I was unaware that he had options left.

Well, maybe he can learn to take a pitch. And judge a fly ball. DUKES IN CF!!!

Dunn – Dukes – Willinghammer

Sorry Kearns. (Trade bait)

Milledge – I like the guy but…If you look like the Tazmanian Devil running after balls hit to center, you need work. Getting sent down to AAA it is. I hope you improve.

The only reason the Nats front office have Milledge in center field seemed to raise his trade value.

Bowden would never have done this would he!!!

Milledge sent to AAA = Good for us
Rizzo acting like real GM = Good for us
No more Bowden = Priceless

Would be my guess. It might be a smart move in an effort to give him (and his bat) a wake up call. He should have been moved to a corner outfield spot (right) long before this, as he generally has never shown the ability to read the ball off the bat well enough to play center anyway.

As a longtime (we’re talking going back to the 80s in Montreal) fan, I’m hoping this is also a way that the organization plans to try and showcase Kearns/Willingham for a trade a bit more. If that’s not the case, I remain just as baffled as I was during the Bowden years. I didn’t like many things that Bowden did, but bringing in Dukes and Milledge were among the few positives. Those guys are both big league ready outfield bats who need to be in the lineup every day.

Still, the timing of the move makes little sense to me. Milledge did have his typical misplay yesterday (though he actually made the play) when he struggled making a play on a ball hit over his head and eventually fell into the wall (and on his wrist). Apart from that, though, he looked fairly decent (with the exception of the strikeout against Madson, when he was WAY out in front of three straight changeups). He had a solid single on a groundball to the right side, and his two outs against Moyer were actually frozen ropes, but just unluckily hit right at an outfielder. I think Ibanez was one and Victorino was the other.

More confusing to me in yesterday’s game was Manny Acta’s decision making (and Anderson Hernandez’s piss-poor play in the field. I threw up in my mouth a little when Acta said he planned on making Hernandez the starter over Belliard when they were both healthy this Spring, and figured a lot of that had to do with…. well…. defense. Hernandez’s two errors in his first start of the year give me even less confidence in him).

It all had to do with the mix from the sixth to the seventh. He brought in Hinckley to face Rollins, knowing full well that the pitcher’s spot was due up second in the bottom of the inning and that the Phillies would be sending up Victorino (S), Utley (L), and Howard (L) after Rollins.

- First off, why no double switch? I know the team’s a little shorthanded with Belliard D2D and Harris on the DL, but it would have made perfect sense to trot Bard out there to replace Flores (who’d made the final out of the fifth) so you can keep your lefty in to face… well… the lefty-heavy power part of the lineup that’s coming up.

- Secondly, why Rivera there (particularly when you go to Ledezma against the right-handers the next inning)? I realize Saul has been one of the better arms out of the bullpen for the past few years, but it makes little sense to bring him in a) an inning early and b) when the lineup’s about to get real left-handed. Isn’t that why we signed Beimel? Furthermore, how do you stick with him that long? If Red Flag #1 wasn’t the first hit batsmen and Red Flag #2 wasn’t hit batsmen #2, how do you ignore the three run bomb Howard hits and leave him in to face Ibanez (who promptly launches another)?

I knew the starting staff was going to struggle a bit, and I knew the bullpen was going to be horrible. I was just hopeful that it wouldn’t be so brutally mismanaged. Man… 0-7, and the offense is averaging just under 5 runs a game (34 in 7 games). That should be nearly impossible to achieve. Poor luck can be attributed to some of it, but a lack of anything resembling fundamentals is a major contributor as well. This is extremely disappointing.

Maybe the off day helps get something going, but I’d have preferred to see the team get back (off the mat and) on the field and try and make up for all these mistakes they’re making. While things I noticed in the Braves’ series aren’t fresh in my mind, I remember seeing a handful of things (not even errors, necessarily, but failing to get to a ball quick enough and allowing the opposition to take an extra base on a single…. bobbles…. throws to the wrong base, walking the leadoff man, etc.) that just say this team isn’t doing the little things.

Players making the money that they’re making have to be held accountable, but the management does, too. Acta’s just not doing his job real well so far this year. Maybe that’ll change. If it doesn’t in the next few weeks, it may be time for the organization to think about making a change.

—-Lasto Looked Better Yesterday, save the Madson AtBat Mentioned Above. Really Strange…What Didn’t They See In SpringTraining ? Did Lasto Suddenly Lose His SpringSkills On The Trip North…? How Could The Nationals Have Eight Outfielders And No One To Play Center…?
     Church/Scneider Trade Looks Worse And Worse Even With Their Warts, At Least They’re In The Majors…
Adios Lasto…
…GO SUPERDUKES !!!

It’s clear he lost some of his confidence and needs some time to work it all out – I still think he has potential and could be a good player for us but there isnt much point leaving someone get smashed week in and out (and I agree with the posts that he’s probably a corner outfielder).