Ubaldo Jimenez and Livan Hernandez held a master class in pitching on Thursday with Jimenez coming out on top — at least in terms of the score. Supported by two solo home runs (one each from catcher Miguel Olivo and third baseman Ian Stewart), Jimenez shut down the Nationals when it counted, wracking up his fourth win of the season in an itchy-close pitchers’ duel at Nationals Park. In spite of the score, Hernandez was (arguably), the more impressive pitcher, mixing a fastball (which topped out at 87 mph), with a slider and change-up. Hernandez changed speeds so effectively that he most often fooled Colorado’s heavy hitting lineup. Jimenez, on the other hand, relied on an overpowering fastball that topped out at 97 mph — his slowest offering was Livan’s fastest. So while the Rockies won, the result of the duel between speed and finesse was clear: Livan was the more cerebral pitcher, Jimenez the rocket.

In the end, the brilliantly pitched 2-0 contest came down to this: the Rockies could hit a hanging slider (which is what  Hernandez threw to Ian Stewart), while the Nationals most often could not catch-up to the Jimenez fastball. The contrast between Hernandez and Jimenez was most marked in the first inning. Behind in the count 3-1 against Willie Harris, Jimenez attempted to play catch-up by throwing Harris his best pitch — a 97 mph fastball in the upper part of the zone. The pitch was predictable and, in most cases, would be unhittable. But Willie was ready and put the offering over the head of the centerfielder. “The guy throws a million miles an hour,” Harris said, talking about the at bat. “He has really good offspeed pitches as well. He keeps you off balance. You get in an 2-0 count, you are definitely thinking the fastball. He drops in a changeup or a slider on you. That’s what the good pitchers do now.” It was one of the few mistakes that Jimenez made.

There are enough good third basemen in the NL to stock a separate league: David Wright, Ian Stewart, Placido Polanco, the fading Chipper Jones, Aramis Ramirez, Arizona’s wiff-or-wack Mark Reynolds and, of course, “our very own” Ryan Zimmerman. Among others. Cincinnati fans would clamor that new Reds third sacker Scott Rolen should be added to the list of the elite: and they have a point. Rolen, who once crossed swords with Tony La Russa,  is leading a Cincinnati team that could be the surprise champ in the NL Central, despite their early 7-9 record. Rolen is playing like he did in 2002, when he came over to the Redbirds from the Ponies and won a Silver Slugger Award. The often hobbled Rolen is hitting .289 with four homers and Cincinnati (where arms go to die) is responding. They took two of three in Los Angeles, notching an impressive 8-5 victory yesterday against the Trolleys that was sparked by Rolen’s cannon-shot double in the bottom of the seventh. Dusty’s Baker Boys were ecstatic. This is the way that Baker and the Cincinnati front office had planned things at the start of the season.

Rolen, who has a problem with authority figures, fits well in Cincinnati — where (very often), no one seems to be in charge. The slick-leather-big-bat third baseman was a 2nd round draft pick for Philadelphia back in 1993, but took four years to get to the majors. It was worth the wait. Beginning in 1997, Rolen began a five year run that had Phillies fans comparing him with Philadelphia legend Mike Schmidt: Rolen hit 21, 31, 26, 26 and 25 dingers before being shipped (via Toronto), to St. Louis where he battled injuries and fought with the manager. St. Louis cut him loose, shipping Rolen to Toronto (which, believe it or not, actually has a baseball team) for Rolen clone Troy Glaus, who had once hit 47 home runs for the Angels. The trade seemed an even-up; Rolen and Glaus sported big bats and tweeky shoulders — Rolen had shoulder surgery in May of 2005 (after a collision at first with Dodger fill-in and former North Side Drama Queen draft pick Hee Seop Choi), while the suddenly under-performing Glaus had shoulder surgery in January of 2009.

