The Nats wasted no time getting to the two-time defending NL champs as Nyjer Morgan drove Oswalt's very first pitch for his new team to right center field for a triple. Morgan then crossed home plate thanks to an Adam Kennedy groundout, this would be the only time Kennedy wouldn't reach base in the game as he collected four hits and scored two runs.

Washington's starter, Craig Stammen, singled off Ryan Howard's glove, sparking the next run scoring inning in the bottom half of the third. Stammen's hit was followed by a hit batsman, putting runners on first and second with none out. Kennedy then came up with the intention of laying down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over, but thanks to Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, that sacrifice bunt turned into a run scoring single after Ruiz fired the ball to third base where...no one was covering, and allowing Stammen to score. With Morgan now on third, Ryan Zimmerman brought him in with a sacrifice fly to right, pushing the score to 3-0 at the end of three.

In the bottom of the fifth, Kennedy reached second on a double and Adam Dunn, who wasn't even sure where he would be playing the next day, took one for the team after getting hit in the upper back by a pitch. Josh Willingham, who has also been the center of some trade talk, then doubled home Kennedy and Dunn giving the Nationals a commanding 5-0 lead and essentially ruining Oswalt's day.

Could this be the final night we see Adam Dunn in a Nationals uniform? It certainly sounds like it with the New York Yankees emerging as the favorites.

The Chicago White Sox were the leaders in the Dunn sweepstakes for quite some time, with several sources saying that they would have to give up the young right-hander, Daniel Hudson. Now, with Hudson an Arizona Diamondback, following a trade in which the White Sox acquired Edwin Jackson, Chicago may not have enough to "blow away" Nationals GM Mike Rizzo.

According to Hall of Fame baseball analyst Peter Gammons, many of the teams in the AL East are convinced that Dunn will land in the Bronx, where other reports are stating that the talks with the Yankees are dead, opening the door for the San Francisco Giants to begin negotiations.

Analysis:

At this point, I don't know who to believe. It wouldn't surprise me if a deal can't get done by tomorrow, but with so much speculation in recent weeks and no new contract from the Nationals, Dunn would love to see this trade talk finally come to fruition. I think it comes down to the Yankees or Giants, with the Yanks finding a way to make it happen. I just can't imagine Brian Cashman passing up the chance to acquire one of the leagues strongest hitters.

In 89 games with the Nationals this season, Guzman hit a solid .282 and scored 44 runs. He also proved to be a versatile fielder by stepping in at second base, shortstop, and right field. With Ian Kinsler's placement on the disabled list due to a "left groin strain", the Rangers are stocking up on infielders with the addition of Guzman and ex-Marlin Jorge Cantu.

It was originally reported that Guzman was generating interest from the Phillies, but the 11-year veteran is a great pick up for Texas, and although he won't put up the same power numbers that Kinsler does, he will bring a solid glove and an even better baseball mind to a club trying to reach new heights. Adam Kennedy looks to become the full-time second baseman for the Nats and Ian Desmond will fill in as the full-time shortstop.

Lefty bullpen guys are supposed to be tough to find.  How else can you explain Ron Villone still on the roster in Syracuse?

So, finding one on the scrap heap should be a cause for celebration.  Looks like GM Mike Rizzo may have done just that with the emergence of LHP Chuck James at Harrisburg this season.

James was a 20^th round pick for the Atlanta Braves in 2002.  After dominating the rookie league as a 21 year old in 2003 (50.1 IP 1.25 ERA 0.894 WHIP and a 12.2 K/9 3.4 BB/9) he posted similar numbers in a full season a Low A (132.2 IP 2.24 ERA 1.055 WHIP 10.6 K/9 3.3 BB/9) in 2004.

2005 saw James go from High A ball to a cup of coffee with the Braves.  And you can see why: 161.1 IP 2.12 ERA 0.862 WHIP 10.8 K/9 2.0 BB/9.

He spent the bulk of the next two seasons in the Braves rotation posting a 118 ERA+ in '06 and 103 ERA+ in '07.  James couldn't translate his dominance to the big league level however with his K rates slumping to 6.9 k/9 in '06 and 6.3 k/9 in '07.  As a result, we find a huge variance between his 3.78 ERA and 5.06 xFIP in '06 and 4.24/ 4.97 in ‘07.  In other words, James was pretty damn lucky.

His luck turned in '08 and he was sent out after 15 terrible starts (9.10 ERA although he didn't pitch nearly that bad with an xERA of only 6.28.)

