NationalsFanboyLooser

Oh Oh Livo!

2011-06-14T11:35:00.002-04:00

Greetings all - hope the season is treating you well. I don't get here all that often anymore. The new job is keeping me hopping. And that's good. I'm loving it. I've even been out to the ballpark some.

I did want to stop by and "pimp" our story from yesterday by Nathan Fenno on Livan and his involvement with drug kingpin Angel Ayala-Vazquez.

Take the time to read it if you haven't already. I'm not a lawyer, I don't play one on TV and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. So I don't know what it will mean when it all gets added up. But I don't suspect it will be good.

Eventually, I will get back on here a little regularly and share some of my thoughts for the few of you who care. Like in previous seasons, this team sometimes makes me smile and often makes me scowl.

Some updates

2011-04-03T08:57:00.003-04:00

Not sure how many people really care that much, but even if it is only one or two it means a lot to me. I've received some e-mail asking if I'm still writing and I am - only at my relatively new place of employment. Here's my latest entry from my doubleheader day with the Nats and Caps on Thursday.

We did another doubleheader yesterday, though we left the ballpark in the seventh so we could find something quick to eat before the Caps game.

While at Nats Park, My Son the Braves Fan and I made an awesome discovery. At the stand where they used to sell the big ribs, they now sell a variety of hot dogs (are the ribs gone?) - and one of them is served with mac and cheese AND fritos.

I figured it would be 10 bucks. Only six. And, yes, it was as wonderful as it sounds.

I've somehow managed to lose 20 pounds since Dec. 1 and I still have a long way to go. Eating those dogs isn't going to help. I'll have to avoid that side of the joint on future visits.

Finally, thanks to all who have been in touch since I started at The Times. We're up and running, we're having a blast. We're still a work in progress. I like what we've done thus far but we're going to be 1,000 times better a year from now.

Meet Amanda Comak

2011-03-09T10:22:00.003-05:00

The Nationals beat writer at The Washington Times arrived in town yesterday, long enough to realize her boss was a nut job and her colleagues were cool. We won't keep her around long - by around, I mean around here. She's heading to Viera on Saturday.

She learned her way around our blog program much faster than I did, though that was a pretty low bar to clear.

Looking forward to having her in Florida. Amanda is going to do great things.

And Anonymous who keeps commenting about the "Moonie" paper - we get it. You won't be reading. Your choice. Please show a smidge of restraint and restrain yourself from posting it again.

Because You Know You Care!

2011-03-05T13:09:00.003-05:00

At least I hope you care. Maybe not.

Anyway, I wrote my first blog entry for The Washington Times today. Bookmark it. Tell your friends. Like us. Follow us. Please. I need the love. You thought I begged for poll votes? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Once again, I appreciate all the readership and support for THIS blog, which won't die (Loosers never die, they just go away) but won't be used too often in the future. And I really appreciate the incredible outpouring of kindness and support since I switched career gears again and headed up this-a-way.

Give us a read, please.

Ian's Errors

2011-02-26T16:26:00.003-05:00

I promised some updates on progress at The Washington Times, plus some links.

So let's start there. Columnist Dan Daly is in Florida to check in on the Nats and spring training. He offers up this take on Ian Desmond and that errors thing.

Dan will be in Florida for a week or so. Not long after he leaves, our new Nats beat writer will arrive. I've hired Amanda Comak to cover the Nats. She has experience with all four major pro leagues in Boston and she's spent time covering the team in Baltimore for Orioles.com. Amanda shared some terrific ideas in our interviews and I'm confident she'll do a tremendous job covering the Nats.

Look for her stuff soon, keep reading Dan and be ready for our section launch date of March 21. We'll have a lot of stuff online between now and then.

And while I have your attention: Please go to Washington Times Sports on Facebook and hit "like" - only because there is no "love" button. Follow us on Twitter, too, at @WashTimesSports

We thank you.

The End of the Looser

2011-02-08T17:27:00.002-05:00

Or, if you prefer, The New Beginning.

As those of you who hang with me on Facebook know, things are a-changing in my life. Not an infrequent thing, but this time the change is a good one. A really good one. A spectacular one.

The Looser is going legit again.

The Washington Times is bringing back its sports section. Showing incredible wisdom (or massive stupidity, one or the other), it has chosen me to be the sports editor of the relaunched section.

To say I'm jacked beyond belief is to understate things considerably. I'm jacked beyond belief to the 1,000th power. I've tried other things but the news media is what I know, what I do. And this is home. This is a marvelous area. When I first left 37 years ago to attend VCU, I thought I'd be back one day. Had no idea it would take 37 years.

I'm doing the transition out of one job and into another thing over the rest of this month. As great as this opportunity is for me, I'm still saddened by what's going on with FanHouse and I want to stay at that party until the end. I had a great time there and thought I'd found my final job. I gained some new skills, things that enhanced my qualifactions for this job. I work with a terrific group of people. I will miss FanHouse terribly.

But I'm so very fortunate to have another exciting job to move into full-time, starting March 1. The possibilities, as they say, are endless. I get to build a staff, plan coverage, help make the printed Times sports section something fun to read and the web version a must-bookmark on your computers.

I'll keep this page and post blurbs on it here and there but it will be very infrequent and mostly plugs for things we're doing at the Times. Hey, use EVERY avenue available to plug your product.

I will not stop blogging, however. The editors at Times sports will have a blog and I will still be doing some writing about the Nats and many other sports. This IS quite a multi-sports area.

You can count on me throwing the link to the editors' blog and all our other blogs up here when they're ready.

Marc Lancaster, a FanHouse colleague who has considerable experience covering major league baseball, will be joining me as our Deputy Sports Editor. I'll have two hires to announce very soon and a bunch more to announce shortly. We're not wasting time. We're going to get up and running quickly.

To all those who read these bleatings regularly, I thank you. I've had the pleasure of meeting many of you on my trips to the park (trips that will be a lot shorter once I finally get moved). And I ask you - keep reading at www.washingtontimes.com. And tell your friends. And their friends.

THANK YOU

2011-01-13T18:38:00.002-05:00

Wow. News travels fast. I heard from SO many of you before I was even off our conference call.

The short word is I can't say much because I don't know much - I can only hope for the best because this job is BY FAR the best I've ever had. I love the job, the people, the work, everything about it. Tuesday, the day after the national championship game, I was already making plans for next season.

I wanted it to last forever. Maybe it still will in some form or fashion. Keep your fingers crossed.

And another very sincere thank you to every one of you who has reached out. I appreciate it more than I can express.

Tell me again why I thought the media was a good field?

This Guy

2011-01-11T17:08:00.002-05:00

is much better than I thought.

That said, I'm not sure what I thought or why when I heard the name Rafael Soriano. I knew he was with Atlanta and then with Tampa. I never paid much attention. My Son the Braves Fan never seemed really worked up about him one way or the other.

Just another example of my ignorance that I've never denied is pretty high when it comes to players who aren't Nats (and many times with players who ARE Nats).

So I kind of shrugged when I heard the Nats were interested, or allegedly interested, or whatever. Is it Carl Pavano interested (not actually) or Zach Greinke interested (very much so)?

Looking at it a little more closely, and without the benefit of knowledge of sabermetrics (does he have Seriously Wicked Shit?), I think I'd be very happy with this signing.

Sign him, sign another bench player (is Nick Punto not in anybody's thoughts?), maybe trade for Fausto Carmona (I like the guy without any valid reason to do so) and let's get the party started.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T11:11:00.003-05:00

Did you miss me? I sure missed you. Apologies for going so long without a post but it has been quite a month around the ol' FanboyLooser house, with some things going on both good and bad. Plus, being a college football editor, things have been rather hectic in recent days.

So it is time to get all caught up and, I hope, back into a routine of regular posting.

First, for all my Caps fans friends, and everyone else actually, you must watch this short clip now particularly if you watched the 24/7 series (excellent stuff there). WARNING - do not watch at work, do not watch with children present and do not watch if you have sensitive ears. I'll also add that anyone who was shocked by the many F words uttered by Bruce Boudreau needs to get out more. They curse an awful lot in sports.

Now, onto the show and let's see if I remember everything.

*Has Adam LaRoche actually signed yet? Did he pass a physical? I'm very glad they got LaRoche instead of Lee here, though I can't really articulate why. I know Lee was injured last year but I just think he's on the way down. Is LaRoche an all-star or as exciting as Adam Dunn with a bat in his hand? No. But he's pretty consistent and, along with Jayson Werth, is a solid addition. Those two in and Dunn/Willingham out won't really be an offensive dropoff (maybe a few home runs) and they're MUCH better defensively. Of course, my wife and I would represent a defensive upgrade so that's not saying much.

The LaRoche/ADD stories have received a revival in recent days. Who can forget Nick Johnson beating him to first base, the beginning of the end for LaRoche in Atlanta. But I can't think of another time it has really affected him on the field and what player hasn't suffered from brain lock? What is Nyjer's excuse? LaRoche is a solid player and a very solid guy and he's a good addition.

*Speaking of Nyjer, I'd really rather see them try Ankiel or someone (my wife again) in center every day for a while. I'm convinced we saw the real Nyjer last year and not in 2009.

*Thank you, thank you to the person responsible for making sure Carl Pavano didn't become a Nat. Too old, too much money and is he really better than a healthy Jason Marquis? Go with the flow for next year and wait for Jee-SUS to return.

*Thank you, thank you to Zach Greinke for saying no. If that price reported many times over for him is true, that was way too much to give up. That said, I hope the Nats light him up like a pinball machine at least twice this year. Just because.

*Don't trade Jordan Zimmermann for anyone.

*I'm on record as saying I don't like proven for potential deals very much. I would have thought Josh Willingham would have brought more back, but what do I know? I'm sure there's one out there and I'm not thinking clearly, but have any of these hot prospects acquired over the years done anything -- for the Nats? Was anyone surprised that Aaron Thompson, who had a fairly significant history of not doing well in the minors, didn't do well and is now no longer in the organization? The Nats keep buying lottery tickets and I haven't seen much of a return.

*Who is F.P. Santangelo and is he going to make my ears hurt listening to him on my television?

*The results of my Jayson Werth poll were interesting. LOTS of votes and I didn't even have to beg. We had 115 people who thought it was good, nine who thought it was a bad signing and 51 who said wait and see what else they do. I was one of those 51 and my new poll will ask what everyone thinks now that it appears the Nats are about done. Though I suspect, just in my head and without any knowledge, there's something else brewing. Rizzo promised a starter and I think he's bound and determined to get one, no matter the cost.

*Still not sure if I'm satisfied to the point that I'll make a return to the stadium. As noted, I like the Werth and LaRoche additions. I would have preferred Dunn and Werth and I still feel like we as a fanbase were jerked around on Dunn. I don't think the team had any intention of making a serious offer and keeping Dunn. He didn't fit the athletic/defensive mold Rizzo seems to want. And that's fine. Sure, I know you can't come out and say in July, "We don't want the big lug around anymore," but you can tap dance around it. My anger wasn't so much that Dunn wasn't signed, it was more a feeling that we were misled. And I don't like that one bit.

That said, I still love watching live baseball more than just about anything else so I expect my stance of toughness will crack and melt and I'll be there to catch Jayson Werth's first home run ball.

But it hasn't yet.

Bring Back Scruffy!

2010-12-18T12:16:00.002-05:00

Jayson Werth is a good-looking guy! Who knew? He cleans up so well.

My wife watched part of the press conference with me and didn't believe it was actually the same guy she saw bouncing up and down with his (former) teammates after that late-season blast off Drew Storen.

That linked video message shows just how good he looks.

That said, BRING BACK SCRUFFY! This Jayson Werth looks like he would simply abhor getting dirty. I want the Jayson Werth who looks mean enough to make me cower in fear.

So there's my New Year's wish list. The return of Scruffy.

Unrelated, my ornament came today. Yeah, I bought one of those three-packs that offered the Nats ornament as a "bonus" gift. And the tickets are a gift. I haven't made up my mind yet about returning in 2011. Will Jayson Werth be enough or do I need to see more? Stay tuned on that because I just know everyone is on the edge of their seats.

But back to the ornament. It broke coming out of the box.

I sure hope that's not an omen. I have a clean Jayson Werth and a mess of an ornament. That needs to be reversed.

Opening Day Starter for the Viera Invisible All-Stars

2010-12-16T20:35:00.002-05:00

Welcome back Chien-Ming, be good to see you at Nationals Park agai *** oh wait. It will be good to see you at Nationals Park.

We'll see.

Wonder if Brandon Webb will join him on the VIA-S.

This is their hat:

This is their uniform:

And this is the release, courtesy of the Nationals:

NATIONALS RE-SIGN RIGHTHANDER CHIEN-MING WANG

The Washington Nationals tonight signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to a one-year Major League contract. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Wang, 30, returns for a second season with the Nationals organization. He did not pitch in 2010 while working with the Nationals’ training staff on a rehab program designed to regain full health from July 2009 right shoulder surgery.

Wang is 55-26 with a 4.16 ERA in 109 career games/104 starts spanning five seasons with the Yankees. An extreme ground-ball pitcher, Wang’s career ground ball-to-fly ball ratio of 2.73/1 ranks third among active pitchers with 100-plus starts, trailing only Brandon Webb (3.63/1) and Derek Lowe (3.09/1). His .679 career winning percentage ranks second among active pitchers with 100 or more starts.

Perhaps best known for posting consecutive 19-win seasons for the Yankees in 2006 and ‘07, Wang’s consistency afforded him the honor of starting the Yankees’ first post-season contest in 2007 vs. Cleveland. During the same two-year span, Wang led MLB with 38 wins and a .745 winning percentage while pacing the American League with 864 ground balls induced and a 2.9/1 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio.

Wang originally signed with the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on May 5, 2000.

See Ya Hammer

2010-12-16T14:06:00.005-05:00

Props to Mark Zuckerman on the scoop on this one - Josh Willingham to the As for two as-yet-unidentified "young" players.

If one of them is Gio Gonzalez, I'm really jacked. I would have thought Willingham would have been part of a package to bring in a major-league player. Preferably a pitcher.

I wonder if the Nats know something we don't?

Moving Willingham doesn't bother me as much as it might have before. At least last year he had an excuse for not doing anything in the second half of the season. I seem to remember a significant dropoff in 2009.

That said, he served the Nats well. I still can't believe it took the Nats so long to finally start playing him.

I wish him well.

Now, who are these two "young" players?

UPDATE: More on the players coming the Nats way. At first glance, I'm not overwhelmed. Anybody who actually knows something about these guys, please share your thoughts in the comments.

UPDATE 2: The Nats' release on the trade --

NATIONALS ACQUIRE RHP HENRY RODRIGUEZ & OF COREY BROWN
FROM OAKLAND IN EXCHANGE FOR LF JOSH WILLINGHAM

The Washington Nationals today acquired right-handed pitcher Henry Rodriguez and outfielder Corey Brown from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for left fielder Josh Willingham. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Rodriguez went 1-0 with a 4.55 ERA in 29 appearances last season with Oakland in just his second season as a full-time reliever. He posted 10.7 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (33 K/27.2 IP) and a .240 batting average against, including a stingy .207 mark against right-handed batters. Rodriguez recorded 11 saves and a 1.69 ERA in 20 appearances with Sacramento of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 2010, posting 13.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (31 K/21.1 IP) and a 3.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio (31 K/9 BB) with the River Cats.

The hard-throwing right-hander ranked fourth in the big leagues last season with an average fastball velocity of 98.45 miles per hour, after his 98.96 mph average in 2009 trailed only Detroit’s Joel Zumaya (99.19 mph). Rodriguez touched 103.2 mph on the gun in 2010, a high that was topped only by Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman (105.1 mph) and Texas’ Neftali Feliz (103.4 mph).

Rodriguez, 23, is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in 32 career relief appearances in the major leagues. A member of the World Team in the 2008 All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium, he is currently pitching for Leones in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he has five saves and a 1.77 ERA (27 K/20.1 IP) in 17 appearances.

Brown batted .283 with 18 doubles, 11 triples, 15 home runs, 69 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 131 games last season with Midland of the Double-A Texas League and Sacramento. He earned citations as a Texas League All-Star and Topps Double-A All-Star for his 90 games with Midland. Brown batted .320 with 14 doubles, eight triples, 10 homers, 49 RBI, 19 stolen bases and a .415 on-base percentage with the RockHounds, ranking among Double-A leaders for on-base percentage (third), batting average (fifth) and triples (tied for eighth).

Brown dominated the prospect-laden Arizona Fall League in 2009, hitting .333 and finishing among AFL leaders with 28 RBI (first), six home runs (tied for second), 65 total bases (second), 15 extra-base hits (tied for third) and 35 hits (fourth).

Selected by Oakland in the compensation round (59th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, the 25-year-old has batted .272 with 83 doubles, 21 triples, 65 home runs, 243 RBI and 48 stolen bases in 390 games over four minor-league seasons.

Willingham, 31, batted .268 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI in 114 games last season with the Nationals.

Matt Stairs is a Nat

2010-12-14T11:56:00.002-05:00

Strike up the band, another member of the Senior League All-Stars!

Release courtesy of the Washington Nationals and I'm sure everyone feels better about things now. Did anyone have a whiff of this one coming?

Bold has been added by me, not the Nats. Take that Phils! You got Cliff Lee? The Nats got Matt Stairs!

NATIONALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH OF/1B MATT STAIRS

The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms with outfielder/first baseman Matt Stairs on a non-guaranteed minor league contract, which includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Stairs is an 18-year big league veteran who has competed in four post-seasons and won a World Series championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. He owns the all-time Major League mark with 23 pinch-hit home runs (Greg Dobbs and Ross Gload rank second among active players with eight pinch-homers). Stairs enters 2011 having played for a record-tying 12 different Major League teams and having homered for a record-tying 11 different clubs.

The 42-year-old tied for the Major League lead with four pinch-hit home runs last season, after leading all big league pinch hitters with five homers and 15 RBI (tied) in 2009. Overall in 2010, Stairs clubbed six home runs, six doubles and 16 RBI in 78 contests with the San Diego Padres.

Stairs has reached the 20-homer plateau six times en route to hitting 265 home runs and posting 897 RBI during his career.

And the Nats Can't Find ONE No. 1 Starter

2010-12-14T09:42:00.002-05:00

Depending on your view of Cole Hamels (and I think highly of him), the Phillies now have FOUR No. 1 starters with the news that Cliff Lee is returning to Philadelphia. Surprise news, everyone is saying. Really? A true surprise or just something no one knew anything about until it actually happened? Kind of like Jayson Werth?

Pretty strong rotation there, though, eh? I think the pecking order is clear: Halladay (the best pitcher in baseball), Lee (not the second best as long as The Freak is around), Oswalt and Hamels. You could throw Ramon Ortiz in the fifth spot and still have the best rotation in the game (or second best if you are a Giants fan).

While it is an impressive collection, here's why I think Phils fans shouldn't get but so excited and why fans of the Nats and other NL East teams don't need to get too freaked out: It is an aging rotation.

My prediction? Enjoy 2011, Philadelphia. I predict 100 victories and a pennant and probably a World Series crown.

But Hamels is the only youngster of the group and he's running out of young (he'll be 27 two days after Christmas). Oswalt and Lee turn 33 next season. Halladay turns 34.

Which one breaks down first? I'd never wish ill or injury on anyone, seriously, not even my worst enemy or a Phillie. But is there any way that trio makes it through 2012 unscathed?

Let's also note the Big Four combined to lose 43 games in 2010. So the idea when playing the Phils is to catch them in a "back-end" series. Take your chances with Hamels, Joe Blanton (until he's traded to the Red Sox) and Halladay. Beat No. 5 and catch one of the other two on one of their infrequent but not unheard of off days. Win the series.

Chin up people, it can be done.

So where does this leave the Nats? No change. Did anyone really expect Cliff Lee to come to Washington? Did anyone really expect to win the division in 2011? No. So there's no reason for us to fret.

I'm still not in favor of Carl Pavano and I still would like to see the team take a chance on Brandon Webb. I still wouldn't cry if Norris/Ramos, Desmond and a pitcher not named Zimmermann went to the Royals for Zack Greinke. I also wouldn't cry if the Nats didn't add a pitcher. Take your chances with Zimmermann, post-injury Marquis, post-demotion Lannan, Livo and any one of countless other options.

My main concern is first base and that the Nats will somehow end up with their own Senior Tour ready first baseman, the other available Lee (Derrek). I'd rather see Adam LaRoche, who will never hit 50 doubles and 46 home runs like Derrek Lee did in 2005 but looks (to me anyway) to be a better fit for this team right now.

Of course, they had a pretty good fit already (you think a Zimmerman/Dunn/Werth/Willingham 3-6 would have been OK) and he's with the White Sox now.

Speaking of MASN

2010-12-13T18:08:00.002-05:00

The release from our favorite sports network just came in and I'll copy it below. But first, I have a question:

Speaking of MASN, do we know who is in the booth next year? I hadn't even thought about it until I got this release. Was Bob Carpenter given multiple years last time? Is Ray Knight going back to pre- and post-game?

Inquiring minds want to know. Does anyone have the answer?

