Never had a chance to wrap up the Nationals loss to the Astros yesterday in Kissimmee, and here's a quick recap of what was important. The Good: The Nationals' two best players this spring, one position player and one pitcher, have been a pair 20-something who have never played on a regular basis in the major leagues. The sample size is small and he's playing against guys destined for bus rides, but what fun is spring training if you can't get excited about a player who tears apart Florida and puts up double-take stats, a player like Ian Desmond? Yesterday, Desmond went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI single. "It was important for me to stay hot like that," he said. "I saw the ball well today. I'm seeing pitches." Seeing pitches is one way to put. Destroying the Grapefruit League is another. In 21 at-bats, Desmond

Scott Olsen still plans on being ready for the first week of the regular season, which for him mattered most Saturday after his second preseason start. "My arm's still attached," Olsen said. "Nothing broke today." In the Nationals ninth consecutive loss to begin spring training, Olsen started and allowed one run on four hits and no walks in three innings. More important than the results, Olsen felt he took another step forward in his recovery from last year's shoulder surgery. His fastball zipped at 88 miles per hour, an upgrade from his first start. "I'm getting there," Olsen said. "I'm real close. I don't know how close, but I think I'm real close. Maybe another start and another couple of innings underneath my belt and I think we'll be ready to go. "I felt as though we were stronger today than we were five days ago," Olsen continued. "In another

I'll provide periodic updates. ... 4:20: The Nationals dropped to 0-9 after a walk-off single off of Sean Burnett. The Astros win, 8-7. 4:11: The Nationals tied the score, 7-7, in the ninth. Willie Harris walked, Eric Bruntlett doubled and Mike Morse scored Harris with an RBI groundout to second. Bruntlett was stranded at third. Sean Burnett, who pitched an easy eighth, is out for the ninth. 3:51: The Nationals inched closer in the eighth and trial 7-6 now. Justin Maxwell led off with a single, his second hit today. He stole second and went to third on a poor throw by catcher Kevin Cash, then scored on a wild pitch. 3:41: Atilano got out of the seventh with only one more running scoring, but the Nationals now trail 7-5. As much as Chico helped himself with his start against the Mets, he shredded that good will today. Six runs,

On March 4, the Nationals came here for their first game of the spring and absorbed a 15-5 beating at the hands of the Astros and the wind. The Astros launched five home runs, four of them to right-center, where the wind was blowing out. Well, today, the same wind is back for Scott Olsen to deal with. "You've just got to get the ball down," Manager Jim Riggleman said. "If you get the ball in the air, it's going to go out of the ballpark. It doesn't give you a real good read on how that guy's throwing. But it does give you the challenge of seeing if you can get the ball on the ground and seeing if you can live up to that challenge." In his last start, Olsen allowed three runs on seven hits in two innings. His velocity hovered at about 85-88 mph, which is

Elijah Dukes had been in the lineup early this morning, but the Nationals scratched him with tendnerness in his left toe as a result of being hit by a pitch last Monday. Dukes is sitting as a precaution because the field at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Fla. has been saturated by two straight days of rain. Dukes is expected to play tomorrow. "Nothing serious," Manager Jim Riggleman said. "And he's got the knee issue that goes on sometimes. We just felt like, let's just wait until tomorrow to put him out there and hope that the field dries up by tomorrow." For today, Justin Maxwell will replace Dukes in rightfield and the seventh slot in the order.

After the drive up Route 192 that included sights such the Reptile World Serpentarium and The Gun Store (not to be confused with The Gun Shack, which is just up the road), we're settling here at the Osceola County Baseballtarium. The weather has been reset to gorgeuous, so there's definitely going to be baseball, and the Nationals are going to play it with this lineup: Nationals 1. Nyjer Morgan, CF 2. Willie Harris, LF 3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B 4. Chris Duncan, 1B 5. Josh Willingham, DH 6. Adam Kennedy, 2B 7. Elijah Dukes, RF 8. Ian Desmond, SS 9. Wil Nieves, C -- Scott Olsen, SP This is probably an important start for Olsen, who allowed three runs on seven hits in his first outing. To be fair, several of those hits were bloops and bleeders; the three-run homer by Jorge Cantu was not. Olsen, who is overhauling his mechanics,

