Sep 23, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Zach Duke (30) throws in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Nats’ first step was a good one. They re-signed Duke to a one-year deal, a reasonable reward for a pitcher who had a 1.32 ERA in 13.2 big-league innings last season. He will likely fill the role that Gorzelanny did last year, as a long-relief man. The Nats also signed Bill Bray, a former Nat who was traded to the Reds in 2006 along with Gary Majewski for Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez. Bray only threw 8.2 innings last year, and his deal is a minor-league one. the best case scenario for him is likely to join the team at some point in the middle of the season if he can stay healthy and pitch well at AAA. Bray’s career MLB ERA is 3.74, but he has had a sub-3.00 ERA twice since 2008.

Shortly after these deals were signed, Sean Burnett joined the Angels on a 2-year, $8 million deal witha $4.5 million option for 2015. The Nationals reportedly did not compete with this offer, and at that amount, their non-involvement was likely a smart move. While Burnett did have a 2.38 ERA last season, signing relievers to expensive deals is generally unwise, not to mention the fact that he will be 30 in 2013 and battled an elbow injury last season.To replace him, the Nats are reportedly chasing former Tampa Bay Ray J.P. Howell, who had a 3.04 ERA last season. He is the same age as Burnett, but will likely come at a lower price.

According to ESPN’s Jim Bowden, the Nationals are now competing with the Reds to sign Gonzalez, who had a 3.03 ERA last year.  If they fail, their free-agent options will be all but nonexistent, and the Nats will be forced to carry only two lefties or acquire a lefty in a Michael Morse trade if Adam LaRoche is re-signed.

The Nationals’ left-handed reliever situation may seem dire, but with a few reasonable free agent signings, the lefty stable could be as good as last year’s.

Oct 8, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Mike Gonzalez (51) reacts after giving up a solo home run to St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran (not pictured) during the sixth inning of game two the 2012 NLDS at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 12-4. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

2012 Projection (ZiPS): 3-2, 4.44 ERA, 51 games, 46.2 IP, 102 ERA+
2012 Actual: 0-0, 3.03 ERA, 47 games, 35.2 IP, 132 ERA+

He didn’t have any decisions on the season, but he definitely bounced back from his 2011 season and if you look at his career averages, he could have been even better and may have had a little bit of bad luck. Gonzalez, a left-handed thrower, eats up left handed hitters but has had surprising success over his career against right handed hitters. Over his career, right handers have only a .216 average against Gonzalez. This year, it was .284. A major reason for the change is the Batting Average in Balls in Play (BABIP). Over his career, it is .285 against right-handed hitters. That is just a tick below average which hovers around .300. This season, it was above average at .360. BABIP can be linked to luck, hit quality or just a blip on the radar.

Normally you look at this as a sign of improvement after a bad season, but Gonzalez was a very serviceable member of the Nationals bullpen. He was on a minor league contract signed in May before being called up in June and has done enough to earn a nice pay raise, with at least a major league guarantee. The Nationals have some options on where to go with Gonzalez in the future but the way he was pitching, he should be back if both sides want them to.

Gonzalez pitched in one game in the NLDS and gave up a homerun in his only inning.

Season Highlight: The most important appearance for Gonzalez was June 23 against Baltimore. The Nationals were up 3-1 in the seventh inning with runners in first and second, one out and Ronny Paulino at the plate. All it took was six pitches and Gonzalez got Paulino to line out to shortstop Ian Desmond who stepped on second to double off Wilson Betemit. The Orioles didn’t score again and the game ended with a 3-1 win. It was one of seven holds Gonzalez picked up on the season.

Previous Reviews:
Xavier Nady
Chien Ming Wang
Mark DeRosa
Henry Rodriguez
Carlos Maldonado
Brad Lidge
Ryan Mattheus
Ryan Perry
Rick Ankiel
Jesus Flores
Sandy Leon
Corey Brown
Christian Garcia
Jhonatan Solano
Mike Morse
Zach Duke
Tom Gorzelanny
Chad Tracy

Neither team did much against the other starter. Young did not give up a hit after the first inning. Zimmerman scattered four hits over his six innings, one of which was the home run to Wright. Zimmerman was assisted by some excellent defense. The Nats infield turned two double plays and Ryan Zimmerman was his usual gold glove self at third. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ryan made an incredible play to throw out Jordany Valdespin running for first base for the third out of the inning, and David Wright on deck.