Anyhoo, here is MASN's release to hold us until another huge offseason move happens (if it does). Nats.com was full of maybe news today I didn't like. Cliff Lee not happening (no shock). Derrek Lee maybe happening (Really, he's like my age). Carl Pavano still a possibility (The Senior Tour comes to Nats Park with Derrek Lee and Carl Pavano). Brandon Webb excited to go pitch for the Viera Invisible All-Stars.

Oh, yeah, here's the release:

MASN to Televise Jayson Werth Press Conference Live

Nationals press conference scheduled for Wednesday, December 15th at 1 p.m.

(Washington D.C.) --- MASN will provide live coverage of the Nationals news conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon introducing outfielder Jayson Werth to local media.

The news conference is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. and will be televised live on MASN hosted by Nats Xtra broadcaster Johnny Holliday.

The Nationals signed Werth to a seven-year, $126 million deal during the annual Winter Meetings. Werth, 31, batted .296 with an NL-leading 46 doubles, 27 home runs and 85 RBI in 156 games in 2010 for the Philadelphia Phillies, establishing career highs in hits, doubles, extra-base hits and runs. Werth's career includes seasons in Philadelphia (2007-10), Los Angeles (2004-05) and Toronto (2002-03).

Thank You Cubs

2010-12-08T07:48:00.004-05:00

If you believe the Chicago Sun-Times (and I do), Carlos Pena is off the market.

(and if you don't believe the Sun-Times, believe Mark Zuckerman who just posted on the topic)

A trillion thank yous to the Cubs. Had I known, I would have spent more money on my visit to Wrigley.

All signs point to Pena being a very fine guy and I hope he has a monster year. As the linked article points out, his numbers have dropped each of the past three seasons. Yet he got $10 mil - albeit only for one year - after failing to even reach the Mendoza Line.

I sleep better knowing he won't be batting between Zimmerman and Werth.

Is there any question any more that Adam LaRoche is the right answer at first? Left bat, solid player who won't cost a fortune, a good fit in that he doesn't have to be the big bopper?

I still say the Nats make one more significant splash before the party breaks up in Florida, though I make it clear that's just me talking at this stage. I don't know how serious they are about Cliff Lee, though I wouldn't object to another crazy contract if he's on the other end of it. Some people say they're very much in it, some people say they're very much not. Rizzo keeps using the term longshot. I've seen longshots win before.

Adrian Beltre? That won't be the big name, thankfully. No knock on him, I don't feel the same way about Beltre as I do about Pena. It just isn't a fit. He's a fine 3B and the Nats have a better one. Why make anyone play out of position (and add another right-handed bat) when Adam LaRoche is out there?

The shindig in Florida breaks up tomorrow, I think. I'm very eager to see what, if anything, happens in the next 24 hours.

Two More L's

2010-12-07T07:48:00.003-05:00

And I'm not talking about losses. This is my wish list for the rest of the winter. If this happens (and it likely won't), no need to get me anything for Christmas but one of the new Nats hats. I'll be happy. And I'll be back.

With the addition of Jayson Werth, I want two things to happen. L guys.

*Cliff Lee. Call it my pipedream. As I'll note when I finally put my Werth thoughts on virtual paper, you really only ought to do one blowout, crazy contact. I'll waive that rule here. If it takes seven years and 140 mil, do it. Think about 2012: Lee, Jee-SUS, Zimmermann (assuming the development we all expect). There's the Nats answer to the Roy-Roy-Hamels triumverate in Philadelphia.

*Adam LaRoche. Good, solid answer at 1B. Another strong bat, doesn't have to be THE big bat with Werth around. Certainly makes much more sense than Adrian Beltre. Bats left. Doesn't have to change positions.

Oh, and keep Willingham unless the return is someone like Greinke.

I could live with a rotation of Lee, Zimmermann, Livo, post-demotion Lannan and, hell, just about anyone for 2011. I'd much rather see Bernadina in center than Morgan but I won't quibble.

Lee. LaRoche. Happy Holidays.

OK, This One IS Just A Rumor - Now

2010-12-06T07:46:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I forgot that I'm nothing more than a mere blogger, posting from my home (not in a basement) with whatever I want to say being fair game.

I need to give up these standards from my previous life.

Nope, can't do it. But I CAN post stuff that I wouldn't write in the old days, I'm just going to make it clear what is and what isn't rock solid.

The Josh Willingham trade? That was rock solid and I wrote it that way. The Jayson Werth signing? That was very close to rock solid (well, it was rock solid - I just didn't know it at the time) and I wrote it that way.

I hinted at more yesterday and some of the regulars have done so since they got wind of Werth and expanded on that.

First, everyone expects Brandon Webb to get done. No shocker there. Low pay, high incentives, limited expectations. The Viera Invisible All-Stars need someone now that Wang has been non-tendered. Unless he signed elsewhere while I was sleeping.

But that's not the potential big one that has the world ready to buzz again. One more time - a mere rumor to this point. May not pan out at all. I know that and you need to know that before reading the next line.

Adrian Beltre.

Yeah, the guy whose bobblehead I lucked into when I saw the Nats play in Seattle in 2008 is something of a target.

Say what?

I asked my source to place it on the scale: pipedream or possibility or close to being done? Somewhere above pipedream and somewhere below close to being done. My guess is "being seriously explored by both sides" would work.

We'll see. As noted yesterday, keep your ears open.

The big question would become, where's he going to play? Although there's nothing in the rules that says you can't have two guys standing near 3B, it's not good baseball strategy. Someone has to play 1B. Can Beltre do that? Or, uh, ah, does the best third baseman in the game make a move? No way, right? Laughable, right?

One thing I have learned over the years is never say no way. Never laugh. Because you never know. You'd have laughed at me Saturday if I told you the Nats were about to drop seven years and 126 mill-yun on Jayson Werth. Some of you laughed yesterday when I swore "werth"while news was coming.

Again, RUMOR. Take it as such. But make sure all your alerts from blogs, Facebook and Twitter are set on high. Whether it's this or something else, the Nats are NOT done. Far from it.

WHO IS YOUR DADDY?

2010-12-05T17:01:00.001-05:00

Release courtesy of the Nationals and, yes, I am patting myself on the back. HARD

NATIONALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH
RF JAYSON WERTH ON SEVEN-YEAR DEAL
The Washington Nationals today agreed to terms with free-agent right fielder Jayson Werth on a seven-year contract. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Werth, 31, is a career .272 (684-for-2519) hitter with 138 doubles, 15 triples, 120 home runs, 406 RBI, 77 stolen bases and 433 runs scored in 775 games spanning eight seasons with Philadelphia (2007-10), Los Angeles-NL (2004-05) and Toronto (2002-03). For his career, Werth also owns .367 on-base and .481 slugging percentages, as well as an .848 OPS.

In 2010, his final season with the Phillies, Werth batted .296 (164-for-554) with an NL-leading 46 doubles, 27 home runs and 85 RBI in 156 games. He established career highs in hits, doubles, extra-base hits (75) and runs (106). He also notched a career-best .532 slugging percentage in ‘10, and thus, increased his slugging mark for the fourth straight season.

An NL All-Star in ‘09, Werth burst upon the scene as a premium middle-of-the-lineup bat in 2008, and in three seasons since, he has batted .279 with 88 doubles, 87 home runs, 251 RBI and 53 stolen bases in 449 games. In the same three-year span, Werth has paced MLB having seen 4.46 pitches per plate appearance. In the two-season stretch from 2009-10, Werth’s 204 runs scored, 173 walks and 63 home runs ranked third, fifth and eighth, respectively in the NL.

An excellent baserunner, Werth has twice posted 20-stolen base seasons (2008, ‘09), and in 2010 his speed and senses helped him to score 100-plus runs for the first time in his career.

Drafted in the first round by the Orioles as a catcher in 1997, Werth has proven durable, as he is one of only 12 National Leaguers to have played in 155-plus games each of the last two seasons.

A proven post-season performer, Werth’s .607 slugging percentage and .987 OPS rank third and fifth, respectively, among active players who have played in at least 20 playoff games.

Ears Open People - Big News Coming

2010-12-05T12:18:00.007-05:00

I still have a source or two in this world and I'm told the Nats are about to make a very big splash in the free agent world. Very big splash. Losing Dunn? Mike Rizzo has to be grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

This one will be werth waiting for, I'm told. Not sure when it will become official and how much work remains to be done. Not 100 percent sure it will happen - but pretty darn close to that.

Other moves are in the works, too. A quiet offseason, at least in terms of good news, is about to get noisy. It could be a fun week.

If my favorite soon-to-be former Phillie does indeed end up in D.C., I may have to forget all about my promise to stay away. It will be werth it.

Ears open people.

(and if you are wondering how seriously to take this, ask yourself if you laughed when I wrote about the Willingham trade - of that I was rock-solid 100 percent certain. Here I'm only 99.999999999999 percent)

Thank You Adam Dunn

2010-12-03T14:14:00.003-05:00

I held off on posting. I reached for the computer yesterday intent on letting it all spill out. Instead, I decided to wait until I calmed down. Then it occurred to me I might never post again since I might never calm down. So I reached for the computer again.

My wife's reaction was priceless. When she heard the very loud F BOMB I uttered after hearing the news - she was in the same room but could have heard it from her classroom 20 miles away - she asked what was wrong. I told her. And she said:

"Idiots. We're not going back, right?"

Correct. We are not. The Nats won't notice. The Nats won't care. But a family has to take a stand.

Eventually, maybe even tonight, I'll let that anger out. I have plenty to say. I had an e-mail exchange with a colleague who is a Nats fan today. Turns out I'm definitely not alone in my thoughts. I may just cut and paste his e-mail because he said it better than I could.

But, until then, I want to make sure my appreciation for Adam Dunn doesn't get lost in this disgust that is eating away at me from the inside out.

So:

Dear Adam Dunn,

Thank you. Having been a Nats fan since the team landed in Washington, I can assure you moments of joy have been few. I could list some, sure. I'd be lying if I said there weren't any. Cripes, I've seen five walk-off home runs (one of them by you).

But by and large they've been rare and you were responsible for many of them.

Sure, you drove me nuts now and then looking at strike three (except you were right on the Randy Johnson pitch). Sure you drove me nuts sometimes watching you play defense (but you were getting better).

Overall? You made it fun to be there and you're one of the few guys who made me inch up and lean forward in my seat every time you came up.

Specific moments? I could go on forever but here are a few I was present for and for which I give you a rousing and heartfelt thanks:

*No. 300. Against the Braves no less, with my Son The Braves Fan right next to me. Even he had to give it up for that one. "That was cool," he said, standing and applauding with the rest of us. Yes, yes it was.

*The one against St. Louis in 2009 when Martis pitched that gem. Landed way in the upper deck and made my wife go "HOLY SHIT" really loud.

*The one off the warehouse (on the bounce) in Baltimore that made my wife use another word after HOLY but just as loud.

*The walk-off slam against the Mets in early July that was called a double after review. But, hey, everyone in the joint knew it was out. Even K-Rod, which is why he laid that fattie in for Pudge to drive in the winner.

*The two against the Braves late this season, with aforementioned son next to me saying, "Sure, great idea Nats, let this guy go because you have SO many others who can do that."

*The last one, the walk-off against the Phillies. I laughed, I cheered and I cried a little, too, because I knew. I think everyone in the stadium knew. That was it.

There's more but you have contracts to sign and more money to spend and I have to get back to work and then figure out which team I'll go see next year because I don't want to give up on live baseball. Just the Nats. I wish you'd picked the cool team in Chicago but whatever. Your call. I don't blame you for any of this.

Meanwhile, I await the signing of Carlos Pena so I can get disgusted all over again. I await the crap the Nats try to shove down our throats about how this is the right baseball decision. I do not await the end of 2013, when Ryan Zimmerman follows you out the door. Probably just a coincidence that he won Silver Sluggers both years you were in the lineup with him, eh?

You were a joy to watch and I enjoyed watching you.

Thank you,

NFBLooser

Trade Talk

2010-11-21T13:11:00.003-05:00

If I accomplished nothing else this weekend, it was a success for one reason. I managed to talk My Son the Braves Fan off the ledge.

He was distraught because the Braves acquired Dan Uggla. Really. They gave up a reliever and a utility guy (yes, a good one) to get a 30-HR machine. Very much a plus deal for the Braves.

But my son like Omar Infante a lot, didn't want to see him gone. I get that, I said, but you have to give to get. The key is to make sure you get more than you give. I think the Braves did here. I had crazy dreams of Uggla in Washington.

As fans, you're supposed to have favorite players. The lesson in today's free agent and wheeling-and-dealing times: Don't get too attached.

It got me to thinking. If the Nats do make trades, will any departures make me screams "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo?" Only a couple.

*Jee-SUS: Obvious, and there's no way it happens.

*Zimmerman: See above.

That may be it. There are a couple of others I'd be a bit distraught to see traded.

*Zimmermann. Jee-SUS he isn't but I remained convinced for now he's going to be pretty good so I'd like to see him stay.

*Ramos. I'm not sold on the guy yet. I don't think any of us saw enough last season to really tell either way. Jury's still out and all that. But if this cat is such a hot prospect that the Nats gave up a young and proven closer for him, well, he damn sure ought to be worth keeping.

*Danny Espinosa. See Zimmermann, above.

But if the price is right?

There many other players I don't want to see guy but I won't lose sleep if the return is right. Ian Desmond? I like him a lot and wouldn't mind seeing him stay for a long time. But suppose the return is along the lines of a Zach Greinke (yes, I know it would cost more than Desmond)?

I just hope if the Nats do trade proven they get more than one piece of potential for it. We'll see soon enough, I guess.

Finally, I have to give it up for Ben Goessling at MASN. He got me this morning. I saw the headline "Why You Should Want the Nationals to Sign Carl Pavano" and I'm thinking, "Wow, this better be good." Because I don't want the Nationals to sign Carl Pavano.

It's good. I still don't want him signed but it's good.

Moves, Signings, Ramblings

2010-11-16T10:41:00.002-05:00

A buddy is, for reasons I've been unable to ascertain, a huge Florida Marlins fan. Makes no sense given his background but it's a free world and he's otherwise OK.

He sent me a Facebook note yesterday: Heard you guys were interested in Uggla.

You guys? I told him if I was really one of those guys, Adam Dunn would be signed by now. I'm just a detached fan. But as a fan, yeah, I'd be interested in Uggla.

I'm curious what it would cost. If it could be done for Derek Norris and some other "prospects," I'd be all for it. Because then you could move Danny Espinosa to short and use Ian Desmond as the chip to maybe, maybe, just maybe land Zach Greinke.

I see all these stories out there saying how teams are going to ask for Jordan Zimmermann and/or Ian Desmond for any deal involving a real player. I would very much not like it if the Nats send Jordan Zimmermann somewhere else. And while I have no issue at all with Ian Desmond remaining a Nat, I also have no issue with him going somewhere else if the return is good.

Zach Greinke is good.

Yes, I realize this is all pointless meandering of the mind. None of it will happen. Still, it's nice to dream.

I'm also left wondering this: the Nats won't give four years to a player who is pretty much in his prime but the Redskins can give about a zillion years and a kajillion dollars to a player who is past his prime and maybe, just maybe, past the days of being reasonably effective?

No wonder I'm always confused and mumbling.

HEY!! What about Jee-SUS!??!?

2010-11-15T17:52:00.003-05:00

I've been asked three or four times already: No votes for Stephen Strasburg for rookie of the year? Suppose he'd stayed healthy?

Second one first: He didn't.

IF he had and had posted 10 wins and lots of strikeouts with a low-2 ERA, then, yeah, you bring him into the conversation. Again, as we all know painfully well by now: He didn't. Not in the conversation. It's not rookie of the 10-week period in the middle of the season. It's rookie of the year. Or most of the year at least, in the winner's case.

Crowded class of quality rookies this year in the NL and while some of the ballots were odd, they got it right.

Buster Posey deserved to win. Jason Heyward had a great year and would have been a quality choice, too. But like our man Zim (my twin), he was runner-up to an excellent player who had an excellent year. No shame there.

Voters only had three spots. With those two and Garcia in St. Louis (not to mention Sanchez in Florida and some others I'm sure I'm forgetting now), could you really give one of those slots to a guy who threw for 10 weeks, no matter how well he threw?

No.

Jee-SUS did not get screwed. He'll win his share of awards. I already have bets down on 2012 Cy Young, 2012 All-Star starter (yes, I know it isn't an award), 2012 Comeback Player of the Year, 2012 Gold Glove, 2012 MVP.

I may even go back to the stadium to see some of those 2012 games.

Unrelated, the Braves have to be really loving that deal they made to get Mark Teixeira a few years back. All Texas got out of the deal was the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year and an all-star shortstop.

Ryan Zimmerman - My Twin

2010-11-11T09:24:00.002-05:00

Think about it. We could be the same guy.

We're from Virginia. We're dashingly handsome. We have four letters in our first names. OK, that's a reach. His is the real name, mine is a nickname. I'm still counting it.

Sure, there are some differences. He's younger, richer, stronger and a much, much better baseball player (he should be, he's less than half my age). His opinion also matters, or at least should.

As reported by Mark Zuckerman and others from last night's uniform show, Zimmerman reiterated his point about wanting Adam Dunn to remain a teammate. He makes very good points, particularly about the consistency. This is partly stumping for one of his buddies, sure. But it doesn't detract from his main point - you lose more out of the middle of your lineup than you're sure you'll be able to replace. So sign the man.

Back to the differences: Zimmerman can't stay away from Nats Park if the Nats don't sign Dunn. I can. Zimmerman is under contract. That's where he gets his money, so he has to show up.

Through 2013 anyway. Afterward, he can go wherever he'd like.

If I never show up at Nats Park again, it will matter not a twit to anyone other than me. The show will go on and no one will notice my absence. It won't have any bearing on the Nationals in any way.

If Zim doesn't show up anymore after 2013, it will matter.

My opinion on Dunn is just that, worth about as much as the hot air I expend repeating it so often. Nothing.

Zim's opinion ought to matter. I won't be missed. He will.

Those Uniforms

2010-11-10T19:22:00.002-05:00

I'm not going to lie - I like them. A lot in fact.

If it works out that I do attend a few games at Nats Park next season, I think you can "expect" I will buy one of each.

Who am I kidding? If it doesn't work out that I attend a few games next year, I think you can "expect" I will buy one of each (or beg for them for birthday/Father's Day, etc.). I never said I was going to stop being a fan, I just said I was going to stop going to games. I can wear them here while I watch on TV (who will broadcast?) and cry in my beer and wait for Jee-SUS to come back.

As I noted earlier, I have no problems with any of the Nats' previous uniforms. I own a replica of all of them. I liked the original road jersey better the current road jersey. I always really liked the home whites. Still do. That would be my only quibble with the new set - is the name "Nationals" nowhere to be found on any of them? I think it should be prominent on at least one set. After all, "Nationals" is the name of the team.

A wiseguy might say there's no chance of an "o" being left out when there's only a Curly W on the jersey. I'm not going to take that easy cheap shot. I'm sure that's not the reason the jersies don't say "Nationals."

Are they trying to distance themselves from the name? I hope that's not the case either. It's a nice name.

I saw a picture of a new hat somewhere earlier, a red had with a blue brim? I like that, too.

Now if they'd just sign Dunn *** I'd be one really happy guy.

Expect What Exactly?

2010-11-08T11:47:00.003-05:00

I guess since I'm no longer a season-ticket holder and not one of the elite, I won't getting this thing Dan Steinberg describes in his bog (the best newspaper online column going, by the way).

I am curious to know what I'm supposed to expect.

More bad baseball? More overmanaging? More closed concession stands upstairs? No more Adam Dunn?

I've been "expecting it" every year for six years now and "it" really only happened in the first half of the first year.

As noted in a previous post or two, the Nats aren't the only team with good young talent. You can make strong cases that numerous teams have more good young talent and better young talent.

So someone read that thing and tell me what I'm supposed to expect. Or are non-season-ticket holders not supposted to expect anything at all?

First Day of Life in Nats A.D.

2010-11-07T09:26:00.004-05:00

I woke up at 7:30 like I do most Sundays and I could tell it was just a stunningly beautiful day in the making. Then it hit me. It was 6:30 and I could go back to bed and I did. For TWO hours! I'm such a slacker.

It was even more beautiful when I got up for good. Perhaps a sign from above that on this the first day of Nats A.D. (after Dunn), the sun does indeed rise and shine again.

I still don't like it. I still won't go back to the park and give them any more of my money. I could save enough to buy Cliff Lee for 26 seconds or so.

Today's game: Let's try to guess a few things.

1. Where will Adam Dunn sign - and for how much and how long? I say Cubs, four years, 60 million

2. Who will play first base next season for the Nats? My brother says Aubrey Huff. I'm convinced my nightmare scenario comes true. Carlos Pena comes to D.C. and convinces everybody he's just a wonderful guy. And hits about .177 - like I noted in an earlier post, just keep Willie and put him at first.

3. What other players might sign? I'd excrete enough bricks to build a new stadium if Cliff Lee actually comes to D.C. (to play, not wearing someone else's uniform). Same with Jayson Werth, as much as I'd like to see that. I boldly predict Brandon Webb becomes a Nat and spends next year pitching in whatever league Wang and Flores played in during 2010. They'll sign some Adam Kennedy type. They'll sign some ho-hum outfielder.

