DETROIT - The reality of the situation for the Nationals right now is this: They are currently three games under .500 with 55 games remaining in the 2013 regular season. They sit 10 games back of the Braves in the National League East and are 6 1/2 games behind the Reds for the final NL Wild Card spot with the Diamondbacks also ahead of the Nats in the Wild Card mix. The chances of the Nats reaching the postseason are slim. No doubt about that. And that's a large reason why, with the...

DETROIT - Ryan Zimmerman will get a little bit of a breather today, serving as the designated hitter in the finale of this brief two-game set with the Tigers. Anthony Rendon will slide over and play third base today, with Steve Lomabrdozzi playing second. Denard Span is back in the leadoff spot this afternoon. Bryce Harper will hit second. The Nationals will have the pleasure of facing Justin Verlander this afternoon. Gio Gonzalez will oppose him. Update: Miguel Cabrera is out of the...

The non-waiver trade deadline traditionally marks the beginning of the home stretch for baseball season, which makes now a great time to indulge in the fun of making a few Orioles predictions. Of course, the usual disclaimers apply: I wouldn't bet on me being right so you shouldn't, either. With that, here we go: * Chris Davis will break the 50-home run mark, but not 60 As amazing a first half as that was we all knew he wasn't going to keep up the pace. The good news is he's already had...

DETROIT - Things can certainly change very quickly at this time of year, but the Nationals are not expected to make any big splashes prior to today's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. General manager Mike Rizzo might look to upgrade his bench or tweak the back-end of the roster, but the chances of adding (or subtracting) a major piece appear to be very slim. Since there isn't much trade speculation involving the Nats right now, I figured I'd take a different look at the trade deadline and...

A team doesn't end up in the position of the Nationals without more than one problem, and while most of the focus has been on an offense that has scored the second-fewest runs in the National League, there are other problems. For the month of July, the Nats offense was what most expected it to be: an offense full of streaky hitters that scored the sixth-most runs in the NL, scoring five or more runs nine times and two or fewer 12. The Nationals have been prone to these strange...

Chris Davis celebrated an anniversary yesterday. It was two years ago, on July 30, 2011, that Davis and Tommy Hunter were acquired by the Orioles from Texas for pitcher Koji Uehara. Looks like the deal Andy MacPhail pulled off is working out. Now, 73 homers later, Davis is fitting in well with the Orioles and that day has turned out to be pretty important to him. "It was obviously a turning point for me in my career," Davis said. "A chance to kind of start over and come to another...

Jonathan Schoop hit a home run last night for Triple-A Norfolk. Schoop had three hits on Monday, including a home run. This Schoop kid is pretty good. Just ask any team that's trying to work a trade with the Orioles. Up to this point, the Orioles have been reluctant to part with him, whether it's for Joe Blanton or Bud Norris or another available arm or bat. His name always comes up in discussions. The Orioles always say, "No." ESPN's Jim Bowden tweeted last night that the Orioles...

DETROIT - Stephen Strasburg saw tonight's outing much in the same way Davey Johnson did. Johnson felt that Strasburg was cruising for much of his start but made one mistake, leaving a fastball over the heart of the plate to Alex Avila with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth. Yeah, Strasburg's on board with that assessment. "I pitched well, minus one pitch," Strasburg said. "It's tough. It's baseball. I tried to throw a fastball away, and it came back over and he put a good...

Chris Davis sounded like a guy who was not exactly pressing or worrying because he had not hit a homer in his last 10 games. After his key homer tonight, a reporter asked him how happy he was to get back in the longball column. "I'm so happy," he said sarcastically. "I can go home and sleep tonight. Eat food again. I don't have to wake up every three hours and cry. "I was more excited about the two walks to be honest with you. Think it's been awhile since I had two walks in a...

DETROIT - As far as Davey Johnson is concerned, Stephen Strasburg was on his A-game tonight right up until Alex Avila sent a 96 mph fastball deep into the Detroit night, turning a 1-1 game into a 5-1 Tigers lead in the sixth inning. That shot spoiled what seemed like a stellar outing from Strasburg and set the Nationals up for another tough loss, one that dropped them back to three games below .500 and played a part in them now sitting 10 games back of the Braves in the National League East....