After an up and down weekend, I’ve returned to Baltimore with more conviction to get in shape and in withdrawal from not seeing any of the Nats’ games at St. Louis over the holiday.
First, the weekend. When I say up and down, I mean just that. Annie and I went to Shepherdstown, WV on Saturday afternoon to visit a jeweler there who came highly recommended to us. The jeweler was fantastic and we’ll more than likely be buying the engagement ring from him as he’ll be designing the ring just for Annie. So we leave the store, happy as clams and get into the car. We’re taking about the designs and all that as I turn the ignition. The engine turned and turned but wouldn’t turn over and catch. Shit. We just looked at each other in disbelief. Luckily I joined AAA so I called a tow truck, called the local Jeep dealership (where we bought the Jeep years and years ago), and begged them to look at the car that afternoon. After practically offering my first born to the guy, they agreed to take a look and see what was wrong. So, I had it towed to the garage. As a side note, as my car sat atop the tow truck, our luggage for the weekend in the parking lot, the tow truck operator asked, “Are you going to follow me to the dealer?” Yeah, we’ll jog right behind you, pal.
Anyway, long story short, my parents picked us up, they fixed the Jeep that afternoon and everything after that was fine and dandy. However, as I said above, I did not get to see the Nats games at all this weekend. Sad because they’re hosting the Dodgers and Padres next and I am doubting our club’s ability to defeat those teams on a regular basis. On another note, I’ve decided to take up running as a pastime. It’ll get me in shape, give me something to do at the gym other than just pedal on a bike aimlessly, and if I can get fit enough, I’ll be able to run a few races. I just bought a paid of Nike Air Pegasus today so I’m committed to it. It’s also a pretty cheap hobby now that the shoes are purchased. I’ve always wanted to get better at running (I always felt I was bad at it, even when I was in better shape in high school and college), and now I have the time to dedicate to it.
At any rate, tonight I will finally get back to my usual routine of catching at least half of the Nats game each night. I recently got TiVo, so even if I’m at the gym or wherever, I should have no excuse for missing another game…unless my TiVo breaks. In which case I don’t know what I would do.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Memorial Day Hiatus
30 minutes until the long weekend! This week has been particularly stressful at work for a variety of reasons and I am so happy to see it come to an end. I’m taking Annie out of the city for the weekend so we can both relax and get our sanity back. On Sunday my parents are having a Memorial Day picnic that we’ll go to as well. With plans to go biking on Saturday afternoon, it should be a nice weekend away from Baltimore.
The downside of that is I won’t be making any posts until Monday, when I’ll be back in town. I’ll try to keep abreast of all the Nats news I can although I bet Monday will be a day of playing catch up. Despite the holiday I will be coming into the office for a few hours at least to prepare for the shortened work week and will have plenty of time to catch up on the weekend of blog posts, news and the like.
With that, I wish the 2 people that probably read this blog (aside from myself, my biggest fan), a happy Memorial Day long weekend.
The downside of that is I won’t be making any posts until Monday, when I’ll be back in town. I’ll try to keep abreast of all the Nats news I can although I bet Monday will be a day of playing catch up. Despite the holiday I will be coming into the office for a few hours at least to prepare for the shortened work week and will have plenty of time to catch up on the weekend of blog posts, news and the like.
With that, I wish the 2 people that probably read this blog (aside from myself, my biggest fan), a happy Memorial Day long weekend.
The Scale of Fanaticism
Note: I meant to post this yesterday before leaving work, but got distracted with some last minute tasks. Please enjoy and pretend it’s May 24th for added effect.
Well, after going to the Blows game on Tuesday night and seeing them lose to the Blue Jays, I was pretty happy. I was even happier checking the scoreboard at the game to see that the Nats and Reds were tied at 4-4 when Annie and I left the game. I was ecstatic to find that the Nats had won with a Felipe Lopez grand slam shortly thereafter. A great night to love the Nats and strongly dislike the Blows. Annie wore her old Johnny Damon Red Sox T-shirt she bought at Fenway back when she was doing her Masters at BU, which got several comments from Blows fans. I’m going to buy her a pink Nats hat (she’s an opera singer, hence the love of pink) so she’ll have something new to wear.
Along that same line, I scored two tickets from one of our portfolio managers at work yesterday for the Blows game tonight. Despite my neutral to moderate distaste for the Blows, I do have some logic behind why I’m going to so many of their games:
The company tickets are 10 rows back from the field and are worth about $50 a pop…and are FREE to me. No reason not to take full advantage of that.
I love baseball and would rather see any game than no game at all.
I already have plans to see all three Nats games in June at the Yard.
