So here’s the thinking, or presumably so: because the Nationals are near dead last in hitting in the majors, the powers that be have decided to shift the batting order, moving players in and out of the lead-off spot and juggling through a series of middle-order options in an attempt to “get the bats going.” Nothing seems to have worked, though sometimes (as with putting Jayson Werth up top), the attempts have been pretty creative. The most recent thinking is that what the Nationals really need is a good lead-off hitter, a set-up guy that would allow big-bangers like Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse (and, ostensibly, a revived Werth), to drive him in.

The thinking isn’t all the bad, though it comes with some caveats — it’s made on the assumption that Roger “The Shark” Bernadina is not built to lead-off, that the Werth experiment was more an attempt to get him going than to really fill a top-of-the-order need and (embarrassingly), Rick Ankiel just hasn’t worked out. Which leaves the Nats where they are: searching for a lead-off hitter with a high OBP who can also play centerfield. The latter requirement is apparently the result of front office thinking that Bernadina who sometimes is (but mostly isn’t) the team’s go-to guy at the top of the order. Three names have been mentioned.

The most recent is Julio Borbon, the Texas Rangers’ sometime lead-off guy who is currently playing in Triple-A for the Round Rock Express — “an athletic position player” who (whether he worked in the lead-off spot or not) could hit for average, get on base, be a threat on the base paths and be a solid defensive outfielder. Borbon might be a good choice, and perhaps cost less than the other two names mentioned: the Rays’ B.J. Upton or the Astros’ Michael Bourn. The problem with both of these latter “solutions” is that they would be expensive — with teams around the league apparently agreed that the player-to-get would be reliever Tyler Clippard, one of the very best set-up men in the game.

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The qualities that have made the Nationals one of the hottest teams in baseball failed them on Sunday afternoon, as the Washington Nine dropped the last in their three game series against the Orioles, 7-4 at Nationals Park. Returning starting pitcher Tom Gorzelanny was shaky in pitching just 4.2 innings (he gave up ten hits and four runs), the Washington bullpen was just so-so (Collin Ballester appeared, but didn’t impress), and — perhaps most worrisome — the Nationals committed three errors.

The disturbing reversion to form, however, seems more like a hiccup that a talisman of future performance: Ryan Zimmerman is back in the line-up, Michael Morse has claimed first base as his own, and it’s likely the strong-up-the-middle Nationals will remain so. “It’s a long season, and you’re going to have a couple games where you play terrible defensively,” third sacker Ryan Zimmerman said after the loss. “The thing is you just have to learn and realize that’s why you lost the game. When we won all those games in a row, it was because we were playing good defense and doing the little things right.”

The Wisdom of Section 1-2-9: It’s been three weeks since reports surfaced that the Nationals were inquiring about Houston outfielder Michael Bourn, but Nats fans are still talking about it. The consensus, at least in 1-2-9, is that the the inquiry is evidence that the team doesn’t realize what it has in Roger Bernadina. “Rizzo and crew have the solution to their lead-off and centerfield problem right in front of his eyes,” a 1-2-9 regular said on Friday. “They’ve got to give this guy a clear shot. He’s getting better every day.” There wasn’t much disagreement, even as 1-2-9′ers agreed on Bourn’s talents.

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The Washington Nationals rapped out a meager eight hits and fell to the Mets in rain-soaked New York, 3-0. The key to the Mets victory was the steady pitching of starter Jonathon Niese, who threw seven complete and held the Nationals scoreless. The only Nationals’ player who seemed on track was Michael Morse, who started in left field after nearly a week of seeing sparse duty. Morse was 2-4 and raised his average on the season to .258 — which marks him as one of the better batsman in the Nationals’ anemic line-up.

Nationals’ manager Jim Riggleman, who usually answers questions on the team’s hitting by saying that it’ll all work out in the end, has apparently stopped searching for an explanation. “There are no excuses,” he said in the clubhouse after the game. “We are playing defense, [we are] pitching, but we just haven’t been on track [hitting-wise]. I really don’t have an explanation for it.” Even Roger Bernadina, who started his stint with the Nationals by hitting the ball well, has now apparently been hit by the no-hit bug: his average is down to .293, a fall of 71 points over the last two weeks.

