(ed. note - "For Tuesday Night's Game Report click here.")

Today's stats extravaganza (inspired, as always, by the latest update to the Nationals Progress Index ) comes courtesy of The Hardball Times .  We're going to take a look at BABIP, or Batting Average on Balls In Play.  BABIP is a measure of how many of the balls that a player hits actually fall in for hits.  Think of it like batting average with all the strikeouts removed.

What is BABIP good for?  Well, it's kind of a measure of how lucky a hitter is:  if his BABIP is a lot higher than the league average (which is around .300), he's hitting 'em where they ain't; conversely, if his BABIP is low, he's smacking 'em straight into gloves.  You can expect most player's BABIPs to converge to the league average over the course of the season--those runs of lucky/unlucky drops and seeing-eye singles can't last forever!  We'll also take a look at line-drive percentage (LD%).  As the name implies, this is the fraction of hits than are line drives--generally, about 75% will be hits, so a high LD% means that a high BABIP may not be a lucky fluke.

Jesus and the Snowman

Both have BABIPs of .400, meaning a heart-rending regression to the mean is somewhere in their future--especially when you consider the tiny number of PA these stats are based on.  Note that Flores is hitting the ball hard, however--his LD% is 31.2 compared to Wil's meager 9.7.  Although it's tough to argue anything based on less than 50 PA each, this hints that Flores might be for real (OPS+ of 200... likely to come down a bit) while Wil (OPS+ of 124 and falling) might fall back to something more like his career .199/.241/.271 line.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

Is the top of the order for real?

GUUUUZ! and FLop have been pleasant surprises this year.  Guz continues to hit every ball in sight, and it's for real--his BABIP is an average .313 with a LD% of 15.2. He's earning his league-average 100 OPS+ the old-fashioned way--by hitting the ball every chance he gets.  FLop's BABIP of .323 is slightly above average, so that OPS+ of 76 might waver.  But at least FLop can take a walk now and then!

The Troubled Middle

You can see why Manny is still hopeful--the middle of the order has been having some bad luck with where the balls are falling.  Zimmerman's BABIP is .262, Johnson's is .247, Kearns' is a depressing .222!  They just have to keep hitting the ball, and the hits will come (LD%: Kearns, 17.1; Zimmy, 19.2; Nick, 24.4).  Ah, but what about Lasto?  Milledge is right there with a league-average .304 BABIP, and he's hitting the ball hard (LD% 25.2).  Sure, his OPS+ is only 77, he needs to show little more power and walk a bit, but the potential's there.  He's also almost as patient as Nick--he sees 4.1 pitches per plate appearance vs. NJ's 4.2!  Kearns, too, sees 4.1/PA and actually Ks less often than NJ!  Unfortunately, Bluegrass hits 'em right at somebody instead of getting ball 4.  Zimmy only sees 3.6/PA--take some pitches, Z-Man!  Wily Mo has walked as much as Zimmy so far this year in about half the PA.

Largely due to his Discerning Eye and a few doubles, Nick is the only Nat right now with a "real" OPS+ above 100 (it's 124--and by "real," I mean with a lot of PA behind it).  Given his high LD% and low BABIP, that's probably only going to get better as the season goes on.  Nick's OPS+ was 149 for 2006!

The Sluggers

Well, that's Wily Mo and Dukes, both of whom have had limited playing time.  Dukes is still finding his feet, 0 for his 12 PA.  He seems a bit impatient, with a team-low 2.6 pitches/PA.  WMP and his 42 OPS+ confound me.  His .296 BABIP is right about average. He's not hitting 'em right at folks, he's just not hitting.  And when he is?  No power: two extra-base hits (doubles) on the season.  I think both he and Zimmy need to work on their batting eye (yeah, yeah, fire Lenny...).

The Bench

There are a few surprises here. First off, Estrada was hitting the heck out of the ball (LD% 30.6) right into gloves (BABIP a team-low .194!). I apologize for demanding he be sent down for being useless, and change my demand to him being sent down for being cursed. Aaron "Are You Scared Yet, ZImmy?" Boone has a 148 OPS+ in 51 PA, and it's pretty real: LD% of 15.8 and BABIP of .314.  He's getting hits because he's hitting the ball.  Yeah, yeah, small sample, I know.  Belliard shows that he's a pro, seeing 4.1 pitches/PA and managing an OPS+ of 78 despite an unlucky .229 BABIP.  His patience has given him 50% more walks than Zimmy in less than half the PA!

