The sweep smell of success… sweep satisfaction… How sweep it is… I really haven’t had to think of these in a while, so it’s difficult. The Nats finally beat the Florida Marlins, after about a year and a half of frustration. Meanwhile, Nick Johnson is like 1-14 in his last 15 Washington-Florida games. It’s the first time the Nationals have swept the Marlins since Sept 5, 2007. It’s the first time they’ve swept a series with 3 games or more since August 31, 2008 against Atlanta. It’s the first time they’ve won 5 in a row since Aug 30, 2008, during that Atlanta series.
And of course, Zimmerman hit is 23rd home run. So time to trot out the next set of all time greats – this times guys who wore #23 – on Zimmerman’s March to 30 HRs:
Prescience is Nice
Pretty fortunate timing on my part. In yesterday’s post I said that Elijah Dukes looked really good despite being 3-18 with no extra base hits since returning. In the series finale against Florida, Dukes finally had an impressive game. 3 hits in 4 ABs, a HR, and 4 RBIs. I have a feeling Dukes is going to show over the next couple of months why his bat was so highly regarded, and why Rizzo hasn’t dealt him like he did with Milledge.
Meanwhile, Guzman Has Value Again
When things go bad for guys who don’t walk and have no power, it isn’t pretty. Such was the case with Cristian Guzman, from early this year. His numbers from early May through the end of July were just plain ugly. From May 1 through July 22 he hit .273/.289/.375. Simply awful. But since then he’s been super hot. July 23 through yesterday before he drew a pinch hit walk, he was hitting a whopping .471/.491/.765, which is pretty much the opposite of sucky. It goes to show you that when a hitter like him gets hot, it’s nice to see, but when he isn’t, it’s real real ugly.