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(photo by J. Pat Carter)

What the hell is wrong with the Washington Nationals? Or, more accurately, what’s it going to take for this team to finally have both the offense and defense clicking at the same time?

During a three-game series against the Florida Marlins this weekend, Nats starters gave up 14 hits, eight walks and just two earned runs while striking out 19 batters in 18 innings. Any team in baseball would be thrilled to get this type of production, right?

Well, leave it to the Nationals to somehow find a way to lose two out of three games anyway.

And it wasn’t because of a shaky bullpen either. Washington relief pitchers threw seven scoreless innings in Florida. This wasted opportunity comes courtesy of the team’s lackluster offense.

Although the Nationals had 27 hits in the series, they scored just four runs. While that’s bad, it’s even worse when you realize that the bulk of the offense came on a three-run double by outfielder Josh Willingham in Friday’s game.

Sadly, the four runs scored in the sixth inning of that series opener represented the only offensive production Washington had the entire series. That enabled the Marlins, who scored a grand total of three runs in three games, to somehow steal the series victory.

“The game is based on execution when you’ve got runners in scoring position,” said Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein. “That’s the bottom line. We just didn’t execute the last few days.”

So basically, the Nats bats have gone scoreless over the last 21 innings and Washington stranded 18 runners in scoring position over the last two games. That’s not going to get it done.

“When guys were on base, we weren’t getting it done,” Eckstein said. “Plain and simple. Typically in those situations, they tend to pitch us in a different way. We’ve got to make adjustments. Our adjustments weren’t up to par.”

The only possible silver lining after a disappointing weekend is that the four runs the team did manage to score ensured that rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg didn’t waste another gem.

Otherwise, there isn’t a lot to be pleased about when it comes to the Nationals offense – although, I’m apparently more concerned about the lack of production than Nats skipper Jim Riggleman.

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(photo by Alex Brandon)

If you think it’s a coincidence that Adam Dunn just had the best game of his 10-year career after a weekend of trade rumors had him being shipped off to the Chicago White Sox, then you’re clueless.

Dunn’s offensive explosion – a three-homer night which paved the way for the Washington Nationals’ 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres Wednesday night – was clearly a sign from the slugger that he’s very comfortable in D.C. and isn’t in a rush to play elsewhere.

“That’s what he can do,” said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, power guys in the game for the last five, six years. It’s good to have him on your team.”

Of course, none of this guarantees that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo will do what’s necessary to keep Dunn in town, but he should.

The only other player to have a three-homer game for the Nationals since they moved to Washington is Alfonso Soriano, who accomplished the feat against Atlanta back in 2006. Soriano, as you might remember, was a big-time slugger who management let get away. Sound familiar?

It’d be a shame for history to repeat itself, especially for a franchise as offensively challenged as the Nationals. Even his teammates realize the situation, and thankfully, are doing their part to speak on behalf of Dunn.

“One of the hardest things to find on a team is a 3-4-5,” said Zimmerman in reference to the team’s batting order of him, Dunn and outfielder Josh Willingham. “Obviously, he’s one of the best four hitters in the game, has been for the last five or six years. He’s a very, very important player to this team in what we do offensively, not only in the field but in the clubhouse, as far as helping out the young guys.

“We understand people have to do their job,” Zimmerman continued. “Personally, I think if we get rid of a couple of those guys, we’re going to maybe take a step backward instead of forward. I don’t think we’re that far away. It’s really, really hard to find a 3-4-5. Look at what we’ve done for the past two years. We enjoy playing together, and we kind of push each other. It’s a good group we have. It would be bad if we broke it up, I think.”

After the game, Dunn wasn’t up for speculating about his future. Instead, he said he was just happy to turn things around after going homerless in his previous 12 games.

“It’s pretty cool to hit three homers, but the last one, since we won, was obviously the biggest,” said Dunn. “I don’t feel any different than I have in the past. I got pitches to hit tonight and didn’t foul them off like I’ve been doing.”

Dunn is now batting .280 with 20 homers (tied for second in the National League) and 54 runs batted in (tied for 12th in NL) this season. Simply put, he’s been everything the team could hope for offensively.

This is the point of the conversation when I point out that Nats owner Ted Lerner is worth more than $3 billion dollars. Yes, I said billion.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at his team’s payroll though, as the Nationals rank 22nd this season – behind notoriously cheap franchises like Milwaukee, Tampa Bay and Kansas City.

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(photo by Cheryl Nichols)

Since 2005, the Washington Nationals have been largely ignored, both locally and nationally.

Sure, it felt nice to have baseball back in our lives here in the nation’s capital, but fans largely stayed away, mostly because the team wasn’t very good.

