"It's pathetic. I've never seen a team that is ok with losing....Some guys are mailing it in, and it's hard to watch." --Rob Dibble, July 10, 2009.

THE RESULTS: Joel Hanrahan got his first win for the Nationals this season, despite the fact that he now plays for Pittsburgh and the guy he was traded for scored the winning run. Then Washington went out and did what they do best (worst), kick the ball around and give up runs late in the game, and lost to a team that had their starter bounced in the third inning.

The Nats won the completion of the May 5 rainout game 11-10, as Nyjer Morgan scored on an errant throw by shortstop Miguel Tejada.

Hanrahan was the pitcher of record when rain forced the postponement back in May, and since the Nats scored in the bottom half of the inning as the "home" team, Hanny got the W, sitting in his hotel room in Philadelphia on an off-day with his new tam, the Pirates.

"It feels pretty good in the situation that we're in. Houston is a team in our division and we gained ground." Hanrahan said he found out that he was the winning pitcher from a "bunch of text messages."

Seven of the players that took the field for the Nats on May 5 are no longer with the team.

Int he second game, the Nats scored four runs in the first three innings, but did bot score again off five Houston relievers, and fell 9-4.

John Lannan (L, 6-6, 3.70) did not have a great start, giving up five earned runs on 11 hits and one walk, but he did leave in the bottom of the fifth tied at four. Jason Bergmann relieved and struck out the first batter, but then gave up two hits, allowing Lannan's leftover runner to score.

Mike MacDougal surrendered a three-run home run to Lance Berkman in the bottom of the eighth to secure the victory for Houston.

Washington did not have a recorded error in the game, but there were several plays that an average fielding team would have made that could have changed the outcome.

Left fielder Adam Dunn botched two balls on back-to-back plays in the pivotal sixth inning. The first, a screaming line drive that went over his head to the wall went for a triple a he fumbled around to make the play. The next play was a sinking line drive that could have been caught by someone more fleet-footed.

Asked about the plays afterwards, manager Manny Acta responded, "We didn't bring Dunn over here to play defense. He is what he is, and we love the 40 home runs and the 100-something RBIs he's going to bring. Because we didn't have that here. I can't ask Dunn to play outfield like Nyjer Morgan plays it."

Cristian Guzman failed to field yet another ball hit to his left. The routine grounder bounced in and out of his glove as he attempted his now-patented "spin-slide" move to his left. The next batter laced a ball to the right field alley, scoring two runs and knocking Lannan from the game.

Brought in to play defense in the bottom of the eighth, Alberto Gonzalez booted a ball that was ruled an infield single but could have easily gone as an error. Needless to say, that runner also scored, aboard when Berkman homered two batters later.

THE TAKEAWAY: Rob Dibble and Ray Knight were especially hard on the team in their comments on the post-game show, calling out the Nats for lack of effort and desire. Actually, Dibble called out unnamed specific guys for lack of hustle and effort.

"Well, I've seen it all year," Dibble said. "You have a team that came off a 102-loss season....Guys just aren't getting to balls, they're not trying, they're not diving, and more importantly, guys aren't calling them out....listen, our guys aren't doing as well as the other team."

He continued, "They need to be playing a lot harder than they are. What I'm saying is, it's not so much mailing it in physically, but mentally, some of these guys, they're happy after a ball game when they get their butts whipped, they're happy and smiling like it's funny when they're getting beat in day in and day out and embarrassed on that field. I know Manny Acta and I know these coaches are busting their butts to get the most out of these guys, but the players, they don't expect that out of each other in that locker room. That's what I'm saying."

OK Rob, tell us how you really feel. How about naming particular players you feel aren't hustling to your satisfaction?

The "Silver Fox" did.

