Bowden MUST Be Held Accountable For THIS Team

Jim Bowden has to be held accountable for what's happening on the field this year. Injuries happen to every team, but the good ones have quality players stashed they can recall to fill in.

There were plenty of NRIs and minor league free agents available over the past off-season that could have been brought in to compete for jobs on this team, let alone provide injury insurance. What did Bowden do? He signed Aaron Boone, Willie Harris, Rob Mackowiak, Pete Orr, Ryan Langerhans, two old, beat up catchers in Paul LoDuca and Johnny Estrada and Odalis Perez.

Boone and Perez have performed on the level the team hoped for, but the rest have been an abomination.

Harris, Mackowiak and Orr are all the same player and Langerhans has been released twice now with no other team claiming him, allowing him to be sent back to Columbus.

Think the $5MM the Nats spent on Paul LoDuca would have been better spent on Milton Bradley? How about Russel Branyan, a minor league free agent that "just wanted another chance", who has hit 10 homers in 74 at bats? Bartolo Colon? He signed a minor league deal. Chris Gomez signed a one-year $1MM deal. I could go on all day.

Yet Bowden came back with the crew he assembled proclaiming this team to be competitive. It never had a chance.

Now, we all know Mike Rizzo is in charge of scouting and drafting of the amateurs, so all we have to judge Bowden on is his performance assembling the major league and Triple-A team. and those area have both regressed in the four years (two under the Lerners) that he's been on the job.

Enough is Enough. I'm not playing hypothetical like FIREJIMBOWDEN.com is, but simply providing evidence that Bowden very poorly chose the NRIs and one-year contracts he chose to give out for THIS SEASON, and the evidence is damning.

He continues to overvalue and overhype the players he assembles, then BLAMES THEM for poor performance. It's time he's held accountable for the teams he's putting on the field. There's no reason to play this poorly when you can be a shrewd judge of stop-gap talent in the off-season.

Bowden must go.

Hill Lose Hill to Forearm Pain, Game to Halos 8-3

Washington, DC-In the microcosm, it was just another loss in a season that has been full of them, and will, in all likelihood, continue. In the grand scheme of things, however, this loss could prove more costly in significance if this was the end of Shawn Hill on the mound for the Washington Nationals for the foreseeable future.

Hill (L, 1-5, 5.83) was hammered by the Angels for eight runs -- six earned -- on eight hits and a walk in just three innings of work, as the Washington Nationals lost to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8-3 Tuesday night before 28,531 at Nationals Park. He gave up six in the first and another two in the third inning.

The bigger news, however, in what has become a lost season for the reluctant ace, was when after the game Manager Manny Acta announced Hill was likely headed to the disabled list and on his way very soon to see specialists at the Mayo clinic to re-examine his elbow and forearm, the source of Hill's pain and frustration this season. Hill was despondent in his post-game interview, stoic and brutally honest as always with the gathered press. "I'm just not right." he said. "Not a whole lot of guys throw through this for as long as I have…[M]aybe two weeks off, a week off, a month off, whatever it may be, I have no idea. I might come back and feel like a new guy, or [the rest] might do absolutely nothing. I have no idea."

His performance on Tuesday night was described as "flat" by Acta and his location "suffering" by pitching coach Randy St. Claire.

Hill started the season on the DL and has struggled every start since his return. In the beginning, the pain forced him to give up throwing between starts, something he's acknowledged as being important for him to maintain his control and consistency. He recently had returned to throwing side sessions, but the pain has worsened and left him in a reduced capacity during games. Tuesday's fiasco was, apparently, the final straw. Hill is no longer able to pitch through the pain, and the incredible effort he's been putting forth just to get on the mound for the Nats is not enough when the results were as bad a they were last night, effectively ending any chance the team had to be competitive in the first inning.

The lack of any consistent offensive production from this patchwork line-up of discarded veterans and untested youngsters places an extra premium on pitching, especially the starters, and trailing 6-0 after the top of the first is a death sentence for a squad hitting .238 as a team, last in all of Major League Baseball.

Jon Garland got the win for the Angels, leaders of the American League West. He went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk, including solo home runs by Wily Mo Pena (2) and Elijah Dukes (3).

