Define: ironic

• Its 2-0 nats, and Redding’s having the best game I’ve ever seen him pitch. #
• Boone’s solo homer makes it a 3-0 game. #
• Loroche answers with a solo #
• Rivera looked great pitching out of a 2-on 1-out situation. Now that’s a bullpen. #
• The promising inning ended, but not before Lopez drove in one. #
• Run tacked on by the end of 8th, off a Wily Mo-smoked hit that missed the otherside of the fence by about a foot. 5-1. #
• Excellent. Game ends at 5-2. Excellent game for the Nats…we looked pretty darn good. #
• Oh! Go check out http://www.TheHalfAssedFan.com for other Nats news! #

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Ok, I’ve been hard on Lo Duca lately, but I gotta say, this interview over at We’ve Got Heart is really good, and he displays a different attitude than I’m used to reading about:

Lo Duca interview at We’ve Got Heart.

• We may have just avoiding an embarrasing loss. Three runs scored, one on, no one out. Thank you, Lopez! #
• Pirates just scored in the top of the 9th to make it 8 to 9. Argh. #
• Well, we won, but through no fault of our own. #

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• Nats win 3-2 and go 7 for their last 9. Wawawewa! (It is the Pirates, however) #

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Part of the reason I started this blog is to get more familiar with the Nats–writing about a subject pretty much forces you to become knowledgeable about it. So, searching for Nationals-related blog has been an interesting experience, but a bit frustrating because so few have RSS feeds available or prominently displayed. I consume probably about 90% of my web info via RSS, and with nearly 100 subscriptions, the format cuts many hours a day off of reading. (For those of you who aren’t familiar, that basically means I check nearly 100 web sites a day for information.)

So, RSS is important to me. If you’re unfamiliar with the format, don’t be scared…just visit RSSDay.org! Also, if you’re weirded out or confused about the whole thing, fellow bloggers, please feel free to use the nifty contact form on the “Contact Me!” page to send me questions. Since designing online media strategies is actually part of my daily life, I’m pretty sure I can help out.

Take a look!

On my recent hiatus involving a couple 5 hour+ plane rides, I decided it was high time to pick up Frank Deford’s recently-in-paperback The Entitled. The bottom line is that I’m glad I did, though it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Here’s a quick overview:

Synopsis

Written from the perspective of Howie, a classic old fart of baseball who never quite made it in the majors but revels in his “grizzled” status, the book revolves around a “right and wrong” decision he must make in regards to his star player, a model which Deford uses as an excellent foil to dissect the personality of this particular star. (No spoilers here…I don’t believe in that.)

The Good

• It’s written by Frank Deford. I can read it and hear his NPR commentary.
• There’s a surprising end…truly didn’t see it coming.
• The heros aren’t all heros and the villians aren’t all villian…well, most of them.
• Deford’s pace and timing are excellent–I found it very difficult to put the book down because there is always a bit of suspense about to be resolved.

The Bad

• Deford’s writing style is choppy. That’s ok, it just bugs me a little bit. Works much better when it’s accompianed by his voice.
• There’s a surprising end. I’m still not sure I agree that the characters he constructed would make those particular decisions.
• Only two of the characters are really well developed (and that’s very well done), but, ultimately, the character the story hinges on hasn’t been as closely considered. I found this troubling.

Other notes

• This is no family book. The tough questions are very adult ones, so don’t expect to have happy time reading this to your kids after tucking them in. Rated R.

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.

• Sorry for the late notice folks…taking a short hiatus. Returning in a few days. #

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Sorry for the late notice folks…taking a couple days of hiatus, but will return in full force next week.