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The quest continues for hope in 2011 minus Strasburg. Some good signs of late with Lannan, Marquis, JZimm, and Espinosa. But does better performance mean the front office is less likely to spend money in the offseason? Does Mike Morse killing the ball mean we're less likely to meet Dunn's price? We'll see.

Mets come to town, but they're not as fun to haze without K-Rod and free-agent bust Jason Bay playing.

Mike Pelfrey (13-8, 3.72) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (0-0, 4.50) today, with Yunesky Maya making his MLB debut tommorrow. Maya has looked good in the minors after a rough start.

The quest for hope continues.

Espinosa homers twice and drives in six runs to lead the Nats to a 13-3 victory. Espinosa spelled Desmond at short today, instead of at second. Very encouraging.

JZ can only go four but Scott Olsen goes four shutout to get a win out of the pen.

Dillon Gee goes against Maya tonight in one of the few times in MLB history two pitchers make their MLB debuts against one another. Gee had an ERA in the high-fours at AAA this year, but still managed to notch more strikeouts than innings pitched. By the Nats' standards, that's gold, ERA be damned!

As I have said, Maya looked fairly good in his brief stint in the minors but I am wary anytime the Nats "outbid" the Red Sox and the Yankees for one's services. Still, he has an opportunity in the next weeks to clinch a spot in the rotation next year, if he hasn't already. Supposedly the guy knows how to pitch, although he can't generally overpower you.

Gee outperforms Maya in front of a paltry crowd of 13,000 last night as the Mets win 4-1. Maya gives up all the runs early but does settle down in the latter innings of his five inning stint. A Willie Harris homer is all the Nats get on offense, while Gee goes seven innings to get his first MLB win.

Ross Detwiller, along with Joe Bisenius (2.70 ERA at Syracuse), were added to the roster for depth in the pen. The bullpen is not a long-term plan for Detwiller, but the team wants him to get a few more innings under his belt this year, and the rotation is currently full. Detwiller pitched a couple innings last night and looked good.

RA Dickey against Livan Hernandez today in a businessman's special. Can't imagine it'll be all that crowded...

Mets beat the Nats in the swing game 3-2. Wilson Ramos provides the silver lining with a two-run homer, but the Nats fall to a disappointing 60-80 on the year. The patchwork Mets pen gets it done for the second night in a row with a small lead.

A day off for the Nats before they see their good friends the Marlins.

There is still adecent shot at winning 70.