Did anyone see the play in Toronto last night involving Alex Rodriguez and Howie Clark? On a routine pop-up to third, A-Rod tried to fake out Clark by yelling something as he was running from second to third. Clark, thinking he heard a teammate yell "I got it!", backed off and watched as the ball fell to the turf. That incited some harsh words from both sides, including Blue Jays manager John Gibbons calling the move "bush league."

So what do you think? Was it a cheap move by A-Rod, or was it just gamesmanship? Is it the same as when an infielder pretends to catch a throw he has no shot at, convincing a runner to slide instead of rounding the base? Let me know what you think.

In the meantime, here's tonight's lineup for the Nats (who haven't scored since the eighth inning of Sunday's win at St. Louis)...

2B Lopez
SS Guzman
3B Zimmerman
1B Young
RF Kearns
LF Church
C Schneider
CF Logan
P Bowie

Looks like Manny Acta will be going with a slightly different look for tonight's game against the Dodgers. Dmitri Young is back after missing last night's game with a sore hip, and he's back in the cleanup spot previously held by Ryan Church. Here's your starting nines...

NATS
2B Lopez (two of the Nats' five hats last night)
SS Guzman (anyone else think he looked really shaky in the field yesterday?)
3B Zimmerman (average back down under .250)
1B Young (club's hottest hitter, might as well bump him up)
RF Kearns (can he build off his recent upswing?)
LF Church (0 for his last 8)
C Schneider (still rolling them over to first base)
CF Logan (1 for last 10)
P Bacsik (can he really do it again?)

DODGERS
SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Garciaparra
2B Kent
LF Gonzalez
C Martin
RF Ethier
3B Abreu
P Lowe

The Nationals are up to 17 pitchers so far this season, and it may be 18 soon if they call up Joel Hanrahan.

In spring training, manager Manny Acta made a point of saying he did not want to go through what Frank Robinson did in 2006, when they used 29 pitchers over the course of the season.

But now it turns out this may be an asset. Team president Stan Kasten joked on the field at RFK Stadium before Tuesday's game against the Dodgers that when he recently saw advance scouts at a Nationals game, he told them it wouldn't do them any good; Washington would have five new pitchers by the time their team faced the Nationals.

So it turns out 29 pitchers may be a goal, not a problem.

First, the good news: The Nats are opening a nine-game homestand at RFK Stadium. Not bad for a team that's been bouncing around all over the country for most of the last two months. Now, the bad news: The Dodgers and Padres are here this week, and they're the top two teams in the very competitive NL West. Things get easier when the Pirates come in next week, but first things first: The Nats are hoping to continue their winning ways (12 of 17) against two really tough opponents. Check out this week's pitching matchups...

Tonight: Jason Simontacchi (2-2, 4.37) vs. Brad Penny (6-1, 2.26)
Tomorrow: Mike Bacsik (1-0, 1.98) vs. Derek Lowe (4-5, 3.64)
Thursday: Micah Bowie (1-2, 3.91) vs. Mark Hendrickson (2-2, 3.62)
Friday: TBA vs. Justin Germano (3-0, 1.06)
Saturday: Matt Chico (3-4, 5.13) vs. Jake Peavy (7-1, 1.47)
Sunday: Simontacchi vs. David Wells (2-2, 4.85)

Now, nothing against the Nats' rotation, which has performed admirably with four regulars out. But come on, which side do you think gets the edge going into this week?

Another interesting development: You'll notice the Nats have listed Friday's starter as "TBA". That's normally Levale Speigner's spot, but it appears the rookie's getting bumped after three less-than-inspiring starts. We'll hopefully find out more soon, but the early favorite to start that game would seem to be Joel Hanrahan, who is back from the DL at Class AAA Columbus and pitched well in his first outing the other night (though he only went three innings).

Meanwhile, here's tonight's lineups. And notice that Dmitri Young is not in there, probably because his lower back is still bothering him after Sunday's collision with Scott Rolen in St. Louis...

NATS
2B Lopez
SS Guzman
3B Zimmerman
LF Church
RF Kearns
1B Belliard
C Schneider
CF Logan
P Simontacchi

DODGERS
CF Pierre
SS Furcal
1B Garciaparra
2B Kent
LF Gonzalez
C Martin
RF Ethier
3B Abreu
P Penny

So after a full weekend here in St. Louis, I think I've got a new appreciation for the new Busch Stadium. I was not a fan of this place when it opened last year. I felt like the Cardinals kind of wasted their opportunity to build an iconic ballpark worthy of their franchise's rich history and wound up with a pretty average looking place. (I also wasn't happy with the press box, which is situated way up at the top of the upper deck, featured no windows, no AC, poor internet service and flooded when it rained.)

But my feelings on Busch have changed this time around. I'm not sure exactly why, but I like this place better this year than I did last year. Maybe that's because it's fully completed now (the Cards had to do a rush job to get it operational last season, so a few things were left unfinished). Maybe it's because I actually ventured down to the main concourse for the first time and realized that this is a very spacious, comfortable ballpark with great fans. The view of the Gateway Arch is impressive, and the red brick exterior gives it a classic feel.