By the end of last year, both Rolen and Glaus not only needed to get healthy, they needed a new start. Glaus got his when he signed this last off season with the Atlanta Braves, while Rolen was traded from Toronto to Cincinnati in a move that had Reds’ fans scratching their heads: the swap seemed an expensive and questionable last-gasp effort to fill a hole at third, while the Cincy front office searched for a more permanent replacement. But Rolen has been a surprise: a solid citizen in the clubhouse (that’s the surprise) and a formidable bat in Cincinnati’s fifth hole (which, frankly, is not) Rolen is now teamed with veteran Brandon Phillips and big lumber youngsters Joey Votto and Jay Bruce to provide mashers in the middle of the Cincy order. Once Bruce and Phillips get past their early season slumps (and they will), the Reds are likely to surge past the Cubs and Brewers, giving St. Louis a run for the division title. It’s too bad Rolen can’t pitch — it took Cincinnati starters sixteen games to notch their first victory, which came yesterday against Los Angeles.

Rolen would agree — Aroldis Chapman can’t arrive soon enough.

If Monday is any indication, Craig Stammen has arrived. The 6-3 Ohio native pitched an eight inning, 5-2 gem against the Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park last night, registering his first win of the season. Stammen mixed a moving fastball with his curve and slider to hold the hard-hitting Heltons to two runs, scattering five hits — and getting four RBIs from Willie Harris. Stammen’s outing was in stark contrast to his last visit to the mound, when he pitched batting practice to the Philadelphia Phillies, lasting just 1.1 innings. The key to Stammen’s outing, according to pitching mentor Livan Hernandez, was his slider: “He threw the ball perfectly today,” Hernandez said. “The slider, the cutter were down. He struck out people. I like the way he pitched today. He’s a good guy. I think he has the best stuff of all the starting pitchers. His slider disappears. When he throws perfectly and down, the slider disappears. He has a good changeup and curveball. He throws a little harder. You have to take advantage. The location is more important.”

Willie Harris showed surprising power — although by now, Willie’s ability to go deep should not be in doubt. With two on in the second, Harris lifted an Aaron Cook fastball into deep right field, scoring three. The Harris home run would be all the Nats needed. “I thought it was hooking foul, but somehow it stayed fair,” Harris said. “I was so happy, that you don’t know how I felt running around those bases. It was fun.” Harris entered the game hitting .150. In the third inning, Harris hit a sacrifice fly to score a run — giving him four RBIs on the night.  “If you are hitting .150, you are going to sit on the bench,” Harris said after the game. “I was happy for myself and the team. Everybody wants to play. Unfortunately, if you don’t produce, you are not going to play. Hopefully, I can keep things going and we can play good baseball.”

The Nats latest victim was Rockies’ ace Aaron Cook, who lasted just three innings. Unlike Stammen, Cook’s sinker — celebrated as one of the best in the game — didn’t sink, ending the Rockies’ nine game winning streak at Nationals Park. Cook had control problems from the first pitch.”Cookie wasn’t very good tonight,” Colorado manager Jim Tracy said. “There’s no other way to describe it. He had way too many three-ball counts, and it kind of helped create some negative momentum.” Despite the win, some Nationals are still mired in an early-season slump: Adam Dunn got credit for a lost-in-the-twilight double, but he’s still struggling at the plate. Ivan Rodriguez, on the other hand, continued his hot hitting streak — going 2-4. He’s now hitting .450 on the year. The Nats will face Colorado’s Jorge De La Rosa tonight.

Sparked by a last-out circus catch by Willie Harris, four RBIs by veteran Willy Taveras and the middle innings relief pitching of Tyler Clippard, the Washington Nationals won their second game of the season with a 4-3 victory over the Mets in New York. With two outs in the ninth and the bases loaded, Willie Harris saved the game with a diving catch in left field to preserve the victory. “I said, ‘Willie, you have to catch this ball. At least give it your best effort,’” Harris said following his grab. “If the ball falls in front of me, it was the game or at least tied and we have a play at the plate. It was pretty much a gamble. Fortunately, I came up with it and made the play.”

