of the season. His last 5 starts: 1] 6 innings, 1 run 2] 5 innings, 1 run 3] 5 innings, 4 runs 4] 3 innings, 4 runs 5] 6 innings, 3 runs.

Over the last 5 games, Patterson has an ERA of 4.68 [but 1.63 over his last two games] and Jamie Moyer a 6.66 ERA [but 3.75 over his last two games]. So both pitchers are pitching well now. We won't know who has the "Mojo" until the end of the 9th inning.

C'mon Nats, lets push the team to 10 games over .500!

I knew it would happen, I just didn't know when. At some point, the Nats would find a way to win. Would it be a 6th inning home run? Perhaps an 9th inning walk-off double? No. On Friday night, it was an 8th inning sacrifice bunt. But that's only part of the story.

We've seen this before. Jose Guillen was at second base, Nick Johnson was at first. Nobody out, Vinny Castilla up. Now, Vinny is great at hitting clutch drives into the gap and plating base runners. Sadly, he's been doing pretty well at grounding into double plays too, effectively killing rallies before they start. Vinny could have swung from his heals and maybe hit a 3 run home run, both padding his numbers and stroking his ego. But something strange is happening to the players on the Nationals. They seem to care more about the team's welfare then their own. So Castilla dug in, raised his bat high over his head, bent his knees and, with hands tightly gripping bat, squared and pushed a perfect pooch sacrifice bunt between the pitchers mound and first base. Castilla successfully moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd with only one out. He was greeted by his teamates in the dugout as if he'd hit a long, towering homerun. The 28,000 fans in RFK gave him an ovation. From that point, the rout was on.

Ever since the Nationals took over first place a week ago, pundits and prognosticators have been saying, "The Nationals are in first place, but based on their statistics, they shouldn't be." I finally realized how wrong they really are. The Nationals are in first place BECAUSE their statistics don't look particularly good. Championship teams always have great numbers; teams that are champions never do.

Later in that same inning, the TEAM went to work again. With Jamie Carroll at bat, Junior Spivey darted home on a suicide sqeeze. Jamie Carrolls' bunt was so good that he reached on an infield single. Throughout the homestand, the Nationals have been sacrificing, bunting, hitting behind the runner, doing all the "right" things. Playing fundemental baseball does two things: 1]you win games and 2]your stats take a dive. Brad Wilkerson and Jose Guillen came to bat with the bases loaded, determined to be selective at the plate. Both of them walked to drive in a run. Jose Guillen hit behind the runner, grounding a ball to first, scoring Tony Blanco to finish the scoring. The Nationals scored 6 runs in the 8th inning with the longest hit being a sharp liner to center field.

The Nationals batters no longer launch tall, towering drives to the warning track. That ended with the last road trip. Since their first game of this home stand, they have mastered the art of "small ball," and have a 10-1 record to show for it. A combination of good pitching, great defense and timely hitting CAN win division championships.

Jim Bowden brought in Junior Spivey, another fundementaly sound player who will play 2nd base until Jose Vidro gets healthy. This will allow Jamie Carroll to spend more time at short stop if Cristian Guzman cannot regain his offensive form.

Each nite, it becomes harder to find the right words to try and describe this very special team.

NATS NOTES: Rick Short made his first appearance in a major league game after 12 years in the minors, singling as a pinch-hitter and driving in a run ... Brian Schneider's bat is coming alive again as he got his 5th hit in his last 4 games ... Sunny Kim pitched well for the Nats, giving up 2 runs in 5 innings. He now has an ERA of 1.93 since his call up ... The Nats used 5 pitchers Friday night ... their ERA's were 1.93, 2.16, 1.98, 2.52 and 3.00 ... THAT IS WHY THE NATIONALS ARE IN FIRST PLACE

The Washington Nationals today acquired second baseman Junior Spivey [click here for career stats and scouting report] from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tomo Ohka. Nationals Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.
Spivey, who set career highs by hitting .301 with 16 home runs and 78 RBI in 2002 and earned a spot on the National League All-Star team, joins the Nationals after hitting .236 with five home runs and 17 RBI in 49 games for Milwaukee. Spivey, who brings additional post-season experience to the Nationals roster, is a career .308 hitter (139-for-452) against left-handed pitchers.

The 30-year-old is a career .272 hitter with 83 doubles, 46 home runs, 194 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 429 big league games spanning parts of five big league seasons with Arizona and Milwaukee.

Ohka, who was scheduled to start tonight's contest vs. Seattle, was 4-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) for the Nationals this season.


Thank goodness that Jim Bowden didn't just trade our number three starter without a backup plan. While watching the waiver wire a few days ago, he came accross an interesting name: Texas Rangers starter Ryan Drese. Drese had a great year in 2004, going 14-10 with a very good 4.20 ERA [the NL equivilent of a 3.30 ERA]. Over a five year major league career, Drese is 31-31 with 5.35 ERA [again, comparable to a NL 4.40 ERA] This year, Drese is 4-6 with a high 6.45 ERA. So if the pitching starved Rangers placed him on waivers, why would we want him? He must have lost his stuff, right? Well, here is the explanation from Jim Bowden who appeared on XM radio with Ron Dibble and Kevin Kennedy this afternoon:

"Drese has done very well over the past couple of years, but his mechanics are off just a bit right now. Their [the Rangers] hope was to clear him through waivers, send him to AAA for a couple of months, and then bring him back to the big club ready to go. Because he's making $1,175,000,00, the Rangers didn't think any team would take a chance of claiming him off the waiver wire. They were wrong. I talked to some of our coaches who feel they can fix the mechanics problem. I like his makeup, both physical and mental. I think he's a real find for the Nationals. We had to make a move with Ohka. He told us May 9th that he didn't want to be a part of the team anymore, and we certainly don't want any player who has a problem playing for a first place club. I'm sure he'll be happy in Milwaukee."

Let's look at the scouting report for Ryan Drese from TSN:
"Has hot, mid-90s heat in an arsenal that includes a great slider, plus a curve and change. He's also got attitude out there and has learned to get ahead in the count. He is for sure going to be a plus .500 pitcher for his career."

He was considered such a prospect that the Rangers traded Travis Hafner and Aaron Myette to get him.

My only concern with Junior Spivey is that he is signed to only a one year contract and will be a free agent by end of the year. Bowden said that he'll be on the bench when Vidro comes back, which all but guarantees that Spivey will look for a team where he can start next season. So, we basically give Tomo Ohka away. However, on the positive side, we're getting Tomo Ohka's replacement for nothing [off the waiver wire], so in essence, we've traded Tomo Ohka for Ryan Drese.

I can't say for sure that this trade will help the club this year, but I think it will. But more importantly, Trader Jim has told us that he won't keep problem players, and he will pull the "trigger" any time he thinks he can help the team.

Way to go Jim. So, what's next??

