The Nationals took two of three from the New York Mets, completing the series win with a 3-1 victory at Nationals Park. Stammen pitched a beaut: seven-and-one-third innings with one earned run. The young righthander threw 95 pitches, 62 for strikes. The bullpen backed up Stammen’s start (Bergman, Beimel, MacDougal) by closing out the Mets over one-and-two-thirds innings. Josh Willingham began to hit the ball authority, after going 0-14, raising his average to .297. Willingham is now an institution in the outfield. The former Marlin went 4-4, putting one into the left field stands in the sixth. “I didn’t feel I was in a slump,” Willingham said after the game. But the story of the night was Stammen, who threw an effective sinker before being relieved after walking Angel Pagan. A crowd of 23,583 — about what the Nats’ drew the night before — was at Nationals Park to see the win.

Trade Winds: The Boston Red Sox have gotten the first baseman they long coveted, acquiring the dissatisfied Adam LaRoche from the Pittsburgh Pirates for two minor leaguers. The LaRoche acquisition takes the Sox out of the market for Nats’ first baseman Nick Johnson, who is still apparently being dangled to a number of teams in need of late-season help. In fact, it seems the Nats are on-again off-again about dealing Johnson. The oft-injured first baseman could stay in Washington, holding down first base until Nats’ prospect Chris Marrero is ready. The problem is that Marrero is probably not going to be at Nats Park anytime soon, while Johnson’s contract with the Nats is up after this year (they’re paying him $5 million). Then too, the front office and fans fear that Johnson is one errant throw away from a pulled hamstring. Nats interim GM Mike Rizzo is being cagey about Johnson’s future with the team; at the end of May, Rizzo praised Johnson (“We need him here, we like him here and we want him here,” he said) while, two months later, Bill Ladson reported that interested MLB teams thought Rizzo’s price for Johnson was too high.

So which is it? Are the Nats committed to Johnson staying in Washington or is he on the block? The evidence points to an unlikely answer. The Nats would love to keep Johnson (he’s a steady presence at first base and Adam Dunn is not the solution there), but Rizzo would deal him if he was able to get major league-ready prospects in return. So the price is high. Then too, as Rizzo is undoubtedly calculating, the problem with trading for prospects is that they’re prospects and the Nats need to start winning, which is a lot easier to do with Nick Johnson at first base.

Rizzo is facing the same kind of conundrum when it comes to Josh Willingham. The Phillies are reportedly interested in Willingham, but the steady outfielder is a fan favorite and one of the team’s steadiest hitters. Why trade an everyday player who will only get better (and who’s making just $3 million) for a couple of triple-A outfielders (or even a hardthrowing but unproven pitcher) who might or might not make it with the big club? It’s all well and good to have a highly rated farm system, but what’s the point of having the best farm system in the majors if your team is in last place? The goal of all franchises is to build a major league winner. You can’t do that when you trade away your best players. The Nats should hear offers on Johnson (he’s going away after this year in any event), but they should keep Willingham — who’s a better outfielder than any prospect they could get for him.