GB&U: 99 Losses

RESULT: Marlins beat Nats 9-4. Nats stand one shy of 100.

GOOD: Emilio! went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Pete Orr went 2-for-4 with and RBI. Wil Nieves went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

BONUS GOOD: Roger Bernadina's diving catch in left field was as good as you'll ever see, and rightly earned him the Web Gem on ESPN's Baseball Tonight last night.

BAD: Roger Bernadina. He went 1-for-4 with a strikeout and stranded four base-runners.

UGLY: Tim Redding. Here's a guy that really wanted to end the season on a good note, after all the decent pitching he's done this year, and he just got roughed up last night. Only made it through 2.2 IP, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits and 2 BBs, 4 Ks and 1 HR allowed.

BONUS UGLY: The weather for tonight's game, the last home game of the season. Does not look promising. Let's hope they don't wash the whole thing out. I know, what's one more game? But it's the last one!

NEXT GAME: Tonight, weather permitting, at 7:10 pm from Nationals Park. Collin Balestar (3-6, 4.83) faces Anibal Sanchez (2-5, 5.57). Sanchez has a tweaked hammy though, so if they play in the rain it's questionable if Florida will allow him to go out there on the wet field.

FRONT OFFICE UPDATE: In a response to yesterday's Sporting News article about unrest at the top, Nats President Stan Kasten vehemently denied rumors of his demise to Bill Ladson at MLB.com. Reassuring to hear it straight from the horses mouth. Still, can't help but feel Monday will be an interesting day in Nats history.

FUN STUFF: If you haven't seen it yet, here's video shot by BF Staff Photographer Cheryl Nichols (alias: diehardnatsfan) of the radio guys, Charlie, Dave and Jack, dancing to Wil Nieves' batting song. It's fairly hysterical and Charlie couldn't stop laughing when she showed it to him after Tuesday night's game! We'll still trying to track down the song title and artist so you too can add to your iPod.

Game Photos and Video (c) C. Nichols 2008.

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: Extra Innings, Extra Effort Over the Weekend

RESULT: Nats take two from Braves over weekend; Saturday 8-5 in 10 innings, Sunday 7-4 in 14 innings.

GOOD: Saturday -- Elijah Dukes! 4-for-5, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs, 2 runs. Ryan Zimmerman. 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 runs. Guz! Ho-hum, two more hits. Ryan Langerhans! Pinch-hit homer in the 10th. Wee Willie also hit his 13th homer of the season.

Sunday -- Dukes! 1-for-7 (ouch), but three-run double in top of the 14th. Boy, Oh Boy Alberto Gonzalez. 3-for-4 with a walk, his first home run and 3 RBIs! THE BULLPEN!!! 8 innings of shut out ball, including five in extra innings. Very solid.

BAD: Saturday -- Joel Hanrahan. The dreaded "blown-save-win". 3 hits and 2 walks in one inning allowing two earned runs. He got bailed out by Langerhans, et al.

Sunday -- Collin Balestar. There will be days like these. 11 hits and 2 BBs in just six innings. Pretty amazing he only gave up four earned with that many base runners.

UGLY: Saturday -- Emilio! 0-for-5. Haven't had too many of those lately though, as his average is up to .254 including the O-fer.

Sunday -- Luke Montz. Sorry kid. 0-for-7, five runners stranded. There's an underlying reason he wasn't a prospect entering the season.

NEXT GAME: Off on Monday, the guys can probably use the rest. Tuesday it's up to New York to face the suddenly struggling Mets. Opening Day Odalis Perez (6-10, 4.14) faces some guy named Jonathon Niese (0-0, 15.00 in 3 IP).

GB&U: Not Every Day You Beat a Legend

RESULT: Nats beat Greg Maddux and the Dodgers 5-4.

GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. His first homer since May 17 (really?!?). Guz and Emilio! Two hits apiece from the middle infield. Lastings. RBI and SB. Tim Redding. Despite three solo homers given up, he had a another quality start. Joel Hanrahan. A four-out, one-run save with very little nervousness.

BAD: Saul Rivera. Two-thirds of an inning, one run on three hits and a walk. Joel had to bail him out in the eighth. Signs of wear on Sa-ool recently.

