Buh-Bye Scott

Relaxing a bit as a busy opening weekend of college football winds down, and I'm catching up with the professional media crew.

I found this edition of Adam Kilgore's Nationals Journal to be very interesting.

The key part in my mind: Asked if the move surprised him, Olsen said, "No. Not with this team."

Good night, Scott, been nice knowing you. You come back from the DL with a 1-6 record and ERA that roughly matches the current year and you dump on "this team?" Somehow it's the team's fault you can't get anybody out?

Oh wait. I stand corrected. Olsen faced 15 batters in his start the other night and only 10 of them reached base. So he did get five batters out.

I was fairly excited when the Nats got Olsen and he's sure shown some flashes. He had that near no-hitter earlier this year and I watched from section 317 last year as he dominated the Braves. There's clearly some ability there.

But even before the injury, the consistency was never there. I don't know that he's healthy yet. I'm just starting to really wonder if he'll ever be anything other than what we've seen in his Nationals tenure, even at full strength. Check that, I'm no longer wondering. I don't think he will be.

Throw in his sullenness and, well, let him become someone else's problem.

Here's how his situation should be handled when quizzed by those pesky media folks:

"What should I expect? I've been bloody awful lately and I should be grateful to still have a job with a major league team. I wouldn't send me out there anymore so I can't expect them to send me out there until I figure it out. I'll go down to the bullpen and work hard and do everything I can to regain my form and regain their trust."

And I still say, even with only Willingham left standing, that trade worked out OK for the Nats.