What say you?

I have to find a way to enjoy this brilliant day. The Caps play at 5 and it'll be dark by then so I won't feel guilty about parking myself in front of the TV then.

Elijah

2010-11-04T12:17:00.002-04:00

I didn't see this anywhere in the Natsmosphere except for our friends at Nationals Enquirer and I wanted to make sure my handful of exclusive readers didn't miss this sad, sad story.

Yes, I'm fully aware that Elijah Dukes' situation is almost totally of his own making. Some will argue the circumstances of his upbringing are to blame, but I've covered way too many athletes who have come from bad backgrounds and become top-notch and productive citizens.

Yes, I'm fully aware that I was never completely comfortable with Dukes in a Nationals uniform. Like many, I kept waiting for the proverbial shoes to drop. He had some definite "wow you" skills as well as so many holes in his game that those skills could be worked around by the opposition.

I still wish it had worked out. I heard enough interviews with the guy to come away with the conviction that he's far from stupid.

And I still find the Elijah Dukes story very, very sad.

Dunn With Dunn - The Countdown

2010-11-02T11:24:00.002-04:00

OK, I'm not real clear on the rules.

The World Series ended last night, before midnight. There's that five-day window thing.

Is it today (1), tomorrow (2), Thursday (3), Friday (4) and Saturday (5)? Or is it a business-day thing where the weekend doesn't count and Monday becomes the fifth day - even though phones work on the weekends?

Just curious. I don't think it matters. I'm convinced the Nats will offer the arbitration (be a hoot if he accepts), take their two picks and sign someone else to be part of next year's 65-win team. I'm not certain the braintrust was ever really serious about signing Dunn to any kind of extension.

A friend, aware of my severe opposition to Carlos Pena as the replacement, noted that Pena has at least played on a winner and Dunn has never done that. He doesn't think Dunn ever will play on a winner. I had to remind my pal that if the Nats sign Pena, that's all they get. He's not bringing Evan Longoria and David Price with him. Little easier to play for a winner when you're surrounded by better players.

The World Series was just depressing, though that's nothing against the Giants. Hard to not like the Giants. But you look at the Lincecum-Cain-Bumgardner trifecta. All 26 or younger.

Next season, will the Nats have even one pitcher in that class? In 2012, will they have another one along with Jee-SUS?

I just don't see it.

Unis

2010-10-27T17:46:00.002-04:00

Let me go on record right here and now as being heavily in favor of "against" and I haven't even seen the new uniforms yet. Given my current status as NOT a season-ticket holder, I doubt I'll get an invite to the unveiling.

The one thing I've always liked about the Nats is their uniforms. I don't want this to become like NASCAR where colors change and drivers change and sponsors change every 20 minutes or so and they make their fans into their personal ATM machines.

I don't have the red alternate uniform jersey but I have all the others. Just found a "37" road jerset with the script Washington on eBay for about 25 bucks.

I will not be suckered into buying these new unis. I hear the white home unis are going to a script Nationals. I'm going to nose around some more and see if I can find out anything before the select few (rich suckers) get to witness the unveiling.

Besides, if the Nats don't re-sign Dunn -- and it sure looks like that's not going to happen -- I won't have a need for a new jersey to wear to the stadium. Because I won't be going.

Cliff Lee

2010-10-15T19:26:00.002-04:00

Ben Goessling asks the question, Could the Nationals Land Cliff Lee?

Could they?

The first impulse is no way. Why on Earth would Cliff Lee want to pitch for the Nats? Would the Nats actually pay that kind of money? And is it a good investment?

My next impulse is oh my. Oh my oh my. I've seen this guy live a few times, most recently in July. He's really, really, really good. Really good. Exceptionally good.

I do hope if the Nats are serious, they take some time to find out what happened in Philadelphia and if those reports of Charlie Manuel calling him a "cancer" are true. The level of assholeness you can tolerate goes up, way up, as the ability goes up and Lee has built up quite an account.

Still, you have to be careful with that kind thing. Even an asshole account can be overdrawn.

Would Cliff Lee in a Curly W make me change my stance on Adam Dunn? Nope. But it would assure I'd set the DVR every fifth day.

Lee, Dunn, Werth - could El Jefe tie up about $60 million in three players? I'd buy season tickets for that.

Our Youth vs. Their Youth

2010-10-11T19:53:00.002-04:00

One of the few redeeming things about the offseason when you follow a crap-o-la team is you can watch the postseason and think, "Yeah, that's us next year."

I'm trying and I'm convinced I must be drunk.

I really want to be optimistic for once in my life but it isn't working and here's why: Let's for the sake of discussion buy the Nats argument that the team and system is just bursting with quality young talent. OK, we believe.

Is that young talent any better, or even as good as, the young talent on other teams? I don't think so.

The negativity began creeping in yesterday when I looked at my Page-A-Day Calendar (Sports Facts) and I saw that it was Troy Tulowitzki's birthday. Happy Birthday Troy, a day late.

He's 26. He's 11 months older than Ian Desmond. Eleven whole months. I love Desie and all, but which player would you rather have?

It hit me between the eyes again tonight when I saw the Giants were throwing Madison Bumgarner in the game that could get them into the NL championship series. This kid is barely 21 (8/1/1989) and he won seven games this season with an ERA of 3.00.

My guess is other than a healthy Jee-SUS (who isn't healthy), he'd probably be the Nats best pitcher.

Add to it the fact that Lincecum and Cain are just 26 (and Cain just barely) and you aren't going to convince me the Nats' staff will be any better than this staff, maybe ever, even after Jee-SUS returns.

Jason Heyward is like 21. The Braves have some stud pitching prospect whose name escapes me, used as a comparison point about Bryce Harper's development in one of his instructional games, who will give them three really damn good pitchers under 25 if this kid makes the team next season (Jurrjens and Hanson are both 24).

Found the story on the Braves guy - Julio Teheran.

Hell, Brian McCann is a FIVE-TIME all-star and he's only 26! Maybe my The Son the Braves Fan is on to something.

I could go on and on and on but I think the point is clear.

The Nats' kids do indeed look to be all right. I fear the rest of the league has kids who are more all right.

So here I sit, all depressed again. Maybe there's some hockey on tonight. Hey, their is - and the Caps are winning! At least with the Caps, I can stay happy until the playoffs start.

They're Not Serious About Pena?

2010-10-06T14:59:00.002-04:00

So I'm waiting on some stories and the playoffs have started. The TV is on and I'm watching.

Here's what I've seen out of the Nats' next first baseman:

*He struck out looking in the first inning with the bases loaded.

*He just struck out looking again.

*Mr. Gold Glove failed to pick up a one-hopper from Evan Longoria. Didn't save the E - isn't that the main reason the Nats' "brain" trust allegedly wants this guy over Dunn?

Carlos Pena hit .196 in 144 games.

Why not just keep Willie Harris and play him at first base?

Dude hit .282 in 2007 and has fallen off dramatically every year since.

Are the Nats really thinking of signing him and then trying to sell us on it being best for the team's "long-term interests?"

Please. Do we look stupid? Don't answer that because with those Curly W's on our head year after year, we probably do.

I can't believe there's a "baseball person" around who thinks this guy is a better option.

Plus, he's older than Dunn.

I've made it clear I won't go back if the Nats don't re-sign Adam Dunn. I will remain a fan but the team won't get any more of my money.

If the Nats sign Carlos Pena, I may give up the whole fan thing altogether. There's another team about 40 miles further up the road. I already have a couple of hats and shirts and I really like their ballpark.

Internet Writers Awards

2010-10-05T15:10:00.003-04:00

Here's a link to the awards given out in balloting among members of the DC-Internet Baseball Writers Association.

Proud to be a member. Much love to Dave Nichols for spearheading the organization and the voting.

I'll have a full post on it later and reveal my votes - the good ones and the poor ones. I mostly agree with the list, with one or two questions.

Walkin' Off With A Smile - OK, A Grin

2010-09-29T00:28:00.002-04:00

Oh snap. Hell yeah. Bang zoom and all that. Just got home from one of my more enjoyable nights at the ol' yard and what a way to go out this season - and maybe ever.

I've now seen five walk-offs there by five different players - Ryan Zimmerman, Wil Nieves (Who?), Ronnie Belliard, Josh Willingham and **** yes, indeed - ADAM DUNN! Couldn't have asked for a better script.

Walk offs NEVER get old. Daggone that's fun. Having Dunn do it while the Nats braintrust apparently decides he isn't worth signing makes it all the more sweet. Or bittersweet.

My only regret is he didn't come out for a curtain call.

My final two visits of the season - Friday's 8-3 victory over the Braves and last night's 2-1 victory over the Phillies. That's at least one and probably two playoff teams.

In those two games, I saw Adam Dunn hit three home runs and drive in seven of the 10 runs. They won both games for one reason - Adam Dunn is in the lineup.

But go ahead, don't sign him because he's not the Big Cat over at first. That's real smart.

I said this earlier and I'll say it again. They don't sign Adam Dunn, I won't be back. I'll have more on that later and I'm sure my meager opinion won't mean squat to the Nats.

But I get the sense being at the park tonight, listening to the radio on the way home, just a vibe -- way way way more fans agree with me than don't.

If you agree, let the Nats know. I will. I'll stay the hell away. And I mean that.

Don't mean to be a buzzkill. This was a great day/night/early morning. I want more of them. I want Adam Dunn on this team for at least four more years.

Who's with me?

I Hope Dunn Drills One Tonight

2010-09-28T11:10:00.003-04:00

since it looks like it will be the last time I see him live in a Nats uniform.

Making my final visit of the season tonight to scoop up a long-sleeve T-shirt I'm too fat to wear. Seeing this report from MASN's Ben Goessling doesn't give me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

I get the defense thing, I really do. Dunn's foibles over there drive me nuts quite a bit, too.

But the man has power and will hit lots of home runs and drive in lots of runs. If the Nats think replacing him is going to cure a lot of ills, they're mistaken.

Ian Desmond is flashy and fun but a defensive liability to what seems like a higher degree than Dunn. Anyone in the OF other than Bernadina have a real arm that can scare opposing runners?

Shore up some other areas, find a couple of real pitchers to go along with the couple you have now (the list is nowhere near as long as the Nats would like us to believe) and Dunn's defense becomes less glaring and more of a problem that can be lived with as opposed to one that is a killer.

Adam Dunn isn't perfect. He's also not this team's problem. What was Boswell's line a few weeks ago? The list of guys who hit 40 and drive in 100 AND want to be a National is very, very short. You have one in the clubhouse already. Sign him.

I'm down with the Jayson Werth thing, too. Very down. Give them both 60 mil for four years, sign a couple of pitchers and maybe actually become good? Is that too much to ask? When Jee-SUS returns in 2012 and Harper arrives on the scene, get even better? Do I need to slap myself awake here and quit dreaming?

If they let Dunn walk, this may be my last visit for a long, long, long time. I've supported a very bad team long enough. Lots and lots of money. Been to see them play in 10 different cities besides Washington. Set my body clock around their games.

Bad I can tolerate (not that it is all that enjoyable). Stupid I can't.

"Seriously Dad?"

2010-09-25T11:57:00.002-04:00

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?"

Feel Better About Jee-SUS Night

2010-09-24T14:38:00.002-04:00

Back at the park for the first time in a while tonight (and maybe the final time of the season if rain ruins T-Shirt Tuesday). Taking My Son the Braves Fan, who is relieved to know he won't have to dance and sing the U.Va. fight song with Zimmerman out (if Zimmermann hits one out, he doesn't have to sing).

Son, there's always a ninth-inning pinch HR lingering as a possibility.

I can't see the lineup the Nats are throwing out there tonight scoring a run off Tim Hudson. I'm calling 4-0 Braves right now and we're all home by 9:30.

What I hope to gain tonight is a better feeling about Jee-SUS and his elbow. The matchup tonight is Old Tommy John Survivor vs. Young Tommy John Survivor.

Of course, I've been sure all along young Stephen would be just fine. I just wish we didn't have to wait so long.

One day, I'll make a list of all the current TJs pitching in the minors. It's happening more and more and the results are getting better and better. I wonder how many years it will be until there are more pitchers in the majors who have had the surgery than there are who haven't?

I also hope to see Uncle Stan tonight so I can say thanks in person. And tell him to yell at Rizzo to re-sign Dunn before he leaves. And find out why I can't get any flippin' Flippin Pizza after the sixth inning.

Thank You Uncle Stan

2010-09-23T20:33:00.004-04:00

Dang. Done already? Well, he said he'd do five years and it has been five years. He's always been a man of his word.

I have no idea if I'm in the minority or the majority here. I've never been able to get an accurate gauge of how the general public feels about ol' Uncle Stan. But I'm going to miss the guy. I think he's good for the franchise beyond the supposed "credibility" he brought to the team. Yes, the results have been putrid. Part of that has to be on him - he IS the team president. Somehow, though, I think it would be even worse without Uncle Stan than it has been with him.

No question Uncle Stan can drop some arrogance on you. He has that smartest guy in the room air about him. Unlike most who have that air, though, Uncle Stan usually is the smartest guy in the room. I'd trust him with my business.

Being the president of a bad ballclub has to be a miserable task. You're not responsible for the product on the field but you're "the boss" of those who are responsible. You're also responsible for the business side, the fan experience, the whole works. I have no idea what he made. I sure hope it was a ton.

In short, if I see Rizzo in the concourse, I might yell, "Hey, RE-SIGN DUNN." I wouldn't do that but you get my point.

If I see Uncle Stan, I might yell, "Hey, why can't I get any flippin' Flippin Pizza after the sixth inning? Why is the bathroom a mess? And tell Rizzo to RE-SIGN DUNN."

He ran the show. He didn't sign the checks. I suspect that limited him. I would love for him to do a tell-all at some point, somewhere. I suspect we'd learn an awful lot.

Judging from what I've come to know about the man, I don't see it happening. Too bad.

I dealt with him periodically on a professional basis when he was in Atlanta and I was working as a sports writer here. He didn't know me from Adam (not talking 'bout Kilgore), but I got a return call every single time I left a message. Can you imagine how many calls someone in his position gets? He didn't always tell me what I wanted to know or hear. He always called. Always. Always thanked me for calling, too.

Good man, good businessman, good for the Nats. Maybe I'm just a voice in the wilderness with all that. Maybe I'm biased because I saw what he did in Atlanta and had some positive dealings with him. Could well be the case.

But that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'm curious if we'll see him again in baseball. The "pursue other interests" line that was in one of the releases was interesting. I don't know how old he is, I'm going to guess early 60s. My guess he's pretty well set financially. One of the comments on Mark Zuckerman's site said something about his wife's health. I sure as heck hope if Mrs. Kasten is sick, Uncle Stan is able to spend a lot of time with her and she's able to recover.

Mrs. Kasten is at the heart of one of the stories I love best about Uncle Stan. Remember when Nats Park opened? He asked her to park at RFK and ride the Nats Express and let him know how it worked.

She's Mrs. President of the Nats. I'm going to guess there's prime parking available and most Mrs. Presidents would probably get a limo to the park. Mrs. Kasten parked at RFK and rode the bus.

Uncle Stan cared. A lot. It may not have always shown up, but trust me. He cared.

Here's a question unrelated to Uncle Stan himself but related to his departure. Does Mike Rizzo need to be worried? I know if a GM comes in, a new manager usually isn't far behind. "My own guy" and all that. Does it work that way with the President/GM relationship?

You know what else? I'm not sure I can name another team president. It's a hectic, pulled-in-all-directions, thankless-if-you're-losing job.

Good luck to you Uncle Stan. Don't be a stranger.

Whew!

2010-09-22T09:51:00.002-04:00

So I'm sitting at the Quaker Steak and Lube in Richmond last night, killing a ton of all you can eat wings with my young friend Michael, also my frequent travel partner to Nats Park.

We're having a grand time. We discussed the future of the Nats (both of us very pessimistic), how the team could be near the end of year six and offer maybe less hope than it did five years ago, upcoming trips to New York and things to do there, some old man's reluctance (cough cough) to try anything testier than mild sauce and much, much more.

We have Phils-Braves on one of the TVs, Yankees-Rays on another and of course, we're the only people in there who ask for a Nats-Astros broadcast. Pennant fever all around us and we're watching this game?

But the eighth inning was fun and Pudge hit a home run and the Nats won and it dawned on me. That's No. 63!! Yee-haa. High fives all around. The team can't lose 100 again (well, not this year. It darn sure can and probably will lose 100 again).

This is what makes me happy these days. I'm looking at four teams on two other TVs that are going to the playoffs, four teams with brighter presents and probably brighter futures than our beloved Nats. And I'm wet-my-pants thrilled that my team isn't going to lose 100 for the third year in a row.

I am one sick man and I am in need of serious help.

I should have asked for a side of glass with those wings.

Someone Check on Me, Please

2010-09-19T20:30:00.003-04:00

Days like today make me want to eat a lot of glass. Seriously. Over the past few months, life has been really good. My kids are doing great, my dogs love me, my wife is happy with her new Kindle. I love my job.

But this whole sports fan thing? Gotta go. Eliminate the negatives, someone said at some seminar I attended years ago. A shrink-y kind of thing that had "wellness" in the title, which should have been a tip-off right there.

Dude was right on that, though. Eliminate the negatives.

Getting my heart ripped out twice in one day is two more times than I should ever tolerate. I realize the Skins don't matter to me on the same level as the Nats but still. After the ninth-inning epic implosion, I needed something to cheer me up. The Skins moving to 2-0 (with one of them over the Cowboys) would do the trick.

So how did that work out for me? Can you grind glass in a blender? My coffee grinder? Should I chew it or swallow it whole?

I knew the Nats were in trouble when the booth kept raving about the great job the bullpen had been doing. It's true, sure, but let's not do the SI cover thing on it.

Three outs to get, three runs ahead, I thought this was gold even in the Phillies' junior-sized ballpark. Save for The Chief's magic in Anaheim that night during the magical first half of 2005, Sean Burnett's escape act today ranks as one of the better relief efforts in Nats' history. Clippard is back on his game, so it seems.

One inning, three outs to go. Turn it over to the new, young closer.

Still three outs to go. Maybe I should just take out the hammer and beat down the glass that way?

My wife put down her Kindle long enough to watch the last couple of innings. She had a couple of good questions:

*If Clippard really does have his act together again, why not let him go one more and finish? Well that's why you have closers. The whole Clip and Save thing that was so much fun (was that really THIS season)? Now you have Clip and Store. Have to let your closer finish. Maybe I could just eat one of the wine glasses. They're fine crystal, very thin.

*Is Storen really the closer of the future? As much as Zimmermann and Maya (who was OK today, I'll give him that) are the anchors of the rotation until Jee-SUS gets back. Maybe I should mix the glass into some mashed potatoes.

*Is Jayson Werth one of the GEICO cavemen? I swear, when he was jumping around after hitting that thing out, with that beard and that hair, you could make a damn good case for this one. His uniform didn't say "Rounders" - maybe he got traded. I shouldn't mock the guy. I think he's a hell of a player and I have this fleeting hope he'll be the Nats' right fielder next year. I'll call him Mr. Pretty then.

OK, off to fix "dinner." Maybe a little Glass Under Glass, with a side of Asparaglass.

Someone Check on Bob Watson Please

2010-09-15T11:58:00.003-04:00

He may be sick. Or injured. Or off somewhere in the South Pacific.

Nyjer is STILL in the lineup? Seriously? When will his suspension start? The same day Jee-SUS returns?

How long does this take?

Off the top of my head, here are a few things that happen faster than Watson issuing a ruling on this:

*Presidential campaigns

*A caterpillar turning into a cocoon and then into a moth.

*Elephant pregnancies

*Adam Dunn going from first to third

I assume if this thing isn't decided by the end of the 2010 season, Nyjer's team next year will have to do without him for a few games?

How cool would it be if he ended up with the Marlins?

Some Monday Night Thoughts

2010-09-13T20:01:00.002-04:00

while I sit here and try to figure how long I'm going to continue watching this nonsense:

*How on earth is Nyjer Morgan still in the lineup? Does he have pictures of the somebody? Everybody else has served suspensions from that mess and Florida and he's in his fourth game since the hearing. Seriously, Bob Watson, time to get off the pot.

*Has Danny Espinosa had a hit since I wrote that I was in love?

*Is anyone else convinced Yunesky Maya maybe ain't all that? OK, I'm not convinced yet but I'm far from convinced he IS any good. I'm going to hold off learning how to say Jee-SUS in Cuban. He has a nice curveball but I'm not real impressed with his command or overall arsenal.

*Wilson Ramos is growing on me some, though I'll hold off saying that for fear of turning him into Danny Espinosa. I plan to write more on catchers later in the week but I'm guessing we'll see Rodriguez transition to Ramos next year while Flores spends the year in AAA (assuming he can still play and I'm not real sure of that). My hope in 2012, when Jee-SUS returns to start the opener, is that Ramos and Flores are the two catchers. I hope someone gives Pudge a chance to get that 3,000th hit but I think his time in D.C. is done after next year.

*My official bookie has raised the odds on Adam Dunn being back next season from even to 100-1 against. I think he's right. They'll move Morse to 1B and sign a right fielder.