What have we learned?

There's some foundation for hoping our offensive will improve.

• Guz has been getting hits by hitting!  Not a fluke.
• When the middle of the order regresses to the mean, they'll be getting more hits, not less.  In the meantime, they're patient.  Except for Zimmy. Also, Nick is teh aw3s0m3!!!11!
  

There are also some cautions.

• Wil "the thrill" and Jesus "the savior" are looking a little fluky.  But we don't care, right?
• Our sluggers aren't.  I can give it another dozen games to "find their strokes" or "work out their timing" before I start really whining, though.

Anyhow, it's not out of the question that Our Nationals could finish strong this season, like last season. 

Garrett Mock started for the Clips today as the Columbus Clippers battled the Leigh Valley Ironpigs in the last game of the series. Mock pitched 6 innings and let up 8 hits and 3 earned runs. Mock left the game with an ERA of 3.89 and a record of 2-1.

Supplying the offense for the Clips was Tommy Murphy, 3-5 with a run scored, Alex Escobar 2-3, and continuing his hot streak was third baseman Yurendell de Caster who had 3 hits including a double and scored 3 runs. Other hitters of note were Ed Rogers 2-3, and also with a solid performance at the dish was Jason Dubois who went 1-4 with his 4th home run of the year and 2 runs batted in

The Clppers couldn't leave with a victory and lost to the opposing Ironpigs 6-5 when the Ironpigs scored 2 in the 9th to win the game. The AAA affiliate of your Washington Nationals went to 20-18 with the loss.

Records of Washington's other farm teams

AA Harrisburg- 22-13 -first place in the EAS Southern division

A- Potomac Nationals - 22-13-  CAR  Northern Division

A- Hagerstown Suns- 16-19

The clippers played at Lehigh Valley (AAA for the Phillies) and lost in a close matchup 2-1. Pitching was the story here as Clippers pitcher Steven Shell went 5 innings with 0 ER, 2 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Also making appearances were Dennis Tankersley and last year's Clipper All-Star the hard-throwing closer Chris Booker. For the opposing side, the win went to Steve Green and Matt Childers recieved the save.

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"There is no man, however wise, who has not at some period of his youth said things, or lived in a way the consciousness of which is so unpleasant to him in later life that he would gladly, if he could, expunge it from his memory."

                                                                                          - Marcel Proust

...Leading off ESPN.com writer Chris Jones' article on Elijah Dukes entitled,"TICK TICK TICK", there is a picture of Elijah Dukes standing on the top stair of the dugout in Nationals Park with the camera shooting from below up at Dukes, who has his arms straight down at his sides with his back to the enormous scoreboard, and is staring straight ahead, wearing the home whites of the Washington Nationals, as the sun lights his face and the front of his #34 Nationals jersey. That's the photo included in the online edition...In the print edition of the article featured in ESPN the Magazine, the actual words "TICK TICK  TICK TICK" of the title are superimposed on the empty sky of the original photo, with the photo cropped closer to Dukes, whose expression is something just short of a smile...

I wonder if Elijah Dukes knew that the image would be used to (subtly) visually portray him in the same light Mr. Jones' article seeks to...as a ticking time bomb...counting and building to an inevitable explosion? Or that Mr. Jones would begin the article by teasing:

"Elijah Dukes Has Bumped Umps, Choked A Teammate And Threatened To Kill His Wife And Kids, If Only The Most Menacing Player In Baseball Weren't Also One Of The Most Talented."

Which would seem to promise that Mr. Jones was going to set about once again examining just how much trouble a professional franchise was willing to put up with from a player in his personal life, if he continues to be a success on the field of play, and Mr. Jones does do that to some extent, but by the end of the first paragraph the sensational aim of the article becomes more apparent, as Mr. Jones describes seeing Dukes at batting practice ...

"Even now, as he quietly watches the pitches come in, there's a feeling he's about to burst."

...and Mr. Jones goes on to describe the "menacing" Dukes, with "inked-up hands", and forearms, "covered in ink," with the voice of, " a man prone to coming unglued," who is the subject of much discussion amongst:

"....fans and reporters and opposing players (who) talk about what's possible for Dukes, (and) the conversation often turns to what crime he will commit to join his father in prison."