While there’s no easy explanation for the continuing drought, Adam LaRoche thinks that if he started hitting, then the rest of the team would follow: “I feel like I’m close one day and not the next,” LaRoche said. “It’s getting frustrating trying to find it. Obviously, I’ve learned how to get out of it. I wound up OK. I just haven’t figured out how to get on the right track and that’s the frustrating part. For whatever reason, I feel like if I get going, I think other guys fall in and start hitting, too.” LaRoche is hitting .177 and looks so bad at the plate that Nats’ fans are beginning to view him as an automatic out everytime he steps into the batter’s box.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: The Metropolitans may have finally found their second baseman, though he’s playing third for the time being. Justin Turner (above, against the Nats last night) has played just 38 games in the show in his entire career, but it appears he knows how to handle a bat. The 5-11 26-year-old graduate of baseball powerhouse Fresno State took his good sweet time in getting to the majors — kicking around such hot spots as Billings, Dayton and Chattanooga before winding up in New York. He’s an interesting story, the victim of a vicious beaning during Fresno State’s run at the College World Series back in 2006 — when the Titans were eliminated by UNC.

Turner was beaned in an attempted bunt. The ball hit him flush in the left cheekbone and he crumpled to the ground, inadvertantly planting his ankle as his body twisted. Turner ended up none the worse for wear from the beaning, but he broke his ankle. After being examined by doctors for damage to his cheek and an MRI which checked for a concussion, Turner was about to be released. “Even when I got the hospital, they did all the CT scans, MRI stuff,” Turner said. “And they were about to send me out. And I was like, ‘Dude, what about my ankle?’”

That Turner might end up as the Mets’ regular at second base shows you just how thin New York’s farm system is — and how injuries have damaged the Apples’ starting nine. Turner started at third last night because David Wright (a stress fracture in his lower back) is out for two weeks, as is Ike Davis, the regular first baseman. The injuries forced Daniel Murphy to play first and shifted Turner to third. New York’s backing and filling must be wearing thin: Angel Pagan is rehabbing from an oblique injury, and the Mets have been shuffling players between the big club and their Triple-A affiliate.

In many ways, however, the injuries could be viewed as a chance for the franchise to see younger players — and determine who will be available at the trade deadline. At least the Mets will be able to get a good assessment of whether guys like Turner can play. Still, the Mets’ outlook isn’t good. Turner is a case in point, for while he looks strong enough now, he’s not a product of the Mets’ farm system: the team got him off the waiver wire from the Orioles — who got him in a trade with Cincinnati. New York baseball writers are putting as good a face on this as they can, saying that the kids are showing just how tough they can be. We don’t buy it, and our guess is that Mets’ fans don’t either. Earlier this year, ESPN’s Keith Law ranked the Mets’ farm system 26th in Major League Baseball.

Omar Infante narrowly avoided a tag from Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos in the 11th inning of the Nats-Marlins contest at Nats Park last night — giving the Marlins a they-just-keep-coming 6-5 victory. The Infante slide (the result of a Greg Dobbs double) was the culmination of a classic back-and-forth between the two teams, which is turning into one of the more bitterly contested rivalries in the N.L. East. While Nats’ skipper Jim Riggleman argued the call, the replay showed Infante had just barely eluded the tag. “He was safe,” Riggleman said. “I knew.”

The game began with the Nationals down by three to the Marlins, with Gaby Sanchez and John Buck registering back-to-back dingers against less-than-effective Nationals’ starter Tom Gorzelanny. But the Nationals struck back, with a clutch single in the third by Ian Desmond and an upper deck home run by Laynce Nix. The Nationals tied it in the eighth with another hit by Nix, this one a double, that scored Jayson Werth. Nats’ skipper Riggleman was in his head-shaking mode after the loss: “I try to stay away from those words — disappointment and frustration — but that was a great ballgame,” Riggleman said. “We played really good baseball.

