Here’s a great ESPN story about Mike Bacsik.
And Zimmerman has a new blog entry up - about his new dog Miley.

After taking the first game in the series against the Brewers, the Nats fell 5-2 during last night’s game.  John Lannan struggled with his fastball, and ended up taking the loss.  Lannan pitched five innings and gave up three runs, including a two run homer to Corey Hart.  Lannan also suffered a costly balk in the top of the fifth inning.  It’s unfortunate, but when your team’s offense isn’t very effective, mistakes like a balk are magnified.

Offense wise, Lastings Milledge hit his second home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth.  In the same inning, Elijah Dukes hit a single, his batting average is over .100 now, and he did look a little surprised to actually be on first base.  Dukes eventually advanced to second on a wild pitch.  Wil Nieves followed at the plate, and hit a rocket to right field, a double to score Dukes.

The bullpen though, couldn’t hold the Brewers.  Jesus Colome gave up a solo home run, and Hanrahan allowed an RBI double to Kendell.  The Nats had a chance for a comeback in the 9th inning.  After two errors by the Brewers third basemen, the Nats had runners on first and third with one out.  They couldn’t capitalize though, as both Dukes and Boone struck out.  It was a disappointing end to a would be rally.

Thankfully Sunday’s game had a different outcome.  After leading most the game, the Nats let a six run lead slip away.  They eventually broke the tie game in the bottom of the 9th when Elijah Dukes scored on a wild pitch.  It was a strange bit of symbolism that the Nats first run of the game came thanks to a wild pitch, and the last run of the game came thanks to the same mistake.

The boys got off to an early lead with Guzman, Milledge, and Pena all hitting doubles off of Brewers starter Manny Para.  Aaron Boone added to the Nats lead with a two run homer in the fifth inning.  With the Nats up 6-0 at the start of the 6th inning, it looked like Tim Redding, who pitched well for most of the game, would get his seventh win of the season.  Tim struggled during the top of the 6th when Corey Hart hit a two run homer.  Rivera came in as relief, but struggled also giving up a two run double.

The game was tied 6-6 when Rivera left the game.  Luis Ayala pitched two scoreless innings of relief.  There was a glitch in the scoring system today at the ballpark.  After Rivera pitched the 6th inning, and Ayala pitched the 7th and 8th, Jon Rauch entered to pitch the 9th inning.  However, all of the scoreboards had the inning listed as the 8th.   A mistake like that was probably pretty confusing for some of the 35,000 fans in attendance.  Rauch ended up pitching a scoreless ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, Dukes had a very patient at bat and took a one out walk.  Dmitri Young entered to pinch hit, and hit a clutch single on which Dukes advanced to third. Then on a 1-0 count with Felipe Lopez at bat, Mota threw a fastball past the catcher, and Dukes took off, crossing the plate and scoring the winning run on another wild pitch. Final score today was 7-6.

The Nats Jason Bergmann faces the Brewers Ben Sheets tomorrow for the final game of the series at 1:35.

You wouldn’t know it from the score (5-1), but the game could have been much closer.  The team capitalized on a key error by JJ Hardy in the 6th inning by scoring 4 unearned runs on 2 hits to make the win certain.  But, on three hits, it’s hard to say ”the bats came alive.“  We did get quality at-bats, timely hitting and smart baseball.  And we’ll take it. 

It was great to see Wily Mo Pena finally belt one out of the park.  It came in the 2nd inning and put the Nats up by one.  Now, let’s see more of that power WMP.

Perez pitched well through 5 innings of work.  He gave up one run on 5 hits.  Three of those hits came in the 5th inning, but he escaped giving up only a run.  Reports indicate that Perez had cut his finger, but pitched through it.  Perez was relieved by newcomer Brian Sanches, who struck out three in his Washington debut to pick up the win. 

The 6th inning magic got underway with Suppan’s walk to Felipe Lopez.  Guzman hit into a double play, but Hardy couldn’t field the ball and both runners were safe.  Zimmerman doubled to drive in Lopez.  Suppan hit Dmitri Young to load the bases with 1 out and Aaron Boone entered the game to run for Young.  Milledge hit a grounder right to Prince Fielder for the 2nd out, while Guzman scored another run.  With 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Jesus Flores drove a double down the left field line scoring both Zimmerman and Boone.  It was another brilliant at-bat for the young catcher and a hit that made a win near-certain. 

The late-inning team of Saul Rivera, Luis Ayala and Jon Rauch closed the win with three scoreless innings.  Fireworks lit up the sky in southeast.  The team, with all its new parts, celebrated win #21 in front of some 28,000. 

As far as the park goes, the good news is that the lines really seem to be getting better.  The process, almost two months in, has smoothed itself out and there seem to be less problems all around.  You’ll note that unlike the fan thrown out for tossing a home run ball back onto the field, a stupid girl who intentionally threw a ball into right field during play early in the game faced a different fate.  Elijah Dukes had to jog out to toss the ball back into the stands, but surprisingly noone showed up to question, warn or eject the fan.  How about some consistency?

The Nats Express continues to be an effective way to get to the game, if you don’t mind the long wait in line after the game.  Remember - today the Express operates out of Lot 7 due to the DC United game.

