The Bats Will Soon Show Resentment

The Washington Nationals have scored 4+ runs in a game 19 out of 31 games so far this season, a vastly improved offensive ballet compared to the 2007 campaign. Problem is - they've lost 11 of those 19 games! As one blog post wouldn't begin to adequately detail the Nats' pitching and defensive woes, let's focus for a moment on the starting pitching:

John 'Imagine' Lannan: 2-3, 3.89 ERA, 39.1 innings, 15 BB, 20 K
(not so bad, especially after his first two disasterous starts)

Scott 'Merlin' Olsen: 1-3, 7.00 ERA, 36.0 innings, 16 BB, 26 K
(run support has hurt Olsen, but a gaudy 7.00 ERA isn't exactly Frank Viola-ish)

Shairon Martis: 4-0, 4.67 ERA, 34.2 innings, 13 BB, 19 K
(NL pitching surprise of the year, to date)

'Thunder' Dan Cabrera: sucks, sucks ERA, sucks innings, sucks BB, sucks K
(this guy threw at his kid in a father-son game)

Jordan Zimmermann: 2-1, 5.91 ERA, 29 innings, 8 BB, 26 K
(impressive K:BB ratio for this highly-touted youngster)

Besides Martis, the starters have been inconsistent at best. Martis removed, the starters are averaging just over 5 innings pitched per outing, and less than 5K's per 9 innings pitched. This puts more pressure on the lowly bullpen, and requires a maintained offensive display throughout the game. aka NO lead is safe.

Next week: I sit down with former Cap great Dino Ciccarelli to discuss the hockey playoffs, steroid use, and sorbet flavors.