Center Field Gate

Sure it’s the off-season, sure there’s a lot of other things to do and yes, there’s not always a lot to report (or comment on), but everytime one of us droogs sits down to write something for CFG, we are stopped cold by the idea that Mike Rizzo’s Big Idea for strengthening the Nats’ front four includes setting out hook and bait for Florida Marlins right hander Ricky Nolasco.  It’s not that Carlos Enrique is such a bad pitcher — it’s just that he’s not what Nats fans had in mind for an off-season upgrade of baseball’s worst starting rotation. Once upon a time, the list for a rotation make-over included the possibility of signing John Lackey or Jon Garland. Those were the days: “We don’t think that the free-agent class leads us to [pay big money],” Mike Rizzo told Nats beat reporter Bill Ladson. “I believe the things we need or want the most are out there, and we are going to address it. I don’t see us going after that super free agent like Matt Holliday or Jon Garland. I don’t see us playing on that level. We don’t think it’s a fit for us.”

It’s the last sentence that is bound to send shivers through the upper arms of Nats’ fans: when Mike Rizzo says that something’s not “a fit for us,” what he means to say is: “we’re not going to spend money to improve.” Ladson then opines that Nolasco’s name is being bandied about — which is hardly a surprise since, if you’re a Marlin, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll be traded. This isn’t the first time that Nolasco’s name has been linked to anywhere-but-Miami: Yardbarker says that Nolasco and Jorge Cantu are on the block (as well as Dan Uggla, of course): “Trading Nolasco, who had a terrible first two months of 2009 and returned to form after being sent down to the minors, should net the Marlins some top major league ready prospects. Nolasco pitched better than his 2009 stats indicate, so there should be many teams looking to deal for him.”

Okay, fine. So the Nats line up a trade for Nolasco. What top prospects in their top-notch farm system do they give up to get him? A recent Baseball America ranking of MLB farm systems put the Nats at #26, with this comment:  ”They have the best prospect in the game in No. 1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg, plus solid talents in catcher Derek Norris, right-hander Drew Storen and shortstop Danny Espinosa. Beyond that, though, the Nats have very little help, especially at the upper levels, which is a pity considering the state of the big-league roster.” Who of that bunch would you give up to get Ricky? Derek Norris? Drew Storen? Danny Espinosa? How about: none of the above. It may be, of course, that Rizzo has something up his sleeve that will equal the Nyjer Morgan theft. Or it may be that Rizzo’s veto of signing a “super free agent” (a description he applies to Jon Garland) means that the Nats go into the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis next week with nothing to offer — and come out empty handed.

The Washington Nationals authored a decisive 7-2 spearing of the Florida Marlins on Sunday, through a combination of stellar starthing pitching and timely hitting. After a long rain delay, Nats’s starter John Lannan dominated the Marlins’ bats through five complete innings, holding the Miami Nine to six hits while striking out three. Reliever Tyler Clippard was, if anything, even more effective (holding the Marlins to one hit over two innings), before Jason Bergman closed out the game. Nats hitters accounted for five hits over unsteady Marlins’ starter Chris Volstad, with the big blows from the bats of Pete Orr and Elijah Dukes. The win boosted Lannan’s record to 9-11, while giving a needed infusion of confidence to Nationals’ hitters, whose bats wer unable to master Florida pitching on Saturday. The 7-2 win gave the Nats the series victory in Florida, three games to two.

Down On Half Street: Derek Jeter recorded his 2,722nd hit on Friday, passing Lou Gehrig for the most hits in Yankees franchise history. Jeter’s landmark hit was properly extolled in the New York and baseball media and we have to give credit where credit is due – there’s no doubt that the Yankees shortstop will end his career by being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and have a plaque dedicated to his accomplishments out in Yankee Stadium’s monument park. Even so, in the wake of Jeter’s accomplishment, ”Baseball Tonight” commentator Steven Berthiaume felt compelled to ask his guests (Orestes Destrade, Eric Young and Buster Olney) whether BBTN was paying too much attention to the Jeter record ”just because he’s a Yankee.” Absolutely not, the trio intoned: Jeter’s mark symbolizes his undisputed place in baseball history and puts him on “the Mt. Rushmore of Yankee greats . . .”  