Mr. Jones recounts Dukes' sordid personal history, the troubled lives of Dukes' parents, the phone message threat Dukes made to his wife and children with an image of a gun attached, the time Dukes attacked a hitting coach, and the time he choked minor league teammate (and roommate at the time) Ryan Knox, and Mr. Jones then writes melodramatically about the beginning of the interview with Dukes, that the young outfielder:

"...consents to talk, extending a hand, the same one that nearly choked the life out of Ryan Knox."

But surely Mr. Jones would not consider it melodrama, "After all," he writes that he's just telling us the truth:

"...he (Dukes) looks every bit the awful stereotype of the angry black man, the guy many people cross the street to avoid, whether they're honest enough to admit it or not."

...and Elijah Dukes has an unsettling prescence in the locker room as well, Mr. Jones writes, "It's almost comical watching teammates, staffers and reporters approach Dukes...,":

"Some tiptoe across an invisible line around him. Others try too hard to act casual. Most keep their distance and stay on the balls of their feet, literally, ready to run."

The Elijah Dukes portrayed in Mr. Jones' writing is present nowhere in the article, except in the quotes Mr. Jones rehashes, or what Mr. Jones intuits in other people's reactions, or as he accuses, their lack of reaction to what is plainly clear, and Mr. Jones claims we're not "honest enough to acknowledge," about Mr. Dukes. But, Mr. Jones also seems to be claiming, in an article published after the original piece entitled, "Behind The Story: Elijah Dukes", that the reason for the "real" Dukes absence from the article is the lack of access the press is being granted to Mr. Dukes by the Nationals. 

In the original article, Dukes' voice first appears in a quote from the infamous threatening message to his estranged wife, and after that Dukes is quoted stating that he doesn't notice everyone's eyes on him while he's taking batting practice...describing the ex-cop who acts, in Dukes' words, as a "Supernanny", ...that second father that everybody needs in their life,"...and then that calm is contrasted by Mr. Jones, with the Dukes who is captured screaming "Knox, I'm not done with you," as he turns on and chokes his teammate Ryan Knox.

Elsewhere Dukes ponders the his decision earlier in his life decision to play baseball instead of football, thanks Barry Larkin and Dmitri Young because in Dukes words', "I was in a shell, and they forced me to get out," and in Young, Dukes says, "You got my big brother here...He's always talking to me, keeping me calm," and Dukes is last heard in the article exclaiming, as Mr. Jones writes:

"'This is important,' he (Dukes) says of his lifeline with the Nats. 'This is it, right here.'"

What Dukes seems to be finding comfort in, the friendships, guidance and support provided to him by the Nationals, Mr. Jones sees, as he writes in the follow-up article, "Behind the Story: Elijah Dukes", as, "All of these walls (that) have gone up around Dukes...the PR guy standing there..." during interviews, the "Supernanny" and the counseling, (which Mr. Jones claims, is, "...a subject so sensitive, no one on the Nats will talk about exactly what it entails,") which has left Mr. Jones feeling even more troubled, because:

"...here's the strange thing: Some small part of me still feels sorry for him. Not for what he's done—his mistakes are his and his alone—and not for his lost childhood—although it was almost unimaginably tragic, I don't believe you're bound by the sins of your father—but for how he's being treated today."

But, finally, I'm afraid that after having read the original article and the follow-up, and recognized, in my opinion, the intentional perpetuation of the portrayal, both in writing and visually, of Dukes as, "...The Most Menacing Player in Baseball," and "...the awful stereotype of the angry black man," I'm left with the impression that Mr. Jones ends up once again presenting Dukes in this manner because of the lack of access he was granted to Dukes due of the "walls" that Washington has placed around the outfielder, and I can't help but wondering why Mr. Jones is so displeased with the franchises actions on Dukes' behalf? Is it simply because it limited his desire for unfettered access to the subject of his story?

(ed. note - "By sheer coincidence, truly, the ESPN the Magazine article by Mr. Jones appears on newstands the same day that Elijah Dukes has been called back to DC along with catcher Jesus Flores, after both C Paul Lo Duca and C Johnny Estrada were placed on the DL.")

Nats just issued a press release on the matter.

here's the jist:

Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden announced Thursday afternoon that they would place catchers Paul LoDuca (fracture of fourth metacarpal in right hand) and Johnny Estrada (ulnar neuritis in right elbow) on the 15-day DL and expect to recall catcher Jesus Flores from Triple-A Columbus and reactivate outfielder Elijah Dukes from the DL.
---------
BOTTOM LINE: The team could really use a shot in the arm from Dukes. Both corner outfielders (Wily Mo Pena and Austin Kearns) have been delivering little at the plate and Dukes was swinging the bat pretty well on his rehab assignment.

