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A Sweep IS as lucky as lucky can be!

After back-to-back-to-back sweeps, the Nationals finished with a 12-1 homestand. It's quite literally difficult to do much better than that.

And, as per our usual, the finale featured a one-run game.

Over the weekend, no single batter stood out. It truly was a team performance.

Pitching-wise, Chad Cordero had an excellent weekend, converting two saves without resorting to his usual stomach-tightening ways. 1,2,3 this afternoon. 1,2,3 last night. It's hard to get better than that.

But, to me, the unsung hero of yesterday and today was El Buitro, Luis Ayala. He went 2.1 tension-filled innings, allowing just one hit. Each night he came in after Gary Majewski (who looks like he might be tired), started taking on water. And each night, he bailed the team out. Saturday, it earned him a win. Sunday, it earned him a hold (who cares?). But, both nights together earned him some long-deserved Majority Whips.

I don't know if it was just the Mariners pitching clouding my perceptions, but the team just seemed more patient this weekend. They drew a fair number of walks, but even when they weren't walking, they were working the count, and swinging at pitches they could drive, instead of their typical 'see a strike, hit a strike' approach.

Tony Armas gutted through five innings, throwing 107 pitches in the process. Even when he was healthy, he was never the kind of pitcher who worked deep into games.

From watching him closely over his last two starts, he's just missing a little something on his pitches, which seems strange to say about someone who did strike out six batters.

But, when you watch his games, look at the number of foul balls they hit against him -- such as Jeremy Reed's 11-pitch AB in the first inning.

That worries me a little bit for his long-term success, because if he loses a little off his slider (which is what he got most of his strikeouts on), he'll be a very hittable pitcher.

John Patterson had another effective outing Saturday, going seven innings, and yielding just one run -- that coming off a bad hop grounder that just ate Nick Johnson alive.

In the process, he's lowered his ERA to 2.54. He, Livan and Loaiza, if they keep pitching to form, are one of the two or three best front-ends to a pitching staff.

Cristian Guzman had a terrific game Saturday, getting two hits, including a ball he absolutely destroyed that bounced over the wall for a double.

What amazed me about his performance that night wasn't his batting, but his eye.

In four at bats, he saw 16 pitches (not an especially high total, but it's progress for him). Of those, he swung at only 4: 2 line-drive hits, a decently hit grounder, and a strikeout.

No one'll confuse him for Rickey Henderson, but it's progress. He's still taking baby steps. We can't expect the training wheels to come off yet.

Distinguished Senators has an interesting look at the Tomo Ohka trade -- and the implications of the off-the-field meaning of the deal. It's worth the read, and makes some excellent points.