Well, maybe. But, if you have to ask the question in the first place . . .

The Berthiaume question keeps coming up: is “Baseball Tonight” too much of a Boston and New York and east coast-oriented show, with too little focus on west coast teams and west coast match-ups? The producers at BBTN probably have something to say about this — and some of it might even make sense. New York probably provides the largest audience of ESPN viewers and “Baseball Tonight” often (but not always) ends too soon to do a report on west coast scores, particularly if those games run into extra innings. Then too, I’ll just bet that somewhere there’s an internal BBTN memo that says that when Berthiaume and crew lead the broadcast with news about the Padres or A’s, people change channels. Whether we like it or not, the Yankees are of abiding interest (even to fans outside of New York) and the Jeter record is probably more important to the average viewer than, say, the fact that Ryan Howard eclipsed the Phillies’ grand slam home run mark set by Mike Schmidt.  

But if the producers of “Baseball Tonight” are hammered for being “homers” for the Yanks and Red Sox (and the Mets, too, when they don’t stink), it’s only because they often deserve it. Last week the CFG brain trust was convinced that Ichiro would finally get the attention he deserves when he broke one of baseball’s nearly untouchable records: the number of consecutive seasons with 200 or more hits. But that’s not what happened. When Ichiro broke Wee Willie Keeler’s record on Sunday night, ESPN was busy covering the games of another sport while ESPN’s flagship sports reporting program, “SportsCenter,” barely mentioned the accomplishment. But while Baseball Tonight can thereby be excused for their seeming lack of interest, baseball’s pundit class took an “oh and by the way” attitude to Ichiro’s accomplishment in the days leading up to his record breaking infield single on Sunday night. Yankees fans might take umbrage at all of this: that Ichiro is not Jeter, that Ichiro’s record is hardly of the same class as Jeter’s and . . . and that you can’t really compare “Wee Willie” to the “The Iron Horse.” Some of this might be true, but not all of it. While Gehrig was a better ball player than Keeler, the two records are vastly different: Jeter’s record is a team record, while Ichiro’s will reside at Cooperstown.

The Marlins-Nationals match-up has sparked another friendly exchange of questions from “N.L. Least” bloggers. This time the N.L. East Chatter community (and, more specifically, the guys from The Real Dirty Mets Blog) provided five questions for CFG on the Nats, while we (and our cohorts) provided another five to Wally Londo of FishGuts on the Marlins. In the wake of the Phish’s blowout of the Nats in soggy Miami on Saturday (which saw the Marlins dominate the Nats’ pitching staff) the questions from our colleague seem particularly pertinent. The good news? We aren’t the only ones who have noticed Ian Desmond — who had another amazing night, this time going 4-4 in only his second game as a major leaguer. It won’t last, of course, but with twenty games left in the season, Nats fans can be assured of this: after a summer of struggle, the Nats finally have the one thing that every successful team must have to win — a solid front office that knows what it’s doing.

Stickguy (TRDMB): rate the odds (highest to lowest) on which guys will get traded in the off season. For the Nats, special emphasis on Dunn.

CFG: The odds? I think the odds of Cristian Guzman being traded are about 80 percent, Dunn about 10 percent and Zimmerman 0 percent. The marginal, veteran .230 to .250 hitters (Belliard et al) are gone and what is left are prospects, projects and the core. No one will touch the core (Zimmerman, Lannan, Dunn, Willingham, Flores, Morgan) the projects (Gonzalez and Dukes) are projects (no one really knows how good they will be — or if they will be good at all) and the prospects are the great unknown — like Ian Desmond and Stephen Strasburg are coming, they are good, and they will make a difference. But not right away. So trades? There’s not much to trade, to be honest, with the exception of Guzman.

