Mets Blog shares his thoughts on Mets COO Jeff Wilpons recent trip to Atlanta.

Upon hearing this news, many Mets fans were quick to assume that Manuel was due to lose his job if the team struggled on their current road trip. Its funny how not too long ago the Mets were in the midst of an 8 game winning streak, but now a few weeks later Jerry Manuel is on the verge of losing his job. At this point, I think it would be best for the Mets to just keep Manuel for the remainder of the season, because if they were to fire him he would likely be replaced with Bob Melvin, and lets be honest, Bob Melvin is not the answer for the team. I keep thinking about what things would be like if Bobby Valentine were to return to New York. He is the only option available that I feel like knows how to handle the type of things that would be thrown at him in New York.

Fish Stripes is blogging about…what else…Hanley Ramirez’s benching.

Any baseball fan hates to see this happen to a young superstar, it seems as though Hanley is beginning to get a big head. If one things for certain, either Hanley or manager Freddi Gonzalez will not return to Florida in 2011, and my gut feeling tells me its going to be Gonzalez who will leave. Think about it, with Bobby Cox leaving after this year it makes prefect sense for Gonzalez to return back to Atlanta to take charge of the Braves. I do believe that the foul ball off of Hanley’s foot was a legitimate injury, but I also think that when going after the ball in the outfield he over exaggerated how painful it really was. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with not just the Marlins management, but also the (few) fans that they have.

With Pat Burrell recently being cut by the Rays, Braves Blast wonders why Atlanta shouldn’t take a chance on him.

Although he makes some valid points, I just see the whole idea as unnecessary. Ever since Burrell left Philadelphia he has fell of the face of the earth, which is shocking considering how much he meant to the development of the Phillies we know today. If the reason for Atlanta signing being to “kill the Mets” or other teams in the East, I just wouldn’t bother, there has to be someone in the Braves system they can call up or another option they can call upon. This season is a great time to give some young players a chance to perform in the show, so why roll the dice on a washed up player hoping to strike gold?

Following another Roy Halladay complete game, but this one coming in a loss, Phillies Nation compares the durable pitcher to a toy…just trying to play with it as much as you can without breaking it. no comments

Drew Storen, one of the Washington Nationals prized pitching prospects, won his first-ever major league game Wednesday night as he pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Kept in the game by a strong outing from Livan Hernandez, the Nationals snapped their five-game losing streak by topping the Mets 5-3 at Nats Park. Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman were both two for four on the night.

With the win the Nationals improve to 21-20 on the season and passed their opponents, the Mets, for third place in the National League East. They currently trail the Marlins by half a game, and the Phillies by four games. Were the season to end today, Washington would be 2.5 games out of the Wild Card.

Washington 5 - New York Mets 3:

-Over 6.1 inning Livan Hernandez threw 94 pitches, 56 for strikes, and allowed only two earned runs on four hits. Hernandez again let up runs on homers, which is often the case when you walk players at such a high rate.

-Storen, Clippard, and Capps closed out the game, in that order. It represented a thing of beauty seeing three immensely talented arms at the back of our bullpen. It represents a battery that can someday soon help this team battle to, and through, a playoff series. The only blemish came on a meaningless 9th inning homer off of Matt Capps, but it couldn't stop him from earning his 15th save of the season.

-Ivan Rodriguez went 0-4, dropping his batting average to .322 on the season through 41 games. Rodriguez is only 2 for his last 26, a sign he is finally coming down to earth.

-Guzman went 2-4 with two runs and an RBI on the night, proving to be the teams best run producer. This is the time of year Guzman usually catches fire with his hack-attack approach, and this may be the start of something for the free swinging shortstop.

The New York Mets (19-21) bring their traveling circus up to the Nations Capital for a two game set with the Nationals (20-20). The first game has an intriguing pitching match up as Livan Hernandez with his 4-2 record and 1.46 ERA goes up against knuckle baller R.A. Dickey, who will be making his season debut with the Mets. Game 2 will feature the struggling John Maine against Luis Atilano.

