By now, you would think, Nyjer Morgan is getting the message: on Wednesday, MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Nationals would sign former Cincy outfielder Laynce Nix to a minor league contract. The signing nearly overstocks the Nats’ outfield — particularly considering the team’s previous inking of Rick Ankiel. While Nix is only so-so against lefties, he will provide a steady presence off the bench and (perhaps more importantly) provide some competition for Morgan and the planned left field platoon of Roger Bernadina and Michael Morse. Put simply, the outfield is getting crowded — with Nats skipper Jim Riggleman now looking at a full complement of Jayson Werth, Morgan, Nix, Bernadina, Ankiel and Morse, which is not to mention the addition of MLB wannabe Corey Brown, who was acquired in the Josh Willingham trade to Oakland. Brown will pressure the likes of Nix and Morgan: which is just the kind of competition that Mike Rizzo and skipper Riggleman like.

Prior to Nix’s signing, the Nats parted ways with Justin Maxwell, ending an experiment that began in 2005 — when the Nats drafted the fleet-footed former Terrapin in the fifth round of that year’s draft. The rap on Maxwell is well known: he simply couldn’t hit and his speed on the base paths and talent with the leather wasn’t enough to keep him around. Maxwell brought a solid return (despite some skepticism in the Nats blogosphere) — Adam Olbrychowski isn’t exactly the second coming of Bruce Sutter, but he could eventually figure in the Nats’ mix as a solid middle innings reliever. River Avenue Blues wrote not all that long ago that “Adam O” needs to add a second pitch to his 91-93 mph fastball. Last week the Nats also added Cla Meredith, whose weird looking side arm motion once baffled hitters, though that now seems long ago. Still . . . still, Meredith is a solid veteran and certainly worth taking a chance on.  He was pretty good back in San Diego (73 games, 4.09 ERA), but he struggled with the Showalters. Hardball Talk has this right: he will compete for a back of the bullpen job in Spring Training, though he might land in Syracuse.

You have to admit — all of this reshuffling is pretty impressive. The Nats outfield is nearly remade, the team has apparently made a long term commitment to a middle infield of very green youngsters, the signing of Adam LaRoche gives the Nats a new first baseman and (while Rizzo & Co. did not land that big front of the rotation guy we need), there’s a new mix on the mound — “filled with potential.” We say that advisedly — it was the same phrase we used last year. There’s probably more to come, but with Spring Training now an eyeblink away, the Nats are set to enter the season with a tougher defense and a newly reshuffled outfield. No one is predicting a trip to the World Series (or even a Wild Card berth), but there’s enough here to keep Nats fans in the seats until August. Maybe.

Adam Dunn — the pride of Porter, Texas — is finally starting to get the attention he deserves. And it’s long overdue. The Nationals’ first baseman’s two home run, six RBI outing against the Trolleys in Los Angeles was the talk of baseball on Friday night. The “cavalcade of stars” on Baseball Tonight and the whoop-happy crew on MLBN’s late night offering (Plesac and Williams) spun up Dunn’s “Moon shots” in Dodger Stadum again and again. We can only hope the former Redleg and D-Back great is enjoying it. Ignored in the first round of the amateur draft, the victim of unfair criticism at the hands of a flap-mouthed former G.M., traded from team-to-team for younger unproven players, passed over for the 2010 All Star game and regularly relegated to second tier attention behind Prince Fielder and Ryan Howard (among others), Dunn is slowly laying claim to being one of the game’s elite players. Certainly Dunn’s skipper, Jim Riggleman thinks so.