*Will anyone else exhale when (if?) this team wins its 63rd game? I'm still not convinced it is going to happen.

*That's five called Ks in six total for Derek Lowe tonight. Does anyone still give a damn? Swing the bat. See? As soon as I type that, Zimmerman swings the bat and gets a hit.

I'm in Love

2010-09-06T15:43:00.003-04:00

At the risk of inflicting the kid with the Curse of Harris - I'll go ahead and say it anyway.

Oh.

My.

God.

I'm

in

Love.

Mark it down right now: Danny Espinosa, the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year. Let's just hope someone keeps track and he doesn't get that 131st at-bat this year.

Of course, at his current pace he'll have about 110 RBI this month so maybe he could win it in 2010.

So 2B for next year is solved. Figure out 1B and figure out RF (Jayson Morse?) and I'll feel good again. Until I think about what the Curse of Harris did to Jee-SUS.

Buh-Bye Scott

2010-09-05T20:10:00.003-04:00

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.

Rookie Limits

2010-09-04T13:43:00.002-04:00

I'd go look this up myself but work is a smidge busy on the first Saturday of college football. But a baseball thought popped into my head so I slipped over here to ask a question.

How much can a position player play before he loses rookie status?

I'm hoping the Nats just go with Danny Espinosa the rest of the way at second, but I'd also like to see him be a rookie of the year candidate next year. Not sure if he'd exceed the number if plays the rest of the games.

Anyhoo, back to work. With football season starting, I won't be watching quite as much baseball this month but he does seem like one to keep an eye on.

Two Good-Bys: One Good, One Not Good

2010-09-01T20:04:00.003-04:00

Well, that game got out of control in a hurry. With the game securely in hand by the third inning, the Marlins can pick their spot to drill Nyjer Morgan. Only reason I still have it on here.

But the butt-whippin' in progress and eventual retatiation against Morgan aren't the news of the day for us weary citizens of Nats Town.

Nope. We're saying good-by to two people. One is more good riddance. The other almost brings a tear to my eye.

We'll do the sad good-by first. Brian Oliver, the outstanding owner/editor of Nationals Farm Authority, is giving it up. Brian is about to embark on a new career as a high school math teacher, a very admirable calling and one he will do exceptionally well. Something had to give and the labor of love over his paying job was a clear call - though not an easy one.

Those who follow the Natmosphere as it has come to be known are aware there's all kinds of blogs out there. You can find things to read on the Nats pretty much all day long. We come in all shapes, styles and sizes. I'm more of the stereotypical "Mom's Basement" blogger. Just someone who throws his thoughts out there and welcomes all to read, agree or disagree. If someone enjoys what I write, so much the better. But let's be honest. There's no real value here beyond the pleasure anyone may get from reading.

Brian? He found a niche and became damn good at it. Exceptionally good. Authority-level good! He knew the system and its people inside and out. His site provided tons of value, probably more than any other Nats blog out there including those done by the media pros (and that's not a knock on them at all). Brian did what no one else was doing.

To do it as well as he did is incredibly time-consuming, so Brian's decision is understandable.

On top of all that, I had the pleasure of getting to know Brian over the past couple of years. I've been to Bloggers Days with him (even though he's now credentialed, he'll always be one of us). I've watched games like a regular Joe with him. I've tipped one or two with him. Just a supremely nice man and I trust he'll still be around the park so we can continue to enjoy his company.

His future students are lucky people. Best wishes to you, Mr. Oliver.

As for that other good by, uh, good riddance. Everyone has heard by now. Rob Dibble is done. He finally spewed some venom - suck it up, kid - that poisoned his standing with the team. His "requested vacation" has turned into a permanent absence.

Did anyone really believe that requested vacation stuff? That's some knee-deep bullshit right there, folks.

Here's the thing: I'm glad he's gone from the booth. He'd become a caricature up there. Listening to him grunt, groan and cheer over Bob Carpenter's calls made listening to the broadcasts painful rather than pleasurable. It's disappointing because he was quite capable of quality analysis. In between the horsecrap, he would come up with some good insight. And, for all his cheering, he'd bring the heat when necessary.

I don't think Rob's a bad guy. Truly. One of the nights I spent with the aforementioned Brian was at a restaurant in Crystal City with Rob and some other bloggers (I love you all but you're not leaving so only Brian gets a by-name shoutout). MASN set it up and it was like two games into Rob's tenure. So of course he's going to schmooze and make nice with us. But it didn't seem forced. He seemed to be enjoying himself. If not, he's one hell of an actor.

What he couldn't hide forever, though, was a case of insufferable arrogance. Lord. You saw it in so many places. How dare anybody challenge the great Rob Dibble - did you know he used to play the game?

He got into it with a blogging colleague at one of the blogger days. He got into it with Ray Knight - ON THE AIR - one night. Differences of opinion are fine and they can spice up a broadcast. Dismissive gesutres, eye rolls and being genuinely disrespectful are not fine and Rob was all three in that debate (besides being wrong).

After his Strasburg cracks, he later made some snide comments about Knight on his radio show. That may have been just as egregious as the Strasburg stuff. Hey, Rob, you PLAYED THE GAME. You don't rip teammates in public.

(And I still say Ray could kick his ass 10 ways to Sunday and not have to roll up his sleeves. Don't let Ray's southern charm fool you - I get in a row, he's who I want on my side)

Rob also didn't like to be criticized. Who does? So I get that. But it is part of the turf for broadcasters (and writers and, heck, even us bloggers). For such a tough guy, he had really, really thin skin. You could hear the blood boiling under that thin skin every time he said the word "bloggers." I kept thinking of Yosemite Sam and his "ooooh, I hates rabbits" every time Dibble said "bloggers."

Again, I don't think he's a bad guy at heart. I wish him no ill will at all. I'm just glad he's off "my" broadcasts. For all my kvetching and whining, I still love this team. I still love few things more than sitting down to watch and I'm glad I will be able to do that in relative quiet.

So good luck to you both, Brian and Rob. One of you, I'd welcome back in a heartbeat.

(and let me add right here that if things happen in threes, is a good-bye for Scott Olsen coming soon? Have we seen his last start? Will the Marlins score 50 tonight?)

Combining My Previous Two Posts

2010-08-31T22:30:00.004-04:00

What would happen if Frank Robinson managed Nyjer Morgan?

The fireworks could be fun. Frank might have snapped skinny young Nyjer in half after tonight.

No problem with him running there. Don't you have to slide?

Did postgame really not ask Rigs about that? Surely they did and I just missed it. Right?

Pudge didn't make himself look like a Hall of Famer on that last play either. Keep the glove low. Right? But I'm not about to bust on Pudge. Despite his penchant for making two outs in a single at bat, he's been a better addition than I thought he'd be.

Him, I'll forgive. Besides, I just got his bobblehead in the mail today courtest of eBay.

The other guy? Not so much.

Bring Frank back, please, for just one day. Problem will be solved.

Happy Birthday Frank

2010-08-31T10:01:00.002-04:00

According to my Page-A-Day e-calendar that is delivered to my inbox every morning, one of my favorite sports figures ever has a birthday today.

Happy 75th, Frank Robinson. I bow to your overall greatness.

Yeah, I agree, the time was right to make a change when the Nationals made it - thought with the way things worked out maybe they should have left well enough alone. As expected given that JimBow was still in charge, that change was handled poorly. Frank deserved a lot better.

Even though he played for the hated Orioles, I loved watching Robinson play baseball. The man had some skills.

Say what you will about him as a manager, he will forever be responsible for one of the Nats greatest moments. When you rank your top five, don't forget the night he offered to replace several of Mike Scioscia's body parts.

One of my best afternoons as a sports writer came many years ago, when a relatively young Frank Robinson visited Richmond as part of some sort of promotional tour. I can't even remember what he was doing at the time - managing someone somewhere, I think. The local newspaper for retired people sent me out to do a story on a freelance basis.

I introduced myself, told him what I was doing and he gave me that Frank stare and said, "So what the hell do you want to talk to me for then? Do I LOOK retired? Do I act retired?"

Uh, no, but I think that's the point.

He laughed, patted me on the shoulder and we sat down and talked for about an hour. Speaking of top fives, I'd put it in my top five interviews of all time. He was very open, very frank (or Frank, pun intended).

He closed with, "Trust me, son, people my age aren't old. I have lots of life left, lots of things to do."

He's gone through his 60s since then and halfway through his 70s and you can darn sure say he was telling the truth.

I wish he was more involved with the Nationals. Not sure in what capacity he'd fit, but if Mike Rizzo can hire 97 assistants surely the Nats could have found some spot for him.

He's 75 now but trust me, he's still not old.

Happy Birthday Frank. Here's hoping you're good for about 50 more.

Nyjer (Again)

2010-08-29T13:45:00.002-04:00

When Nyjer Morgan got called out for missing the plate last night, I was, uh, indisposed. My wife relayed the news to me when I got back in, leaving out the part about him seemingly missing the plate on purpose so he could plow into the Cardinals' catcher.

Having seen it several times now, I have no doubt that's exactly what happened. I applaud Jim Riggleman for yanking him today, though part of me wishes he'd put Nyjer in long enough for Adam Wainwright to blast him but good and THEN yank him.

As Mark Zuckerman at Nats Insider and Dave Nichols at Nats News Network wrote, Nyjer was having a pissy fit because he was dropped from first to eighth in the order. Great quote from Riggleman about Nyjer maybe thinking that was Rigs back there in the catcher's gear. He takes his frustrations out on the opposing catcher. How nice.

Two things, Nyjer: 1. Grow up. 2. How's batting eighth compared to batting nowhere, which is where you are today?

And I'm wonder if maybe that's where he ought to stay.

Nyjer won a lot of us over last year, and I fell as hard as anybody. I was so in love. He brought much needed speed to the offense and defense along with an infectious personality that had the whole world smiling.

It might not have been a complete mirage. He has been playing better since the all-star break and he's still really fast. But, and this is important, he also plays brain dead way too much (we either didn't see that last year or chose not to see it) and that infectious personality turns into spoiled brat when he's not happy.

As an old football coach friend says, he's nowhere near good enough to be an asshole.

I'm quite fine with Willingham, Bernadina and Morse as next season's outfield. I'm fine with SeptemberCallup, Bernadina and Morse as the rest of this year's outfield (though I suspect Morse is next year's 1B when the brass blows it with Dunn).

Bernadina may not be quite as fast as Morgan but where else is Morgan better? Bernadina will hit just as well and knock it out of there 10-15 times if he plays a full season. You want a little more pop in your corners, so maybe that's not Bernadina. Heck, he may not even be the ideal answer in CF. But if the debate is Bernadina or Morgan, given what we've seen this season, is there really any debate?

Does Morgan fit in as any part of the team? It's been years since the A's used what's his name as their regular pinch runner. You can't waste a roster spot for that nonsense and, besides, who trusts Nyjer on the bases anymore? You can't have him as your fourth outfielder because you need your fourth outfielder to pinch hit here and there and have a shot at knocking it out of there. Morgan would have to hit it twice to get it out of the park.

Riggleman says he doesn't want to disrespect the game by playing callups too much in September and he doesn't want to rip off the paying public by playing a Triple A team for major-league ticket prices. Let me reassure you, Jim, that if I do come to the park anymore this year, I won't demand a refund if Nyjer is on the bench and some AAA (or AA or A or Rookie League) callup is in the outfield in his sted.

You could even put Bryce Harper out there and I'd be fine.

The Nats Nation seems to be getting over Nyjer like our nation got past that disco phase many years ago. Good job sitting him today. Consider making it permanent.

On Jee-SUS and Elbows and Stuff

2010-08-27T18:17:00.003-04:00

I was going to post this earlier but thought I'd wait until I was a little less disappointed. As much as I like to vent, I truly try not to do too much of it when emotions are high. So I thought I'd try to calm down first.

That could take a while. Might as well spew now.

My wife, fortunately for her, was at work all day and is going to hear a speaker tonight. The poor dogs won't come near me. They think I'm mad at them, the way I've been stomping around and contributing (heavily) to the swear jar all day. Some guy stopped by the house and said he'd been told to come remove all sharp objects and my shoe laces.

I tried to drown myself in the shower. Didn't work. I put on my Strasburg t-shirt in his honor and will later burn a candle in honor of his elbow.

Then I will head plant the melted wax. Can't hurt any worse.

Let me try to organize all that is going through my head right now. It's more of a mess than usual so work with me here.

*First, and most important, I feel awful for the kid. Yeah, I'll admit it. I cried just a bit. For him, truly, not for my own disappointment (and new conviction that being a Nats fan means being cursed).

Yes, I know Stephen Strasburg has more ability, more poise and, yes, more money than most of us will know in a lifetime. He's still a kid. He's barely 22. He's younger by a several years than both my kids. I hurt for him.

Adam Kilgore is one of many who has material up from his meeting with the press. As expected from such a poised young man, he handled it well and is going into it with the right attitude. Whining and moaning and giving it the "why me?" treatment won't change a thing. Ligament is still torn, still needs the surgery. So good for him there, not that I'm surprised.

But it still has to be a terrible feeling for him, because despite the success rate (more on that later) there is some uncertainty. My bet is he'd give back all the money he's made to date to have this thing not be happening. Pitching a baseball better than most everyone in the world is his gift, his blessing, and that's been taken away. Probably only temporary but, right now, 12-18 months seems like forever.

I know how I'd feel if it was my kid, so I feel for his folks, too. And his wife. Mostly for him. I almost want to give him a hug.

I vented earlier this week about some dissatisfactions and I don't know when I'll be back at the stadium this year. I'll promise you this: I saw Jee-SUS' first game and I'll damn sure see his first game back. Stay strong, young man. Bust your ass and the days will fly by.

*My Mr. Brightsides attitude isn't working very well today but there's no denying this: The success rate for this surgery is very high and it is a long, long, long list of pitchers who have had it and returned and done very well. You almost wonder if it wasn't inevitable at some point with him anyway, so let's get it over with now. Even if he misses all of next year, he'll be only 23 when he pitches on Opening Day in 2012.

He doesn't have to look hard or far for examples. Kilgore noted in another update that 10 pitchers on this year's All-Star teams were Tommy Johns. Dang. Great tidbit there. I didn't know that.

Just off the top of my head last night, I came up with a sweet start to the All-TJ rotation of Chris Carpenter, Tim Hudson, Josh Johnson and Jordan Zimmermann. Throw in Ryan Dempster, too. You could bring Billy Wagner and Joakim Soria out of the pen.

Johnson made it back in 11 months, with some nice numbers since. Nice story here.

Kilgore also noted that the rookie pitching for the Cardinals tonight, Jaime Garcia, is a TJ guy, too. He's won 11 games and has a 2.42 ERA. He may be rookie of the year.

Didn't Sean Burnett have this, too? And Luis Atilano? Not in the same class as the others but still.

I'm convinced, totally convinced, he'll be fine. But, yeah, 12-18 months right now seems like for-fricking-ever.

*But, uh, ah, what if he's in the 8-15 percent group of non-successes? I read that the success rate is 85-92 percent. It doesn't work for everyone. OK, I'll stop now.

*I'm on record as being an Uncle Stan fan, as much as he drives me nuts sometimes. I loved his "I'm not a doctor" quote about Ramblin' Rob Dibble as much as any quote I've ever seen. I can hear him delivering it with that great sarcastic touch he has. So maybe this is another bright side. Does it speed up the departure from the booth? The broadcast just came on as I was typing this so I don't know if he's back tonight. Phil Wood is still on pregame, so maybe not. Maybe he's done already??

The more I think about his comments earlier in the week, the angrier I get. He basically called the kid a pussy - suck it up and all that.

Can you imagine how much it must hurt to throw a pitch and have your ligament tear?

*Didn't some Phillies doctor check him out Saturday and say Strasburg would be fine and could pitch Thursday? Yeesh. Do the Phillies let this dude within 10 miles of Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins?

Stunning. About 11 weeks ago, I was in a packed Nats Park with a whole lot of others (including my kids) watching one of the finest sports performances I've seen in a life spent watching them (thank gosh I got that DVD). We floated out of the stadium that night, just floated. Legitimate, honest-to-goodness hope filled the air.

And now?

I guess my poll is kind of moot. I'll leave it up over the weekend and come up with something good next week. Maybe I'll feel better by then. Right now, I still feel like I'm sure most of the Nats Nation feels. Like I've been kicked hard somewhere you don't want to be kicked at all.

We'll Know Soon

2010-08-27T10:12:00.003-04:00

UPDATE - Sadly, I'm not wrong. DAMN. Signifcant tear, Rizzo says. TJ surgery likely. DAMN. DAMN.

The conference call is at 10:30, just around the corner. I'm sure there are a million reasons to do it this way rather than just wait until everybody gets to the park, but I can't think of one that doesn't involve bad news.

I'm a pessimist by nature and I'd love to be wrong here. But I suspect we're going to hear the dreaded words "Dr. Andrews" on this call and not in a "he doesn't need to go see Dr. Andrews" kind of way.

If it's good news, no need to do it away from the park. If it is bad news, get the "WHAM" aspect out of the way early, although the ballpark scene will still be a zoo as my media buddies scramble to get reaction.

If it's THE bad news, we can take heart in knowing TJ surgery isn't the death sentence many used to think. Tim Hudson. Chris Carpenter. Josh Johnson. Jordan Zimmermann. I could go on and on and on and on.

It's just a lost year but there's no reason to think a pitcher can't come back and be just as good. The Nats won't be champions until 2012 anyway, right?

Ain't working. My stomach still hurts. Who wants to lose a year of this kid? No one.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe - please please please - I'm wrong.

We'll know soon.

The End of the Road?

2010-08-25T10:19:00.003-04:00

Who says I can't find good news in bad times? I'm The Good News King.

Take last night for instance. LOTS of good news to be had:

*My friend Michael and I got up there early enough to enjoy a meal at Five Guys, the cheaper one outside the park. I need to stop doing that because it won't help my ever-expanding waistline. But dang it's good.

*The t-shirts are pretty cool. And a friend didn't want it, so I got an extra one for my wife. I have a nice collection of freebie t-shirts now. I'm too fat to actually wear them but my goal is to lose enough weight so's I can. I won't need to buy new clothes.

*I ran into my brother Jim and sister-in-law Carolyn and was able to have a brief visit with them. I ran into one of my students from the spring, Lizi, and was able to have a nice conversation with her. I ran into my friend Dave Nichols, who along with his wife Cheryl runs the Nats News Network (more on Dave later). It was like old home week.

*Traffic was cake. As noted, made it up there early. I was home before midnight - though there's a caveat to that one. I was in the car for the bottom of the ninth, though not yet to the interstate. Note to Charlie: I truly love you and Dave but a fly ball that doesn't make the warning track is not WAY BACK! WAY BACK! Way to give me a stress test there, pal.

*The thought-to-be-dead Nats showed a little life in the ninth, not that I saw it and not that it changed the outcome. But at least they rewarded those who stayed (and it didn't seem to be too many, judging from the crowd ahead of me out the gate).

Despite all that good news, I'm not sure how often I'll be back. Besides the t-shirts, I can do most everything above without going to the park. And the actual games and team are starting to flusterate me more than my health can stand.

It has little to do with the fact that Flippin Pizza on the upper concourse is always closed too flippin early. My previous visit, it wasn't open at all. Last night, it was closed by the sixth. Good thing those Five Guys burgers are filling.

My flusteration has more to do with what I'm continually watching. Michael, wise beyond his years, noted on the way to the car that it is well beyond time to expect to see a really good, competitive team. The novelty of baseball being back is gone. The novelty of the new stadium is gone. It's no longer cute to suck every year.

And watching this team, I'm no longer convinced greatness is just a step or two away - unless your steps are ginormously large. I'm not really convinced this team is all that much closer than it was in 2006.

The 20-15 start was a mirage that, as it turns out, is only going to serve to muck up the Nats' draft position next year. Mark Zuckerman noted in his blog this week that the Nats have played at a 59-win pace since then. Hmmmm. Isn't that what the team won the past two years?

Are we SURE this team isn't going to lose 100 games again? Especially if you-know-who doesn't pitch again this year (and he probably shouldn't).

Right before we left, Michael and I spent some time chatting with the aforementioned Dave Nichols. Always a pleasure (more good news!), he knows his stuff. The aggravation I mentioned to him is that I could look out on the field as the Nats played defense and not be terribly certain about who would be out there next year.

Mark this much down: Ryan Zimmerman will be the third baseman. Pudge will be the catcher, but the team best be transitioning to Wilson Ramos.

Let's go around the rest of the diamond:

Do we know who is the 2011 first baseman? Not a clue. Dunn? Pena? Someone else? Second base? Not close to a clue. Espinosa? Is the team truly committed to Ian Desmond as the future shortstop?

Who's in left? You'd think Willingham. Are you sure? Will the team pony up what he's going to cost in arbitration or try to trade him? Is Nyjer the CF of the future? And who, pray tell, will settle in right? Has Roger Bernadina answered that question? (Jayson Werth is a free agent, just saying).

You can probably say five spots are certain: Pudge/Ramos, Zim, Desmond, Willingham, Morgan (though I'm still not sold). That's still a whole lot of question marks (1B, 2B, RF) going into year SEVEN. Too many.