Dickey has been putting up some pretty impressive numbers in the minors this season with a 4-2 record and a 2.23 record in 8 starts, one of them a complete game one-hitter...with that one hit came from the lead off batter. The Mets hope to use Dickey similar to the way Boston uses fellow knuckle baller Tim Wakefield, by having him make starts when necessary but also taking advantage of his rubber arm by having him come out of the bullpen.

For the second game of the series the Mets will send out John Maine, who in his last start in Miami, opened the game by throwing 12 straight balls out of the strike zone...that's right, 12 straight balls. It is a miracle Maine is still in the rotation after the dismal outings he has put together this season. The problem with Maine is that he is easily rattled on the mound. After starting his last outing with 12 straight balls, Maine and everyone else knew that there was no way he could come back from that, frustration takes over and the disappointment is simply just too much to overcome.

What is up with David Wright? I just haven't seen anything from him that gives me any confidence in a big spot. Last night in Atlanta, not only did he strike out (once again) with 2 outs and the go ahead run on third, but then in the bottom of the inning he threw the ball away into right field allowing the Braves winning run to score. For someone with two gold gloves, he sure makes me nervous on the most routine of plays. Wright has recently been getting into bad habits in the field by backhanding balls to his right and can send the easiest of throws anywhere on the diamond.

After a disappointing end to the Braves series, where former Met closer Billy Wagner got the win in the final game, New York really needs to come out and put up a fight against Washington. These are not the push over Nationals we used to know, they are a legitimate baseball team on the rise and will stay competitive for the large part of the season. This may be the last time the Mets face the Nats in their pre-Stephen Strasburg era, so it would be best for the Amazins' to take advantage of Washington while they still can.

In an act of revenge against his old team, middle-infielder Felipe Lopez gave the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third. Despite the Nationals battling back to tie it up late in the game, the St. Louis Cardinals took the lead in the eighth off a game-winning Ryan Ludwick homer to hand the Nationals their fifth loss in a row.

With the defeat, Washington falls to 20-20 on the season.

St. Louis 3 - Washington 2:

-John Lannan had his best start in recent memory, allowing only two earned runs on five hits and one walk. It has been a rough stretch to start the season for the lefty, as he has struggled to make crucial outs as he has in the past. This is hopefully a sign that his elbow is regaining strength and that he's ready to carry the load for the rest of the season.

-Tyler Clippard, who leads the Nationals with seven wins earned the loss tonight after giving up Ludwick's solo shot in the eighth. The homer would have been a two-run blast had he not picked off shortstop Brendan Ryan the very pitch before the home run. Clippard has given up five earned runs in his last four appearances, while he has only given up seven earned runs all season.

Storen makes his debut in Nationals' loss to Cardinals - Adam Kilgore, Washington Post

"As his father watched from the stands, Storen prevailed. While Storen succeeded in his debut, the Nationals' continued offensive stagnancy rendered him an unnecessary luxury in a 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. At some point, Storen will be protecting leads. For now, the Nationals, losers of four straight as they limp toward the end of a nine-game, nine-day road trip, lack the firepower to build one."

St. Louis Cardinals win with new look - Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Pujols, batting cleanup for the first time in nearly seven years, reached base in all four of his plate appearances, leaving Nationals manager Jim Riggleman to call him "Babe Ruth" after the game. Pujols and Colby Rasmus each scored twice, and rookie David Freese drove in two runs with his first big-league triple."

Nationals Coming Back to Earth, Drop Fourth in a Row - Dave Nichols, Nats News Netowrk

"Storen's promotion is certainly out of need--the Nats have had trouble in the sixth and seventh innings--but also something of a reward for signing quickly, working his way through the minor leagues last summer, and being prepared for the challenge this season by mowing down batters in two different levels of minor leagues."

Wide-Eyed Storen Relishes MLB Arrival - Mark Zuckerman, CSNWashington.com

"The move to promote Storen now may actually end up costing the Nationals more money down the road. Because they didn’t wait another couple weeks as they plan to do with Strasburg, Storen could qualify for “Super 2” status and thus be eligible for arbitration after the 2012 season and command a higher salary. The club, though, is willing to make that financial commitment later if this young reliever helps lock up some victories now."

