Trades possible as woes persist

As summer reaches its apex and the temperature and humidity levels rise inside sweltering RFK Stadium, the number of scouts seated behind the plate grows each night.

These are important days across the major leagues, with general managers from every contending ballclub trying to make final evaluations about players they might want to acquire before the July 31 trade deadline.

For a Washington Nationals club stuck in last place and committed to rebuilding, these trade talks are just as significant as anything that plays out on the field. So perhaps the most important developments from last night’s 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros were not the home team’s lack of offense or Tim Redding’s seven strong innings in a losing effort but rather the two-hit performances by Washington’s two mainstays all season: Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard.

No, neither veteran figured into the final outcome of a game played before 22,362 fans. But with a 2-for-4 night, the resurgent Young raised his average to a National League-best .341. And with a 2-for-3 showing that included a solo homer, Belliard raised his average to .311.

And that only will increase both veterans’ trade value.

Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said yesterday he has been involved in “as much trade discussions as I’ve ever seen” this summer, with a dozen or more contending clubs trying to add key pieces for the stretch run.

Whether that results in Young and/or Belliard changing addresses by the end of the month — as most expect — remains to be seen.

“A lot of talk, but to me it’s always about if you find the fit and result that makes your team better,” Bowden said. “I can’t tell you how it’s going to play out.”

Clearly, both Young and Belliard are attractive players who should be able to help someone out. Over the next two weeks, Bowden must decide whether he is offered fair value in exchange for the duo or whether he will take his chances allowing both to become free agents this winter and possibly receiving compensation in the form of draft picks.

“I’ve been here with these young guys just trying to be a winner,” said Belliard, who was traded from Cleveland to St. Louis last summer and wound up helping the Cardinals win the World Series. “They go hard every night. They never think they’re going to lose a game. I’ve said it before. We can be losing 10-0, and we just keep going at people.”

So would Belliard be OK staying in Washington the rest of the year?

“Why not?” he said.

Young, too, would like to compete for the batting title with the Nationals, not while wearing some other uniform. Manager Manny Acta wouldn’t mind witnessing that firsthand, either.

“Absolutely, I would love to see him stick around here and do it,” Acta said. “But we know how the business goes, and if he doesn’t stick around here, I hope he wins a batting title wherever he goes.”

As much as Young and Belliard have carried the Nationals, this season has been defined just as much by the cadre of journeymen pitchers who have been pressed into service to fill out a rotation beset by injuries.

Redding fits that description perfectly, a 29-year-old right-hander who is pitching for his fifth organization in four years. Once upon a time, though, Redding was a top prospect with the Astros, a promising young hurler who started 81 games for Houston from 2001 to 2004 before inconsistent performance and shoulder problems sidetracked his career.

So imagine Redding’s emotions last night as he faced the club that gave up on him three years ago.

“I didn’t go out there trying to beat the Houston Astros just because I used to be with them and they were the team that brought me up,” he said. “It was business as usual.”

Maybe so, but Redding certainly pitched like it meant something, allowing three runs over seven solid innings in his longest start of the season. He made only one real mistake: a fastball over the plate to Carlos Lee, who belted a two-run homer to left in the third inning.

Hunter Pence, a top candidate for rookie of the year honors, delivered the other big blow for Houston, connecting for a solo homer in the fifth on a low curveball that Redding described as nearly being in the dirt — hardly a mistake on the pitcher’s part.

Strong outing or not, Redding was stuck with the loss because his teammates again couldn’t muster enough offense. Washington managed only a pair of solo homers off Houston right-hander Chris Sampson: Belliard’s shot to left-center in the first and Ryan Zimmerman’s drive to left in the fourth.

Otherwise, the Nationals reverted back to the lackluster hackers they have been most of this season. Per the usual story line, Young and Belliard did their parts. And as has been the case more often than not, the rest of the lineup did little to supplement the two veterans who could be in their final two weeks in the District.