Despite its detractors, Camden Yards is still a great ballpark and laid the foundation for future parks like AT&T, PNC Park, Great American Ballpark, and the new Nationals park. That Boog’s BBQ sucks (sorry, but I’ve had real BBQ and Boog’s is lightyears away from it), but you can’t beat an Italian sausage and fries.
Oh and did I mention that the tickets are free. Yeah, freaking awesome. I wanted to go to tomorrow’s game against the A’s, but those tickets had already been given away.
On another subject more Nats-related, Nats 320 recently had a great post about having patience and not being so damn angry about the Nats this season. The comments are excellent as well and some of the best I’ve seen on a blog. A good example of debate and rational points of view.
Anyway, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a scale of fandom in Nats World. Just about every fan (not casual observer) can place themselves somewhere on this scale. It begins on the far left, where the eternally positive and obsessed fans reside. They are almost all season ticket holders and go to every home game unless an Act of God, extreme bodily injury, death of an immediate relative or debilitating head injury prevents them from getting to the ballpark. Many attend BP and any other function the team hosts outside of game days. They will be fans until the day they die and will pass this partisanship to their children. Think of your typical Yankee or Cubs or Red Sox fan here. Every club has them, but some are more prevalent than others. Is it raining? They’re there in Nationals ponchos. Is it snowing? They’re shoveling the snow out of their sections with Nationals snow shovels. They’re eternally optimistic about the team’s future and intertwine that with their deep love for baseball as a game and Institution. This affection often rivals their love for their spouse and children. They are the idealists and preachers of the Nationals faith.
Converesely, on the far right you find the fans whose love for the team has been spurned. They exist in a perpetual state of disappointment, much like the parent of a loser teen. They see so much potential but their cynicism often overrides their optimism, which only makes them angry and frustrated. As their team spirals down the standings, they decry the efforts on the field, the managerial talent, the front office acumen and/or the ownership’s greed as the source. Deep down they too love their team and the game, but years of disappointment and the injuries inflicted during the current season have made them jaded shells of their former Left-leaning selves. Some Far-Righters are former Far-Lefties, as the slope from eternal hope to eternal sports depression is a slippery one. In fact, I would say the path from Far-Right to Far-Left is one that few fans are able to undertake because of the permanent damage done on the way down. Far-Righters are never fully satisfied with the team, even after success. They’re unable to simply enjoy a win; they usually are too busy looking for the next disappointment just around the corner. Even winning a championship only gives the team a short reprieve from the Far-Righters. If the team underperforms after that season, many will return to their old habits. They are the realists and subversives of the Nationals faith.
In between these two extremes, which make up a minority of each team’s fanbase, is everyone else. If you wanted to quantify it, the Far-Lefties would be 1, while the Far Right would be 10. Each team’s majority fanbase would fall in a different place and all the data would create a bell curve of sorts. For example, I would say the average rating for a Red Sox fan would be 7.5 or 8, because they take baseball too seriously in that town. In Milwaukee, I’d say the average would be a solid 3 or 4 because they love their team and they really love their team winning. You’d be surprised how many optimistic fans there are out there in those cities that aren’t big market towns. For Washington, at this point I would say our average was somewhere around 6.5 due to this season’s cutbacks and underperformance. Personally, I’d put myself around a 5. I love the Nats and will always be a fan, but I also realize there’s a need to make progress over the next season to justify this season (and maybe next season) of austerity.
So with that said, you can see from the blogs like Nats 320, Capitol Punishment, Federal Baseball and BallWonk and the comments on their posts where many Nats fans stand on the scale.
Well, after going to the Blows game on Tuesday night and seeing them lose to the Blue Jays, I was pretty happy. I was even happier checking the scoreboard at the game to see that the Nats and Reds were tied at 4-4 when Annie and I left the game. I was ecstatic to find that the Nats had won with a Felipe Lopez grand slam shortly thereafter. A great night to love the Nats and strongly dislike the Blows. Annie wore her old Johnny Damon Red Sox T-shirt she bought at Fenway back when she was doing her Masters at BU, which got several comments from Blows fans. I’m going to buy her a pink Nats hat (she’s an opera singer, hence the love of pink) so she’ll have something new to wear.
Along that same line, I scored two tickets from one of our portfolio managers at work yesterday for the Blows game tonight. Despite my neutral to moderate distaste for the Blows, I do have some logic behind why I’m going to so many of their games:
The company tickets are 10 rows back from the field and are worth about $50 a pop…and are FREE to me. No reason not to take full advantage of that.
I love baseball and would rather see any game than no game at all.
I already have plans to see all three Nats games in June at the Yard.
Despite its detractors, Camden Yards is still a great ballpark and laid the foundation for future parks like AT&T, PNC Park, Great American Ballpark, and the new Nationals park. That Boog’s BBQ sucks (sorry, but I’ve had real BBQ and Boog’s is lightyears away from it), but you can’t beat an Italian sausage and fries.