The Washington Nationals, a third way through the season, seem to be a "top down" team. The major league roster, thought just a year ago to be thin and less than talented, is showing perhaps just enough talent to contend for the National League Eastern division crown. But while the Nationals are looking good right now, they're minor league system seems bereft of Many "cant miss" guys. Instead, you come accross a bunch of career minor leaguers just enjoying the opportunity to wear a baseball jersey one more time. What happened? Lots of things.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, no major league team produced more quality home grown players than the Expos. Gary Carter. Andre Dawson. Warren Cromartie. Larry Walker. Moises Alou. Rondell White. On and on it went. Their high point came in 1994, when the Expos were leading the NL East with a buch of career Expos players. Of course, the strike erased their first place standing and, as attendance dropped in the years that followed, those quality players were sold and traded to keep the team afloat.

Since then of course, the Expos have suffered from a lack of money and an ownership group who suffered from a lack of caring. They traded all of their stars for prospects who never seemed to pan out. Then, Omar Minaya became the GM of the Montreal Expos. With the team just a couple of games over .500 in 2002, Minaya decided the team was in a pennant race and traded 3 prospects to the Indians for Bartolo Colon. The Expos ended the year winning 83 games and Colon was gone with the free agent wind. How are those "prospects" doing?
#1 Grady Sizemore, Cleveland
2005 projected statistics: .284 average, 171 hits, 24 doubles, 17 triples, 15 homers, 70 rbi's, 22 steals
TSN scouting report: Sizemore is a 5 tool talent who will make several all-star squads during his career.
#2 Cliff Lee, Pitcher, Cleveland
2005 projected statistics: 17-8, 3.26 ERA -- 54 walks & 153 strikeouts
TSN scouting report: Quality 4 pitch arsenal with heat in the low 90s. Consistent 15 game winner in the bigs
#3 Brandon Phillips, 2B, Cleveland
Currently in minors
2004 statistics with Buffalo [AAA] .303 - 8 - 50, 14 steals, .376 OBP & .430 SLG
TSN scouting report: Can line the ball all over the field and is developing good power for a middle infielder. Has the tools to be an "elite" infielder.

Earlier in the season, Maniya acquired Lou Collier from the Mets for a promising outfielder

#4 Jason Bay, OF, Pirates
Rookie of the year last year
2005 projected statistics: .283 - 31 - 85 -- .372 OBP, .530 SLG
TSN scouting report: A quality player who will continue to get better. While he's just under super-star status, he will have a tremendous major league career.

Collier was hitting .252 at Milwaukee when the trade came down. He had spent parts of several seasons with the Brewers, so his ceiling level was well known. He played at Ottawa for the rest of the year and was then cut. He was cut by the Phillies last December and has yet to sign with any club. His TSN scouting report: "A light hitter who has an especially hard time hitting righthanders. A borderline utility player." At the time of the trade, Jason Bay was at AA where he was on pace to hit .294 with 17 homers and 80 rbi's.

Why do you trade a player with tremendous potential for a player who has already shown that he doesn't have what it takes to be a regular in the major leagues? Because Omar Minaya thought he needed a utility infilelder for his pennant run. Less than six months later, Collier was cut. Less than 2 years later, Jason Bay was the NL Rookie of the Year. Ouch.

The good news is this happened when the team was still in Montreal. Jim Bowden and the crew is laying the foundations for a quality minor league system. It isn't there yet, but it will be. We'll take a look at who's actually in the system tomorrow. Bot I gotta warn you: it's not great news.

The Seattle Mariners have risen, and then fallen in just a few short years. From 1977 to the mid 1990s, they were year in and year out the worst franchise in major league baseball. During the 1990s, however, players like Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Jay Buhner, Tino Martinez and many others made them a championship caliber team. in 2001, the entire team had a "career" year and the team won 116 games, but still couldn't get past the Yankees in the playoffs. No team won more games than the Mariners from 2001 through 2003, yet they only made the playoffs once during that span. Seattle fell flat on their face last year as the entire team got suddenly old. This year, a new manager and new players have made them competitive, but not a winner.

2005 Seattle Mariners Record: 26 - 32, 3rd place, American League Western Division

Mariners Probable Lineup:

1B]Richie Sexson .239 - 13 - 45 .357 OBP
Sexson was one of the two major off season acquisitions by the Mariners. His was the chancy one, as the lanky first baseman was injured for much of the season last year while playing for the Diamondbacks. Sexson is the prototypical one-dimensional American League slugger. He'll end the season with 40 home runs and 135 RBIs, but he'll also hit only .240 and strikeout 195 times [his current projection]. Sexson can hit five homers in a weekend series, and then strikeout 10 times in the next two games. He reminds me of a similar player I watched while growing up, outfielder Dave Kingman.

2B]Bret Boone .246 - 5 - 29 .246 OBP
Bret Boone is a shell of his old self. Once the premier defensive AND offensive 2nd baseman in the American League, today he has limited range and a slow bat. How bad has it gotten? He's on pace to hit 15 homers and drive in 85 runs, which is fine. But his .246 on base percentage makes him another Mariner with limited capabilities today. Boone is in the last year of a costly contract signed after his breakout 2001 season. No way he's coming back in 2006.

SS]Mike Morse .278 - 0 - 0 .381 OBP
Morse is a youngster just called up to the big club. He is considered a decent shortstop who might be a starter in the major leagues, but more likely, he'll end up being the Mariners' version of Jamie Carroll -- a player who can fill in adequately at several positions. At this point, with only 18 at bats, he hasn't shown what he can or cannot do.

3B]Adrian Beltre .242 - 5 - 30 .277 OBP
Signed at a 16 year old by the Los Angeles Dodgers, they waited six years for him to finally reach the potential he had shown. But that was only one great year. The Mariners took another chance, partly because they needed a 3rd baseman and partly because they needed to show the fans they were serious about upgrading the team. So far, it's a disaster. He's on track to hit in the low .240s, hit 15 homers and drive in 90 runs. Like most of his teammates, Beltre has a horrid .277 on base percentage. Maybe he's pressing too hard to be worthy of the large contract, maybe he's now so fat and happy that he's calling is game in each night, maybe he's just in a season long slump. This year's stats look a lot like those first years with the Dodgers than 2004.

LF]Randy Winn .298 - 0 - 15 .366 OBP
Winn is one of the very few major league players who was traded for a manager. When Lou Pinella signed with Tampa Bay, the Mariners chose Winn as their compensation pick. Winn has speed and is very good in the field. He has a good on base percentage, and usually hits with some power, though he hasn't hit one yet. He seldom strikes out. Winn will be available on the trading block next month as he doesn't fit into the Mariners plans for 2006. I'd love to have him on the Nationals in one capacity or another.
CF]Jeremy Reed .259 - 2 - 20 .333 OBP
Because Reed is the center fielder of the future, he by default is the center fielder of today. And he's not ready. He is a fast player, but only has 3 stolen bases this season. He will one day be a fine center fielder, perhaps in the Johnny Damon mode, but he's having to learn his role in the vast centerfield of Safeco Field and not in the quietness of Tacoma's AAA field. Reed is past the "deer in the headlight" stage, but now must find out how far his talent will take him. I think it will take him far.

RF]Ichiro .306 - 3 - 17 .355 OBP
My, but these numbers look rather pale for the great one. Ryan Church is producing at a much higher rate than the Seattle right fielder. Don't delude yourself, though. Ichiro will get hot sometime later this month like he has every year and end up hitting .350+. He's got a gun in right field, covers more green than any other player who will come into RFK this year, and can change the outcome of a game by what he might do. No other player can control the game so well.