Austin Kearns was placed on the 15 day DL yesterday.  He was having some elbow pain and is having arthroscopic surgery today to remove some loose bodies. Kearns is expected to miss 3-4 weeks. Kearns was off to his worst start this season, who knows what time on the DL will bring for him. 

In a corresponding roster move, the Nationals have optioned pitchers Matt Chico and Chris Schroder to Columbus.  This was kind of expected.  Chico was pretty good coming out of the bullpen, but he’s a starter at heart.  Hopefully some time in Columbus will help him like it helped Jason Bergmann. Looks like Chris Schroder is going to do the back and forth thing all year. 

Also in this move the Nats have selected the contracts of outfielder Ryan Langerhans, RHP Brian Sanches, and LHP Charlie Manning.   Langerhans is batting well in Columbus, hopefully he can provide a spark to the struggling outfield.  Sanches and Manning will be replacements for Chico and Schroder in the bullpen. 

Very few things could make watching that 12-2 blowout enjoyable.  One of those things would be watching that blowout with good friends.  The other?  Watching from the best seats in the house.

Last night was a real treat, despite the loss.  We joined our good friends from Phillies Nation to take in the game from the Lexus President’s Club and we couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.  Another group of Phillies fans sat in front of us and evidenced by the occasional friendly banter, they had a lot of class. 

The Club is everything you could imagine a baseball fan’s dream game might entail (except of course, the team on the field would be a lot better in such a dream).  All of the hosts, waiters and ushers were incredibly nice throughout our experience.  Tables are scattered throughout the Club and a fine dining buffet awaits guests upon their arrival — an upgrade from popcorn and hot dogs.  We opted for watching the batting cages first and saw Felipe Lopez and Wily Mo Pena get work in before the first pitch.  Stan Kasten led some notable guests around the Club on a tour, while NBC’s David Gregory enjoyed the buffet.  After dining on salmon, braised duck and scallops, we headed back out to our seats…2 rows behind home plate.  Unbelievable. 

The in-game experience was phenomenal.  You could see into both dugouts, but also watch the pitch right into Flores’ glove.  When Joel Hanrahan missed high (really high) in the 8th, we decided we appreciated the protective net.  We were a little closer to the Phillies dugout - which delighted all of the Phillies fans surrounding us. 

After the game, we went inside to watch Manny Acta’s press conference — another Presidential Club treat.  Elijah Dukes was hard at work taking extra swings in the batting cages after the game.  The whole thing was such an amazing experience.  Here’s the photos we took before my camera battery ran out.  Here’s some old ones from when we managed to get a sneak peak of the Club (by accident after one of the Friday night fireworks shows).  Thanks again Brian!!

Now - the game itself was a sad affair.  Despite getting 12 hits — 3 less than Philadelphia, we could only bring 2 runners in to score.  Meanwhile, the Phillies launched home run after home run out of our park.  They sure made it look easy.  Then again, Chico and Colome were on the mound for the disaster, which never elicits much of my confidence.

In 5 innings, Chico gave up 7 hits and 4 runs.  Three of them went out of the park — first to Pedro Feliz, then to Shane Victorino, and lastly to Ryan Howard.  That was bad.  Who could have imagined it would get so much worse?

Jesus Colome jogged to the mound and the game just fell apart.  With 30 pitches, he got one out, a strike out to Werth.  He also gave up 6 runs on 5 hits in an inning that just wouldn’t end.  The Phillies sent 13 men to the plate in the 6th inning last night.  After that, there was really no hope.  Schroder’s relief appearance was also miserable, but with the game already out of control, it mattered very little.  He issued 4 walks in his inning of work, which will always hurt.  Add on three hits, and another homer to Howard and the Phils had put up a 12 on the scoreboard.  Joel Hanrahan would keep the Phillies line-up quiet for the final 2 innings.

Zimmerman and Young collected RBIs in the 7th to avoid the shutout.  Felipe Lopez continues to do well in the lead off spot.  He collected 2 doubles last night.  Jesus Flores went 3 for 4 with a double, raising his batting average to .357.

You can not possibly send this kid back down to AAA.  There seems to be a lot of talk and speculation that the front office will have a difficult decision to make when the other catchers return from the DL.  I’m not sure why that decision is so difficult or how Flores has not earned his spot yet.  What does the young catcher have to do to prove that he’s ready to be at the Major League level?  The afternoon media talk with Jim Bowden was also full of contradictions about the best way to develop young players, including his reluctance to bring up a fresh outfielder like Justin Maxwell. 

Tonight, the team gets a well-deserved off day before facing the Brewers on Friday night.  Jeff Suppan is 2-3 with a 4.78 ERA. 

Jason Bergmann continued to show that he deserves to be a major league pitcher. We all know the story of Bergmann’s troubled April and I was wondering what we could expect out of him when he came back to the Majors. However, in two starts since being recalled from AAA Columbus, Bergmann has yet to give up a run. He seems more confident on the mound than he did in early April. I’m sure that with his stint in Columbus fresh on his mind, Jason has a little extra motivation and determination to prove just what kind of pitcher he can be.

