Guzman, while having a thick frame at 6 feet tall 215 pounds, used to be a speedster and actually a statistically solid defensive shortstop. While he has aged both his speed and his range has appeared to diminish. From 2002-2005 he had only 12, 11, 12, and 15 errors respectively, which is very very good actually. We must also realize, however, that errors don't completely reflect a shortstops range, only the ability to field the balls they get to. Bill James' range index for years has exposed the overrated fielders ( Derek Jeter) in the game by studying this. We must also examine the fact that Guzman was fielding for the early part of his career on a carpet in Minnesota, and carpets are extremely

The last time the Washington Nationals (11-17) won three games in a row was the first week in April. In fact, it was the first three games of the season. The 17 games fallowing were ones Manny Acta's club would likely wish to forget, winning only two in that span. The Nats now have a three game winning streak once again, and do not want history to repeat itself.

They will welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates (11-16) to Nats Park for the first time this week who will look to try and gain some consistency after a very inconsistent start. The Pirates have had many pleasant surprises in their line up, with a pair of 27 year olds finally making their stamp on the big leagues in Ryan Doumit and Nate Mclouth. But to the Pirates disappointment, their young starting pitching staff has not only not developed, but has regressed greatly.

These are two teams who both need to jumpstart their season. Neither are out of the playoff hunt this early, but with a four game sweep both have the potential to fall in a whole that is too deep to dig out of.

Pirates Last Series

The Pirates are coming off of a two game series with the New York Mets. The three game.....

The Washington Nationals (9-17) will again welcome the Atlanta Braves (12-13) to Nats Park for their second two game series in a week. This one will see Tom Glavine return to the mound for the first time since pulling his hamstring against the Nationals in the first inning in his last outing, causing him to have his shortest start of his career and go on the disabled list for the first time.

The Nats will go up against the 40 year old Glavine and the 22 year old Jair Jurrejens, a talented young righty for the Braves. Both these teams are still looking for their identity this season and thus far have ....

Jesus Flores- Jesus is not playing very heavenly. After getting the bump to the minors for Johnny Estrada many people were not very happy, myself included. The only silver lining was Flores could have some time to play everyday and develop in Columbus. Since his demotion he is hitting only .231 in the minors with 13 K's in 39 at bats. He's striking out 33% of the time! He was hitting .364 in the majors! I can't explain it, maybe it's a cold slump, maybe it's a bad attitude about being demoted. Whatever it is, he better pick it up.

Luke Montz-Montz is a 24 year old catcher still in double A, he is trying to change that. In the last 10 games Montz is batting .412 with three homers and 15 RBI's. Overall he is batting .373 with five homers and 23 RBI's with a ridiculous OPS of 1.126. Right now Montz is simply on fire, he is on the fringe.....

The Chicago Cubs (15-7) will visit Nationals Park for the first time this weekend to try and keep their hot streak alive. The Cubs have won nine out of their last eleven games, eight of which have come since the injury of all-star outfielder, and former National, Alfonso Soriano. Their winning streak has been spurred by doing all the right things; their starting pitching has been great (aside from Ted Lilly), six regular players batting over .300, and the team is getting on base .368 percent of the time.

The Washington Nationals (7-16) on the other hand have been playing much better baseball over the last week, but still have a long way to go. They have won three out of their last seven, which is an improvement on the nine game losing streak earlier in the year....

The New York Mets (10-9) will travel to the new Nats Park for the first time to take on the Washington Nationals (6-15) in another short 2 game series. The Mets come into the series needing to capture a win having dropped three in a row, including one to Philly and two at Chicago. The Nats will continue their home stand also in desperate need of a victory, because…well they're the Nationals.

