Washington ? In one corner of the Washington Nationals clubhouse stood leading slugger Jose Guillen, talking about the ailing shoulder that’s kept him out of the lineup and explaining his philosophy that nobody looks out for you but you.

A few feet away sat the staff ace, Livan Hernandez, with a volleyball-sized ice pack on his balky right knee and concern on his mind about all the recent losing.

All around the room after Sunday’s sweep-capping loss to San Diego, there were other signs that the Nationals, the feel-good story of the baseball season’s first half, don’t have a whole lot to feel good about right now, having lost 17 of 23 since the All-Star break.

There was Esteban Loaiza, trying his best to be stoic while discussing how little margin for error the pitchers have, given the lack of offense. There was the previous night’s starter, Ryan Drese, who questioned why he was lifted with a 2-2 count on a batter. There was outfielder Matt Cepicky, clearing out his locker and grumbling about why he was being let go.

“There’s a lot of bad things going on right now, but we’re still in this thing,” outfielder Brad Wilkerson said, trying his best to find the silver lining.

“It’s hard to figure out why we’re not scoring runs, why we’re not winning one-run ballgames. It’s just something for everybody to deal with. I feel like we need to find a way to grow through it, mature as a team, and deal with it. It should be a lot more fun than it is.”

Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson watches from the dugout as his team plays San Diego. The Nationals were the feel-good story of the first half, but they have lost 17 of 23 games since the All-Star break.

About the only thing for the club to take heart in is this: For all of their woes, the Nationals entered Monday just two games out in the NL wild-card standings.

Still, the one-run games the Nationals couldn’t lose in May and June, claiming 12 in a row? Well, now they’ve lost 13 straight. All the magic in their new home city? They dropped four of six at RFK Stadium last week to teams that came to Washington under .500.

That 5 1/2-game lead in the NL East on July 3? The Nationals are much closer to last place than first right now.

All the warm and fuzzy talk about perfect team chemistry? Not so warm and fuzzy anymore.

And now comes the longest road trip of the season, a 13-game trek that opens today at the Houston Astros, who lead the wild-card race.

“We are going to find out a lot on this road trip about us,” utility infielder Jamey Carroll said. “Nothing is working, and it’s very frustrating, and we don’t know what to do.”

It’s not for a lack of trying.

General manager Jim Bowden met with players. Manager Frank Robinson held a team meeting right after the All-Star break. Later, Robinson tried motivating his players by reading unflattering things said in the media. Reliever Joey Eischen tried riling everyone up by handing out camouflaged ballcaps with a blue script “W.”

Then, before Saturday’s game, Robinson convened a 104-minute closed-door clubhouse meeting with everyone associated with the team except front-office types. While no one would go into specifics on the record, players acknowledged there was confrontation.

“At a certain point, we have to walk the talk,” Bowden said. “How many meetings can you have? This isn’t a corporation. This is baseball. I want to see the talking on the field.”

That session was followed by a loss, and Sunday, Robinson sat out all but two regulars. How did that work out? A shutout loss to a guy with a bruised middle finger on his pitching hand.

So the Nationals are dipping down to Triple-A New Orleans to bring up outfielder Brandon Watson. The plan is to stick him in the leadoff spot and hope that helps, and Bowden says more changes could come.

The pitching is mostly still outstanding, led by Hernandez (13-4), today’s starter John Patterson (2.42 earned-run average) and closer Chad Cordero (majors-high 36 saves). But the offensive problems that have been there all along are really becoming glaring.

Only one regular, first baseman Nick Johnson, is hitting over .300. The club’s .252 batting average is the worst in the majors. So is the .383 slugging percentage. And the 77 homers. And the 31 steals.

A poor road trip could put the Nationals in last place, somewhere they haven’t spent a single day in 2005. That in itself is quite an accomplishment for a club that was the Montreal Expos not that long ago.

“If we go out there and have a miserable road trip,” Robinson said, “you can say you’re not playing for anything – you’re playing for next year.”