Those in attendance were treated to what might well be the defensive play of the year, which came in the fifth inning off a long drive from Marlins’ youngster Mike Stanton. Bernadina went back on the ball, which seemed over his head — but then reached up and rolled, snagging the line drive and saving the Nationals from a long inning. “The only thing I could do is dive,” Barnadina explained.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: The Nationals will face some tough decisions over the next two weeks, not the least of them being what to do with Roger Bernadina when Rick Ankiel comes off the disabled list. If you were to poll Nats fans, they are likely to say that Bernadina should be given the job in center field, with Laynce Nix taking Michael Morse’s spot in left (Mark Zuckerman has this right — over at Nats’ Insider). Will Riggleman made the switch? Here’s what he told Zuckerman: “You can’t get too far ahead of yourself,” Riggleman said. “Mike did what he did for six weeks in spring training, and Laynce has been hot here for the last 10 days. We’re just going to ride that out. It’s certainly not cast in stone as to who will be playing left field or whatever. We’re just going to try to put a lineup out there that gives us the best chance to win.”

Bernadina has been a catalyst, and not simply because he makes great defensive plays in center. Bernadina led off Friday’s game with a bunt single, which is the same thing he did in Atlanta on Thursday. The Nats have been looking for a lead-off hitter; well, here he is . . . Or, as Federal Baseball slings it: “Shark attack! Roger Bernadina is 3-5 with a game-tying, two-RBI double, a bunt hit, a stolen base, and a fantastic highlight-reel catch that he sadly gets no WPA credit for at all.” Yup . . .

It’s clear that Jim Riggleman is feeling the pressure from his bullpen — shuffling and reshuffling arms to cover weaknesses. The core of Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Todd Coffey and Sean Burnett (despite his recent troubles), is among the best in baseball. They’ve all proven their toughness in close games. Which leaves Brian Broderick, Henry Rodriguez and Doug Slaten. Broderick is a Rule 5 pick (and should be learning his trade in the minors), Rodriguez is a major talent (who threatens to walk the bases loaded everytime he appears) and Doug Slaten is struggling. Riggleman can use Broderick, Rodriguez and Slaten in blow-outs (taking pressure off the core four), but when exactly does a “blow out” ever happen . . .

The issue will be forced once Chad Gaudin returns. Gaudin, who is nursing shoulder inflammation, is a savvy and tested veteran who is not likely to be cowed by appearing in the show (Broderick), knows how to throw strikes (Rodriguez), and has pitched well enough recently to be a part of the core-four (Slaten). Our prediction? Unless Slaten shows he can stick as a “lefty one out guy” that job will default to Burnett, which means that Slaten is likely to go elsewhere . . . Ah, of course, the Nats could designate Broderick for assignment and call up Cole Kimball (as they just did, as we were posting this), but that doesn’t exactly solve the problem — though maybe, if his performance this year is any indication, Kimball can now work his way into the Nats’ core four . . .

The Washington Nationals fell to the New York Mets on Tuesday, despite two home runs and a 3-4 night from rookie catcher Wilson Ramos. The 6-4 loss was the fifth for the Nats in six games — as the team seems to lack spark. Ramos collected three RBIs in the Nats’ loss. “You hate to have a guy hit a couple of homers in a losing cause, but it was a real good night for him,” said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. “He’s a good player. You’re going to see more of that.”

Jordan Zimmermann collected his fourth loss of the year, giving up nine hits in 5.1 innings. But the Nats did not so much lose the game as the Mets won it. The streaky New Yorkers won their fifth game in a row — a resurgence that follows (two weeks ago) a streak of seven straight losses. The New Yorkers’ hero last night was Mets’ backstop Josh Thole, who drove in three.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: You have to wonder how serious Ryan Zimmerman’s injury really is, and whether it’ll heal up completely anytime soon. The centerpiece of the Nationals is still rehabbing, and the Nats aren’t saying a whole lot about when he’ll return. Zimmerman was placed on the DL on April 12, and worked out a bit yesterday. This is one of those slow-healing, nagging (“abdominal strain”) thingies. The Nats need him, badly . . .

And . . . and you also have to wonder how long the team can go with Alex Cora or Jerry Hairston, Jr. (or perhaps even role-of-the-dice Brian Bixler) as fill-ins for Zim. If it’s going to be awhile, we might see Mike Rizzo looking for a more permanent replacement — and someone who can fill in in the outfield; preferably a player with a history of bringing a bat. Word on the street (well, from Ken Rosenthal via MLB Trade Rumors) is that Mark DeRosa is available in San Francisco, and it might not take much to get him . . . we’ve always been partial to DeRosa and he would come comparatively cheap . . . a rental, for sure, but perhaps a valuable one . . .

