Livan Hernandez and Chad Cordero are deserving All-Star selections. One has been one of the winningest pitchers in the league and the other has been arguably the best closer in the league. Hernandez has been amazing given that he's lost any semblance of a major league fastball. His game is now dependent on changing speeds and spotting the ball. We hope he'll continue to be productive, but 12-2 in the second half is out of the question.
Cordero should continue to be effective. He doesn't have the blazing fastball of the prototypical closer, but he can throw to the low-90s, has good location, and a mix of speeds and pitches. If the Nationals can pick up some serious offense before the trading date, a bullpen with a few good middle relievers and an effective closer will be an important component of the stretch drive.
On the other hand, let us suggest something that will be distinctly unpopular: the Nationals should consider trading Cordero if that's what it takes to pick up a big bat. The Nats' biggest problem is a failure to score a lot of runs. They have scored about as many runs as they've allowed, and over time that translates to a .500 team. They've been able to turn that into a winning formula, but that continues only for so long. Scoring as many runs as you allow is not a long-term formula for success. In other words, the Nats need to pick up some offense before the trading deadline. Hopefully they won't have to trade someone like Cordero, but if they do closers can be manufactured. After all, who thought of Cordero as an effective closer before last year?
On the issue of offense, it's too bad that Jose Guillen wasn't selected as an All Star. The guy is emerging as a possible MVP candidate and the heart and soul of the Nationals' offense. His fiery personality got him into trouble in Anaheim, but, so far at least, it fits well into the chemistry of this team. In fact, we think of Guillen's personality as closer to that of a young Frank Robinson than a lot of people realize. It may take a while for people to recognize his importance, but if Guillen keeps his production up like this, we think he'll be regarded as an All Star by season's end.
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Yeah, that's a great idea - trade your all-star closer mid-season when your team is holding on to a tenuous lead in the East, and you have a bad habit of winning games by one run. I don't care if they picked up Derrek Lee, he won't make up for the 1, 2 or more runs Cordero saves for them week in and week out.
It doesn't really matter anyway because Chipper, Hudson and Hampton are getting healthy, and nobody is better right now than Andruw Jones. The Nats' luck is about to run out as the Braves are about to take off toward another Division Championship. In fact, the Braves will be in first place by August - they're just that much better than Nats.
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