Prismo (TRDMB): What do you think is the most needed area for improvement in the offseason for the Nationals?

CFG: Defense, defense, defense. And I don’t see how the Nats get better at defense without moving Guzman off the ballclub. The problem is his $8 million (due next year) and his shakiness at short. So if you can’t move him and Ian Desmond is going to be handed the shortstop job, you think odd things: like shifting him to second. It’s a bad idea, but you never know. With Nyjer Morgan playing a full year and Flores back from an injury the Nats should be better in the field, but should be probably won’t be good enough. They need a good glove man, like Orlando Hudson, up the middle.

Prismo (TRDMB): Starting pitching seems like the obvious pick, but the offense has been bipolar, the bullpen mostly terrible, and the defense very shoddy at times. Or should they just ignore these problems, and fully focus on minor league development?

CFG: If you ignore these problems for this next year, the next problem you will have will be putting people in the seats. And right now, that’s not a crisis. People here in DC still go to the games and still root for the team. But it could be a problem in the future and you can’t ignore it. So I don’t think the Nats are just going to focus on minor league development. Yes, it’s important to Mike Rizzo, but the Nats lost so much credibility before he was named as Bowden’s replacement this year that the team just can’t afford to ignore what’s happening in the parent club with all eyes on the future. I would expect them to resign Livan Hernandez and pick up another veteran pitcher (like John Garland, or a John Garland type) and sign a middle infielder with a good glove. And their offense hasn’t been “bi polar” — it’s been good. Very good, in fact. You know, I also hate to read on the internet about how some club has a top ranked farm system. Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati — they have very solid farm club operations. But who the hell cares? And Nats fans will sometimes say that: well we have a good farm system. That’s great, but you know, I don’t live in Harrisburg.

Matt R (NLEC): Is it just that I don’t know much about the Nats, but who is Ian Desmond? Where did he come from?

CFG: Hope springs eternal: so here goes. He is the bright shortstop of the future who is going to hold down that position, with Gold Glove after Gold Glove for the next ten years. Well, that’s the hope. More specifically, Ian Desmond is a 24 year old talent rich guy and former 3rd round 2004 draft pick of the Montreal Expos who has had his share in injuries, but who has gotten through them and worked hard at his game. Everyone in the Nats organization predicted that sooner or later he would be in the show. “Later” ended up being this September. He showed this year in AA and AAA that he can hit the cover off the ball. He’s solid. The only question is: has he really arrived? He looks ready to me. The other night, against the Phillies (and in his major league debut) the thing that impressed the most is that he didn’t look nervous, he didn’t look scared, he didn’t overswing. He looked like he belonged. You kind of had to be there to feel it, frankly. Down in the lower boxes, the Nats new brain trust just fell silent as he trotted on the field. And when he put one into the center field seats later in the game, they didn’t really cheer — they just kind of looked at each other. Mike Rizzo had this “I told you so” grin on his face. I think he’s here to stay.

Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman both went deep for the Nationals, but the big blow in the Anacostia Nine’s 5-3 win at Miami was Mike Morse’s pinch-hit double that provided the difference in the win. Dunn recorded his 37th and Zimmerman his 29th home runs, while J.D. Martin pitched a respectable five complete to give the Nats the win. But Morse was the big story. “He’s gotten some big hits for us,” Nats interim manager Jim Riggleman said of Morse after the game. “That’s twice now that he’s driven in two runs and he’s doing it against right-handed pitching. It’s tough to go up there and pinch-hit, and he’s gotten two two-out hits now. You try to match guys up against left-handers, but those situations haven’t come up and Mike has found a way to stay sharp through his batting practice and his work with [hitting coach] Rick [Eckstein]. He’s prepared and he’s given us great at-bats.”