C]Pat Borders .188 - 1 - 2 .235
The 42 year old catcher is starting for the Mariners because Dan Wilson and Wicki Gonzalez are both on the disabled list. I think they found him at an old folks home in Toronto. He's breathing and still had his cup, so he met the Mariners qualifications to be their starting catcher. I'd give you a scouting report on Borders, but he can't do what it says anymore, so why bother.


The Seattle Mariners are not looking good for 2005. They can't get on base, they strike out too much, the older players don't cover nearly as much ground as they used to, and the quality players, with the exception of Ichiro, are too one-dimensional to be a threat every night. The pitchers ... well lets talk about the pitchers:
Jamie Moyer: 5-2, 5.21
Gil Meche: 5-4, 4.76
Ryan Franklin:2-7, 4.77
Joel Penienero: 2-3, 6.55
Aaron Sele: 4-5, 4.43
These guys couldn't break into the Nationals starting rotation. Same goes for the fielders, with the exception of Ichiro. The Mariners are not as good as the Athletics. They tried to improve their team but ended up only increasing they payroll.

You know you are on a roll when you win the games you should win, even when you shouldn't have.

What?

I became very nervous when I saw the pitching matchups for tonight's game: Livan Hernandez [9-2] against some kid named Blanton [1-5].

Aaaaaah!

The Nationals haven't exactly done a credible job playing games where they were the prohibitive favorite. It was against the quality pitchers that we seemed to do well. We were terrible against all of these kids and retreads. The beginning of the game didn't alay my fears one bit.

Jim Blanton pitched great until the 3rd inning, when Nick Johnson popped a fastball over the head of Mark Kotsay to clear the bases and give the Nats a 3-0 lead. A few moments later, Vinny Castilla doubled and Washington was done scoring for the evening. It was the 3rd inning. For the rest of the game, Blanton, who was on the cusp of returning to the minors, pitched very well, even striking out Nick Johnson twice, something that has happened only three times all season.

Of course, it wasn't the offense that won the game for the Nationals Thursday. Livan Hernandez, fresh off a 150 pitch effort last week, threw another 123 pitches over 8 innings, striking out 5 and giving up 8 hits. He tired in the 8th and allowed 2 runs; even the outs were well hit. Livan's ERA is now down to 3.35.

Chad Cordero is now tied for the major league lead in saves with 17. As usual, he does it the hard way. A typical save for the Chief is to allow 2 or 3 runners to reach base, allow an unearned run before finally bearing down and getting that final out. These hard fought saves have nothing to do with his talent; it is all about is maturity. He is only two years removed from college. As he gains experience, he'll gain confidence, and he will become the DOMINANT closer in the bigs.

The Nationals are now 34-26, 8 games above .500 and remain 1 1/2 games ahead of the 2nd place Phillies, who beat the Texas Rangers.

I'll write more when I stop shaking my head in disbelief ... it's really hard to find the right keys to push on the keyboard to make sense of what's happening in and around our Nation's Capitol this evening.

Wow.

NATS NOTES:
The Nationals are now 8 games over .500 ... the last time this franchise was playing this well was August 2003, almost 2 years ago ... The Nats now have 10 straight comeback wins, the most since the Cardinals streak in April, 2002 ... the starting pitchers had a 6.07 ERA on the just completed road trip and a 2.11 ERA on the current homestand ... the Washington pitching staff features 14 different hurlers who have one at least 1 game, tops in the majors ... the Nats have lost 510 player games to injuries, by far and away the most in the major leagues ...Brad Wilkerson is on pace to shatter the franchise record for doubles with 54 .

"How are they doing this?" "They can't possibly keep this up." "They don't lead the league in anything." "They'll wilt like the tulips in Mom's yard when summer comes to D.C."

[June 9th - 12:00] I've heard them all. I agree with some of them. The Nationals are either 4th or 5th out of 5 NL East teams in virtually every important offensive category. They are 4th out of 5 in ERA at 3.95. Yet, the Washington Nationals are 33 - 26, a season high seven games over .500, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies for first place. No, at first glance, the overall numbers don't look promising. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say that, all in all, they suck big time. But if you go a little deeper in the numbers, especially the pitching stats, you'll begin to see just how they are "doing" this, and from what I can tell, there isn't a mirror in sight.

Yes, the team ERA is 3.95, and yes, it is 4th in the division. But so much of that ERA is baggage from earlier in the season, when players who were pitching poorly were still with the team. Guys like Antonio Osuna, Joe Horgan, Claudio Vargas and Zach Day were killing the pitching numbers.

Zach Day:
INNINGS: 36 RUNS: 29 ERA: 6.75

Antonio Osuna:
INNINGS: 2 RUNS: 11 ERA: 42.43

Joe Horgan:
INNINGS: 6 RUNS: 15 ERA: 21.00

Claudio Vargas:
INNINGS: 12 RUNS: 13 ERA: 9.43

These four players had a combined ERA of 10.92. Without them, the Nationals' ERA drops all the way down to 3.35.

3.35 -- really.

Now, I know that you could dive into the pitching stats of most any team and pull out their four worst pitchers and say, "See, we have a great pitching staff." But here's the difference: OUR GUYS AREN'T HERE ANYMORE. The 3.35 represents the ERA of the Washington Nationals with the pitchers currently on the staff.

The starting staff looks like this: [the number in the parenthesis is their ERA over the last five starts]

John Patterson: [4.68] - Patterson gave up 8 runs in two starts just before going on the disabled list. He has since given up only 2 runs total in his last two starts.
2005 statistics: 2-1, 2.70 ERA

Tomo Ohka: - [3.00] - Ohka has only pitched one bad game in his last five, and that was his last outing against the Marlins, giving up 3 runs in 3 innings.
2005 statistics: 4-3, 3.33 ERA

Livan Hernandez: [3.31] - Without that first bad game on opening day, Livan's season ERA would be just 3.05
2005 statistics: 8-2, 3.45 ERA

Esteban Loiaza: [3.35] - Forget his wins and losses, he's pitched brilliantly all year. C'mon Jim, sign the guy soon.
2005 statistics: 2-4, 3.48 ERA

Tony Armas Jr.: [4.88] - Don't be fooled by these numbers; he'll be one of the top 2 or 3 guys on the rotation by season's end.
2005 statistics: 2-3, 4.91

The starting pitchers have a combined ERA of 3.51, and when you look at only each of their last five starts, about the last month of the season, their staff ERA drops to 3.29. How much better than that can we as fans hope for?

So, it looks more like sound pitching and less like smoke and mirrors as to the reason the Nationals are maintaining their position as division leader in the National League East. Manager Frank Robinson realizes that the offense isn't strong enough to allow pitchers to stay in the game and "work out" the kinks. Robinson has done a credible job of pulling his pitchers at just the right time, always keeping a fresh arm on the mound.

So, here we are, in first place, heading towards the first day of summer. The next time someone says, "I don't know how they are doing it," why don't you tell them, "I do. It's the pitching."

You'll be right.