Elijah Dukes has been batting seventh, or even eighth, some games this spring, and that is not coincidence. Spring training is a time to try things out, and Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman is considering batting Dukes lower in the batting order this season. Dukes typically hit sixth last season when the Nationals had their full complement, but the addition of Ivan Rodriguez and Adam Kennedy may push him down in the order. Riggleman floated the idea of a regular lineup that would look something like this: 1. Nyjer Morrgan, CF 2. Cristian Guzman, SS 3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B 4. Adam Dunn, 1B 5. Josh Willingham, LF 6. Adam Kennedy, 2B 7. Ivan Rodriguez, C 8. Elijah Dukes, RF 9. Starting pitcher "With the addition of Kennedy and Pudge, there's a possibility he's going to hit lower in the lineup," Riggleman said. "Guzman is very comfortable in the second spot. I

After the Nationals refigured their pitching schedule to cope with the rain, Stephen Strasburg will still start Sunday against the Cardinals. That keeps him on a potentially interesting pace, one that could have him making a start in Washington even if he begins the year in the minor leagues. Sheinin pointed out to me today that if you extrapolate Strasburg's schedule so he pitches every fifth day, he would need to pitch April 3 - the day the Nationals host the Red Sox at Nationals Park in an end-of-spring exhibition. Pitching him that game would draw an outstanding gate - a weekend day game and Strasburg pitching in his major league city for the first time against a marquee opponent. It would also keep Strasburg on pace to throw April 8 in the season opener for Class A Potomac. That's something to keep in mind down the road. More immediately,

The question of where Stephen Strasburg will pitch this season has of course been a dominant storyline this spring training, and it seems the most likely outcome will be 15 starts in the minors, a mid-June call-up, and then he's in the majors to stay. But what about how much Strasburg will pitch? Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman discussed the Nationals' policy of trying to protect young pitchers by using a system to limit innings. Their pitches will not exceed 120 percent of the number of innings they threw the previous year, whether that was in college, the majors, or the minors. Last year Strasburg pitched 109 innings at San Diego State and 19 innings in the Arizona Fall League, a total of 128. He also participated in the Instructional League, so tack on another, say, five innings, to be conservative. Taking 120 percent of 132, then, Strasburg will throw no

For a while now, I've harbored a deep suspicion the Nationals would ultimately use their No. 1 overall draft pick this June on someone other than 17-year-old catcher Bryce Harper. It was an educated hunch, based on a few facts: 1. Multiple scouts have told me he had not separated himself from the rest of the elite class of No. 1 contenders, the way Stephen Strasburg did a year ago. 2. Some scouts have said they don't project Harper as a catcher, long-term. 3. Harper is being advised by Scott Boras, and has more negotiating leverage than Strasburg did a year ago, since Harper has the option of going back into the draft up to three more times if he doesn't reach a deal with the team that picks him. 4. I read this feature on Harper, who temporarily ended his media blackout to tell the Las Vegas Review-Journal that,

The Nationals and Yankees never had a chance today. It was called because of rain at about 9 a.m. before the Yankees even had a chance to arrive in Viera. (The bus had left, I was told, so it must have turned around.) No flyovers are planned. The Nationals aren't quite sure what they're going to do with their pitching and Jim Riggleman and Steve McCatty are meeting to figure it out right now. Jason Marquis and Matt Chico were going to be the day's starting pitchers. Yesterday, scheduled starters John Lannan and Craig Stammen couldn't pitch in a game and they threw simulated games in the bullpen. Riggleman said Stephen Strasburg and Livan Hernandez will "likely" remain on track to both pitch Sunday.

The forecast -- they're calling for flash flood warnings down here -- makes playing baseball today not much more likely than yesterday. If there is a game, it'll be Jason Marquis and Matt Chico on the mound against the Yankees. For today, I'm just going to cut to the links chase. Boz chatted yesterday, and so did Stephen Strasburg. Speaking of Strasburg, there's a left-handed, Cuban version of him throwing bullets in Arizona for the Reds. Before yesterday was rained out, Rick Short had come to take in the game as a scout. After his monster 2009, what's next for Ryan Zimmerman? On the subject of what's next, there are several names to keep in mind if the Nationals don't pick Bryce Harper. Nationals attendence is bound to go up by a few D.C.Council members this season, thanks to the mayor. If you haven't seen it yet, this is just

In his 17 years of professional baseball, Eddie Guardado had never been released before this morning, when the Washington Nationals included him in their first round of cuts. "They caught him totally, pretty much, by surprise," said Kevin Kohler, Guardado's agent. "I don't think he was expecting it at all." Kohler said Guardado has received calls from several teams interested in his services, either as a pitcher or in a front office or coaching capacity. Guardado plans on mulling his options, including simply staying with his family.