Also, I should note that they've made some improvements to the press box after the national media corps blasted the Cardinals during the World Series. They installed actual windows to keep the rain and wind out, added AC ducts, and finished the whole thing up at last. (Not that the comfort of the press box should impact my final verdict on a ballpark.)

In the end, though, I think I can now say this is a decent new ballpark. It's not in my top 10, because it still doesn't have that one, definining characteristic you'd like to see in these new stadiums. But it remains a good place to watch a ballgame with 44,000 of your closest, red-clad Cardinals fans.

The Nationals made a big deal the other night of general manager Jim Bowden getting his 1,000th win as a GM. All of a sudden, this has become a statistical front office measure of success.

“Congratulations to Jim on this reaching this great milestone,” Nationals President Stan Kasten said in a press release. “I know from working with him closely how hard he’s worked to achieve it, and how prepared he is to earn his next 1,000 wins."

You've got to like a team president with a sense of humor.

Bowden has a long way to go to catch Kasten, who has amassed 1,599 career wins as a baseball executive -- more or less, since we don't really know when the Lerner-Kasten group actually took ownership of the franchise last year, despite the big show on the weekend of July 21-23 against the Cubs. And as a sports executive -- his years with the Braves, the NBA Hawks, the NHL Thrashers and now the Nationals -- Kasten has 2,639 wins.

I wonder if that makes him the Hank Aaron of sports executives (not Barry Bonds, because I doubt Kasten was taking performance enhancing substances for any of those wins).

Lineups are in for tonight's series finale against the Reds. But first, a roster move from the Cincinnati clubhouse: Reliever Gary Majewski (remember him?) has been recalled from Class AAA Louisville and will be available to pitch out of the bullpen tonight. This will be Makewski's first major-league appearance all season -- he spent part of last season on the DL with a shoulder injury and had pitched exclusively at Louisville to date (going 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 15 outings, though the ERA was skewed by one horrendous appearance in which he gave up six runs in two-thirds of an inning).

Regardless, Majewski's return sure comes at an interesting time, what with the Nats in town for the final game of this series and the Reds' bullpen having been torched the last three nights. Think Cincinnati GM Wayne Krivsky wants to keep the Majewski-grievance story out there while Jim Bowden is still around? Hmm...

Anyways, here's tonight's lineups:

NATS
2B Lopez (.313 with five extra-base hits his last 7 games)
SS Guzman (needs 12 hits for 1,000 career)
3B Zimmerman (really starting to hit the ball with authority)
LF Church (wishes the Nats could relocate to Cincy)
RF Kearns (much-needed 2-for-4 last night)
1B Young (ride him while he stays hot)
C Schneider (yes, he homered last night!)
CF Logan (whatever happened to the Langerhans platoon?)
P Bacsik (don't think he'll throw six scoreless here)

REDS
CF Freel
SS Gonzalez
RF Griffey
2B Phillips
1B Conine
LF Dunn
3B Encarnacion
C Ross
P Belisle

No, not the GAP. The GABP (Great American Ball Park). It's only stadium in the majors that separates the word ballpark into two words. Rumor has it the president of Great American Insurance Group didn't want the stadium to be abbreviated as GAB, so he asked that ballpark be two words. It's all about the abbreviations.

Anyways, this being my fourth day here in Cincinnati (funny, it doesn't feel like a day over 14) I figured I can now give an educated review of the ballpark and its surroundings. This place opened in 2002, replacing the cookie-cutter Riverfront Stadium, and while it's certainly an improvement over the old place, I can't help but feel they missed the boat a little with this place. Not literally, of course. There's a steamboat-looking restaurant/bar high above the center-field fence here, which I suppose is a nice local touch ... except for the fact that it blocks the view of the Ohio River! If you're going to stick a ballpark facing a river, wouldn't you want to be able to see the river from inside? Apparently not, because all you get here of the Ohio are a couple of obstructed glances behind the massive right-field bleachers, which are built about 30 rows up for no apparent reason.

The interior of the GABP is nice, I suppose, with lots of good sightlines of the field and no real bad seats in the house. The seats, though, are bright red (for obvious reasons given the home team's nickname) which can be a bit jarring. My personal preference in baseball stadiums is for blue or green seats (thankfully the Nats' new park will be navy blue). It just makes for a more authentic feel, more inviting. I've always thought bright-colored seats (red, yellow, orange) work fine in football stadiums, which is more of a rah-rah atmosphere, but aren't as good in baseball stadiums.

My other big problem with the GABP (aside from the incredibly short outfield fences, which as you've probably seen during this home-run happy series, makes for some ridiculously high-scoring games) is its orientation. It faces southeast, which does two things. One, almost all the seats are in direct sunlight (as opposed to northeast-facing ballparks which provide some shade). But more importantly than that, the orientation destroys what could be a nice view of downtown Cincinnati, which sits directly behind home plate. Yes, they built this park this way because it faces the Ohio River. But as I said before, most of the river is obscured by the stands/steamboat bar. And what there is to see isn't all that impressive. It's kind of a brown river, with some rolling hills of Northern Kentucky on the other side. Hardly the kind of awe-inspiring view that Pittsburgh's PNC Park provides (the Allegheny River, with the Roberto Clemente Bridge going across to the downtown skyline).

