The Nats through 10 games: Part 3 (Hitters)

The Nats finished their third set of 10 games yesterday, going 6-4 after going 5-5 in each of their first 2 stretches. In this 10 game span, they scored 39 runs and gave up 40, continuing a trend of outperforming their pythagorean record.

THE GOOD

C Pudge Rodriguez-declining a little bit (because you can't hit .400 forever), but I'll still take a .320/.357/.480 line out of an aging catcher any time. Last week: GOOD.

1B Adam Dunn-The Donkey hit 3 HR this week and the Nats won all 3 games, 2 by only 1 run. His batting average over the 10 game span scares me, but .212/.366/.576 is quite alright for now. Last week: GOOD.

SS Ian Desmond-His homers in back-to-back games against the Braves were nice. I'm impressed with his 6 runs and 6 RBI in these 10 games as well as his .276/.323/.552 triple slash. Last week: MEH.

3B Ryan Zimmerman-Zim has looked great since returning from injury, hitting .367/.412/.800 in the last 10 games. I think he's trying to show us that he's fine...and I believe him. Last week: GOOD.

OF Willie Harris-.250/.294/.500 over a week is decent, but he didn't earn "good" status this week with his bat. Just check out his highlight page and be thankful one of our athletic outfielders is playing well.

IF Adam Kennedy-Kennedy had been a disappointment over his first 20 games, but a .296/.345/.444 triple slash with 6 runs and 2 extra base hits makes him look a lot better right now. Hopefully he'll keep it up (or at least in some semblance).

THE 'MEH'

SS Cristian Guzman-a .308/.333/.423 week ain't bad, but it's not really going to help him get more playing time. Also, he still only has 2 unintentional walks on the year. Yikes. Last week: MEH.

OF Josh Willingham-his 2 HR in wins saved him from "the bad," but he's going to have to improve on his .156/.206/.406 line and 2:10 BB:K ratio over the last 10 days.

IF Alberto Gonzalez-1/3 in his only start this week, 0-2 with a sacrifice off the bench. Closer to bad than good, but firmly a "meh" for me.

THE BAD

OF Nyjer Morgan-.237/.256/.368 is no line for a leadoff man, and 1/3 SB on the weak is unacceptable. If Tony Plush wants to be the Silver Fox anytime soon, he needs to step it up.

C Wil Nieves-2 for 11 with no walks or extra base hits isn't a good week for anyone, including Wil Nieves. To his credit, he did get an RBI in the 3-2 win over the Cubs on 4/28.

OF Justin Maxwell-0 for 6 with 4 walks. I have trouble blaming Max here, though; the Nats didn't give him a start after April 27 and still kept him up for another week. Even with all of his ups and downs, he's still our best long-term RF option at the moment. Play him somewhere.

OF Willy Taveras-0 for 3 with 1 run and 1 CS. Why is he still here?

OF Roger Bernadina-Isn't getting on base nearly enough to justify giving him 26 plate appearances over the last 10 days when guys like Maxwell can only come up with 10. .208/.269/.250 isn't good enough, Roger.