When the “Natinals” did make headlines, they were rarely positive. Games were lost in bulk and missteps by management were far more common than any one fanbase should have to suffer though (just Google the words “Jim Bowden” and “Dominican scandal”).

But in the immortal words of OK Go, “All is not lost.”

The simple addition of pitcher Stephen Strasburg to a mediocre franchise like the Nats instantly makes it all better. Who cares if he only takes the mound once every five days?

Fair or unfair, if baseball is going to succeed in D.C., it’s going to be because of Strasburg. How’s that for putting the weight of the world on this 21-year-old’s shoulders?

After delivering one of the most dominating debuts in major league history, all anyone wanted to know is what would Strasburg do for an encore? Could he top his 14 strikeout, zero walk performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates? Or would he take a step back and look a little more human the second time around?

Whatever the outcome, one thing was for certain – all eyes were on Strasburg and the Nationals as they closed out their weekend series against the Cleveland Indians.

And for anyone thinking Strasburg’s surreal performance against Pittsburgh was a fluke, we’ve got bad news for you – the kid picked up right where he left off.

Strasburg struck out the first two Cleveland batters he faced. Coupled with the seven-straight Pirates he fanned to end his debut, Strasburg extended his strikeout streak to nine consecutive batters.

If that sounds impressive, it’s because it is. The major league record is 10, held by Tom Seaver and Eric Gagne.

From there, Strasburg cruised to an easy 9-4 victory over the Tribe. The rookie continued his winning ways, allowing just one run on two hits and striking out eight in five-and-a-third innings.

And for anyone who wondered if the radar gun was juiced at Nationals Park for Strasburg’s opener, his fastball continued to toy with batters on the road. Ten of Strasburg’s 95 pitches reached 100 miles per hour. Thirteen more clocked in at 99 miles per hour.

In two starts, the San Diego native has two wins and 22 strikeouts. He’s given up three runs on six hits in 12-and-a-third innings.

And here’s the kicker – in just two outings, Strasburg is already tied for eighth on the Nationals in strikeouts. In less than 13 innings of work, he’s already surpassed 11 other Washington pitchers and is currently tied with starter John Lannan (who has thrown 66 2/3 innings).

Yeah, he’s that good.

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(photo by Greg Fiume)

The statistics might say otherwise, but make no mistake about it – last night was the first perfect game in Washington Nationals history.

If possible, phenom Stephen Strasburg was even better than advertised as the Nats cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of 40,315 at Nationals Park.

The anticipation of Strasburg’s debut was unlike anything we’ve ever seen in baseball. The hype, the national spotlight, the media circus. We’d seen it before with names like LeBron James or Alex Ovechkin, but never before in baseball.

A team that has been completely irrelevant since returning to D.C. in 2005 was suddenly thrust into the center of the baseball universe, thanks to Strasburg.

Who knows for sure what realistic expectations could be set for the 21-year-old’s first outing? Whatever they were, the player once referred to as the “greatest pitching prospect ever” might have actually surpassed them.

Against the Pirates, Strasburg was unreal. He established a Nationals single-season record with 14 strikeouts while allowing two runs on four hits with no walks in seven innings of work.

Strasburg’s 14 strikeouts are one shy of the all-time mark of 15 for most strikeouts in a major league debut and he matched a Nats record with seven consecutive strikeouts (whiffing the last seven batters he faced). No pitcher in baseball history has ever struck out so many batters without giving up a walk in his debut. No pitcher, except Strasburg.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. Never. Nothing close. Not at that age, that polished,” said Curt Schilling. And those comments from the former Boston pitcher came a month ago. Imagine what he’d say now.

By the time Strasburg’s night was over, we decided if the kid was playing a video game, it was already time to move up to a tougher difficulty level. This is why Nationals team president Stan Kasten joked over the weekend that Strasburg’s $15-million contract might end up being a bargain.

“He’s the only guy in baseball who lives up to all the stories you hear,” said fellow rookie pitcher Drew Storen.

We’re not here to bad-mouth the Pirates, but Strasburg simply toyed with them. Out of the 94 pitches he threw, only one was a bad pitch – a fourth-inning offering that Pirates outfielder Delwyn Young drove over the scoreboard for a two-run homer.

Of course, none of the 10 batters he faced after giving up Young’s homer actually reached base, so it’s safe to say Strasburg shook off the mistake pretty quickly.

His 94th and final pitch of the night – a fastball to Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche – registered 99 miles-per-hour on the radar gun. The MASN broadcast actually listed one of Strasburg’s heaters at 103 miles-per-hour. Everything about this rookie is simply unfathomable.

If you didn’t understand why the baseball world revolved around Strasburg before he even threw his first big-league pitch, you do now.

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