July 23, 2012; Flushing, NY,USA; Washington Nationals right fielder

The score was 2-1 in favor of the Nats in the bottom of the seventh, when Drew Storen got the call to replace Zimmerman. Storen faced David Wright, the toughest out in the Mets lineup, and got a fly ball out. Davey Johnson elected to go to reliever Michael Gonzalez to get the left handed batter Ike Davis. Gonzalez gave up a home run to Davis on the first pitch he threw, tying the score and making Zimmerman’s start a no decision. Daniel Murphy hit a single and got to second on a passed ball, but Gonzalez struck out Jason Bay and Andres Torres to end the inning.

Gonzalez pitched to one batter in the eighth, and was replaced by Ryan Mattheus, who got two outs to end the inning and came out for the first batter in the ninth–David Wright. Mattheus induced Wright to hit a fly ball to center. Tom Gorzelanny then finished the rest of the ninth. Gorzelanny struck out Ike Davis, then gave up a double to Daniel Murphy. Jason Bay hit a ball sharply to the hole between third and short, but Ryan Zimmerman made a great play on the ball to throw out Bay at first. If Zimmerman had not made the play, the ball game would have been over because Murphy would have scored from second.

The Mets bullpen combination of Josh Edgin, Jon Rauch and Bobby Parnell shut down the Nats for the eighth and ninth innings.

Tim Byrdak started as the pitcher for the Mets in the top of the tenth. Bernadina hit a single to short left field. Sandy Leon hit a routine ground ball which should have been a double play, but Ruben Tejada dropped the ball at second base, so both runners were safe. The Mets elected to bring in Pedro Beato to pitch at that point, and the fun really started for the Nats. Mark DeRosa attempted to bunt the runners over, but the bunt was too short. Beato fielded the ball and threw to third to get the out on Bernadina. With runners at first and second, Steve Lonbardozzi singled to load the bases. Harper crushed a single to right that scored Leon and put the Nats ahead with the bases still loaded.

Ryan Zimmerman hit a bases clearing double. Michael Morse piled on with a two run homer, his first hit of the game. Beato walked Gorzelanny and his night was done. The Mets brought in Elvin Ramirez to put out the fire. He struck out Danny Espinosa and got Bernadina to hit a come-backer to the pitcher for the final out of the inning. The Nats lead 8-2. Gorzelanny started the bottom of the tenth by walking Andres Torres, but got the double play ball from Ronny Cedeno and the final out by getting Justin Turner to fly out to left. Gorzelanny vultured the win.

Champ of the Game: For the Nats this is a tie between two players. Bryce Harper had three RBI’s in the game, which were actually all of the runs the Nationals needed. He came through in the tenth to get the team the win. Ryan Zimmerman’s bases clearing double gave the team the breathing room they needed in the tenth to seal the win. Ryan also had two excellent defensive plays during the game, one of which saved a run. If he had not made the play on the Jason Bay ground ball, the Mets would have won the game in the bottom of the ninth.

For the Mets, their champ was Chris Young, who pitched seven innings and did not allow a hit by the Nats after the first inning.

Chump of the Game: Michael Gonzalez. Yes, every pitcher gives up a home run in a critical situation now and then. But when you throw a high, out of the zone fastball to Ike Davis you are asking for trouble. Ike Davis can handle pitches high and low out of the zone. It’s the stuff in the strike zone that gives him problems. Gonzalez should have known his opponent since the Nats just got done playing a series against this team last week. That hit took the potential win away from Jordan Zimmerman, who pitched six good innings and ended up with a no decision.

Jordany Valdespin and Pedro Beato share this for the Mets. Valdespin ground into two double plays, went 0 for 1 with a runner in scoring position and grounded out. His 0-4 night cost the Mets dearly. Beato allowed two inherited runners to score and gave up four runs of his own in the tenth inning, and then walked Gorzelanny to end his night.

Unsung Hero: Danny Espinosa. He went 1-3 at the plate, but his contribution in this game was on the field. He made a fine play at short to get to a ball hit sharply by Ruben Tejada and kept it to a single. If that ball had gotten past him it would have been at least a double. Espinosa played a very smooth short in this game and appears to be working well with Lombardozzi.

Next Game: July 24th at Citi Field in New York. Gio Gonzalez (12-5, 3.32) against R.A. Dickey (13-1, 2.84).