While we're at it, are we SURE who is going to manage the team next year? Yeah, I know Rizzo said Jimmy Rigs would be back. If this fade continues, is that certain? I really like the guy and want him to succeed but he overmanages like no one I've ever seen. When you feel like you have to pinch-hit for your No. 5 hitter with the bases-loaded in the seventh, well, there's a problem somewhere (maybe with the No. 5 hitter). Of course the always important left-right matchups come into play. I'd like to burn that book.

Here's another unsolicited tip: When your bench includes a group of Mendoza Line failures like Kevin Mench (.083), Willie Harris (.177), Justin Maxwell (.102) and Wil Nieves (he's upgraded to .203!), you might want to stay the hell away from it as much as humanly possible.

More good news! Michael found our tickets on StubHub in the 300-level where we usually sit. 30 bones for two and one usually costs that much when you add in the ridiculous fees. So we each paid 20 for tickets and parking. Much more reasonable.

But there's gas to get up there and back and time when you live in Richmond. It's an investment I'm not sure I'm willing to make that much longer. I can still be a fan. Right here. I can still blog. Right here. I can just save myself a lot of time, money and aggravation by limiting my D.C. trips to visits with the family and staying away from Nats Park until the Nats give me a real reason to come back.

All that said, I'll probably be back on Saturday. It is bobblehead night, you know? This is a freaking sickness and there's no known cure. Not even heavy doses of bad baseball year after year after year seem to do the trick.

Jee-SUS is Hurt

2010-08-21T22:27:00.002-04:00

and I don't feel so good myself.

Strained flexor tendon. Tells me little of anything I know anything about, but Ray Knight has said several times it isn't terrible news. IF, he noted, it didn't pull off the bone.

Which we won't know until that MRI.

Somebody tweeted that one of the Marlins has been out with this injury since May?

Odds of us seeing Jee-SUS again this season? My guess is no chance. J-Zimm takes his turn in the rotation and we'll see Jee-SUS in Viera in February.

Every time this kid throws a pitch, I'm going to cross my fingers and clench. I'm way too old for this.

Roger Bernadina sure had a hell of a night. Very impressive home run, looked like the ball was in on his hands and he powered it out of there anyway. Super catch in the ninth. I thought Dibble was going to have the big one afterward trying to encourage the double play.

Bernadina becomes a footnote tonight, however. Always good to beat the Phils and My Son the Braves Fan and all his cohorts are thrilled. But I'd trade it for a 100 percent Jee-SUS.

Did I say I'm way too old for this? If he's seriously injured (like it IS off the bone), I'm done with this game.

WTF Lineups

2010-08-20T09:57:00.003-04:00

About 11 yesterday morning, I sent My Son the Braves Fan a note: Congrats on the sweep.

I had seen the Nats' lineup moments before. Hammer done for the year. Dunn taking a day off (didn't they just have one Monday?). Roger Bernadina batting third. No dis on Roger, who has grown on me this season. But third? A bottom four of Kennedy-Ramos-Harris (not me)-Lannan?

Yeah, right.

So of course the Nats win. Pretty easily in fact. Harris (not me) hit one so far it actually cleared the wall at Nats Park as well as Turner Field.

I'd have to do some actual research on this to see if I'm right, but I'm willing to bet I am. Now and then, a few times a month, Jimmy Rigs throws what I call a WTF lineup out there. As in, "WTF is he thinking?" I whine and moan and try to find something to do other than watch the game because I know, just know, the Nats are going to get creamed that day.

Most of the time, they not only don't get creamed - they win.

So consider this a vote for a WTF lineup every single day.

As for tonight, I wonder what kind of odds you can get on Jason Marquis vs. Roy Halladay? Astronomical, I'd assume. You can even say it is a WTF pitching matchup.

So bet on Jason and the Nats.

No Complaints With Mr. Dibble on THAT One

2010-08-18T20:24:00.002-04:00

"That is awful."

Dead on, Rob (albeit pretty obvious).

He was talking about the mile-high popup that an (alleged) major-league second baseball and (alleged) major-league right fielder left fall between them, each a couple of feet away.

Seriously?

This team will be the death of me long before Bryce Harper rides in to save the day.

Dibble could have added a couple of words that begin with "f" before awful and I would not have complained.

YEE-HA (but quieter)

2010-08-17T08:13:00.002-04:00

I'll never forget sitting at the computer a year ago, hitting refresh refresh refresh refresh a million times, waiting on the big news.

I don't know who reported it first. I saw it first on my bud Brian Oliver's great site, Nationals Farm Authority. I immediately went upstairs and started jumping up and down on my trying-to-sleep Son (the Braves Fan), yelling as loud as I could, "YOUR NIGHTMARE IS HERE," over and over again. And I'm pretty loud even when I whisper.

This year, I didn't do that. The main reason is my son no longer lives here and I didn't feel like driving 130 miles at midnight just to mess with him, fun as it would have been.

The other reason is I don't feel nearly as jacked as I did a year ago.

That's not a rip on young Bryce Harper. I'm glad he agreed to terms (has he actually signed anything yet?). But the differences between Harper and Jee-SUS go well beyond their position and the eventual money and all that.

Strasburg was about as sure a thing as has come along in ages, and he's done nothing to disprove that. You knew, knew he was going to be part of the Nationals very soon. You could see it, could see him playing with the same core of players. You could feel it. Jee-SUS was coming (though we didn't know that was his name just yet) and coming soon.

Harper? I have t-shirts older than Harper. He's a ways away from the majors, so we're told (though the major-league part of his deal is intriguing). It's just hard to get excited about something you can't readily see. Never mind that he's not as much of a sure thing. Even if he IS a sure thing, there's that when question.

Who will be the manager of the Nats when he finally arrives, probably in 2013?

How many of the current 25 will be on the team then? Six? Fewer?

Who will be President of the United States?

Will the Redskins be on their first or second quarterback since McNabb?

The Capitals will win 210 regular season games between now and Harper's arrival but how many Stanley Cups?

I'm not getting any younger. Will I still have all my faculties when Harper arrives? Will I still be alive?

Assuming I'm still here, I'll get more excited as the time draws closer. While I still need a telescope to see that time, I'll be a bit more subdued.

Of course, I'm the guy who wrote that he should have been in right field June 9. But no one ever listens to me.

Done. Good Night

2010-08-17T00:06:00.002-04:00

Check the "mainstream" media for terms, etc. I've seen as low as 6 mil and as high as 11 mil. Obviously, only one figure is correct. And I'm guessing this was done comfortably before the deadline.

Release courtesy of the Washington Nationals:

WASHINGTON NATIONALS AGREE TO TERMS WITH BRYCE HARPER, FIRST OVERALL SELECTION IN 2010 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT
NATIONALS SECURE CONTRACTS WITH 25 OF TOP 26 SELECTIONS IN ‘10 DRAFT

The Washington Nationals tonight agreed to terms on a Major League contract with College of Southern Nevada outfielder Bryce Harper, the first-overall selection in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement.

Harper—who stands 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. and hails from Las Vegas—hit .443 (101-for-228) with 23 doubles, four triples, 31 home runs, 98 RBI, 39 walks and 20 stolen bases in 66 games for College of Southern Nevada in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, which uses wood-bats. Despite being the youngest player in the SWAC, Harper posted .526 and .987 on-base and slugging percentages, respectively, en route to a stellar 1.513 OPS (OBP+SLG) this season. He led his team and conference in virtually every primary offensive category.

Harper, 17, was named 2010 SWAC Player of the Year and also earned First-Team SWAC All-Conference status. Harper’s 31 home runs in 2010 set a College of Southern Nevada single-season mark, easily besting the former record of 12, which was set during CSN’s era using aluminum bats.

Last season, Harper was cited as Baseball America’s High School Player of the Year after he batted .626 with 14 home runs, 55 RBI and 36 stolen bases in 39 games for Las Vegas High School. The season prior, in 2008, Harper hit .590 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI in just 38 games as a high school freshman. In March of 2009, Harper became the first high school sophomore ever named a Pre-Season First-Team All-American by Baseball America.

The left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing Harper sports extensive baseball experiences gained beyond his high school and college careers. He was a member of USA Baseball’s 2009 Under 18 Team (.294 with four doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI in eight games) that went a perfect 8-0 to claim the COPABE Pan Am AAA Championships in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Harper also played in the 2009 AFLAC All-American Game (‘09 Jackie Robinson Award presented by AFLAC), the Area Code Games (‘08 All Area Code Team) and International High School Power Showcase Home Run Derby (‘09 Ryan Howard Award).

The Nationals signed or agreed to terms with 33 players from their 2010 First-Year Player Draft, including 25 of their top 26 selections.

Why Am I Still Awake?

2010-08-16T23:02:00.001-04:00

I swore I wasn't going to do this again. I was going to bed at a reasonable hour and I was going to get up in the morning and find out if Bryce Harper signed.

Sure. Right. Ain't gonna happen.

I'll be awake until there's some news. It sure as heck better be good.

Dibble and Women - WOW

2010-08-14T14:09:00.005-04:00

Sunday a.m. update - Rob Dibble's blog Harder to tell with written rather than spoken words but I'm going to label it sincere

Sunday p.m. update - now we have an on-air apology delivered. I still don't like his cheering over Bob's calls but it would be less than gracious not to accept the apology for this one and move on. So apology accepted. Moving on.

Wednesday night was the night I turned the game off early to watch Top Chef, which hacked me off more than the Nats game did (no spoilers, though, in case you taped it).

Should have stayed with the game. Or maybe not. My wife might still be screaming, as well she should.

Check this out if you are as clueless as I was about this situation.

I didn't watch on Thursday because I was at the game, waiting out the rain delay in the bar and then listening to the end after the kids and I bailed early. I didn't watch last night as I was driving home from the AOL offices.

So I don't know if it has been addressed on air. Has it? If not, it should be. Has MASN said anything? Apologies? Anything? Bueller? Bueller?

My wife goes to a lot of games. She keeps score, in a Bob Carpenter Scorebook (Bob is blameless here, my point is the woman I married pays attention and pays attention to the people in the booth). My daughter goes to a lot of games. She went back with some friends last night. She knows baseball, knows the Nats almost as well as I do.

My sister and sister-in-law go to more games than I do, and I'd put their knowledge of the Nats up against anyone's.

I can't believe Dibble will be able to get any with what sounds like smug insults of a good portion of the fan base. Sexist and stupid, those comments.

My guess is, like most who make sexist and stupid comments, he meant zero harm. I don't think Rob Dibble is sexist or stupid. He just didn't think before he opened his yap. He thought he was being funny. Like a lot of times Dibble thinks he is being funny, he missed badly.

I hope his arrogance doesn't get in the way of making a proper apology. Not a forced apology, mandated by the brass. A real, live apology. (If one has been made already, then I offer a proper apology). You can tell the difference easily.

Very eager to see what happens with this one. If something already has happened, please clue me in.

Well done John Lannan. But.

2010-08-14T09:19:00.002-04:00

Congrats to John Lannan for pitching a fine game and snapping the Nats' latest losing streak. For you, sir, I stayed away since my luck has run dry. The Nats don't win when I'm in the house anymore. I sat out that rain delay on Thursday and even Livo couldn't cope with me there.

I don't think any of us have ever questioned whether Lannan has the "stuff" to win at the major-league level. He clearly does. When he's on, he's rather good.

But here's what I want to see out of Lannan, and most of the Nats pitchers not named Jee-SUS or Livo, actually: Win when your stuff ain't there. Because of a lot of times for every pitcher, it ain't there. And almost every time, that spells disaster for the Nats.

I'm sure I've expounded on my five-five theory here before. Don't worry. I'll do it again.

I have a theory that any pitcher good enough to start a full season in the bigs has five great games in them. Games where everything is working. They'll win four of them. The other? Bad luck, the opponent is also having a night, that kind of thing. Jee-SUS' debut is a fine example. On as on can be but it could have been a loss because one pitch was hit out and the Nats were down for a while.

They'll also have five games where the stuff stinks for whatever reason. They'll lose four of them. They'll get lucky once or the other guy will be worse. Jee-SUS had one of his five last time out.

What makes a decent pitcher good or a good pitcher great is what he does the other 25 or so starts when he's neither lights out nor horrific. How do you find a way to win when you are down a cylinder (as my racing friends like to say)? Those who figure it out are prized pitchers.

I saw Livo throw 42 pitches against the Braves in the first inning earlier this year. He got some bad breaks (at least one misplayed ball that I remember) and some good breaks (at least one great catch that I remember) but the key is Braves were on the bases all inning and only one scored. Livo worked his way through some crap and the Nats went on to win.

As much as I loved Jee-SUS' debut, I fell more in love on July 3 against the Mets. He was slightly off his feed but left down just 2-0. He kept it from getting out of hand and the Nats won.

Lannan, Stammen, Martin, Olsen *** I could go on and on but none of those guys seem to be able to work their way through when it isn't one of the GreatFIve Starts. That 2-0 against the Mets would have been 6-0.

So, yeah, I'm glad John Lannan seems to be back to being on more than off. I hope he's able to wedge his way into that rotation of greatness we've been told repeatedly is on the way. Maybe he found some magic elixer and he'll be "on" every time out.

We all know that isn't the case. So get back to me when Lannan (and the rest, he's far from alone in this) figure out how to win when the A game is back in the clubhouse.

Holy Schmokes - It's Aug. 12? Where's Bryce?

2010-08-12T13:19:00.001-04:00

Wow. Where did time go? You get busy and it's Aug. 12. Wasn't it Willie Nelson who sang ain't it funny how time slips away?

Will Bryce Harper slip away?

I know nothing but my hunches all say this will get done. This kid wants no part of school, no part of another JUCO season, no part of injury risk. He wants to sign and play. I think it will get done.

What will it cost and what's reasonable? I have no idea there, either. He's younger and therefore (we assume) further away from the majors than Jee-SUS. So I don't see Jee-SUS money being involved. But maybe it will go that high, or higher.

What will it take and do you see it getting done?

The Silver Lining

2010-08-11T19:56:00.002-04:00

The song from Spamalot is cascading through my head - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life! So I will.

Tonight's bright side is Top Chef is on in an hour and I can turn this damn game off. I suppose I could just go ahead and do it now. Top Chef is down to, what, eight? They could probably still beat this team. Kenny is the pitcher since he's a "beast" on the mound just like in the kitchen.

Speaking of which, I wonder if tonight is the night they're at Nats Park?

What the hell has happened to this team? I'm going up tomorrow, my first live game since the disaster against the Mets on July 4. Meeting the kids - both live in that area now - and some friends. Looking forward to that. The game? Not so much. Though I think Livan is pitching? Another bright side.

And another: I'll be there early enough to get one of those Strasburg debut DVDs they're giving away. Good. It will remind me of one fabulous, fun night when I actually had some hope.

IMPORTANT! Non-Baseball Help Needed

2010-08-08T09:38:00.002-04:00

Nook or Kindle?

Yeah, this is a crucial decision we must make soon. My wife has requested an electronic reader for her upcoming birthday. Being the wonderful, accomodating husband I am, I will oblige. I got her a Lastings Milledge autographed baseball last year. I guess she got tired of reading that.

You'd think this would be a simple thing but it isn't. We spent about an hour at a local Barnes and Noble yesterday playing with the Nook. Still no decision. She actually said, I swear, "Throw it out there on your blog. Intelligent people read your blog." So after you stop laughing uncontrollably, chime in. I threw it out to my Facebook community and it was split down the middle.

To me, they're the exact same thing. Do you like saying "Nook" or "Kindle" better?

There are some differences. The Nook is slightly heavier but not enough to make a difference. The Kindle holds 2,000 more books but shouldn't the 1,500 the Nook holds be enough? The Nook allows sharing with other Nook owners. The Nook can be serviced in person at your local B&N. The Nook is $10 more expensive, hardly a big deal. The Nook, so B&N says, has a much bigger selection of available material.

So it should be a no-brainer as all those tilt toward Nook. But B&N may be sold soon - what happens then?

We agree that the extra $50 for 3G seems like a waste. But, but salesperson said - suppose you're out on the beach and you want to download a book? How about we just download one before we hit the beach, using our home wifi? I can't remember the last time I was somewhere I couldn't poach a wifi.

So what say you, intelligent blog-reading community? Nook? Or Kindle?

(just so it is Nationals related, she can haul her reader into Nationals Park easier than hauling in her books and magazines. Yes, she does that. Have to be prepared for blowouts and rain delays)

Four More Years! Four More Years!

2010-08-07T09:19:00.003-04:00

We're baccckkkkk, which is good news or bad news depending on your point of view. My road trip is over, I'm back in the saddle and ready to roll. I'll have a post later this weekend filling you dear readers in on all the things I learned on my two-week-plus jaunt across the country (Wrigley is cool, deep stuff like that).

But first I wanted to chime in with this: Four more years, four more years! How tough is it to do a four-year, $60 million deal for Adam Dunn? Too high? Too long? Nonsense. It is a bargain compared to some other contracts out there and the Nats ought to get it Dunn (weak pun, used again, sorry).

I got some goose bumps last Saturday when Dunn got his standing ovation for his first at-bat after the trading deadline. Clearly I'm not the only one who wants Dunn around for a while. My only regret is I was not in the stadium that night to start a "FOUR MORE YEARS, FOUR MORE YEARS" chant every time he came to bat.

I managed to stay awake long enough to see him drive in six runs by the third inning, enough for John Lannan.

Why would you NOT want this guy on your team long term? Yeah, I know. He strikes out a lot (he hits it out a lot, too). Yeah, I know. He's not the Big Cat over there at first base. So shore up some other areas and live with that. You simply cannot take that big bat out of the lineup.

Before Dunn arrived, Manny Acta talked about needing that big bat. That big bat is named Adam Dunn. I know Ryan Zimmerman is the face of the franchise and Stephen Strasburg is Jee-SUS and the leader of a (so we're told) about-to-be awesome rotation. Lose Dunn and that doesn't matter. Too many resources (read - dollars) will be used trying to replace him (the answer is not in the system). Keep him and then go about figuring out an everyday second baseman, deciding if Mik, uh, Michael Morse can be the regular RF and the next Jayson Werth, figure out that rotation, etc.

With Dunn, I truly believe the Nats aren't that far away IF this rotation nonsense we're getting fed turns out to be true. Without Dunn, the Nats take one big step backward.

Is he Teixiera? No. He's also not looking for Teix money. This should be the biggest no brainer of them all and I think I may be more upset if Dunn isnt' signed than I will be when Bryce Harper doesn't get signed.

Seriously. Get this Dunn. NOW.

On Capps and Trades and Stuff

2010-07-30T18:45:00.002-04:00

I hate the Matt Capps trade. Hate it. Hate it.

Not the actual trade. I understand the way the game is today and that this move pretty much had to be made. Seems like the Nats got more out of it than they had a right to expect. I'm not going to jump on the Rizzo gushfest - I think the words Debbi Taylor used on pregame were "worked his magic again" - because there's been enough of that already. I'm told no kneepads are available anywhere in the D.C. area after everyone bowed to his greatness in prying Wilson Ramos from the Twins (a guy so good he's going straight to AAA instead of to the bigs).

What I hate is that the Nats are always in this position and that the game has "evolved" to the point that this crap happens every year with bad teams. Baseball, one of my colleagues noted on SportsJournalists.com, has become a game of lower-echelon teams moving their top players in exhange for lottery picks.

Wilson Ramos may go on to be the next Pudge Rodriguez. Or maybe not. Who knows? I can't think of any prospects the Nats have gained in deals over the years who have made any kind of major impact. Matt Chico? A serviceable AAAA pitcher. Garrett Mock? How about no? Shairon Martis? Looked like it for a while but that was just a mirage. I'm sure I'm missing someone and would love to know I'm wrong. You CAN get a star in the future by giving one up now! Hey, the Rangers got Elvis Andrus, the Cardinals got Adam Wainwright (think the Braves would like either one of them back?) so it can happen. When will it happen to the Nats?

When will it happen that the faithful among us don't have to worry about it every single year? When will the Nats be buyers? I remember the last day of my New York vacation in 2006, trying to find a TV so I could watch the ticket and see if Soriano had been traded. Every damn year, it's a crapshot as to what the team will look like after Aug. 1 and I hate, hate, hate that. Hate it.

I have a sinking feeling I'll see Dunn soon and it won't be in D.C. I have tickets to the White Sox game on Sunday. Maybe I'll see his first AL home run.

If Dunn goes, I'm Dunn. Why bring in good players - and yes, he's a good player despite his flaws - only to move them quickly becuase the rest of the team isn't good enough? How about trying to make the rest of YOUR team good enough NOW?

Back to Capps, yeah, good deal if you have to move him. Do you really have to move him? He's 26 and proven to be pretty darn good. The more I think about it, the more his All-Star spot was legit. So you have to pay the man a little. That's the way it works. Would it suck so much to go into 2011 with a proven closer who makes a lot and some very good setup people around him? You have this incredible rotation about to happen - or so we're told a lot - so why not have a guy like Capps around to save all those victories they're going to compile?

Every year, we think this team is 2-3 years away. Best guess now is they're still 2-3 years away. I'm going to stick my neck out and say we'll be saying next year they're 2-3 years away.

