Adrift. Confused. Discombobulated.
These all describe my feelings last week, during which time I was on the other coast in a time zone not friendly to catching the Nats. Sad but true. My return to DC was accompanied by the realization that the Nats had actually…wait for it…won a series!
Adrift. Confused. Discombobulated.
Oh, but it was true. As I began catching up, I learned several things:
- Kearns is still breaking my heart.
- Lannan is next line for the fleeting type of love so treasured by Nats fans.
- Nieves went and got all grown up on us (and we really don’t need Doubting Lo Duca).
So, here goes a glance at what some other folks are saying:
Capitol Punishment takes a surprisingly optimistic look at the last few games. Noting that three out of four ain’t bad at all, my boy Nieves tops the list of positives, while Kearns tops the list of “What’s Bad.” Sadly, I can’t disagree on that. All in all, I gotta say I dug all of the latest over there.
Walking away with the “Case of the Mondays” award, Oleanders and Morning Glories proceeds to call out Nieves, Kearns, Chico and Lannan. Here’s the part that I actually do disagree with:
No Wil Nieves is not this good. This 30yr old is not going to be the Nats answer at catcher. Not in 2008 and certainly not beyond. What he is is that odd player that helps carry the team when the stars are struggling. Which is fine for me, what about you?
Well, let’s see… Odd player, check. Struggling team, check. Helping carry the team, check. Yep, that’s fine with me, actually. I mean, with Lo Duca injured, he can’t run around with his usual level of enthusiasm and positive energy, so Nieves has gotta pick up the sla…oh, wait. I just got my own joke.
Oh, man! I really do love Miss Chatter’s photos. My favorite, and her’s too, apparently, is this shot of Kearns missing the play. Really, the look on Kearns’ face is emblematic of the season. The Miss goes on to make an excellent point near the end of her post.
The first month of baseball ends in a few days. When will the Nationals open up their eyes, relax, and stop pressing? Please?
Combine that advice with a couple healed injuries and I think we could all feel a little bit better.
One of the guys over at Nats Triple Play hilariously disassembles Thomas Boswell’s recent column, which seems to try and connect bad plays with a new ball park. My favorite part:
The Nats are surrounded with everything money can buy.
Except major league caliber starting pitching and a middle-of-the-order impact bat. But why quibble.
It’s funny because…it’s true (and sad). I mean, I rarely fault the management of the club. They’re walking a fine, and perfectly appropriate line, between a good business and a good team. But, man, the more I learn…I understand where this frustration comes from, even though I think most of these decisions have been made in good faith.
I love it when you guys out there agree with me. Thank you, Nationals Pride:
…who would have thought that Will Nieves could play a major role on this team?? Okay, there are two hands, and they are from Mike and I, the two Yankee followers.
Needless to say, that particular post goes on to run down Nieves’ strengths, eventually attributing his demise in NYC to being squeezed out of an offensively overloaded lineup.
Ok, so I was kinda hard on O&M, but here’s why–they’re right! In the long term, we have to get Cordero back up to strength, Kearns has to start performing, Lannan will have a slump, Nieves will have a bad game (and then everyone will wonder why he hasn’t gone back to Columbus yet) and Lo Duca will (most likely) not get a personality. So, as I said previously, there’s a long season in front of a Nats fan, but let’s enjoy the excitement of a soundly won series while we can.
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