The Nats put up a 5-spot on the Cheese Steaks in the top of 1st, making Jamie Moyer look more like his father-in-law (former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps) on the mound. Nice contributions from Aaron Boone and Jesus Flores during the rally as they see their first action as starters this year and good to see Jason Bergmann send ’em down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the frame after a long wait to hit the mound.

Christian Guzman just led off the top of the second with his second double of the day. He’s swinging the bat great early on this year, but I don’t know how he just got picked off.

The Cheese Steaks are throwing the ball all over the field and looking dreadful.

Last night’s game was simply beautiful.

Tim Redding pitched very well, yielding just one hit and two walks. He was helped by a wind blowing in from leftfield and some fine defense from Ryan Zimmerman, Christian Guzman and Ronnie Belliard. I’ll even give Paul Lo Duca credit for calling a good game. More important, Redding spotted the ball well and kept the Phils’ big sticks from getting good swings.

Speaking of wind, Zimmerman’s homerun was a nice little gift. The wind came across from left and blew out into the rightfield corner. Regardless, Zimmerman muscled the heck out of the ball and it was great to see him go the other way on a 1-2 pitch. Cole Hamels said the pitch wasn’t a strike and it probably was borderline. Zimmerman couldn’t take the pitch, so at best you’d hope for him to foul it off. Instead, he slammed it out of the park for his second dinger of the year.

Meanwhile, the bullpen looks great early on, despite the ninth inning blip in the opener. Luis Ayala looks recovered from his 2006 injury and I guarantee you that Kenny Williams is kicking himself for trading away Rauch four years ago for nothing.

On that note, the Nats have Omar Minaya to thank for Rauch. Minaya traded the perpetually disgruntled Carl Everett to the White Sox for Rauch and Gary Majewski in July 2004. Rauch was one of the top pitching prospects for the White Sox, but he angered teammates and management by leaving the clubhouse after he got lit up early in one game. Majewski was also a decent prospect who was closing in AAA at the time. Everett, meanwhile, had been signed to a 1-year, $3 million contract prior to the year.

Everett played a year-and-a-half for the White Sox, hitting .255/28/108 in 644 at-bats. Those figures look decent, but Everett had just a .760 OPS playing mostly DH and garnering most of his at-bats in the #3 slot in the line-up. More importantly, the 2005 White Sox won the World Series, though I think it can be reasonably argued that Everett’s production could have easily been replaced that year (.251/23/87 and striking out once every 5 at-bats). He signed with Seattle and played just one more season.

Rauch, meanwhile, has been a workhouse the past two seasons, racking up 173 appearances and a 3.49 ERA. He’s already pitched in two of three games this year. He’s making $1.2 million this season and he’s not eligible for free agency until after 2010.

Majewksi, on the other hand, put up some solid numbers in a job that Rauch essentially inherited from him in mid-2006. He was a good pitcher until he was traded to the Reds and his arm fell-off. He was disastrous in 32 appearances last year and is starting this year at AAA.

Majewski, of course, was packaged in a trade with Daryl Thompson, Bill Bray and Royce Clayton, who were exchanged Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Ryan Wagner. Kearns is the Nats starting rightfielder; Lopez looks like he’ll be a super utility guy this season; and, Wagner will be calling AAA his home for many years.

A former first-round draft pick, Bray has been oft-injured and is in AAA to start the year. Harris was shipped to the Rays following the 2006 season and enjoyed a nice season in Tampa Bay last year, finally getting real playing time. He’s in Minnesota this year playing secondbase and is a marginal player at best. Clayton ended up in Toronto the following year, was released and got a World Series ring as a last-season defensive replacement for the Red Sox. Thompson, on the hand, may have some promise. He pitched well in rookie and A-ball last year and will be in the rotation at the Reds Chattanooga AA affiliate to start the year.

All in all, the trades of Everett and subsequent trade involving Majewski have panned out quite well.