Ryan Zimmerman celebrates his 29th

The inimitable Carpenter-Dibble duo commented at length on the suggested switch during the Nats broadcast vs. the Marlins on Friday night, with Dibble noting the history of successful position switches in the majors: Michael Young made the transition from short to third in Texas this year, he noted, and “let’s not forget” (Dibs said) that Alex Rodriguez also made the shift from short to third. Of course (as Dibble failed to note) it’s not as if either Young or Rodriguez shifted positions because they were defensive liabilities, but to ensure that two natural shortstops –  slick fielding Texas rookie Elvis Andrus and bound-for-the-hall Yankee Derek Jeter — remained at their positions. So let’s get this out of the way: the Nats want to shift Guzman not to take advantage of his abilities, but because they want to hide them. That is, the shift is hung on the rather dubious proposition that bad shortstops are not quite as bad when they play second base. 

Dave Cameron over at FanGraphs attempts to unpack that argument — but without really unpacking it. He says that ”if Guzman has lost significant range  . . . then it is quite possible that the Nationals will get a larger benefit from reducing the amount of balls hit in his direction than they would by squeezing a marginally better bat into the line-up at second base.” Which means two things: it means that because second basemen get fewer chances Guzman will make fewer errors and it also means that getting a better bat at second won’t make up for Guzman’s weaknesses at short. But even that’s only a part of the picture. The real question here is not about how to match Guzman’s production at the plate, but how to cover up his weaknesses in the field: having failed to field ground balls at shortstop, can we really expect Guzman to field them at second? 

And the answer to that question is “no.” Teams don’t get better by hiding their defensive liabilities, but by replacing them — unless . . . (and it’s a pretty big and very important unless) . . . unless that defensive liability meets two other criteria: you can hide the defensive liability by playing him at first base and the defensive liability hits over forty homers a year. Unfortunately for the Nats (and for Guzman), the position of  “don’t-worry-about-the-errors-this- brawler-can-hit” is already taken. Then too, shifting Guzman to second because it seems as if it’s an easier position to play doesn’t make sense. Because it’s not true. Not only do second basemen often (but not always) get the same number of chances at second as a shortstop, but playing second doesn’t mean they don’t have to occasionally sprint to their right or left. Plus (plus!) second basemen have to make the turn on a double play. That oughta be easy for Cristian, especially with a gimpy foot. But rest assured, Mike Rizzo said he told Guzman that such a shift has been done before — and successfully. Lots of shortstops have made the move to second and they’ve benefitted from it. You know, like Felipe Lopez. So . . . so what’s really going on here?

My sense is that for all of the tortured explanations given by Rizzo and Riggleman, the Guzman-to-second bandwagon is being contemplated for any number of reasons: none of them having to do with Guzman’s glove. Rizzo might be calculating that trading Guzman is not a good idea, because the return on him would not be nearly enough to compensate for the loss of his bat. Then too, Rizzo must know that there wouldn’t be many takers for a guy who’s still owed $8 million. And  . . . and if you really want to trade Guzman, why would you signal that you think his glove is a liability (by saying you’ll shift him to second) and why would you tell every team in the league that the reason his glove is bad is because he’s injured. I can just imagine what Mike might say: “listen, we have this no glove injured shortstop who we owe $8 million — what can you give us?” It could be that Rizzo has his eye on a hotshot shortstop that he can pick up as a free agent: but I’ll be damned if I can find one worth any amount of money. Or it could be (it just could be) that Rizzo is thinking that if you’re really (absolutely no-matter-what) committed to hotshot rookie Ian Desmond and you really don’t want to lose Guzman’s bat, there’s only one way to do it: and that’s keep them both  — and play them both. Maybe. But that’s a hell of a gamble.