Adding insult to Hill's injury, the defense was atrocious again Tuesday, as the Nats committed four errors, two in that fateful first inning. Paul LoDuca, starting in left field for the first time since 2004, threw away the first ball hit to him, allowing a runner to advance an extra base. Dmitri Young booted two grounders at first base, and Willie Harris kicked one away at second, starting once again for Felipe Lopez. To their credit, the Nats did complete three double plays, including a strike-em-out, throw-em-out by Jesus Flores.

The Nats conclude their three-game series with the Halos Wednesday night, as Tim Redding (6-3, 4.12) takes the mound against Ervin Santana (9-3. 3.17) for the Angels.

NATS NOTES: The loss lowers the Nationals record to 30-49, last in the NL East, twelve and one-half games behind Philadelphia. The Nats have lost four straight, and are 2-7 in their last ten games.

LoDuca summoned the trainer in the top of the second inning during Vlad Guerrero's at bat. He experienced dizziness and nausea and was removed from the game. He was taken to a hospital for observation. He was given IVs and was reported to be feeling better later in the evening. No further word from the team has been released at this writing.

Redding appeared at the ESPN Zone downtown Tuesday at lunchtime for a Q&A with Nats fans. Radio play-by-lay Charlie Slowes emceed the event, attended by roughly 75 Nats fans.

GB&U: Hill Hammered By Halos

RESULT: Nats fall to Angels 8-3.

GOOD: Power Display. The Nats only had six hits, but two were homers from Elijah Dukes and Wily Mo Pena. Pena's blast cleared the opposing bullpen in left center.

BAD: Lastings Milledge. He went 0-for-4, extending his slump to 1-for-29 over his last seven games. He's gone from .258 to .235 in that time.

Bonus BAD: Defense! Or I should say, lack thereof. Four errors, including two in the miserable first inning. LoDuca threw away the first ball hit at him in left field. Meathook booted two grounders. Willie Harris kicked one at second.

UGLY: Shawn Hill. In what may be his last appearance for the Nats for a while, he was absolutely hammered. 3 IP, 8 Runs, 6 ERs, 8 hits, 1 BB, 2 Ks. He's scheduled for an appointment at the Mayo clinic to examine his elbow and forearm. After the game, Manny Acta indicated Hill was headed to the DL, and the pitcher's words were despondent.

From the Post's game story: "I'm just not right." - and- "Maybe two weeks off, a week off, a month off, whatever it may be, I have no idea. I might come back and feel like a new guy, or [the rest] might do absolutely nothing. I have no idea."

NEWS: LoDuca had to leave the game in the second inning due to light headedness. I won't make a joke here. LoDuca called the trainers out in the middle of Vlad Guerrero's at bat in the second when he started feeling faint. He was taken to a hospital for observation. He received IVs and was reported to be feeling better later in the evening.

NEXT GAME: The Nats wrap up their series with the Angels. Tim Redding (6-3, 4.12) takes on Ervin Santana (9-3, 3.17).

Anyone Surprised By This?

Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson will miss the rest of the season after surgery today to repair a small split tear in a ligament on the ulnar side of his right wrist.

When the injury first happened back in May, the original diagnosis was 4-to-6 weeks. David Ortiz of the Red Sox sustained a very similarly described injury right around the same time-frame, and he's out of his cast, pain-free, and hopeful to start batting practice soon. It's almost indescribable how Johnson's injuries are always the worst case scenario.

His broken leg was supposed to have healed over the off-season in order for him to be ready for spring training in 2007--but he missed the entire year. I won't detail his long and storied list of injuries, but the guy just can't stay healthy, and it takes forever for him to heal. It's a real shame, because he's the best hitter on the team--when healthy.

He, like Meathook, are under contract through 2009, so all Nats fans can hope for is that he recovers from surgery and comes back in the spring healthy, in shape, and ready to play his butt off for a new contract. At this point, the Nats themselves are just hopeful to get some returns for the old one.

At least we'll always have the lightning bolt from spring training.

GB&U: This Is Not A Recording

RESULT: Nats lose to Angels 3-2.

