Correction: Before Colume was placed on the DL, he was able to throw a bullpen session in front of Manny Acta, to prove his health. Clippard will remain in Triple-A for the time being. 

The Nationals recalled RHP Tyler Clippard from Triple-A today to replace injured Jesus Colume.

Clippard had been tearing apart Triple-A since being converted to a reliever this season. In 23 appearances he is 4-1 with 41 K’s and a 0.96 ERA.

The 24-year-old former starting pitcher was once considered one of the top pitching prospects for the Yankees, and then for the Nationals. However many considered his fastball too straight, and believed he would never be successful above Double-A. Since his position change however this year he has been a dominant pitcher for Syracuse.

There has been a long history of unsuccessful starters who became excellent relievers and closers. A lot of this has to do with only having to pitch one inning as opposed to six or seven. When you go to the mound and can hurl your entire arsenal, as hard as you can, it makes it a lot easier to be effective.

Look at guys like Joba Chamberlain and Jonathon Papelbon, they are much more effective out of the pen then in the rotation.

2008 AAA: 6-3, 4.66 ERA, 125/66 K/BB
2007 AAA: 4-4, 4.15 ERA, 55/35 K/BB 

Baseball is a game of tradition, and therefore a game of family.

No one simply picks up baseball out of nowhere. No one learns its subtle nuances, its unwritten rules, and the powerful tradition simply from picking it up from scratch.

No baseball is passed down to us, in the most part, through our fathers.*

We love this game because our fathers loved this game, and their fathers before them. We played this game because our fathers played this game, and their fathers before them.

Our fathers taught us how to squash the bug. How to hate the Yankees. They taught us how to keep score, how to tag up, how to appreciate the wins and respect the losses.

Our fathers made us baseball fans in their image. They have passed along their own imbedded philosophy of the game to us so that we could someday pass on their beliefs to our sons.

Our fathers took us to baseball games to feel like good fathers. Our fathers paid ridiculous amounts for tickets and food to share their boyhood love with us.

Our fathers simply just wanted to have a catch.

Our fathers gave us this gift and kept this game alive, like their fathers before them.

To all the fathers out there I’d like to thank you for all you have done for this great game for baseball, especially mine.

Happy fathers day, dad.

 *Let us also not forget all the great baseball mothers out there, I know plenty.

Outfielder Willie Harris played the hero as he hit a walk off, two-run, homer against the Blue Jays in the bottom of the 12th Saturday night, giving the nats the 5-3 victory and their fourth in a row. 

The four game winning streak is the Nationals longest of the year, and may very well mark the turning point for this so far dreadful season. 

Ross Detwiler continued the trend of great starting pitching for the Nats tonight. The young lefty pitched seven full innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs. Detwiler threw only 99 pitches and 65 of them were for strikes. 
 

The Nationals pitching rotation has been on fire. A collection of young guns, they’ve evolved together from a couple of talented arms who were expected to spend the majority of the season between Harrisburg and Syracuse, into a developing Major League rotation that is finally coming into it’s own.

It appears however, that Scott Olsen (remember him?) will be making his return within the next two weeks. The Nationals seem to intend to insert him back into the starting rotation after a rehab start in Triple-A.

It doesn’t matter that Scott Olsen was not only one of the worst pitchers for the Nationals in his short 2009 performance, but the MLB. What matters is that the Nationals are paying him $2.8 million dollars this year.

Sadly for one of the young guns it’s a numbers game. The numbers that say their contracts are less valuable than Olsen’s, and the numbers that say you can’t have six starting pitchers.

One of the young guns has to go.

This is a pretty tough break for a group of guys, all under the age of 26, who in the last two weeks have been pitching like veterans. Regardless a tough baseball decision will have to be made by a collection of men (the Nats front office) who tend to mess these things up. 

Assuming John Lannan is safe, lets take a look:

Shairon Martis
Age: 22
Line: 5-1, 4.76 ERA, 29/34 K/BB
Last Three: 5 IP 1 ER 1/4,    7 IP, 2 ER, 1/2,     6 IP 1 ER 1/5.

Shairon Martis is the reincarnation of Livan Hernandez, just without the youthful talent. He lives on the corners as he pounds the strike zone with a variety of fastballs and will occasionally throw in a change. Scouts don’t seem to understand how he is successful, but he keeps batters off balance and quite simply gets it done. He hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in his last three starts, he pitches late into games, and he wins games. Most don’t believe he can get much better, so a stint in Triple-A would be pointless for him, he should be safe.

Craig Stammen
Age: 25
Line: 1-2, 4.76 ERA, 15/9 K/BB
Last Three: 5 IP 5 ER 2/2,   5.1 2ER 5/3,   6.1 IP 0ER  2/0

Stammen is the newest to the club and is also the elder-statesman of the rotation. Reaching the big leagues at age 25 isn’t bad, but it usually means that the pitcher needs to be as developed as possible. All of Stammen’s six starts have been solid rookie starts, allowing more than four earned runs only once. His most recent start however has Nationals fans excited as he pitched six and one third scoreless innings against one of the best line ups in baseball, and in a stadium that has yet to see a shut out. With his age, and the excitement of his last start, he may have saved himself some time in the show.
 