From Ray Knight: "When guys don't make plays defensively I'd sit em on the bench. I'd give a guy a chance to play. And I'm talking about for a week, I don't care if you're hitting .320, I don't care what you're doing, I'm tired of seeing it too. We're just two former players that busted our butts, and we're here working for a company that you expect a fine product. "

"I don't know who exactly [Dibble's] feeling it about. I'm feeling it about certain people. But Manny has to make that decisions, or [Mike] Rizzo. If you think that there's a player out there not defining the position....Take shortstop. Balls are going up the middle, knocked down, erratic type play. It looks like, to me, Guzie's mind is somewhere else. He's the guy I'm most disappointed in."

THE GOOD: They managed not to get swept. Ryan Zimmerman was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in the second game.

THE BAD: Mike MacDougal. Brought in to "get some work" since this team has very little need for a closer, Big Mac was lit up like a Christmas tree. Three hits, a walk and a phantom hit-by-pitch led to three earned runs in one inning.

THE UGLY: Jason Bergmann. There were an awful lot of people calling for Bergy to get another shot and about he's been treated "unfairly" by the team. But he just isn't that good when he gets a chance to perform in a critical situation. Called on in a tie game with runners on base, he just made the situation worse.

The maddening thing is, he got Jason Michael to look silly, swinging at three straight really good sliders for the strikeout. But then he left the ball up against slap hitter Michael Bourne who hit the triple Dunn had so much trouble with, and did the same for a single to Tejada.

NEXT GAME: Tonight against the Astros in Houston. Scott Olsen (2-4, 6.04) tries for his third straight effective performance since returning from the DL against Astros ace Roy Oswalt (5-4, 3.81).

OK, I'll be honest. I started to write a long, drawn-out column about the state of the team, why they are so bad and how to keep perspective. But honestly, it felt like a repeat.

Instead, like most of my internet writing brethren (and sisthren) and blog commenters out there today, I'm just going to spout off some random (and possibly radical) ideas about how to fix things to see if anything sticks (or stinks).

Desperate times, my friends...

1) Call up Martis, Mock, Martin, Balestar; go with starter by committee. Look, it's not about wins and losses anymore, so why try to pretend. The team already announced they want to limit the number of innings of some of these guys. So call up the other starters, waive some of the crappy relievers, and let them share games.

That's right, Detwiler gets five innings and Mock gets the next four. Martin starts for five and Zimmermann closes with four. Rotate. There's no pressure on any one guy since they know how much they're going to pitch. Stick with the plan unless someone is REALLY getting rocked. Let them pitch through their mistakes without fear of getting yanked.

Oh, and maybe start calling some pitches from the dugout. Yesterday, with Detwiler abandoning the curveball? Unacceptable.

2) Flip-flop Guzman and Zimmerman. Yeah, I said it. What is Zimm's biggest problem at third? Making the standing throw. Plays on the run or diving he's one of the best in the league. But the grounder right to him? He throws it away.

Slide him over 40 feet where so many more plays are made on the move. He's already shown he can handle the pivot making double plays when the shift is employed. And his range CAN'T be any smaller than Guzie's.

It worked pretty well for this guy...

Guzman showed during the all-star game last season he can handle the hot corner. He doesn't have the best arm in the majors, but that isn't his problem -- it's range and desire. Playing third will make you pay attention or you'll lose your cajones.

3) DFA Belliard and call up D'Meathook. Belliard is absolutely useless to this team. He can't hit, isn't the first or second option as a defensive replacement, and what's worse, is becoming increasingly difficult in the locker room.

According to an article in the Times today, Young is in obviously better shape than he's been in a long while, and claims he's been game-ready since the end of April. He's still an asset. Get him up here for a couple weeks of pinch-hitting and see if someone will give the Nats a "C" prospect for him.

Either way, the guy can hit falling out of bed, so he'd be a legit switch-hitting pinch-hitter off the bench.

4) Trade Dunn to an American League team. For all of our sakes. Ask for middle-of-the-diamond prospects. I know the guy is trying, and it's obvious the losing is killing him. That's what so refreshing about Dunn, he'll tell you what he's thinking.