GOOD: Jason Bergmann. Seven innings, one earned run on six hits and NO WALKS, with six strikeouts. This wasn't the Mariners he dominated, it was the AL West leading Angels, legitimate contenders.

Bonus GOOD: Willie Harris! Two home runs in as many days! If you made a bet during spring training that Harris would have four times as many homers as Wily Mo Pena in the first week of the summer, you may collect your bet.

BAD: L-Millz. 0-for4 sees his average tumble to .239. He's 0-for-13 since clubbing his big home run Friday night.

UGLY: Defense. In the eighth inning, the defense let the team down. Chone Figgins bunted to third to lead off, and when defensive replacement Pete Orr and pitcher Saul Rivera collided, Figgy was safe. He then stole second, took third on Flores' throwing error, then Lopez booted Aybar's grounder allowing Figgins to trot home. Rivera couldn't recover, and allowed Garrett Anderson to drive in Aybar, and that's all she wrote.

NEWS: The team announced Nick Johnson will undergo surgery on his injured right wrist. The procedure, quite obviously, will shelve Johnson the rest of the season. Good thing we didn't trade Meathook in Spring Training.

NEXT GAME: Tomorrow, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. Shawn Hill (1-4, 5.22) hosts Jon Garland (6-4, 4.06) at 7:10 pm.

GB&U: Still No Support for Lannan

RESULT: Nats lose to Rangers 5-3.

GOOD: John Lannan. Another quality start: 6 IP, 2 ERs, 4 Hits, 0 BBs, 6 Ks. All he gave up was two solo homers. He threw 90 pitches, 56 for strikes. But despite the low strike %, he didn't walk anyone and had 6 Ks. Fairly amazing. Anyway, until he learns to be a little more economical with his pitches and can get through another inning or two, he's going to keep experiencing these tough days. At least he wasn't saddled with another loss.

BAD: Wily Mo. 0-for-3, .209 for the season. His starts are getting more infrequent. Maybe Manny is tiring of the juggling act in left field.

UGLY: Ayala and Hanrahan. 2 IPs, 3 ERs, 4 hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks. Ayala earns the loss, Joel throws gas on the fire. It's tough watching this day-in and day-out. Steven Shell (NOT a good name for a pitcher) was perfect in his MLB debut though.

NEXT GAME: Tonight against free-swinging Vladamir Guerrero and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of California of the USA. Jason Bergmann (1-5, 5.03) faces John Lackey (4-1, 1.73). It's what you would call a 'reverse lock'.

GB&U: Nothing To See Here

RESULT: Nats spanked by Rangers 13-3.

GOOD: Meathook. 3-for-4. LMillz crushed a homer halfway up the stands in left. That's about it.

BAD: Garrett Mock. Making his second spot start of the season, he just doesn't look like he trusts his stuff at this level yet. Maybe there's an underlying reason for that, maybe it's just nerves. Who knows? But what we do know is that he was bad for the second straight outing. The eight strikeouts at least showed some promise. His final line: 6 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 8 Ks.

UGLY: The Bullpen. One night after performing so well, They were terrible. Manning, Sanches and Colome all were roughed up. The trio surrendered 9 ERs in 3 IP, along with 10 hits and four walks. Yuck.

MOVES: After the game, the Nats demoted Sanches and Mock and recalled INF Pete Orr and RHP Steven Shell from Triple-A Columbus.

NEWS: Nick Johnson has an appointment at the Mayo Clinic to examine his wrist. He still has considerable soreness after several weeks of immobilization. Johnson has been on the DL since May 15.

NEXT GAME: Today at 1:35 pm in the finale against Texas. John Lannan (4-6, 3.36) faces Vicente Padilla (9-3, 3.73).

GB&U: Free Baseball and a Curly W To Boot!

RESULT: Nats beat Rangers in 14 , 4-3.

GOOD: Elijah Dukes! What would you expect. He went 5-for6 with a walk, raising his average to .270/.377/.402, something incomprehensible when he started the season 1-for-26. Homer to tie it in the 8th, Single to win in the 14th. It doesn't get much better than that.

Honorable mention to the entire bullpen, much maligned in this space. They combined for 8 innings of one-hit, one-walk baseball. Tremendous.