Washington’s hitting hero was veteran outfielder Willy Taveras, whose four RBIs were a career high. Taveras tripled home two runs in the second and then singled in two runs in the fourth. While John Lannan started the game, Tyler Clippard — emerging as Washington’s most effective reliever — wowed the Citi Field faithful with three innings of near-perfect pitching. Clippard registered seven strikeouts and no walks, giving up only one hit. With five games filled with free passes, Clippard’s showing was the kind of relief stint the Nats desperately needed. Now 2-3, the Nats send Livan Hernandez to the hill to face Mets’ ace Johan Santana on Sunday.

Those Are The Details, Now For The Headlines: There was great coast-to-coast hooting last year when the Nats took the field with their team name misspelled. It was right there, for all to see, seamlessly etched right on the front of their jersies. There was no hemming or hawing about it. This was not only an embarrassment, it was more: a sure sign (it was said) of franchise indifference. The gaffe was tailor-made for Washington’s critics, who were in stitches about the mistake. And so it was that the team was endlessly needled: it wasn’t just the relief pitching that was a problem, bloggers proffered the opinion that the franchise was a pin cushion of seamy incompetence. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Steps were taken, heads rolled. But firing the seamstress that misspelled “Nationals” didn’t help: she ended up in San Francisco, where she has continued to sew havoc.

The Washington Nationals not only won their first game of the season, they have apparently found their closer. Clinging to a 6-5 lead heading into the ninth, the Nats brought in Matt Capps, their new free agent closer. After a tough season in Pittsburgh (57 games, 5.80 ERA), the Georgia fireballer was looking for redemption. At least for the first two Phillies’ batters in the ninth, he didn’t get it: as Nats’ fans chewed their nails, Phillies’ second sacker Chase Utley greeted Capps with a double and Ryan Howard was walked intentionally. For Washington’s long-suffering fans, this looked like a replay of ’09 — when designated closer Joel Hanrahan blew successive saves and sunk the Nats’ early season hopes. But Capps proved equal to the task, getting Jayson Werth on a long fly out (Nyjer Morgan tracked the ball down in the gap), Raul Ibanez on a short sky-out (to left fielder Willie Harris — who held Utley at third) and Shane Victorino on a pop-up to shortstop Cristian Guzman.

Capps pumped his fist in notching the Nats first victory, and was ebullient after the game:”To go through that lineup, you have to feel good about it,” Capps noted. “It was a great feeling when Guzman caught the ball because I knew it wasn’t hit well to do any damage. Nyjer did a great job on that ball Werth hit. Nyjer getting that ball saved the game.” Capps admitted that he felt the pressure: “There were a few more nerves going out in that save situation. Everything felt good today.” He added: “I threw the ball well. Today felt good.” The win also felt good for Nats’ skipper Jim Riggleman. “As we saw [reliever Brian] Bruney battle there in the eighth, and the way Capps was firing in the ninth, it was really encouraging to see because our pitching has to come together,” he said. “It’s making strides. It’s coming together. When it does, it’s going to give us a chance.” The Nats head to New York for a series against the Mets.

That Other NL Rookie: While all eyes are focused on the anointed NL Rookie of the Year — Atlanta’s bopper-to-be Jason Heyward — the Cubs are now starting to feature a phenom of their own. The can’t miss Cubbie is Tyler Colvin, a former Clemson Tiger draft pick, who would have won a job out of Spring Training if the Cubs outfield wasn’t so crowded. On Thursday, the Cubs won their first game of the season — and Colvin’s bat was all they needed. Colvin’s solo shot in the second inning gave the Cubbies a 1-0 lead, propelling the sluggies to a 2-0 shutout in Atlanta. There’s surely more to come. Colvin channeled Crash Davis after the game, giving an “aw shucks” answer to a question about how he prepares for a game now that he’s in The Show — “As long as I stick with my routine, I’ll be fine,” he said. The Cubs will never suffer from a power outage (and they never have): their problem is pitching (and always was). But with Colvin pushing from the bench, the North Side Drama Queens are full-up in the outfield. Don’t expect it to stay that way. Sooner or later, Sweet Lou will have to play Colvin every day — and someone will have to go.