LoDuca is expected to miss four to six weeks withthe broken hand, and Estrada wasn't helping anyone sitting on the bench unable to throw. Expect Nieves and Flores to pretty much split the catching duties forthe time being.

http://bottomfeederbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/05/nats-dl-loduca-estrada-recall-flores.html

We've Got Heart  yesterday had a post about how a sports writer from Western PA came down to see the new stadium over the weekend and really raked the stadium over the coals .

He really takes to task the organization for resorting to gimmicks and tricks inside the stadium to keep the casual fans entertained, and goes so far to call the Nats fan base "seemingly uneducated fans". He bases that opinion on the fact that Nats fans cheered the introduction of Wily Mo Pena despite his low batting average so far this season.

There's a larger point in there that Mr. Knopsnyder could have made much more artfully than the did. It is a true statement that a large percentage of Nats fans are still wet behind the ears when it comes to the nuances of the game and the players on the team. Whether that's due to baseball's return to DC still less than four full seasons, or the transient nature of the town, or the fact that the Nats priced all the good seats out of the range of the average fan and cater solely to the law firms and lobbying firms that can afford full-season packages at those prices--all factors in the equation that Mr. Knopsnyder solves simply as "seemingly uneducated fans".

As for the critique of the stadium itself, I think some of it is fair. There is still MUCH room for improvement. There’s not a single place in the stadium grilling hot dogs or other salted meats over an open fire. Put a grill up on the concourse behind the scoreboard, there’s plenty of room! There are times between innings when they are showing ads—or worse yet, Clint—where they TAKE ALL THE GAME INFO DOWN and you can’t even see the score or inning. That is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. There’s a laundry list, as we’ve been through ad nauseum.

But I get the feeling this author was looking for another reason to bash Washington. Congrats to him, mission accomplished (pun intended). It seems that his entire article was based on the premise of his last paragraph, something that looks like he scripted before he even left Johnstown.

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To be fair, the stadium is still a work in progress. Nationals Park is being counted on to rejuvenate the Southeast section of the city and turn a downtrodden, light-industrial area into a booming commercial district. And with a better team on the field, and a deeper attachment to a club that is in just its fourth season here, maybe that will happen.

Or maybe it will end up being another example of Washington overspending for what turns out to be a mediocre product.
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I think the one thing that most people lose sight over, including Mr. Knopsynder in his article, is that the price of the stadium—while listed at $650 million—didn’t cost anywhere near that to build. Easily 40% of the total cost was in land purchasing and clean-up fees. So to say that “it failed to deliver…despite the enormous price tag” is either misinformed opinion or disinginuity.

I think out-of-town visitor’s perceptions of the park is really, REALLY clouded by the lack of immediate infrastructure, construction debris and otherwise “unready” atmosphere around the park. While we were waiting for autographs Sunday, there were a bunch of Pittsburghers waiting for their team bus to pull out of the tunnel, and they were wondering where to go for dinner and a beer around the stadium. When I told them there was no such place, yet…man they got indignant! But even in their profanity, they have a solid point. There is no local atmosphere around the ballpark, and i think it really hurts. It’s a shame the immediate infrastructure couldn’t keep up with the construction of the park.

But sadly, I’m afraid, the atmosphere around the stadium is going to have a corporate feel just like the stadium does. Part of what makes Fenway so great is the Cask and Flagon (and many, many others). Part of what makes Wrigley so great is the Cubby Bear (among many, many, many others). Even Camden Yards has the redneck haven of Pickles Pub. Hard to see joints like that popping up in the retail spaces of $800,000 condo buildings.

I'm not a huge Nats fan, but I live in Columbus and have been paying close attention to the Washing AAA team the Columbus Clippers.

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I was browsing for stats for the new guys for yesterday's post on the invaluable baseball-reference.com . With NationalsPride's update of their Nats Progress Index today, I thought I'd pull out some random tidbits for you.  (For those too lazy to click, Nats are up 3.4% last week over the week before, but still down 3.1% from last year.)