UGLY: Lastings Milledge. Got caught on the oldest trick in the book. After embarrassing Maddux the play earlier by taking third on a groundout when Maddux slipped and was a little bit late covering the base, the 17-time Gold Glover took his revenge.

A combacker took Maddux close to the third base line, and he looked at Milledge, then poised to throw to first to make the play. Milledge broke when Maddux' arm went through, but Maddux held the ball and Milledge was a dead duck. Lastings managed to get into a run-down, allowing Jesus Flores to advance to second, but it was a done deal. Maddux got his.

NEXT GAME: Tonight, looking for the sweep agaisnt the Dodgers. A pair of impressive rookies face off, with John Lannan (7-12, 3.95) on the hill for the Nats, facing Clayton Kershaw (2-4, 4.11) for L.A.

Here's the slideshow from last night's game:



All photos (c) C.Nichols 2008.

GB&U: Big Willie Style!

RESULT: Nats beat Cubbies 13-5. Two wins in a row.

GOOD: Big Willie! Two homers, six RBIs. Nuf said. Ronnie Belliard, hitting in the five hole, went 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Lead-off hitter Emilio! Bonifacio went 2-for-5 with two runs, Jesus Flores went 2-for-2 after pinch-hitting.

BAD: John Lannan. He earned the win, but was not sharp. He pitched six and one-third innings, allowed five earned runs on seven hits and three walks, and struck out just three. He's had plenty go the other way though, so he gets a pass for today.

UGLY: Zim. 0-for-4.

NEXT GAME: Little late getting this posted, so the next game is the current game. Nats currently losing 9-1 in the eighth. Ugh.

GB&U: I Don't Have It In Me to be Funny Today

RESULT: Nats lose to Philies 4-0, loss number 12 in a row, shutout for the league-leading 19th time this season.

GOOD: Ronnie Belliard. He went 2-for-4. New bullpen fodder Marco Estrada pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and get this: NO WALKS! Keep it up, kid! EMILIO! 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Anderson Hernandez, making his first appearance as a National, went 3-for-4 hitting in the 8 hole.

BAD: No power! Nine hits, but only one extra base hit. Hard to go score when you need to string three singles together in one inning.

UGLY: Austin Kearns is almost an automatic out these days. Since his season high batting average mark of .231 (!) on August 5, he's gone 6-for-47 with one home run and 3 RBIs (both on that HR). His season numbers: 302 ABs, .215/.306/.305 with 6 HRs and 30 RBIs.

NEXT GAME: Another one today against the Phils. Tim Redding (8-8, 4.66) faces ageless Jamie Moyer (11-7, 3.64) at 7:05 pm from Citizen's Bank Park.

GB&U: This One Goes to Eleven

RESULT: Nats beaten by Phillies 5-4, losing streak at eleven games.

GOOD: Ronnie Belliard. The Nats "slugging" 1B went 4-for-4 (with zero runs scored). Wee Willie Harris went 2-for-5 with his 10th home run. Jesus Flores. He played!

BAD: Emilio! 0-for-5, .216 for the season. Demonstrating the old axiom that you can't steal first base.

UGLY: Nothing particularly ugly, unless you count the awkward steal of third by 30-something journeyman 3B Greg Dobbs off Bergmann/Flores.

INJURY/ROSTER: Guz didn't play but the team assures us he's only a "day or two" away. Casto sent down to Columbus to make room for the "Man With two Last Names" Anderson Hernandez.

NEXT GAME: The misery continues tomorrow against the Phillies. Collin Balestar (2-5, 5.06) faces Brett "The Boxer" Myers (5-10, 5.02) at 7:05 pm from Citizen's Bank Park.

GB&U: Can't Scratch Fever

RESULT: Nats lose nail-biter to Mets 4-3.

GOOD: Odalis Perez. He recovered nicely after allowing two in the first to settle down and keep the team in the game. He went six innings, allowing 3 ERs on 8 hits and one walk, striking out 5. Ryan Langerhans! Pinch-hit home run. YAY!

BAD: Emilio! 0-for-5 with 3 Ks. Might have to move him down for a while to get comfortable again. Looked real awkward in last at bat.

UGLY: The Umpiring. First base ump Mike Reilly missed a call on Guzman and the critical missed strike on what was called a check swing by Tatis in the pivotal seventh inning to set up the phantom hit by pitch that forced in the winning run.

