Scott Olsen has been fan-tastic for most of the season. His last 5 starts read like a Hall-of Famer's line. 32.1 IP, 27 hits, 7 BB, 25K a .229 / .270 / .254 line against. This line is so good that when combined with the continued great pitching of Livan, the Nats have had two of the Top 10 starters in the NL over the past month.
However, Scott's last two games have not been the same as his previously dominant starts. He's only struck out 5 in the last two games. He's kept the walks down (2), and the XBH close to non-existant (2 doubles), but he's not getting those swings and misses. A little less scattering, and extra ball in the hole and... well he's still good but not Top 10 good.
Scott can be an effective pitcher without the Ks. Ks High, Walks Low, no Homeruns - any two and you should be effective, but if Nats fans want him to be great he needs all three. Of course the Nats don't need him to be great, but he's pitched well enough that there really isn't a point right now to watching if he'll collapse or not. Right now it's good or great. With Scott Olsen. What an odd 2010 it's been.
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