Game Thread: Philadelphia Phillies at Washington Nationals- 2008 Game 108 of 162. "Washington Nationals' Trade Deadline Report."

...Uh? It appears that there are only two stories going around about the Nationals' potential dealings with less than 16 hours to go before the MLB Trade Deadline passes. First it's MLB.com's Bill Ladson, who writes in an article entitled, "Bowden doesn't expect to deal vets", that DC GM Jim Bowden is, "...doubtful that he will trade his veteran players before the Trade Deadline on Thursday." Over at ESPN.com, Jayson Stark includes a quick note on the lack of interest in DC righty Tim Redding, in Mr. Stark's article entitled, "Mets passing on Ibanez":

"Teams with pitching to deal report that the Mets aren't players on any of the starting pitchers still floating around the market -- namely, Jarrod Washburn or Tim Redding."

According to Mr. Ladson, who cites an unnamed "baseball source", several teams have inquired about the availability of several young Nationals:

"...Jason Bergmann, Garrett Mock, Ross Detwiler and Adrian Alaniz have been mentioned in trade discussions."

...and one paragraph later Mr. Ladson reports that such things are indeed being, at the very least, entertained, stating:

"Bowden said he's willing to do prospect-for-prospect deals in order to get what the organization wants."

Those last two sentences had me worried, so I checked in at the "Nationals Journal" to see what Washington Post writer Chico Harlan had to report. In a post entitled, "Tradeability, signability", Mr. Harlan had the full text of the quotes from Mr. Bowden that Bill Ladson had referenced, wherein the DC GM explains further:

"We'd be open to a prospect-for-prospect kind of deal, sure. If we can fill a void that we need. If we can find a deal that makes us better, sure, we're open to that. We've had a lot of discussions with a lot of clubs about a lot of players in our farm system. That's taken most of our time."

...after which Mr. Bowden explained even further:

"'...you can never get enough pitching; don't get me wrong. So I never look to trade pitching. That being said, if there was a three, four-hole future hitter or a shortstop up the middle long-term we're always looking for that.'"

So...The Nationals are getting no inquiries about veterans like Lo Duca, Lopez, Belliard or Redding, but everyone's interested in DC's pitching prospects...Why do I have a bad feeling about this??? (Please don't trade pitchers for Dunn!!)

Instead of major moves in terms of trades, Washington Times' writer Mark Zuckerman thinks the movement will take place within the organization, writing, in an article entitled, "Moves seem unlikely before trade deadline":

"The club would like to open up second base at some point so 23-year-old Emilio Bonifacio, acquired last week from Arizona for Rauch, can move up from Class AAA Columbus and start at the big league level.

"That makes Lopez, who entered Wednesday's game hitting .233 and making $4.9 million, a candidate to be designated for assignment. The same could hold true for (Odalis) Perez, who has allowed 14 runs over his last 15 innings and could be replaced in the rotation by rookie Garrett Mock."

(ed. note - "It's now 1:03 am EST. Just 15 hours from the '08 Trade Deadline. Updates as the day goes along will be included in the Comments section...Who's gonna get the scoop? Will the Nationals stay out of the Deadline action? Will Jim Bowden pull something off? Who has played their last game as a National? Who's gonna win tonight's game? Not sure, but I know who's pitching...)

On The Hill...

We all know what happened the first time John "Cool Hand" Lannan faced Philadelphia on July 26th of '07, when consecutive HBP's to Utley and Howard resulted in an ejection in Lannan's Major League debut. That was his only appearance thus far in his career against the Phillies. Before getting tossed that day, Lannan managed to throw 4.1 innings, allowing 6 hits, 4 ER, 1 HR and 2 walks with 1 K in a no-decision in a Nationals' win over the Phils. 

In 8 starts in DC this season, the 23-year old, left-handed Lannan's (2-5) with a 4.71 ERA in 42.0 innings pitched, a 1.40 WHIP, .265 BAA and 41 hits, 22 ER, 8 HR's and 18 walks allowed in Nationals Park, which leave Lannan's career totals in Nationals Park/RFK at (3-6) in 10 games with a 4.89 ER in 53.1 innings. (Away from DC - Lannan's (5-6) in 16 career starts with a 2.78 ERA in 100.1  innings pitched.)

Lannan's '08 Breakdown...

Lannan vs Lefties in '08 - .266 BAA, 1.37 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 29 H, 4 HR's, 8 BB, 17 K's.

 

Lannan vs Righties in '08 - .250 BAA, 1.27 WHIP, 92.0 IP, 85 H, 8 HR's, 32 BB, 49 K's.

Philadelphia's throwing their own 23-year old pitcher, Kyle Kendrick in the finale of the three-game set in DC. The right-handed Kendrick's faced the Nationals 3 times in 41 MLB starts, posting an (0-1) record with a 3.63 ERA. Two of those starts were in RFK Stadium last season, so this will be the first time Kendrick pitches in Nationals Park. 

On the road in '08, Kendrick's somehow (5-2) even though he's put up a 5.02 ER and .311 BAA in 61.0 innings pitched, over which he's allowed 78 hits, 34 ER's, 9 HR's, and 22 walks while collecting 21 K's. 

Kendrick's '08 Breakdown...

Kendrick vs Lefties in '08 - .324 AVG, 1.80 WHIP, 60 IP, 81 H, 10 HR's, 27 BB, 21 K's.

 

Kendrick vs Righties  in '08 - .261 AVG, 1.18 WHIP, 55 IP, 57 H, 6 HR, 8 BB, 2K's.

Nationals' #'s Against Kyle Kendrick...

Ronnie Belliard - 3 for 9, .333 AVG, .667 OPS.

 

Ryan Zimmerman - 4 for 9, .444 AVG, 3 2B, .778 SLG, 1.222 OPS. 

 

Willie Harris - 2 for 3, .667 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI. 

Future Nationals vs Kendrick...

Emilio Bonifacio - 1 for 1, 1.000 AVG, 2B, 2 RBI's.

Check the NatCast if you're heading to Nationals Park...

Game time for the finale of the 3-game visit by the Phillies is 7:10 pm EST. Who's Got DC Trade News? Who's Watching the Nationals? Check back all day for updates...Who's Watching the Nationals?