A View from the Capital

Little sisters provide the best analysis of the guys that big sister is dating.  So too do the Nationals provide an accurate barometers of the wallop that contenders pack as they parade through town.  Some said that the Diamondbacks were saving their starters when Washington avoided Brandon Webb and Danny Haren two weeks ago, but it can be argued as easily that if your rotation is only two deep, maybe you don’t really have enough gas in the tank.

The Nationals swept the Dodgers at the end of August and it wasn’t particularly difficult.  Manny Ramirez provided power and theatrics—Teddy the racing president sported a dread wig—but if the Dodgers cannot beat the Nationals one out of three Manny won’t be enough.  So the idea that the Rockies may have a chance to make another September run is growing legs.  The Diamondbacks and the Dodgers are too weak to run away with the West, even if Adam Dunn nullifies Manny.

More remarkable are the teams in the NL East and how weak THEY are.  The Nationals will have a role to play in September as the Phillies and Mets come to Washington, DC to audition for the playoffs.

This week it was the Phillies and if beating up the weak sisters is a measure of a contender, then Philadelphia comes up short.  The City of Brotherly Love has been showing us some luuv, losing two of three despite a shutout from Cole Hamels.  It can be argued that the Cubs got the better end of the Billy Beane trades with what Rich Harden has been doing.  Former Athletic Joe Blanton, however, did nothing for the Phillies as he was roughed up last night by the Nationals–arguably the weakest lineup in baseball–giving up four runs in four innings.

And any team that has to send Kyle Kendrick out to pitch every five days needs to seriously re-think its balance.  Kendrick lost the opener and Washington scored 16 runs against the non-Hamels part of the Philadelphia staff.

Washington travels to Atlanta for four games this weekend and there is more on the line there than meets the eye.  The Nationals have been safely ensconced in the cellar of not only the NL but major league baseball for many weeks, but winning two of three from the Phils gives Washington eight wins in their nine tries.  The win last night officially removes them from the cellar in both the NL and MLB.  Ryan Zimmerman is again looking like the same player as in 2006-2007 and Elijah Dukes is providing a surprising presence in the middle of the order.  So the Nationals are now looking up at the tanking Braves and seeing a way out of even the NL East cellar.

As August drew to a close the Nationals could only hope to gain the upper hand in the Stephen Strasburg sweepstakes, but now they have regained the pack and passing the Padres may just spur them on.  Pride is at stake here and the Nationals are suddenly finding they have some.

Nationals Notes:  Twenty-three year old catcher Jesus Flores is one of the most popular players on the Nationals, known for clutch hitting and no nonsense play on a team that featured Mr. Nonsense–Paul Lo Duca–coming out of the chute.  So when Chase Utley’s flying take-down put Flores out for perhaps the season on Tuesday night, there was a collective groan as they carted Flores off with his ankle wrapped solid.  Getting the call-up for Flores is Luke Montz (.271/.343/.456 at AA-Harrisburg and AAA-Columbus).

Luke caught my eye with his “Montz-ter” April and May, and in June Harrisburg manager John Stearns assured me then that Montz can catch at the major league level.  John Stearns knows what it takes to catch in the majors and he described Montz as “a good catch-and-throw receiver who can hit.”   Montz had fourteen homers in the first half and Stearns said that Montz only needed to work on his footwork and he would be ready.

This Joe Lunch-Bucket player was drafted in the 17^th round out of an obscure Texas community college.  He was already headed home to Lafayette, LA when Flores got hurt and he had to cut short the survey of Gustav damage when the call came.  Montz will get his first start in Atlanta Thursday night–close enough to home for  family to make the trip.