Photo by laura padgett. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been named to the 2009 National League All-Star team. Every team gets an All-Star, and Ryan Zimmerman is the Nationals’. As the face of the franchise, Zimmerman is the perfect representative for the Nationals: much like the team, he is both hitting better than last year and has a lot more errors. Fans still have the chance to vote shortstop Cristian Guzman into the final…

Photo by el swifterino After winning four straight, including two out of three against the Yankees and the Blue Jays, the Nationals returned to Fenway South last week to face the Red Sox, who promptly extinguished any hope the dozens of Nationals fans may have had that the season would turn around. The team went 2-5 over the last week, and are in the middle of a series against the Marlins. The Nats are…

Photo by Flickr user pjhaveri. Ideally, this column is scheduled to run on Mondays. We held it until today because after this report by Fox Sports, and the Nationals subsequent non-denials, we were certain that Manny Acta was going to be fired yesterday. Well, he wasn’t. It still seems likely that he will be, it is more a matter of when at this point. If it happens before Sunday, you can expect Bethesda Big…

Photo by Flickr user spiggycat. It is the week of the baseball draft, and in what looks like a yearly tradition, it is time to see what the Nationals organization does with the first pick. Everyone expects them to draft pitcher Steven Strasburg. Strasburg is a talent so great that only a team as incompetent as the Nationals would fail to draft and sign him. It should be an interesting Tuesday. Strasburg is represented…

Photo by afagen. The Nationals are 0 for the last week, and 13-36 for the season. They still like to commit errors — an MLB worst 48 in 49 games — and they still like to throw batting practice: an MLB-worst 5.69 ERA and .285 batting average against are indications of that. But buck up NatsTown, they are technically undefeated in the month of June. After firing the bullpen twice, and demoting numerous players…

Photo by Flickr user Odessea. Watch out National League. After Adam Dunn’s triumphant grand slam yesterday against the Orioles, the Nationals have now not been swept for two straight series! The team just finished their second longest home stand of the season, and now are off to New York. They went 2-9 over this home stand, and are now a major league worst 13-30 over the season. The team can still hit. They are…

Photo by rsmdc Ryan Zimmerman’s hitting streak ended the same day as the Capitals season, leaving the Nationals without any positive story lines right when people are going to start paying attention to them. To those local sports fans, let us implore you to turn your eyes towards D.C. United. They are tied for first in the East, with three wins, one loss, and six ties. The Nationals, on the other hand, are 1-6…

Photo by Flickr user Kevin H. The Nationals may still be the worst team in the Major League, but at least they can hit. They currently lead the National League in OPS with .808, and are in the top three in the league in Batting Average, OBP, and Slugging. Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman are at the top of the National League in most offensive categories, with Elijah Dukes, Nick Johnson and Jesus Flores…

Photo by muohace dc Before yesterday’s game against the Mets, Filip Bondy wrote in the NY Daily News that “any result other than a sweep must be considered a setback.” Well, things aren’t looking too good in Queens, as the Nats managed an 8-1 victory yesterday, avoiding the series sweep. Take that, Gothamist! It may not feel like it, but the Nationals are 3-3 in the last week. Despite this burst of mediocrity, they…

It’s never good when a team is swept in a series. It’s also never good when a team gives up a 9th inning lead. It takes a special team to get swept in a series by giving up three straight 9th inning leads. This rare feat was accomplished by the Nationals over the weekend, as they dropped three games to the Marlins. The result is that three pitchers from the bullpen, Saul Rivera, Steven…