Or maybe YOU'LL be saying it next year. I'm about done.

Greetings from Dallas

2010-07-28T08:45:00.002-04:00

where the text message that arrived at 6:05 p.m. local time said, "When did Strasburg turn into Batista?"

My Son the Braves Fan and his beautiful sister were using my tickets last night. I'm on the road again, making a tour of some football conference media days around the country. I had just arrived at the Rangers' stadium to see Cliff Lee take on the As when I got that message.

"Do NOT screw with me on something like that. Not funny. I'm old and fat and at risk."

"I'm NOT screwing with you. Miguel Batista is pitching. Hey, I wanted to see Strasburg, too. What's wrong with him?"

He's AT the stadium and I'm in Dallas and I have to get that info? Fortunately, the BlackBerry refreshes quickly and fortunately my media buds were all over it and had updates posted fast.

Did it ease my mind? Yes and no. I'm fairly convinced there's nothing serious wrong here but we all know the Nats' lovely history with injuries. When is Flores playing again? So until I see him go seven with 10 or so Ks I won't feel too good.

I do applaud the Nats for pulling the plug quickly. A thread started on SportsJournalists.com took the team to task for continuing to baby him. It's foolish to think this falls into that category. He's never had a problem getting loose before that we know of, and suddenly he doesn't feel right? No thanks. Miguel, you're up.

Let me also take this opportunity to apologize for everything I said back in the spring questioning Batista's presence on the roster. The Nats have lots of problems. He's not one of them. Every team needs a guy like Batista. He now has a win as a starter and a save. I saw him come in a few weeks ago against the Mets when things got out of hand early and strike out seven or so in a "save the rest of the bullpen" stint.

I got back to my hotel last night in time to see him highlights on SportsCenter. Some of his pitches looked positively Strasburg like. Good for him. That qualifies as a pretty clutch performance. The Braves, my son will tell you, are pretty good. They can hit a little.

What's next? Does Jee-SUS pitch as scheduled Sunday (my money is on no)? Does he visit the DL? Is he done for the year? I hope not, because I'd like to see him pitch some more. He's rather fun to watch. But if there are any questions? Shut it down and we'll see you in 2011.

I'm also rather curious to see what shakes the rest of the week. A Rangers fan told me last night they'd love to have a guy like Dunn. I told him to ship over Cliff Lee and I bet that would make it happen. I can't print what he told me.

Who goes, who stays? A meager 42 voted in last week's poll. Of those, 27 say trade Capps and only 15 say keep him. I'm a keep him guy - Store and Save in 2011.

They put us up in some suite last night, in the outfield. Very nice and all but I couldn't get a real feel for the ballpark. It looked awfully nice. I can check it off my list after attending a game there but I can't claim to really know anything about the place.

My tour continues today as I head to LA for the Pac-10 session tomorrow. Then I head home for two days before going to Chicago for the Big Ten session. Guess what? The White Sox are home Sunday and the Cubs are home Monday. I get into town early enough Sunday to catch the Sox. The session on Monday ends early enough to catch the Cubs, so a colleague and I are going to do that. I've never been to either of those parks.

I hope on Sunday I'm spending most of my time watching the Sox but checking my BlackBerry for Strasburg updates. I'm guessing that won't happen.

Oh, and this Cliff Lee guy? Pretty good.

Oh My, Mik, Uh, Michael

2010-07-23T21:19:00.001-04:00

Seriously. Why not? Will it mess up the playoff run? So let's see Morse every day for two months, see if the guy is legit or just a guy with a little pop every now and then.

Bernadina (not my choice), Nyjer, pick one and they sit a while (though Nyj-mo does seem to be warming up a tad). Still, am I nuts here? Don't you have to take a real, live look at this guy, whatever he wants to call himself?

My wife just asked as the second one left the park: Every time I watch him, he hits a home run - so why isn't he in there all the time?

Answer the lady, Jim.

Time for Another Break

2010-07-19T19:49:00.002-04:00

Lawrence Block is one of my favorite authors. He writes myteries and thrillers, both in novel and short story form. He's exceptionally prolific. Eight Million Ways to Die made my Top 10 list I did a number of years ago for some fiction forum. I've read almost everything he's written.

He's so good I almost gave him credit for one of Raymond Chandler's great lines (another great author, while we're at it):

"It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window."--Farewell, My Lovely (Chapter 13)

Mr. Chandler, not Mr. Block, summed up my feeling of being a Nats fan. This is a team to make me kick a hole in every window in my house.

I left the room for five minutes to make a sandwich. I come back and it is 4-0 and Rob (welcome back) is hammering the defense and the decision to play Willie. If you can't catch the ball, you can't play at this level. And on and on and on. He also said something about being tired of watching this defense and he's sure others are, too.

Hand high in air, hand high in air!! And I didn't even see what happened. I can only imagine.

"Nyjer Morgan, Willie Harris. If that's your future, it's not looking too bright." Wow. Rob is on a roll. I mean that as a compliment this time.

I need another break.

Extended Break is Over

2010-07-19T12:42:00.002-04:00

When you get to be my age, four days just isn't long enough for an All-Star break. These kids today, you know? They can recharge their batteries and come back a lot quicker. I needed another weekend, so I took it.

Actually, I was back to work at a three-day meeting with my college sports crew at FanHouse. We all got together to meet (a virtual newsroom is cool but face-to-face contact is rare), plot and plan. And eat and maybe drink some, too. Fantastic time and allow me to plug the site: If you are a college sports fan, you'll want to be there a lot. We have some great stuff in store for the upcoming academic year.

But enough of that. Let's get back to blogging with a question: Are the Nats' bats old like me and in need of extra time off? One inning with runs scored in 27 in Florida? Two pitchers not named Jee-SUS give a Jee-SUS like effort and get no runs in return? The Marlins are held to three runs in three games and the Nats lose two out of three?

Maybe I need a permanent break.

A friend asked me a couple of weeks ago just how it came to be that I bleed curly Ws. This friend didn't know I grew up in Washington and suffered through the Senators, too.

"Oh," he said. "I couldn't think of a reason that made sense."

Not sure I can, either.

We faithful fans are left with another second half without any playoff hope, without a sure idea of what the team will look like in two weeks. Year Six has turned into another version of Years Two-Five. Just once before I die, I'd like to go into August thinking about the rest of the current season rather than wondering about future seasons.

A couple of other things before I crawl back into my hole:

*We raised the total to 56 votes in the last poll. As I expected, most want Adam Dunn to be signed to some sort of extension. Thirty-nine voted for that, 17 voted again.

*I think I'm going to recapture an hour back of my days and stop watching the pre- and post-game shows. I'm getting a little tired of all the smug jabs at the media (that's MY job, dad gummit). Seriously, the two examples from weekend games about sent me off the deep end because they were flat-out wrong and uttered by people who don't have the "joy" of going into a losing clubhouse day-after-day-after-day and asking questions so their readers/viewers can have some answers.

The Strasburg eye-roll got lots of attention. I'll admit it right here - I love Strasburg as a pitcher and a player and I'm damn sure glad he's a Nat. If I had to cover him every day, I'm not so sure I'd like him all that much. The TV crew got a good chuckle, as if the eye-roll was deserved because the question was so dumb.

Well, it wasn't. Someone asked about the lack of changeups, a question we sat here and asked as we watched. It was a good and legitimate question, given that so much has been made about what a weapon the pitch is for Jee-SUS. Sorry, Stephen, if our pitching intellect doesn't match yours. You get paid a boatload of money because fans like us are saps and are willing to pay silly prices to see you pitch and buy shirts with your name on it. Suck it up and answer questions that seem beneath you and do it without the snark.

And then ol' Phil Wood thought Adam Kennedy's "obviously" answer was just the funniest damn thing and appropriate for a bad question. This after Kennedy was thrown out by 80 feet at home (but before he got thrown out at second yesterday to complete a wonderful weekend of "obviously" stupid baserunning).

Wrong again. It wasn't obvious and it had to be asked. It deserved a better answer because we fans sure didn't see Pat Listach send him and then try to stop him. And it isn't like players haven't run through signs before. Good on you (I think it was Adam Kilgore) for asking the question.

I have a question for Adam Kennedy that would indeed call for that answer out of him: Are you a waste of the Nats' money and roster space?

Here's some news: We get no news from the pre- and post-game shows. Probably 95 percent of the news we get comes from some combination of Adam at the Post, Mark at NatsInsider.com, Ben at MASN.com (not to be confused with the on-air talent) and Bill at Nationals.com. Of the other five percent, probably 4.99 percent of it comes from national media (and sometimes that's wrong, or Jerry Dipoto would be GM now) and the other smidge from when one of us Mom's Basement dwellers gets lucky.

Zero comes from pre- and post-game shows. Zero. The four main beat guys are in there every single day, a job that seems like a dream until you have to do it. Sure, I rag on them now and then - but rarely and only out of love. I can't recall drilling them on a question they've asked because I know sometimes you have to ask questions that are awkward. Part of the job and someone who doesn't have to do it and has never asked a tough question in his life really has no business mocking those who do.

Yeah, OK, I'm a little worked up over that one. I need another break. And I really need to get my XM fixed.

Two Things (Plus One)

2010-07-10T19:45:00.004-04:00

too many Nats pitchers can't do that drive me too, too crazy:

They can't get strike three.

They can't get the third out.

How the Giants turned that second inning into three runs is beyond me. Actually, I suppose Craig Stammen is lucky this isn't worse. He gives up a hit to Aaron Rowand on an 0-2 count (shocker!) to start the game. Double plays bail him out in the first two innings.

I simply have to get a life and start watching this team two out of every five nights. My TV is too new and too nice to throw something through it, but I fear it may not last the night.

--
Now for the third thing, unrelated to tonight (last time I ripped Stammen in game he turned it around and it is happening again so I'm going to start ripping him daily).

Anyway, go here to vote for Stephen Strasburg for an ESPY. Two actually. Deadline is midnight tonight.

Bron Bron

2010-07-09T19:02:00.003-04:00

As much as I hated the whole spectacle of The World's Biggest and Most Important Decision Ever, I found my fingers on the clicker at 8:58 p.m. and suddenly my TV was tuned into ESPN.

I'd like to think if the Nats had been involved in a competitive game, I would have stuck with Bob and Rah'b. Truth is, I probably would have been switching anyway. I was disgusted and intrigued all at once.

About 10 minutes into Bron Bron's hokey interview with hokey Jim Gray, My Son the Braves Fan (a psychology graduate) said, "Wow, he's actually going to stay with Cleveland)."

You know this how, I asked?

"Body language. I'm trained in this kind of thing."

Not too well, apparently, because we all know by now that Bron Bron is going to Miami to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on a team I sincerely hope finds a way to go 0-82 next season.

Do tell, oh ridiculous, rambling, babbling fool, what does this have to do with baseball or the Nationals? You have a very legitimate reason to ask that question. The answer is twofold: Everything and nothing.

During my years and years away from being a diehard fan of sports or teams, loyalty somehow disappeared. I'm the first to admit that's not the fault of the players, it is the system. I can't fault the players for taking advantage of that system. They have the right (and probably the responsibility) to take as much money as someone is willing to give them during their very short shelf lives as premier athletes.

We probably should expect a Bron Bron moment or two of our own in the future when Ryan Zimmerman and Stephen Strasburg decide to head elsewhere, as the rules of the game allow. I'm sure I'll be screaming as loud as anybody and burning jersies and what not. HOW CAN THEY DO THAT TO US? THEY GREW UP HERE?? TURNCOATS!!

But they didn't really grow up here, did they, except in the athletic sense. We have no claim of roots and no reason to expect any athlete to stick around if someone is offering a bigger pile of cash. That's the system.

My wife thinks people ought to get off Bron Bron's case, that he did nothing wrong. She makes valid points. Of couse he did nothing wrong and he's well within his rights to go to Miami. Or wherever the heck he wanted to go.

I just held out a little hope he wouldn't. I really thought Bron Bron was different. He IS from the Cleveland area. He does have roots there. Plus, quite frankly, I think he does owe that team and town something. It's not like the Cavaliers are the Nationals. They've been pretty darn good. They went to the NBA Finals after the 2007 season and won 60 games each of the past two seasons.

So how 'bout you sack up and stick around to finish the job, Bron Bron?

Instead, he takes less cash and goes off to join Wade and Bosh in town where he defintely will not be king (enjoy playing second fiddle to Little Wyane).

My stomach honest-to-goodness hurt for Cleveland and its sports fan.

My respect for the former King James would have grown 1,000 fold, I would have become his biggest fan, I would have purchased every product he ever endorsed if James had said, "Cleveland, I'm staying home and I'm going to see that we bring a bunch of titles to town."

Instead, he said "I'm going to South Beach."

Maybe he's tired of being king and wants to play second fiddle to someone? Someone else to take the heat (no pun intended) when they don't finish the job?

I wish I had one of his jersies so I could burn it. Yes, I very much realize it isn't fair to take my frustrations with the system out on LeBron James. My anger isn't so much at him personally as it is at the realization that this is the way things are these days and I better get ready for some of my young heroes to rip my heart out one day, just like the Cavaliers faithful had theirs torn out. And stomped on.

All along, I said I didn't care what he did and clearly I do. Maybe I ought to go back to not being a fan of anything.

Dunn De-Dunn Dunn

2010-07-08T09:52:00.003-04:00

First, sorry for a couple of days of silence. Long story but some real-life factors got in the way (damn them). I learned of Ryan Zimmerman's game-winner on Tuesday via text message. But not while driving.

Second, Adam Dunn's theme music ought to be the theme from Dragnet. You younger readers may need to look that one up.

Third, sign him already.

My brother probably just spit something all over his computer. He's not a proponent of long-term Dunn-ness. He just doesn't think his production outweighs the liabilities he brings when there's a glove in his hand rather than a bat.

I don't agree and it isn't a knee-jerk reaction to his three-homer night (I listened to one and saw the other two and I appreciate him hitting a couple after I was back near by beloved TV).

He's a bit of a liability on defense, more because he isn't good enough to save his fellow infielders from errors. So make better throws. Yep, some will always get away. We'll have to live with that. If his colleagues cut down on the errant tosses, it will be easier to live with that.

I've been on record for a long time as liking the guy a lot. I'm sure those who know how to crunch numbers much better than I do can argue against this eight million different ways. That's fine and you may be right.

I still want him around a while and will be very disappointed if he's traded or just not signed. I hear some talk that the Nats want to go after one of the big-name first basemen who will be available after the season. Can anyone guarantee they'll be willing to sign with the Nats? Didn't think so.

Just sign the guy already. He's already a Nat and he claims he wants to stay. Swallow hard, put four years and 60 mil on the table and get it done already. Or Dunn already! Ha. At least I haven't lost that amazing sense of humor.

The new poll will be all about Dunn. Let's hope it draws more than the weak 47 votes last week's poll drew. I hang my head in shame at that total. Of those, 35 said Jee-SUS didn't merit All-Star consideration and 12 said he did. I assume Jee-SUS himself was one of the 35 because he pretty much said he didn't think he should go.

Go vote already, and tell your friends.

All Stars

2010-07-05T09:25:00.002-04:00

My colleage at FanHouse, Jay Mariotti, has a column taking baseball to task for not selecting Stephen Strasburg for the All-Star game.

He makes some good points. In general, though, I come down on the "no" side. Hasn't been there long enough, didn't earn it. Is it a showcase for the players the fans want to see or a reward for a quality half-season? If it is merely a showcase, you can probably pick the participants in March.

That doesn't mean I'm correct.

I must say I was a little surprised when the announcement of Matt Capps making the team flashed on the scoreboard yesterday. No disrespect to Capps, who was certainly lights out during the Nats' good start. His ERA has ballooned in recent weeks and his hits per nine is pretty high. A little better defense and he'd have more saves (who can forget Houston?), a little tougher pitching after some bad breaks/calls and he'd have more saves, too.

I'm not going to rant and say he doesn't belong. His case is probably as strong as any other Nat. I was just surprised. I thought for sure it would be Zimmerman, or Dunn is not Zim. Willingham had a slight chance, I thought, of being the one (and I never thought for a second after that bad June that the Nats would get more than one).

The Nats don't have a dominant player. A number of them are having good years, no one is having a great year. With the Reds' Joey Votto being snubbed, you can't gripe too much about Dunn. A total of 98 Braves make the team but Troy Glaus isn't one of them? Even as those all-star rosters expand, some head-scratching decisions are made

I give Zimmerman a slightly better chance than me of being voted into that final spot. I just don't see the Nats' fan base pulling that off.

As for yesterday's game, I suppose I should thank Craig Stammen for making my point from Saturday about Jee-SUS. The Nats have too many pitchers still who can't get out of their own way. The slightest bit of trouble doesn't get resolved, it gets exacerbated. Strasburg turns what could be a 6-0 deficit into 2-0, keeping his late-sleeping team in the game. Stammen turns 2-0 into 5-0 and all hope is pretty much lost.

Decent long relief by Batista again. Is it time to give him a start just for yuks?

Defensive play in the first by Alberto Gonzalez led to this message from My Son the Braves Fan (with 98 all-stars): Maybe the best defensive play I've seen.

I'm not sure I'd go that far but I'm not sure I wouldn't. That was quite a play.

One more thing while I'm on the game itself. Nats are trying to rally, bases are loaded, Wil Nieves coming up. Yeah, I know all the schools of thought about not using your backup catcher of the day unless you have to - but don't you have to there? Don't you have to bring up Pudge and say to hell with it, try really hard not to get hurt but we need one of your doubles here? Badly?

Sun-Baked and Happy

2010-07-04T09:51:00.003-04:00

Word to the wise: Don't buy tickets in section 320 for a 4 o'clock game. Better to spend your day in a greenhouse. Wow. The sun targets that section and cooks you to a nice medium well.

But it's a happy medium well after that ninth-inning rally. Walk offs are always fun. I would have preferred it on a grand slam - how nuts would the place have gone if the umpire had come out and done the circle thing with his hand? - but I'll take it however it comes.

Heading back for more in a couple of hours and not sitting in a sun seat today, thankfully. A few thoughts from yesterday:

*Isn't it about time for Storen as the eighth-inning guy? When Clippard's first pitch got hit really hard, I turned to my wife and said, "They need to take him out right now." Doesn't seem to be a middle ground with him. He looks really good or he gets crushed and Option B has been all too frequent lately. Give Storen a look.

*No more big ribs. Tried it again yesterday. Undercooked and nasty. Pizza and wings for me from now on.

*I told my daughter, who attended with some of her friends, that yesterday was a fine example of why I love Jee-SUS. He was not his sharpest, obviously. My brother was watching on TV and said those early pitches that led to walks were not as close as they looked from Sun Town. And still, he leaves down just 2-0. Some of the Nats' other pitchers turn that into a 6-0 deficit. He turns four-run innings into one-run innings instead of turning one-run innings into four-run innings. He's really, really good and there's still room for growth. It boggles my little mind to think how good he can become.

A must-read by my colleague at FanHouse, Andrew "Prez" Johnson.

*Big argument this a.m. at my brother's house over the soon to be released all-star rosters. They want Willingham. I say don't discount Dunn, they disagree. We all think Zimmerman will be the one and only choice.

*I've mentioned this before here and there but I'll mention it again as my wife was rather disturbed during portions of yesterday's game. A buddy likes to use the quote about common sense and common courtesy not being that common. Very evident at a baseball game as people move to and from seats whenever the hell they please. If you can't wait until the end of the inning, can you at least do it between at-bats? There's a 2-2 count and two men on for the Mets, we're trying to see Jee-SUS strike someone out and people are walking back and forth from their seats. We've been in at least two parks (Safeco and Citizens Bank) where they don't let you into the section until the half-inning is over. We'd be all about that if Nats Park decided to go that route.

Thank You, DVR

2010-07-03T08:32:00.002-04:00

We have a DVR with our DirecTV. It holds 100 hours of programming and it is a wonder it isn't full all the time. My wife records everything and stays up all night watching. I still have the finale of Glee on there I need to watch.

I have no idea how to do any of it - record, watch, delete, nothing. I know how to turn on the TV and how to change channels. That's it. ESPN is 206. MLB is 213, the MASNs are 640 and 641. That's the sum of my DirecTV knowledge.

Now and then, I'll get some warning that it is about to record TWO shows and you can't record two and watch something else. So I'll ask my wife to please do something so I can continue to watch the game.

It happened last night right at nine. Except she wasn't home. Neither was my son. The dogs know more about the DVR than I do but they were no help. The smart one was off with my son.

It was 5-0 so I said what the heck and turned off the TV (it can still record). I read a while and went to bed.

Had no idea until I woke up what happened while I was in Nats Darkness. Very glad now I didn't see the end. This house might be fully trashed and my head might have exploded.

How in the name of *** HOW DO YOU GET PICKED OFF AT SECOND TO END THE GAME? It's a 3-2 count. There's two outs. You don't need a lead, you're scoring on a hit anyway. Stay VERY close to the bag and take off running when the pitcher goes into his motion. How hard is that?

I may trash the house anyway. No telling what would have happened. Could well have become strike three to Willie. Or not. Say what you will about his .001 batting average, the guy has delivered in the clutch before. He may have hit one out. I've seen him do it.

