Jason Marquis' Start Today

For all the "consistency" he is supposed to bring, so far he has been knocked around like a pinata. Because one of his starts was rained out, the sample size is small, but the 30+ WHIP will always catch someone's eye. Progress needs to be made today in locating the strike zone, as for what ever reason, Marquis seems to have lost it. Getting knocked around in the spring happens to many good pitchers, but that is usually because their velocity and movement doesn't catch up until they are loose after several throwing sessions. This is an important start, as he needs to start confidently hitting the zone before going up against major league hitters in April. He will not magically rediscover it once Chase Utley steps in on April 7th.

Remember, guys like John Lannan and Jason Marquis are only successful because of their ability to minimize home runs and walks... when one of those variables increases, they are hardly major league caliber. It happened to Barry Zito and he is still trying to figure it out.

Closing the Book on Logan Kensing

Not nearly as dramatic as the Elijah Dukes firing, Logan Kensing was also sent packing. Kensing was one of the most frustrating Nationals to watch last season. He was claimed from Florida to bolster the leaky bullpen. After several dicey outings, he was sent to Syracuse, where he dominated. Enough so, Rizzo gave him a second audition in July when all the other young pitchers were ailing. He was better, but failed not only to match his form with the Marlins, but even to go more than a few outings without torching the stadium like Jim Brown in "The Running Man."

Prior to Tommy John surgery in 2006, Kensing had been a solid starting option in the minor leagues. In preparation for bringing him up to the big club and a young, crowded rotation, they converted him to a reliever. That is when the elbow issues arose. After recovering from the surgery, Marlins management never moved him back into a starting role, and he became labeled as a reliever. He never really developed the control required to consistently get major league hitters out, but always appeared to be better than replacement level...

Until last season.

Honestly, I don't know where the strikeouts went, but with out the ability to get one per inning to offset the 4+ BB/9, he was doomed. Maybe 2009 was an aberration, but starting off slow didn't help his cause. The front office knows he is capable of crushing the International League, and unless they were going to allow him time to try his hand at starting again (not the worst idea), he offered little value to the 2010 Nats.

Put Up Your Dukes

Or put them down.

Or just cut them off.

Once again, Dukes was a Jim Bowden experiment that never really exploded in everyone's face. He just sat there simmering like a dormant volcano. His numbers had regressed, as had his patience. There was a slight injury history. If Rizzo felt there was any chance Dukes was not cemented in as the right fielder, he should have tried to move him. Instead, Dukes reported late to camp, started slow, and voila, Justin Maxwell will likely be the answer to a trivia question.

Releasing Dukes is not a WRONG decision. Clearly he has shortcomings that prohibit him from becoming a great baseball player. This is not Matt Kemp that the Nats are giving up on. The Nats clearly feel that he was closer to Austin Kearns than Matt Kemp, so he wasn't worth the investment. The WRONG decision was to not invest in a corner outfielder (whether by free agency or trading for a prospect) to fill the void if this was a possibility.

Sure, Maxwell showed a pulse in September, Morse has a decent bat, and Bernadina is a blank slate. None of those guys, even at their best, is as good as average Elijah Dukes. It is possible that Dukes' value diminished when he failed as a center fielder, but there are several teams in the market for a corner outfielder that would have given up a C+/B prospect for him. And that is way better than the headline "Dukes Cut."

14 strikeouts, 2 walks

And the Nationals find themselves with two wins in one day.

Hopefully the Front Office Gets the Hint

I think most of the Natmosphere has been screaming this for years now.

Dave Cameron, Marc Hulet, and Dave Golebiewski all have similar opinions on the 2010 and 2011 Nationals: there have been missed opportunities, but now that there is stability, the Nats can really improve with a few shrewd moves.

Hell, I love the Hammer and Donkey as much as the next guy, but their value to a contender far outweighs what the Nats can get for them on the field and at the gate.

"We're Having Trouble Holding Wang Back"

That is quite alright Mr. Rizzo, because the Nats need him BAD.

The pitching staff, especially the bullpen, isn't quite coming together as well as anyone might have hoped, so the key will be to get good innings out of the starters. Strasburg will be capped for both innings and pitches when he arrives, so the bullpen will see extended action those days. Both John Lannan and Jason Marquis can go deep when they are on, but when the ball isn't staying down, they can be chased quickly as well. Then there is a host of oft-injured or AAAA guys fighting for spots... because that always works.

There is no argument; a healthy Wang would immediately be this staff's ace. A near healthy Wang would be the #3. A broken Wang does the Nats no good at all, so Rizzo is correct to monitor his Wang closely and protect his Wang from anything that would prevent him from making a full recovery. Just because he looks good now doesn't mean he will look good in June if he steers from his rehab assignments. That is what submarined his 2009.

What We Have Here Is a Natural Disaster

Nationals Baseball: where a rainout is the most effective way to beat a losing streak. Hey, it worked for the Durham Bulls.

The Phantom Waiver Claim

I remember driving around PG County somewhere when I heard the news that Cristian Guzman had been claimed off waivers by somebody. He was the perfect candidate for a fresh start, as he had lost the leadoff spot to Nyjer Morgan, and DC critics were ripping him for, well, being Cristian Guzman. Instead, Guzman hears the news and voices his displeasure through all channels. To make matters worse, the waiver claim turns out to be some faulty reporting on the Boston side, and Washington is forced to pull him back, stroke his ego, and tell him everything will be OK.

Cristian Guzman is the old dog that cannot learn new tricks, and he knows it. His overall abilities are regressing, and his desperate bat has to jump on the first hittable pitch he thinks he sees. His K:BB ratio will probably be in excess of 7 this season, yet the plan is to trot him out there in the #2 spot and hope Morgan can steal on the first pitch each time. Double plays increase exponentially despite his speed. To tell the truth, without Nick Johnson around, the Nats don't have that patient presence to anchor down that spot. The clever thing to do would be move Zim, Dunn, and the Hammer up a spot in the lineup, but Riggleman is scared to death of innovation (and I feel like I can write this freely as I am sure he is yet to discover "The Internets"). Dukes and Desmond aren't quite developed enough as hitters to be reliable, and Kennedy, while more patient, isn't going to provide the offensive threat. Sure, batting Zim second will probably shave 10 bombs off his yearly output, and if Morgan does steal, it opens up first base to pitch around him, but honestly, pitching around him to get to Dunn is just foolish.

The only thing Guz has going for him batting second is his ability to bat left-handed... to bad he sucks at it. In the AL, Guzman bats 8th or 9th; too bad the Nationals don't feel they can share this luxury.

Nationals Baseball

In a Spring swing that saw the Nats dropping 50 runs in 3 days, there were plenty of opportunities to poke fun at their bumbling ways. I am so glad I held out for this one though.

Nationals Baseball: Where opposing groundballs become grand slams.

Seriously, this is almost rich enough to serve as the tagline for MLB Disney or something.

15-5, 10-4

The Spring Training results do provide some insight as to where the club is and where it is going. Split squad games are especially demanding for the Nats due to their lack of depth, especially in the deeper end of the AAA bullpen. It looks as if most of the players that they expect to get major league contributions from showed up in decent shape, aside from Flores. It is the guys that Syracuse is going to rely on that are overmatched.

Whatever happened to Martis... holy cow.