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We're in the fifth inning at Nationals Park, and the Nationals and Mets are still in a scoreless tie. A couple quick observations on the game:
* Jordan Zimmermann looks back to normal after a couple bad outings - and for him, normal is obviously very good. He's had a sharp fastball again today, striking out three batters. He's thrown 85 pitches, but he should at least be able to get through six innings.
* A week ago, the Dodgers were running all over Jesus Flores, and the catcher didn't have the arm to do much of anything about it. Now, he's thrown out three straight runners trying to steal, including Jose Reyes in the top of the fifth. His arm looks much better today, though Zimmermann's quick delivery to the plate has certainly helped (Jason Marquis was pitching when the Dodgers stole the bases on Flores last week). That's obviously a big key to Flores becoming an effective catcher again after shoulder surgery, and he's shown some positive signs today.
We've got about an hour to go until the trade deadline, and all is quiet at the moment between the Nationals and Twins; sources say the Twins are still asking for more than just Drew Storen in return for Denard Span, and considering the Nationals are reluctant to part with Storen in the first place, something will probably have to change in the next hour for a deal to get done. We'll see how things develop, but at this point, I'd bet against a deal happening.
