The difference between winning and losing to Milwaukee on Monday afternoon (the Nats lost 4-3 in 11 innings) was the inordinate number of strike outs chalked up by the Brewer’s pitching staff. Fifteen times the Nats batters trudged back to the dugout after having whiffed. With a total of 41 at-bats the entire day, the home town team k’d more than a third of the time. Not a stat to be proud of to be sure and one that shows how little help the pitching staff received on the day. Milwaukee wasn’t much better — 12 stike outs in 39 at-bats — but they won.

Both the guys swinging the bat well and those who aren’t all contributed to the high K total today. Harris, Boone, Dukes, Flores, Bergman and Langerhans all had two apiece. And in a key two-inning stretch with the momentum going the Nats way after they tied the score in the bottom of the eighth, Milwaukee reliever Carlos Villanueva recorded five strike outs in his two innings of work. You can’t do much with that.

Another problem with Washington was it’s seeming inability to work the count. For instance, in his two innings of work Viallanueva only threw 27 pitches - 19 for strikes. Thirteen pitches per inning may seem high, but it’s not when you consider the five strike outs. I should also mention that Villanueva had a 6.30 ERA going into today’s game. The Nats made him look like he was a contender for the Cy Young. Milwaukee starter Ben Sheets had an equally easy day. Eighty-six pitches (61 for strikes!) over six innings including six strike outs. I wish I’d counted how many first-pitch swings the Nats had throughout the day. Whatever it was it was too many.

The theme for the day should have been: Take A Pitch!

Diamond Nuggets

Ah, the joys of the conession stand at Nationals Park continue. In the top the of the second inning today I had to get a large-sized drink for my pint-sized daughter because the medium-sized cups didn’t have any lids. Plenty of medium-sized cups. Just no medium-sized lids. Wouldn’t you think you’d order one with the other? How does that happen?

At least a few times at the park today it was announced on the video screen that during the game on June 4 against St. Louis, the Nats will do a cross-promotion to advertise the Discovery Channel’s newest offering, the PlanetGreen channel. A well-placed source tells me the first pitch will feature a green ball and bat. Presumably the team, which has made quite an effort to make the ballpark “green” sees this as a great way to further its reputation in that area. But a green ball and bat?! Maybe I misunderstood and it’ll be a ceremonial first pitch. Stay tuned.

Well, as Mark said the other day, “because Tom liked it.” True, but it was not some random notion on my part. It’s a bit of a rip-off of a Red Sox blog called Boston Dirt Dogs. The original idea for that site was to pay homage to the good, solid players who regularly get their uniform dirty. ‘Gritty’ would be a good description of these types of guys. Sox catcher Jason Varitek and third baseman Mike Lowell fit the mold. Former Indians outfielder Trot Nixon and former Brewer Gabe Kaplan do as well. They’re the type of player I love to watch. They may not be future Hall of Famers, but you know they leave it on the field.

I want to see that type of play out of the Nationals too. And given the new stadium’s proximity to the Anacostia, I thought the name River Dogs would be perfect. Of course, the Charleston, South Carolina minor league baseball team is called the River Dogs so we used the ‘Z’ so as to not get sued. Plus, Z is one of the most kick-ass letters in the alphabet. ‘X’ and ‘K’ are in that gang too. All elbows and knees. Tough. Really. You could look it up.

We want to hear who you think are River Dogz or when someone makes a play worth of the moniker. If you see a player dive into the third row for a foul pop, for instance, let us know and we’ll tout the effort. This team isn’t filled with superstars so we’ll have to outplay everyone else in order to win. Go Dogz!