The Nationals Start Trading Places
In what's being praised as a completely non-Bowden-esque move, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo pulled the trigger and dealt All-Star closer Matt Capps to the Minnesota Twins for highly rated catching prospect Wilson Ramos last night. The addition of Capps prior to this season has been a big reason for the Nats' improvement over 2009, back when every call to the bullpen was an adventure. Thankfully, the bullpen as a whole is performing better this year, which likely made trading Capps easier. So what of Ramos? He made a decent showing in a brief big league stint earlier this year, but isn't exactly lighting up Triple-A pitching. Catcher is an important position to solidify, and the Nats are hoping that Ramos is the long-term solution once Pudge Rodriguez rides into the sunset. Where does the move leave the bullpen, though?
Three words that should never be used in the same sentence are "closer," "by," and "committee," but that's exactly what manager Jim Riggleman wants to do. Riggleman should take a lesson from the middle infield debacle this year and stop trying to spread the wealth. Pick a guy, define roles, and go with it. Joel Peralta is pitching solidly, Drew Storen is the supposed heir to the throne, and Tyler Clippard makes innings a little too complicated. Any one of these guys deserves the shot to be The Man. (Storen, please.)
Earlier this week, as we confidently predicted, the Nats took two of three from the visiting Braves. Despite Strasburg being a last-second scratch on Tuesday, Miguel Batista -- he of the 39 years of age and 95-110 career record -- limited the Braves to three hits over five shutout innings and picked up the win. Scott Olsen was solid in his first start in two months, allowing three runs over six innings yesterday, all while the Nats offense provided some decent run support. The bullpen didn't allow a run in 11.2 innings, which is a blessing considering how sleepy the bats have been late in games after jumping out to an early lead. Despite making Tommy Hanson and Derek Lowe grind through the early innings, getting better pitches to hit as a result, the Nats need to keep pushing and score some insurance runs, like Adam Dunn's eigth-inning homer on Thursday that gave Capps a little breathing room in his final Washington appearance.
On deck: The red-hot Phillies, riding an eight-game win streak and ready to show off their shiny new toy, Roy Oswalt, come to town for a three-game set. The Nats had success against Oswalt in May, battering him for four runs in 2.1 innings, and rattling him to the point where he was (questionably) ejected from the game. The question of the series is whether the back end of the Nats' starting rotation can keep the potent Phillies offense under control. Craig Stammen had his start pushed back to tonight in order to let Olsen rejoin the rotation, and Ross Detwiler will make his first home start of the year, hopefully getting better defensive support this time around. Sunday's starter is yet to be determined (maybe Batista or a returning Jason Marquis), since that would normally be Strasburg's slot. The Nats got somewhat lucky and don't have to face Phils ace Roy Halladay, instead getting Joe Blanton on Saturday and Cole Hamels on Sunday. The Nats have taken the final game in each of the first two series, figuring that the Phillies got tired on smacking them all over the field. It's about time to make the boys battling Atlanta at the top of the division sweat a little more.