In the aftermath of Friday’s derailing of the Dodgers in L.A., Riggleman dissected Dunn’s at-bats, shaking his head in wonder: “What Adam did out there today, that’s really some big stuff because [L.A. starter Clayton] Kershaw has been really tough on everybody, particularly tough on left-handers,” Riggleman said. “For Adam to do that against him a couple of times in that ballgame, you are not going to see that too often against Kershaw.” But it was MASN play-by-play guy Bob Carpenter who said it best. “If Adam Dunn appears hunched over it’s because he’s carrying the Washington Nationals on his back,” he said. “And he can do it.” Dunn, meanwhile, underplayed his accomplishment, focusing instead on Kershaw.”He is not one of my top pitchers to face. I can tell you that,” he said. “He is really good. Look at his numbers. He is really good. He is only going to get better. How old is he? Twelve, 13? He is only going to get better.” Dunn’s night was complemented by a solid outing from John Lannan and a tough defense, which included a diving catch in centerfield from recent call-up Justin Maxwell. The Nationals will face off against the Dodgers again tonight in L.A. before wrapping up the series on Sunday.

Livan Hernandez pitched a complete game four-hit shutout that helped secure another win for the surging Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Saturday. The masterful Hernandez was backed by eight runs and ten hits from what had been a slumping lineup. While Adam Dunn continued to struggle at the plate (going 0-4), Cristian Guzman, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, Josh Willingham and Ivan Rodriguez all contributed, combining for a total of nine hits on the day. The biggest blast of the day came off the bat of Justin Maxwell, who drove in three runs. But the story of the game was Hernandez. The aging but wily righty faced 33 Milwaukee batters, throwing 112 pitches — 66 of them for strikes. The Nats’ ace was never in danger, with the heart of the Brewers’ line-up accounting for only three hits in 16 at-bats. The 8-0 drubbing of The Crew put the Nationals one game over .500 — at 6-5. The Nats go for the series sweep tomorrow at Nationals Park — before weighing in against the Colorado Rockies.

Justin Maxwell’s two run home run in the top of the 11th inning at Turner Field gave the Washington Nationals a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Maxwell’s homer came after the Braves had tied the Nats at four in the 10th. The win was the sixth in a row for the Nats, who finish their season in Atlanta today. The Nats win came with major contributions from their young starters — including shortstop Ian Desmond (who also homered) and lefty starter Ross Detwiler. Detwiler’s Saturday outing was his second consecutive solid start: he threw five innings of one hit baseball in a classic pitchers’ duel against Atlanta ace Jair Jurrjens. But the story of the game was Maxwell’s 11th inning knock, which came with two outs and Pete Orr on second. “I was just trying to get a pitch to hit and got one,” Maxwell said after the game. “Like I said, I’m trying to do my job. When I get up there, I’m not trying to think about much. I’m trying to put the ball in play, trying to let the rest take care of itself.”

 

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Cristian Guzman will have an MRI done on his ailing right shoulder on Monday. The Nats are committed to paying Guzman $8 million for 2010, which means it will be difficult to move him. But if the Nats pick up part of his salary (and get a couple of young prospects in return) don’t be surprised to see him elsewhere, with free agent Orlando Hudson (or someone like him) at second . . . Both Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham continue to battle through end-of-season slumps. Willingham is hitting near .140 over the last thirty games, and just can’t seem to end the spiral . . . It doesn’t look like Adam Dunn will hit 40 homers this year: he’s stuck at 38, after hitting forty or more home runs in each of the last five seasons. Like Willingham, Dunn is also slumping — his average has dropped from .280 to .266 over the last ten games . . . Game 162 will feature the Nats’ J.D. Martin facing off against Chops veteran Tim Hudson . . .

It’s not often you see a walk off grand slam in person — so it’s easy to get giddy. And that’s exactly what happened here in Washington. During Wednesday night’s post game radio gabfest (which followed the Nats’ dramatic grand slam walk off over the loathed Mets), callers predicted “big things” for the Anacostia Nine: ”With these young guys, we should be in the wild card hunt next year,” one said. Another chirped in: “We’re only a couple of pieces away.” That last little phrase bears reflection, especially since we’ve heard it alot lately. In fact, we’ve even heard from team officials. “We are tremendously excited. The next big step is right there to be taken,” Stan Kasten told Thomas Boswell in today’s Washington Post. “This is not a great year if you want a Sabathia or Mark Teizeira. But the players who are available are just what we need: a veteran starter in the rotation, two more arms in the bullpen and a middle infielder who helps our defense.”

