The Nats through 10 games: Part 2 (Hitters)

In the last 10 games, the Nats went 5-5, actually outscoring their opponents 42-38. The Nats have now won or split every series on the year minus those against the Phillies. And now that the Phils have signed Ryan Howard to an albatross of a contract...well, that's a different story for a different day (and a different blog). Without further ado, here are your Nats' batters in their last 10 games!

THE GOOD

C Pudge Rodriguez-Not too often when in a 10 game span a guy can hit .414/.400/.517 and see his overall numbers go down. Hopefully his back will remain intact and he'll continue to his over .400 for the whole season! LAST WEEK: Good

1B Adam Dunn-He's still a little bit streaky (2+ hits in 4 games this week and 0 hits in 4 games), but his contact improved a lot this week in general. 6 XBH in the last 10 games is also a nice sign that he's warming up. LAST WEEK: Meh

3B Ryan Zimmerman-He was 9 for 22 in the games he played this week with 5 XBH and 6 RBI, but he only started in 5 of the 10 games. If the Nats want to sustain their current .500 mark, they need their franchise player to stay healthy and in the lineup. LAST WEEK: Meh

THE MEH

UTIL Cristian Guzman-Hit .300 over the last 10 games, good for a .310 OBP when you factor in his one walk. That's our Guzzie. LAST WEEK: Meh

SS Ian Desmond-Hit .276 this week with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances. If Desmond wants to be productive, he needs to raise his batting average and/or draw more walks to raise his OBP (which was only .313 over this span of 10 games). LAST WEEK: Meh

LF Josh Willingham-The Hammer gave his bat the week off, walking 9 times in 9 starts. When he did swing, however, he was a little disappointing; .258 isn't a terrible batting average for a week, but only 1 double and 2 RBI is less than desired from a guy who we needed to step out with Zimmerman not playing much. So Josh: the walks and stolen bases (2 on the week) are cool, but your job is to bring other runners in. LAST WEEK: Good

CF Nyjer Morgan-Nyjer did a good job getting on base during this stretch, hitting .368 with a .415 OBP, but it only translated into 4 runs (partially due to being caught stealing in 3 of his 4 attempts). Keep up the good work getting on base, Nyjer, but be smarter while you're there! LAST WEEK: Good

IF Adam Kennedy-a .208 batting average over the week is disappointing, but he did draw 4 walks against 2 strikeouts and stole 2 bases. Not a total catastrophe, but not a great week. LAST WEEK: Meh

IF Alberto Gonzalez-.286/.333/.333 ain't so bad for a guy who mostly pinch hits. Ain't so great, but ain't so bad. Gonzalez is the reason we have the "meh" category. Perhaps we should rename it the Alberto Gonzalez category? LAST WEEK: Good

OF Justin Maxwell-.222/.375/.444 is a pretty decent line. 5 walks in 24 plate appearances is pretty encouraging for Max. 6 strikeouts, however, is not. LAST WEEK: Meh

THE BAD

UTIL Willie Harris-Willie only had 3 hits in 16 chances this week. While all 3 were for extra bases, the Nats need better than a .188 batting average and .250 OBP on the week from Wee Willie if he wants to keep contributing. Props to him for basically winning this game singlehandedly, though! LAST WEEK: Meh

C Wil Nieves-.188/.188/.250 is a pretty rough week. Luckily for Wil, 2 of his 3 hits were pretty clutch, giving the Nats the lead for good in this game against Colorado and tying it late in tonight's game against the Cubs. LAST WEEK: Meh

OF Willy Taveras-.182/.182/.182 in 11 plate appearances. 1 run and 0/1 SB. Even though tonight's OF assist was nice, Taveras does not belong on a ML roster. LAST WEEK: Bad