In the end, GABP is a decent new ballpark. But I think it could have been so much more, and that's unfortuante, especially in this, the oldest professional baseball town in America.

Yes, the home team is really, really bad. But this is still a baseball town, and here's the evidence: The Nationals just hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to take a 9-1 lead. The crowd at Great American Ball Park booed mericilessly, then a sizeable portion down the left-field line started a chant: "Ho-mer Bai-ley! Ho-mer Bai-ley!" For the uninitiated, Homer Bailey is the organization's top hitting prospect who is just begging to be called up. That's some hard-core baseball knowledge there from the locals.

Now, I'm not saying Washington isn't a baseball town, but let me just ask this: If the Nats were losing 9-1 in the seventh inning at RFK, what are the odds you'd hear a chant of "Chris Marrero! Chris Marrero!" coming from the bleachers? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Tonight's lineup is in, and Ryan Church is back in left field after missing two games with a bruised left forearm. Here's Manny Acta's starting nine against the Reds...

NATS
2B Lopez (grand slam, 6 RBI last night)
SS Guzman (hitting a robust .271)
3B Zimmerman (0-for-4 last night, so much for that upswing)
LF Church (average down to .262)
RF Kearns (2 for his last 29 -- yikes!)
1B Young (8 hits in last 15 ABs)
C Schneider (hitting .293 in May. Who knew?)
CF Logan (Note: Please start saying "I GOT IT!")
P Simontacchi (3.70 ERA in six career games at GABP)

REDS
CF Freel
1B Hatteberg
RF Griffey Jr.
2B Phillips
LF Dunn
3B Encarnacion
SS Gonzalez
C Ross
P Lohse

Watching Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 573rd career home run Tuesday night against the Nationals, tying him with Harmon Killebrew for eighth place on the home run list, made me think about what might have been.

After all, it was Griffey, not Bonds, who was supposed to be the challenger to Hank Aaron's sacred career home run record. But a series of injuries have prevented him from playing a full season over the last six years, as Bonds passed him by.

The questionable defense of Bonds by his supporters that the scrutiny of the steroid-bloated slugger is racially motivated makes me wonder -- what would be the reaction of America and the sports world if this was Griffey instead of Bonds?

Would there be as much disgust or dishonor in the quest? I doubt it, and it's not because Griffey is a particularly great guy. He is hardly warm and cuddly. But he is not the jerk that Bonds is, and I suspect we would be celebrating, not cringing.

But, like Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. is black. So if America embraced Griffey's quest to break Aaron's record, would that make him white America's black man, as some of Bonds' supporters have implied Aaron is for failing to get behind Bonds breaking his record?

So much for Ryan Church only needing one day off to recover from his bruised left forearm. Church is again not in the lineup tonight against the Reds. Manny Acta will field the same starting eight as last night...

NATS
2B Lopez
SS Guzman
3B Zimmerman
1B Young
RF Kearns
C Schneider
CF Logan
LF Langerhans
P Chico

REDS
CF Freel
SS Gonzalez
RF Griffey
2B Phillips
1B Conine
LF Dunn
3B Encarnacion
C Ross
P Saarloos

Monday night's 8-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds means the Nationals have lost 13 games by two runs or less.

Some people might look at this as a positive sign — they are in every game.

But you might want to consider the possibility of what might have been.

As I have stated a number of times, it doesn't take much to be competitive in the National League, and if the Nationals had made a little more of a financial commitment to the team on the field this year, maybe they would be a little bit better — maybe perhaps two or three runs better in some of those games.

If six of those losses had been wins, the Nationals would have a record of 22-23 — for all intents and purposes, a .500 team. That would be reason for hope.

These losses, though, are reason for frustration.

Washington Times sports columnist Thom Loverro will appear on The Sports Reporters today on Sportstalk 980 from 5 to 7 p.m. and again on Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. Expect plenty of Nationals chatter.

Before next Wednesday's 7:05 p.m. game at RFK against the Dodgers, Manny Acta will be taking questions from fans and signing autographs at ESPN Zone downtown. The session runs from noon to 1 p.m.

So you'll get the chance to lob questions at Manny just like the reporters ... except for that whole autograph thing.

I think you could certainly make the argument that last night's 8-7 heartbreaker to the Reds qualifies. It wasn't just that Jon Rauch blew an eighth-inning lead, it was the manner in which the entire thing went down...


-- The Nats knock Bronson Arroyo (the guy who threw two shutouts against them last year) out after two innings, taking a 6-0 lead.

-- They withstand Levale Speigner's three-inning, five-run start thanks to three shutout innings of relief from Winston Abreu.

-- Nook Logan and Austin Kearns let a crucial fly ball land between them in the fateful eighth because of a lack of communication between the outfielders.

-- Rauch blows his second save in three days, serving up a monstrous, two-run homer to Javier Valentin to cap the Reds' comeback from six runs down to win.

