The Washington Nationals had many options from which to plug the hole in the starting rotation caused by Stephen Strasburg's (hopefully) quick trip to the disabled list.
They chose to go with an old friend, though, former Opening Day starter John Lannan.
Lannan, who was never able to find his way in 2010, was demoted to Double-A Harrisburg after going 2-5, 5.76 in 14 starts.
But he didn't fair much better in his time with the Senators, going 1-4, 4.20 against some of the best prospects in major league baseball.
But it's not like Lannan, 25, has something to prove.
He was one of only seven National League starters to log 30 starts and have an ERA under 4.00 in both 2008 and 2009.
Of all major league starters with at least 70 career starts, he is tied with Josh Beckett for the highest percentage of career quality starts at 60% (a quality start is pitching at least six innings while allowing three runs or less).
In his fourth major league season, Lannan is a veteran and capable of quickly finding the problem that is haunting him this season and fixing it.
He just has to do it.
For the Nationals to take the next step towards respectability, John Lannan has to return to form. When the season started several months back, Lannan was the best pitcher the Nationals had on the major league roster.
But Today, Stephen Strasburg, Ross Detwiler and Scott Olsen will be ahead of him in the rotation. And when Jason Marquis returns--and possibly Chien-Ming Wang--Lannan will find himself as the number-five starter in the rotation.
That assumes that Livan Hernandez is traded in the next few days.
While most of Lannan's problem is mechanical, he seems lost on the mound and unsure of his stuff. What he needs is one or two starts with the Nationals that go smoothly.
Once that happens, Lannan will hopefully again become Washington's "Mr. Dependable."
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