Here’s a pretty good hunch: Mike Morse is a Jim Riggleman favorite, and it was only a matter of time before he got his shot. That hunch might well be confirmed on Wednesday night, as Morse is reportedly slated to take the field against the Phillies, a move that could mark the end of the it-will-never-ever-work one-day platoon experiment in right field. And why not? If you’re going to get beaten 11-1, why not get beaten with your kids on the field? Of course, Mike Morse is hardly a kid. The former Pale Hose draft pick (82nd overall in 2000), Morse was traded to the Mariners, where he became a utility infielder behind the now-faded Yuniesky Betancourt (et.al.). He was up-and-down in Seattle and never quite settled in, though everyone knew he could hit. There were high hopes for Morse, something that usually comes with a hitter who’s 6-5 and 230 pounds.

The high hopes for Morse were sidetracked after a nasty knee injury. And things didn’t get better when he returned. After a short stint as a starter, the Mariners decided Morse wasn’t the answer for them at third base and he was traded to Washington for Ryan Langerhans (who remains in a career long slump). Shipped by the Nats to Triple-A, Morse played in only 32 games for the Nats in 2009, but he showed some power, with three home runs in 55 at bats. Riggleman likes Morse’s work ethic, which he saw up-close when Rigs was managing in Seattle. The hard work has continued in his tenure as a Nat. “Mike is always ready to play,” Riggleman said of Morse during Spring Training. “Mike took about 10 days or two weeks off after the season last year. He started hitting in October, and he’s never stopped hitting. He’s a year-round guy, looking for somebody to throw him batting practice, take swings. He’s dedicated to his profession. He’s in mid-season form.”

The final decision on Morse will apparently be made on Wednesday afternoon, when the Nationals’ brain trust will meet to discuss the right field situation. The platoon of Willie Harris and Willy Taveras was the first option for the Nationals, with the rationale that the team needed defense more than offense. But you don’t lose much with Morse in right and, after the Opening Day fiasco, it’s obvious the team needs a little more at the plate. If Morse is promoted to a starting role, it could also mark the end of Mike Rizzo’s search for a more permanent solution. Most recently, Rizzo has reportedly inquired about a number of available right fielders, including Kosuke Fukudome, Corey Hart and B.J. Upton. The Nats would undoubtedly have to give up some pitching to get any of the three — which is something that Rizzo would find more than a little distasteful.

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Nats and Cubs have been in talks about a prospective trade that would bring Cubbie Kosuke Fukudome to Washington — though the reports add that the talks have not been “particularly substantive.” The Nats have apparently also floated the possibility of trading for the Brewers’ Corey Hart or the Rays’ B.J. Upton. The report, which originated with MASN’s Ben Goessling, reflects a distinct discomfort in Washington’s front office with the right field platoon of Willie Harris and Willy Taveras — players that would provide plenty of defense and speed, but not a whole lot of pop at the plate. From our perspective, a trade for Hart is more likely than a trade for Fukudome (the Brewers are unhappy with Hart’s lack of production), while Tampa is unlikely to trade Upton unless they decide, probably at midseason, that they can’t win with him.

That said, of the three players mentioned, Fukudome is the most intriguing. The Cubs had high hopes for the former star of the Chunichi Dragons (“the pride of Nagoya”) and spent oodles to get him — some $48 million over four years (with $26.5 remaining over the next two years). That’s a lot of money for a guy who hit .259 with 11 home runs in 2009. The plan for 2010 was to cut into Fukudome’s at-bats against lefties (just .242) by platooning him with former Buc and Yankee Xavier Nady (that is, Xavier Clifford Nady VI), whose kinky elbow is still kinky. But trading “The Fook” (a nickname that originated this year with Lou Piniella), would allow Cubs phenom Tyler Colvin to prove that he is, in fact, the next big thing in Chicago. And he probably is.