James underwent shoulder surgery after the season.  He was out of baseball for all of 2009 and according to Geoff Morrow of the Patriot-News in Harrsiburg, James contemplated retiring and becoming a firefighter.

Under The Knife, 7/28/10 - Baseball Prospectus:

"My phone dinged about 30 times in the space of a minute and no, that's no exaggeration. Stephen Strasburg had been pulled from his start. Early word was that he was pulled by GM Mike Rizzo as a precaution, something Rizzo would later confirm, showing just how closely Strasburg is being monitored. The word was that Strasburg had difficulty getting loose in the bullpen and would be sent for images to determine what was going on. While they're often called precautionary, no MRI really is. Teams are still cheap enough that they won't do them for just anything, even for Strasburg. Reports are that the results showed minor inflammation in the shoulder, but no real specifics. The concerns here are where the inflammation is and what caused it, a Watergate-ian construct that Washingtonians will appreciate. Expect the Nationals to be somewhere far north of cautious with this, with the "worst case" being a shutdown for the season. We should know more in a couple days, when Strasburg will be due for his throw day. Even that's a question at this stage." - Will Carrol

-Strasburg has since been put on the DL. Opening Day starter John Lannan will return to fill his spot in the rotation.

The Washington Nationals traded Matt Capps tonight and acquired the Minnesota Twins number-two prospect, catcher Wilson Ramos, along with reliever Joe Testa.

Ramos, 22, entered the 2010 season ranked as the 58th top prospect in baseball and is considered by many as big league ready. However, with the Nationals already holding stock in 25-year-old catcher Jesus Flores, 21-year-old catching prospect Derek Norris, and not to mention Ivan Rodriguez (we wont even go there with Bryce Harper), the backstop position just got a bit more crowded.

Ramos signed with Minnesota in 2004 as an 18-year-old un-drafted free agent. The athletic catcher boasted both plus hitting and fielding skills as he progressed through the minors, batting above .286/.339/.434 in year-long stops at rookie ball, Single-A, and high Single-A.

In 2009 the backstop had a breakout season, combining to hit .317/.341/.454 in 54 games in Double-A New Britain, while throwing out an impressive 41% of would-be base stealers. At the young age of 21, Ramos had arrived as a true triple-threat prospect with an extremely advanced bat, glove, and arm.

Entering 2010 Baseball America named Ramos the Minnesota organization's second best prospect behind outfielder Aaron Hicks. They also named Ramos as the organization's top power hitter and best defensive catcher. However, despite being considered by many as one of the top catching prospects in baseball, he was still stuck behind three-time batting champion, and hometown hero, Joe Mauer.

Baseball Prospectus wrote:

The Washington Nationals made their first major move of the season shipping All-Star closer Matt Capps to the Minnesota Twins for prospects Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa. MLB Trade Rumors reports:

"As soon as Joe Nathan announced that he would undergo Tommy John surgery, the back end of the Twins' bullpen became a lot less scary. Four months later, the Twins obtained one of the top relievers available, acquiring Matt Capps and $500K from the Nationals for left-hander Joe Testa and highly touted catching prospect Wilson Ramos.

Capps, 26, has 25 saves and a 2.80 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. He earns a base salary of $3.5MM this year ($1.3MM remains) and can be retained as an arbitration-eligible player for 2011. Capps will close games for the Twins and Jon Rauch will move to a set-up role.

Ramos, 23 in August, placed 58th among all MLB prospects on Baseball America's preseason list. The catcher has hit .241/.280/.345 at Triple A with five homers this season. His offense has fallen off since last year, but Ramos has thrown out 19 of 38 would-be base stealers. Joe Mauer's presence in Minnesota made Ramos expendable for the Twins."

In The End, Both Teams Won:

In my opinion, Capps was by far the most likely National to be moved before the deadline, not Adam Dunn. Washington paid $3.5 million for Capps this winter in the hopes they could capitalize in a buy low, sell high situation. It worked beautifully as the right-handed closer improved from having a 5.80 ERA with 27 saves in 2009 to boasting a 2.80 ERA with 24 saves already this season. With his great numbers, and the presence of future closer Drew Storen in the wings, Capps was a no-brainer to send away if they got the right offer.

For the Twins this deal made perfect sense as well. They had a demand with the injury of Joe Nathan, and Washington had the supply. Washington wanted legitimate prospects in return, and the Twins had the number 58 prospect in baseball at a position which their franchise player filled.

Each team received huge pieces for what were spare parts to their franchises.

