Here is something that I'm sure will shock the few faithful readers of this blog: The Nats are a very frustrating team to watch.
My wife didn't go last night so I was solo and I upgraded to the good seats, for a grand view of a head-smacker of an evening starting with the game's second pitch. Wily Mo own-goaled what would have been an out with Langerhans in left into a home run. That kind of night. Nats load the bases and get one run on a double play. Rangers load the bases and score at will. I was seated near a group of fans who made me sound downright cheery and they were all over everything - JimBow, Manny, Uncle Stan, you name it. One said he wanted to see Mock get beat so bad he never pitched in the majors again. Wow. That's a little harsh. A real left fielder gets him out of the inning with no runs scored.
My great seat help me realize just how much we miss a great third baseman. The answer will surprise no one. We miss him badly. And Dmitri Young may be a wonderful guy and a wonderful story and he sure is a professional hitter but he kills the Nats by not being able to move. Just kills them, in the field and on the bases.
On the drive home, I witnessed an awful auto wreck that has me a little shook up. I'm still trying to find out what happened. That put it all in perspective for me and none of the following really matters when you think about it. Some family somewhere today is probably dealing with the death of a loved one.
Still, a collection of dreary tidbits greeted me as I combed the papers and other sites online.
*Setback for Johnson. Nooooo? Really. My bet - we don't see him again this year.
*Two out (Mock, Sanches), two in (Orr, Shell). Will either make any difference? Doubtful.
*Marrero suffers what sounds like a gruesome leg injury to end his season. JimBow says it will "slow" his path to the majors. You think? Torn ligaments and a broken bone in a leg. Yes, that will slow things down a little.
The highlight of my evening was a long chat with the cool 13-year-old seated right behind me. Kid knew his stuff so we played a game I like to play: In three years, when this team is good, who is still here? We didn't come up with too many names beyond Flores, Zimmerman and maybe Milledge and Dukes.
His mom, however, was the star of the night with one simple question - "Do you really think the team will be good in three years?"
I'm not sure anymore. I'm less optimistic than I was when the season started.
Do you?
8 comments:
After catching a Josh Hamilton BP bomb (my hands still hurt), I thought last night was going to be great, with tickets right by the Texas bullpen and Dukes heating up. But then Wily Mo gets a negative HR and we can't get anyone out. It was just that kind of night.
So you must have been close to that own goal. Was it as bad as it looked? I'm sure I'll see it shortly on the pre-game.
Do I think the Nats will be a good team in 3 years? Yes. There is great talent in the minors. However, the powers-that-be (JimBow, Bobby Williams, Manny, et. al)need to allow those that are ready to move up to do so. That could mean jumping someone over another. They need to look at who is producing and move players based on performance, even if that means going from Low A to AA and then up to the bigs. Paying the big bucks for one or two seasoned leaders would make a huge difference. Will that happen? No guarantees until I get put in charge.
Mama, I got your back! Who do you bring up right now (please say Daniel)?
Just saw the own goal - ugh. I'll be back after I go hurl.
Mike Daniel should definitely get a shot. The Nats should also quit playing around with their pitchers and get rid of (or park somewhere) those that can't seem to get it together (names do not need to be mentioned, we know who they are. Then bring up some of the more promising ones from the minors (Marco Estrada comes to mind)
Yup, it was pretty awful.
What's frustrating is that the four young guys you mention are good, but I am sure that 1 year ago we could have mentioned 4 as well, and 2 of them would be Zim and Flores. The new 2 are maybes... so there is NO progress here.
In fact, I looked at last years roster, and I reckon I had 5 foundation players.
1) Zim
2) Flores
3) Kearns
4) Church
5) Cordero
Going backwards is bad.
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