So, did I miss anything while I was away the last week?  Lessee.... trades... losses... injuries...  Sounds like not.  Well, we've had a few games to get some indicators about whether JimBo is a genius or not, so let's take a look!

Unjustified statistical analysis of the recent (and some not-so-recent) acquisitions after the jump in this special Thursday edition of Tuesday Nats stats.  (As always, ERA+/OPS+ are relative to league average: 100 is average, >100 is better, <100 is worse.)

OUT WITH THE OLD

A fair bit of joy has been the jettisoning of some dead weight from the Nats roster:

• Paul LoDuca: 55 OPS+, range factor well below league average at the many positions he's played this year, 2 CS and 13 SB against. Good riddance.
• Johnny Estrada: -1 OPS+ (that's right, he has a negative OPS...), decent range factor, and a nice 6 CS and 13 SB behind the dish. But I gotta say: good riddance here, too.
• Felipe Lopez: 64 OPS+, average-to-below-average range, terrible attitude. Somehow he's managing a 119 OPS+ in 45 PA so far with the Cards, but anyone want to take odds on whether he can keep it up? Didn't think so. Good riddance.
• Luis Ayala: 5.77 ERA/74 ERA+ is poor but not too awful, the 1.5-1 K:BB ratio is shaky but not terrible, the 1.474 WHIP higher than we'd like... Still, that 1-8 is all blown saves and winnable games lost.  Our bridge guy has the stats of a mop-up guy.  Sad for an Original Nat who was good for so many seasons, but good riddance again.
• Jon Rauch: 2.98 ERA / 143 ERA+, 1.01 WHIP, 4-2 record with 17 saves... pretty sweet.  I think we're all sorry to see the Big Guy leave, and how we feel about long term depends on:

IN WITH THE NEW

But we've also picked up some new blood (and gotten back some "old" new blood from the DL):

• Emilio Bonifacio: We got the Fast Guy for the Big Guy. So far, he's managed a FLop-esque 60 OPS+ (238/274/338), but he has taken a few walks (er... four) in 84 PA.  He also chases stuff down out of the zone (24 Ks!), but how about those 2 doubles and 3 triples?  He'll need some help with pitch recognition and patience, but I'm sure he'll get it, since he's the only one in the line up with that problem, right?  His range and FP are average-to-below-average, but he's still young.  What was FLop's excuse?
• Alberto Gonzalez: In his 15 PA before getting hurt, he got a blistering 221 OPS+, managing 3 2Bs and 2 BBs. Below average range in the field.  Meaninglessly-small sample size on which to judge performance? What's your point?
• Anderson Hernandez: 298 OPS+ (750/750/750) in, er... 4 PA...  Here's your meaninglessly-small sample size!
• Lastings Milledge: 92 OPS+ (261/324/407) with 12 HR, 17 SB (6 CS). He's the Nats' leading slugger and is actually managing an average-to-above-average range and FP out in CF. Lasto seems to be settling in, slowly but surely. 
  
• Elijah Dukes: 110 OPS+ (264/364/434) with 6 HR, 10 SB (1 CS) as he entered his third DL stint.  In the field, his range is above average, and he's got 5 assists and a DP in limited playing time. That's money, plain and simple.

TWELVE LOSSES IN A ROW!

Yeah, I know, things haven't turned around much, have they? But we've ditched some legitimate dead weight and replaced it with light-hitting middle infielders who are at least no worse than what came before, and have potential to grow and improve.  Losing Rauch smarts a bit, but Dukes and Milledge are looking like legit building blocks.  But am I expecting Boney to strike out 4 times against Old Man Moyer? Yep.