Now we'll never know.

One other thing. Hate to bust on my buds in the media but now and then I can't help it. This is cribbed from one of the newspaper accounts:

With one out in the top of the first, Washington starter Luis Atilano hit Tejada, then allowed a single to David Wright. The next batter, Ike Davis, hit a grounder to second baseman Cristian Guzmán.

A double play would have ended the inning. Instead, Guzmán bobbled the ball before recording an out at first. Meantime, Tejada scored from second. Because Guzmán recovered in time to record an out, no error was awarded.

Me again. What's wrong with that picture? Nothing except Tejada wasn't on second. He was on third. Went there on the single, at least according to my fragile memory AND a play-by-play account I just read online. He was all but certain to score on that play anyway. A double play was extremely doubtful even if the ball had been fielded cleanly. The bobble meant the Nats got the out at first instead of second.

I bust on the defense all the time but a DP would have been a miracle there. If Guzman had time to pick up the ball and get the batter at first, surely he would have been able to get a guy trying to score from second. Except the guy was on third.

Of course, we'll never know if it could have been a double play because it wasn't fielded cleanly. Just as we'll never know what Willie Harris would have done with a 3-2 pitch.

This team is going to kill me flat-out dead. I just hope I live long enough to pick up my free hat today. Free stuff, even if I don't really need another hat, always perks me up. Then the game will start and it will all go downhill. Over/Under on runs scored for Jee-SUS today? I have 1.

The Midpoint

2010-07-02T20:02:00.003-04:00

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.

Gonzo Time?

2010-06-30T09:02:00.002-04:00

I've been fairly quick to criticize Rob Dibble here and I feel bad about that because, as I've noted, he seems like a good guy and that's more important than anything else when it comes to the bottom line.

I'm also a fair guy and I've noted several times that when you get past the cheering and clapping and talking over Bob and get down to actual analysis, he's often spot on. And, for all his clapping and cheering, he's not afraid to rip when a rip is merited.

He didn't exactly rip on the postgame last night but he made a very good point without naming names (that I heard). He talked about the "changes" Jim Riggleman made and how they worked and then wondered if the Nats should stick with those "changes" a while longer and let people earn their way back into the lineup.

Hmmmm. Who could he mean here? Changes? How about change? Only one that I noticed. The regular C started. So did the regular 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, CF and RF. What's missing here? Oh yeah, the shortstop!

Everybody loves Ian Desmond. Hard not to love a young player who flashes that much ability and doesn't seem in any way to be dogging it. But even Mrs. Desmond would have to agree things are to the point where the liabilities might be outweighing the assets. Might be? I'm being too nice. ARE outweighing the assets. His penchant for making a spectacular play here and there is nice. His penchant for often blowing the routine play is aggravating and becoming too common. Plus, when was the last time he had a hit?

You aren't going to get better on the bench, that's for sure. You also aren't going to botch the easy double play ball from the bench. I'm not a shrink or even a real manager (just an armchair manager) so I don't have the perfect solution. But I have zero issue with trotting Gonzo out to short daily at least through the All-Star break. Given Desmond some time to clear his head and all that.

Gonzo is not a long-term answer but he's more than acceptable short term. I think the idea of giving up on Desmond is absurd and I'm hopeful he'll develop into at least an adequate fielder. The idea of giving him an extended break is a good one.

Interesting that Gonzo is even still here. Who had that on March 1 when it seemed inevitable he'd be long Gonzo by now?

New poll coming soon. My recent poll drew 70 votes (sniff sniff) and most think Ryan Zimmerman should be the Nats all-star. He got 36 votes. Tyler Clippard was next with nine and I'd guess most of those votes were cast before the weekend. Jee-SUS got eight, Pudge got six, Dunn and Capps got four and Willingham three.

I still think Zimmerman will again be the only one wearing a Nats uniform in Anaheim. There is no obvious Nat, at least not to me. If Dunn is selected instead, it won't be a crime. I don't see any way anyone other than one of those two goes at this point.

Gonzo ain't going but I hope he's going out to short tonight. And tomorrow. And every day for a couple of weeks.

It's a Funny Game

2010-06-29T22:14:00.001-04:00

Me: So, if I'd said yesterday afternoon that the Braves would win 5-0 with Stephen Strasburg pitching and lose 7-2 with Craig Stammen pitching, you would have said??

My Son The Braves Fan: I would have said you're (flipping) nuts.

So what happens?

People who bet on baseball need their heads examined.

My Annual Allegiance Debate

2010-06-28T10:25:00.002-04:00

Had a fine day at Camden Yards yesterday, if you can overlook the actual ballgame. Since I fully expected the result, even that didn't bother me so much.

Camden Yards remains a great ballpark after all these years. I love that concourse out by the beautiful brick warehouse. Easy in, easy out, eight bucks to park. Lots of great food options. Met my buddy Tony Moss there, an Orioles fan by virtue of growing up in Baltimore. I treated him to a 4-3 Nats win in May, he treated me to a 4-3 Orioles win yesterday.

I got a free hat just for showing up and a free Orioles t-shirt for signing up with some car dealer (but no free car). With the free hat I got there last year, I now have a decent start on gear if I decide to make the transition. Which I might - BECAUSE THE NATS ARE KILLING ME.

Too fried to go look it up now but I could swear this team was 20-15 at one point this season, against some better competition than it has faced in recents weeks. My kids tell me all the time I'm losing my mind and this must be a classic case. Wasn't there hope, optimism, joy, all that stuff - THIS season? Must be a mirage.

What I'm seeing now is so 2009 like it is scary. How you blow 6-0, 5-0 and 3-0 leads in successive games is beyond my comprehension even when my brain was working right. To the Orioles no less. What is a real team going to do to the Nats? Oops, I better ease up on that smack talk since I may, you know, be jumping ship.

I suppose it would be wrong of me to be a Nats fan on the days Jee-SUS pitches and an Orioles fan on the other days. I'm just not that kind of guy. So I suppose I'll stay put a while longer.

Is there a simple answer to what ails the Nats? I fear not. I think what we've seen the past 40 games is more realistic than what we saw the first 35.

At least it is a Jee-SUS night so all will be right with the world for one day. I'm willing to bet if he gives up one run again, he gets a victory this time.

The Blame Game

2010-06-26T09:48:00.002-04:00

Just a typical Friday night in Harris land. Dogs stretched out in various places around the room. My wife on the sofa, pretending to read but watching the Nats the whole time. Me squeezing the stuffing out of the arms of my chair. I go through about eight a season.

My wife asks good questions. Martin out in the fifth? Why - he's making them hit it on the ground? Good question. I guess Rigs told him to surrender mammoth fly balls instead because he had a center fielder who could run forever and bring them back from over the fence. Ground balls? Your middle infielders can't handle those.

Slaten gets a K and he comes out. In the fifth. Wait a second, my wife says, didn't he just come in? Yep, I explained. Matchups. In the fifth inning?

Over (clap clap) manage *** over (clap clap) manage.

One of my Twitter friends, if that's what they're called, asked where the blame should go on this - Desmond, Guzman, Riggleman. I'm going to go straight with Riggleman here, despite the Little League defense played by the middle infielders.

I'm sure everyone realizes if Guzman had actually completed that double play, the Nats would have gone into extras with one available pitcher? Unless I missed my count, Joel Peralta was the only one left besides the starters (can Jee-SUS relieve?). Suppose the game had gone 16-17 innings? Would Alberto Gonzalez finally get to play - on the mound?

Of course, the one reliever who should have come out quickly stayed in. Tyler Clippard was clearly off his game from the start but what the hell? Let's leave him in to do some more damage. Then we can get Capps to come in and induce a ground ball that can't be converted into a double play.

At one point, another Tweeter noted (Zuckerman, I think, my head hurts and I didn't sleep well), the Nats used four pitchers to record five outs. This is why my head hurts and I don't sleep well. Being a Nats fan is worse for my health than the 200 extra pounds. Of course if this keeps up I'll develop Natsbulemia and maybe that will at least help with the weight.

As for the second base situation, I don't have a perfect answer except this: There has to be a better answer. Can Jee-SUS play second?

I went to Tuesday's game with a group of Michaels: My regular co-attendee the Rib Michael and Michael our former intern (2004) who gave up a newspaper job out west so he could go to law school back east.

Why, Law School Michael asked during the ninth inning, is Guzman at second base?

Welcome home, son.

Adam Kennedy is the obvious first answer but he's been a lead glove himself. Can Mik, uh, Michael Morse play second? I'm serious. I know he has a background as an infielder. Is it time to trot Gonzo out there for a while and see what he can do? OK, we already know. At least he can catch and throw.

Is there anyone in the system close enough to ready to give a look?

Yeah, there's another part of the infield defense that's a serious problem, a part that has almost as many errors as all the Minnesota Twins. That'll have to wait for another day. I need to go find my pills.

Nyjer

2010-06-25T20:21:00.002-04:00

OK, that catch was ridonkulous. Great catch. I called my wife in from the other room to see it. We rewound and watched it again.

But here's what I like, cribbed straight from Ben Goessling's "Goessling Game" over at the MASN website: He is historically a much better hitter in the second half of the season. In April, May and June, Morgan has hit .275, .236 and .246, respectively. Those career numbers jump to .388, .315 and .323 in July, August and September.

That's a heck of a jump and I'm not enough of a psychologist to understand. Does he just wake up and go, "Dang, it's July. Time to get hot." Should he start spring training in December and be ready to go by April? One year of that kind of split is a fluke. Two is eyebrow raising. Three? That's a trend.

He's three for three tonight and I think he had two hits in the last game I saw.

Would it make a major difference if he gets hot? You think? He made a major difference when he arrived last year on offense and defense. No reason to think it wouldn't happen again.

Now as soon as Dunn hits this one out, I'm going to rewind and watch that catch again.

Ray vs. Rob

2010-06-23T22:08:00.002-04:00

The video is here in case you missed the most action out of anyone associated with the Nationals today not named Stephen Strasburg.

Take a minute to watch it if you haven't already. Or watch it again.

The vote in this house is 3-0, Ray. Unanimous decision. Not really close. He made the better points (see NatsInsider for a link to Mark's CSN story where Jose Guillen basically says what Ray said). He also handled himself with a ton more class. Two tons more class. Maybe three.

Is anyone surprised by that?

I'll admit to my bias. While I have nothing against Rob personally (he's been very gracious the two times we met), I've made it clear his cheerleading over Bob's calls drives me nuts. Plus, there's a certain arrogance to some of his analysis that I can't quite pinpoint but I know it is there. I like listening to Ray a lot more.

At one point, I was sure I saw Rob give a dismissive look while Ray was talking and look at Bob with something close to a smirk. That's when I called in the family to make sure I wasn't seeing that because I wanted to see that. We hit the back button on the DVR and watched again.

Nope. Disrespectful, my wife called it. She thought she saw a bit of an eye-roll in there. I couldn't tell for sure. Smug was another word she used. "He seemed like he thought he was above him," she said, "like he thought he knew more and he couldn't be bothered with what Ray thought. Hence the eye roll."

Hmmm. I ought to let her take over this blog.

You can disagree all you want. A little debate can be a lot of fun. But there's no need to be so dismissive, to basically come off like an ass. We know Rob Dibble played pro ball. You can't get out of the first inning without hearing about it. Ray Knight played a little ball, too, and played it pretty well. Rob often jokes about his lack of hitting ability. He was, after all, a pitcher. Ray knows hitting. I think he knows quite a bit more about what a hitter is thinking up there.

If Ray the hitter in his prime saw Rob the pitcher in his prime give that look or eye roll, hoo-wee. We coulda had us a fist fight.

Bernadina was safe, by the way. Family vote went 3-0 on that, too. I won't quote my wife on her reaction to the call other than to say "blind" was the first word. My ears still hurt from the second. I think everyone agrees on that play, except for the guy who actually counts.

Too bad. Jee-SUS was JEE-SUS once more. I think another thing we can all agree on after four starts - he's pretty good.

Just A Quick Question

2010-06-22T06:51:00.003-04:00

Mark Zuckerman at NatsInsider has a good post up now that addresses some of the lineup questions - well, one big one: Where's Morse?

I posted a comment there and then decided to share it here. I'm one of those goobers in the Willingham-Bernadina-Morse camp. We're almost halfway through and, yes, Nyjer Morgan is performing a little better than he was recently. He's still making too many head-up-fanny plays, particularly on the bases.

But let's play the part of dutiful fans and accept the judgment of the general manager and manager. Morgan stays in center.

Can we please pretty please extra pretty please not play fun with lineup cards this weekend in Baltimore, the last chance to use the DH this year? Can we please pretty please see Mike, uh, Michael Morse three games in a row? Maybe two at DH and one at first? Just for yuks?

That home run he hit last night about landed in Baltimore. There's a message there. You have an extra slot so your "this is our best outfield" stuff doesn't work up there. Play Morse.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T10:02:00.002-04:00

Amazing what some sleep, a yummy breakfast, a couple of cups of coffee and blue sky will do to a mood. I'm back to being excited again and looking forward to baseball with my kids (no movies I want to see anyway).

I'm sure my cheery mood will last another seven or so hours, then I'll be back to my usual grumpy self.

Baseball and golf are probably the two biggest fathers-sons bonding sports out there, I say without any scientific support. Age doesn't get in the way of enjoying a round of golf together (my son and I are awful), nor does it interfere with baseball enjoyment. Sure, my son is a Braves fan, so there's an inherent flaw in his makeup. But it is fun to go to games with him.

My daughter doesn't play golf (she's the smart one) but has become a baseball fan and at least roots for the right team and, to date, hasn't questionned that or wondered what I got her into with this Nats thing. The first Nats game I saw was with my daughter. This one. Livo's seventh win. On May 19. Check out some of those names in the box. Jeffrey Hammonds played for the Nats? Forgot all about that one.

The three of us have already done three games together this season and it's always an enjoyable time, just being with them. Winning, which the Nats used to do some of this season, does add to the enjoyment.

My own dad died before I was 11, so most of my baseball bonding came through my big brother Jim, who remains a traditional big brother in every sense even though we're both old as sin now. I'm typing this on his porch. Jim got to shake President Obama's hand the other night at the game. Jim and his wife Carolyn are part of a season-ticket group and two of their games were Strasburg's two home starts. So in addition to being wonderful people, they're lucky.

I do have one terrific baseball memory with my dad. His brother, my Uncle Harry, lived in New York and we took in a game during the Mets' inaugural season. This one. I remember just about every detail, particularly Julian Javier leading the game off with a home run. Yep, I'm so old I saw a game at the Polo Grounds. I even remember racing into the street to hail a cab afterward. I was six and felt like a grown-up.

So here's to all the dads, past, present and future. Spending time with your kids is a blast, whether they're 6 and 4 or 26 and 24 or (I hope to find out) 46 and 44. Enjoy the day. Nats, how 'bout a little help on that one?

Shortening My Life, Game by Game

2010-06-19T21:23:00.005-04:00

Dear David and Courtney,

I love you two very much. Out of whatever I have done in my life thus far, being able to say I'm your father makes me more proud than anything else. You've become outstanding young adults and that makes me happier than you can imagine.

Your offer of a Nats game and dinner afterward for Father's Day is generous and kind.

However, is there any way we can maybe go to a movie and dinner instead? Or you just beat me with golf clubs and then we go eat? Or find a way to paper cut most of my arms and legs and pour salt on them?

If I watch this team too much more, your dear old dad is gonna up and die.

Love,

Dad

At least I got a bobblehead out of today's game. Which leads to a question - what would you rather have had at bat today, Ryan Zimmerman or the Ryan Zimmerman bobblehead? I'll pick the bobblehead. Why? Well, if Zimmerman is going to refuse to swing the bat, the bobblehead has the same chance of getting a hit. And at least it will look cute there in the batter's box, its little head bob bob-a-bobbin up and down as it watches another Jake Peavy offering sail right over the plate.

Swing. The. Bat.

The White Sox are going to score five runs in this series and sweep all three games. These two teams are so offensively inept they couldn't break wind after a week in a bean factory. Nats get two on to open the game! Yee Haw! Gonna be an explosion of offense, lots of runs.

How'd that work out? J.D. Martin pitches like G. Zus Strasburg and gets zippy run support and an L to show for it.

I can see the quotes now. "Well, Peavy just had our number today. He's a good pitcher. He shut us down," said some Nats manager or player. Dudes, everyone is shutting you down now. You face Bruce Chen of the Royals on Monday, maybe the worst pitcher in the history of the sport. How he's still in the major leagues is beyond me. Yet he presents a pretty huge challenge right now.

The company was good, too, today. Hung out with my bud and blog contributor Ryan and his wife and photographer Summer. Also my pal Matt (the White Sox fan) and his girlfriend Ashly. Matt and I had several deep conversations today. I thanked the White Sox for sending out their Senior Day offensive team. Omar Vizquel is FORTY THREE. FORTY THREE.

Me: Is everybody on the White Sox 35 or older and hitting about .200?
Matt: Pretty much.

Me: Congrats on the run. That'll hold up. This is a 1-0 final.
Matt: No way, you think?
Me: Trust me.

I'd offer up a good solution if I had one. People getting paid lots more money are charged with finding solutions and I hope they do. I can throw out a couple - try something different up top. Yeah, Nyjer got on a couple of times today. Yeah, Guzman laid down a beauty of a bunt in the ninth to set up another Zimmerman backwards K. Still, try something anything, PLEASE. Bernadina-Desmond, just once?

Also, when you are hitting, swing at the strikes. I've seen some stuff in my day but I can't recall someone getting a hit without swinging the bat.

Of course, leaving the place was its usual nightmare. The c*********k is much more bearable when you're leaving after watching Strasburg. When you're hot, bothered and flusterated, it is pure agony.

And here's a serious complaint to close: I was in the landing between escalators coming down from the 300 level when the thing stopped, with a lurch. Two older men did an amazing job keeping their balance and not sending countless others sprawling.

Did someone turn it off? If so, why? Either leave it on or leave it off - not a real good idea to stop it while it is so full of people.

If it is stopping on its own, FIX IT. You're asking for a major problem if not. If those two men hadn't recovered nicely, things could have been real ugly. I'm not so sure I could have recovered as well.

This team is beating me up enough as it is, I don't need it throwing me off an escalator.

A Weekend at the Yard

2010-06-19T08:17:00.003-04:00

Sunscreen? Check. More sunscreen? Check. My new ugly hat for further protection? Check. Tickets I printed at home (first time)? Check.

OK, I'm ready for a weekend at the ol' ballpark. Meeting some friends today, one of them a should-be-happy White Sox fan (yes, they do exist - not all of Chicago is Cubs crazy). Tomorrow, my brilliant and lovely children are treating me to a game and dinner afterward for Father's Day.

I'm hoping but not very optimistic that my season record isn't 6-3 after the weekend. It's 6-1 now.

Watching Jee-SUS be brilliant again last night was fun and aggravating. This is a loss they darn sure can't blame on starting pitching. They won't throw up four head shots and graphics showing how ugly it has been. They may on Monday after Martin and Lannan go this weekend.

Not sure I have the answer so I hesitate to say anything, but how about some different top-of-the-lineup options since Guzman and Morgan last got on base in April? OK, Morgan did have that ninth-inning hit last night and got in scoring position. But, in general, there's been no "table setting."

Bernadina-Desmond? Bernadina-Rodriguez? Do you maybe try Desmond up top?

I'm at a loss, no pun intended. I do know the AL Central isn't baseball's toughest division and the Nats don't even play the best team (the Twins). And yet the Nats are now 1-6 against that lineup of giant killers. The Royals must be drooling about coming in next week.

I expect a fun weekend no matter what, for the company (but not for the heat). It will be a lot more fun if it isn't an 0-2 weekend.

Jee-SUS and the All-Star Game

2010-06-18T08:36:00.002-04:00

My intent was to write this yesterday, before I got hungry after watching Top Chef DC. My other intent was to be less of a bitter old man and only write when I'm happy. Then I realized that, with the way things are going, I'd only be writing every five games.

So I'll just keep being bitter.

The sub-title of this post should be 'An Open Letter to Bob and Rob." I also need to note that I'm not a fan of ripping ol' Bob. Call me clueless but I like the guy. He's very gracious in person and he's a competent broadcaster. The fact that he puts up with cheering and yelling and whooping OVER HIS CALLS without losing his stuff earns him multiple bonus points. If the Nats declared him broadcaster for life, I would not complain.

That said, the two of them do come off sometimes as arrogant snobs with an attitude of "no one - especially those silly bloggers - knows near as much about the Nationals as we do." You can hear the sneers in their comments.

Well, I hope they know an awful lot, perhaps more than anybody. They are paid to talk about the team for hours every day.

They also need to concede others know stuff, too. While I'm at it - they need to actually read what's been written before they rip it on the air.

All this came to mind on Wednesday when they were scoffing at things they read that suggested Stephen Strasburg should be on the National League All-Star team.

They must have access to stuff the rest of us don't have. Perhaps there is something out there that says that. But nothing I've seen has said that, at all. No one is annointing a 2-0 pitcher with 10 days in the major leagues as an all-star.

