GB&U: Close But No Cigar

RESULT: Nats lose to Mets 9-7.

GOOD: Wil Nieves. 3-for-5, two run single in ninth inning to bring up tying run. Elijah Dukes. Monster 2-run shot to left, his 13th of the year. Emilio! 2-for-5 with a run and RBI. Kory Casto with two hits and an RBI. Guzman had two more hits, raising his average to .315.

BAD: Zim, 0-for-4 again. Bullpen. Bergmann, Speigner and Manning each give up a run already trailing in the game. If ANY of them do their jobs, the Nats would have had a chance last night.

UGLY: Shairon Martis. I know he's just 21, and he was rushed into this here at the end of the year due to Bergmann's stinking up the joint (Fire Jim Bowden and I see opposite sides of this issue). But Martis was awful from the start. His fastball had no movement and his other pitches were just dull. He needs at least another full year in AA honing his other pitches so on the nights when he doesn't have his good stuff he can get hitters out. His line: 3 IP, 6 ERs, 5 hits, 2 BBs, 4 Ks, 3 HRs.

INJURY UPDATE: From the Nats Redundancy Department of Redundancy: Kearns, Flores, Belliard and Young all shut down for the year.

NEXT GAME: Tonight for game four at 7:10 pm. A match-up of "aces". Tim Redding (10-9, 4.54) faces Johan Santana (13-7, 2.70).

GB&U: Hammered in Atlanta

RESULT: Nats pounded by the Braves 10-5.

GOOD: Kory Casto. He went 3-for-5 hitting in the clean-up spot. Good for him. Bad for the Nats that Casto has to hit 4th in a weaker than normal line-up (no Milledge, no Dukes).

BAD: Marco Estrada. Ponch was just merely bad, giving up two earned in 2.2 IPs on 3 hits and 2 BBs.

UGLY: Jason Bergmann. If he wants to stay in the rotation, he's doing a lousy job of it. He managed only 7 outs last night, allowing 7 ERs on 5 hits and 3 BBs, including walking two straight to load the bases and giving up a hit to the Braves starter. His indignancy after the game adds to the problem.

"I was extremely [upset]," Bergmann said. "I don't want to have the whole year ruined on a couple of bad starts here at the end."

Those are the words of a guy that doesn't realize how bad he's been and how much he's been hurting the team his last few starts.

NEXT GAME: Tonight in Game 2. Tim Redding (10-8, 4.55) against Mike Hampton (2-2, 5.67).

GB&U: Just As Good Second Time Around

RESULT: Nats beat Colorado 6-3 in Game Two of double-header.

GOOD: Odalis Perez. 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 hits, 1 BB, 1 K. Looked as strong as he has all year long. Did he clear waivers? Willie Harris. 2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs. Wil Nieves. 2-for-5, 2 RBIs! EMILIO! -for-5, RBI, SB.

BAD: Kory Casto. 0-for-4, .208 for the year. Pete Orr, 0-for-5. Pew!

UGLY: The Rockies claimed Livan Hernandez off waivers from the Minnesota Twins and expect him to be in uniform Friday. Look, I love Livan as much as the next guy. You gotta appreciate how he takes the ball every fifth day and throws 110 itches. But his shelf life has expired, and the Rockies are simply fooling themselves if: 1) They think he can contribute to a pennant chase; and 2) They think they are IN a pennant chase.

INJURY UPDATE: Guz pinch-hit and played short in Game 2, so it looks like he's back. Zim was 1-for-4 in the nightcap. Alberto Gonzalez still not playing. Tim Redding was hit by a ball in the leg during BP. Hopefully he can out unscathed.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 8:05 eastern against Milwaukee. Collin Balester (2-3, 4.55) versus C.C. Sabathia (11-8, 3.28). This, my friends, is known as a "reverse lock".

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008.

GB&U: Ho Hum, Another Walk-Off

RESULT: Nats beat Orioles 3-2

GOOD: Ronnie Belliard. Two-run walk-off home run! Woo Hoo! Roger Bernadina. Base hit in his first major league at bat. And in the outfield, he already looks like a gold glover (all hype intended).

BAD: Kory Casto. 0-for-5, .188 for the year. One day after playing hero, Kory has some really ugly at bats.

UGLY: My tummy. Sorry for the lack of post yesterday and this morning. I've been battling a touch of food poisoning or something, but starting to feel better.

NEXT GAME: Monday versus Florida. Tim Redding (6-3, 4.05) faces Ryan Tucker (2-2, 6.75)

GB&U: Moving Day?

RESULT: Nats beat Orioles 4-2.

GOOD: Kory Casto. He's getting beat up a little bit for lack of production, but he came through last night with a big hit to break the tie in the seventh inning off the bench. Blastings was 2-for-4 again too. Looks like he's shaken his mini slump.

BAD: Wily Mo. 0-for-3, lowering the average to .215. with yet another outfield error leading to a run. Will Kearns' return spell his demise?

UGLY: Felipe Lopez. He failed to cover second base as a defensive substitute in the eighth inning, making Guzman go the long way to first to get the third out of the inning. That's not a physical error, it's a mental one, one that Lopez has been guilty of quite a few times this season. His name has been in the paper the last couple days, with rumors swirling that after this series with the Orioles he may be headed 45 minutes up the road on a more permanent basis.

