Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher Daniel Hudson is the one who got away: back at the trade deadline in 2010, it was Hudson (then with the White Sox),who was dangled before Mike Rizzo in exchange for Adam Dunn, but the Nationals’ G.M. took a pass. Hudson ended up in Arizona, where he’s blossomed into a top flight starter.

It’s easy to see now what everyone saw in the righty — Hudson was brilliant on Wednesday, spinning a near shutout as the Nationals could not catch the D-Backs in the ninth, and dropped their second in a row to the Snakes, 4-2. Hudson scattered nine hits in a game that he exited with two outs in the ninth.

The downside of Hudson’s night came in the ninth inning, as Nationals’ boppers Laynce Nix and Jonny Gomes launched back-to-back homers to knock Hudson out of the game — denying him a shutout and a complete game. J.J. Putz came on to end the rally. Putz registered his 32nd save.

“He was pretty good, man, and I was surprised,” Arizona catcher Miguel Montero said of Hudson’s outing. “I was a little surprised, because in the bullpen, he looked like he had a little bit of a control problem. He got into the game and he was painting those corners, man. It was a shame he couldn’t get the shutout.”

The loss was notched by Livan Hernandez, who dueled Hudson all night. The crafty Washington righty threw 7.1 innings and gave up four — but he pitched much better than his numbers indicate. Two of those runs came with men on base and reliever Henry Rodriguez on the mound.

Nats’ skipper Davey Johnson blamed himself for leaving Livo in too long. “I take responsibility for that one,” Johnson said. “He was really pitching a great game and when he’s good, he’s really good. I had it in my mind that if he gives me seven, I’m getting him out of there. I balked. He got into trouble and couldn’t get out of it.”

Jayson Werth’s three run home run — and the pitching of lefty Ross Detwiler — led the Washington Nationals to a 4-1 victory over the reeling Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park on Monday night. The Werth home run (he was 2-4 in the victory) provided the difference in the game, with the slumping free agent finally hitting the ball with authority. It was the sixth loss in a row for the Diamondbacks in their quest to win the N.L. West. They now lead the Giants in the West by a single game.

Detwiler, who is now in the mix for a starting spot in 2012, turned in an impressive performance, giving up six hits and one earned run in 6.2 innings of work. Detwiler’s outing provided further evidence that the former sixth overall draft pick has finally arrived in the majors: “He threw a good game,” Snakes’ manager Kirk Gibson said after his team’s loss. “He came after us, but we couldn’t put anything together. He didn’t give us any free chances.”

Werth’s at-bats, meanwhile, have finally begun to provide evidence that he’s emerging from his season long slump. “Probably the last week to 10 days, I’ve really locked it in,” he said after the game. “It was a struggle, really. It has been a long time coming. I knew where it was. I just didn’t know how to get there. Finally, I feel I’m getting there.”

The Wisdom of Section 1-2-9: It was an irritable crowd that greeted the Diamondbacks on Monday, the residue (a section mate offered) of the Phillies’ visit over the weekend. “I feel almost at home now that those guys are gone.” The only real negatives of the night were reserved for the Phillies — and for the Nationals’ ownership. When a fan was escorted out of the ballpark for throwing Henry Blanco’s home run back on the field, the section stood and booed. “These guys don’t get it,” a regular noted. “We’re trying to get people in here, not kick ‘em out.”

But most of the negative comments on Monday were reserved for the D-Backs, who seemed anything but the leaders of the West. “These guys look like they’re asleep,” a section regular noted. “I’ve never seen a team so down.” Another Nats regular was even more outspoken. “Who are these guys,” he said. “I mean really — Cody Ransom? Collin Cowgill? These are the guys who are taking on the Giants? Give me a break.” Later, when Ryan Roberts came to the plate, one of the regulars laughed. “It’s like watching the Illustrated Man,” he said. “I know he’s good, but geez. That ink is moving.”