BAD: Cristian Guzman. The 13 game hitting streak ends spectacularly, going 0-for-7.

UGLY: Paul LoDuca. Not that drawing a walk is ugly, because it led to Dukes' heroics. But man, did the crowd let him have it last night. In no uncertain terms. Wonder how many more days he goes without starting before he says something in the papers about it?

NEXT GAME: Tonight, Game Two against the Rangers. Garrett Mock (0-1, 8.31) tries again against Kason Gabbard (1-3,4.94) at 7:10 pm at Nationals Park. Seriously, who names their kid 'Kason'?

Photo courtesy of A.Amobi, DC Sports Box.

Dukes Carries Nats Past Rangers 4-3

Washington, DC--On a beautiful night for baseball in the Nation's Capital, Washington Nationals right fielder -- and hottest hitter --Elijah Dukes carried the squad with five hits, including a game-tying home run in the eighth inning and a game-winning single through a drawn in infield in the bottom of the fourteenth inning, defeating the Texas Rangers 4-3, the first time that franchise has returned to Washington since former owner Bob Short yanked the team out from underneath the DC faithful in 1971.

Dukes finished the night 5-for-6 with a walk, homer, two runs scored and two big RBIs. His average for the year is now .270/.377/.402,when just a couple weeks ago it was below .100. Dukes started the season 1-for-26, but has been scorching at the plate recently, giving the Nats -- and their fans -- something to cling to amidst losing streaks.

But none of that mattered in the bottom of the fourteenth inning,officially the longest game in Nationals Park short history. Tied at three, courtesy of Dukes' solo homer in the eighth, the Nats combined patience, a shaky relief pitcher (for a change, not their own), and one clutch hit to wrest the victory from the Rangers. Texas reliever Jamey Wright struck out Kory Casto (0-for-6, .184) to start the frame,but then hit Felipe Lopez with the count 1-2.

Paul LoDuca pinch-hit for Joel Hanrahan (W, 3-2, 4.47, 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 Ks) and he drew a walk. Ryan Langerhans, who would be sent back down to the minors just an hour later, followed with another walk, loading the bases with one out. Cristian Guzman, the team's best overall hitter in the first half, completed an atypical lousy day at the plate striking out for the second out. Guzman finished 0-7, ending his 12 game hitting streak.

All that brought up the 'Man of the Match', Dukes. On the first pitch he saw from Wright (L, 4-3), he hit a solid ground ball through the left side of the drawn in infield, and Lopez walked home with arms raised in celebration, as the rest of the team mobbed Dukes at first in the celebratory "pig-pile."

Lost in the excitement of the dramatic win was the outstanding job done by the Nats relievers on this evening. Charlie Manning, Luis Ayala, Jon Rauch, Saul Rivera and Hanrahan combined to pitch eight innings of one-hit, one-walk baseball, not allowing a Ranger to reach second base after the sixth inning. The Nats starter, Tim Redding, was fairly good in his own right, going six innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and two walks, striking out five on the way. Jesus Flores was responsible for the runs Dukes was not. Flores went3-for-6 overall, and had a two-run single in the third after Rangers starter Kevin Millwood issued back-to-back walks.

The Nats try for two in a row Saturday, as Garrett Mock (0-1, 8.31),just recalled from Triple-A Columbus, takes on Kason Gabbard (1-3,4.94) at 7:10 pm at Nationals Park.

NATS NOTES: The win raised Washington's record to 30-45, last in the NL East, twelve games behind Philadelphia.

Attendance on a picture perfect summer evening was 30,359.

Texas catcher Gerald Laird pulled his right hamstring while beating out a bunt single in the fourth inning and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. C Max Ramirez was recalled from Double-A Frisco.

Aaron Boone was late scratch from Washington's starting lineup because of a sore left knee, but he struck out as a pinch hitter in the seventh.

The Nationals played a scoreboard tribute to 'Meet the Press' host and season ticket holder Tim Russert, who passed away unexpectedly last week.