Pretty morose clubhouse afterward. There was a palpable sense of a wasted opportunity. You're only going to beat up on Bronson Arroyo AND get three shutout innings from Winston Abreu so many times, let alone on the same night. You HAVE to win those kind of games.

The Nats have been pretty good all season at bouncing back from tough losses, showing little carryover effect. We'll see how they show up tonight for the second game of the series.

A pleasant good afternoon to everyone from the Queen City, where the Nats open a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds tonight. A surprising amount of buzz over a series that features the two worst teams in the National League, but there's always intrigue when these two teams play. Interesting column in today's Cincinnati Enquirer and surprise, surprise: It offer high praise for Jim Bowden, ex-Reds GM who people around here still despise. Also, Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez make their first trip back to Great American Ball Park since last summer's blockbuster trade. I addressed this deal in today's Nats Insider. As much as everyone declared this a steal for the Nats, the stats don't totally support that. Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez have been far from dynamite since coming to Washington. Of course, there's still plenty of time for that to change, and it's not like the guys the Reds got in return (primarily Gary Majewski and Bill Bray) have done much of anything for them. But I still think it's interesting how much the perception sways in favor of Washington on this one, when there's not much evidence to support it ... yet.


Meanwhile, here's tonight's lineup (Note: Ryan Church is out for the first time this season after getting hit by a pitch in the left forearm yesterday. We'll get an update on him shortly.)...


NATIONALS
2B Lopez
SS Guzman
3B Zimmerman
1B Young
RF Kearns
C Schneider
CF Logan
LF Langerhans
P Speigner


REDS
3B Freel
CF Hopper
RF Griffey
2B Phillips
LF Dunn
SS Gonzalez
1B Hatteberg
C Ross
P Arroyo


Finally, here's your stat of the day. When the Nats score five or more runs this season, their record is 9-1. When they score four runs or less, they're 7-27. Translation: They're getting the pitching; they're not getting the hitting.

So much for Jason Bergmann only missing one start. The Nats placed him on the 15-day DL today (retroactive to May 15) with right elbow inflammation, so he'll likely miss two or possible three turns in the rotation before coming back. It's an unfortunate development, but Bergmann insists he's not seriously hurt and hopes that a little rest will get him back on track. He might have avoided a DL stint, but Washington's pitching ranks are so thin, the club felt it had no choice but to DL him.

Taking over Bergmann's place will be left-hander Mike Bacsik, who will have his contract purchased from Class AAA Columbus in time to start tomorrow's game against the Orioles. Bacsik is about choice No. 4 from Columbus (behind Joel Hanrahan, Emiliano Fruto and Billy Traber) but the first two are currently hurt and the latter has already been called up to take over in the bullpen. So Bacsik it is. The 29-year-old is 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA in nine games (five starts) and he has some big-league experience (5-5, 5.88 ERA in 22 appearances with the Indians, Mets and Rangers). We'll see...

So to recap, here's the Nats' current starting five: Matt Chico, Jason Simontacchi, Levale Speigner, Micah Bowie and Mike Bacsik. Wow.

Good news: The Nats have won six of seven, have won two straight series, and are actually resembling a competitive major-league club.

Bad news: Four-fifths of the starting rotation is now hurt, the latest addition being Jason Bergmann, who will miss Saturday's start with elbow soreness. Bergmann said he felt sore the morning after he tossed his near no-hitter Monday night, but an MRI taken yesterday revealed no structural damage. The Nats, though, will be cautious with him and give him at least one turn in the rotation off. We should know shortly who will take his spot Saturday, though there aren't many choices.

Given what's gone on with the rotation, it's a minor miracle this team has played so well for the last week. The difference? Great bullpen work, plus some really timely hitting. The key on the latter front, I believe, has been the improved pinch-hitting Manny Acta has gotten. That's a direct result of the roster changes that have taken place the last two weeks or so. Not long ago, Acta's choices off the bench were Josh Wilson, Michael Restovich, Robert Fick, Jesus Flores and Kory Casto. Now, it's Dmitri Young, Ronnie Belliard, Tony Batista and either Nook Logan or Ryan Langerhans. You tell me which group you'd rather have at your disposal.

Gotta run down to the clubhouse, but I'll try to post a rotation update when I get back up later this afternoon/evening.

I'm getting a good amount of feedback from fans about my story on the Nationals attendance situation. Quite a few complained that I was just piling on, and some criticized me for failing to acknowledge the strong core of passionate fans who do show up. Believe me, I know there are a good number of loyal fans that still come out to RFK on a regular basis. I was there Wednesday night and actually took note of how noisy the crowd was.

But so much has been written about the team's struggles, without any taking note of whether fans were deeming it worthwhile to spend an evening at RFK Stadium. It's one thing to write about how fans will be patient, waiting for Kasten and company to rebuild the franchise; but does patience translate into people buying tickets now?

Based on the numbers, it appears most people are preferring to stay home this season.
Weather obviously played a big role in the team's early attendance woes, and I made a point of mentioning that the team played an unusually high 14 home games in April. I will acknowledge, however, that I should have done a better job outlining how this year's schedule differed from last year's. The first 20 home dates in 2006 included series with the Orioles and Red Sox, and that can skew the numbers a bit.

