On Ramos and Jordan

Hope everyone had a very happy July 4. We had a beautiful day yesterday, and after sweating through my polo in the press box, I was able to get in some barbequing and quality outdoor time with friends after leaving Nationals Park. Hopefully, you all got to do the same. The way I see it, Wilson Ramos is owed some happy moments. Ramos had to suffer through being kidnapped in the winter of 2011. He tore his ACL and meniscus last year, causing him to miss all but the season's first month. He's sat out a total of 58 games this season with hamstring issues. Yeah, the guy deserves some positive stuff. Yesterday would probably fit in that category. Ramos had perhaps his biggest offensive day as a major leaguer yesterday, hitting a game-winning three-run homer and driving in a career-high five runs. He got a curtain call. He had teammates, Nationals staffers and even reporters shaking his hand after what had to be a special day for him. I think this quote from Ian Desmond is telling of just how excited the Nats are for Ramos on big days like yesterday: "He's a statement player and definitely somebody who's just waiting for his turn in the spotlight," Desmond said. "I think today he got a lot of recognition, and no one deserves it more than him." Taylor Jordan certainly has impressed the Nationals with what he's done in his first two big league outings, allowing three runs (one earned) over 4 1/3 innings his first time out against the Mets and then allowing two runs over 5 2/3 yesterday against the Brewers. Jordan has an impressive 2.70 ERA over those two starts, and yesterday, with the nerves reduced from his first start, Jordan was able to attack the zone with an impressive amount of strikes, throwing 60 strikes in 85 pitches. He spotted his fastball, showed some nice sliders and a decent changeup that kept the Brewers off-balance. So what are the chances that Jordan ends up getting another start before getting sent back down to the minors? Well, the way I see it, they're not that good. The Nats are going to slot Dan Haren back into the rotation next week, hoping that this time on the DL will allow him to get back on track. Jordan has certainly been solid and showed some potential for the future, but he's more of a fill-in option at this point. The Nats are paying Haren $13 million this season, and they feel he has something left in the tank. Now's the time to see whether that's true. Jordan is definitely an option if Haren isn't able to put it together. The Nats are lacking for starting pitching depth at the upper levels of their minor league system, but Jordan has proved to be an effective solution if the Nats need him. For now, however, getting Haren back in form is the priority.