The struggling hitting won't catch a break after an Atlanta series that saw the Nats face Hudson and Smoltz, as the they will have to face a pair of lefty's in the Mets ace Johan Santana, and arguably the most effective starter for them so far, Oliver Perez. Look for another heated series between these two intertwined National League East teams who both have something to prove as both see themselves currently underachieving.

read the rest at www.thenatsblog.com

"In his office, manager Manny Acta was pointing to the 10 hits Washington got off Hudson in 62/3 innings as a sign his team is about to turn a corner, stopping just short of apologizing for being happy after a 7-3 loss."-The Washington Times

Is this supposed to be a good thing?

Columbus Clippers-

Michael O'Connor- O'Connor is getting a little bit old to be considered a prospect anymore. Now at the age of 27, he got his first taste of the big leagues last year filling in for the never injured John Patterson. A George Washington alumni, O'Connor hadn't done much in the National's organization to warrant much more then an emergency call up in the middle of July. So far this year however, O'Connor has been arguably the best pitcher in the National's system. In four starts for Columbus so far, the lefty has gone ....

The Washington Nationals will fly north to face an Atlanta Braves team that has won four in a row. The Nats(5-14) and the Braves (9-9) have split their season series so far 2-2, but the two teams have seen their squads go in different directions outside of the confines of Nationals Park. Both teams have their share of struggling hitters, but the Braves are managing to pull out wins.

The first month of the season can often define the tone and the character of a team for the rest of the year. The Braves, tired of hearing the talk of the....

Nats team batting stats

Overall Hitting .222 (136/614)

Against LHP: .243 (44/181)

Against RHP: .212 (93/433)

At Nats Park: .205 (44/215)

Away Hitting: .231 (92/389)

Pinch Hitting .083 (3/36)

Team On Base: .304

Team Slugging: .336

Some want to see Lenny Harris fired....

I said in the preview that containing Hanley Ramirez, possibly the best player in baseball, would be the key to beating the Marlins. Like Reyes in the Mets series, Ramirez has explosive speed and is a double threat who can beat you with both his legs and his bat. The Nats did a good job not allowing Ramirez to beat them with the latter, not giving him many pitches to hit.

The consequence however of pitching around, or in one case tonight pitching at Ramirez, i.....

The Nationals will travel south to try and stop a three game skid where they will face the division leading Florida Marlins. The Nats (4-12) and the Marlins (9-6) have seen their seasons start in opposite directions. The Marlins, a team who traded away their best hitter and pitcher in the off season, had extremely low expectations coming into 2008. Good young hitters and developing pitchers however have been the key to their early success (as it has always been for the Marlins). The Nats on the other hand....

"While the Washington Nationals prepare for Thursday night's series finale against the New York Mets, Manny Acta's office at Nationals Park will have a visitor. Pope Benedict XVI will use Acta's office to dress and prepare for the morning Mass, which some 46,000 people are expected to attend"

At this point, having one of the most holy figures in the world(depending on your religion) can only help the Nats as they need something to turn this season around...

Everything started off well for the Nats in the game tonight. Matt Chico came out and dealt strikes and kept the Mets relatively off balance through the first four innings. Batters like Kearns and Zimmerman were able to produce for the team for the first time in what has seemed like too long. Through four and a half the Nats played playoff level baseball showing that maybe this season could take a turn in the right direction.

However it's the little things in baseball that will kill you. Little mistakes like a young starting pitcher not constantly hitting his spots causing is pitch count to reach 90 before the 5th inning. Little things like letting that runner on with 2 outs, because even though he doesn't score, it's one more batter you have to face and therefore a few more pitches. The fatigue of Matt Chico is what lead to the big inning for the Mets....

The Nats front office announced today that staff ace Shawn Hill will return to the mound this Saturday against the division leading Florida Marlins (I cant believe I just said that). Whether he is actually ready or this is just a response to the Nats losing their 10th game isn't clear yet. Hill doesn't exactly sound overconfident.

"It's the same thing at this point, but it has gotten better each time out," Hill said. "And I'm throwing more and more each time, so it's not going away, but it is improving. I'm not bothered by it right now."- The Washington Post