Ryan Zimmerman’s 9th inning home run on Sunday ended the Washington Nationals eight game losing streak and gave the Anacostia Nine a come from behind 5-4 win at Nationals Park. Knotted up at 2-2 in the top of the 9th, reliever Mike “Heart Attack” MacDougal let the game get away from him, giving the Marlins a 4-2 edge, with Phish righty Leo “lights out” Nunez entering the game to close it out. But in the bottom of the ninth Willie “Wee Willie”  Harris led off the Nats end of the game by pumping his fifth home run into the second deck in right field to pull the home towners within one. His upper deck powerhouse was followed by a Cristian Guzman hustling infield hit with Ryan Zimmerman coming to the plate. Dan Uggla went far to his right to get the Guzman hit, but could’t reach it in time to throw out Guzman, who was called safe at first. Zimmerman then stroked a 1-1 pitch into the centerfield boxes to give the Nats their first win in ten days,  a stunner that sent the Marlins packing to New York without the sweep they needed.

Until the ninth, the heroes of the game were hard luck pitcher J.D. Martin, who pitched 6.2 solid innings, and Elijah Dukes, who was two for two with a walk. Dukes ended up on base four times. Dukes has raised his average to .260 — but, more importantly, he seems more calm and focused at the plate and in the field, a good sign for next year.  Dukes also had an early game scoop of a Marlins sure hit to short right field, a sign of the former Rays’ renewed confidence in the outfield. The win against the Marlins not only ends the Nats eight game skid, in which the Washington club seemed to be unable to score runs when they most needed them, it improved their walk-off prowess against the South Florida Nine. The Nats now have seven walk off wins against the Phish, who are straining to win the wild card race against the fading Chops, as well as the Rockies and Giants. The Marlins will continue their pursuit of the first spot in the wild card against Tim Redding and the Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday in New York, while the Nats will also take a day off before sending John Lannan to the hill to face Pedro Martinez and the ever-surging Phuzzies at Nationals Park. 

Matt Holliday loves St. Louis. Since coming to the Cardinals, the former Colorado Rockies-Oakland Athletics outfielder is hitting .376 with a .438 OBP for the Redbirds. On Saturday, his three run homer all but decided the 9-4 contest, giving the loss to Nats’ starter Craig Stammen. And so after taking two of three from the struggling Cubs in Chicago, the Nats have now dropped two in St. Louis, but with hopes that the team can recover on Sunday in the final game of a three game set. On Sunday night, the Nats will travel to San Diego to take on the resurgent Friars, who are riding a  miraculous three game winning streak against the sinking Florida Marlins. Holliday’s homer came in the first, and while it did not seal the game for the Redbirds, it cast a bright light on the Cardinals’ strength since the trading deadline, when Holliday arrived: a team that could break out the big bats and score a slew of runs in backing what is one of the N.L. strongest starting staffs.

A disappointed Elijah Dukes struck out with the bases loaded in the 7th (AP/To Gannam)

“That’s what makes their lineup good,” Stammen said. “They’ve got multiple guys that can hurt you, back-to-back-to-back,” Craig Stammen admitted after the game. “When I went out there, I was like, ‘You know what? Have fun. Have fun trying to get the best hitters in the game out.’ And for the most part, it was kind of fun, except when they got me.” Stammen was not only victimized by Holliday. A key error by Cristian Guzman in the fifth inning helped the Cards score four unearned runs after two outs. Stammen defended his shortstop. Guzman has made enough plays for me this year that I’m not really worried about the one mistake that he makes,” said starter Craig Stammen. Adam Dunn provided Washington’s power, hitting his 35th home run in the 6th.

Down On Half Street: It seems the only time anyone in the N.L. Least can win a game is when they play each other. At least that’s the way it’s been lately. The Mets, reeling from a raft of injuries and the effects of age, were pummeled by the Cubs on national television on Saturday, 11-4, with Cubs supersub Jake Fox hitting a grand slam off of Mets youngster Bobby Parnell. Parnell is the hope of the future, but he’s had a rocky August. Nevertheless, the team pledges that “The Bobby Parnell Project” as they call it, will continue. Parnell is fairly philosophical about it all, admitting that his last outings have been “up and down.” Mostly down, actually . . .

