Anyone who watched the Nats get smacked around in Florida this weekend saw the club nearly swept, saved only by Friday night’s endless string of baserunners. The team’s all-too-familiar weaknesses were exposed once again in the form of poor starting pitching, with Bergmann, Chico and Simontacchi surrendering 18 earned runs in 14.2 IP between them. Early deficits on Saturday and Sunday were exacerbated by the team’s inability to drive in runs, highlighted by the 9-0 home run advantage the Fish enjoyed in the series. Despite serviceable efforts like Mike Bacsik’s 5.2 innings last night or games like last Friday where everything’s falling in, the current Nats seem to lack the ability to regularly force the issue.

Between the consistent effort exhibited by every guy on the roster and the continued excellence of Dmitri Young, the baseball being played in 2007 is exciting enough. Many following the organization are focused on building a winner for 2008 and beyond, however, so they might be forgiven for their divided attention this week between D.C. and the developments in central Ohio.