At the outset of the season, this columnist saw Colorado as the most likely National League West club to finish at the top of that division's standings.

They're not the team that's out to an early NL West lead:  that would be San Francisco, where Tim Lincecum is swinging a pretty mean bat these days to go along with his 0.90 ERA.  Nonetheless, the Rockies' roster is stocked with guys who can get the job done, and it's not hard to see them bettering the pace that's got them to a 6-6 record after a dozen games.

To do so, though, they'll need to get some players back to health and keep them there.  Carlos Gonzalez' strained hamstring evidently is on the mend, as is Brad Hawpe's strained quadriceps, so the outfield corners should be set for now.  However, the Rox will be counting the days (or weeks) until the return of Jeff Francis -- who is rehabilitating from left shoulder surgery -- to the rotation, and Huston Street -- currently plagued with right shoulder stiffness -- to his accustomed late-inning relief duties.

One guy they're probably less worried about is 26-year-old right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (3-0, 1.29 ERA), Colorado's probable Thursday afternoon starter who just spun a no-hitter on Saturday night in Atlanta.  He'll be preceded on Monday through Wednesday by righty Aaron Cook (0-1, 5.56), portsider Jorge de la Rosa (1-1, 2.77) and right-hander Jason Hammel (0-1, 11.42).

For the Nationals who are enjoying a gaudy (for them, anyhow) 6-6 start to the season, Monday is Craig Stammen's turn.  Stammen got cuffed around pretty hard in Philly last Wednesday, and is now sporting a 0-0 record and 15.63 ERA over just six and a third innings in two starts that have seen the 26-year-old right-hander cough up 16 hits and a walk against only one strikeout.

Even so, manager Jim Riggleman seems to have his eye on the bigger picture.

"I think Stammen had the best Spring [Training] of anybody on our club, with maybe the exception of [John] Lannan," said Riggleman during Sunday morning's pre-game press conference.  "So you factor in what he did for us last year, the success he had, the Spring that he had, I'm not going to panic on a couple starts.

"I do feel the results could have been a lot better for him with just a little bit of luck," Riggleman continued.  "Three ground balls in the first inning [Wednesday], to get nothing to show for it, and then you give up four runs . . . that could've been a one- or two-run inning, and who knows where we go from there."

Tuesday's through Thursday's starts will likely go to lefties Scott Olsen (0-0, 6.35) and John Lannan (1-1, 5.74), and veteran righty Livan Hernandez (2-0, 0.00) who went the distance to deliver a 112-pitch shutout in just under two and a half hours on Saturday and has not yielded a run, earned or otherwise, in either of his 2010 starts.

Talking of pitching, which we frequently are, you could hardly be blamed should you want to run up to Harrisburg on Wednesday morning to get a glimpse of Stephen Strasburg (1-0, 1.23) if you haven't already.

Dress warmly if you decide to make the trip:  the current forecast for the Pennsylvania capital calls for partly sunny skies Wednesday, but a temperature in the low 50s with a southerly breeze for the 10:35 a.m. first pitch.

Still talking of pitching, what's Jason Bergmann up to these days?

Listening to the clock tick and the crickets chirp, no doubt, as he waits for the Nats to make a decision on his future, having been designated for assignment this past week.  There's still no word on the Nats' plans for the 28-year-old right-hander in the event some other team doesn't make a deal for him or snatch him off the waiver wire (should it come to that; contrary to our earlier report, going on waivers is not an immediate consequence of being DFA'd, but is only a final resort if nothing else happens in the meantime). Bill Ladson at MLB.com reiterates earlier rumors we'd heard that Toronto might be interested.  If the Nats want to try to work a trade, reports MLB Trade Rumors, they'll need to do so some time between now and ten days from last Thursday (roughly, Sunday, April 26).

And still talking of pitching (and chirping crickets), what the hell is wrong with Jason Marquis, who failed to record a single out on Sunday afternoon while yielding seven earned runs?  It's not as if he's been showing, or complaining about, elbow soreness, or exhibiting other mechanical indications of injury.

Anyhow, we're staying tuned and will pass along whatever we find out.