Here are this week's Doghouse Nationals National League Leaders (for the Nats):

• Christian Guuuuuzman!  Second most at-bats (136). (The Padres' Kevin Kouzmanoff is first with 137--c'mon Guz!  You're still walking too much!)
• Christian Guuuuuuzman!  Tied with about a dozen guys for 3rd most triples, with 2.  Stupid early-season records. (Jose Reyes from the hated Mets leads with 5.)
• Christian Guuuuuuuzman!  Fourth most singles (29). (The despicable, but hot-hitting, LARRRRRY from Atlanta leads with 33.)
• Ryan Zimmerman -- In a five-way tie for third most sacrifice flies (3). (Andre Ethier from the Dodgers and Milwaukee's Prince Fielder lead with 5 each.)
• Austin Kearns -- In a six-way tie for second most GIDPs (6). (The Phils' Pedro Feliz and Dodger James Loney lead with 8.)
• Lastings Milledge -- Tied with about ten folks (including Jose Reyes and David Wright) for third-most caught stealing (3). (The Cubs' Ryan Theriot leads--remember his bonehead attempt to take third in our last series with them?)
• Ryan Zimmerman -- Most outs in the NL (105)!  We're number one! We're number one!  (Take a pitch once in a while, Zimmy. I know you can walk more, I've seen it.)
  
• Lastings Milledge -- Tied with four other guys for fourth-most outs (100).  Can the Nats dominate this category by the end of the season?  Must... not.. start... "Fire Lenny"... rant...
• Tim Redding -- In a many-way tie for third-most wins (4). Santana isn't even on the list!  Hah, suck it, Mets!  St. Clair for President! (D-backer Brandon Webb leads with 7.)
  
• Luis "Set-Up" Ayala -- Most games in the NL (20).
• Saul "Saa-ooooool" Rivera -- Tied for second most games (18). Look like another category the Nats might dominate this year?  We'll see if the starters stabilize any.
• Jon "Big John" Rauch -- Tied for fourth most saves (7).  (The Cards' Jason Isringhausen leads with 11.)
• Chico, Perez, Redding -- 30-way tie for most games started (7). Another very stupid early-season stat.  Think Perez and Redding will make the rest of their starts this year?  Chico certainly seems like he might get some time on the Clippers to refine his mechanics.
• Matt Chico -- Tied for fourth most HR allowed (7).  (Brett Myers leads with 11 from the Phils' tiny ballpark.)
• Matt Chico -- Tied for second most hits allowed (50).  Given that his IP per game has been low, think how ugly that WHIP must be... Urgh.  (Four guys tied for first with 52).
• Matt Chico -- Second most losses (5).  (The Giant's Barry Zito leads with 6. Is this what Stan means by the "perils of pursuing free agency?")
• Matt Chico -- Any guess what pitching stat goes here?  Second most ER allowed (28).  (Bronson Arroyo from the Reds leads with 31.)
• Joel Hanrahan -- Tied for fourth most WP (3).  I didn't see a separate "game-losing WP" category. (The Rockies' Ubadlo Jimenez leads with 8.)
• Odalis Perez -- Tied for second most hit batsmen (3).  The problem with that devastating down-and-in is that sometimes it tags the batter's back foot... (Aaron Heilman and Micah Owings both have 4.)
• Jon "Big John" Rauch -- Tied for second most games finished (14). (Brandon Lyon from the D-backs leads with 15.)

What have we learned about how we compare to the rest of the league?  Guz gets a lot of hits and doesn't walk much (for a while at the beginning of the year his AVG was higher than his OBP!).  Chico and the middle of the order are struggling.  Our bullpen works a lot.  Any of this surprise you?

So, Ed wants us to get out of the comments and write something, eh? (When I say "us," I mean, "us commenters." I'm not using the royal We or referring to the voices in my head.) Well, what do you all think of the new guys on Your 2008 Washington Nationals?  Here are my authoritative assessments, based entirely on what I read in other blogs and half-remembered "fun facts" from Charlie and Dave (for the stat-averse: OPS+ and ERA+ are hitting and pitching performance compared to the league average.  100 is average, more than 100 is better than average, less than 100 is worse than average):

