Vidro and Loaiza

Nationals fans can be forgiven for not knowing much about Jose Vidro, given that before last night he had played in only 13 games this season. But if the Nationals are to do anything this year, they need Vidro in their lineup because they don't have an adequate replacement for him at second base. Junior Spivey was a nice pick up, but he doesn't hit well enough anymore to be a consistently productive starter. With Vidro in the lineup, the Nats have one less hole in a batting order that has been looking pretty weak over the last week or so.

What's been keeping the Nationals in first place has been their pitching, and Esteban Loaiza continued that strong showing last night. Eight scoreless innings put the Nats up 3-0, and he outdueled Pedro Martinez to get there. Loaiza will cost the Nats $2.9 million this year; Martinez will cost the Mets almost $11 million. Loaiza isn't as good as Martinez, but he's given up only 7 home runs in 107 innings and he sports a fantastic 87-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That compares pretty well to Martinez' 9 home runs in 122 innings and 129-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Besides, the $8 million difference in their contracts this year will buy a lot of production at other positions. In other words, signing a guy like Loaiza is how teams like the Nationals compete against mega-budget teams like the Mets.

A cheap closer like Chad Cordero helps, too. We said yesterday that Frank Robinson has concluded that his bullpen needs rest, and Loaiza's eight innings had to help. Robinson wanted Loaiza to go the distance, but he pulled him in the ninth after a lead-off single and 114 pitches. Cordero looked a bit shaky, perhaps because he needs more rest, but he got the job done for a 3-2 win and his 30th save.

The Nationals need the All-Star break to rest their pitching staff and get over some of their injuries. With Vidro back and with Nick Johnson and Ryan Church hopefully back soon, the Nationals will be at what currently constitutes full strength. Now, if they can just work a few trades....