The next time some Philly Phan whines about injuries, I'm going to laugh in his/her phace.

With Ramos going down, the Nationals injury list is pretty impressive (Ramos, Morse, Werth, CMW, Storen, Lidge, Kimball, Marrero, DeRosa), and the one player about ready to come back (CMW) is the one player they really don't need. And the Nationals are coming up on the meatgrinder portion of their schedule. After the four games against the Padres and Pirates this week, the Nats are scheduled to play 33 games in 38 days, all against the NL East and AL East. Of those 33 games, six will be played against teams that are currently under .500. And those six games are three at Philadelphia and three at Boston - games that don't exactly scream "breather." Werth isn't due back until probably August, and Ramos will likely next show up in Viera next March. It seems from what I've read that Morse is hoping to be able to play DH in the interleague games in June (from June 8-24, nine of the Nats' 15 games will be in AL parks).

I'm not advocating panic ("When in Danger, When in Doubt: Run in Circles, Scream and Shout!") - as long as the starting pitching holds up (*knock on the Jinx FAQ*) the Nationals will be competitive in every series. But as fans we have to brace ourselves. As long as the team comes out of this stretch still over .500, I think they will be quite competitive the rest of the way. So even if the record ends up being battered over the next few weeks, let's not give up on the season. Even after the All Star Break, there's a lot of baseball that will have to be played before the Nationals get to Meaningful Games in September(tm). So - how many games do YOU think the Nationals will win during this stretch?

Poll

How many games will the Nats win in their 33 game test against the NL & AL East?

• 25+ (Fear the Starters!)
• 20-24 (Through Adversity Comes Success)
• 16-19 (Calm in the Storm)
• 12-15 (Still Over .500 When the Wounded Return)
• <12 (Watch Out for those Rocks!)

  67 votes | Results

Call me crazy, but I think it's time to start re-thinking this whole Henry Rodriguez as closer until Lidge & Storen are healthy. He clearly is not consistent enough and seems to easily lose control of his pitches and his confidence as soon as a player reaches 1st base, via walk or hit. Three blown saves is unacceptable at this point in the season, especially in a situation like last night's game against the Reds, a game already won, that would have been a series sweep, and 4 curly W's in a row, on a night we had good offensive production (6 runs).

On top of that, I just don't understantd how Davey Johnson could let him keep pitching, to Votto, the reigning MVP after loading the bases up with many of his previous pitches going in the dirt. Disaster was written all over that one.

One possible solution - make Stammen the closer until Lidge and Storen get back. Keep using Clippard for what he's good for - a 1 to 2 inning set up guy. Occassionally use Mattheus and Burnett for 1 to 3 hitters (hopefully 1 inning), then have Stammen come in and close it out. He's only good for 1 inning too, so if he's not closing, don't put him in more than 1. H-Rod should be used on occassion in the 7th or 8th to pitch to 1 batter at a time. If he gets him out, give him a shot at one more batter, and so on up to 1 full inning if he's on like he was Saturday night.

I get Johnson's way of supporting his players, but there has to be a cut-off.

Poll

Who should be the temporary closer until Lidge and Storen are back?

• Rodriguez
• Stammen
• Burnett
• Clippard
• Mattheus

  46 votes | Results

May 19th, update. It is amazing to me that with the Nationals continued offensive woes that the this issue is not brought up by the media more. I've watched every single Davey Johnson post game presser for the last two weeks and not one reporter has asked him about making a switch to the more productive 2basemen in Lombardozzi. At this point the numbers are so glaringly in favor of Lombardozzi that I would simply like to hear Davey Johnson answer a few questions.

One, Why is Lombardozzi not already starting at 2base?
Two, What more needs to happen for Lombardozzi to start at 2base? Does he need to be batting 400 instead of 333, and Espinosa 100 instead of 200?

If someone could just ask Davey or Rizzo these questions I think a lot of us #putlomboinlineup fans would at least understand what is going on here.

My question remains to you fellow fans. Who would you start at 2nd base at this point?

Poll

Who should be starting at Second Base?

76%

Steve Lombardozzi

149 votes

23%

Danny Espinosa

46 votes

195 votes | Poll has closed

This guy couldn't teach my two year old to hit water if he fell out of a boat! He is as horrible as they come as a hitting coach. How can we have a guy who never even played pro ball at any level and was a bullpen catcher at one point of his so called coaching career teach Major League players to hit. I'm sure he's a hell of a nice guy though!

I have been waiting over 5 years to see Rick Ankiel pitch again as a position player. My interest was spiked after watching Chris Davis face Darnell McDonald in the 17th inning of a Red Sox / Orioles match up recently (a rare treat to see 2 position players pitching against each other). Chris Davis looked impressive with a 90mph split-finger fastball.

Has the situation not arose in the past 5+ years?? Does Rick refuse to ever pitch again?

He is the obvious choice in a blowout game, where the Nats don't want to tax their bullpen. Or in a game that goes very deep.

I'm not sure if Ramos has held on to a ball thrown to him from the outfield yet this year. And whenever Henry Rodriguez comes on with Ramos behind the plate, I break into a cold sweat. Maybe it's me, but I haven't seen Ramos sprawling - or even moving his feet - to keep the breaking ball in front of him.