My sense is that, when all is said and done, attendance at RFK this season will be comparable to what we saw last year. The team is playing a bit better now, and we should see some big crowds toward the end of the season as the visiting Mets, Braves and Phillies are likely to be in the playoff hunt. There may also be an attendance boost from nostalgic fans looking to catch the last few ballgames to be played at RFK Stadium. (tickets are still available)

The Nationals on Tuesday sent Stephen King, the team's 2006 third-round pick, to extended spring training in Viera, Fla., after he struggled at Class A Hagerstown.

King, a 19-year old shortstop who is considered one of the oranization's top prospects, batted .180 with two home runs and 51 strikeouts in 128 at-bats with the Suns.

I'll have a bigger piece on King in Friday's paper in my Minor League Report.

Here's a surprising little twist: Billy Traber won't be filling Jerome Williams' vacant spot in the starting rotation. Micah Bowie will. Yes, the crafty 33-year-old left-hander will start Sunday against the Orioles, his first big-league start since 1999 and his first in a non-rehab game since 2001.

Why? Well, according to Manny Acta, Traber has been fairly effective as a reliever at Class AAA Columbus, so they don't want to tinker with that. Bowie, meanwhile, threw 50 pitches out of the bullpen last night, so he's already stretched out enough to throw 70-75 pitches Sunday.

Bowie, one of the good guys in this game, is pretty excited to get the nod. "Getting a chance to start a game, that's an opportunity you want to take," he said.

Update on Williams: An MRI revealed he has a partially torn right labrum, though his rotator cuff and the majority of his labrum are fine. He'll be shut down for 10 to 14 days before he can begin a throwing program. But he won't be allowed to start throwing until he is symptom free.

Meanwhile, it's been raining pretty hard here at RFK. For now, it appears they plan on trying to play tonight's game against the Braves, but we could be here for a while. If it does get rained out, they could either play two tomorrow or play Sept. 13 (a common off-day before the Braves are scheduled to come back here for a three-game weekend series).

And the pitching carousel continues to spin around and around and around and around...

Jerome Williams was placed on the 15-day disabled list today with a right shoulder strain, and the Nats purchased the contract of left-hander Billy Traber from Class AAA Columbus to take his place.

No surprise with Williams here. He said he felt "a pull" in his shoulder during a third-inning pitch to Andruw Jones last night, something he'd never felt before, so his second DL stint of the year was inevitable. He's having an MRI today; we'll see if that reveals anything more serious than a simple strain.

Traber, meanwhile, returns to D.C. after pitching well for Columbus in the bullpen and later in the rotation. The 27-year-old lefty who has an odd habit for speaking in the plural instead of the singular -- "WE didn't pitch well tonight" and "WE made a mistake with that pitch" -- was 1-2 with a 2.60 ERA in 10 games (two starts) and so he gets the nod to take Williams' spot in the rotation. Traber probably wasn't the Nats' first choice. Right-hander Joel Hanrahan has been the top starter at Columbus and narrowly missed making the rotation out of spring training, but he's currently out with a strained hamstring, so Traber it is.

To make room on the roster for the lefty, the Nats transferred Nick Johnson from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. Procedural move only, it doesn't affect Johnson's timetable for returning to the majors. He's eligible to come off June 1, but it still looks like it will be at least late-June or July before we see him in the lineup.

Join beat writer Mark Zuckerman at 2 p.m. Wednesday for his weekly live chat. Send questions in advance to natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com. See you then!

Major League Baseball yesterday announced the World Series will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 24. On the surface, this is not something that warranted a formal announcement, except that it means the series will start in the middle of the week, when television ratings are higher. In past seasons, the series has started on a Saturday, and the number of people tuning in to coverage on Fox has been dwindling.

The move also means that Game 7, if necessary, would be played in November for the first time since 2001, when the entire postseason was pushed back a week in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11.

It's hard to know whether the move to mid-week will boost ratings. Any industry expert will tell you ratings for sporting events are tied more directly to which teams are involved and the competitiveness of the games. But those are things out of the control of MLB and Fox.

It is worth noting that Fox is getting solid ratings for its Saturday "Game of the Week" this year. The network decided to begin showing the games from the beginning of the season rather than picking up coverage in the summer, and also moved the game times from 1:35 to 3:55 p.m. The network is averaging nearly 4 million viewers for each telecast, making it the most-watched baseball season on Fox since 2003.

OK, let's not jump too far ahead of ourselves here, but seriously, how 'bout that Jason Bergmann? No-hitter into the eighth, winds up with a two-hit, 10-strikeout gem and his first major-league win since Sept. 2005. All of a sudden, this guy is getting a curtain call at RFK, is the lead story on Baseball Tonight and is an instant sensation.