Mike Rizzo (unfairly by the interviewer, I might add) let himself get put in a corner the other day on the radio, saying "We are not trading Adam Dunn." But it's foolish to think that the team wouldn't listen to an offer if it were the right offer. It's not like Dunn is Mickey Mantle. For all his great skill, he's also an equally flawed player.

It's painfully obvious that his worth is as a hitter, and that worth would skyrocket if a team didn't have to worry about him costing that team runs in the field. It's not just the errors either, it's the balls he can't track down in the outfield that lets runners take extra bases. Or the lollipop throws that look like he's dogging it, when folks don't realize that's all he's got out there.

5) After you trade Dunn, move Willingham back to left and call up Dukes for right field. Where he's belonged all along. He OBP'd .386 last season in 334 plate appearances. After June 1 last season, he OBP'd .406 in 271 plate appearances. Give him a shot to replicate that.

If he doesn't, then ship him out. But it's foolhardy to let a 25-year old with obvious talent flounder in Triple-A when your big league roster is full of older players that are performing worse than he is.

6) DFA Kearns. It's time. The Blue Jays just ate B.J. Ryan's contract, and it's twice as much as Kearns'. Think of it this way, if you DFA him, you'll save the $1 million you'd have to buy him out with next season.

"I just don't think I had great command of my off-speed today. And you go with what you have." --Ross Detwiler, July 8, 2009.

THE RESULT: On get-away day, the Washington Nationals played a lot like they just wanted to get out of dodge. They managed just five hits off Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa, committed three more errors, and fell 9-4, completing a three-game sweep in the "Mile High" city by the home-standing Rockies.

There were two big blows that really did the Nats in today.

The first was a bases loaded triple by Ryan Spilborghs that ended Ross Detwiler's afternoon in the fifth inning. Detwiler allowed consecutive singles to Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins, before walking Troy Tulowitzki on four pitches. Spilborghs then laced one into the left field corner that eluded Josh Willingham.

Detwiler had his third straight forgettable outing. He lasted just four innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits and three walks. He struck out only three Rockies.

The second big shot was Tulowitzki's two-run home run off Ron Villone in the sixth inning.

Washington was able to plate three in the top of the seventh, courtesy of a bases-loaded single by Anderson Hernandez that narrowly escaped the glove of second baseman Clint Barmes, and Wil Nieves' two-out sacrifice fly that followed.

THE TAKEAWAY: Ugh. The Nats really just didn't look like they had it in them today. They started with two straight hits, but Morgan was gunned down trying to advance to third. Then they didn't reach base again until Nieves' double to start the sixth -- where he was stranded.

Add two errors by Adam Dunn at first base-- the second of which led to a run -- and Nieves dropping a foul pop up...well, you get the point.

Not to be outdone, Julian Tavarez pitched the seventh and eighth and gave up another run in each of the frames.

Good thing all this was accomplished while most Nats fans were at work.

THE GOOD: Wow. Where to start? Andy Hernandez had the two RBIs. Nyjer Morgan was 3-for-4. Nieves got the runner home from third with less than two outs.

THE BAD: Ross Detwiler. Three straight bad outings. Maybe if Sunday's outing in Houston is bad, they might re-think things a little bit.

THE UGLY: Villone and Tavarez. The long-toothed ones in the bullpen have run out of gas. In July.

NEXT GAME: Tomorrow from Houston at 8:05 p.m. EDT. John Lannan (6-5, 3.45) faces Russ (not Ramon) Ortiz (3-4, 4.11). Before the regularly scheduled game, the teams will complete the suspended game from earlier this season that started at Nationals Park.

"Which one?" -- Manny Acta, in response to the question "How bad did Guzman's error hurt?" in the post-game conference, July 7, 2009.

THE RESULT: The Washington Nationals lost a perfectly winnable game last night due to a veteran pitcher that couldn't throw a strike, infield errors too numerous to count, a backup outfielder falling down on the base paths, and eight runners left on base with the Nats going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Oh, and the winning pitcher for the Colorado Rockies didn't throw a single pitch.