Jordan Zimmermann
Age: 23
Line: 2-3, 5.03 ERA, 63/19 K/BB
Last Three: 6 IP 2ER 7/0,   5IP 1ER 6/2,   5.2 IP 1ER 3/3.

Zimmermann came into 2009 as the franchise’s number one prospect. He was expected to start the season in Syracuse and get some Triple-A experience before making a midseason appearance for the Nats. He didn’t want to wait. Zimmermann dominated spring training, and earned a spot in the majors. While is ERA is high, he has not looked overmatched at all in the big leagues. He has 63 stikeouts in 62 innings pitched and has showed solid control, only tossing 19 walks. Where he has found trouble however is avoiding the big innings (which of course can be stopped by better fielding too). He tends to have very solid starts that are littered by three or four run innings. This likely can’t be helped in Triple-A and it will just take a little bit of time before he is a dominant force on the mound.

Ross Detwiler
Age: 23
Line: 0-3, 5.23 ERA, 23/14 K/BB
Last Three: 5.2IP 4ER 5/1,  6IP 3 ER 6/3,   6IP 4ER 0/5

Nobody expected Ross Detwiler to be here. The hurling lefty has had confidence problems, mechanics problems, and just about every problem you could think of. The Nats first pick in the 2007 draft decided to go back to his old delivery style that he used at Missouri State, as opposed to the one that the Nationals pitching coaches tried to teach him. It worked as Detwiler immediately turned his season around and began to dominate Double-A. Within weeks he had bypassed Syracuse and found himself in Washington. When you watch Detwiler pitch it is clear he has the best stuff out of the four pitchers on this list, and at times looks unhittable. It is also clear he is the least polished and sometimes loses his confidence on the mound for an inning or two.

Conclusion:

Martis and Zimmermann are safe. It makes no sense for the Nationals to send them down to Triple-A, there is not much they can learn there.

Stammen may seem like the obvious choice, as he is less established and less of a prospect than the other three. He has had less great starts than the other three, and he has less stuff than Zimmermann or Detwiler. The problem is he’s 25 years old. How much can he really gain from going to Triple-A? He needs to learn now in a Major League setting, and maybe down the line he can be a 10-15 game winner consistently.

This leaves the most talented of the group as the odd man out. It is likely that Detwiler is pitching for his life tonight, if he isn’t stellar, expect him to get the demotion. To be fair, it’s the right thing to do. He needs the most development out of all four of the pitchers. Most importantly for Detwiler however, his stay in the Majors has now given him the confidence that he can consistently get Major League batters out. He can take that confidence to Detwiler and just take the time to learn, prepare, and get ready to come back to the show for some more down the line.

The future is bright.

Nationals’ rookie Jordan Zimmermann took the mound tonight to try and extend a rare feeling for the club, the feeling of a winning streak.

The young hurler did not disappoint, as for the second consecutive start he excelled, this time pitching five innings, allowing only one earned run, and put the Nats in strong position to win their third game in a row.

Zimmermann left the mound in the sixth inning with the score tied 1-1, putting the game in the hands of the Nationals bullpen. A month ago this would all but be a death sentence for the clubs chances of winning, but for a Nats bullpen that is in the midst of a major turnaround, this was a chance to prove itself.

The bullpen didn’t disappoint. They reformed motley crew combined to pitch 5.1 innings of shut out ball, allowing only two hits and two walks. They did something that a month ago was unthinkable; they gave the Nats offense a chance.

The ninth inning came and went, and still the two clubs were tied. Then the Nats gave the fans in attendance another scoreless inning of free baseball until finally the top of the order came up in the 11^th.

Cristian Guzman started it off with a single. Then patience loaded the bases as Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman walked. Then Adam Dunn became a hero for the first time in a Nationals uniform as he singled to right, scoring Guzman and giving the Nationals their third win in a row, 2-1.

Despite the teams great pitching, and clutch hitting, the Nats play left much to be desired Friday night.

Anderson Hernandez, Cristian Guzman, and Adan Dunn all committed errors. It’s not often that a team wins a one run, extra inning game when it commits 3 errors. The Nats got lucky in this department.

The team also didn’t capitalize on little things. They left 5 runners in scoring position, that’s five more runs they could have scored. The team also continues to be too adventurous on the base paths. Willie Harris got caught stealing today, a trend for the Nationals that will hurt them in the long run. 

When it is all said and done, this Washington Nationals club may end up being the worst team in D.C history, if not MLB history.

Initially I was going to take a look at the worst team’s in D.C history to see where the Nationals may end up ranking, but last nights win just warmed my heart. So I will do that article tomorrow.

Here is a list of the top three teams in D.C sports history; hopefully we can add the 2011 or 2012 Nationals to that list someday.

