Break Up the Nationals, MLB Stats Update

It may be time to break up the Washington Nationals after they won their eighth consecutive game.

If they win their next 32 games in a row they will be playing .500 baseball.

Eight different pitchers have recorded wins during the streak.

Jim Riggleman, who replaced Manny Acta as manager, has the Nationals playing better since he took over. They are 14-11 with Riggleman, which is impressive considering they were 26-61 with Acta as manager.

Even more impressive is the fact that the Nationals lost their first five games with Riggleman on the bench.

The starting rotation took a serious hit yesterday when it was announced that Jordan Zimmermann is scheduled to have Tommy John surgery.

Zimmermann has a 3-5 record this season but is the only Nationals starter to record more strikeouts than innings pitched.

John Lannan leads the team in wins with an 8-8 record.

Shairon Martis started the season with a 5-0 record but was sent down to the minors in late June because of command problems. He was walking more batters than he struck out and had a 5-3 record when sent down.

No other Nationals pitcher has won more than five games this season. This team has no future unless they can get better pitching from their starters.

The Nationals are hitting .268 which ties them for second in the NL with the Mets. The Dodgers are leading the NL with a .277 average.

Their pitchers have a 5.00 ERA which is 28th in the majors. Only the Orioles and Indians have higher ERA's.

No major league team has given up more runs than the Nationals' 607 this season. They also lead the majors in fewest strikeouts with 619. The Giants lead the majors with 885 strikeouts.

The Nationals are hitting well but the future for the pitchers doesn't look very bright. They have only six more days to sign Stephen Strasburg or they will have to wait till June of 2010 before they even have a chance to draft him again.

Looking At Stats

Batting

Hits—Ichiro Suzuki leads the majors in hits with 166, leaving him 34 hits shy of reaching 200 hits in each of his first nine seasons. Miguel Tejada is second with 145 hits.

Doubles—Brian Roberts leads the majors in doubles with 38 and Billy Butler is close behind with 36.

Triples—Michael Bourn leads in triples with nine with Gerardo Parra second with eight.

Home Runs—Albert Pujols and Mark Reynolds are tied for major league lead in home runs with 36 each. Adam Dunn is next with 30 and needs 10 more to have 40 or more homers for six straight seasons.

Runs Batted In—Albert Pujols has 100 runs batted in giving him 100 or more RBI for his ninth straight season. Prince Fielder is only two behind with 98.

Walks—Adrian Gonzalez leads in walks with 89 with Albert Pujols next with 84.

Strikeouts—Mark Reynolds is the major league strikeouts leader with 151 with Carlos Pena is second with 141.

Stolen Bases—Carl Crawford is leading in stolen bases with 53 with Jacoby Ellsbury a close second with 51.

On Base Percentage—Albert Pujols leads in OBP with a .448 mark. Joe Mauer is next with a .434 percentage.

Slugging Percentage—Albert Pujols also leads in slugging percentage with a .681 percentage. Raul Ibanez is next with a .612 mark.

Batting Average—Joe Mauer leads in batting average with a .365 average. Ichiro Suzuki is second with a .362 mark.

On Base Plus Slugging—Albert Pujols also leads in OPS with a 1.129 mark. Joe Mauer is second with a 1.045 percentage.

Extra Base Hits—Albert Pujols leads in extra base hits with 66 with Mark Teixeira and Mark Reynolds tied for second with 60 each.

Pitching

Wins—Josh Beckett, Johan Santana and Adam Wainwright lead the majors in wins with 13 each. Eight pitchers are tied for second with 12 wins each.

Losses—Aaron Harang leads the majors with 13 losses with Jeremy Guthrie a close second with 12.

ERA—Tim Lincecum leads with a 2.20 ERA with Chris Carpenter in second place with a 2.26 ERA.

Saves—Mariano Rivera and Brian Fuentes lead the majors with 32 saves each. Joe Nathan is behind them with 29.

Hits—Aaron Harang also leads in hits allowed with 174 in 148 innings. James Shields is next on the list with 170 hits allowed.

Earned Runs Allowed—Bronson Arroyo, Jeremy Guthrie and Joe Saunders have given up the most earned runs with 81 each. Paul Maholm, Jamie Moyer and Carl Pavano are next with 75 each.

Home Runs Allowed—Josh Geer, Jeremy Guthrie and Braden Looper have allowed the most home runs with 27 each. Bronson Arroyo and Trevor Cahill are next allowing 25 homers each.

Walks—Doug Davis leads in batters walked with 72 while Clayton Kershaw is next with 71.

Strikeouts—Tim Lincecum leads in strikeouts with 198 while Justin Verlander is second with 186.

Lowest Batting Average Allowed—Clayton Kershaw has held opponents to the lowest batting average with a .196 mark while Dan Haren is next with a .202 average when he is on the mound.