(more…)

John Lannan seems to be getting better and better. But for skeptical Nats’ fans (who have a right to be skeptical), Lannan’s outing against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, seemed the clearest evidence that the young lefty deserves a prominent role in the Nationals’ future — and might be moving into the top tier of major league baseball’s most effective and consistent lefty starters. Lannan is now 8-7 with a 3.65 ERA.

Backed by home runs from Ian Desmond, Michael Morse and Rick Ankiel (who powered a Derek Lowe offering into centerfield — for a grand slam), Lannan pitched 6.2 innings and struck out eight, in leading the Nationals to a 9-3 rout of the Braves at Nationals Park. Everything seemed to click: Lannan baffled Atlanta hitters, who could never put enough hits together to threaten the Nats, while Ankiel (who is suddenly hot), raised his batting average by ten points in ten games.

The win was Washington’s fourth in a row, a needed lift after a rough road trip and a morale sapping dive into last place. Washington is now three games under .500 and within striking distance of the middle of the pack in the N.L. East. The Braves, on the other hand, seem to be going the other way: Lowe was shaky and the Braves are now in danger of losing their grip on the Wild Card spot.

Not surprisingly, particularly the way the game is being played in “the post-steroid era,” the break-out play of the contest had nothing to do with either Lannan or Ankiel. It was Jonny Gomes’ take-out slide of Atlanta catcher David Ross on a fielder’s choice play with the bases loaded that provided the spark for Washington. The Gomes’ play upended Ross, who never touched home for the force out.

(more…)

The Nationals had only five hits in their hang-on-by-your-fingernails win in Atlanta last night — but they proved just enough to defeat the Braves 7-6. The victory, ensured by two 3-run home runs by Laynce Nix and Jayson Werth, gave Jason Marquis (7.1, eight hits and three earned) his 100th major league win. The Nats were happy with the victory, but had to be dissatisfied with the way the Bravos fought their way back into the game in the eighth inning, having been down 7-1. “It was a little scary there,” manager Jim Riggleman said after the come-from-behind “almost.”

Marquis, who is now 4-1, pitched well — but a combination of solid Braves’ hitting and poor relief pitching made the game close. Sean Burnett, who has struggled against righties, came into the game in relief of Marquis in the eighth, but gave up a single to Chipper Jones and a walk to Brian McCann. Tyler Clippard then gave up a three run home run to Atlanta second sacker Dan Uggla. The Nats were pleased they were able to squeak out the win, particularly against Braves’ ace Tim Hudson: “It makes me pretty sick to my stomach that we score six runs and we don’t win,” Hudson said following the loss. “I really felt we should have won the game . . . I feel like I should have done a better job out there.”

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Tuesday night’s baseball schedule ended in San Francisco, with a beautifully pitched and played contest that featured Giants’ ace Tim Lincecum facing off against Arizona’s Ian Kennedy. People are likely to tune into that kind of thing because of Lincecum, but Ian Kennedy was the bigger story — Kennedy notched one more walk and one less strikeout than the two time Cy Young winner, but was arguably the better pitcher. The two were locked up in a classic pitcher’s duel through the eighth, with Arizona giving up the deciding run in yet another San Francisco walk-off in the bottom on the ninth.

The Showboats are rebuilding (they’re 15-19 in the N.L. West and fading fast), but they have the nucleus of a good team, including a better-than-average starting staff: Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders and Armando Galarraga. Galarraga (5.29 ERA) is the weak link, despite his nearly perfect game last year. The 26-year-old Kennedy, who was drafted by the Yankees in the first round in 2006, is turning into a top of the rotation stopper.

But the real gem in the rotation might well be Daniel Hudson, the guy the Nationals just missed. Hudson was the talk of Washington back in July, when the White Sox considered offering him up to the Nationals for Adam Dunn. Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo wanted Hudson, but was under pressure to keep fan favorite Dunn. Hudson ended up going to Arizona for Edwin Jackson (another arm that Rizzo was eying) — and the White Sox may well regret it.

While Hudson has had a rough start to 2010, he’s shown flashes of brilliance: last Saturday, Hudson shut down the Friars, throwing seven complete while giving up five hits, and striking out six. As we were one of those blogs organizing the parade for Dunn last year, we won’t say what we should — or, well, yeah . . . we will. Dammit Mike, you shoulda pulled the trigger.

