"Seriously Dad?"

If I had a buck for every time My Son the Braves Fan said that last night, I'd buy the team from the Lerners and guarantee Uncle Stan one vote in his bid to become the next Commish (and I think I'm going to start calling him Commissioner Stan from now on).

Seriously Dad?

The subject of all this talk was one Adam Dunn. My Son the Braves Fan, as I've noted before, is a closet Nats fan. He'll never admit it, but he does pull for them 144 times a year and he knows a good bit about the Nats just because he hangs out with his father the expert (cough, hack, cough, wheeze) so much.

Seriously Dad?

First time it came up was when Mr. Dunn parked one of Tim Hudson's pitches onto that patch of grass next to the bar in center field.

Do they really not want to sign this guy?

Seriously Dad?

The next time came in the third, when Mr. Dunn placed a Hudson pitch in the Braves' bullpen.

You know, Dad, this guy hits a lot of home runs. Drives in a lot of runs. Doesn't sound like he's looking to break the bank. Why isn't this Dunn?

We had pretty good seats, having used the coupons I got when I bought my Strasburg Mini-Plan. Front row. Lower bowl. We could actually see Mike Rizzo. "See that guy right there?" I told the kid. "Go ask him."

When Dunn botched the grounder on a play a reasonably adept first baseman would have made, I told my son that those were the kinds of plays that led some to think the Nats had no interest in bringing Dunn back.

So he said it again.

"Seriously Dad? OK so he's not a great first baseman. He's better than he was and it's something you just need to live with - the plusses are much bigger than the minuses."

Another point it the direction of Rizzo.

Then came the Dunn v. Dunn battle. Oh how I was hoping for a grand slam. Had it happened, I might still be in the stands um, ah, making a mess of myself.

As it was I had to settle for a two-run single. Two more RBI for Mr. No Defense, giving him five on the night and putting him over 100 for the year.

But he's old and broken dow *** oh, wait, he's still young and still healthy. But he'll cost too muc *** oh, wait, he's not trying to break the bank.

I wanted to start a "four more years, four more years" chant.

Instead, my son asked a question.

"Seriously Dad?"