My Team - Nationals at Milwaukee

Proposed starters -

Friday: Zimmermann vs Gorzelanny
Saturday: Haren vs Hand
Sunday: Jordan vs Lohse

(Starting pitchers subject to change)

Two games in Detroit, in less than 24 hours. Combined runs scored - 2. Combined runs given up - 16. Quoting Daniel Kaffee from "A Few Good Men", "it's...over." The high hopes from February are pretty much dead.

Washington has played exactly two-thirds of the schedule as of Friday morning. The Nats are 11.5 GB of Atlanta. Washington looks dispirited. Guys are starting to verbalize their dissatisfaction more in the clubhouse. I've been watching the game pretty closely since '71, and I've seen this story before.

Anyway. the team has to keep playing. They're taking on a Brewers' team that little resembles what they expected in the spring. Braun's suspension takes away their biggest threat. Also, no Ramirez at 3B. No Hart at 1B or in the outfield. No Gallardo (left hamstring, on the DL as of 31 July) at the top of the rotation. Who's left?

Aoki in RF is a productive slap-hitter with not a lot of power (think Ichiro-lite). Lucroy at C/1B is a pretty heady defender with power at the plate. Gomez in CF leads the team with 17 HR and plays spectacular defense. You may see him make a highlight-reel catch or two this weekend.  I like Weeks at 2B, but his offense has fallen off a cliff (OPS .671). Segura, the young SS, has a nice combination of speed and power - he may be the best player on the field in this series.

On the mound, Gorzelanny is an ex-National who is a productive lefty. He's not gonna go deep into the game (5 or 6 innings, I would guess). He can throw up to about 90 MPH, but he works quickly & changes location well. Hand is a rangy righthander who has been slightly better than average since showing up in mid-June. Lohse is a pro's pro - he pitched well for St. Louis last year. He's got a 4/1 K/BB ratio (88K/22W). Against the Nats on 3 July, he scattered 4H in 8IP (1ER, 1BB, 7K). Washington's best bet for a breakthrough may be Saturday against Hand and the Milwaukee bullpen.

For Washington, guys are starting to press. Rendon has cooled off at the plate, and he's starting to make mental errors. Desmond is starting to overswing early in the count again. LaRoche hasn't really heated up all year. Zimmerman at 3B has changed his throwing motion (lessening his throwing errors), but his offense has been sporadic. Werth and Span are heating up, but it's not enough.

Yeah, preseason football starts Sunday. But, I'll still hang in with my team. If they don't show spark, they could be swept this weekend. And, oh-by-the-way, starting next Monday the Nats have 3-game home series with Atlanta (Mon-Wed) and Philadelphia (Fri-Sun). If they lose this series against the Brewers AND show the same lethargy at home against NL East rivals, the MLB world will finally bury Washington for 2013. Yikes.