      

As you may have heard by now, the Washington Nationals have designated popular, personable swingman Jason Bergmann for assignment, presumably in preparation for outrighting him to triple-A Syracuse.

Before that happens, though, Bergmann has to clear waivers.  [Assuming the Nats don't reach a deal with another team first; see the update below.] And, like all their MLB brethren, the Toronto Blue Jays will be watching Bergmann's name cross the waiver wire.

MLB Trade Rumors notes that in 2005, Dana Brown -- who was then scouting director of the Nationals and is now employed by Toronto -- was cited by Baseball America for his familiarity with Bergmann.  If Brown has continued to track Bergmann's performance and, perhaps, thinks he knows something the Nats don't, MLBTR thinks that "maybe the Blue Jays will take a look."

That's not exactly a substantive indication that Bergmann might actually be crossing leagues, let alone the Canadian border, in the next few days. Still, we'll be staying tuned.

UPDATE 18-Apr-2010 12:40 pm: A tweet from Bill Ladson at MLB.com confirms the rumor, although there's not yet anything official on the horizon…

UPDATE 18-Apr-2010 1:20 pm: On his pre-game broadcast Sunday afternoon, Nats broadcaster Charlie Slowes offered needful clarification regarding the DFA process. In fact, the Nationals have ten days to reach (or not) a deal with another team for a player who's been designated for assignment; waivers are the last stage of the process and only last for 48 hours. Slowes and broadcast partner Dave Jageler agree that it doesn't seem likely that Bergmann will slip through without attracting interest from at least one other MLB club…

      

This series concludes by ranking each team in the National League East from best to worst based on the estimated effectiveness of their relief pitching.

• Even as they swoon over the anticipated hitting and fielding exploits of top prospect Jason Heyward, fans in Atlanta should be tipping their caps in the direction of the Turner Field bullpen, which projects to contain the division's strongest (and oldest) setup-closer tandem in right-hander Takashi Saito, 40, and lefty Billy Wagner, 38. Youth will also contribute as middle reliever Jesse Chavez, 26, and swingman Kris Medlen, 24, help preserve leads for the Braves.
• The 2009 performance of Brad Lidge gave Philadelphia far too many thrills in September and October. He'll begin 2010 on the 15-day disabled list after offseason surgery, while Ryan Madson steps in as closer. Much is hoped for from projected setup man Jose Contreras; less will be delivered, if perhaps somewhat more steadily, from Danys Baez. Twenty-four-year-old Dominican southpaw Antonio Bastardo rates to have every opportunity to prove himself in a long-relief and emergency-start role on the Phillies' somewhat scrambled staff.
• Florida will be hoping that the 2010 performance of setup man Renyel Pinto, who will be fronting closer Leo Nunez, resembles that of 2009 more than that of 2008. They'll also be hoping either that Nunez really isn't tipping his pitches or that he figures out a way to stop doing it. One-time teen sensation Jose Veras will be called on in the middle innings every few days, while Burke Badenhop will alternate between long reliever and sixth starter.
• Beleaguered New York fans can at least expect closer Francisco Rodriguez to be dependably effective.  The bigger questions are whether setup man Kiko Calero will look as good in Flushing in 2010 as he did in Miami in 2009, whether rookie Jenrry Mejia will look as good in the regular season as he did in March, and whether Nelson Figueroa will have to be summoned more than twice a week.
• Assuming that they make it through seven frames with a lead, Washington could do worse than to call on Brian Bruney in the eighth. Preserving that lead in the ninth may be more problematic, given that they'll be putting the chips on Matt Capps whose performance in Spring Training rarely evoked memories of the dominance he enjoyed in Pittsburgh before 2009.  (Happily, Drew Storen should be along some time in June to reinforce the back of the 'pen.)  The remarkable reverse platoon split of right-hander Tyler Clippard may at least spare the Nationals from having to search for a left-handed specialist. Miguel Batista and Jason Bergmann rate to split the swingman duty.

      

Last week's edition of this feature took a first glance at a projected Opening Day rotation for the Nationals.  Today we'll have a look at the bullpen.

