Jesus Flores homered and Jonny Gomes drove in two runs with a clutch single to left to lead the Washington Nationals over the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Nationals Park on Thursday. The Flores homer was his first since May of 2009, while the Gomes hit came against his former team. “Against the Reds or not against the Reds, it would bring a smile to my face,” Gomes said.

The Flores-Gomes tandem helped righty starter Jordan Zimmermann to his eighth win of the season. Zimmermann, who will apparently be shut down after his next start (or the one after), did not have his best stuff, but gutted out an impressive 5.2 innings while giving up six hits. Zimmermann’s ERA now stands at 3.11 — and his 2011 campaign has to be considered a success, which sets him up as a major contributor (and likely #2 starter) in 2012.

Gomes two run single in the sixth was the difference in the game, but Zimmermann’s outing was saved by a quartet of Nationals’ relievers. Ryan Mattheus, Henry Rodriguez, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen threw a combined 3.1 innings, while giving up just two hits. Clippard notched his 32nd hold, while Storen added his 33rd save. Storen continued to build on his steady reputation — if he wasn’t before, he must now be considered to be one of the best closers in the game.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: It seems like old news now, but it’s good to note, if just for the record. Former Nats’ veteran righty Jason Marquis was supposed to provide another needed starter to help the Diamondbacks overcome the Giants in the N.L. West, but he’s out for the season with a fractured leg . . . the Marquis injury (as we remember) came against the Mets, after the former Nats’ starter had two rocky outings with his new club . . .

Now it appears, that other semi-big name for the Nationals at the trade deadline, Denard Span, continues to suffer the effects of a concussion that has sidelined him for much of the 2011 campaign. Span had returned to the Twins’ line-up, but yesterday he was put back on the disabled list after suffering from migraines. Which is only to say — sometimes it’s the trades you don’t make that matter. If Mike Rizzo had pulled the trigger on a Span trade, the needed centerfielder would have been spending time on the D.L. in D.C. . . .  and the Nationals would have been without one of their key (Drew Storen or Tyler Clippard) bullpen arms . . .

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The Washington Nationals have signed Adam LaRoche to a two year contract, solidifying the Nats’ infield for 2011 — and upgrading the team’s defense. The official announcement of the signing is expected to come on Wednesday at Nationals Park. The signing was first reported by Peter Gammons on Twitter, who stated that the “aggressive” Nats had agreed to terms and that LaRoche’s physical would take place on Thursday. According to Mark Zuckerman, LaRoche will be paid $7 million in 2011, $8 million in ’12, with a mutual option worth $10 million (with a $1 million buyout for the Nats) in 2013. LaRoche was widely believed to be asking for a three year deal, but when Derrek Lee signed a one year contract with the Showalters, LaRoche’s options began to disappear, though he had been on the Nats’ radar from the moment that Adam Dunn signed with the Pale Hose.

How good is LaRoche? The lefty first sacker had a good year in Arizona, hitting 25 dingers and driving in 100 runs — and his glove at and around first is a step (or two, or three) above Dunn’s. LaRoche’s UZR at first base is third in the majors and he’s reportedly good in the clubhouse — which could help salve Ryan Zimmerman’s irritation that the front office did not make a more credible play for Dunn. Adam Kilgore, in The Washington Post, quotes Matt Capps as saying that LaRoche is “a great fit” in the clubhouse: “If you can’t get along with Adam LaRoche, you probably don’t have a heartbeat,” Capps is quoted as saying. “He plays hard and gives everything he has every night. What you see is what you get.” LaRoche is a great addition; the only question is whether his .260-.270 BA will be enough for the Nats in the middle of their line-up — a concern for the team, even after the signing of Jayson Werth. The signing of LaRoche does not mark the end of Mike Rizzo’s shopping spree; the Nats still need a front line starter and could use a bat coming off the bench.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Ben Goessling says that the Nats are still in the hunt in the Carl Pavano sweepstakes, but the trail strikes us here at CFG (here’s our mascot, for you newcomers, in her winter duds) as getting distinctly cold. Which is only to say, Pavano looked a hell of a lot better in (say) October than he does now. On any given day, Pavano can be an ace, but in any given year he can have his arm surgically removed for . . . whatever. With apologies to our female readers, this is a lot like going out with the prettiest girl in the school — you’re bound to be disappointed. (Really, ask anyone.)The upside of Pavano is that he’ll only cost money (that the Nats say they’re willing to spend), while someone like Matt Garza, or even Joe Blanton, will cost the team a gaggle of younger players or prospects — or both.