Nats drop four straight with loss to Cardinals - Ben Goessling, MASN.com

"Through their first 35 games, the Nationals had staked themselves to a second-place ledge in the NL East, despite not doing anything at a particularly elite level, by staying away from the kinds of losing streaks that had pockmarked their schedule the last two seasons. They hadn't lost more than three straight games all season, playing slump-proof baseball with a clubhouse of veterans and a manager who's tough to impress."

Nationals drop 4th straight, 6-2 to St. Louis Cardinals, Drew Storen strikes out Matt Holliday - Patrick Reddington, Federal Baseball

"Giving Away Outs, LOB's: 4-2 Cardinals. Adam Kennedy and Ian Desmond single to start the Nats' seventh, and Roger Bernadina's called upon to bunt both runners over, which he does. One down on the sac bunt. Pinch hitter Mike Morse pops out to the infield. Adam Dunn gets a pinch hit appearance against right-hander Jason Motte...and he K's, swinging, chasing a 96mph fastball up high and outside. Two stranded. Willie Harris goes 1 for 3 on the night. Cristian Guzman, Ryan Zimmerman, Josh Willingham and Pudge Rodriguez are a combined 0 for 15 with 3 K's and 4 LOB."

The Washington Nationals fell to the St. Louis Cardinals tonight in the first half of a two-game series. The 6-2 loss came at the hand of Kyle Loshe who earned his first win of the season after allowing only one earned run on six hits in six innings. The Nationals registered eight hits total but struck out seven times and only walked once on the night.

The loss was the fourth in a row for the Nationals who fell to 20-19 on the season, only one game above .500. The Marlins also lost on the night, dropping the two clubs to a three way tie with the New York Mets (who won tonight 3-2) in the National League East.

St. Louis 6 - Washington 2:

-The Nationals were pigeonholed by giving up a four-run first inning to the Cardinals. All of the runners reached base with two outs in the inning. It started with a Holliday walk, then advanced with four straigh hits from Pujols, Rasmus, Freese, and Molina. After that poor stint, Stammen settled down and only allowed two hits and no more runs for the rest of the game. This means that while Stammen was outstanding for 95% of his start, that elusive third out in the first inning put the team in a whole they couldn't recover from.

-Ian Desmond went 4-4 on the night with four singles and several strong plays in the field. Desmond accounted for half of the Nationals eight hits and boosted his batting average from .246 to .271. Desmond had only one hit in his previous 11 at bats entering tonight's game.

-The two, three, and four spots in the Nationals line-up went 0-11. Think the club missed Adam Dunn's presence?

-As if to say, "Here I am world," Drew Storen came up and in hard on Ryan Ludwick, beaming his second batter ever faced in his major league debut. It was as if he was letting the league know that he was here, and that was his plate to protect. Storen faced three batters total in his debut, aside from Ludwick he forced Felipe Lopez to fly out to left, and he struck out Matt Holliday swinging. In total it was an impressive outing for the young future star, and his stuff looked very, very good.

-Jim Riggleman brought Matt Capps on in the eighth to help keep the game within reach for the Nationals. Perhaps it was the pressure of seeing his future replacement on the mound before him, or perhaps it was a result of leading off the inning against Albert Pujols, but Capps had his worst outing of the season. The fire-baller gave up three hits, two runs.

As we will do each monday throughout the season, we will today take a look at Accuscore's playoff forecaster to see how the previous weeks games influenced the division's playoff race. The Nationals hurt their chances to make the playoffs last week as after the club dropped their last three games in a row. With this their projected playoff chances dropped from 23.8% to 18.8%. Disappointingly, their chance to win the division fell from 10.5% to 5.4% as the Phillies continue to play great baseball.

The Nationals are projected to finish the season with an 84-78 record.

Stephen Oh breaks down the National League:

While the AL was marked by its lack of playoff shifts, the NL is marked by a major shift of 10+ percentage points (positively and negatively) for 8 teams and only two teams shifted by less than 2 percentage points.  The Dodgers continue stay hot and after an undefeated week their playoff chances have skyrocketed by +32 points.  While the Giants were a decent 3-3 they still lose over 25 points because they were swept by