It's questionable whether any of the Nats' 2010 relievers will contend for the Rolaids Relief Man Award®.  Even so, this coming season's bullpen appears to have been built with more care than the previous edition, starting with the selection of Drew Storen in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft and the promotion of Tyler Clippard a couple weeks later, right before the trade with Pittsburgh that brought left-hander Sean Burnett.  The Nats didn't stop there, continuing to rebuild later in the season and offseason by acquiring the services of Doug Slaten, Brian Bruney, Matt Capps and Tyler Walker.  Add young veteran Jason Bergmann to the mix and you're looking at a credible bullpen.

How can we expect this group to perform?  And how will they compare with last year's set of relievers?

Let's look first at the bullpen the Nats started with in April 2009. Here's how each of them did for the duration of his stay in Washington:

None of those numbers is a typo.  True, Beimel ended up working out well -- well enough, in fact, to fetch a couple of prospects in a July deadline trade.  And Hanrahan (who departed to Pittsburgh in the trade that brought Burnett to the Nats) enjoyed a bounceback with the Pirates later in the season.

Still, the bottom line is that the Nationals' Opening Day 2009 bullpen posted a hideous composite ERA of 5.53 under the curly W while producing just 166 innings of work.  (Not that, with the exception of Beimel, we'd have cared to see more innings from anybody in this crew.  Fortunately we won't, because they're all gone.)

Will 2010 be as bad? Probably not. Here are the seven we expect to start the year in the bullpen and what we expect from each.

It would be nice to see fewer 4-pluses and more 3-pluses in that ERA column, but this group should still post a composite ERA of 4.40 over 392 innings. And once Storen makes it to Nats Park sometime in the late spring, it wouldn't be surprising to see him audition for, and inherit, Bruney's setup job -- adding another 3-plus ERA to the mix.

Does all this sound about right to you? Or do you see it differently -- and, if so, how?

And, with a few guys left in free agency, here are some bonus questions:  Should the Nats be thinking about Chien-Ming Wang (our take: yes), John Smoltz (yes, for the bullpen), Jarrod Washburn (yes, on a 1-year deal, with or without an option), Livan Hernandez (no) and/or Braden Looper (no)?

      

Four of the six Washington Nationals players who entered the 2010 season eligible for salary arbitration have reached agreement on contracts with the team, thus avoiding an arbitration hearing.

In a press release received moments ago, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo announced that the team has agreed to terms with RHP Jason Bergmann, catchers Jesus Flores and Wil Nieves and outfielder Josh Willingham.  Details will be reported here as they are learned.

No agreement has yet been reached with RHP Brian Bruney or LHP Sean Burnett.

UPDATED 4:15 pm 1/19/2010: Here's the list of arb-eligible players with 2009 and 2010 salaries shown. HTs to Cot's Baseball Contracts and Ben Goessling at MASN…

UPDATED 6:05 pm 1/19/10: The table above now shows the bid-and-asked figures for Bruney and Burnett, as reported by Bill Ladson at MLB.com…

UPDATED 12:40 pm 1/20/10: Specifics of the agreements reached so far have been published in the Baltimore Sun and included in the table above…

      

Word of the official announcement that Nationals starting LHP Scott Olsen and relief RHP Mike MacDougal will not be tendered arbitration for the 2010 season has just come from the Post's Chico Harlan.  More news and analysis as we have it.

UPDATED 12/12/09 7:35 pm:  Mark Zuckerman at the Times has also reported the story, and adds...

Washington did tender contracts to its six other arbitration-eligible players: outfielder Josh Willingham, catchers Jesus Flores and Wil Nieves and relievers Sean Burnett, Jason Bergmann and recently acquired Brian Bruney.

UPDATED 12/12/09 10:15 pm:  Harlan's updated post hits the relevant points well...

Olsen, acquired in a trade with Florida last November, was coming off a year marred by uneven performance (2-4, 6.03 ERA in 11 starts) and subsequent left labrum surgery. Though Olsen is fully rehabilitated from the surgery, his salary -- $2.8 million in 2009 -- necessitated this move. Had Olsen been tendered a contract, he would have made a comparable salary in 2010 via arbitration.