Here's the thing: Bergmann appears to be anything but a one-hit wonder. His spectacular performance last night may have caught most of the baseball world by surprise, but he's been building up to this for the last six weeks or so. And there's a very strong argument there hasn't been a more dominant pitcher in the majors over that span. Consider Bergmann's pitching lines over his last seven starts:

Apr 12 @ATL 6.0ip, 1h, 0er, 4bb, 8k
Apr 18 vsPHI 6.1ip, 5h, 3er, 1bb, 6k
Apr 24 @PHI 6.0ip, 3h, 1er, 2bb, 5k
Apr 29 vsNYM 7.0ip, 2h, 1er, 3bb, 6k
May 4 @CHI 6.0ip, 8h, 4er, 2bb, 4k
May 9 @MIL 6.0ip, 2h, 1er, 2bb, 2k
May 14 vsATL 8.0ip, 2h, 1er, 1bb, 10k

Let's see, over his last seven starts, spanning 45 1/3 innings, Bergmann has allowed a total of 11 earned runs on 23 hits, with 15 walks and 41 strikeouts. That's a 2.18 ERA with 4.6 hits allowed per nine innings and 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings. That's the definition of dominating.

So how come no one has noticed him until now? (Well, except for yours truly, who happened to do a big feature on Mr. Bergmann two weeks ago.) Because until last night, he had zero wins. That was hardly Jason's fault, considering his teammates scored only 17 runs in those seven outings, but it did prevent him from earning recognition outside of the die-hards in D.C.

No more. They know who Bergmann is now. He's the guy with the lowest opponent's batting average (.162) in the majors. He's the guy who outdueled John Smoltz twice. He's the guy who has allowed two hits or less four times this season already. And he's a guy who should be able to keep this up to some extent.

This isn't a case of a semi-talented pitcher catching opponents off-guard. Plenty of young hurlers burst onto the scene and have a great month or two, only to watch as veteran hitters start to figure him out and make adjustments. But Bergmann isn't beating guys by fooling them. He's beating them, plain and simple, with his "stuff." His fastball is running 91 to 93 mph, with movement. His slider is diving away from right-handed hitters around 85 mph, his curveball in the high 70s. He is simply blowing them away, and that's not the kind of thing that tends to change over time.

Obviously, you don't want to jump the gun too much with a young pitcher who has instant success. Six weeks ago, Bergmann was the 13th man on a 12-man pitching staff, a guy who didn't seem to have much of a future. Today, he's the best starter on the Nats' staff (with John Patterson and Shawn Hill both on the DL) and one of the most dominating pitchers in the big leagues. He may not be able to keep this pace up. But if the 2007 season was supposed to be all about identifying pieces for the long term, the discovery of Jason Bergmann could prove to a key development.

Pregame news from RFK Stadium: Chad Cordero is back after a week on bereavement leave. Cordero's grandmother, Josie, died early Friday of brain cancer in Chino, Calif., but Chad was able to see her one last time and that seemed to be a source of great comfort for him. He took a red-eye flight back to D.C. last night and looked refreshed and ready to go this afternoon. One thing to consider, though: Manny Acta said he'll ease his closer back into the role over the next week or so, which means Jon Rauch will continue to pitch the ninth inning for now. Could be strange to see Cordero enter in the seventh or eighth inning of a game, but the plan makes sense. Chad wasn't mentally right before he left the club, and now he's had a week off, so it will take a little bit of time to get him back into a groove.

Meanwhile, Shawn Hill was officially placed on the 15-day DL with a left shoulder strain. Hill had MRIs taken on both his right elbow and left shoulder today. The elbow MRI showed no structural damage, which was encouraging news. The shoulder MRI revealed a sublixation (or disclocation) which occurred a couple weeks ago when Hill dove awkwardly into third base. That's been the primary cause of his problems -- the damged left shoulder threw his mechanics out of whack and left his surgically repaired right elbow vulnerable to injury, which is exactly what happened. Because the more serious injury is to his non-throwing shoulder, Hill could be back throwing again in 10 to 14 days. At that point, he'll have to work his arm back into shape, probably making a rehab start or two, but he's shooting for a return to the Nationals no later than mid-June.

Those are the big news items from this afternoon. Here's your lineups for tonight's game against the Braves. Nats going for four in a row...

ATLANTA
2B Johnson
LF Harris
SS Renteria
CF A.Jones
C McCann
RF Francoeur
1B Thorman
3B Woodward
P Smoltz

WASHINGTON
2B Lopez
SS Guzman
3B Zimmerman
LF Church
RF Kearns
C Schneider
1B Fick
CF Langerhans
P Bergmann

Nationals hitting coach Mitchell Page has been granted a leave of absence by the club for undisclosed personal reasons and replaced on an interim basis by Lenny Harris.

General manager Jim Bowden would not reveal the reason for Page's decision to leave the club, citing privacy, and did not say how long the 55-year-old would be gone. Bowden did say he is expected to return at some point. Page was fired by the St. Louis Cardinals following the 2004 season when he admitted he was an alcoholic and checked himself into a Northern California rehab facility. He was hired by the Nationals to be their minor-league hitting coordinator in 2005, then was promoted to the big-league staff in 2006.

Harris, 42, has been with the organization since August 2006 and has served as minor-league infield coordinator. Baseball's all-time leader in pinch-hits, he will begin his interim term as major-league hitting tonight against the Marlins.

Manny Acta thinks the fact that his Washington Nationals haven't been blown out in the latest series of losses that have led to their 9-25 record is an encouraging sign.