It was a fairly normal game until the eighth inning. Sure, Jordan Zimmermann wasn't sharp, giving up seven hits and four walks in just four innings. And he certainly would have fared better if Willie Harris, starting again at second base, hadn't tried to field a ground ball in the fourth inning with his, um, private area.

But as it was, the game was tied entering the top of the eighth.

With two outs, forgotten man Austin Kearns pinch-hit for reliever Sean Burnett (two innings, one hit, no walks).

Kearns laced a single through the hole on the right side. Colorado manager Jim Tracy called upon veteran left-hander Alan Embree to face Nyjer Morgan. Kearns broke on a steal attempt, and instead of throwing home, Embree went to first. Kearns then, incredibly, just fell down in the middle of the base path and was tagged out after a short run down.

So then to the bottom of the inning. Julian Tavarez struck out Chris Iannetta to start off, but then gave four straight balls to rookie Carlos Gonzalez, hitting all of .197. Seth Smith pinch-hit for Embree, and drew a five-pitch walk. Acta had seen enough.

"I am very patient, but my patience runs out when there's a veteran run who's not throwing strikes," Acta said later.

Joe Beimel came in, and on his second pitch he got Ryan Spilborghs to bounce back to the pitcher for a tailor-made, inning ending double play.

Only Cristian Guzman, who earlier failed to field a ground ball that hit his shin, was late getting to second base, and Beimel double-clutched, sending the ball to Harris, who was in short center field backing up the play. All hands were safe, and the next batter lofted a run-scoring sacrifice for the game-winner.

THE TAKEAWAY: I blame Bob Carpenter. Earlier in the game, he noted how the team defense was much better "due to better starting pitching," whatever that means. Regardless, Cristian Guzman was absolutely terrible last night, committing his 12th error of the season and contributing to Beimel's throwing error in the pivotal eighth.

Gotta hand it to thet Nats, though. It wasn't boring.

THE GOOD: Ryan Zimmerman. Actually, it was a mixed bag for Zim, as he hit his 14th home run of the year, a three-run shot, that put the Nats up 4-1 at that point. But he also ground into two more double plays, giving him 14 of those on the season as well.

THE BAD: Adam Dunn. 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

THE UGLY: Julian Tavarez. He's now 3-7 on the season.

NEXT GAME: Today, the finale of the three-game series with Colorado, at 3:10 pm EDT. Ross Detwiler (0-4, 5.81) tries to play stopper against Jorge De La Rosa (5-7, 5.14).

NOTES: Jesus Colome rejected his outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse and elected free agency. Via con dios, Jesus.

"Slider, down and away. I was able to make a quality pitch." --Jason Marquis, on a 1-2 slider to Ronnie Belliard, who ground into a bases loaded 6-4-3 double play to end the seventh inning.

THE RESULT: Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Marquis became the Major League leader in wins, notching his eleventh of the season, as he combined with closer Huston Street on a seven-hit, 1-0 shut out of the Washington Nationals, before 25,205 at Coors Field.

The Nats record stands at 24-56-1.

It was the eighth 1-0 game in the history of Coors Field, all since the incorporation of a humidor to store game balls.

Marquis, named to his first all-star game on Sunday, was sharp all evening, but the Nats did have their chances. But every time Washington had an opportunity, Marquis, one of his fielders, or the Nats themselves did something to erase the chance.

The Nats shot themselves in the foot -- twice -- in the seventh inning. Adam Dunn led off with a double and Josh Willingham followed with a single, moving Dunn up 90 feet. Cristian Guzman hit a high chopper to Marquis, who stabbed it and caught Dunn straying from third base for the first out.

Dunn angrily tossed his batting helmet aside once he reached the bench.