Livan Hernandez — the official afterthought of the Washington Nationals — pitched his team out of the loss column on Tuesday night in Atlanta, handcuffing the Braves and providing the Anacostia Nine with a much needed win. Backed by the hitting of Adam Dunn, Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman (and his own home run swing), the Nationals’ most valuable pitcher in 2010 stifled the Braves on five hits over eight complete innings. The Atlanta loss was particularly bitter, as the Braves are involved in a knock-down-drag-out with the Phillies for first place in the N.L. East. “He was just so good today,” Nats’ skipper Jim Riggleman said of Hernandez following the win. “He reminds us over and over that it’s not about the radar gun and stuff. It’s a great lesson for everyone on the staff to watch how he works.”

The Nats win, which broke a six game skid, was aided by a towering home run from Adam Dunn, a late-game blast to center from Ian Desmond, and a in-the-flowerbed knock from Hernandez. The Dunn homer was one of the longest in the history of Turner field, a tape-measure 460-foot shot. After suffering through a drought in which the team seemed incapable of scoring, the win in Atlanta was a welcome respite for Nats’ bats, though it also emphasized the streaky nature of the team’s hitting. The Nats rapped out eleven hits, and were able to convert them into runs, after plating just six runs in the four previous games combined. A revived John Lannan — in pursuit of his eighth win of the season — will finish out the Braves’ series this afternoon in Atlanta.

“The only thing I know about the dark is you can’t see in it” — The playoffs aren’t even here yet (not by a long shot) and already baseball pundits are talking about next year. That shouldn’t be a surprise: for teams like the Nats, D-Backs, Indians, Pirates, Mariners, Royals and O’s (and plenty of others), 2010 is history, with pennants and wild cards far out of reach. MLB Trade Rumors has some interesting lists for next year: a list of nine teams whose starting rotations are set, a list of nice teams who are likely to add starters in 2001, and a list of teams that might be interested in signing Cliff Lee. What’s interesting about these entries is that the Nats aren’t included in the first two, but are named as a team that might be interested in Lee — presumably the implication of Mike Rizzo’s statement that starting pitching remains a team need. In yet another posting, an MLB writer opines that, at least on paper, “the Nats could have one of the better rotations in the league entering next season.”

That view is not as far-fetched as it might seem now, but there are still a lot of ifs. The Nats could have one of the best starting rotations in the N.L, if John Lannan continues to pitch low in the zone, if age does not finally catch up with Livan Hernandez, if Yunesky Maya can stop beating himself, if Chien-Ming Wang’s shoulder finally recovers, if Jordan Zimmermann can mature as fast as his stuff, if Jason Marquis pitches injury-free, if Scott Olsen can retain some consistency, if the Nats can find one capable arm in a gaggle of potentials (J.D. Martin, Luis Atilano, Ross Detwiler, Craig Stammen) and if (and it’s probably the biggest if of all), Stephen Strasburg can return from Tommy John surgery to provide some late-season aid and comfort (which seems unlikely). That’s a lot of “ifs” (and perhaps too many), and the reason why (with a seeming surfeit of pitching), Mike Rizzo is thinking of adding a veteran arm.

Then too, amidst all the talk about the off-season, there’s some embarrassing rethinking to be done about what happened (or, as it turned out) didn’t happen during the July trade deadline. As usual, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the much-rumored swap of Adam Dunn to Chicago for Gordan Beckham didn’t happen at the trade deadline — good news for Beckham (who wanted to stay in Chicago), but also for the Nats, who were not only able to retain Dunn (now in his seventh season of 30 or more home runs) and audition impressive youngster Danny Espinosa. Espinosa’s debut at second has been all the Nats could hope for, and more, which means that the Nats are finally set up the middle for 2011. The bad news is that the Nats, criticized for asking too much for Dunn, might have missed out on an opportunity to land Daniel Hudson, one of the best young pitchers in baseball.