Top Three

3. 1974-1975 Washington Bullets
 

Everyone knows the 1977-78 Bullets club won the NBA title, however despite their eventual loss in the finals the 1974-1975 Bullets club was far superior.

Finishing with a record of 60-22, the Bullets led by Evlin Hayes, Phil Chenier, and Wes Unseld tied the Boston Celtics for the best record in the NBA.

Chenier, now the Wizards color commentator, and Hayes, combined for a vicious one two scoring punch. The two combined to average 21.8 and 23 ppg respectively. With the two the Bullets offered a solid offense that ranked 8^th in the league, and put up 104.7 ppg.

Defense, however, was the mark of this teams greatness.

The combination of the two big men, Elvin Hayes and Wes Unsled, dominated the paint on the defensive end. Hayes averaged 2.3 blocks per game and 1.9 steals, making him one of the top defensive players in the league, and Wes Unsled led the league in rebounds, pulling down 14.8 a game.

With the low post dominance as well as a solid perimeter defensive game, the Bullets held the claim of best defensive team in the league.

The season reached its pinnacle during an exciting six game eastern conference finals where the Bullets topped the Celtics four games to two. They went on to be swepts in the finals.

2. 2002 Maryland Terrapins 
  

Following a shocking Final Four loss to arch rival Duke in 2001, which saw them blow a 20 point halftime lead, the Terps went into 2002 with one thing on their mind; a National Championship.

The team was constructed perfectly for Gary Williams style of basketball.

 It boasted a floor general, Steve Blake, who finished his career as Maryland’s all time assist leader.

It had a low post scorer, Lonny Baxterm who used his wide frame to score a super-efficient 15.3 ppg.

It featured swingmen Byron Mouton and Chris Wilcox who on other teams would be a star both averaged 11 points a piece.

Most importantly however, it had hometown star, Juan Dixon, who finished his career as Maryland’s all time leading scorer. Dixon finished 2002 scoring 20.4 ppg with 2.6 spg, and earned the honor of ACC Player of the Year.

Gary Williams team went 32-4, which was the best record in team history,

The season culminated in a 64-52 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers, giving Maryland their first-ever National Championship.

1. 1991 Washington Redskins

 The Washington Redskins under Joe Gibbs have always been a club that is well-coached, filled with good character, and had a dedication to perfection.

The 1991 Redskins were as close to perfect as any Washington team has ever gotten.

The club boasted a 14-2 record, scored the most points in the NFL, and allowed the second fewest. They lead the league in point differential, and had the best record in football.

The team had the 5^th best pass offense, and the seventh best rush offense. The third best rush defense, and the seventh best pass defense.

What made the team so great was that with those stellar team outputs, there were no real superstars on the team. It was a great collection of extremely solid players under a legendary coach. Everybody did their job and they did it well.

The season culminated with a 37-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl.

Runners up to this list: 1983-84 Hoyas, 1983 Redskins, 2008-2009 Capitals, 1977-78 Bullets.

The Nats Blog wants to congratulate The Washington Capitals’ (and my neighbor) Alexander Ovechkin who repeated this year as league MVP.

In true leader fashion, Ovechkin accepted the award, but let it be known that his focus was on winning, not individual hardware.

"Well, uh, thanks to everybody, but first I want to say congrats to the Pittsburgh Penguins for winning the Stanley Cup," Ovechkin said after receiving the trophy.

There’s always 2010. 

The Washington Nationals did the unthinkable Thursday night as they shut out the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, beating the club 3-0.

Craig Stammen entered the game winless in the first five starts of his career, but by the time the night was over he would end up with six shutout innings and a celebratory pie in the face for his first win.

Stammen was dominant through six and a third innings, allowing only six hits with no walks and two strikeouts. He relied on his fastball, throwing only nine breaking pitches all night, and pounded the strike zone against one of the best line-ups in baseball, serving them their first shutout in this new home stadium ever.

In the last five starts the Nationals young starters have a 2.3 ERA. The rotations success is starting to turn some heads, as the oldest member, John Lannan, is only 24 years of age.

 “We’re like best friends all five us,” Stammen said about the rotation. “We all get a long and try to get each other better.”

One can only imagine what the future holds for this rotation, as Stammen, Detwiler, and Zimmerman are only expected to improve greatly. Not to mention, a certain top prospect pitcher is expected to join the rotation at the start of next season.

The Nationals pitching staff, which leading into this month was widely accepted as the wrost in baseball, ranks 12^th in the MLB in team ERA for the month of June with a 3.82 ERA. In the last month the National’s ostracized bullpen ranks 17^th in the MLB in ERA allowing 4.01 runs per nine innings pitched.

In the last seven days, the Washington Nationals bullpen ranks third in the Major Leagues, and first in the National League, with a 3.06 ERA.

With this solid pitching, the Nats have something they haven’t seen for the first time since early May, a winning streak. This victory marks only the second time all season the Nats have won consecutive games. Hopefully it becomes a trend.