It’s not possible for things to be worse in Florida, but they (nearly) are. You get the feeling that this is a ballclub that is on the verge of taking itself apart. On Friday, versus the little brown priests, Chris Volstad barely made it to the top of the dugout steps before he was shipped out to New Orleans.  Volstad, all 6-8 of him, lasted 1.2 innings (but just barely) and gave up six earned runs. He had a 5.08 ERA in the show. (We’ll take him.) On Saturday, the Marlins (hoping to catch the Phillies) sent out their ace, Ricky Nalasco. But they forgot to bring their bats. In six innings they mustered four hits against no-name Friars’ hurler Wade LeBlanc. Don’t underestimate Wade — he has an ERA of 9.58. Either Wade looked like Roger McDowell, or the Phish looked like the Bad News Bears. One guess . . .

Up in Philadelphia, things are proceeding apace for the Phuzzies, who are breezing their way to a division crown. Out in South Philly, the guys who stand around on the corner and talk tough are even trying to figure out the dimensions of the statue to Cliff Lee that will grace the front of the Philadelphia Art Museum — where they never go. Right next to the one of that other great Philly cultural icon, Rocky Balboa. But the Cliff Lee Express was derailed on Saturday, when the Chops decapitated Lee in front of a sold out crowd at Citizens Bank Park. The Chops barrage of homers (Diaz, Escobar, Anderson, Jones) reached such a din that it was like listening to the 1812 Overture. “It’s hard to get good results when you’re throwing pitches belt high and down the middle of the plate,” Lee said after the game. ”That’s basically what happened. I feel good about throwing strikes, working ahead and not walking people, but I put myself in positions to put them away and I missed up and down the middle. If you consistently do that, that’s what’s going to happen.” The final butcher’s bill? 9-1 Atlanta.

The Nats won their fifth in a row, sweeping the reeling Florida Marlins 12-8 at Nationals Park. With the exception of shaky starting pitching (Craig Stammen lasted an inning-and-two-thirds, giving up five runs on six hits), the Nationals seemed to be hitting on all cylinders. The key word is “hitting” — the Anacostia nine accounted for twelve runs on fourteen hits, with the red hot Ryan Zimmerman going 4 for 4. After struggling at the plate since his recall from Syracuse, Elijah Dukes’s bat came alive: the former Floridian battered Phish pitching for four RBIs and three hits, accounting for two runs and raising his BA to .247. The Florida bullpen flopped around all afternoon. Former Nats’ reliever Luis Ayala was snagged with four runs in one inning of work, while Brian Sanches had a blown save. Phish starter Chris Volstad couldn’t make it out of the fourth; the Nats hooked him for seven runs, four of them earned.

Down on Half Street: Anderson Hernandez was traded to the Mets for a minor league second baseman. The Nats grew disenchanted with Hernandez, a point made clear when Manny Acta said he would be spending time on the bench to make way for Alberto Gonzalez, who would get more playing time. It slowly dawned on Hernandez that he was not going to be the team’s second baseman of the future. He pouted and the front office decided he had to go. He was dealt to the Mets; who need him. Chokes’ players are not only having problems in the field, they’re having problems walking down the dugout steps. Luis Castillo was the latest Mets’ player hit with the inexplicable team injury bug: he suffered a slight strain when he dodged a pair of shoes on his way to the pine. The Nats had high hopes for Anderson, at one pointing envisioning him and Alberto Gonzalez as a good combination up the middle . . . 

Speaking of injuries, last night on MLB network, color analyst and former reliever Mitch Williams said that the “freakiest” injury he ever saw took place even before the season started, when Texas pitcher Oddibe McDowell cut his hand trying to butter a dinner roll during the team’s “Welcome Home” luncheon. He was slated to start for the Rangers in their home opener the next day, but instead went on the 15 day DL . . .

