Stephen Strasburg’s best pitch on Tuesday was his last — a 3-2 breaking ball that floated 12 to 6 over the plate, freezing Tiger Brent Dlugach for a strikeout. “I thought it was executed well enough to get him out,” Strasburg said of that last pitch. ”I felt it was down in the zone, and if he swung, hopefully he would have grounded out. I wasn’t going to throw a hanger up there and I hoped that he was sitting on a fastball. I was going to throw [the curveball]. If it’s a strike, it’s a strike. If not, it’s down in the zone and hopefully he swings.” Strasburg’s outing may well be a sign of things to come: a young pitcher with a living arm that throws 96-98 with command of all of his pitches. I must be dreaming. And by nearly all accounts, Strasburg is bearing up well under all the attention.

If it wasn’t clear before just how much the Nationals need Strasburg, it oughta be clear now: the Nats are oh-fer in the no account Grapefruit League, where all embarrassing questions about performance are answered with two words: “it’s early.” Okay, it’s early. But early or not, Strasburg remains the single bright spot in the Nats Florida pitching outings — even Jason Marquis struggled yesterday. And while MLB Network’s Al Leiter argues (and vocally), that pitchers are simply trying to find their legs in the spring, the vast proportion of Nats pitchers have yet to find the strike zone. Still, there’s a different feel to the club — even on television. Seeing Adam Kennedy at second base (and really there, with his name stenciled on the back of the uniform and everything) brings an almost palpable feeling of security, while Nyjer Morgan’s return to the outfield (and basepaths) gives hope that the Nats will start where they left off after acquiring him last year. Morgan is as quick as ever: he bunted his way on on Tuesday, then stole second, sliding spikes up (albeit late) into the bag.

I swear, when I saw Kennedy wearing that uniform I damn near cried . . .

Those Are The Headlines, Now For The Details: Mike Rizzo joined the crew in the television booth during the second inning on Tuesday, and gave a hint of the team’s plans for Ian Desmond, who has been ripping the rind off the sweet stuff in Florida. No matter what, Rizzo said, Desmond would be playing full time, whether in the majors or in Triple-A. Rizzo has said this before, but he seemed more emphatic on Tuesday. Which is to confirm: if Desmond plays well enough, Cristian Guzman will be on the bench or he’ll be elsewhere — and probably elsewhere. If Rizzo and Riggleman decide the Desmond is ready for the show, the team will have to eat a lot of Guzman’s salary. If we here at CFG were the betting types, we’d bet on Desmond, and say “thanks for the memories” to Goozie. And why not? . . .

Who is Josh Whitesell and why is his name so familiar? Oh yeah, now I remember: Whitesell was drafted in the sixth round by the Expos back in 2003, played for the Harrisburg Senators and then was claimed off waivers by the  Showboats in 2008. The guy’s no slouch: he was Arizona’s 2008 Minor League Player of the year and he can hit the long ball. Seems he’s a natural first baseman. Or so it was said. But Arizona didn’t non-tender Whitesell because they’re stupid. (Well,except for this … ) Whitesell had an insipid year in 2009 and only a cup of coffee in the majors. The D-Backs got tired of waiting and lost faith and, and, and … there was a divorce. But Rizzo likes him, you can tell — and you never know, he might stick . . . Whitesell could back up Dunn at first (or, if he plays left field, he could back up Dunn at first) or that job could go to Chris Duncan. The only problem is that Duncan can’t hit lefties, while Whitesell is largely unproven. Then there’s Justin Maxwell, whose added attraction is that he can play the outfield . . . oh yeah, and Mike Morse — who’s proving he can play . . .