The question, of course, is what would Washington have to give up to get a player like Fukudome — and would they be willing to pay him the money he’s owed? The answers are: ”a pitcher” and “it depends.” The name most often mentioned in these rumors, albeit by MLBTR commenters, is Craig Stammen. Stammen’s status as a solid three or four starter has been steadily rising and he’s clearly that other good young starter that the Nats need to complement Lannan and Strasburg. The Cubs could use a starter (who couldn’t?), but would more likely attempt to land another arm for the bullpen. The Cubbies bullpen is shakey, and was a year-long problem in the 2009 campaign.

It’s all spit-wadding at this point, but my bet is that if the Cubbies have their eye on anyone at all, they have their eye on Tyler Clippard, whose seventh and eighth inning heroics in Washington last year showed that he’s in The Bigs to stay. But Clippard might not be enough to land the high-profile Fukudome, which means that the Nats would have to agree to pay a good part of Kos-K’s obese contract, or throw in another arm to seal the deal. Of course, there’s more to the calculation: Fukudome is an absolutely legit big leaguer, has worn out his welcome in Chicago, is still searching for a way to hit something close to .300 — and would put fans in the seats at Nats Park. People would pay to see Kos-K play. Yeah, I agree: it would be tough for Mike Rizzo to part with a pitcher like Stammen, whose upside is only now becoming apparent. But it would be much less difficult (and after last year’s adventure in the eighth inning, I say this with a lot of hesitation) to deal someone like Clippard – and maybe a prospect or two. And why not? Willie and Willy are fine players with lots of speed, but they’re a temporary fix and are simply not going to get it done at the plate. And we all know it. Don’t we?

Actually, the game was not as close as the score seemed to indicate. It was worse. Much worse. Livan Hernandez and the Washington Nationals were crushed by the N.L. West leading Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park on Tuesday, 14-2. The Trolleys batted around twice, Livan Hernandez couldn’t make it out of the third inning, and the Nats defense was porous. But the worst news was that the Anacostia Pathetics seemed, and particularly after the third inning, to be going through the motions: with indifferent base running, booted balls, poor outfield play and standing called strikes from a pitcher they should have been able to hit. Adam Dunn hit his 38th. Great, but after that the game was over. “We got beat,” Riggleman said. “They pitched good. We did not have a good night. Livan was not at his best tonight. He has done a great job for us. We received effort from everybody on the field. Everything about our pregame — enthusiasm in the dugout — [was there]. I was not displeased tonight as I was on Sunday. So, we just got beat.”

Really? The Nats received effort from everybody on the field?

Apparently Jim Riggleman didn’t see the same game the 18,000-plus fans at Nats Park saw: in the fourth inning, Josh Willingham failed to hit the cutoff man on a play at the plate, launching a poor throw that skittered to the backstop. It was a rookie mistake from a veteran outfielder who struck out twice and hit into a double play. He looked terrible and was removed after the sixth: putting him out of our misery. In the fifth inning, Willie Harris was caught leaning off third on a ground ball and tagged out in a futile attempt to score — a fielder’s choice 1-5-2 that shouldn’t have happened. Willie said he set goals for himself in September: was one of them to hit .225? In the seventh inning, a slow grounder to first wasn’t fielded and, with Zack Segovia running to cover first Adam Dunn held the ball. Desmond, Dunn and Segovia stood looking at each other: confused. In the eighth, a Jim Thome grounder was bobbled by Ian Desmond. Thome assumed the play was over and (halfway to first) decided not to run; Desmond also assumed the play was over and (holding the ball) decided not to throw. Thomas and Desmond stared at each other until, finally (Ta Da!) Desmond felt that he might just get the out at first. Thome, surprised, thought that he might just run. Incredible.

Maybe headed-to-the-hall lugnut Jim Thome thinks it’s okay to dog a ball in a late season game in front of 18,000 paying fans. Maybe that’s what major leaguers with over 500 home runs at the end of their careers do. But you have to wonder why a rookie who’s done absolutely zero, a player like Ian Desmond, thinks he has the same luxury.