Hudson has turned into Arizona’s best young starting pitcher: he’s 6-1 for the D-Backs, with a head-turning 1.67 ERA, since coming over in a trade with the White Sox for Edwin Jackson. Last night he shut down the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 — pitching eight innings and striking out eight. The inimitable Dusty Baker gave kudos to Hudson, who was masterful against the heavy-hitting Redlegs: “That’s a heck of a trade for them,” Baker said following his team’s loss. “They gave up a no-hit pitcher in Jackson and got a potential great pitcher there.” Hudson (a kind of second coming of Dan Haren) was even more impressive in his last outing, when he stopped the red-hot McCoveys in seven innings, short-circuiting the surging Giants‘ race to catch the Padres in the N.L. West. All of us — including those of us at CFG — who clamored for Rizzo & Company to keep Dunn (warning of the dangers of trading for an untested, if potentially, good young arm), are probably wondering what the 2011 Nats’ rotation would look like with Hudson as the number one or two arm. All the more reason now for the team to redouble its efforts to keep Dunn — and add a guy like (say) Cliff Lee to the front of the rotation. Yeah, well. That’s probably asking a bit much.

Once upon a time, and not so terribly long ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks were the class of the National League. And for good reason — the Snakes had the best pitching staff in baseball (anchored by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren), a quality innings eater with a history of winning (former Fish Livan Hernandez) a group of fast, punch-and-judy hitters (Orlando Hudson and Stephen Drew), a classic high strikeouts player with punch and panache (Mark Reynolds) and a faster-than-spit closer (Jose Valverde) who was the envy of major league baseball. Plus (plus!), the D-Backs had a solid philosophy of winning, based on the foundation that had brought them a World Series Championship in 2001: the club would focus on pitching, pitching, pitching (Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling anchored the staff in ’01), and build a strong farm system based on development and scouting. But those days are gone. The Diamondbacks of 2010 are 23 games back of the Friars and the face of the franchise, savvy righty Dan Haren, is living in Los Angeles. So what happened?

Injuries happened — and overspending. Brandon Webb hasn’t pitched in forever and is still attempting to recover from shoulder surgery (his arm still hurts, but he’s agreed to pitch out of the bullpen), Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton have been on-and-off the DL with a series of nagging everyday bumps and bruises, D-Backs President Derrick Hall and Interim General Manager Jerry DiPoto are still living with the effects of their predecessors’ decision to hand Showboat Eric Byrnes a three year $30 million paycheck — one of the worst contract decisions made in D-Backs history — and the farm system was plundered for short term satisfaction and is devoid of any perceivable talent. Worse yet, the once can’t-get-enough-of-baseball Phoenix fanbase has been dribbling away, making a $75 million player payroll untenable. The result has been a classic baseball fire sale, albeit one that began long before the trading deadline, and had nothing to do with players. Manager A.J. Hinch was tossed on the scrapheap on the night of July 1 and G.M. Josh Byrnes was disposed of 24 hours later. The firings signaled the beginning of a trend: the Diamondbacks wouldn’t just be sellers at the trading deadline (and before), they were dedicated to taking the team apart and starting over.

You can hardly blame Arizona fans for being skeptical. The current DiPoto salary dump looks as desperate as Byrnes’s decision to denude the D-Backs farm system two years ago — when Scott Hairston and Alberto Callaspo were shipped off for relief pitcher no-accounts (and Valverde’s salary was embarrassingly dumped) and Brett Anderson and Carlos Gonzalez (a curse, now, on Arizona pitching — in Colorado) were shipped to Oakland to land Haren. Earlier this year Byrnes attempted to compensate for these sins by sending Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth to Detroit for Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy (a good swap by any standard), but the trade came way too late to silence the rising chorus of critics who noted that dumping young talent almost never works.