Anyone can second guess, but you have to admire a guy like Cards GM John Mozeliak, who had the foresight to trade for Ryan Theriot (for ho-hum reliever Blake Hawksworth), which leaves his options open for acquiring pitching. A guy like Theriot at second or short for the Nats would allow Rizzo a little more flexibility (if you know what we mean) in landing someone like Garza — whose value as a front line starter would outshine anything that either Pavano or Blanton could bring to the mound . . . None of this should detract from Rizzo’s signing of LaRoche: for a minute there (when everyone was abuzz over Carlos Pena), we thought the guy’d lost his touch — Pena cost the North Side Drama Queens $10 million for one year. So here’s our question: What The Hell Were They Thinking?

The minute that Matt Capps signed a free agent contract with the Washington Nationals he must have known that the team would eventually trade him. But that feeling didn’t lessen his commitment to the Nats. After a disappointing ’09 campaign in Pittsburgh (4-8, 5.80 ERA, while giving up an ugly 73 hits over 54.1 innings), Capps needed redemption, and Washington G.M. Mike Rizzo gave it to him. So, when the ax finally fell (just before the end of the trade deadline in July), Capps showed appreciation for his time in Washington — while saying that he looked forward to pitching the all-important 9th inning for a contender like the Twins. Then too (as Capps certainly realized), despite their earlier commitment to him, the Nationals could hardly pass up on the chance to obtain Wilson Ramos, a catcher of the future and one of the best young catchers in the minors. So, now that Capps is firmly rooted in Minnesota (and headed to the post-season), and Wilson Ramos has hit his first home run with the Nationals, how has the trade worked out?

The question seems particularly pertinent given the gaggle of Twins fans who still view Capps as an outsider. “Capps is making it an adventure,” one fan told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, “. . . but I’m not going to throw [him] under the bus just yet.” Another fan admitted that while Capps “has not sparkled,” he’s caused “a bit of anxiety,” while yet another expressed his distaste for Capps’ high wire act — “he just can’t close.” That view is widely shared, even among baseball gurus. “He’s soft,” MLB Network’s Mitch Williams said during a televised “look-in” on the Twins-Royals tilt on Wednesday. Williams had a point, at least at first blush: with the Twins leading the Royals 4-1 in the 9th, Capps came in to shut the door — and promptly gave up two runs. While the Twins eventually won (Capps induced a Mitch Maier can of corn to end the game), the former Nationals’ reliever looked shaky, and certainly not as effective as the Twin’s injured closer Joe Nathan — who’s a kind of legend in Minnesota.

The criticism of Capps is a little unfair: while Capps’ ERA is slightly higher in Minnesota (2.84 with the Twins, compared with 2.74 in D.C.), he’s cut down on the number of homers (5 in D.C., 1 in the Twin Cities), and registered 11 saves. True: while Capps’ other numbers are slightly up (walks per nine and WHIP), the Twins can hardly complain. While Minnesota ranks high in blown saves (with 17), they are 9-1 in the last ten games and remain at the top of the heap in the A.L. Central and near the top (third) in bullpen rankings. What’s not to like? Then too, while the Twins gave up a top prospect in Wilson Ramos for Capps, they weren’t going to get anyone better — and, with Nathan injured, they needed to make a move. And Ramos? While the final judgment on the Nats’ new addition won’t be known until at least some time next year, Mike Rizzo felt compelled to make the trade: Jesus Flores’ shoulder injury wasn’t healing and the Nats next-best prospect at catcher was (and remains) several years away from the bigs.

That said, there had to be more to the Rizzo calculus than simply snagging Ramos. After all, while Nats’ scouts oohed and ahhed up Ramos’ upside, he’d actually done little at Triple-A Rochester (.241?) to convince anyone he’d be a lock in the majors. And with the Nats playing indifferently by the mid-summer, and falling off from their .500 pace of April and May, Rizzo knew that keeping Matt Capps wasn’t going to yield enough wins to overtake the Phillies or Braves — let alone the Mets or Marlins. Which is to say: in making the trade, Rizzo waved the white flag — if the Nats had been within striking distance of the top on July 30, he might well have kept Capps. This is not to say anything against Ramos. He is giving every indication of being the catcher the Nats need, both next year and far into the future. But let’s be honest: while the addition of Ramos will fill a future need, the closer-by-committee that the Capps’ trade made necessary hasn’t worked out. While the Nats’ bullpen has been terrific, Drew Storen has proven to be better set-up man than closer, Tyler Clippard (occasionally brilliant) is just too inconsistent, and Sean Burnett (arguably the team’s best reliever) is a lefty. Which means?

