OK, so as we sit here at 9 p.m., the Nats well on their way to a ninth-straight loss and third straight sweep, here are some thoughts on the day's events and what may still lie ahead...

-- Alberto Gonzalez (the shortstop, not the disgraced former Attorney General) will be here tomorrow and will probably be the Nats' shortstop until Cristian Guzman comes back from his thumb injury. That may only be a few days away, after which the Nats will have to decide what to do with Gonzalez. Both Jim Bowden and Mike Rizzo were adamant that Gonzalez is a major-league-caliber shortstop defensively who may become good enough offensively to stick up here. They did not call him a potential utility infielder. So my hunch would be that he'll be the starter at Class AAA as long as Guzman is healthy.

-- Gonzalez will be joined in the middle infield by Emilio Bonifacio very soon, perhaps as soon as tomorrow. The Nats want to get Bonifacio up here and see what they've got. Based on how he's played at Columbus, there may not be much reason to wait any longer.

-- Of course, Bonifacio's arrival would require the departure of Felipe Lopez, which I also believe will happen soon, perhaps by the end of the night. Jim Bowden offered a stern "No comment" when asked about Lopez's future with the club. I think Felipe even knows his time is just about up.

-- Both Bowden and Manny Acta said today that the priority over the next two months is to play young kids over veterans. That means Bonifacio at second, Kory Casto at first (even though he's struggled there tonight), Elijah Dukes in left (again, perhaps as soon as tomorrow). I also believe this will lead to Garrett Mock returning to the rotation before long. Who goes to make room for Mock, who is currently in the bullpen? Odalis Perez would seem to be a prime candidate to be DFA'd.

-- What happens to Paul Lo Duca? Well, obviously there was no market for him on July 31. But could there be by August 31? Possibly. Of the veterans who still remain, he seems like the one who could still get picked up by a contender if he starts to hit over the next few weeks. Since the Nats have no real first baseman at the moment, there is some need to keep Lo Duca around. Could he be DFA'd too? Sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's around a bit longer.

Some other news from the day that won't find its way into the paper for space reasons...

-- Bowden was asked about if any of his trade talks involved acquiring a first baseman. His answer: "It's interesting, because I think what we accomplished the most at the trade deadline is beginning trade discussions for the offseason. There are some clubs in the pennant race that we had good discussions with. But at the end, they couldn't make moves because to trade those players would affect their season this year. And they have more interest in continuing the discussions in October. We came a long way in those discussions. We feel that we have a couple of things going for October that we're already planning on discussing."

-- Ryan Wagner's rehab time at Columbus is almost up, but he's not throwing well enough right now for the Nats to bring him back to their bullpen. Needs a lot of time to warm up, and he probably can't go back-to-back days enough. So a decision is going to have to be made there. I believe Wagner still has an option, so he could find himself a permanent member of the Columbus bullpen for the rest of the season.

-- Ross Detwiler was at Nationals Park today to throw a bullpen session in front of Randy St. Claire. St. Claire, like all of the organization's pitching coaches, noted that Detwiler tends to throw across his body and needs not to do that so much.

-- Chad Cordero was also at Nationals Park for the first time since his shoulder surgery. Started physical therapy yesterday and said it went well. He'll be heading back to L.A. soon.

-- One last time for the record: The Nats NEVER talked to the White Sox about John Lannan or Joel Hanrahan.

-- And if you want to read how the Nationals have become practical joke fodder inside the Texas Rangers' clubhouse, read this. Very funny.

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