Well, Stan oughta know. Right? But you have to wonder, honestly, if what he (or some of our giddy fans) think is really true. Are the Nats really only one or two players away from contending? Or even three or four?

Just as Justin “Walk Off” Maxwell was crossing home plate in Washington on Wednesday night, up the road in Philadelphia, the Phuzzies were putting ten runs on the board to capture their third consecutive N.L. East Division Championship. While the Phillies clinched (and fairly easily, at that), no one in Philadelphia thinks they’re a shoo-in to capture their second World Series. There’s good reason for the skepticism. The Phillies can’t find a dependable back-of-the-bullpen guy (Brad Lidge has blown eleven save opportunities), they strike out too much in key situations (Ryan Howard hits ‘em long, or not at all) and one of their most dependable starters, Jamie Moyer, is finished for the post-season. Of course, Nats’ fans can be forgiven for taking this amiss: the Phillies are in the playoffs, and for the long-suffering D.C. red-and-blues that ought to be enough. Philadelphia should just stop whining and play the game.

But here’s the deal: while hobbled and uncertain and filled with angst (and now not picked to take it all), the Phillies are a tough, smart, experienced and deep team. They’re the kind of team that regularly gets in the playoffs. What will it take for the Nats to do the same? What would it take for Rizzo’s Nine to become Ruben’s Nine?  The one piece of good news is that the Nats have a head start: we have hitters — and they compare well with the biggest boppers in the Phillies’ line-up. Or do they? The Nats have two guys (Zimmerman and Dunn) with over thirty home runs this year. The Phillies have four: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez. Their shortstop, Jimmie Rollins, has had an off year: he’s hit only 21. So Phillies fans (awake at night; worried – tossing and turning) keep asking: what is it that we have to do to get Jimmy Rollins back on track? Here’s an idea: trade him to the Nats. We’ll take 21 homers from a shortstop, or fifteen. Hell, we’d take ten. And we wouldn’t call it a slump.

Then there’s the pitching. The Nats are only a couple of pitchers away from contending. That isn’t bad really. I mean, think of all we’ve developed so far. Why, there’s John Lannan and there’s . . . ah, John Lannan . . . and there’s . . . well, there’s Stephen Strasburg (maybe) and Jordan Zimmermann (when — and if – he gets healthy), and there’s Craig Stammen and J.D. Martin and Ross Detwiler. So it’s true: if all works out as planned, the Nats will have a steady starting staff. But let’s not kid ourselves: even if all goes as planned it won’t happen next year, and maybe not the year after. Right now, the Nats have John Lannan, who’s good enough to go 17-9 on a good ball club. But that’s it. John Lannan (I’m with ya John, I’m all for ya), is – - what — we — have. What do the Phillies have?

They have a pretty decent starting staff, despite the problems they’ve had with it this year: Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton are all top of the rotation guys and any Nats fan would love to have any of them. But Philadelphia (just for the record) wasn’t satisfied with just those guys: so in mid-season they signed up future hall of famer Pedro Martinez and traded for Cleveland ace Cliff Lee. And it’s a good thing they did, because their innings eating get-em-on-the-outside corner bioman (Jamie Moyer) went down with a lower abdominal strain. That’s alright: the Phillies starting staff is so deep they actually might not need J.A. Happ in the starting rotation for the playoffs. He’s not good enough. Can you imagine? He’s not good enough – and he could be the N.L Rookie of the year.

Then there’s the bullpen. The Phillies are worried about their bullpen and they should be. Brad Lidge is suffering, Ryan Madson doesn’t seem cut out for the closer’s job and the rest of them (the tough middle of the game guys) are good, certainly better than average — but you wouldn’t want them closing games. So the bullpen is a mess: but it’s better than Washington’s — and not by a little bit. Park and Romero and Walker and Meyers (Meyers!) and all of those guys who come in and pitch and pitch and pitch: there are teams in this league who would kill to have them, any of them. Including the Nats. 