Ian Desmond is on paternity leave, and Roger Bernadina is back with the team. The Nats soured on Bernadina in the spring, sending him down to Triple-A and putting Laynce Nix on the bench. We agree: he’s probably not going to be the spark the Nats need. But you never know. The Nats have to keep shuffling, as Nats’ bloggers are tired of wondering when the Anacostia Nina will get their bats going. Last night Adam LaRoche, Danny Espinosa and Michael Morse were a combined 0-12.

Following last year’s on-field fiasco, we all knew that Nyjer Morgan’s future with the Washington Nationals was in doubt. But now it seems doubly so, as the fleet-footed center fielder is struggling with a slow start in Spring Training. Prior to today’s contest vs. the Yankees, Morgan was sporting an anemic.077/.077/.077 for the Spring. Washington Post Nationals’ beat reporter Dave Shenin says that “it’s still too early to question’s Morgan’s standing with the Nationals, but suffice it to say he will have to prove he can get on base at a healthy clip in order to maintain his hold on the leadoff job.” Shenin could have easily gone further: Morgan will not only have to do better than last year, he’ll have to show the team that he’s shaken off last year’s attitude — and he’ll have to play well. So far, at least, he’s done one, but not the other.

The challenge for Morgan is to not only overcome his poor leadoff stats, but to stave off competition from a trio of emerging younger wannabes and a wily veteran: while everyone believed that Roger Bernadina and Michael Morse would compete for playing time in left field, it would be easy enough to keep Morse’s bat in the line-up and shift Bernadina to center. Then too, as implied by Shenin, it’s going to be hard to ignore Jeff “Babe Ruth” Frazier, a former Rutgers boomer who’s spent most of his career in the minors. Frazier has been hitting the cover off the ball. Then there’s Rick Ankiel, the former Cardinals and Royals pitcher-turned-hitter, who’s viewed as a steady and veteran option. The message to Morgan is clear: the Nationals aren’t wedded to him, especially if he can’t show that he belongs.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: Jason Marquis has silenced Nats’ grumblers who remain skeptical of his worth. The pack-your-bags-you’re-going-elsewhere veteran seems in mid-season form, which will be a plus for the Nats so-so pitching staff. Marquis was a always a nose-in-the-dirt over achiever, but he’s performed up to expectations, and beyond, this Spring. Marquis was “exceptional” against the Braves on Friday, needing just 24 pitches to get through three innings. The Nats need him to return to form . . . the other piece of good news is that Jordan Zimmermann seems finally set to “arrive.” The hope of Auburndale, Wisconsin has shrugged off his Tommy John surgery, his moving stuff is breaking well and his fastball is about where it should be. Let’s see, that makes three pitchers the Nats should be able to count on: Hernandez, Zimmermann and Marquis. Still not enough . . .

Led by the defense of Ian Desmond (who also had a 4-5 night) and the hitting of Roger Bernadina, the Washington Nationals pounded out 12 hits and eight runs on Saturday, to defeat the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The offensive outburst came at the expense of Phillies’ starter Kyle Kendrick, who had trouble making it out of the first inning. Desmond looked like “the wizard” at short, making barehanded plays behind Strasburg, Stammen and Slaten, while Bernadina slugged his eighth home run (putting the game out of reach) in the ninth. But the win was marred by an injury to starter Stephen Strasburg, who was forced to leave the game in the 5th after suffering a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm; it’s not known how serious the injury is — an MRI will be conducted to determine the damage on Sunday. The injury detracted from one of the team’s most solid performances against the Phillies, who trail the Atlanta Braves for the N.L. East lead.

Once again, as was apparent in Atlanta, the Nationals’ bullpen proved key in the Philadelphia victory. After Strasburg departed, Craig Stammen, Doug Slaten, Tyler Clippard and Miguel Batista combined to shut down the Phillies — throwing 4.2 innings while giving up just two hits and no runs. Tyler Clippard was particularly effective. After suffering a fall-off in his performance in late July, the righthander has lowered his ERA to 3.04, solidifying his reputation as one of the National League’s premier set-up men. Stammen also seems to have found his place: the former starter is now filling a first-out-of-the-bullpen role, being used by skipper Riggleman when someone in the rotation collapses. Washington’s bullpen is now ranked seventh in the majors, and fourth in the National League — and is one of the real success stories of the Nationals’ season.