While skepticism about the Rattlers’ future is in order, Arizona fans can be thankful that their franchise’s tradition of trading for and developing young pitching seems to be intact. While DiPoto received good value for Haren (Joe Saunders is no slouch) and simply cast off catcher Chris Snyder for three below average players (one of whom, Ryan Church, I wouldn’t let in my outfield), his decision to buy Edwin Jackson a ticket to Chicago for Daniel Hudson (below, pitching against “the Kings of Queens”) is paying immediate dividends: the young righty (nearly a Nationals’ property, in a proposed trade for Adam Dunn), threw a gem against the Amazins, whose death spiral (“trades? sorry — we’ll play these”) is now nearly an established fact. Hudson looks like he’s in the Diamondbacks’ rotation to stay after throwing eight innings of three hit ball — a game that, by itself, is far better than any that Danny Haren threw all year. Sure, the Diamondbacks look like a mess and, yes, there’s likely to be more moves in Arizona in the offseason. But the arrival of Hudson, when coupled with the promise of a developing Ian Kennedy, holds hope for the future. In truth, the Diamondbacks of 2010 look now like the D-Backs of 1999. That team, an embarrassing but young mess, was just two years from a world championship.

Adam Dunn hates to talk about trades, hates to even think about them. He’s made it clear — he’s happy in Washington and would like to stay with the Nationals. And Nationals’ General Manager Mike Rizzo agrees: Adam is good for the team, good at the plate, good in the clubhouse and is a plus, plus, plus all the way around. But it’s hard to deny the rumors that the Chicago White Sox are bidding for Dunn and would love to bring him aboard, though at a price they dictate. Rizzo doesn’t deny this. He simply says that the Nationals must be overwhelmed by any offer, which could or would or might include Pale Hose second sacker Gordon Beckham and right fielder home run hitter Carlos Quentin. Or both. The White Sox have recoiled from this, knowing that Beckham is a long term talent and that Quentin is one of the guys that led their surge into contention in the A.L. Central. They would like Rizzo to focus, instead, on accepting a much more modest package that would, could or might include young righty Daniel Hudson (above) and heavy hitting youngster Dayan Viciedo.

There are problems here: Beckham is a young guy who would solve Washington’s problem at second base for years to come, but he’s having a lousy year at the plate (.237, 4 HRs), while Quentin, after a breakout year in 2009 (21 HRs., albeit without a MLB standard BA), is having trouble finding his groove (.244 BA, .344 OBP). But shifting away from Beckham or Quentin also presents problems. Daniel Hudson has a lot of promise, but it’s really only promise and while the young righty’s “upside” (gag) seems good, the Nats know all about “upside.” They need a proven pitcher (right now) who can fill the second (or third, if you count Livan) slot behind “the kid.” Hudson would look good in that spot, or he might end up being John Lannan’s roomy in Harrisburg. Mr. Dayan Perez Viciedo has his own set of challanges: he is a freeswinging Pablo Sandoval (or “kung fu house cat” as one of our readers opined) in the making. This guy couldn’t hit the water if he fell out of a boat. Well, okay — Viciedo is a good hitter and potentially a great hitter and when he does hit it it goes a long, long ways. Translation: Dayan can really hit the ball, but he strikes out a lot. Still . . . still. The simple and blunt truth is that the more that you study Hudson and Viciedo, the more tempting they become.

The White Sox end of this, at least according to Chicago Sun-Times baseball guru Mike Cowley, is that Rizzo is asking for way too much — he’s dangling Dunn like he’s Ryan Howard. The White Sox are hesitant. They’re willing to pay a good price for Dunn, but Chicago G.M. Kenny Williams is simply not willing to part with a package of top prospects and major pieces. He is countering with a package of minor leaguers (probably Hudson and Viciedo), that would keep Beckham and Quentin in Chicago. Pale Hose partisans apparently agree with this strategy, as does the White Sox clubhouse. Williams is just unwilling to trade away parts of a surging squad that has put together one of the more astonishing June and July winning streaks in recent memory. And Rizzo’s attitude? Well, Mike seems to be standing firm. In truth, he’d like to have them all — and much as we love Adam Dunn, we have to agree. We would love to have them all too. But let’s be realistic. A package that would include Hudson, Viciedo and just one of Beckham (which would be our preference) or Quentin is tempting. Very tempting.