Once again, Guz got the Nats on base early in the game with a single in the first inning. He ended up going 2-4 last night with a stolen base. If I had to decide today, I would absolutely chose Cristian Guzman to be on the All-Star team. He has been extremely reliable this season. Whenever he comes up to bat, I feel like I can relax because I know he’ll put together a great at-bat and find a way to get on base. He has been a consistent bright spot in an up and down season.

The game remained scoreless through eight innings, and it wasn’t until Jon Rauch gave up an RBI single to Greg Dobbs that the Phillies finally scored. Dobbs’ RBI ended Rauch’s 12 scoreless inning streak. Unfortunately, it was just one run too many for the Nationals. Although both teams left 10 men on base, our boys just couldn’t get guys home when they reached third. Elijah Dukes did a great job in the 9th to keep the Nats in the game. With two outs, Dukes drew a walk and stole second and third to put himself in scoring position, but Lopez grounded out to end the game.

Matt Chico (0-5, 6.07) makes his return to the starting rotation tonight as he takes on Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89).

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Woman of the Year nominee Chartese Burnett is hosting a charity date auction on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM in the Stars and Stripes Club at Nationals Park. NBC4 Sports Anchor Lindsay Czarniak and XM Radio’s Holden Kushner will emcee the event.  The event will help Chartese in her quest to raise $170,000 to fund research for cures and treatments for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

The Bachelors:
Nationals Players: Ryan Zimmerman, Lastings Milledge, Joel Hanrahan
Former DC United player - Shawn Kuykendall
Secret Service Special Agent - Shawn Holtzclaw

The Bachelorettes:
CBS’s Survivor: Cooke Islands - Becky Lee
Miss DC of USA - Chelsea Rodgers
Cherry Blossom Princess - Jen Corey
Former Woman of The Year Candidate - Colleen Sasser

There will also be a special live auction to spend an afternoon with Manny Acta & Chartese Burnett.

An exclusive after-party will be hosted by Michael Romeo at Tattoo with 5% of bar sales benefitting Chartese’s campaign.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

We applaud the Nationals and Major League Baseball as a whole for continuing to reach out to female fans with special events and promotions.  The team has recently announced it’s scheduled Ladies Night Out games for this season.  The first one takes place on Thursday, June 5 against the Cardinals.  The second will be on August 14 against the Mets.

Come out to the game, bring your friends, sit under the scoreboard and enjoy the pre-game party from 5-7pm.  Tickets are only $30 and include:

Home Run Happy Hour pregame party
a Scoreboard Pavilion seat (Value $27)
Roof-top Party Zone with views of the city and ballpark (Garage B Rooftop)
Nationals Player Appearances
Diamond Club upgrades
Live DJ
Light food and drinks
Giveaways
Demos and sampling just for ladies
Book signing and presentation by Savvy Girls of Summer

Exhibitions include:
Cantina Marina, Noah’s Pretzels, Washington Sports Clubs, Honest Tea, Mercedes, Nail Taxi, Potomac Massage Training Institute, Arbonne, Jewelry by Paula, Slumber Parties by Beth, Kysela Pere et Fils, Anheuser Busch, Ltd (wine) with The Curious Grape and more.

Click here for more information about the event and here to purchase your tickets.  We had such a great time at these events last year.  It’s definately a great night to bring your friends out to the park.  It’s also Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead Night!

Tim Redding pitched a gem of a game last night, six shut out innings, by trusting his fastball. Relievers Rivera, Ayala, and Hanrahan completed the game, and the Nats defeated the Phillies 4-0.  The guys capitalized on the pitching of Brett Myers and produced some key hits. 

It was good to finally see Milledge producing at the plate; he went 2-4 last night with a key RBI double down the right field line. Hopefully that production continues, and the other outfielders follow his lead.  Guzman continued his hitting streak and went 3-4.  He always seems to be on base. I’m really having fun watching him this season. Jesus Flores had a pretty good night behind the plate also, catching a shut out game, and hitting a double.  However, he did let a pop up fall between he and Zim during the first inning that would have been an easy out.  Catching pop ups seem to be one area where Flores could use some more practice.

Zimmerman’s fielding last night was the highlight of the game for me.  His diving stop and throw to first followed by his bare handed grab later in the game were both impressive to watch. He produced at the plate also going 2-3 with a double.  Our third baseman leads the team in hits and home runs. He is a treat to watch.

After the game, the team announced that 2nd baseman Ronnie Belliard is headed to the DL with a left calf strain.  Chris Schroder gets the call up again from Columbus.  Any chance this guy will get to stay in DC for more than one game this time around?  Poor Chris — that back and forth trek can’t be much fun.  With Ronnie now on the DL, it might be possible to fill out a full line up card with hurt guys.  We’ve got a couple of catchers, a first baseman, a second baseman, an outfielder (not officially on the DL but not playing), and a couple of pitchers.  Manny really doesn’t have much to work with these days. Some call ups might make things more interesting.

Coming off his great performance last week in New York, Jason Bergmann faces Phillies Cole Hamels tonight at 7:00.  There might be another pitchers’ duel in the works tonight…