Reality check
Submitted by Jeff on Wed, 05/30/2007 - 5:24am.
- The Nats' recent success could be explained by good defense, timely hitting, better-than-expected starting pitching… and playing against struggling teams like the Reds and Cardinals. Last night the NL West-leading Dodgers came into town, and made the Nats look like the last-place team they are. Brad Penny kept the Nats' bats quiet while the Dodgers collected plenty of hits off starter Jason Simontacchi and Winston Abreu. "Too much for us today," said Manny Acta. Nats lose, 10-0. (Box score)
- The Nats will move Matt Chico's next start up to Friday as they decided what to do with Levale Speigner's spot in the rotation. Moving Chico up would keep him on his normal rest and buy them an extra day.
- One possibility is Joel Hanrahan, who threw three innings Monday night for Triple-A Columbus, allowing only one hit but walking four. Also: Brandon Watson, the Opening Day center fielder for the Nats last year, now has a 26-game hitting streak for Columbus.
- Any decision to move Speigner out of the rotation is intended to save his psyche. "It affects your confidence a little bit but I'm here, so I have to learn to trust what I've got and learn how to make that work," he said.
- When asked if he would return to the field this season, Nick Johnson said only "Hopefully. When? I don't know." Johnson, working out every day, has yet to take batting practice outside a cage or tested his range in the field.
- The person filling in for Johnson at first, Dmitri Young, is being considered for the All-Star Game given his strong offensive numbers. Young, though, did sit out last night's game with a sore back, recovering from a collision in Sunday's game in St. Louis.
- MLB.com proclaims that "The Chief is back", noting that Cordero has yet to give up a run in eight innings of work since coming off the bereavement list in mid-May. Cordero has returned to his fastball and tweaked his throwing motion to improve the location of his pitches.
- The Nats have selected Barry Larkin and Tim Foli to represent the team at next week's amateur draft in Orlando.
Otto