Which means that if the Nats are going to contend next year they’ll need what Matt Capps provided — a consistent 9th inning arm to come in and close out a game. Right now, they don’t have one.

I thought it only appropriate that “the loyal opposition” should return at precisely the moment that my first date in Washington (here she is, and take a good look) arrived for our lovely evening. And if by “lovely evening” you mean watching the Washington Nationals and turning their victory into fake reporting then you’re right: but I have no choice but to do this in my current state. This CFG thing, this new-wave-inter-net “we’re down with the twitter blog,” is struggling, really struggling, so I just know that most of this blog’s readership revolves around my pen. And for the benefit of you all, here finally is a picture of me . . .

Tonight Roy Oswalt was out for a stroll with his new team –11 million dollars in tow — when, out of the blue: it’s a bird, it’s a plane . . . no, no, no — it’s the most interesting man in the world. Nyjer Morgan!  Nyjer who? In his first at bat, Morgan hit the ball 400 feet into the center-right gap, flipped off his helmet as he sped around second base, and went totally horizontal, belly first, into third. Nyjer Morgan? It was like watching lightning strike on a clear day. Former Astro Oswalt was so confused by the entire thing he had to pay someone to tell him who it was that just did that to him. “What the hell is going on! Who is that guy on third?” It’s Nyjer Morgan, channeling Ricky Henderson. “Naw, can’t be.”

Morgan wasn’t the only Nats superhero “lifting tall buildings” on Friday night. Adam Kennedy arrived in the clubhouse before the Phillies game to find Cristian Guzman’s assistant sitting (morose and weeping) in the Nationals’ locker room. Kennedy got the message — in the first inning (and with “Rickey” Morgan on third) he hit the ball hard enough to the right side (just as he was instructed) to allow Morgan to lope across the plate: Nats 1, Phillies 0. Oswalt was even more confused — “what the  . . .” But “The Miracle on Half Street” continued. Roger Bernadina began his night by gunning out a sprinting Oswalt at first. Oh, and Craig Stammen was lights out: hitting spots, keeping his pitch count low and quietly sauntering from the mound, as if he was Greg Maddux. Oswalt wasn’t the only one surprised. As I sat watching this team’s Friday night tidal wave I could only repeat Oswalt’s words — “Who the hell are these guys . . .”

Don’t misunderstand: I’ve been watching this team with vigor, knowing that on a good day they’re only mediocre. It’s a self-inflicted baseball passion. They lallygag, throw the ball over the dugout, crash into each other, slam into outfield walls, miss the cutoff man — and their “phenom” pitcher can’t go past the All Star break. It’s fantastic fun. I expected the same on Friday against the Citizens Bank Bullies. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the Nats showed up to play and made glue of the Ponies, embarrassing Oswalt and frustrating Rollins and Howard and the rest of them. So . . .  what happened? The answer is obvious: Mike Rizzo is a psycho. The proof is this photo of Rizzo sitting in Jim Riggleman’s office as players arrived for Friday’s game.

More specifically, on Friday afternoon (just hours before Miss Iowa and the Phillies showed up in Washington), Mike Rizzo decided he’d had enough of his team’s mediocre performance, and that it was time to play “duck, duck, goose.” In “Rizzo Land” the game is not as simple as it was when I was a kid, but it’s the same concept: you line up the players (in any old order) and you raise your right hand and go down the line — “in, in, traded . . . in, in, traded . . .” You only change your tune when you get to Morgan: “in, in . . . and if you don’t hit a triple Morgan, I swear to God you’ll be spending August in Oakland.” Message received. The only player not really frightened by this show of Rizzo passion was Ryan Zimmerman . . . and “the kid.” Even Adam Dunn was included. As for the rest of them. Well, we might have seen the fear in Morgan’s eyes: Rizzo’s antics was placing his bobblehead night in jeopardy. Rizzo didn’t care: “do something Nyjer, or I swear we’ll woodchip those things.”