Photos (c) C. Nichols 2008

Man, Does the Post Miss Shirley Povich

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/general/povich/launch/senators2.htm

The Senators' Final Game

By Shirley Povich Washington Post Columnist Oct. 1, 1971

Everybody in Kennedy Stadium stood up at 7:30 p.m. because the voice on the loudspeaker said, "We ask you to join Robert Merrill in singing the National Anthem." The voice did not bother to explain that Merrill was on wax, and that Robert, baby, was not deserting the Metropolitan Opera stage for this occasion. It was merely one more of management's deceptions Senators' fans had long been taught to live with.

To those among the crowd who had come in sorrow, the Star Spangled Banner never before sounded so much like a dirge. Francis Scott Key, if he had taken another peek by the dawn's early light, would have seen that the flag ain't still there, and lyricized accordingly. It was captured and in transit to Arlington, Tex., which, to embittered Washington fans, is some jerk town with the single boast it is equidistant from Dallas and Fort Worth.

But the jocularity of so many among the 14,460 fans who were present challenged any belief that they had come to a death-bed scene. The Washington Senators, at the end of this game, would be no more after 71 years on earth. The deceased, actually, was a pretty good draw, pulling those who had come to give a last cheer for remembered heroes, or, perforce, to wipe away some tears in public.

But for every mourner who made it to the ball park, there were multiple empty seats to testify that 30,000 others had averted their eyes from the scene, shunning it either in indifference to the whole business or in reluctance to give chortling Bob Short one last handout at the highest admission prices in the league.

Those who were savoring this last, fond look at the Senators let it be known by their cheers that they absolved the athletes of all blame in the messy machinations that rooked the city of its major-league status. Even the .190 hitters heard the hearty farewells, and in the case of big Frank Howard it was thunderous when he came to the plate.

If there was no general wet-eyed melancholia in the stadium, there were still unmistakable pockets of bitterness. From the upper stands hung banners spelling out four-letter words in large design, all of them reviling club owner Bob Short for shanghaing the team to Texas.

Special police dispatched by management to remove the hanging vulgarities in the second inning drew the boos of the crowd, which was making no secret that its sentiments were pro-banners and anti-police. And then in the third inning, the six-letter word made its appearance in the left-field upper stands in a new, vertical banner that read "Short Stinks." There were new cheers for that little number, which had a life of approximately 10 minutes before police took it by storm.

In the stands, neighbor nudged neighbor in glee while pointing to the sprouting number of anti-Short graffiti in the the stadium. But in the sixth inning, with one swipe of his bat, Frank Howard redirected all attention, back to the ball game. He did it with No. 26, one of his super jobs.

It brought on a crowd delirium that for the next many minutes effaced any sadness the people had brought to the stadium on the supposedly sorrowful night. Howard responded with emotion of his own, tipping his hat to a cheering crowd for the first time in his seven years with the Washington club. After whirling his vatting helmet in the air as he rounded the bases, he flipped his soft playing cap into the stands as a fifth symbol of his gladness.

It was four-run inning that tied the score for the Senators at 5-5, and in the eighth they went in front, 7-5, but now, oddly, the temper of the crowd was changing. As if in sudden awareness that the end of major-league baseball in Washington was only one inning way, the mood hardened. "We want Bob Short!" was the cry that picked up in loud and angry chorus, and it was the baying-fury sound of a lynch mob.

Then a swarm of young kids, squirts who wouldn't know what it had meant to have a big-league team all these years, or what it would mean to lose one, flooded onto the field from all points of the stands. A public address announcement warned that the home team could forfeit the game unless the field was cleared, and pretty soon the game resumed.

It got as far as two out in the ninth, the Senators' 7-5 lead intact, no Yankee on base, when one young rebel from the stands set off again. He grabbed first base and ran off with it. Some unbelievers, undaunted by the warning of forfeit, cheered, and from out of the stands poured hundreds, maybe a couple of thousand fans. They took over the infield, the outfield, grabbed off every base as a souvenir, tried to get the numbers and lights from the scoreboard or anything else removable, and by their numbers left police and the four umpires helpless to intervene.

The mad scene on the field, with the athletes of both teams taking refuge in their dugouts, brought official announcement of Yankees 9, Senators 0, baseball's traditional forfeit count almost since Abner Doubleday notched the first baseball score on the handiest twig at Cooperstown. But by then the crowd-mood was philosophical, "So what?"