Those of us who watched the Senators play in RFK Stadium have tried to tell the "juvenile journalists," those under 40, but oh no, they wouldn't listen to us. For more than two months, the kiddie corps, with both pen and keyboard, kept moaning about how it was easier to hit one out of Yellowstone than RFK. The Nats could never win here.

Yeah, right. There is an equation that explains it all: H + H = HH. See, it's simple. [H]eat + [H]umidity = [H]umongous [H]omeruns. Once that blanket of "water air" waffles into town, pop flys become fly balls, and fly balls become home runs. By mid summer, they'll be calling RFK the "launching pad" and saying, "see, I told you so."

I think the Washington Nationals should create a new pitching position: the "opener." The closer's job is to hold the lead and win the game. Well, we've got a great one in the "Chief." What we need is someone designated to give up a run or two in the first inning, just enough to rile up the Nats so they can create some of that "comeback magic" that is the lead story in every baseball publication and website tonight. "Manager Frank Robinson, what's the most important ingredient in a Nationals victory?" Robinson: "That we're behind in the game early."
Esteban Loiaza, who hadn't given up a run in the first inning all year, did. A juggled A's lineup caused some early angst for the Nationals, as catcher Jason Kendall singled leading off the game before Bobby Crosby buggered a fastball over the fence to give the A's a 2-0 before the fans had even sat down following the National Anthem. Loiaza looked like he was laboring, and many of us thought, "Gosh [well, not many of us say 'gosh,' but I do, so work with me], I guess this is the night that the Nats finally lose a game. " Ah no. The comeback even began early Tuesday night.

Ryan Church popped a homer in the 3rd to make it 2-1, and a 4th inning Carlos Baerga double and a Brian Schneider homer made it 4-2. Ryan Church muscled a triple in the 6th plating 2 runs, and Vinny Castilla finished the barrage with his first homer since ... well, I really can't remember since when ... for a final score of 7-2.

I normally at this point would tell you that first baseman Nick Johnson got two more hits, and continues to surprise, but he isn't surprising any more. He is becoming the constant of the Nationals inconsistant offense. For him not to get two hits and a walk, and make a radical scoop at first would be a surprise. And I wanted the Nationals to trade him to Tampa along with Zach Day for Aubrey Huff. Sheesh.

What of Ryan Church? I can still say he's a surprise, but perhaps not for too much longer. For the third time this season, Church went 4-5, this time adding a homer and a triple and drove in 3 runs. Remember, this is they guy who was hitting .187 towards the end of April and Termel Sledge was getting the playing time because he just wasn't hitting. As of tonight, his average has soared to .336. I was just this second listening to Peter Gammons who said that the Nationals can truly contend for the rest of the season if they can get a power bat in center, and suggested a Zach Day - Mike Hinkley - Ryan Church trade to the Rockies for Preston Wilson. What? Peter baby, you know I love you, but I don't want Wilson on this team. How could we win with two outfielders striking out 160 times this season? I have always believed that Ryan Church will be a power hitting center fielder and a perfect number two guy in the lineup. By next year, Church will begin a string of .300-20-80 RBI seasons that will last for some time. Why is Preston Wilson the answer when there isn't even a question? With young Ryan Zimmerman set to become the starting 3rd baseman in 2007 [if all goes according to plan], they along with Nick Johnson and Brad Wilkerson could form the young nucleus of a very fine offensive team.

It was nice that Brian Schneider and Vinny Castilla homered, but neither should be counted on to do that regularly. Vinny still drives in runs, but isn't going to hit more than 15 homeruns this year, and with the signing of UVA 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who Jim Bowden said might be called up later this year, I'm not so sure if Vinny fits into the plans next year, contract or no contract.

Esteban Loiaza pitched well after that first inning, pitching 7 innings, striking out 4 and lowering his ERA to 3.48. I could care less about his so-so 2-4 record; he's pitched lights out while the Nats offense was "out to lunch." Jim, sign him to a 3 year contract before the Yankees offer him 3 years and $20 million come fall.

In a season of firsts, the Nationals are now a season high 7 games over .500 at 33-26. The second place Phillies, buried deep in the cellar just 10 days ago, are 1 1/2 games behind the Nationals. Things look good for the summer. General Manager Jim Bowden tells anyone who will listen that he has money, around $3 million to spend on a bat or two.

I gotta tell you, I am surprised as anyone, and I have no idea how they are doing it. I just hope they can keep it up for a little while longer.

I enjoy [especially after a win] reading the beat reporters for the Nationals opposition after the game. It gives me an opportunity to see what the other team really thinks about the Nationals. Oh, to our faces, they say all the right things, "the stadium looks great," "your team has a lot of talent," and my favorite, "the uniforms are a lot nicer this year." But when you read their local papers, things aren't quite as rosy. The Braves reporters, for example, blamed the "poor conditions" of RFK Stadium for their poor play against the Nationals this year. I'm wondering, though, how did we beat the Braves in Atlanta two out of three if the conditions at Turner Field was so perfect? Hmmm....

So, it was with interest that I did a Google search for newspapers in Oakland, California. I really wasn't even sure if they had any; more likely, the San Francisco papers would carry their stories. No, I was wrong. The Oakland Tribune seems to be a fairly substantial newspaper based on their on-line content. So I clicked on the headline, "Oakland Nat-ily Retired in Loss At RFK," and began to read. The first slap at the team and the stadium was a couple of sentences into the story. The writer reported that Ray Fosse, who had played in RFK Stadium 34 years ago as a member of the A's, walked into the visitor's clubhouse and said "with a smile, 'nothing has changed.'" Slap slap. Well, Ray, that was a nice try. Only one problem: 34 years ago, the visitors clubhouse was the Senators' clubhouse. For the first time in RFK history, Washington's baseball team is using the 3rd base clubhouse as theirs [because of having to share the stadium with DC United]. Go to the Nats' MLB website, and take a look at the panorama pix of the clubhouse. I distinctly remember the pictures of the clubhouse taken during those last years the Senators were here. That aint the same clubhouse. Slap slap. The rest of the story was fairly benign, though the writer went out of his way to say that the first place Nationals have been outscored during the season. Slap slap.

I noticed another article entitled "Interleague Series From Hell..." and I just had to check that story out. Again, at the top of the story, the boys from Oakland took yet another swipe. It began with the fact that it makes no sense for the A's and the Nationals to be playing each other. I'm cool with that. From there, however, it turned cold.

Macha is in his customary froth about it, as you might expect. Talking about
playing in the decayed mosh pit that is RFK Stadium against a club totally
foreign to him, the A's manager told mlb.com, "I guess it will be interesting."

Hmmm. RFK Stadium, a place that this writer likely has never been to, either before or after the renovation, refers to our home park as a "decayed mosh pit." I'm thinking that, based on the mosh pit reference, this writer must be all thats left of a someone who spent too much time in Bay Area bars in the 1980s. Slap slap.

Now, I've been to their ballpark. If our stadium is a cookie-cutter stadium, then theirs is a cookie-cutter stadium gone bad, a park that was innocuous in its infancy, but today is more reminiscent of the football-baseball multi-purpose parks that no one uses anymore. Hey, wait a minute. Oakland's park IS a football-baseball multi-purpose park. Oops. Sorry guys. Slap slap.

