GB&U: Not Enough In the End

RESULT: Nats lost to Mets 10-8.

GOOD: Anderson Hernandez. Trying to make the Mets regret trading him, Hernandez went 2-for-5 in the lead-off spot with 3 RBIs. Guz went 2-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBIs. He's back up to .311. Zim continues to hit, going 3-for-5 with a ribbie. Zim's up to .286.

BAD: John Lannan. 3 IP, 5 ERs on 8 hits and a walk. Location, location, location. He couldn't hit his spots, and aiming them over resulted in a plethora of hard hits, including 2 of the Mets four homers on the night.

UGLY: Bullpen. Estrada gave up two earned in one-third of an inning. Manning gave up two solo shots in two-thirds. Bergmann gave up one earned in one inning. Not very good.

NEXT GAME: Wednesday at 7:10 pm from Shea Stadium. Odalis Perez (6-10) versus Mike Pelfrey (13-9).

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: Taking Back Nats Park

RESULT: Nats beat dirty Phillies 9-7.

GOOD: Odalis Perez. Way to stick up for your teammate. Cristian Guzman! 8 multi-hit games in a row, three-run double to break the game open. ZIM! Third homer in 8 games, that's more like it.

BAD: Marco Estrada. Couldn't get anyone out in the sixth, allowing Howard's second two-run bomb.

UGLY: Joe Blanton. Usually I don't give out awards to the other team, but Blanton looked lousy last night. 4 earned in 4 inning son 6 hits and 3 walks. Pew. Hope he's not listening to sports talk in Philly this morning. BIG series for the Fightin's this weekend in Gotham.

INJURY UPDATE: Collin Balestar has a sore glut. He'll be pushed back to next Tuesday, prompting Martis to get the ball tonight and pushing another Bergmann shelling off until tomorrow.

NEXT GAME: Tonight in Hot-lanta. Shairon Martis makes his ML debut against Jo-Jo Reyes (3-10, 5.49).

GB&U: Cain Shuts Down Nats

RESULT: Nats lose to Giants 1-0; Cain throws four-hitter.

GOOD: Tim Redding. After a couple not-so-good outings, Redding was awesome in an eight-inning complete game. Seven hits, no walks, five strikeouts. And a shortstop with average range would have kept the ball that scored Velez in the infield at least, if not get the out. But nothing can take away from Redding's excellent performance. He even had one of the four Nats hits!

BAD: Tim Tolman. Fastest guy on the team rounding third with two outs, gotta send Wee Willie home there and take your chances. Granted, Zim's fly wasn't the deepest, but Randy Winn has never been confused with Dwight Evans out there either. Send himhome, Tim!

UGLY: Johnny Estrada's exit. Wow, talk about ungracious and classless, not to mention clueless. To read his quotes, you'd think the Nats just cut A-Rod.

"Mentally, I'm ready to go home. It's been a grind for me all season." And "Yeah, it's been frustrating... I still know I have a lot left in the tank, and look forward to playing against the Nationals."

I guess when you go on the DL for four weeks and come back 15-20 pounds heavier, you kind of lose some persepective.

INJURY UPDATE: Estrada was sent packing since the Nats re-activated Lastings Milledge from the DL after the game. Hopefully he's fully recovered from the groin injury and can give the Nats a little spark in the closing two months of the season.

NEXT GAME: Friday night from Chavez Ravine. John "Hard Luck" Lannan (6-9, 3.29) takes on Chad Billingsly (9-9, 3.32) for the Dodgers. Man, I wish this game wasn't blacked out on MLB Extra Innings. Love me some Vin Scully!

Nats DL LoDuca, Estrada; Recall Flores, Dukes

Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden announced Thursday afternoon that they would place catchers Paul LoDuca (fracture of fourth metacarpal in right hand) and Johnny Estrada (ulnar neuritis in right elbow) on the 15-day DL and expect to recall catcher Jesus Flores from Triple-A Columbus and reactivate outfielder Elijah Dukes from the DL.

BOTTOM LINE: The team could really use a shot in the arm from Dukes. Both corner outfielders (Wily Mo Pena and Austin Kearns) have been delivering little at the plate and Dukes was swinging the bat pretty well on his rehab assignment.

LoDuca is expected to miss four to six weeks withthe broken hand, and Estrada wasn't helping anyone sitting on the bench unable to throw. Expect Nieves and Flores to pretty much split the catching duties forthe time being.

Shawn Hill Pitches for P-Nats

Woodbridge, VA--Washington Nationals' starting pitcher Shawn Hill, a spring training candidate for the opening day start, finally had his opening day. It was just 40 minutes down the road in Prince William county for the Potomac Nationals instead of for the Nats in their new stadium in near southeast DC.

Hill's final line was relatively impressive: five innings pitched, four hits, four strikeouts, one walk and no runs allowed. But it was really two different appearances--the first three innings, where he completely dominated the high A-level minor leaguers and the last two innings, where he lost the plate a little bit, couldn't "finish" his pitches by his own account, and allowed all four hits, three on sharp singles.

Hill threw 69 pitches--45 for strikes--in the game and another half-dozen in the bullpen afterward. He was economical in every inning except the fourth, where he tossed 25 pitches including the walk, two of the hits and two of his strikeouts. The first three innings he was completely in control. He struck out the second and third place hitters in the Myrtle Beach Pelicans line-up, the first on a sharp curve and the second on a fastball at the knees. He touched 90-91 on the radar gun on most of his fastballs.