Or more accurately, "So whatha hell?" The Senators were finished, even if the ball game wasn't.

© Copyright 1971 The Washington Post Company

Where Did Everyone Go???

Folks, it's down to a select few of us left:

DC Sports Box
Federal Baseball
We've Got Heart
Nationals Farm Authority
Oleanders and Morning Glories
Nationals Enquirer
Nationals Pride
Nats Fanatics
Nationals Review
Mr. Irrelevant (part-time)
Miss Chatter; and of course Nats 320.
----------------
ed. 5:09 pm I was remiss in not mentioning the significant ADDITION of FIRE JIM BOWDEN
----------------
Everyone else in the Natosphere is gone. Gone with the wind. Gone baby gone. Long gone. Kiss this one good-bye gone. They're all gone.

When I started this blog March 14, 2007 there were already dozens and dozens of Nats bloggers in their mother's basements lurking, snarkily commenting on every detail, every nuance, every piece of minutiae available to dissect regarding the Washington Nationals. All had their distinct styles, to be sure, but the common bonds were two-fold:

1) the Washington Nationals and;
2) the willingness to publish opinion on said subject.

In the resulting year and three months, the bloggers have been dropping like flies. Departed are the once well-read Ball Wonk, Distinguished Senators, Beltway Boys, Nationals Power, Nationals Report, Nationals Nation, District of Baseball and most recently, William World News. The most famous of all Nats blogs, Capitol Punishment, retired gracefully in the beginning of May, and Chris is still posting links of "What To Read Today", but offering no comment. Unless, of course, he's being interviewed by another blogger.

So we're down to the remaining few, offering our opinions pretty much to each other and selected family members and friends still interested in reading us. We're still here, trying to hold the front office accountable for the mistakes of Paul LoDuca and Wily Mo Pena, and waiting patiently for the day we can report good news (We Swept Seattle and got their GM and Manager fired!!!) and learning new and exciting ways to describe the regularly occurring (two runs on six hits).

And I leave today's sad little commentary with this: Fire Lenny!

Seriously, take a pitch guys. You can't strike out on the first pitch.

GB&U: There's Something About Shawn

RESULT: Nats lose to Twins 9-3, swept in three game series.

GOOD: Cristian Guzman. 2-for-4. When does this guy not get multiple hits in a game? He's hitting .318. It's kind of an empty .318, but still...something about beggars and choosers?

BAD: Joel Hanrahan, again. If they had anyone else, he might be in danger of losing his spot. But they don't. He got hit hard again (1 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk, 2 ERs), and another wild pitch that scored a run. Bad Joel.

UGLY: Shawn Hill. He was terrible, worse yet, he was ineffective and his pitches had no movement. He deserves a lot of credit for going out there and taking the ball every five days, but at some point, they have to figure out what's causing his pain, because he's not helping anyone out right now. He's flat-out bad, and today he gave the Nats no chance to be even competitive.

NEXT GAME: Friday night the team returns to Nationals Park to face the Tejas Rangers. Game one is Tim Redding (6-3, 4.10) against Kevin Millwood (5-3, 4.75).

Nationals Swept By Twins, Lose 9-3

Minneapolis--The Washington Nationals are getting plenty of base hits. They pounded out another ten hits in Thursday's 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins, completing a three-game sweep. But with a decided lack of power on the current roster, the Nats have to string together multiple hits to score, not give away outs on the base paths, and make sure they don't give the other team extra outs when they are at bat. And right now, the Nats aren't doing any of those things.

Thursday's game was another prime example of what happens when you get runners on base but there's no on to drive them in. In all but the first, second and seventh innings, the Nats had men on, usually multiple runners, but managed only three runs against Twins starter Glen Perkins, who had not won in his last four starts. Perkins (W, 3-2, 4.39) pitched eight innings, allowing those three earned runs on ten hits and one walk, striking out two. Nine of the ten hits were singles. The only extra-base hit for the Nats was Dmitri Young's third home run of the season in the eighth inning -- a solo shot -- when the contest was alreeady out of doubt.