Several people did write about the topic. Their question was simple and on point: If Jee-SUS continues on his current path, does he deserve consideration? Will MLB want him there to drive ratings, to showcase its next great star? Not "take him now." Rather a "what if?" kind of thing.

If I'm counting correctly, he has five starts left before the All-Star game. Suppose he's 7-0 with 70 strikeouts and an ERA right about where it is now? Or 6-1 with the loss a 2-1 type of thing? Should be be taken under those circumstances? There's some precedent. I believe Dontrelle Willis was the one mentioned.

I don't know where I stand on the issue. I don't know if a guy who makes his debut 35 days before the game should merit consideration. I do know it is a legitimate topic of discussion.

I also know I haven't seen anyone declare him an All-Star yet. If they have, Bob and Rob are right. That's over the top.

Speaking of Jee-SUS, only 61 people voted in the "how many will he win" poll. It fell right about where I thought it would, with most of the votes in the 8-10 range (I picked 10). A total of 27 say 8, another 19 say 10. Seven think he'll be in the 12-14 range and five see him winning five (only three more? really?). On the other end of the spectrum, three think he'll win 15 games.

If he does win 15, that's pretty impressive. I'll post something about rookie of the year, MVP, Cy Young Award winner and ambassador to the United Nations.

Top Chef

2010-06-17T08:32:00.004-04:00

The highlight of my night after turning off that disaster of a Nats game?

My Son The Braves Fan flipped over to Top Chef D.C. I might be the biggest anti-reality guy in the world but I toughed it out and stayed in the room. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it.

I would have booted the guy who got tossed just because of his hair. You want to wear a bird's nest up there, fine. I'm open minded. Just not while you're cooking what could become my food.

The fact that Adam Dunn and Matt Capps appear in a future episode will keep me tuning in.

I hope the guy who regularly undercooks the ribs at Nats Park isn't on the show.

As for the looking-too-much-like-last-year-lately Nats, please tell me that was just a blip for Livo. If he goes in the tank? Yikes. Strasburg and rain and then some more rain and then some more and then an off day and then Strasburg. Otherwise, there's trouble in Top Chef City.

I'm Baffled, Too

2010-06-16T10:48:00.003-04:00

I hate to crack on John Lannan, I really do. Seems like a good guy, has had some moments. But the headline on the recent Nationals Journal that shows up on my blog roll - Lannan trying to figure it out - baffles me.

Not the head itself or the post. What baffles is a guy who is a major-league veteran is trying to figure it out. Maybe I'm being a bit too harsh here, but shouldn't he know by now?

If he doesn't, there's a place where he can figure it out. It's called Syracuse. I don't know if he has any options left but if he does and he's baffled, let him go work it out in AAA.

Lannan in general baffles me. We were at the Sunday Orioles game where Capps blew his first save. I told my daughter Lannan is either going to be very good (he was that day) or brutal. There's no in between with the guy. He's either sharp as heck and gives up 1-2 runs or he's awful and is gone early.

He's made 13 starts this year and given up two or fewer runs in five. He's been gone in five or less innings in six.

He had four strong starts after his elbow issues, so I'm guessing it isn't that. But maybe it is, in which case he needs to say something and join Scott Olsen on the DL (will we ever see Olsen again?).

I'd like to see the guy succeed, but right now he's just plain painful to watch.

Odd the way things work out. When we talked about space-holders in the rotation earlier in the season, everyone would have bet on Marquis and Lannan being the two to stick around when the cavalry arrived. Now it looks like they may be the two out of it, assuming more reinforcements come. Detwiler by the all-star break, Wang shortly afterward? What is up with Marquis anyway? Is he don-zo for the year like I'm guessing is the case with Olsen?

If my ears didn't deceive me, I think I heard Jimmy Rigs on the postgame last night mention something about Jordan Zimmermann being six weeks or so away. Can that be right? Lord I hope they don't rush that kid.

Another Shrine?

2010-06-15T11:22:00.002-04:00

A very small portion of my family room is devoted to what some visitors refer to as my shrine to "that horse."

That horse?

We're talking about Secretariat here, maybe the greatest athlete ever. Go ahead and watch the 1973 Belmont Stakes and tell me it doesn't give you chills. I just watched it and teared up a little. My brother lived in Louisville in 1973 and I went to the Derby that year. Crammed into the infield, I actually saw a small portion of the race. I saw Secretariat make his move. I was in love. Grace, power, speed - you name it. The perfect race horse.

My shrine is pretty detailed, more of a mini-museum. For Christmas one year, my wife got me a framed collage of the finish line photos from all three Triple Crown races. Signed by the jockey Ron Turcotte. Secretariat is the only athlete to appear on the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated in the same week. I have all three.

I have a record album with the call of every race - all 21 of them (16 victories) - and a cassette tape of the same. I have coffee mugs, drink glasses, a poker chip, a paper weight, a money clip, a snow globe and a beer bucket. I have a copy of a Leroy Neiman print and I kick myself 10 times a day for not taking it with me to the 1998 Preakness to get it signed.

I have books about Secretariat. I have three Kentucky Derby Mint Julep glasses from 1973 (and at least one from every year since).

Yeah, I'm obsessed.

I probably don't need another shrine but I am thinking about putting together a little collection of art and the like on you-know-who. Seeing this Sports Illustrated cover got my mind to racing (is the jinx still a factor - will he lose Friday?).

The poster from the Post, that cover, my ticket stub and a few more items should do nicely. My friend Michael, he of the rib bet, got me a copy of the Post's Nats Park poster and my wife framed it for me. My Son The Braves Fan (but slowly converting), as much as he hated the moment, is looking for a good picture of The Walk-Off That Was (anyone know of one?).

A few more items and I think shrine two will be complete.

Elsewhere:

*I guess my few faithful readers think the Nats have NO all-stars, given that my previous post was basically ignored. Here I am thinking it wasn't all that bad!

*Yes, I watched Stras II. My wife, who bought a Strasburg T-Shirt last night, made me tape it for her because she had a graduation party to attend. I begged off and I don't care if it makes me a bad person. As others have written, if that's an off day, I'll take it.

*I will see three of the six games on the next homestand and miss both Strasburg starts. I need a new scheduler. I will see two games in Baltimore and miss him (as will everyone else since he isn't pitching there). I will see him July 3 against the Mets. My son and I want to make a lightning trip to Atlanta the previous Monday but work is clogging up that plan for both of us. Should have stayed unemplo *** uh, self-employed.

*Update on the rib bet, since I know everyone is just dying for more. Michael, fair man that he is, offered to buy because, as several commentators noted, the game was technically a sellout. I declined because we agreed on 41,888 as the number and it was below that. So we called it a draw and we'll each buy our own rib. I may opt for pizza instead. Last two ribs I had there were still mooing.

All-Star Ramblings

2010-06-12T11:53:00.002-04:00

If all these reports are true, and I have no doubt they are, D.C. gets the All-Star game in 2015. Sweet. I have to take care of myself and stay alive that long so I can see Stephen Strasburg start on the mound, Bryce Harper start in RF, Ryan Zimmerman start at 3B and Ian Desmond start at short. Drew Storen will come in and earn the save. The Nats will have 15 of the 34 players on the roster!

I also have to get back on the season-ticket bandwagon before then, otherwise I suspect I'll have no shot at tickets.

But that's a long way away. A lot can happen between now and then. So here's today's question: Who goes this year? The All-Star game is a month from tomorrow (the day my son turns 27), so it isn't too early.

I'd like to see one of the relievers go and, at this point, I'd take Tyler Clippard over Matt Capps. He had that awful burp a while back but he was lights out before and he's been even better since. But maybe Capps is back on track - suppose he has 30 saves by the first week of July? They're not both going.

If Livo had better run support, he'd have eight wins by now. Suppose he gets 3-4 more between now and early July? Does he deserve a look?

As for field players, my first thought was Josh Willingham. My Son The Braves Fan Who Is Rapidly Becoming A Convert told me to back off. "I love The Hammer," he said (oh yes he did), "but The Man is still The Man. Willingham is having a better year than maybe you thought he'd have. Zimmerman is having the year you thought he'd have and is a better choice."

Kid's got a point.

He also said Pudge deserves some consideration. I'm not so sure I'd go that far. He's been a positive addition, for sure, but an All-Star? I don't see that.

Does Adam Dunn deserve consideration with his hitting of late? If he keeps that up for a month and is at 20 home runs with a high-for-him batting average?

I see the Nats as more than a one all-star team this season. I don't see them as more than two. I think one pitcher and one position player will go.

Which ones?

Two Mornings After

2010-06-10T09:23:00.002-04:00

The buzz lingered. I was so caught up in Stras-mania last night still that I hardly noticed they were playing another game. I think the Nats even won again.

Did Bryce Harper start in right field?

Ba-da-boom! I'll be here all week (sorry to say).

Maybe the best thing about yesterday is people were talking about the Nationals. Well, they were talking about Strasburg mostly and the Nationals as an ancillary thing but that's OK. They were talking about the Nationals. And it was positive talk.

People are trying to figure out his starts (even fifth day, not every fifth game) and figuring out how to get tickets, home and away. People are talking about every game he throws being must-see TV.

There's a lot of weight being placed on this kid's shoulders, maybe more now than before he actually threw. That's OK. After seeing him Tuesday, I'm certain he can handle it.

The only thing I ask is for us long-suffering types to keep our seats. We'll make room on the bandwagon for as many people who want to jump aboard but I'm not giving up my chair for anyone. I was here first, since 2005 thank you. Since 205 losses the past two seasons, thank you. Welcome aboard but don't block my view.

Jee-SUS is Absolutely Right

2010-06-09T08:53:00.002-04:00

Nyjer nailed it. Dead-on nailed it. I have to believe every one of the 10 trillion who walked out of Nationals Park last night, including those with "Pirates" on their jersies, was saying the same thing.

Jesus. Jee-SUS. JEE-SUS.

Unreal. Amazing. I don't even know the right words. Could a debut have worked out any more perfectly? Short of a no-no or a perfecto, which wasn't going to happen, I simply can't see how.

I actually planned to NOT blog about the game today. I had some other things to say (see below) and I figured why go where everyone else was going? There were a jillion media members there and bloggers everywhere were prepared to chronicle this. I knew we'd wake up with no shortage of Strasburg material to devour.

But you can't ignore something like that. Spare me the "let's see what he does against a real team" lines. The Pirates are a major-league team. They aren't a very good one but they are a major-league team. And Jee-SUS did what you should do against a weaker team. He dominated. He shook 'em like a dog shakes its prey, snapping their necks and draining the life right out of them.

My Son the Braves Fan came with me. We're slowly turning him. He had on a Nats shirt and a Nats hat I got him. He was into it. And we got into quite a debate after the Home Run Derby in the sixth, which probably didn't sit well with our neighbors in the stands since he was sitting in another section.

Take him out, my son said. He's been great, he can't lose. Get him out now.

I see the argument, sure. But not with this kid. If he has the stones we're told he has, now is the time to see. Did we ever. That seventh inning should be framed. A stunning display, running a strikeout streak to seven and throwing his last pitch at 99.

Jesus.

I'm actually glad he gave up that home run. It'll happen with a guy who throws that hard. See Virginia in last year's NCAA tournament. What I wanted to see was how he'd react. Lots of hype, lots of excitement, lots of nerves. He's done OK so far. And now he's losing. What will happen?

He started shaking that bird and broke its neck is what happened. He got about a million times better after that home run. Ten more outs, eight of them by strikeout, seven of them in succession to close his night and that seventh inning that will be etched in our memories forever.

I'm still drooling, by the way. I've seen a lot of stuff over the years. That seventh inning is instant Top Five and only because I haven't thought about the others on the list yet. It's probably No. 1.

In my group were two friends who are not Nats fans. One is a baseball fan in general, the other a Pirates fan. When we left the stadium, both were wearing Nats jersies. I suspect the Nats fan base has grown considerably overnight.

Most impressive besides that seventh inning? Movement. Change of speeds. Command. Savvy. Even his at-bat music is outstanding. This kid (yeah, right) is 21 - 21! He was thrown into a national spotlight and all he did was kick as much ass as can possibly be kicked.

Jesus.

The camera views they showed from behind him were head-shakingly good. One early pitch broke about two feet in on a batter. That ought to be illegal. You don't know where it is going, which way it is going to move or how fast it is coming. My son noted he wasn't aware that Strasburg had so much finesse as well as that amazing power.

The whole world knows now.

Jesus. Jee-SUS. JEE-SUS.

When does he pitch again? How much is air fare to Cleveland?

A few other thoughts:

*Are we really booing Lastings Milledge? C'mon. We're better than that. What did poor Lastings do to deserve such scorn? Be a little immature? Wow, such a rarity at his age (not everyone is a Strasburg). Not be quite as good a baseball player as we were told he'd be? For all his faults, HE didn't hype himself. Not be a center fielder or a leadoff hitter? Yep, boo him because the Nats tried to put his square-peg self into a round hole. Lay off. It didn't work. He's moved on, the Nats have moved on.

*Umpire Tom Hallion has the best called strike three motion I've ever seen. My back would last about two batters doing that.

*My friend Michael and I did a lap of the stadium upon entry to pick up the free (and surprisingly good quality) hats we earned with our mini plans. We were in the stadium at 5:45 when it is usually just the two of us and some vendors. Not last night. People were everywhere. I told him I wanted to get to where this was a daily thing, not just a roll-out-the-stud-night thing. They must win, a lot, to get that. You can only debut Strasburg once. How soon can it happen? Can the Nats ever get to where 35,000 is the rule rather than an exception? We'll see.

Most important, can the stadium handle it? I didn't notice many problems last night until the end. We got around easily, got food easily, the bathrooms were never a problem. For some reason, exiting that stadium when it is crowded is more of a pain than I recall other stadiums being and I'm not sure why. It should NOT take as long as it does. My daughter, a bit behind us because she was a level higher, sent me a text as we cattle-called our way out: Who is responsible for this c*********k? (yes, she included the asterisks). Not sure and I sure don't want to let it put a damper on a great evening but it is something that has to be addresed. I've been in stadiums with more people plenty of times and have never had such exit issues.

Michael, by the way, gets a big rib on me next time we go. I'm a gracious loser. I bet the game would be a sellout. He disagreed. Weak sauce. I needed someone to pad those numbers for me by about 1,000 and failed.

That's OK. If I get to see that kind of performance, I'll buy Michael an entire cow.

Proof The Jee-SUS Thing Is Accurate

2010-06-08T11:25:00.002-04:00

Just look at today. Crystal clear blue skies. Warm, not hot. Pretty much a perfect day, no? No other way to explain it.

I'm in the big city, came up early to pick up tix (thanks, you know who!) and get some work done before meeting up with a large crew for a bite before the game (don't want to risk stadium lines for food).

Less than eight hours. Jacked beyond belief here.

It IS Tuesday yet!

(disclaimer - this is tongue-in-cheek, not meant to be sacreligious or offensive. I also don't want to end up in Hell. I've had five years of that already and I don't want to go back)

Interesting - Not a Catcher At All?

2010-06-07T19:11:00.002-04:00

This release came in just as Bud Selig was making the announcement. Love a prepared team. I did think they'd call him a catcher/outfielder but no. Is C completely off the table?

Release courtesy of the Washington Nationals:

WASHINGTON NATIONALS SELECT OUTFIELDER BRYCE HARPER FIRST OVERALL IN 2010 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT

The Washington Nationals today selected College of Southern Nevada outfielder Bryce Harper with the first-overall selection in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Senior Vice President & General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement.

Harper—who stands 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. and hails from Las Vegas—hit .443 (101-for-228) with 23 doubles, four triples, 31 home runs, 98 RBI, 39 walks and 20 stolen bases in 66 games for College of Southern Nevada in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, which uses wood-bats. Despite being 17 years-old and the youngest player in the SWAC, Harper posted .526 and .987 on-base and slugging percentages, respectively, en route to a stellar 1.513 OPS (OBP+SLG) this season. He led his conference and team in virtually every primary offensive category.

Harper was named 2010 SWAC Player of the Year last month. He also earned First-Team SWAC All-Conference status. Harper’s 31 home runs in 2010 set a College of Southern Nevada single-season mark, easily besting the former record of 12, which was set during CSN’s era using aluminum bats.

On May 22, Harper went 6-for-6 with a double, triple, four home runs and 10 RBI to lift his CSN Coyotes to a 25-11 win over Central Arizona College in the finals of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Western Regional. With the victory, CSN earned a spot in the National Junior College World Series.

Last season, Harper was cited as Baseball America’s High School Player of the Year after he batted .626 with 14 home runs, 55 RBI and 36 stolen bases in 39 games for Las Vegas High School.

The season prior, in 2008, Harper hit .590 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI in just 38 games as a high school freshman. In March of 2009, Harper became the first high school sophomore ever named a Pre-Season First-Team All-American by Baseball America.

The left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing Harper sports extensive baseball experiences gained beyond his high school and college careers. He was a member of USA Baseball’s 2009 Under 18 Team (.294 with four doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI in eight games) that went a perfect 8-0 to claim the COPABE Pan Am Championship in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Harper also played in the 2009 Aflac All-American Game (‘09 Jackie Robinson Award presented by Aflac), the Area Code Games (‘08 All Area Code Team) and International High School Power Showcase Home Run Derby (‘09 Ryan Howard Award).

I May Not Last 30 More Hours

2010-06-07T13:38:00.002-04:00

"Last night *** the Nationals used the No. 1 pick in the draft to select catcher Bryce Harper.
"Tonight *** 2009 top-pick Stephen Strasburg is in the house and making his Major-League debut.
"NATIONALS FANS. IT ALL STARTS. RIGHT. NOW."

Oh God. I just died.

At the risk of offending my wife of 32-plus years and my kids, I'm trying to think if there's anything I've looked forward to more, anticipated more, couldn't wait to see more.

Drawing a blank here.

Check out Mark Zuckerman's latest post. I alerted the kids, what with Father's Day coming and all. Make it actual dirt Strasburg touched and they could triple the price.

"Batting ninth *** and pitching, No. 37 ***" How loud do you think it's going to get?

Is It Just Me (and Stammen sent out)

2010-06-06T17:40:00.005-04:00

or was there no real reason to take our Tyler Clippard today? He's been throwing awfully well lately. Capps has not.

In his defense, he was let down by a defensive play today. In his non-defense, he immediately coughed up big hits. Dude doesn't seem to handle adversity very well.

No excuse for that one getting away.

I still wouldn't change what I said earlier today but I would be remiss if I didn't come on and post some love for Craig Stammen. He's had much worse first innings and he was really good after that. Heck, why take HIM out after just 66 pitches?

Livo-Lannan-Luis would sure seem to be safe. That leaves it down to two and neither has been too terribly bad. I'm now firmly in favor of sending the "loser" to the bullpen and making a change down there.

Speaking of change, Ray Knight mused on the postgame that maybe it is time to look at changing the closer situation. Not sure I agree yet but I'm not going to argue against. He was so very good for so long. You knew that couldn't last. A little better defense and he's sitting there with 21 saves right now.

But some better pitching after some bad breaks would have changed some things, too. So it is certainly a valid point for discussion.

FORGET EVERYTHING I SAID ABOVE ON PITCHING - Nats release just came across. STAMMEN TO SYRACUSE

NATIONALS OPTION CRAIG STAMMEN TO SYRACUSE

Following today’s game, the Washington Nationals optioned right-handed pitcher Craig Stammen to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Stammen, 26, went 1-2 with a 5.43 ERA in 12 starts with the Nationals. He did not earn a decision in today’s start, but held Cincinnati to one earned run on seven hits with one strikeout in 6.2 innings.

Two Things I Never Thought I'd Say

2010-06-06T13:34:00.004-04:00

back in March.

1. Luis Atilano better not get sent out. Not now anyway. He's earned a chance to stay in the rotation and last night, even if it was his second loss, was probably his best game. Eighty strikes in 114 pitches? Are you kidding me? Even My Son The Braves Fan has noticed. "They're not really thinking of sending Atilano out, are they?" he asked via text. I can't imagine. As I watch Craig Stammen struggle through a first inning again, I think I have the right answer. Or try the relief thing with him and send someone out of the bullpen.

My friend Hendo gets to sit in the main part of the press box. I snuck over for a brief visit (don't tell anyone) and he's also on the Atilano train. I said I thought he was, for today anyway, the Nats' second-best starter. Hendo thinks I may be one spot too low.

Of course, I couldn't have said this in March because I was oblivious to Atilano's existence. But you get my point.

(Late edit - Shocker, Stammen looks pretty good now that it isn't the first. I still say bullpen).

2. I hope Miguel Batista sticks around. That he seems like a terrific guy is a small part of the reason because I like quality people in uniform. He's a better, more versatile pitcher than I would have guessed. You need a guy like that. You can't have studs in all 25 slots but a reliable guy who can start, long relieve, situational relieve and - big key - plunk someone when needed is an asset. The Nats' bullpen is so much better than it was a year ago it isn't funny. It still has some problems. Batista isn't one of them.

Hey, speaking of Stammen, my mind has gone blank again. Who was the pitcher - Balester maybe? - who had similar first inning issues a while back? They made him warm up longer and created a mindset that he was actually in the second inning when the game began. It worked, too. For a while.

An old mind is a terrible thing.

Is it Tuesday yet?