• Lastings Milledge -- I was among the first to leap aboard this bandwagon! I love his aggressive, semi-boastful, almost-flashy attitude, and how was always one of the two Nats quoted in early-season articles.  Granted, he's made some gaffes in the field and on the basepaths, but Manny is nothing if not a teacher.  We can chalk those up to inexperience and look forward to someone giving Zimmy a run for Face o' the Franchise (while a paragon of virtue, Z-man is a dreadfully dull interview; not so for LMilz!).  With the bat, he's been good for an OPS+ of 84 so far. (Ex-Nat Ryan Church, part of our swap for Milledge, is currently tearing it up with an OPS+ of 132.  But we know he'll collapse later in the season, right? Milledge will blossom for years.  Church is a bum--the guy in the row behind me said so.)
• Paul LoDuca -- Although not technically part of the Church+Schnieder for Milledge trade, it sort of ended up that way for the purposes of fan complaints.  PLoD was the other one always good for a quote in the early season, and I admit that it's a struggle for me not to call him "squirrel" when comes up to bat (I'm trying to stay positive in my cheering).  I chided him as "Schneider without the defense" when I heard about the offer, but he's had a 72 OPS+ so far this year before losing a couple of weeks to a HBP on the hand that left him unable to grip a bat.  Interestingly, he has zero Ks in his 50 PA this year, with 5 walks.  He's thrown out 1 runner against 6 SB  this year.  Schneider has an 82 OPS+ so far, with 3 CS and 3 SB against.  Of course, Schneider has struck out 7 times this season, so PLoD's got him there.  I guess he's Snyder (as HoFer Don Sutton would say) without the defense, the strike outs, half the walks, and 70 points of BA...
  
• Elijah Dukes -- My initial reaction to this acquisition was, "Eep!"  However, he's held it together, behavior-wise, at least for the first month (notwithstanding his recent ejection from a rehab game, apparently for arguing balls and strikes).  His potential and all-round hunkiness certainly have some of the ladies who share my section all a-flutter; we'll see if his batting numbers can match.  I'm still hoping for a "Wily Mo with speed."
  
• Odalis Perez -- Who?  Boy, I was steamed when he got the nod for opening day over a "veteran Nat" like John Lannan...  Still, his "out" pitch is a thing of beauty on the super-slow-mo replay, the ball breaking down and in wickedly while the batter flails uselessly.  He has decent control, with 2-1 K/BB and 1.3 Walks/Hits per IP.  With an ERA of 3.18 and ERA+ of 132, his 0-3 record has largely been a result of bullpen bobbles and the Nat's anemic early-season offense.  New guy or not, pitching well is a shortcut to my approval.
• Wil Nieves -- Mr. Snow is my fave new guy.  Great attitude, the pitchers like him, and he can throw (2 CS and 9 SB).  After a dozen years rattling around the minors with some time as backup catcher for the Yankees, he's on the batting tear of a lifetime, with an eye-watering 156 OPS+ (based on an absurdly small sample of 35 PA, but who cares?  MVP! MVP!  Who needs Church when you have Nieves?).
• Aaron Boone -- I always find myself wondering, "Was he the one who posed in Playboy, or the one who was in The Young Riders?"  Anyhow, "Buffalo" Boone apparently plays every position (including running the scouting department), and even hits the ball.  While my overall impression is, "meh," I'll give him props because he wears his pants up.
• Johnny Estrada -- So, today's revelation is "I'm glad there are all these other catchers to give my arm time to heal."  What are you doing on the 25-man?! However, he not only wears his pants up, he even wears stirrups, so I'll give him a pass.  That is, until the Meathook comes back to help him pack his bags for Columbus.  (OPS+ of 7--that's seven--in 41 PA.  But 4 CS and 9 SB in spite of the arm trouble.)
• Rob Mackowiak -- Your name is hard to spell, but I'm sure Dukes will be happy to lend you bus fare to Ohio. OPS+ of 26 in 27 PA.  I know, life is hard as a utility guy/PH.  Once Dukes and Meathook are healthy, I'm afraid there's no room for Robbie Mack.
• Willie Harris -- "Wee" Willie is small, fast, and managing a 79 OPS+ in 47 PA.  I've seen him make some great plays in LF, plays that would have been questionable for WMP (we're still waiting to see Dukes' fielding performance).  L'il Willie absolutely has the inside track on 5th OF over RMaK--we all know how Manny loves him some late-inning defensive replacements.

So, who's your fave new guy?  Are you really going to let me trash Rob Mackowiak like that? Tomorrow's game is a long time away.  What else are you going to do between now and then? WORK?! It's a beautiful day out--post on teh interwebs!

The guys over at NationalsPride have resumed their "Nats Progress Index," distilling a series of stats on pitching and offense into one easy-to-misinterpret index of suck/not-suck.  Of course, they also have it broken out in as much detail as you feel like clicking on, and they're even tracking a series of stats for our most prominent minor-leaguers.

Check it out.

Then return here and start arguing about how soon Balester and Flores will be called up to replace Chico and LoDuca.