Spring Training: The first five games

Washington Nationals Record: 4-1
Hitters’ stats include: hits/at-bats, average, home runs
Pitchers’ stats include: ERA, innings, hits allowed, BB/SO

Hot Hitters:
SS Ian Desmond – 4 for 11 .364 0
OF Terrmel Sledge – 3 for 9 .333 1
OF Brad Wilkerson – 2 for 8 .250 2
OF J.J. Davis – 3 for 7 .429 1
OF Jeffery Hammonds – 3 for 7 .429 0
C Brian Schneider – 3 for 6 .500 0
IF Rick Short – 3 for 5 .600 0
C Keith Osik – 2 for 5 .400 1

Cold Hitters:
OF Alex Escobar – 0 for 9 .000 0
OF Endy Chavez – 1 for 8 .125 0
3B Vinny Castilla – 1 for 7 .143 0

Hot Pitchers:
RHP Jon Rauch – 2.25 4 3 0-1
RHP Chad Cordero – 3.00 3 2 1-6
RHP Hector Carrasco – 0.00 2.1 2 2-2
RHP T.J. Tucker – 0.00 2 0 0-1
RHP John Patterson – 0.00 3 1 0-2

Cold Pitchers:
LHP Matt Hinckley – 15.75 4 11 3-2
RHP Tony Armas – 5.40 5 5 3-4
RHP Livan Hernandez – 6.00 3 5 1-1
RHP Gary Majewski – 16.20 1.2 1 3-2
LHP Luis Pineda – 189.00 0.1 2 6-0

Conclusions
It is still WAY too early to make any real conclusions from these statistics, but it seems as though the Nationals’ hitters are ahead of the pitchers at this point. That said, the bullpen appears to be off to a nice start. Sledge is off to a nice start and could be improving his tradability. Davis and Hammonds seem to have the early edge on a roster spot over Escobar and perhaps Chavez, if Sledge remains with the team. Keep an eye on non-roster invitees Osik and Short, both of whom are off to a quick starts and have an outside shot at being bench players. Osik is an excellent defensive catcher who backed up All Star Jason Kendall in Pittsburgh for years and can also play the corner infield positions. Short, an 11 year minor league veteran, has a .311 career average. It also looks like the Nationals may have put too much pressure on Hinckley this spring, after GM Bowden said he had an outside shot of making the team after a half season in double-A. Or maybe he is just rusty.