Cristian Guzman: The Gift that Just Keeps on Giving

The Nationals beat the Astros 6-5 Tuesday night in a critical wild card game. This was a game the Nationals had to have, given that they were starting their premier pitcher--John Patterson--against an Astro pitcher who probably shouldn't be in the major leagues right now--Ezequiel Astacio. True to form, Astacio gave up three home runs in only four innings, and the Nationals scored all but one of their six runs against him.

This was a rare offensive explosion for the Nationals--they haven't hit four home runs in a game since August 24, 2004--and it was good enough for them to pull within one run of the Astros in the wild card race. With two games left in this series, now is the time for the Nationals to start their stretch drive.

Patterson didn't have his best stuff. He walked four, struck out two and gave up two home runs. Nevertheless, the game might not have been this close had it not been for Cristian Guzman's throwing error in the bottom of the sixth. With two out and the bases loaded, Craig Biggio hit a ground ball to Guzman, who bounced the throw to first. Two unearned runs scored on the play, and instead of it being 6-3, it was 6-5. Given the Nationals' inability to score late in games, it looked like the error could cost the Nats the game. Happily, the bullpen shut the door and Cordero earned his 37th save.

We have to ask: how long with Jim Bowden and Frank Robinson threaten the team's playoff chances by giving Guzman a chance to hit himself out of his "slump." Because he's hitting .188, there is no rational reason for playing him every day, and his declining defensive skills take away the argument that he's out there for his defense. Of course, there's no defense that's going to make up for a .505 OPS, so the only reason Bowden and Robinson can be sticking with Guzman is that they think he'll suddenly find his batting stroke any day now. We're not sure that Guzman ever had much of a stroke, but that's beside the point: Guzman has had over 300 at bats to prove he can hit, and he hasn't done it. It's one thing to try to help a player for the purpose of improving the team; it's quite another to focus on one player to the detriment of the team, and that's exactly what Bowden and Robinson are doing right now.

We'll close by pointing out that Brandon Watson had two hits--a double and a homer--and he now has an OPS of 1.600. It's only one game, of course, but any offense is most welcome these days!