And Manny, if you're going to blow up for the only time all season, you should, um, have it right. A caller post-game had it right: if you don't let the umpires know you're willing to go out and make yourself a pain in the ass to them, they have no impetus for getting the call right since they don't have to worry about you coming out and making them look bad. Manny, where were you on the blown checked swing?

NEXT GAME: Wednesday against the Mets. Jason Bergmann (2-8, 4.13) takes on John Maine (9-7, 4.13) Gee, identical ERAs, much different won-loss record. Still think wins is a good way to evaluate a pitcher's value. Nah, me either.

GB&U: Muscled Out in Milwaukee

RESULT: Nats fall to Brewers 5-4 in 13 innings.

GOOD: John Lannan. Six innings of one-hit ball. This guy can't buy a break.

Lastings Milledge. He's been on a tear this week. Sunday he went 3-for-6 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for6, Ronnie Belliard went 2-for-5 and Cristian Guzman went 2-for-6. Austin Kearns hit his monthly home run.

BAD: Emilio! Bonifacio went 0-for-6 and is hitless in his last 17 at bats. Also, our pinch-hitters went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.

UGLY: Luis Ayala. Now that Wily Mo is gone, do we need to re-name the "Ugly" award? One batter faced. One home run allowed. One Loss. ERA stands at 6.04. This is what his manager had to say about him after the game:

"We can't even hide him now," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "He comes into situations like this and he's just not making pitches."

That ain't good.

NEXT GAME: Nats try to avoid the 4-game sweep at 2:05 eastern, Garrett Mock makes the start (0-2, 4.91) facing David Bush (6-9, 4.50)

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: Day Trippin'

RESULT: Nats beat Rockies 6-3 in Game 1 of double-header.

GOOD: Lastings Milliedge. Two no-doubt-about-it homers and a run scoring single. He's fairly mashing the ball these days. Jason Bergmann! Good Jason shows up in the sunshine. 7 IP, 1 ER (Holliday's homer), 7 hits, 2 BBs and 7 Ks. Good day's work. Emilio!, Zim and Belly all had two hits apiece.

BAD: Kearns, Flores and Guz (GUZ!) all 0-for-4, though Guz walked once and scored in his first start in 11 days. Word has it he needed to introduce himself to Emilio! at second base whenthe Rockies came to bat.

UGLY: Dukes to the DL. I talked about it earlier, but this is really a bummer. The team is going out of its way to say this is a calf strain, but one has to wonder if it's not related to rushing back from knee surgery less than five weeks ago. A lost season for Dukes, too. Would have been fun to watch him develop teh next 45 games. He needs those at bats.

INJURY UPDATE: In addition to the above, Boy oh boy Alberto missed again with his "glute" injury.

NEXT GAME: Already underway! Odalis got the first two, walked Holliday and grooved one to Atkins who didn't miss it. 2-0 Rocks after one full. Ubaldo Jiminez on the hill for Colorado. he needed 17 pitches in the first, so maybe this ends up one of those old fashioned Coors Field football games.

GB&U: Breaking Rocks All Day...

RESULT: Nats beat Rockies 9-4.

GOOD: Remember back to, oh, I don't know, middle of last week when it was hard to find a "Good" and limitless on the "Bad" and "Ugly"? Nah, me either!

Emilio! Remember, one-name nickname, like the Brazilian soccer players. 3-for-5, RBI, 2 runs. Another triple. He's fast. Wee Willie! 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 runs, home run (9)! Jesus Saves! 2-for-5, homer, 2 RBIs. Boy oh boy Alberto! 2-for-3 before contusing hit foot (day-to-day).



BAD: Ryan Langerhans. 0-for-4, 4 LOB. Someone's gotta do it.

UGLY: Rockies' defense. What's up with the poor D??? The Reds kicked it around like it was a kickball game, and the Rockies can't throw to the bases! I'll take it, but it goes to the deterioration of the game at large.

INJURY UPDATE: Zim pinch-hit, Mannny says he'll be back, maybe today. Guz (9 games) and Dukes (3 games) still sit.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at Coors Field, 9:05 eastern start. John Lannan (6-11, 3.61) takes on Jorge de la Rosa (5-6, 6.94) for Colorado.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008