The Midpoint

Say what? This is game 81 already. Time moves a little too quickly for me these days. I'm not sure why, considering I do the same daggone thing almost every night. I sit here and watch (or listen to) the Nats and wonder if I'll live long enough to see this team get good. I thought maybe that chance was there this year but that whole 20-15 thing must have been a mirage. The 15-30 thing since has been a pretty convincing argument that those hopes were premature.

I've also been tooling around the Internet more than usual tonight and some thhngs I've read have made me think.

*Blogger with Benefits Mark Zuckerman at NatsInsider asked an interesting question in his daily game-setup post. The team is on pace for 72 wins. Would we have taken that back in March? No. I thought 75-80 and was holding out hope for 81. Yes, 72 is a lot better than the past two seasons. That doesn't mean I'm going to settle for "bad" instead of "wretched." Mike Rizzo said tonight in pregame the Nationals can't ask their fans to be patient anymore. It's time to win. He's right. I don't expect a division title or even a wild card spot but I think expecting .500 is reasonable. And I still expect that. I don't think it will happen.

*I read something through a Twitter report that I'd never read before and I apologize profusely for talking about your stuff here without giving you proper credit. I went back to my Twitter feed and couldn't find it. But this was yet another article about July being trade month and it talked about who could be gone soon. The essential point was that Dunn will stay and Capps, Willingham and Guzman/Kennedy (one or the other) will go. So will Livo.

If they can get something for Guzman or Kennedy, please. Don't see much coming in return. Why move Willingham? He's under control for another year, he's proving to be pretty productive. An offer for him has to be spectacular.

Capps, I think, will draw the most interest, particularly if he gets back to his early season form. A mostly reliable closer is going to bring the biggest return. The Nats seem to think Drew Storen can move into that role, and they're probably right. If Capps ends up with 40 saves this season, his arbitration number could get real silly.

Livo? I think he's more likely to bring something better than any young pitcher not named Strasburg or Zimmerman and they're not going anywhere. But just how much will he bring? He brought Chico and Mock four years ago (yawn). Are two more at that level worth it?

Suppose the Red Sox or someone make a great offer for Pudge? Do you do that? Wil Nieves and who knows who for the rest of the year?

*Unrelated to anything I read, I really thought Atilano was about to get out of this inning with no damage. Instead, it's 5-0. Yet somehow I sit here and continue to watch. Even through these stupid Geico commercials. Maybe I ought to go for a smoothie.