Ryan Zimmerman is sizzling after seeing his average dip precipitously following the all star break. His power has also returned. Here’s my theory: all this stuff about “he’s now opening his hips better,” or “he’s seeing the ball better,” or ”he’s not dipping his back shoulder any more” or (and I love this one) “he’s bringing his bat through the hitting zone better” is a load — the kind of incoherence I associate with this guy. Analysts should be called on their bass ackwards explanations: Zim is starting to hit, so therefore he must be seeing the ball better. Of course he’s seeing the ball better; if he were seeing the ball worse he’d be in a slump. My theory is that a rising tide lifts all boats — Willingham and Dunn’s good at-bats have had a team-wide impact. Truth is, Zim was hanging his head a little bit at the end of July, but not anymore. That’s what winning does . . . then too, Carl Yastrzemski hit .278 in 1966 and .326 in 1967. That’s forty-eight points. What — did his eyesight improve? Did he start “squaring his hips”?  . . . The Nats picked up Daryle Ward and Norris Hopper from the Pale Hose today. Ward is a good pinch hitter. Then too, he’s only 34 . . .

The Washington Nationals banged out three home runs and John Lannan recorded his eighth victory, as the Anacostia nine hung on to best the Florida Phish 5-4 at Nationals Park. The victory was the fourth in a row for the suddenly revived Nats. Cristian Guzman was the hero of the game, with a single, double and triple. Guzman’s RBI triple – a shot down the right field line — proved to be the difference in the contest. The Nats’ shortstop has been on fire over the last twelve games, going 24 for 51. The game had a little something for everyone: home runs (by Zimmerman, Dunn and Belliard), steady pitching from Lannan (six strikeouts in six innings), stellar defensive plays (including two gems at third base) and solid relief pitching — Jorge Sosa pitched two innings of one hit ball — and the Nats’ nail-biting closer (Mike “heart attack” MacDougal), pitched a three-up-three-down ninth. Even Ronnie Belliard (with his less than breathtaking .257 OBP), got into the act: he flashed a fourth inning homer against Marlins’ pitching victim Rick VandenHurk, who lasted just four innings and gave up seven hits.

Cristian Guzman’s continued hitting streak follows a slumping July, when his average dipped below .300. Jim Riggleman had nothing but praise for his shortstop after the game. “Well, he is really a good hitter,” Riggleman said. “The guy can just put the bat on the ball, and quite often it hits the barrel of the bat. It’s solid. The ball is jumping when he hits it. He is a really good offensive player and he is doing a good job at shortstop. I think his play at shortstop has picked up recently.” Guzman is known as a free-swinger, the reason for his unimpressive OBP and low walk numbers. But on Wednesday, Guzman hit two scorchers down the right field line and knocked in two RBIs. Batting sparkplug Nyjer Morgan ahead of Guzman in the leadoff spot is clearly benefitting the eleven year veteran — who began the year waiting for a chance to drive in runs.

John Lannan admitted after the game that he didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled for the win anyway. The Nats had to rely on their bullpen to hold the slim lead and they did — but just barely. The usual lights-out Sean Burnett was anything but against the Phish, and Riggleman removed him after he put the first two men he faced on base. Veteran hurler and converted outfielder Jorge Sosa, recently recalled from Syracuse, was able to shut down the Marlins and get the hold. The eight year veteran (and former New York Met) threw 28 pitches, twenty of them for strikes — reverting to the form that made him a phenom in 2005 for the then-injury plagued Atlanta Braves. Converted to a starter Sosa went 11-3, which helped catapult the Braves into the post-season. Sosa featured a low-in-zone fastball with a lot of movement in 2005, but lost his touch as a reliever in subsequent years. But Sosa pitched with authority and good command in Wednesday, when the Marlins found him nearly untouchable.