Josh Bard, still hobbled by a strained groin, singled to right field, but third base coach Pat Listach held Willingham at third, respecting right fielder Brad Hawpe's powerful left arm. It was a good thing too, as Hawpe fired a perfect one-hop throw to catcher Chris Iannetta which surely would have nailed Willingham by several steps.

Belliard then ground peacefully into the rally-killing DP.

Nats starter Craig Stammen was maybe even more impressive than Marquis, save for the lone run he allowed in the first inning on a single by second baseman Clint Barmes and double by Todd Helton.

Stammen (L, 1-4, 4.88) went seven innings and allowed just that one earned run on five hits and one walk, and struck out three in the process. He induced two double plays, and got nine ground ball outs.

THE TAKEAWAY: "[Stammen] made pitches all day," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "He kept his sinker down and wasn't intimidated by the altitude here."

Indeed, it was Stammen's best performance to date, marred only by the offense's inability to scratch one out against Marquis. The Nats left eight men on base, failing to come up with the big hit time and again.

This road trip in Colorado and Houston is going to tell us a lot about this young pitching staff, and Stammen passed his first test with flying colors.

THE GOOD: Craig Stammen. He threw 62 of his 98 pitches for strikes, including 16 out of 25 first-pitch strikes.

THE BAD: Cristian Guzman. 0-for-4 in the sixth spot in the order.

THE UGLY: Ronnie Belliard. 0-for-4, with the rally killing DP. One day after looking like he might break out of his funk, Acta gave Belliard another start, and he failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

NEXT GAME: Tonight at 8:40 EDT in Colorado. Jordan Zimmermann (3-3, 4.52) takes on Jason Hammel (5-4, 3.90).

"It gave me confidence that he had confidence in me." --Scott Olsen, on Manager Manny Acta leaving him in to pitch in the ninth, July 5, 2009.

THE RESULT: Scott Olsen fell just one out from his first career complete game as the Washington Nationals defeated the Atlanta Braves for the second straight day by the score of 5-3, before 22,677 at Nationals Park.

The team's record stands at 24-55-1 after taking two of three from the Braves.

Olsen (2-4, 6.04) allowed three runs and eight hits over eight and two-thirds innings, winning for the first time since returning June 28 from the 15-day disabled list after a bout with left shoulder tendinitis. He walked five and struck out five.

Olsen cruised through seven, then ran into a spot of trouble in the eighth. Manager Manny Acta came out to talk to Olsen with runners on base, and the crowd had already stood to greet Olsen warmly, expecting his manager to give him the hook at that point. When Acta turned to go back to the dugout without taking the ball from his starter, the assembled Nats fans erupted with approval.

Olsen escaped that jam and left to thunderous applause. And when the pitcher executed a perfect sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the inning, there was another standing ovation.

But with two outs, the left-hander surrendered a two-run home run to Nate McLouth, and Acta finally relieved his starter after 116 pitches, 75 of which were strikes.

Despite allowing a hit and a walk, Mike MacDougal eventually got the last out for his fifth save, and the Nats could get on the plane to Colorado with a two-game winning streak.

Nyler Morgan again proved the catalyst for the Nationals. Washington took a 1-0 lead in the first when Morgan hit a leadoff single, stole second and scored on Ryan Zimmerman's single to right.

Morgan went 3-for-5 with a run, RBI and stolen base, and made several outstanding defensive plays, including nailing Martin Prado at second on a play where Morgan dove for a sinking liner but could not come up with it, rolled and retrieved the ball, and threw a strike to Ronnie Belliard covering for the out.

Belliard went 2-for-3 with a walk, three runs scored and an RBI in the eighth spot in the order. Olsen also had two hits and an RBI.

THE TAKEAWAY: What a difference once player makes on an entire team. We saw Morgan at his disruptive best yesterday, making plays in the outfield no Nationals player comes close to. He was all over the basepaths, creating havoc for Braves starter Derek Lowe (L, 7-7, 4.56) all day.