To make matters worse, Shawn Hill struggled again Thursday, as he gave up two runs in the second, one in the third and four in the fourth before being relieved. Hill's line (3.2 IP, 7 runs, 6 earned, 10 hits, 3 BBs, 3 Ks) was every bit as bad as it sounded. He walked two of the first three batters he faced, but escaped the first inning unscathed as Alexi Casilla was actually thrown out trying to steal second base by back-up catcher Wil Nieves. Hill (L, 1-4, 5.22) would have no such luck in the following innings. In the second, Hill walked lead-off hitter Michael Cuddyer, who immediately scored on Jason Kubel's triple -- a ball that Elijah Dukes badly misplayed. Brian Buscher pushed Kubel home with an infield hit, and the Nats found themselves down two after two innings.

The Nats went 1-2-3 in the first two inning but drew blood in the third. Felipe Lopez led off with a single and took second on Nieves' infield single. Cristian Guzman followed with an RBI single, and Dukes did the same, knotting it up at two apiece. But the bottom of the frame would bring more damage to Shawn Hill's ERA, as Joe Mauer led off with a single and scored on Cuddyer's double to left. The fourth inning would be no easier, as the Twins scored four more times, including a two-run triple by Cuddyer, a Mauer RBI single, and sacrifice fly by Casilla. Down 7-2 after four innings, the competitive portion of this game was over.

The Nats got two runners on in both the fourth and fifth innings, but could not find that elusive hit to drive the runners home.

The Twins added two more insurance runs in the seventh, and Joel Hanrahan helped them out. Hanrahan walked Cuddyer leading off, gave up a double to Kubel (2-for-4) and uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Cuddyer to walk home and Kubel move up to third. Kubel scored when Brian Buscher hit a sacrifice to right. Cuddyer had a great day all around. In addition to going 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs, and two RBIs, he also made two outstanding jumping catches in right field in front of the giant baggie that serves as the outfield wall in the Metrodome.

The Nationals return home on Friday to host the Texas Rangers in a three-game series. Friday's pitchers are Tim Redding (6-3, 4.10) and Kevin Millwood (5-3, 4.75)

NATS NOTES: The loss leaves the Nats record at 29-45, thirteen games behind Philadelphia entering the evening's contests.

Paul LoDuca had the day off to rest his hands, both his right one that was broken causing him to miss five weeks on the DL, and the left one that he jammed trying to catch Aaron Boone's errant throw in Wednesday's game. LoDuca is 1-for-8 since returning to the line-up.

With LHP Odalis Perez on the DL for at least another week due to shoulder tendonitis, the Nats will call up RH Garrett Mock Saturday for another spot start.

Nationals Swept By Twins, Lose 9-3 also posted at DC Sports Box.

GB&U: Soccer Under the Dome

RESULT: Nats fall to Twins 11-2. The team kicked it around for three errors and could have had two more!

GOOD: Base Hits! Eleven of them to be exact. Guzman and Dukes with three hits each, Lopez and Boone with two a piece. Bergmann pitched better than the results (six innings, allowing three runs -- only one earned -- on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. He threw 106 pitches, 61 for strikes).

BAD: Middle of the Order!! Milledge, Meathook and Flores combined to go 1-for-12 and stranded a combined 17 runners. Man, could this team use a clean-up hitter. I wonder if there are any available as a free agent this upcoming off-season?

UGLY: No Defense!!! Seriously, if the Nats are going to try to showcase LoDuca for trade bait, they should do the exact opposite and just hide him. What's the old phrase? "Rather keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt." In his first game at first base in four years, Uncle Paulie played a bad Boone throw into the runner in the FIRST INNING resulting in a run. Then in the second, misplayed Jason Kubel's ground ball into another error and eventually another run. Just wait until they trot him out into left field! Mothers, hide your children's eyes.

NEXT GAME: Today at 1:10 pm, mercifully ending this 9-game road trip. Shawn Hill (1-3, 4.61) takes on Glen Perkins (2-2, 4.57).