. . . MacDougal has a history of shaky control and inconsistency. He relies on one pitch, a fastball, and has a worrisome strikeout-to-walk ratio. Also, he finished the season on a down note, with a 9.53 ERA in September, and in early October he had arthroscopic surgery on his right hip.

ANALYSIS 12/13/09 10:00 am: Each of the eight, in eight words each...

• Olsen: Right move here; he may be back anyhow.
• MacDougal: Too exciting for the Nats; good luck elsewhere.
• Willingham: Good clubhouse guy who hits the ball hard.
• Flores: Shoulders are tricky, per Riggles; good upside though.
• Nieves: With catchers in short supply, a smart offer.
• Burnett: Versatile left-handed godsend to Nats middle relief.
• Bergmann: Enigmatic righty's option status makes this a puzzlement.
• Bruney: '10 closer; Storen will be his setup man.

      

In one of the uglier defeats of an epically unsightly Nationals season, continued misadventures on the basepaths and a Jayson Werth grand slam off reliever Jason Bergmann laid waste to a fine performance by starting pitcher Livan Hernandez as Washington fell to Philadelphia 6-1 on Wednesday evening at Citizens Bank Park.

Here's coverage at the Post, Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, MLB.com and AP.

      

Livan Hernandez, who issued the Nationals' first pitch at RFK Stadium in 2005 to inaugurate the current era of Washington major-league baseball, delivered a superb effort in his return to the Nats on Wednesday evening to hold Chicago to two runs on five hits over six innings, striking out six and walking one.

The Cubs enjoyed more success off the Washington bullpen, breaking the game open in the eighth inning with one run each off Jason Bergmann and Ron Villone and four off Jorge Sosa as the Nats suffered a 9-4 loss at Wrigley Field.

Here's coverage from the Post, Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, MLB.com and AP.

      

Wednesday evening at Turner Field featured plenty of long fly balls, and two pitched by Nationals starter Craig Stammen and one each by Jorge Sosa and Sean Burnett went over the wall for one run each.  Those and two bases-loaded walks in the eighth inning, one issued by Burnett and one by Jason Bergmann, accounted for all the Braves' scoring, helping to doom the Nats -- who logged nine hits but stranded eight baserunners on the night -- to a 6-2 loss against Atlanta.

Umpire-crew chief Larry Vanover blew his second stolen-base call in as many nights to erase a potential run for the Nats in the first inning, while Vanover victim Nyjer Morgan later (and this time unquestionably) got picked off first base to kill a two-out Nats rally in the ninth.

Read the details at the Post, Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, MLB.com and AP.

      

Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that Scott Olsen's sore back muscle will keep him out of at least one pitching start for the Nationals.  Olsen -- whose three starts since his June return from the DL rated respectively as superb, doughty and borderline-disastrous -- will miss his Monday turn at Nats Park against the Mets.

What are the Nats' alternatives for the rotation in Olsen's absence?

Part of the answer depends on how long Olsen is expected to be out.  If the team thinks he'll be ready for next Saturday's start against San Diego, they might see if they can muddle through on Monday with, say, a combination of Jason Bergmann, Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett.  (Although with the Nats not having a day off in the schedule until August 10, a bullpen start from this threadbare relief corps would seem ill-advised.)

If Olsen's recovery is estimated to take longer, the Nats could bring up temporary starting help from Syracuse:  perhaps JD Martin (our preference) or Collin Balester.  Journeyman Jorge Sosa, who has started four games for the triple-A Chiefs and relieved in ten others in 2009, might be another possibility to get the call.

UPDATE noon Saturday 18-Jul-09: Zuckerman at the Times, reporting an interview with new Nats manager Jim Riggleman, says the callup would most likely be either Balester or Shairon Martis.  (See also the comments to this post.)

UPDATE 11:55 pm Saturday 18-Jul-09: Ladson reports that Olsen will visit renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday for a second opinion.

UPDATE 11:25 am Sunday 19-Jul-09: It's Martin. Olsen's off to the DL.