Unlikely hero

Submitted by Jeff on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 4:18am.

Yesterday afternoon D'Angelo Jimenez wasn't in much of a position to go around the clubhouse and say, in Spanish, "I am a stud." After all, the pinch hitter hadn't actually gotten a hit so far this season. Now, though, it's not quite so farfetched. Jimenez came to the plate in the bottom of the 10th with Austin Kearns on third and hit a ball up the middle for his first MLB base hit of the season, giving the Nats a come-from-behind win on a night the team was largely without their best hitter, Dmitri Young, ejected for arguing a called strike three early in the game. Nats beat the Rockies, 5-4. (Box score)
Jason Simontacchi will miss his scheduled start tonight because of elbow tendinitis. Rather than make a roster move, the Nats will give reliever Billy Traber the start in Simontacchi's place. Simontacchi is expected to only miss one start and not require time on the DL.
Ross Detwiler pitched two scoreless innings in his pro debut Thursday for the rookie-level Gulf Coast Nationals in Viera. Detwiler allowed two hits and no walks, striking out two. Detwiler is expected to make one more start there before being promoted to high-A Potomac.
At the other end of the age and experience spectrum, the Nats signed Hector Carrasco to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus. Carrasco, who pitched for the Nationals in 2005, was designated for assignment by the Angels last week.
The Nats are getting a lot of interest in potential trades for Jon Rauch and Chad Cordero, with as many as ten teams sending scouts to follow the Nationals in the days leading up to the end-of-the-month trading deadline. One issue with Cordero in particular, though, is that the Nats may ask for "a closer's value" for him although many teams reportedly interested in him, including the Mets and Red Sox, would use him in a setup role instead.
MLB.com offers highlights of a Q&A session with Ronnie Belliard Thursday at ESPNZone. Toughest answer to swallow: when asked "When are you going to bring a World Series to Washington?", Belliard answered, "It could be this year. It could be next year. You never know."
Ever wonder what happened to former Nats broadcaster Tom Paciorek? He's been on the luncheon circuit recently, talking about both his time as a player and as a broadcaster. His only reference to his brief stint in Washington: "I got fired by the Washington Nationals last year… I'm done; I'm retired."