"We've been in every game," he said after the 3-1 loss to Milwaukee Wednesday to complete the Brewers' sweep of the Nationals.

But to me, it is a pretty good picture of what this season will be like: maddening for all involved.

This team has a core of good players, and despite my contention that they will be very, very bad this year and lose 108 games, I don't think they are that far off from being a pretty competitive team. If the owners aggressively pursue the right two or three free agents next year, I think they actually could be a winning team. And Washington could double its payroll and still be at a very reasonable $75 million next season.

But for now, "being in every game" shows just how little margin for error the Nationals have every time they take the field. They can't afford to give up the big hit late in the game or make the key error. One mistake and they are usually done.

Well, the Nationals have officially become the Cleveland Indians from the film "Major League." They have called up Tony Batista from Class AAA Columbus.

He was wearing number 77 last night, which may wind up being the number of pitchers the Nationals use this season. In spring training, manager Manny Acta said he didn't want to be in the situation that Frank Robinson was in last year, when he was forced to use 29 pitchers to get through the year.

A little more than one month into this season, the Nationals are up to 15 pitchers -- and that is with a pitching staff that hasn't done all that badly. Wait until they find their level of incompetence on the mound to match the lack of hitting.

Of course, Tony Batista should give them a boost.

None of this should be a surprise, especially to the owners of this team who made the decision to field a squad that now owns a 9-24 record. Of those 24 losses, nine have been by two runs or less.

How much a difference would another $10 million on the major league product made in some of those games? Again, it's the difference between being competitively bad and embarrassingly bad.

Here's a rare treat: Because the Nats are playing a rare Wednesday afternoon game, I'll be doing my weekly live chat during the middle three innings at Miller Park. Set your alarm clocks for 2 p.m. Eastern, then join us on Nats Home Plate for our Q&A. I'll also try to include some game details for those of you stuck at work who can't watch the boys attempt to snap their seven-game losing streak. Send your questions in advance to natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com, and we'll talk at 2 p.m.

Dial in to SportsTalk 980-AM on Thursday afternoon. Washington Times sports columnist Thom Loverro will be on the Sports Reporters from 5 to 7 p.m. to talk about the Nationals and other hot topics.

OK, here's the rundown of all the roster moves the Nats made before tonight's game...

-- Purchased contract of RHP Jason Simontacchi from Class AAA Columbus. Simontacchi is starting tonight's game against the Brewers.

-- Purchased contract of 3B Tony Batista from Columbus. Batista arrived at Miller Park during batting practice and will be available off the bench.

-- Purchased contract of RHP Winston Abreu, who will serve as a middle reliever in the bullpen.

-- Placed RHP Chad Cordero on the bereavement list. Cordero flew home to Chino, Calif., to be with his dying grandmother. He'll be gone a minimum of three days, a maximum of seven. Jon Rauch will serve as closer in his absence.

-- Placed RHP Ryan Wagner on the 15-day DL with right rotator cuff inflammation, retroactive to May 7. This came as a surprise, but Wagner said he had been pitching in pain for more than a week. He finally told the club yesterday and will have an MRI Thursday to determine if there's any serious damage. Wagner said the pain was very similar to the one that caused him to miss most of 2005 with the Reds "but worse." Uh-oh.

-- Designated INF Josh Wilson for assignment. Wilson has 24 hours to decide if he wants to accept the assignment to Columbus or not.

There you have it. Plenty more details in tomorrow morning's paper...

Looks like there's a flurry of roster moves coming today. In addition to Chad Cordero going on the bereavement list and being replaced by Winston Abreu, the Nationals also are purchasing the contracts of Jason Simontacchi (tonight's starting pitcher) and veteran infielder Tony Batista from Class AAA Columbus. How about that? No corresponding roster moves announced yet, but it would appear infielder Josh Wilson is being sent down (no big surprise). The other opening apparently will be created with someone being placed on the disabled list. The hunch here is that it will be Dmitri Young, who has been bothered by a sore left foot and has been struggling mightily at the plate on this road trip. Would make some sense, because then Kory Casto and Batista could share the first base job. I'll update when it becomes official. (Whoops, looks like Robert Fick will be starting at first tonight. Forgot about him.)

Also, the Nats are about to announce their plans to stop providing alcohol in the clubhouse before and after games. Obviously, this is a reaction to last week's death of Cardinals reliever Josh Hancock, who was killed when he crashed into a parking tow truck while under the influence. It's a nice symbolic move by the Nationals, and certainly makes sense. That said, I'm not sure how much practical impact it's going to have. Players aren't getting drunk in the clubhouse after games. They don't stick around long enough for that. The problems arise well after they've left the stadium, and there's not much a team can do about that. It's certainly a debate-worthy subject, and for those who are interested, I'd recommend reading tomorrow's editons of the Times. Colleague Bob Cohn has been working on a lengthy article dealing with this issue and will shed some insight on it.

In the meantime, I need to provide my review of Miller Park. Since I have only a few minutes before I need to run down to the clubhouse for pregame interviews, I'll have to keep this short. But that's OK, because there's not a whole lot to say about this place. There's nothing wrong with it, per se, it's just not going to rank high on anyone's list of favorite ballparks. Miller is a retractable-roof dome, which is necessary here in chilly Milwaukee. The roof design, though, isn't nearly as well done as the ones in Seattle and Houston. It's kind of similar to Chase Field in Arizona, in that the roof splits into two and opens to the two sides, though this one is done in a triangular-sort-of-shape. Hard to describe unless you see it. My main problem with this stadium is it's location -- about five miles west of downtown off Interstate 94. It's right next door to where the old County Stadium was located, but there's nothing else around here. Just a big parking lot. No restaurants, no bars, no shopping. I can't help but wonder how much better the Brewers would have been off had they built the park downtown (which is an underrated place, by the way). There have been very few examples of non-downtown ballparks that have been huge successes. I think they missed the boat here in Milwaukee.

Nationals closer Chad Cordero has been placed on the bereavement list and is leaving the club to fly home to Chino, Calif., where his grandmother is dying from brain cancer. It's been a difficult week for Cordero, who saw Josie Cordero, 76, last week while the Nats were in San Diego for what he worried would be the last time. His mind hasn't been right since, and he admitted he wasn't in the best mental state Sunday at Wrigley Field when he blew his fourth save in eight chances. Manager Manny Acta had already planned not to use Cordero in last night's game against the Brewers had the appropriate situation arisen, but now "Chief" can go spend time with his family without hampering the Nats' bullpen. He'll be gone for three to seven days, likely returning to RFK Stadium for next week's series against the Braves.

Baseball added the bereavement list a couple of years ago, and kudos to the Commissioner's Office for doing so. We sometimes forget that ballplayers are human beings and deal with all the same issues off the field as the rest of us do. It's easy to look at Cordero's struggles on the mound this season and blame him for blowing several Nats victories, but it's important to remember sometimes that these guys are often dealing with a lot more than baseball. So the sport now allows players to take anywhere from three to seven days off when a loved one is dying and allows the club to call up a replacement player without penalty. The Nats have purchased the contract of right-hander Winston Abreu from Class AAA Columbus to take Cordero's spot. Abreu had pitched extremely well for the Clippers, allowing just one earned run in 18 innings.

So I've been meaning to write my review of venerable Wrigley Field, just haven't had the chance to sit down and put my thoughts together since getting to town. First, though, a small disclaimer: I have a personal connection to this place. I went to nearby Northwestern University and made many a trip on the "El" -- that's the elevated train, the local subway -- from Evanston to the corner of Clark and Addison to see the Cubbies play. I also covered a number of games one summer as an intern at a suburban paper, so obviously I've spent plenty of time here.

Given all that, Wrigley remains my favorite old-time ballpark. An afternoon here is like being transported back in time, like you're watching a game in the the '20s, the '50s or the '70s. It just hasn't changed at all over the years, aside from a couple of upgrades like some electronic message boards, some club seating and a remaking of the famed bleachers. There's so much to like. The ivy growing on the outfield walls. The hand-operated scoreboard high up in center field. The various flags that fly after the game that signify the outcome to passersby on the El -- white with a blue "W" if the Cubs win, blue with a white "L" if they lose. There also aren't many bad seats in the house, even way back in the lower deck underneath the overhang. There are a few seats behind poles, and obviously those present problems, but the stadium is so cozy that you always feel like you're on top of the action.

And unlike some of those other old-time parks, they've done an amazing job keeping this place up over the years. Either this was an engineering marvel back when it was built in 1914, or they plum lucked out, because the design still works today. Sure, the ramps and walkways get crowded from so many people, the concession stands are small and the seats aren't always comfortable. But it's a far more pleasant gameday experience here than at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium, and unlike those places, there's never been any serious talk of tearing Wrigley down and building a new ballpark.

The charm of Wrigley Field also lies in the time-honored tradition of day baseball. They didn't install lights here until 1988, and still to this day they only play the majority of their games in the afternoon. That makes for a great atmosphere, one unrivaled by any other in the game. It also gives stadium-goers ample opportunity to take advantage of the many restaurants and bars surrounding the place. It can feel like a fraternity quad some nights, but it's usually a good, clean scene.

So I was asked by a reader to include some work-related feelings about all the ballparks I visit. He wants to know about the view from the press box and the quality of the pregame meal. I'm not sure most fans really care about such things, but I'll oblige. The press box at Wrigley is all the way at the top of the upper deck (most stadiums have them situated between the lower and upper decks) so the view is slightly higher than the norm. I don't particularly mind that, though, so long as I'm situated relatively behind the plate (which I am here) and can see the movement of pitches. The press dining room here is about average for the major leagues. Nothing fancy, but they usually offer a decent meal, and if you don't like the main dish, they always give you the option to make a cold-cuts sandwich. Good cookies for dessert, too.

I could go on, but it's getting late and I don't want to come across as completely gushing over the ballpark like a giddy schoolgirl, so let's just leave it at that. Suffice it to say, I highly recommend all baseball fans make the trip to Wrigleyville at least once in their lives. It's a truly unique sports-watching experience, and one that no one should miss.