Byline: Barry Svrluga

Washington Post staff writer Barry Svrluga talks baseball in the nation's capital -- every Wednesday.

The transcript follows .

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Barry Svrluga: Welcome back, Nationals fans. This bunch never ceases to befuddle me. When we last spoke, they were en route to losing five in a row and seven of eight, had a slew of injuries, couldn't score many runs, and a summer as an also-ran seemed to be upon us.

Now, they still have a bunch of injuries, they still can't score many runs -- yet they've beaten the Cardinals and the Braves for three straight wins. Go figure.

Tonight, though: John Smoltz. Is Tony Armas Jr. ready for that kind of challenge? We'll answer that and other questions in the next hour.

Fire away.

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Burke, Va.: Granted that getting more good players is the right course of action anytime. However the rumor that Zach Day was about to be traded for either Juan Encarnacion or Preston Wilson leaves me to wonder how soon another shoe would have to drop. Guillen, Wilkerson, Byrd, and Church make a pretty nice OF. Both Guillen and Wlkerson appear to be highly valued by the organization and Byrd and Church certainly seem worthy. If you add another OF you're almost certainly going to have to move one of them. What the Nationals really need is a middle infielder, a levelhanded reliever, and a starting pitcher. (Did I mention a trainer -- can you trade for a good trainer?) So, how do the Nats get what they really need and how long before Zach Day can be traded?

Barry Svrluga: I've heard they're looking to package some minor league prospects and a fungo bat for a trainer.

First things first: Day can't be traded until he's over his injury, and that won't be for at least a month-and-a-half, likely two months. Thus GM Jim Bowden's disappointment yesterday.

The thought by going after either Encarnacion or Wilson is not so much the position, but the right-handed bat with power. Byrd could be packaged in a deal like that, because he'd be somewhat expendable. They almost certainly wouldn't package Church in such a deal, first because they like his long-term potential and second because he's left-handed, meaning the Nationals would be overloaded with right-handed bats.

What will be interesting would be if Day recovers from his injury, the club can't trade him, and he returns to the major league roster. I'd like to see how he and Manager Frank Robinson dealt with each other.

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