My Team - Nationals versus St. Louis

Proposed starters

Monday: Haren versus Shelby Miller
Tuesday: Detwiler versus Wainwright
Wednesday: Strasburg versus J. Garcia

(Starting pitchers subject to change)

Washington lost two of three games at Citi Field over the weekend ("but it's still early"). Friday, Strasburg wasn't invincible. Saturday, Gonzalez was lit up (he has a 5.85 ERA). Sunday, Zimmerman pitched well, but gave up the only two runs of the game on a John Buck homer.

St. Louis' roster is pretty strong. Their outfield of Holliday-Jay-Beltran is proven. Their infield, especially at the corners with Freese and Craig, has a solid track record as well (especially offensively). Yadier Molina is one of the best two-way catchers in baseball. The pitching staff has names like Wainwright and Westbrook, guys who have had success under pressure situations.

Early on, though, Craig (.234 BA), Freese (.226) and Jay (.208) have yet to get going. Each has an OPS of .605 or less.

Cardinals' pitching has been thus far decent but not dominant (3.49 team ERA, 1.33 WHIP, but a .262 BAA).

St. Louis reminds me of the Tampa Bay Rays. You may not know every name on their rosters, but their teams go about their business in a professional manner. It seems they're never out of a game.

For the Nationals, Harper is still raking. I'm surprised there isn't some early, distant "MVP" rumblings in the media. Defense is another story, however. The team is 30th in fielding percentage. Desmond is still inconsistent, and Zimmerman's throwing woes may have been exacerbated by the hamstring injury that put him on the DL.

Anthony Rendon was called up on Sunday to replace Zimmerman. He's this year's hotshot prospect, so he gets an early taste of life in the big leagues. If he can hold his own at third base & scratch out a hit or two, that could give the team a lift out of its' present doldrums.

All year, I will guess "they've gotta win two out of three this series". I'm an fan, and I'm not apologizing for rooting for my favorite team. But, the team's not executing right now. Things have to change, don't they?