Rob Dibble went on a bit about Ricky Nalasco’s “stuff” last night during the MASN broadcast, as if that could explain the sudden fall-off in Nationals hit and run production. Dib’s was right of course — Nalasco’s “stuff” tamed the Anacostia Boys, allowing the Marlins to squeeze out a 4-2 win — but Nalasco’s stuff wasn’t that good. In fact, Nalasco’s lack of “stuff” got him sent to triple-A  New Orleans at the end of May after he posted a 9.07 ERA in nine starts. Sure, he’s been a lot better since being recalled, but Nalasco is not Tom Seaver and never will be. The Nats bats being what they are, the Anacostia Boys should have found a way to beat him.

Then too, a little too much is being made of how the Nats bullpen collapsed (yet again), when in truth good hitting teams consistently find ways to overcome occasional bullpen woes. The bright spot of the evening was Scott Olsen, who pitched a solid seven innings and seemed more in command on the mound than he had all year. I’m still not sold. The only other bright spot is Josh Willingham, a CFG favorite, who went 2-4 and made a stellar play in right field. “The Hammer” is settling in as one of the team’s most consistent producers. Willingham was rightly irritated at the beginning of the year when he was relegated to a bench role behind Austin Kearns. 

Down On Half Street: There’s a lot of chatter about the Nats search for a centerfielder. The straight-up swap of Lastings Milledge for Nyjer Morgan was apparently short-circuited when the Ahoys asked for Craig Stammen, but you’ve got to believe that Frank Rizzo is considering other solutions. There are a couple out there if the Nats are willing to part with one of their young pitchers. The Rockies are likely shopping Ryan Spilborghs, the perenially second-tier Rockies outfielder who gets played only when the Rocks get tired of other options. The Red Sox and Tigers were once said to be interested. Spilborghs is one of those guys who gets lost in the shuffle, but who can play . . . The Nats are loathe to trade pitching but the truth is that (suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere) the Nats have young arms to give. True, you “can never have enough pitching,” but you can’t win without an outfield and just now the hole in center looks like a yawning chasm. So pick one: Mock, Balester, Clippard, Stammen or Estrada. The rest are probably untouchable . . . With everyone looking for pitching, you’ve got to believe that contenders are salivating over Garrett Mock, who won the International League’s “Pitcher of the Week” award last week . . .

I keep hearing all the reasons why Shairon Martis was sent down (“he needs to pound the strike zone“), but you have to wonder how he feels sitting in Syracuse while Joel Hanrahan, Jesus Colome and Julian Tavarez eat buttered corn in D.C. (What is it that Tavarez adds that we haven’t seen before?) Pitchers’ egos are fragile things and they, like hitters, sometimes go through slumps. So let him work out his problems in the bigs. What’re we afraid of — that the Nats might lose? Martis was the only starter worth anything in this town for two months. Why does this feel like a soul-killing and ungrateful demotion? . . .  Kudos to Mike Henderson at NationalsPride for unpacking Shairon’s recent woes and to Jeff Bergin for weighing in on Lastings. Bergin lazers in on Rizzo’s attempt to change the Nats culture as one of the reasons Milledge is being shopped . . .