Lopez has some interesting things to say in an article by Steve Yanda in the WaPo. Acta's reply at the end of the piece speaks loud volumes as to how frustrated the organization is with him right now. They'll only get pennies on the dollar for him in trade, but it appears they'll be happy to get a bag of balls--and send some salary--just to remove him from the equation.

NEXT GAME: Tonight in game two of the "Battle of the Beltways" at 7:10 pm from Nationals Park. The Nats' John Lannan (4-8, 3.34) hosts Garrett Olson (5-3, 5.01) for the Orioles, which means the Nats will manage to score only two runs tonight, as Lannan has the lowest run support in the Majors. Will that be enough to win?

P.S. Sorry this was late today. I was out at the Baseball 101 clinic for the Nats female fans. It was a well attended event and I'll have pictures and a round-up tomorrow. Big props to all the coaches that came out to give instruction this morning, and all the ladies in attendance that hung on every word.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008

GB&U: How Sweep It Is

RESULT: Nats complete sweep, beat Mariners 6-2.

GOOD: Kory Casto. Pinch-hit three-run home run in the eighth inning to break open a very close ball game. Honorable mention goes to Tim Redding. Allowed two runs -- one earned -- on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings.

BAD: Meathook. 0-for-4, five left on base.

UGLY: Wily Mo Pena. 0-for-3, five left on base. He grounded to second in the second, ground into double play with two runners on in the fourth, struck out on three pitches with two on in the sixth. Pinch hit for (by Casto) in the eighth. Might Manny be tiring of watching a "power" guy ground out and strike out all the time?

NEXT GAME: Tuesday in Minneapolis against the Twins. John Lannan (4-7, 3.43) versus ex-Nat Livan Hernandez (6-4, 5.84). Too bad this game is in the A.L. park. I love watching Livan hit.

GB&U: Jesus Saves, but Can He Save Himself?

RESULT: Nats beat Mariners 5-2.

GOOD: Jesus Flores. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, raising his average to .327. With LoDuca looming (to be activated Monday), how Manny Acta divides the playing time will be very interesting, though it shouldn't be. Flores has been the most productive hitter on the team. Every at bat LoDuca takes is wasting an opportunity for Flores.

Also, Tyler Clippard (W, 1-1, 4.35). Another relatively strong start for a kid who knew he was going to be sent out Monday to activate LoDuca. Clippard's line: 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 hits, 3 BBs, 2 Ks.

BAD: Kory Casto. He was the only starter to go hitless, finishing 0-for-4.

UGLY: Richie Sexson for the Mariners. Struck out with the bases loaded against Clippard, and went 0-for-4. The notoriously friendly Seattle crowd booed him mercilessly. How much longer do they allow him to watse at bats?

NEXT GAME: Sunday afternoon in Seattle. Tim Redding (6-3, 4.29) on the hill for the Nats against Jerrod Washburn (2-7, 6.09), who has been terrible this year. Nats go for the sweep!

Zim To DL, Casto Up From Minors

You can get the full read here, or here, or here; anyway you slice it (pun intended), this is not good news for the Nationals.

Here were the pearls of wisdom from JimBow (courtesy of Chico Harlan, WaPo):

"I've had players who've had the same injury who took 10 days off, then played
for five years," General Manager Jim Bowden said. "Then I've had some who've been operated on. It can be anywhere in between, and we just don't know yet."

Zimmerman has what's being described as a "small" labrum tear, meaning the mechanism in his shoulder that allows him to swing a baseball bat with authority and without pain is structurally flawed right now. Team orthopaedist Dr. Ben Shaffer (I didn't even have to look it up anymore) is prescribing rest and inflammatories. Zimmerman will be getting at least 15 days rest, since he was placed on the 15-day DL Monday, with Kory Casto getting the call from Columbus.

Casto, 26, who has experience as both an infielder and outfielder, appeared in 16 games last season with Washington, batting .130. With Columbus this season, he's gone .314/.385/.465 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 86 at bats in 21 games. It sounds like he's figured something out this season against Triple-A pitching. One would imagine, though, that Aaron Boone will get the majority of starts at first base, leaving Casto to fulfill the roll Boone had been ably manning, pinch-hitting and spelling Meathook at first in the late innings.

What's not known yet is the real extent of the damage. The results of Zimmerman's MRI were rushed out Monday to all the famous shoulder guys: James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala.; Timothy Kremcheck in Cincinnati; and Robert Cofield in Rochester, Minn. If they see something in the test results different than Dr. Shaffer, Zim could be looking at some surgery and more down time than he's ever had in a summer in his entire life.

If you want to do more reading on exactly what we're talking about here, check out this link. It spells it out pretty simply in lay terms. While a labrum tear is almost a death sentence for pitchers, hitters can have good success with rest or surgery. Scott Rolen had the procedure done mid-season in 2005 following a horrific collision at first base with Hee Seop Choi.

But here's the famous Will Carroll article on Slate.com that details in no uncertain terms what labrum surgery means to pitchers.

We'll keep on top of this as the recommendations come filtering in from the other surgeons. For Zim and the Nats' sakes, hopefully they concur with Dr. Shaffer and think that rest will do the trick.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008