And you can't say enough about Olsen's performance. He threw strikes, kept his head down and really controlled the game until he started to tire in the eighth. He was economical with his pitches despite striking out five and walking five.

"I did OK," Olsen said after the game. "I threw the ball down in the zone pretty well for the most part. I kept them off-balance with the offspeed pitches. Too many walks for my liking there, but we did pretty good."

THE GOOD: Olsen. This makes two straight very good performances since returning from his bout with shoulder tendinitis. If he can continue to be effective, the Nats might find themselves turning a corner as we head into the second half of the season.

THE BAD: Every starter had a hit, so we'll have to go with Josh Bard. He went 1-for-4 with five runners left on base, and really struggled with his running due to the sore groin he's been nursing for the better part of two weeks now.

THE UGLY: Nationals Pyrotechnics. With two outs and two strikes on Chipper Jones in the top of the ninth, Jones fouled a pitch off, but the pyrotechnician on top of the stadium thought it was a swinging strike three. BANG-ZOOM went the fireworks, for a two-strike foul ball!

Thankfully MacDougal eventually finished off the save, or it would have been one more piece of negative vibe that the national press could have on our account.

NEXT GAME: The Nats ride their two-game win streak into Colorado to face the Rockies tonight at 8:40 pm EDT. Craig Stammen (1-3, 5.44) takes on all-star Jason Marquis (10-5, 3.87).

NOTES: Ryan Zimmerman was named as a reserve to the National League All-Star team. Cristian Guzman was named as one of the five finalists in the fan vote for the "Last Man".

Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

"I would give back every single home run if we could be whatever our record is, but flip-flopped. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Winning is everything in this game. Period." --Adam Dunn, on the occasion of his 300th career home run, July 4, 2009.

THE RESULT and BOX SCORE

ATTENDANCE: 23,708

RECORD: 23-55-1

THE TAKEAWAY: Dunn started and ended the rally with his mammoth home run, his 22nd of the season, and RBI single that made the score 5-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

But major kudos have to go to starting pitcher John Lannan. He didn't have his best stuff, and put plenty of men on base yesterday, but benefited from four double plays. He kept his team in the game, pitching through the eighth, and he stuck around long enough to earn the victory.

For all the times in his brief career that the offense let him down, finally they came through for him after a gritty performance.

And props to Nyjer Morgan, who executed a perfect sacrifice in the the pivotal eighth inning. Good situational baseball, something that hasn't always been evident in Nationals Park this season.

THE GOOD: Adam Dunn. 2-for-3 with a walk, solo home run and two RBI. I expect him to be named the Nationals all-star representative later today.

THE BAD: Cristian Guzman. 0-for-4 with a called strikeout in the sixth spot in the lineup.

THE UGLY: The bullpen carousel stops for Jesus Colome. Colome was DFA'd after the game, making room for Jason Bergmann's third trip to the bigs this season.

The 31-year old right-hander was 1-1 with an 8.40 ERA in 15 relief appearances with the Nationals this season.

Photos 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.

NEXT GAME: Today, at 1:35 pm, against these same Braves.

ATLANTA BRAVES (39-41, 4th in NL East -- 2.5 games back. One-game losing streak)

McLouth – CF
Prado – 2B
Jones – 3B
McCann – C
Escobar – SS
Anderson – LF
Diaz – RF
Kotchman – 1B
Lowe – P

WASHINGTON NATIONALS (23-55-1, 5th in NL East -- 17.5 games back. One-game winning streak)

Morgan – CF
Johnson – 1B
Zimmerman – 3B
Dunn – LF
Willingham – RF
Guzman – SS
Bard – C
Belliard – 2B
Olsen – P

STARTING PITCHERS

WAS: Scott Olsen (48.0 IP, 1-4, 6.56 ERA, 36 K, 18 BB)
ATL: Derek Lowe (101.1 IP, 7-6, 4.44 ERA, 55 K, 35 BB)

WEATHER

Cloudy, thunderstorms. Chance of rain 40%. High temp 80F.