So here’s the arithmetic, though admittedly it’s very unscientific. For the Nats to be the Phillies (that is, not to just contend, but to have a shot at winning the N.L. Least — perhaps the least competitive division in baseball), they (we!) need two more 30-plus home run hitters, a shortstop  in a slump (who only hits 20), three more starters (and maybe more, if one goes down — as happened to the Phuzzies) and a bullpen where there are two closers (or more) and two set-up men who can carry the team through the eighth inning, plus a lot of moving pieces — including a guy who can hit a home run in the playoffs to win a game and (oh yeah), a catcher who stays healthy. And the Nats need team defense and speed and (on top of everything else) they need to have a mix of veterans and youngsters.

But don’t get me wrong: I am all for getting the “couple of pieces” that will make the Nats better. I will be there, at Nationals Park, next year, re-upped, for twenty-plus games to see the Nats carry on. And I’ll be there whether they win or lose. But that’s because I’m a fan of the Washington Nationals: not the Washington Dreamers. We’re a couple of pieces away, alright – a couple of pieces away from maybe (maybe) being a .500 ball club. Maybe.

 

The most dramatic moment of the Washington Nationals 2009 season came during the last at bat of the last inning of the last game the team played in front of their home fans: with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning — and Nats fans on their feet and screaming — rookie Justin Maxwell put a heart-of-the-plate fastball (thrown by one of the game’s best relief pitchers), into the first row in left field, sealing a stunning 7-4 come from behind victory. Maxwell’s hammer came on the ninth pitch from Mets’ reliever Francisco Rodriguez who came into the game in the last inning to nail down the victory for the New York Nine. But Rodriguez — the strikeout king of relief pitchers — struggled with his control, ever as much as Mets’ defenders struggled to get outs.

The stunning victory in the home half began with an Alberto Gonzalez single to the left of scrambling Mets’ shortstop Wilson Valdez, who threw wide of first. Gonzalez — head first into the bag — was safe. With the score 4-2, Nats fans seemed fated to take their punishment, but when Mike Morse singled to center (two on, no one out), the crowd of some 23,900-plus began to take an interest. Willie Harris then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving Gonzalez to third and Morse to second. With men on second and third and one out, Elijah Dukes (whose first swinging strike was intended to win the game) had one of his most patient at bats — and Rodriguez walked him. Bases loaded.

Ryan Zimmerman came to the plate — and Nats’ fans were on their feet. Zimmerman had already put one into straightaway centerfield (in the eighth), and Nats fans supposed he might do it again. But Rodriguez fanned him on three straight pitches, the last a nasty cutting fastball that Zim couldn’t touch. Adam Dunn came to the plate. The Nats’ most important long ball hitter (38 home runs), had struggled in his last 30 at bats — and through most of the night. But as deftly as Rodriguez had handled Zimmerman, he seemed to wilt before Dunn’s big-bat threat, walking him on a 3 and 2 pitch that wasn’t even close.

Rodriguez was non-plussed: he called for the ball as Dunn walked to first, forcing a run in from third. Dunn’s base-on-balls trot put the Nats one run away from a tie. But it was still 4-3 Mets. Dunn’s walk brought Justin Maxwell to the plate — a rookie with no big game history. As with Zimmerman, K-Rod went after Maxwell, just missing on his first pitch before registering two strikes (looking). But then, oddly, Rodriguez grew cautious (he threw a ball wide), just as Maxwell began to battle. Rodriguez threw another ball and the count was full. Maxwell fouled off the next two pitches, including a high-in-the-zone might-have-been that hooked harmlessly into the left field seats. Rodriguez had taken something off the pitch and it wasn’t hit very hard. So Frankie made his calculation. Impatient, and knowing he was facing a rookie, he put his best fastball over the plate — something that a kid from Olney, Maryland would never be expected to touch.

And Maxwell put it over the left field fence.