Nats Kick One Away In Twin Cities

Minneapolis--The Washington Nationals found themselves in another tense ball game Wednesday night until the later innings, when the bullpen got hammered for eight runs in two innings against three pitchers, and the Minnesota Twins cruised home with an easy 11-2 victory. The Nats were in this game until late despite very sloppy defensive play early on, and the team combined for eleven hits and three walks, but could never manage to come up with that last hit to put them over the top. Such is life for a team without a legitimate power hitter, one that needs to string together three base hits to score one run.

The Nationals got plenty of single base hits; of their eleven total only one -- Felipe Lopez' upper deck solo home run -- was of the extra-base variety. Cristian Guzman and Elijah Dukes, the lead-off and number two hitters, both had three hits and set the table all night long. But the middle of the order -- Lastings Milledge, Dmitri Young and Jesus Flores -- combined to go 1-for-12 and left a combined 17 runners on base. At the bottom of the order, Aaron Boone and Lopez had two hits apiece, but Paul LoDuca and Kory Casto went 0-for-7 combined to leave them stranded.

Compounding the lack of reliable offense, the usually solid defense was atrocious, committing three errors and booting several other balls that could have been scored errors. LoDuca, making his first start at first base, was scored with one error on a misplayed grounder, but let another fairly routine ball eat him up for a single that eventually scored. Aaron Boone made a bad throw fielding a bunt in the first inning, drawing LoDuca into the base runner Carlos Gomez, who eventually scored. And center fielder Milledge flat-out dropped a ball transferring it to his throwing hand after fielding it off the giant baggie that imitates a right field wall at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, allowing yet another run to score. And this was all before the relievers did their damage in the seventh and eighth innings.

Washington starter Jason Bergmann (L, 1-5, 5.03) was shaky most of this start, but kept his team in it. He went six innings, allowing three runs -- one earned -- on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. He threw 106 pitches, 61 for strikes, and did not allow a home run. In fact, the only extra-base hit he allowed was the double off the wall that Milledge misplayed, resulting in two runs for the Twins in the second. After that incident, Bergmann seems to settle down, and he did not let another runner past first base.

It was the seventh inning where things began to unravel. Saul Rivera relieved Bergmann and was completely ineffective. Carlos Gomez led off with a bunt single and went to second on a sacrifice. Joe Mauer (2-for-4, .332) followed with a shallow single that could not score the speedy Gomez. Not to matter, though, as Justin Morneau, second in the American League in RBIs, promptly singled to left to score Gomez. Rivera (two-third of an inning, two earned runs on three hits and two walks) walked Michael Cuddyer to load the bases, and Jason Kubel hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate Mauer to make the lead 5-1. Anyone paying attention this season would have known that would have been plenty of runs for the Twins to secure the victory, but they put an exclamation point on the win in the eighth inning.

The Twins batted around in the eighth off of Jesus Colome and Brian Sanches. Colome allowed five earned runs on three hits, two walks and one wild pitch in on inning of work. Sanchez, called in to clean up Colome's mess, fared no better, as two of the three batters he faced got hits. Sanches' final line (one-third of an inning, one earned run, two hits) was painful, but he eventually stopped the bleeding, getting former Nat farmhand Brendan Harris to strike out mercifully to close the frame.

Kevin Slowey (4-6, 4.37) got the win for the Twins, going six innings and allowing one earned run on seven hits and two walks, striking out four.

The last of the three-game series, and end of the nine-game road trip, is Thursday at 1:10 pm EDT. Shawn Hill (1-3, 4.61) matches up with Glen Perkins (2-2, 4.57).

NATS NOTES: The loss drops Washington's record to 29-44, twelve and one-half games behind division leading Philadelphia. The Nats are 15-23 on the road this season.

The team plans to recall Garrett Mock from Triple-A Columbus to start Saturday's game against the Texas Rangers. Mock made one start earlier for the Nats against San Francisco, pitching four and one-third innings. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and three walks with no strikeouts. For Columbus, he is 4-2 in twelve starts, with a 3.13 ERA and 1.20 WHIP.

The jersey giveaway for kids scheduled for Sunday's game versus the Rangers has been canceled. The first 10,000 children twelve and younger will receive a voucher for two tickets to any upcoming home game this season.

Nats Kick One Away In Twin Cities also posted at DC Sports Box.