Check out CFG’s view of the Marlins — and FishGuts view of the Nats — over at NL East Chatter. It’s a pretty good exchange. Wally at FishGuts was asked which National strikes fear into Marlins’ fans. ”Josh Willingham is a man on a mission this season,” he says, ”and he’s really making the Marlins regret trading him and not Hermida. He’s been on fire, and you don’t want to see him right now. Jordan Zimmermann is going to be a legitimate front line starter, and he’s got enough stuff right now to cause any lineup fits.”

I think that’s about right; and it’s only justice that a team like the Marlins (who stumble into a world series about every sixth year or so — and for no good reason at all), should be vulnerable to a guy they gave up on. It’s true: if Willingham in Washington is “the hammer,” in Florida he was a screwdriver: so far this year he has 17 home runs this year in 253 ABs, last year with Florida he had 15 in 351. With Emilio Bonafacio (the center of the Willingham- to-D.C. trade), now relegated to a utility role in Florida, Marlins’ fans might be looking for revenge. They should rethink that: if Aaron Thompson doesn’t work out, the Phish will have gotten 1B Nick Johnson, one of the best on-base players in baseball, for nothing.

The Washington Nationals defeated the Florida Marlins 6-4 Tuesday night at Nationals Park. Adam Dunn hit the big blow in the six run eighth inning. The win was the Nats third in a row. Florida’s right-handed ace, Josh Johnson, dominated the Nats for seven innings, but the Nats’ half of the eighth opened with three straight hits. Willie Harris, Alberto Gonzalez and Wil Nieves led off the eighth with three straight singles. Pinch hitter Ronnie Belliard followed with a double, driving in two. Nyjer Morgan followed with a grounder to the right side, which scored Nieves. Cristian Guzman followed with a single that scored Nieves to tie the game. That’s when Dunn stepped to the plate and stroked an opposite field ball into the left field stands. Mike MacDougal closed out the game.

AD's two run HR wins it for Nats (AP/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Down On Half Street: “Droog” D. Willy writes that he is blown away by Nats’ relief star Tyler Clippard. Clippard is emerging as the Nat’s stopper out of the bullpen. In Pittsburgh on Monday, Clippard worked out of a no-outs bases loaded jam, then turned in another two innings of no-hit two strikeout ball to give the Nats enough to sink the Ahoys, 8-4 . . . the Nats win tonight is not only their third in a row, each of them have been come-from behind wins . . . How good is the Nats bullpen? The change-over from the beginning of the season seems complete, and the results show it. The biggest change has come recently, with the addition of Sean Burnett and the new confidence shown by Logan Kensing.  Dave Sheinin writes: “The Nationals’ bullpen is a combined 5-1 with a 3.23 ERA and a .224 opponents’ batting average since the all-star break . . .”

Tomorrow afternoon NL East Chatter will feature CFG’s take on the trade deadline, the outlook for our Anacostia Boys, and what scares us about the Marlins. It took a couple of hours of thinking to find an answer that last question . . . Ryan Zimmerman sat out Tuesday’s game with a sore left shoulder, the result of being HBP by Jolly Roger pitcher Charlie Morton on Monday. Zim says he’ll be back, perhaps as early as tomorrow. That’s okay, if he doesn’t play third we can always use Belliard over there . . .  

Austin Kearns is headed to the DL with a sore right thumb. That’s too bad, we’ll miss his defense in right field. The Nats have called up Jorge Padilla from Syracuse to take his place. Originally a third round draft pick of the Phillies in 1998, Padilla is a veteran of the minor leagues, having ping-ponged his way from low single-A to Syracuse, while at the same time changing organizations. He was with the Phillies, Mets and Royals before coming to the Nats, in early 2008 . . . Our friend at Curse of Bonds writes to say that he believes that “Chester Cheese” (a Pierogi), could outrace any “racing president” — with the possible exception of Teddy. I will leave that to the experts over at Let Teddy Win . . . In the wake of our article on all of those moving parts the Neal “The Deal” Huntington has shipped away from the steel city, the disenchantment has only grown worse in the land of Lastings Milledge. This from Curse of Bonds: