From Don in Gloucester, Va.:
Should the Nationals set off fireworks if Young ever catches a pop fly that lands beyond the infield dirt? Seriously, don't they have a coach who can teach this guy just the basics of playing 1B. I remember when Killebrew first came up and they stuck him at 3B. It was an adventure and I can still see him taking hard shots on the chest and still throwing runners out. But when people remember Killebrew, they don't remember him as a butcher at either third or first base. He learned to be reliable at both positions. SOMEONE PLEASE!! Help Young before he kills someone.
Mark Zuckerman:
I'd say you had a good suggestion there, but the problem is that the Nats would end up wasting thousands of dollars on elaborate fireworks that they'd never get to set off because they'd still be waiting for Dmitri to catch that first pop-up! (I kid, I kid.) But seriously folks, I think we can safely say now that Young is a butcher in the field. The Nats knew this going into the season and were prepared to deal with it, and to date, I don't think we can say he's literally cost them any games. But boy, it ain't pretty when he's out there. As far as coaching goes, I think it's too late for that. The guy's 33, he's not going to suddenly turn into Keith Hernandez out there. The best thing Nats fans can hope for at this point is Nick Johnson's return ... and soon!


From Hugh Darragh in Rockville:
It seems that since there was a change in batting coaches the team has hit much better. Why hasn't anyone in the news remarked about it?
Mark Zuckerman:
For the uninitiated, Nats hitting coach Mitchell Page took a leave of absence about three weeks ago and was replaced by Lenny Harris. The switch happens to coincide with the recent hot streak, so this question has been raised. Actually, it was posed to Manny Acta a couple of times over the last week, and here's basically what Manny had to say: Yes, the club is hitting better and they're happy to have Lenny Harris on board, but the players in the clubhouse have a great deal of respect for Mitchell Page, who is widely regarded as a good hitting coach. It's the right thing for Manny to say. Whether Harris has had that much impact is hard to say. But clearly the players have taken to him just as much as they took to Mitch. And for those wondering about Page (who it's pretty well known has a history of alcoholism), I've been told he's still in the D.C. area, getting help and doing well. There are no immediate plans for him to return to the club, though.


From GoNats in Manassas:
It's almost June and Ryan Zimmerman isn't even batting .300 and his RBI are really low. Is this just an early-summer slump or is this an indicator of bigger problems to come?
Mark Zuckerman:
Isn't even batting .300??? He's not even batting .250!!! Yeah, this one has kind of been overlooked because Zimmerman did enjoy a bit of an upswing recently. He clubbed a couple of home runs during the road trip (plus had that walk-off grand slam during the last homestand) so it's not like he's been totally unproductive. But this is going to be something to watch all season. I think we were all spoiled by his remarkable rookie season (.287-20-110) and it's too much to ask for that again, especially with Alfonso Soriano and Nick Johnson not in the lineup protecting him.


From Carrie in Casper, Wyo.:
Will Joel H. pitch on Saturday night?
Mark Zuckerman:
Hello, Casper! Big Nats fan base out there in cowboy country? ... Joel Hanrahan MAY indeed pitch on Saturday, but as of now that hasn't been determined for sure. Here's what we do know: Levale Speigner won't make his scheduled start Friday. Matt Chico, bumped up to pitch on normal rest, will pitch that game against the Padres. So the Nats need a starter for Saturday. It could still be Speigner, though everyone seems to agree the kid's just not cut out for starting. The logical choice, then, would seem to be Hanrahan, who has pitched extremely well at Columbus and has been in line for a promotion for a while. The only drawback -- he just came off the DL and pitched only three innings on Monday. One way or another, though, his next start will come on Saturday. It's only a question of where: Washington or Columbus?


From Adam in Frederick, Md.:
Mark - Enjoy your coverage of the Nats. My question is about the trade deadline and what to expect. The obvious seems to be that Dmitri Young and maybe Belliard will be dealt for prospects. Question is, what quality do these two demand, and if they stay hot, will they demand more, or ar MLB execs too smart to not give away too much based on a hot bat in June/July? Also, do you think Cordero will be dealt, and if so, what does he demand? Thanks.
Mark Zuckerman:
Thanks for the kind words, Adam... Surely, there will be lots of trade talk as we move closer to the July 31 deadline (but don't call me Shirley! Sorry, couldn't resist the "Airplane!" reference.) You are correct that Young and Belliard will be two of the most-talked about names, though I'd include Jesus Colome and Jon Rauch to that mix. What can the Nats reasonably expect to get in return for those guys? Probably something comparable to what they got for Mike Stanton and Daryle Ward last summer. Low-level prospects who have a shot at turning into something. Like Shairon Martis, a young pitcher they got for Stanton who is progressing nicely at Class A Potomac. Cordero is the one guy who could command more. Jim Bowden has made it known he will only trade his closer for a front-line, major-league ready prospect. Will it happen? Questionable.


From Brian in Alexandria:
If you were making the pick at #6 and the following guys were available: Matt Wieters, Mike Moustakas, Ross Detwiler, Rick Porcello; who would you pick? Why?
Mark Zuckerman:
Wow, that's a tough one. You're asking me to evaluate players I've never seen in person before. Plus there's the whole part where I'm a sportswriter, not a professional baseball scout. ... That being said, let me offer some insight into what I'm hearing from Nats front office types about the direction they plan to go in next week's draft. There seems to be some strong feelings from some top-level officials that they should take a position player with their first pick. Pitchers are nice and all, but there's so much risk involved with just about everyone but consensus No. 1 David Price of Vanderbilt. With the sixth pick, you want to have as close to a sure thing as possible. That's why I think it's much more likely the Nats take either Wieters (a catcher from Georgia Tech) or Moustakas (a high school corner infielder from California) with their first pick, then add pitching later in the draft.


From Nats Fan in Burke:
So, the Nats are no longer historically bad (take that, Thom Loverro!), but have we reached mediocrity yet? Or are we still pretty bad? Are we anywhere near approaching "decent" or "okay"?
Mark Zuckerman:
Ooh, ripping on Loverro. I love it! You're right, the Nats are no longer in the "historically bad" category, which in my mind means 110-plus losses. But let's not get too carried away with their recent hot streak. With last night's loss, they're now 21-31, which is a .404 winning percentage, which projects out to a 65-97 record. That's far from mediocrity. That's still what I'd consider "pretty bad." But here's the thing, and I've been saying this all along: I'm not so much concerned with the Nats' overall record this season. I'm more interested to see if they improve as the year plays out. Are they better in July and August than they were in April and May? Well, they went 9-17 in April and are now 12-14 in May (with two games left this month). That qualifies as progress. Check back again later this summer to see if the trend continues.


From Rachel in Fairfax:
Why is there no comparable statistic for position players to the pitcher's "quality starts"? And isn't that stat largely dependent on the rest of the defense, too? Seems a bit unfair to me.
Mark Zuckerman:
Hmm, interesting one. I never really thought about that before. For pitchers, a quality start is defined as six or more innings and three or fewer earned runs. Which is equal to a 4.50 ERA, hardly "quality" when you think about it. And yes, it's largely dependent on the defense and the hitters involved (though you could say the same thing in reverse about hitters' numbers being dependent upon pitchers' performance). As far as a way to quantify a "quality start" for a hitter ... hmm, maybe something like at three at-bats or more and at least one base hit?


And on that note, we'll say goodbye for now. Thanks to all who wrote in. And remember you can also send questions to the weekly Nats Mailbag, which runs every Monday in the paper and online. Send me those by early Sunday at the latest if you want to make it in that week's edition, because I type that up before the game starts. So long for now...