The writer calls a trip to Washington D.C. to be part of an "Interleague series from hell." Now see, I don't understand that. Washington D.C. is perhaps the most powerful, most influential city in the world, full of museums, monuments and men and women of power. It's the perfect city for baseball players to spend a few hours strolling the mall, visiting the Smithsonian, or even sitting in the gallery and watching our legislators at work. But I guess I have to remember, these guys are from Oakland. See, Oakland IS a mosh pit. Period. Their idea of a good time is going to San Francisco. Slap slap.

Oakland is the middle-class cousin of San Francisco. Sitting across the bay from one of America's most famous and favorite cities, Oakland is ... well ... it's just there. It does seem to do a good job of keeping the topsoil from blowing away, though. The city isn't known for anything special, save some riots in the late 1960s. When A's owner Charley Finley moved the team from Kansas City to Oakland, most baseball fans said, "Where's Oakland?" I wonder how many people say, "Where is Washington?" Most people think that Washington was the worst draw of any professional baseball team in history, but NEWSFLASH: Many of the smallest crowds ever recorded in modern MLB history were in the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. In 1979, the A's drew 653 fans for a game against the Seattle Mariners. C'mon, the Senators at least drew a few thousand per game. Slap slap.

I don't mean to take swipes at a city that is still searching for its soul. I understand their feelings of inferiority; they must look across the bay bridges to see a city that dwarfs them economically and physically. It's kind of how Baltimore feels about Washington. I feel for them. But let's be real. A Renovated RFK is every bit as good as their park, probably better in many ways. And remember, we're moving in 3 years. Our city is more glamorous, more important and more well known. Do the French hate America because of who lives in Oakland? Are the terrorists trying to blow up targets of value in Oakland? No, because they aren't any. Are recent college graduates flocking to Oakland in search of fame and fortune? No. Oakland is one of those cities that people can't wait to leave. I guess it's no wonder that that both writers from the Oakland Tribune felt the need to take a swipe at our city and our stadium.

Hey Oakland ... two words for you: Slap slap.

I got to tell you, I just wasn't into Monday's game. After the euphoria of the past 48 hours, it seemed like a huge letdown to play the last place Athletics. Almost wasn't worth the effort, you might say. Charlie and Dave even mentioned that the 27,000 in attendance seemed a little "down" during the game. That is, until the 6th inning.

Barry Zito was the old curve ball guru until Jose Guillen stepped into the box leading off the 6th inning. Four pitches, four balls, man on first. Then came Nick at Nite. On the first pitch offered by Zito, Johnson crushed a drive that bounced off the back wall in right center field, a deep 400' shot that suddenly woke up the fans and put the Nationals in the lead, 2-1. A succession of relief pitchers did a good job keeping the game close until the Chief came in and closed the game down in the 9th inning.

They didn't do it perfectly. C.J. Nitkowski came in to get two left handers in the 7th, and gave up a single to Eric Chavez and walked Scott Hatteberg. With one out, Eric Byrnes hit a grounder to Guzman, who flipped to Jamie Carroll for one, but Carroll's throw was low and wide, but Johnson's magic leather completed the twin killing -- a run would certainly have scored had the ball gotten past him. In the 9th, Cordero gave up two hits after getting the first two out, but finally induced Mark Kotsay to tap a slow roller to Jamie Caroll who just nipped a sliding Kotsay at the bag to end the game.

Tony Armas, though not having his best stuff, pitching 6 innings, giving up only one run on four hits. He dropped his ERA to 4.91 and has now pitched two quality games in a row. Cordero earned his 16th save of the year and lowered his ERA to 1.24.

The Nationals didn't dominate the game. They only got 5 hits for the game, but this type of game is becoming the "typical" Nationals game this season: Good pitching, good defense, timely hitting, and just enough base runners. I keep saying it, the Nationals can't keep winning like this. I keep saying it, but they keep doing it. One of these days, they're going to start losing these close, one run games. Hopefully, it won't happen anytime soon.

Another "first" occurred this morning in the history of the Washington Nationals. Picking 4th in the first round, The Nationals chose University of Virginia All-American 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman. This wasn't one of those "picking the best athletes available" kind of choices. It seems that the Nats have a definitive plan.

Zimmerman is thought by Nats scouts to be ready to be the team's starting 3rd baseman in 2007. Although his upside isn't as great as some of the other players Washington could have chosen, he was much closer to being ready for major league play, and the Nationals willingly made that trade-off. He's not going to be a superstar, but it is thought he is going to be an important cog of potential championship team. What kind of numbers might he put up once he's got some MLB experience? Scouts seem to point to a .280 average with 20-25 homers and 80+ RBIs. Good but not great numbers. Also, his defense is a MLB ready today.

Remember, Vinny Castilla is signed through next year, and there is no chance that the Nationals would resign the then 40 year old to another contract. I personally have serious doubts about Vinny next year. But team officials are hopeful that as Vinny goes bye-bye, Ryan will be ready. What if he's not? Likely, we'll see Brendan Harris play 3rd for a season, though Harris is better at 2nd.

Speaking of Brendan Harris, this move likely makes him no more than a reserve at the major league level if he remains with the franchise. He's not going to knock Vidro out at 2nd, he can't play short, and Zimmerman is the "can't miss" third baseman now. That's too bad, because Brendan Harris can hit.

So it's a local boy [sort of] drafted first by the Nationals. Hope he realizes that there are many more Terp fans inside the beltway then there are Cavalier fans.

Now that the euphoria of being in first place is beginning to die down [yeah right!], it might be wise to take a look at the next pitcher the Nationals will be facing, Oakland's Barry Zito.

Zito's 2005 record: 2 - 6, 4.52 ERA
Zito's 2004 record: 11-11, 4,48 ERA
Zito's 2003 record: 14-12, 3.30 ERA
Zito's 2002 record: 23-5, 2.75 ERA

The question that begs to be asked is, what happened to Barry Zito in the last two years? He has gone from Cy Young to Matt Young in just two seasons.

The first glaring number, aside from the ERA is the opponents batting average. In the four years prior to 2004, they were .195, .230, .218 and .219. In 2004, it jumped to .272, and is .275 this year. He is striking out more, but is allowing more hits over the past two years and his walks have remained about the same. So it's not about velocity or control. It's about command.

Hitters seem to be laying off his hammer curve and waiting for his 89mph fastball, deadly when the curve works, but more like a batting practice fastball when the curve isn't doing its thing. The curve used to be Zito's "out" pitch, and now hitters don't concern themselves with the curve and instead wait on the fastball. His home runs allowed jumped from 19 in 2003 to 28 in 2004; he is on pace to give up 20+ again this year. This is what you would expect when professional hitters are holding back, waiting for 89 mph fast balls.

Perhaps time is taking its toll on Zito's arm. Nolan Ryan pitched until he was 46, and Roger Clemens is pitching today because the fastball doesn't wear down the pitching arm like a curve ball does, and as we all know, Zito IS a curveball pitcher. Without an effective curve, there is no Barry Zito.

Barry Zito could easily revert to form in cavernous RFK Stadium, but I wouldn't count on it. Zito has given up 98 baserunners in 68 innings, and that is a recipe for disaster in any ball park. Don't count on a win, but don't count on Zito embarrassing the Nationals with his hammer curve either.

Did Ryan Church's homer against a lefty on Sunday earn him a start tomorrow night? That should be an interesting decision for manager Frank Robinson.

Since I was a young man, I wished that the Washington baseball team could be in first, just for a while. I wanted to be able to pick up the Washington Post just once and see "Washington" ahead of the rest of the teams in the division. My brother giggled when I told him that it might happen, saying, "Washington will be in first place when hell freezes over." Well, the team name is different, but the idea is the same. With the Braves losing to the Pirates, and the Nationals win over the Marlins, the Washington Nationals are something that no other Washington team has been this late in the season: a first place team. And it really shouldn't have even happened.

Today was a throw-a-way game. After compiling a 5-1 record against the Braves and Marlins during the homestand, the chances of sweeping the Marlins was almost zero. A.J. Burnett was pitching for the Marlins, and the Nats would be without their starting corner outfielders, Brad Wilkerson and Jose Guillen. Nah. Let's just call this game in and be happy with a 5-2 record for the homestand thus far.

And they did. For awhile at least.

It was 2-0 going into the bottom of the 7th before the Nats fanagled 3 runs to take the lead 3-2. Lenny Harris quickly changed that in the 8th with one of his pinch-hit specialties to tie the game. It should have been worse, with a runner of third and less than two outs, but outstanding reflief pitching ended the threat.

Ryan Church. Man, Ryan Church. A smooth swing, against a left hander no less, sent the ball arching over the right field wall for a no-question 3 run home run that gave the Nationals the lead, and ultimately the win, 6-3. The team didn't realize that this wasn't a game they should have lost. They didn't realize that by playing 4 1/2 regulars, they didn't have a chance against fireballer A.J. Burnett. They should have been thinking about Marlon Byrd's frenzied reaction and Tomo Ohka's diss, but they weren't They looked up into the stands, and saw 40,000 frenzied Nats fans who believed in them, and they fought back to win the game, not once but twice.

John Patterson reasserted himself as one of the teams top 2 starters, though he didn't get the win. Ryan Church reasserted himself as one of the NL's shining rookies of the 2005 campaign. Nick Johnson didn't get a hit [unusual] but got on base with a walk [usual]. Christian Guzman forgot about his hitting struggles and made one of the finest defensive plays I have ever seen at shortstop in all my years [and I have had many years]. Tony Blanco continued his clutch hitting with a double that drove in a key Nationals run.

Most pundits say this hot streak won't last, that very soon, they'll take their place as expected in the cellar of the NL East, and leave first place to the "big boys." Uh huh. Right now, we ARE the big boys, and it's up to the rest of the division to push us out. If we're doing this well with 11 of our players on the DL, how might we play when they all return? And they will return.

But no matter what happens, I'm stunned. I filled this post with letters and apostrophes and commas and such, but in reality, I'm just plain and simply speechless. Wow.

The Washington Nationals won last night, and the lost as well. They beat the then first place Florida Marlins 7-3, winning 5 out of their last 6 against the two first place clubs in the NL East division. They lost Marlon Byrd for the rest of the game, and probably at some point, another 5-10 games. I guess we have too many players on the DL, so we have to start filling the suspended list.

It was a strange game from the first pitch. Tomo Ohka obviously didn't have his "stuff" Saturday night, and struggled to get outs all night long. He gave up an unearned run in the 1st, but Vinny Castilla quickly changed the feel of the game with a bases clearing double in the bottom half of the first. Ohka gave up a run in the 2nd on a Juan Pierre double and allowed a game tying homer by Juan Encarnacion in the 3rd. The Nats clawed back with a run in the 5th when Jamie Carroll scored on a Nick Johnson single. The seventh saw a repeat, as Johnson again singled hom Jamie Carroll to give the Nationals a 5-3 lead. The Nats put the game out of the reach in the 8th on a Christian Guzman single and a Tony Blanco double. Final score: 7-3 Nats.

A word on Marlon Byrd. Replays showed that he in fact did strike out, so I'm no sure why he was so upset. That said, after being ejected from the game, he made a bee-line towards hat umpire, and Joe Brinkman stepped in to in his words "corral" him and got knocked down pretty hard. If in fact Brinkman instigated the contact, MLB officials should go easy on Byrd. With our luck, however, he'll be suspended for a month.

Ryan Church is continuing to show why he was the top prospect in the Expos minor league system last year. Ryan went 3-4 to raise his average to .319. If Byrd will as expected be suspended for a few games, Church will finally get a chance to hit left handers on a regular basis. Nick Johnson got two more hits to up his average to an amazing .338. Jamie Carroll & Cristian Guzman also got 2 hits a piece as they seem to be pulling out of their slumps as well.

I'm not as concerned with Tomo Ohka having a mediocre game as I am his pulling a "Zach Day" when Frank Robinson came to the mound to relive him. He turned his back on his manager, and held tightly on to the ball, almost refusing to give it up. Because Frank pulled an ineffective Ohka early, and brought in pitchers who were effective, the Nats were able to beat the Marlins. A team as thin as the Nationals can't wait for their starting pitchers to find their groove sometime later in the game. I support manager Robinson's action.

Props to Sunny Kim. Finally getting a chance since returning to the big leagues from New Orleans a couple of weeks ago, Kim pitched 3.1 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits, striking out 4. Kim has a stable major league career, and [hopefully] will solidify the Nats long relief bullpen.

The Nationals are now ahead of the Marlins in the standings, a half game behind the Braves for first place in the NL East. How? They are 4th out of 5 teams in the division in batting, last in runs scored, last in home runs, 4th in on base percentage, and last in slugging percent. They are also last in stolen bases. Maybe they are doing it with pitching? They are 4th out of 5 in team ERA. They are winning by shear desire. They are winning by a single run most of the time, and often, the wins come by luck or bad play by the opposition. Yet they continue to win, and I'll take that.

These numbers suggest that the Nationals will eventually fade to the basement sometime in late July. You can't be the worst offensive and nearly the worst pitching team in a division and continue to win.

Who knows. Maybe you can. Get our 11 players off of the DL and lets see what these boys can do as a team. Either way, the ride so far has been great. No one can take that away from the team, or the fans.

It wasn't supposed to be this way. The Nationals, just a few months removed from being one of the laughing stocks of the national league, took 3 out of 4 games from the Braves, the 13 time reigning divison champion. Tonight, the Nats went up against Josh Beckett, who shut Washington out the last time the two teams met.
Time to come back to reality?

Not yet.

Ryan Church hit a ball into left field, Charley Sloews said he "popped it into left," a ball that really wasn't deep enough to score on. Luckily, Jamie Carroll didn't get that message. Cabrera caught the ball along the line and had to throw the ball across his body, which caused his throw to reach home off line, allowing Jamie Carroll to score the winning run in the 11th inning. Would Carroll have been out with a good throw? Thank goodness we'll never find out.

Things are changing in the National League. The Marlins, having just lost 3 of 4 to the Pirates, lose again to the Nationals Friday night. The Braves, having just lost 3 of 4 to Washington, lose their opening game to the Pirates. As the Nationals careen towards the all-star break, they continue to put themselves in a position to contend.

Livan Hernandez pitched another tremendous game, giving up only 2 runs in 9 innings, and topping 150 pitches for the third time this year. The Marlins' Josh Beckett, who shut out the Nats the last time he faced them, was great again. He too gave up only 2 runs in his 8 innings pitched. Chad Cordero pitched the 10th and Luis Ayala pitched the 11th for the win.

The Nats weren't at their best, but they are beginning to show that even when they play poorly they can still win. Friday night, they won with only 4 hits, left 7 on base, and scored the winning run in the 11th because the Marlins pitcher failed to make a good throw to 2nd base that would have begun a sure double play.

Sometimes, you've got to take what they give you.

Think about this: the Nationals are a 1/2 game out of first place. If the Braves lose to the Pirates again Saturday, and the Nationals beat the Marlins, The Nationals, Washington's first baseball in 34 years, will be in 1st place in the National League East.

You gotta love it.

It was announced this afternoon that billionaire George Soros has joined one of the groups vying to purchase the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball this fall.

If his group wins and becomes the new owners of the Nats, I will revert my allegiance back to the Atlanta Braves in a heartbeat, and I doubt I would be the only one.

Now, before my Democratic readers flip out, listen to me. This is not about me being a Republican [which I proudly am]and unable to root for a team owned by a Democrat. I would point to the years the Redskins were owned by Edward Bennett Williams, one of the most influential Democrats of his day. There are countless Democrats that could become owner of the Nationals, and I would have no problem with any of them.
It's only George Soros that could make me a Braves fan once again.

George Soros did everything he could to remove George W. Bush from office. Using the newly created election financing laws, he pumped hundreds of millions of his dollars into "527" groups like MoveOn.org to accomplish his goals. He, and his groups, used innuendo, half-truths, lies and illegal practices to gain John Kerry the Presidency.
For instance, groups he funded slashed tires of vans that were to pick up Republican voters and take them to the polls in Wisconsin. On and on it went.

Al Gore would be a fine owner. He used his mouth to espouse his ideas, and didn't try to change America using money, and not ideas, as the key to that change. I won't give my money in any form to a man who is so anti-American, who believes that Republicans are somehow cro-magnon in temperament.

It's up to you, MLB. If he comes, I go. I know I'm not important to you, but by allowing this man to be part of any ownership group, you would be validating his decidedly socialist agenda and telling fans of the Nationals that money trumps everything.

When you have a game like last night, there are usually too many stars to mention. Vinny Castilla whacked a timely run scoring double. Nick Johnson got 3 more hits. Gary Barnett? Well, all Barnett did was hit a homer and a double and drive in 5. Esteban Loiaza pitched 6 innings of 2 run ball. See? They were all stars.

However, my star was Jose Guillen.

Guillen gets my vote for two reasons: one very tangible and one intangible.

First: The tangible. Of course, the guy can hit, but Jose Guillen was the star, the hero, last night in the field. In the 8th inning, with runners on 1st and 3rd with one out, and a HUGE inning in the making, Braves 1st baseman Adam LaRoche launched a long blast to right. Jose Guillen raced -- no, it was more of a glide -- back towards the right field fence, leaped and snared LaRoche's drive just inches from disaster. Guillen stopped, twirled and fired the ball back into the infield keeping the runner at first and allowing only one run to score. Who knows how many more runs would have scored without that out being recorded. In the 9th, with the Braves trying to claw back into the game, Chipper Jones launched a deep drive to the fence at right. Jose circled under it and leaped as high as hit 5"11" frame would allow, catching the ball just off the top of the fence. It might have been a homer. It might have been a double. Either way, it might have ignited yet another Braves comeback. However, it ended up being an out, and the Braves went out meekly from that point to end the game.

Now to the intangible. Coming in of the field after that horrid top half of the 8th inning, with heads hanging and souls numb, Jose Guillen raced into the dugout and began to shout. "C'mon, let's show them we can come back! Let's take back this game!" Said diminutive infielder Jamie Carroll, "Man, that guy charges me up!" Jose Guillen is the type of player who fires up his fellow team members. He wants to win. Very badly. His personality is the type that, when contained is fiery in a positive way. It's when it's not contained that problems arise [just ask the Angels]. So far, however, he's shown to be a leader, the guy who's going to [hopefully] lead the team to the promised land.

Thank you, Jose. You won that game for us last night, and hardly anybody noticed. And that's just the way that Jose likes it.

And, do you think that maybe, just maybe, the Angels might be regretting their decision to trade Guillen for basically nothing?

Wow.

Going into this four game series with the Braves, I had hoped for a split. The Braves, even though they are trying to re-tool on the fly and aren't the same team we're used to seeing in those uniforms, are still the Braves. They usually beat up on teams like the Nationals. Just look at last year. Atlanta beat the Expos 15 times while losing only 4. The Nats, however, continue to surprise.

The Nationals beat the Braves tonight to win the series, 3 games to 1. Just as they shouldn't have lost last night's game, however, they shouldn't have won tonight.

Esteban Loaiza pitched his usual gem and as usual, got minimal support. Going into tonight's game, the Nats were generating 1.9 runs per game for Loiaza, by far and away the worst for any starting pitcher in the major leagues. Esteban gave up 2 runs over 6 innings, striking out a season high 6 batters. When he left, though, you just knew that something bad was going to happen.

And happen it did.

The Nationals should have lost the game tonight, and it was the 8th inning that should have done them in. Every once in awhile, the Nats play like they used to be the Expos. Tonight was one of those nights. Gary Majewski was just off enough to put his defense back on their feet, and seemed unprepared for the entire inning. Christian Guzman made a bad throw to first, a throw that replacement Carlos Baerga should have nabbed. He didn't Brad Wilkerson threw to third and hit the runner, allowing the 4th run of the inning to score. The Nats seemed out of synch throughout the inning. Heading into the bottom of the 8th inning, I was ready to walk to church to take care of a couple of items. However, the Nats pulled off one of their biggest comebacks of the young season.

To be fair, the Nationals didn't really win the game. Rather, Braves manager Bobby Cox lost it for his team. Dan Kolb began his long downhill spiral against the Nationals in April, when the team batted around in the 8th inning and scored 5 runs to put the game out of reach. Bobby Cox has been trying to find "safe" places within some games to allow Kolb to regain his confidence. This seemed like just such a game.

It wasn't.

Brad Wilkerson walked, and after Jamie Carroll grounded out, singles by Jose Guillen and Carlos Baerga [Nick Johnson was pulled for an acid reflux disorder] singled, driving home the first run of the inning. Vinny Castilla later doubled making it 6-5, and after an intentional walk, Gary Barnett greeted Kevin Grabowski with a bases clearing double, puting the Nats in front to stay 8-6. Chad Cordero saved his 15th game to close out the series with the Braves.

What's the deal with Gary Barnett? He launched a long 2 run home run in the 2nd inning and blasted a 3 run double in the 8th. Without Barnett, the Nats lose this game, and lose it big time. Barnett was signed for his defensive prowess, but he his hitting very well this year. The Nationals have the best defensive tandem behind the plate in the National League, and now both of them have become capable hitters.

Things looked a little grim for Nick Johnson there for a while. Initial reports said that he was removed from the game for "chest pains." Luckily, later reports indicated that he was having heartburn, or reflux problems. He'll be fine for tomorrow. Before being removed, Johnson got three more hits to raise his batting average to .333. I think the Nationals could withstand the loss of any single player save Nick Johnson. He's amazing.

I'm very happy for Vinny Castilla -- he needed that run scoring double in the 8th. He grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and again with runners on 1st and 2nd later in the game. He is transitioning before out very eyes. He is no longer the power hitter that he was, though his average and run production is still ok. He should end the season with acceptable numbers, but I worry about next season. He may not have another good year left in him.

It was a magical night. I wonder how many fans were in their cars or in the subway when Brad Wilkerson walked to lead off the 8th inning. A few weeks ago, I was hoping for a .500 season. Now, depending on how the Marlins look over the weekend, the Nats might actually have a shot at the division. Why the Nats? Why not!

This guy helped beat the Nationals last night? Gee, I thought when the Braves talked about his "flexibility," they meant he could play all the infield positions. Oh well.

Wilson Betetmit homered to tie the game off of Hector Carrasco, and Marcus Giles singled in Pete Orr for the go ahead run as the Braves came back and beat the Nats, 5-4. It was the 3rd consecutive one-run game of the series.

The Nats had built an unlikely 3-1 lead off of superman John Smoltz in the 2nd inning. After Johnny Estrada homered off of Tony Armas Jr in the top half of the second, Ryan Church doubled home Nick Johnson, Brian Schneider doubled home Church, who later scored on a wild pitch.

Tony Armas returned to form Wednesday night against the Braves, pitching 6 innings and giving up 2 runs. He walked 4, but was able to pitch around those baserunners all evening. He saw his ERA drop from 6.19 to 5.58.

The lack of clutch hitting has become a big problem for the Nationals. In the three games played against the Braves this series, Washington have left 37 men on base. The league average for runners left is about 8. The Nats often double that number. The Nats are an enigma offensively. Although individual players lead the league in several categories, they are very "iffy" as a group. This is [I think] more due to the lineup then the players in the lineup. I still don't see Brad Wilkerson as a leadoff hitter.

For a while there, the Nats didn't look like they were going to miss Jose Vidro all that much. Replacement Jamie Carroll hit lights out for the first three weeks at second. Less than three weeks ago, Carroll was hitting .368. Today, he is down to .245. It is very difficult to win consistently when your number 2, 8 and 9 players are automatic outs. Hurry back Jose!

Ryan Church was back in the lineup after missing several games with a slight injury. Church was the only Nat to get two hits, hitting two doubles and driving in a run. He lifted his batting average to .308. The Nats are developing a log jam in the outfield as Marlon Byrd has joined Guillen, Church and Wilkerson as productive hitting outfielders. I wouldn't be surprised if either Church or Byrd was part of the trade that would have sent Zach Day to the Marlins for Juan Encarnacion earlier in the week.

The Nationals have a chance to take three out of four from the Braves tonight, as Esteban Loiaza goes against Haracio Ramirez. Ramierez started the year strong, but now has an ERA of 5.65. Esteban is still pitching well despite his having to make a perfect pitch every at bat as the Nats just arn't scoring any runs for him. As of his last start, he lead the league in fewest runs given per start by his team.

So, the Nats lost. Big deal. This was a must win for the Braves, and it was just another game for the Nats. I like tonight's pitching matchup. Go Nats!

Remember Endy Chavez? Sure you do! He's the guy who had a decent year last year with the then Expos, hitting enough singles to keep is numbers looking respectable. But he never walked. I mean, he NEVER walked, and he had an abysmal on base percentage.

Going into spring training, manager Frank Robinson pulled Chavez aside and said, "You're our starting center fielder and leadoff hitter. All you have to do is walk now and then and be a little more patient." So what does Chavez do? He becomes even more of a "free swinger" than he was before, as if that was possible.

With just a few weeks before the start of the regular season, Frank Robinson had enough and demoted him to AAA New Orleans. That did not go well. Endy wanted to be traded, but no one wanted him. No, Bowden told him. He's playing in New Orleans until he learns how to walk, or until he's traded.

Amazingly, Bowden found a sucker, uh, I mean, a team that wanted Endy Chavez. The Philadelphia Phillies had a similar situation. Marlon Byrd, who only two years ago, was a rising star, but 2004 was a "downer" for the young player. Both Phillies GM Ed Wade and Nats GM Jim Bowden realized that a "change of scenery" trade might be good for both of them. Hopeful, Bowden pulled the trigger.

We won.

Endy Chavez's statistics for 2005:
AVE: .189 --- HR: 0 --- RBI: 5 --- OBP: .286 --- SLG: .293
This looks very familiar, doesn't it??

Marlon Byrd's statistics for 205:
AVE: .346 --- HR: 0 --- RBI: 8 --- OBP: .410 --- SLG: 404

Endy Chavez, at the best, is a 4th or 5th outfielder. Marlon Byrd, on the other hand, has the potential to be a starting outfielder for a long time. Based on who Frank Robinson is playing and when, I think they are looking more towards Marlon Byrd then Ryan Church as the Nationals 3rd outfielder. I'd love to see a platoon of Church and Byrd in left, or Byrd full time. He has shown hustle, ability, and desire.

Endy Chavez has shown nothing.

Thanks Jim for getting this deal done. It [almost] makes up for the signing of Cristian Guzman.

You know you're having a bad season when they club tries to trade you but you can't pass the physical.

Just days after being released from manager Frank Robinson's dog house when he was sent down to AAA New Orleans, the erstwhile pitcher now finds himself in the team's outhouse, the disabled list. After team officials agreed to trade him, a routine physical found that Day had a fractured bone in his wrist while pitching against the Reds last week. He took a ball off his wrist, and yet threw another 40 pitches. "The hits just keep on coming" said Day from New Orleans.

GM Jim Bowden was disappointed in the latest turn of events. "We finally got a deal that would help us and this happens" Bowden mused after hearing that his trade fell through. According to two different sources, the other team involved was the Florida Marlins, and the other player was outfielder Juan Encarnacion, an outfielder with 33 RBIs, 7 home runs and a .270 batting average. Day will be on the disabled list 4-6 weeks.

All of this kind of makes you wonder how Jim Bowden and Frank Robinson would incorporate Encarnacion into the Nats lineup. You would think that a player who has more RBIs than any current member of the team would start and not languish on the bench. Since a straight-up trade between the two players seems a little one-sided, there was likely another outfielder going to Florida. The question is, Who? My guess is Ryan Church, possibly Marlon Byrd. An outfield of Encarnacion - Wilkerson - Guillen would certainly have been a powerful one.

Alas, so goes the travails of a small market team. Unnamed sources said that the Marlins would have picked up a great deal of Encarnacion's salary. Hmmm. A guy with 33 RBIs, making only 4 million a year, and the team wants to trade him so bad that they're willing to eat his salary and take a pitcher who has only pitched one quality game this year.

On the surface, this trade would have been great, but maybe, just maybe, we should be happy we're keeping the outfielders we have now.

Zach, this just isn't your year.