Capps also indicated that he genuinely would like to play for Nats GM Mike Rizzo and Manager Jim Riggleman again, so if Minnesota does not want to offer the closer arbitration this offseason (He is due for a huge raise) then there is a chance that Clip-n-Save will be restored in our nations capitol.

Roy Oswalt is entering the final stages of his career, so it's nice to see him get one more crack at winning a championship before its all over. Although he has aged and has had some back issues in recent years, Oswalt is an upgrade and will fit right into the Phillie rotation by making his debut this Friday in Washington. The Phillies gave up the young J.A. Happ and two prospects in the deal, which could be considered a huge loss down the road if Oswalt does not deliver another championship to Philadelphia, but young talent was going to be the price to pay for any team, regardless of where Oswalt would have ended up. It will be interesting to see how the move to a contender will impact his numbers, and to see whether Charlie Manuel views him as a second or third starter in a battle against Cole Hamels.

So much for the speculation of what Marlins management plans to do at the deadline because it looks like Chris Coghlan made the decision for them.

If you hadn't heard, Chris Coghlan tore his meniscus in his left knee while giving teammate Wes Helms a pie in the face following his walk-off hit over Atlanta, and will likely be out for the remainder of the season. Since when did celebrations become so dangerous? With Coghlan down, Florida is now expected to hold onto fellow outfielder Cody Ross who was rumored to be on the trading block. Logan Morrison got the call after Coghlans placement on the DL and will be thrown into the fire as the Marlins starting left fielder, even though he has a reputation of being terrible in the outfield and is better at first base, his natural position. As a highly touted prospect in Triple A- New Orleans this season, Morrison batted .324 in 53 games. Although he only had five home runs for the Zephyrs, he has shown the occasional pop by hitting 24 home runs in 128 games with Single A- Greensboro, but don't expect to see much of that at the major league level.

Tim Hudson has been lights out for the Braves this year...and the guys at Talking Chop want to know why.

This is how good Tim Hudson has been this year, his 2.40 ERA is good enough for fifth best in the NL, and opponents are only hitting .220 off him, ranking seventh for the NL. Clearly, the key has been his rising strikeout total and for the season, 63.1% of his outs recorded have been via the ground ball, well above his career average of 49.2%. Hudson, along with Derek Lowe and Tommy Hanson, have been carrying much of the load for Braves starters in 2010, but now with Jair Jurrjens back in the mix (4-1, 2.84 ERA since return from DL), its going to be even harder to top the division leaders.

Adam Kilgore of Nationals Journal reports that Nats Manager Jim Riggleman said on his MLB Network Radio appearance today that Stephen Strasburg would not make his next scheduled start. The powerful right-hander was scheduled to pitch against the Phillies this weekend at Nats Park.

Kilgore writes:

"Riggleman said a trip to the disabled list remains a possibility, but said the team still plans for Strasburg to pitch again this season. After Sunday, Strasburg's next start is currently scheduled for Aug. 6 at Dodger Stadium."

Stephen Strasburg's injury Tuesday does not seem severe but as Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore puts it:

"The potential first step of their nightmare scenario unfolded Tuesday night when the Washington Nationals scratched Stephen Strasburg from his start against the Atlanta Braves after "having trouble getting loose in the bullpen," General Manager Mike Rizzo said."

Stephen Strasburg's mechanics are indeed troubling to a few experts including Chris O'Leary of chrisoleary.com. He writes: "Like Mark Prior, Stephen Strasburg has some Inverted W in his arm action and a timing problem as a result (aka habitual rushing). This will significantly increase the load on his elbow and his shoulder and make him a very high risk draft choice. I could even see him pulling a Cole St. Clair and blowing up mid-season."

In the same article O'Leary mentions two of Strasburg's other bad habits, improper scapular loading and what O'Leary terms "hyperabduction," covering nearly all of what O'Leary describes as high-risk mechanics on his website. In addition to some kinesiological evidence supporting the claim that these habits are dangerous, there is also observational evidence from O'Leary that these techniques are not practiced by successful pitchers (pitchers who pitch for a long time and are relatively injury free) and that they are practiced by frequently injured pitchers.

Hyperabduction occurs when a pitcher raises his pitching arm side (PAS) elbow above the level of their shoulders (the level of your shoulders it the imaginary plane that passes through your shoulders parallel to the ground when you are standing straight up on a flat surface) when their arm is in the "high cocked position". It seems to lead to rotator cuff and labrum injuries. Hyperabduction can be seen quite clearly in the above photo of Craig Stammen.

Hyperabduction also seems to go hand in hand with the inverted W, both of which seem to seen being practiced by Jordan Zimmermann in the above photo. It should be noted