After his appearance, he spoke about his arm, his conditioning, wanting to get back with the "big club"--and the Washington Capitals run to the playoffs.

"Overall, I felt pretty good," he started, " I feel like I'm ready to go." He faced all right-handed hitters, so he threw mostly fastballs and curve balls--no change-ups. "Curveball was ok, When it got side-to-side it got away from me a little bit but overall it was where I needed to be right now." When asked about whether he had any pain today, he replied, "No pain today. Warming up I get a little bit of pulling at it, but once I geared up and decided 'I'm throwing full-speed' there's not really alot of pain." He added, "I don't think the arm is going to hold me back at this point, it's going to be more of a performance issue."

Hill shared that it's taking him a bit more effort to warm up. "I'm definitely doing alot more to get loose before the game, whether it's a little bike or a little bit of cardio...just to make sure my that body is ready to go."

After talking about how he felt and his conditioning, he spoke specifically about how he threw in the game. "The velocity was fine. The command the first couple innings I was very pleased with. Towards the end it got away from me a little bit...my mechanics, I started to get a little quick towards the plate, spinning off a little bit." He finished his work in the bullpen after pitching five innings but not reaching the pitch limit of 80 set by the team. "I concentrated on staying back and getting through the ball...it's just something I've gotta be aware of. You know I haven't pitched alot a whole lot already this year so it's just something I've got to be conscious of."

"The fourth or fifth innings I felt my legs get a little tight...it says something maybe between innings ride a bike for a couple minutes, other than that it was fine."

Hill failed to speculate what his next assignment would be, deferring to the team and admitting he was to meet with the doctors and the team Wednesday morning.

After Hill finished, Nats' prospect Jordan Zimmermann took over and completed the shutout. Zimmermann went four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks with six strikeouts. He got into a little trouble in the top of the ninth, but was able to escape to deliver the 2-0 victory in the home opener for the faithful at Pfitzner Stadium. The P-Nats runs were courtesy of a two-run home run by shortstop Seth Bynum.


NATS NOTES: Manager Manny Acta and bench coach Pat Corrales watch Hill's performance from behind homeplate, with assorted other Nats officials and several radar guns.

The Nats placed 1B Dmitri Young on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 3 because of his aching back. They activated catcher Johnny Estrada, who was on a rehab assignment at AAA Columbus. Estrada is a switch hitter, which will allow Acta to be a little more creative with pinch hitting duties.

All photos (C) Cheryl Nichols 2008.

Nats Spring Training Notes

Viera, FL--The Washington Nationals are not unique in having to deal with injuries in spring training. But many of their regular players, players this team will depend on this season to be competitive in the difficult NL East, are battling through injuries or rehabbing from off-season surgeries.

Free-agent signee Johnny Estrada was given a cortisone shot in his right elbow Thursday, delaying him from taking the field with the other catchers on the practice fields. Estrada has not played yet, and is not on any time-table to do so. He told The Washington Post, "I can't do anything, just run. It stinks." Paul LoDuca, the presumed starter who was signed in the off-season, is still over a week away from his return from minor knee surgery right before spring training, leaving the burden on incumbent Jesus Flores. The 23-year old former Rule V draft pick was slated to spend the season in AA, but these injuries may force the Nats' hand--or not. Chad Moeller and Humberto Cota, both veterans, are still in camp and one may be on the opening day roster, backing up LoDuca--or Flores.

One-time potential opening day starter Shawn Hill has been "shut down" according to sources, but Manager Manny Acta merely indicated that they are holding him back to rest his sore forearm. Hill's MRI on Tuesday was negative, but he had to cut short a throwing session on Friday, a session the team hoped he'd be able to complete in his road to get back on the mound. Hill needs to get some innings in before too long if he wants to avoid a trip to the disabled list to start the season, something that appears to be an option right now, considering Hill's lingering pain.

Last year's feel good story isn't feeling very good. First baseman Dmitri Young hasn't appeared in a spring training game yet either, as he suffered a pulled muscle in his side in the batting cages before games began. He's felling better, but still having much difficultly swinging the bat and bending over for grounders. Another complicating factor for Young is his weight. He reported to camp at 298 pounds, and he believes his daily insulin treatments for his Type-II diabetes is to blame. He is working with his doctors to come up with a different treatment regimen in order to get his weight under control. Young came into camp expecting to have to battle Nick Johnson for the starting first base position, but every day that goes by that Young isn't on the field is another missed opportunity to win the job. It's likely that if Young can avoid the DL, he'll begin the year as a switch-hitting pinch-hitter, albeit one that just signed a two-year, $10M contract.

Nick Johnson is slowly getting back into the swing of things. He's hitting .333 (5 for 15) thus far, but still feels his weight transfer is off. Johnson is the type of hitter that "feels" his way in the box, and adjusting to live hitting has been his biggest challenge--baseball-wise--of the spring. He did have a slide and play at the plate in Friday's game, so he's getting past the fear of re-injury, an important step in his recovery from a broken femur, the injury that has kept him off the field since late 2006.

Right-hander John Patterson is starting to open things up. Earlier in camp, Patterson was short-striding his fastball, not fully extending his release point, perhaps not fully trusting his rehab from forearm surgery. But in a minor league game on Friday, Patterson opened it up and allowed four hits and one run in two and two-thirds innings, walking just one and striking out one. He threw 34 pitches, and is expected to start Tuesday against Atlanta.

Group Photo courtesy of Anthony Amobi
Patterson and Johnson photos (c) Cheryl Nichols 2006

"Nats Spring Training Notes" also posted at DC Sports Box