The Mike “Corleone” Rizzo, “Duck, Duck, Goose” is more than just a cute kids’ game — it’s like rendering someone to Burma for “questioning.” It’s more like playing in the Olympics for Iraq. Okay, I admit. It could be that the appearance of Katie Conners helped to spark Friday night’s outbreak of unusual excellence, but I really doubt it. For as this mammoth publication goes to press, the Nationals are fast becoming a new team. And it’s because of their general manager. They’re getting better, a lot better, and they’re doing it quickly.

The word in baseball is that you can always get a closer and Rizzo showed that this week as he dealt Matt Capps to Minnesota. And you can always deal, at the very last minute, a slap-hitting veteran infielder for a handful of prospects, especially if the other team’s All Star second sacker ends up on the DL. As Cristian Guzman learned. Adam Dunn may be next: or maybe not. But the truth it, it doesn’t really matter. Mike Rizzo — the Washington Nationals’ true fearless leader — is playing “duck, duck, goose” in the clubhouse. And he’s made it clear to those who are staying with the team: “play hard and play hard now  – - – or you’ll be shaking your head somewhere else a year from now and wondering where it all went wrong.

The biggest Nats news on Thursday was not the welcome pitching performance of Nats starter Scott Olsen, but the departure of Nats closer Matt Capps — who packed his bags for Minneapolis, where he will join the perennially in-the-hunt Twinkies. The sad-but-true baseball news cycle is likely to remain that way for at least the next 24 hours, as teams jockey to land needed pitching and hitting help before the coming of the trade deadline. Poor Scott: his more than modest triumph over the Braves (giving the Nats a series win, and a boost in confidence) was shoved down the Nats’ homepage after the announcement that Capps was no longer the Nats closer — and shoved further down the page by the appearance of an article extolling the virtues of Wilson Ramos, a Twins catching prospect with “a positive upside.” Capps was not surprised by the trade and praised the Nationals’ organization. “The Washington Nationals and everyone involved have been absolutely phenomenal,” he said. “It’s something that I will remember for a long time. I certainly enjoyed my time. Now, I have to focus on moving forward and helping the Minnesota Twins.”

Scott Olsen is not likely to be the last Nats shoved down the page by bigger news — the Nats are reported to be interested in acquiring D-Backs starter Edwin Jackson, which would necessitate a trade of Nats power hitter Adam Dunn to the White Sox, who are willing to deal prospects to Arizona to make Jackson available. In truth, that deal may be finalized by the end of the day, as it was just reported that the Pale Hose have finalized their trade for Jackson. Which could mean, of course, that Nats starter Craig Stammen, and his appearance opposite newly acquired pony starter Roy Oswalt, would be today’s second story. The line-up for the Stammen-Oswalt tilt would give Nats fans something to talk about besides who will replace Capps (it’s going to be a committee or relievers, apparently), as Jim Riggleman would begin to shift players (like Michael Morse) into positions that would reflect how the team views its last 62 games. Bottom line? The sad-but-true events of Thursday are now likely to be followed by the even sadder departure of fan favorite Dunn — and the break-up of the 3-4-5 slots in a formidable Nats batting order.

Matt Capps pitched to David Ortiz in Anaheim on Tuesday night — it was just one-third of an inning in the Mid-Summer Classic — but that was enough for the Washington Nationals reliever to register a win, a point of pride for fans of the Anacostia Nine. Capps whiffed “Big Poppy” on five pitches, the last an up-and-in fastball (95 on the gun) that sent Ortiz back to the pines. Capps’ relief effort not only helped Phillies big man Roy Halladay out of a jam, it gave the senior circuit a chance to rally for a much-needed 3-1 triumph. Capps was thrilled to be in the record books. “It feels pretty good,” Capps said after the NL victory. “I just came in to face one hitter. The guys did a great job of putting some runs up later. It worked out well, I’m very pleased with it, excited about it.” Capps is the first Washington pitcher to notch a win in the All Star game since Dean Stone, a lefty Washington Senator, did it for the American League back in 1954.

