On The Mound At Space Coast...
Scott Olsen pitched for Florida for 4 years starting in 2005, which was three years after the Marlins made the 6'4'' left-hander out of Kalamazoo, Michigan their 6th Round pick in the year 2000 MLB Draft. In his first Spring Training stint with the Nationals, the 25-year-old Olsen's struggled early, but he's still (1-0), though his 4.00 ERA is...(actually just about average for him...).
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The Marlins throw 25-year-old right-handed starter Josh Johnson, who had Tommy John surgery in August of '07, but was able to return by July '08 and make 14 starts, going (7-1) with a 3.61 ERA, 77 K's and a 1.35 WHIP, and so far this Spring, Johnson's picked up where he left off, with no decisions in 2 starts, one relief appearance and 11.0 IP during which he's allowed just 1 run and 2 walks with 7 K's collected.
Nationals vs Johnson...
Elijah Dukes - 2 for 6, .333 AVG, 1 2B, 2 RBI's.
Nick Johnson - 1 for 4, .250 AVG, 1 RBI.
Austin Kearns - 1 for 4, .250 AVG, 1 HR, 1 RBI.
Ryan Langerhans (?) - 3 for 7, .429 AVG, 1 2B, 2 RBI's.
Pinch Hittin' Pete Orr - (ed. note - "Owns J. Johnson!!) - 5 for 9, .556 AVG.
Ryan Zimmerman - 2 for 6, .333 AVG, 1 RBI.
Let's Talk About Adam Dunn Behind His Back Before He Comes Back...
The folks at Sports Illustrated are once again investigating someone related to the Washington Nationals, but this time it has nothing to do with false identities, or skimming of signing bonuses, no, it's Adam Dunn, the Nationals' big offseason free agent acquisition who is under examination in SI.com writer Ben Reiter's article entitled "Where's The Love", which contrasts the perception of Dunn as a player with what the writer's seen on the field from Dunn in the WBC. (More on this in tomorrow's post, right now...
It's Game Time - Who's Watching The Nationals?