If an infielder is suffering through a defensive slump, he can get a coach to hit balls to him. If a shortstop is having trouble going to his right, he can address it pretty easily. If an infielder's throw to first develops a bug, he can practice until he figures out what he's doing wrong.

But how do catchers practice defense? Who throws them sharp breaking balls that land in the dirt short of the plate? How do they practice catching and holding onto seeds thrown to them from outfielders (while 200-pound base-runners come barrelling into the box from third base)? If Ramos is having trouble with his glove, how does he get his mojo back?

15

Espinosa, D

WSH

2B

27

98

13

19

2

0

1

2

14

34

1

2

.194

.292

.245

.537

Look at these stats! They are killing me. Every game 2 or 3 K's! When he strikes out it doesn't even look like he's making a true attempt to swing. I realize he's feeling it, I know he wants to contribute, but come on! Werth is out, for God knows how long, maybe a career! We need guys who can at the very least put the ball in play and move some runners over. I have more confidence with Gio at the plate than Espinosa. It's time for Lombo to get the nod at second and let Espinosa figure this out. PLEASE, don't play the glove card either! Lombo is a solid infielder who won a AAA gold glove for a reason.

I'm sure you have your own pet peeves. Here's mine: near as I can tell, more of them live here than live there. When the Phillies come to town, most of their loud-mouth fans at Nationals Stadium have hauled-butt from their beloved home of "Rocky" and cheese-steak sandwiches long ago, and would never be caught dead in the damn place again. They. Live. Here.

For all their posturing, we must conclude that these phonies loathe where they come from - and by inference, do they loathe themselves? You tell me. But they are - and they shall remain for the rest of their lives - phrom philly. As phar away phrom philly as their little pheet can pheasibly carry them.

Where'd they go? Seems many of them came here - way too many. They will spend the rest of their lives here. Why? Real simple. They have phound a better place to live. They have phound a better job. They have phound a better house. They have phound a better place to raise their kids.

Small surprise, to anyone who has spent much time in The City of Brotherly Love.

Still, having abandoned their home-town - or home 'burb - they have found themselves psychologically anchor-less. They must affect a certain machismo. They could get tattoos. Maybe body-piercing. But it's so much easier for these to simply don a baseball cap and Tee, metro or drive to the stadium from their homes in Reston, and act loud, and tough. They affect an identity that they never really had - and they inflict this affectation upon the rest of us. Philadelphia ain't Cuba or North Korea. No matter what else you can say, Philadelphia keeps no prisoners. So If these passionate fans ever genuinely felt their loudly-professed love and empathy for the place, why leave?

The answer is painfully obvious - and from what I have seen and heard, they know as much about baseball - real baseball - as they do about Philadelphia - the real Philadelphia, which they fled. Their flashing neon hypocrisy grates like fingernails on a chalkboard.

That's my take. What's yours?

The report coming out late last night that Jayson Werth had a clean break in his wrist could potentially be as devestating as any other National going down this season. Jayson Werth was the steadiest influence on a very young Nationals team. He was a natural mentor to not only Bryce Harper but all of the other young players on the team; very well liked among his teammates, probably the unofficial social leader in the club house.

Beyond that Jayson Werth is one of very few patient hitters in the line up. I suspect now when Zimmerman and LaRoche come back that Bryce Harper will find himself in the 5 spot, however Davey may be tempted to keep Bryce in the 3 spot, a move that may irk Zimmerman. I hope that Jayson Werth will stick around the clubhouse for most of the season to be there for the younger guys.

That was an ugly game last night, one that the Nationals were probably over due for. The key is going to be Tuesday to see if the Nationals can keep it going with all of these injuries. The toughest part of that game last night was definitely seeing Jayson Werth walk off the field dangling a badly injured wrist. The Nationals have overcome injuries all season long, but now they have an injury that is alot more then losing their number 5 hitter. Let's hope that the Nats keep on pulling through.

To me this seems like a no brainer. Even if Espinosa was not batting sub 200, and you go by his career numbers (a 230 hitter) Lombardozzi is the superior player especially where it counts, OBP, Average, and in my opinion winning a Gold Glove at 22 in AAA means superior fielding pedigree. Espinosa got to have a full season last year. I think Lombardozzi needs a full season this year. I would imagine that Mike Rizzo's phone has been ringing with inquiries about Lombardozzi, who would start at 2b for most teams in the MLB.

Harper and Lombardozzi are excellent rookies. And I see them at the top of the order for many years to come.

The only reason that Davey would not bench Espinosa is purely out of loyalty. If you go by the numbers, even career numbers, it is not even close. Espinosa has trouble with good pitchers. He strikes out. Lombardozzi sometimes is the only one with a hit for the Nationals when facing tough pitchers, and constantly puts the ball in play.

I would love to hear what Davey Johnson is going to do when Zimm comes back, to me it is not a tough call. Lombardozzi has proven himself in the 2 spot against some of the best pitchers in the game. How many more multi hit games does he need to have solidify his spot?