In three days, Stephen Strasburg will again get to do his favorite thing: pitch. His Sunday start remains on schedule despite the rain, and it promises to bring significantly less hoopla than his Tuesday debut. Between then and now, Strasburg will fire between 40 and 45 pitches in the bullpen and play long toss each day. This is only educated speculation, but that might actually be the last time we see Strasburg in a major league game this spring training. His next day to pitch would be the 19th, when the Nationals play the Yankees at their place in Tampa. At that point, the Nationals will be 16 days away from Opening Day. They will need to stretch out their entrenched starters and figure out just who will the back of their rotation. There may not be enough innings to go around to let a pitcher who by all appearances

Not much else to add yet. The game today has been rained out, and it will not be made up. Once we talk to Jim Riggleman and get an idea of any re-worked pitching schedules and such, I'll include it in this post. 12:50: The Nationals aren't going to change anything with their pitching schedule because John Lannan and Craig Stammen, who were both going to throw three or four innings today, will throw simulated games in the cages. So tomorrow will be Jason Marquis and Matt Chico against the Yankees, unless the rain forces another cancellation and the Natonals have to figure all of this out again. In the meantime, hitters will stay and use the batting cages. Jim Riggleman called a quick team meeting to go over signs. Basically, they're trying to make use of the day other than eating the spread of Popeye's fried chicken.

The Nationals have scheduled Stephen Strasburg to start Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals, the encore to his highly anticipated Tuesday debut against the Detroit Tigers. Livan Hernandez, making his first appearance this spring, will follow Strasburg in the game. Drew Storen, the other first-round draft pick in camp, will not pitch until tomorrow. Storen had been scheduled to pitch yesterday in Jupiter, Fla., and he would have if the Nationals had forced the Cardinals to bat in the bottom of the ninth. Because he warmed up in the bullpen, the Nationals want to give him an extra day before he pitches. Storen made the bus ride 100 miles to and from Jupiter only to not play, but he didn't mind. "It was worth it to watch Albert Pujols take batting practice," he said.

If the rain here lets up and allows the Nationals to face the Astros, here's the lineup they'll use: Nationals 1. Nyjer Morgan, CF 2. Roger Bernadina, RF 3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B 4. Adam Dunn, 1B 5. Josh Willingham, LF 6. Adam Kennedy, 2B 7. Elijah Dukes, DH 8. Jamie Burke, C 9. Alberto Gonzalez, SS -- John Lannan, SP Scheduled pitchers: Jesse English Doug Slaten Ron Villone Mike Venafro Craig Stammen Tyler Clippard

The Nationals trimmed their spring training camp for the first time this morning, giving pitchers Shawn Estes and Eddie Guardado their outright release and reassigning pitchers Victor Garate, Logan Kensing, Joel Peralta and Ryan Speier, catcher Derek Norris and outfielder Jerry Owens to minor league. The Nationals reduced their roster to 53 players, and by letting go six pitchers they will be able to more closely examine the pitchers contending for the final spots in the bullpen and the starting rotation. "It's that time where you got to start getting the numbers down to a more manageable number, especially the pitching," Manager Jim Riggleman said. Guardado, a 17-year veteran who carries the nickname "Everyday Eddie," is probably the most surprising cut. Guardado appeared in 48 games last season and figured to compete for a role in the Nationals bullpen as a left-handed specialist. In two outings this spring, Guardado allowed

One full week into their Grapefruit League schedule, the Nationals are still looking for their first win. That's not the worst news this spring, and General Manager Mike Rizzo doesn't worry at all about the spring training record. In the standings, the Nationals are the only team without a victory. With John Lannan going three innings today against the Astros, that could change soon. But the record isn't what matters, at least not yet. The Nationals want to shape their roster and ensure their regulars head north ready for the season. With that in mind, after one week of games, here's one educated crack at the 25-man roster: ROTATION John Lannan: The only question is if he starts on Opening Day ... Jason Marquis: ... or if he does. It's likely going to be Lannan.