Capps undoubtedly wishes his career will be more stellar than Stone’s: Darrah Dean Stone played in a Washington Senators’ uniform for four seasons, after being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1949. The big (6-4, 205) southpaw was signed as an amateur, but spent his early career kicking around the minors before starting for Senators, Red Sox, Cardinals, Colt 45s, White Sox and Orioles. Stone finished his career after spending 1963 in Japan. Stone was never a particularly effective starter, except for the ’54 Senators, when his fastball and curveball finally worked in tandem, when he was 12-10 with a 3.22 ERA. Stone was a part of a staff that boasted proto-ace Bob Porterfield (22-10 in ’53) and former Bosox biggie Mickey McDermott. If Porterfield and McDermott had pitched in ’54 as they had in their previous incarnations, the Senators might have been good: but Porterfield had lost something on his fastball and McDermott was never the same pitcher he had been in Boston. That left the surprising Stone, who dazzled D.C. crowds in the first part of the season.

Neither Capps nor Stone were exactly afterthoughts in the All Star selection process, but neither of them were headliners. As Capps seemed eclipsed by the big guns of Jimenez, Johnson, Halladay and Wainwright, so too Stone was viewed as a single paragraph guy after Whitey Ford, Bob Lemon and Virgil Trucks. And unlike Capps, Stone was not the only member of his team on the the ’54 staff — with Porterfield and perennial All Star Mickey Vernon leading the Washington squad into Cleveland. The ’54 game turned out to be one of the more exciting All Star tilts in major league history, with the American League winning a nail-biting come-from-behind victory. Cleveland Wahoo Larry Doby provided the home town crowd with one of Cleveland’s great moments, spiraling a game tying home run into the left field seats to knot the score. With the bases loaded, Nellie Fox provided the winning single and the Americans were victorious, 11-9. Stone, who had pitched the eighth, got the victory, but he never threw a pitch. Instead, Stone caught Cardinal All Star Red Schoendienst attempting to steal home. Doby pinch hit for Stone in the bottom of the 8th and Virgil Trucks, closing out the game, preserved his win in the 9th.

Monday’s 2-1 win at Nationals Park may be taken as “Exhibit #1″ that pitching — good pitching — wins ballgames. While the Nationals squeezed out only three hits against the more-than-mediocre Bruce Chen (et. al.), Livan Hernandez mastered the Royals line-up through seven complete innings, scattering eight hits and striking out five. The Nats relied on the long ball, with super-sometime-starter Mike Morse and second sacker Cristian Guzman providing the fireworks. The victory was closed out by Washington’s “Clipp & Save” crew of Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps — who notched his 21st save. Nats starter Livan Hernandez returned to his winning ways, and his by now traditional slow-slower-slowest methods — a turnaround from his last outing against the Kalines in which he was scorched. “I left the ball up a little bit, but the slider was working very well,” Hernandez said after his victory. “The cutter was working perfectly. I had a bad game in Detroit, so today I knew I had to come through and stop the losing streak.”

The Wisdom Of Section 1-2-9: There’s a familiar touch that comes from sitting in the same section, game after game after game. It’s not like you’d want to live with these people, but after ten games (or more), you learn to value the comments of your section. Or not, as the case may be. There are times when you want to turn around, facing the guys in the row behind you and say: “Hey listen, I understand that your sale of software is important, but Gavin Floyd is pitching a great game here. Not to mention Strasburg.” You don’t do it, because people come to the ballpark for all kinds of reasons, some of them apparently having nothing to do with baseball. There’s no legislating intelligence, as they say. Still, there are those valuable moments that only a new set of eyes can see. A fan looked over my shoulder, two weeks ago, as I was scoring. “Remember, there’s no RBI on a run scored on a double play,” he said. I looked down at my score book, eraser poised. Mmmmm. Right.

“Nyjer’s act is wearing thin,” a 1-2-9 partisan said this week. A man two rows up leaned forward: “Tony Plush!” — which brought groans from down the row. The guy next to me weighed in. “He has trouble with a fastball, it’s all this dink and dunk stuff, bringing the bat down to bunt and pulling it back. That’s a clear message — he can’t catch up to the fastball. And he doesn’t read pitchers well.” There was silence through the next inning, until Morgan came to bat. He faked a bunt to third, running down the first base line. Strike two. One pitch later he was on the bench. Heads turned, checking his BA on the scoreboard. .251. “So what do we do?” Silence, and then this: “Center field is Bernadina’s natural position and Morse needs playing time.” A dissent was issued, one row back, where talk of software had been ceded to the game on the field. “We wouldn’t be saying this last year.” Two batters later, the response came, from a bright new Nats Cap three seats away. “We were a different team last year. Last year Nyjer Morgan looked like our salvation. This year he looks like a .251 hitter.” True.