Oh and did I mention that the tickets are free. Yeah, freaking awesome. I wanted to go to tomorrow’s game against the A’s, but those tickets had already been given away.
On another subject more Nats-related, Nats 320 recently had a great post about having patience and not being so damn angry about the Nats this season. The comments are excellent as well and some of the best I’ve seen on a blog. A good example of debate and rational points of view.
Anyway, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a scale of fandom in Nats World. Just about every fan (not casual observer) can place themselves somewhere on this scale. It begins on the far left, where the eternally positive and obsessed fans reside. They are almost all season ticket holders and go to every home game unless an Act of God, extreme bodily injury, death of an immediate relative or debilitating head injury prevents them from getting to the ballpark. Many attend BP and any other function the team hosts outside of game days. They will be fans until the day they die and will pass this partisanship to their children. Think of your typical Yankee or Cubs or Red Sox fan here. Every club has them, but some are more prevalent than others. Is it raining? They’re there in Nationals ponchos. Is it snowing? They’re shoveling the snow out of their sections with Nationals snow shovels. They’re eternally optimistic about the team’s future and intertwine that with their deep love for baseball as a game and Institution. This affection often rivals their love for their spouse and children. They are the idealists and preachers of the Nationals faith.
Converesely, on the far right you find the fans whose love for the team has been spurned. They exist in a perpetual state of disappointment, much like the parent of a loser teen. They see so much potential but their cynicism often overrides their optimism, which only makes them angry and frustrated. As their team spirals down the standings, they decry the efforts on the field, the managerial talent, the front office acumen and/or the ownership’s greed as the source. Deep down they too love their team and the game, but years of disappointment and the injuries inflicted during the current season have made them jaded shells of their former Left-leaning selves. Some Far-Righters are former Far-Lefties, as the slope from eternal hope to eternal sports depression is a slippery one. In fact, I would say the path from Far-Right to Far-Left is one that few fans are able to undertake because of the permanent damage done on the way down. Far-Righters are never fully satisfied with the team, even after success. They’re unable to simply enjoy a win; they usually are too busy looking for the next disappointment just around the corner. Even winning a championship only gives the team a short reprieve from the Far-Righters. If the team underperforms after that season, many will return to their old habits. They are the realists and subversives of the Nationals faith.
In between these two extremes, which make up a minority of each team’s fanbase, is everyone else. If you wanted to quantify it, the Far-Lefties would be 1, while the Far Right would be 10. Each team’s majority fanbase would fall in a different place and all the data would create a bell curve of sorts. For example, I would say the average rating for a Red Sox fan would be 7.5 or 8, because they take baseball too seriously in that town. In Milwaukee, I’d say the average would be a solid 3 or 4 because they love their team and they really love their team winning. You’d be surprised how many optimistic fans there are out there in those cities that aren’t big market towns. For Washington, at this point I would say our average was somewhere around 6.5 due to this season’s cutbacks and underperformance. Personally, I’d put myself around a 5. I love the Nats and will always be a fan, but I also realize there’s a need to make progress over the next season to justify this season (and maybe next season) of austerity.
So with that said, you can see from the blogs like Nats 320, Capitol Punishment, Federal Baseball and BallWonk and the comments on their posts where many Nats fans stand on the scale.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Into the Lion's Den
When I thought up that awesome title for this short post, I thought back to that NBC show with Rob Lowe that was just one of many desperate attempts by NBC to recapture some of that West Wing lightning in a bottle. I never saw an episode of the show, mainly because it looked terrible and clichéd. But also because Rob Lowe killed his own career (again! As if his 80’s foibles weren’t bad enough) when he left West Wing and the character of Sam Seaborn behind to become Dr. Vegas. God that show sucked too.
Since then NBC has been reduced to peddling “Heros” which is like X-Men and Lost, but not as cool and twice as contrived. Or “My Name is Earl,” which is not funny at all. Sorry. Oh, and let’s not forget “Deal or No Deal”, possibly the worst hour of TV to come along in the last 15 years. The show’s concept is worthless. There’s no skill involved whatsoever. It’s based on the same concept as Russian Roulette: pick one thing out of an ever smaller number of things and hope it’s not the worst thing you can possibly imagine…like a gunshot to the head. Besides that, the show is FAKE! It’s not real at all and everyone, from the contestant to the audience, are actors. Worst kept secret in crappy network TV.
Anyway, back to baseball. No incredibly enlightening post tonight as my girlfriend and I are going to see the Blows play the Blue Jays. Every Tuesday they offer half price upper reserve tickets and we figured, eh, why not? After the collapse of the Nats last night, I’d rather watch the Jays spank the Blows around for a few hours and then catch the Nats highlights on Sports Center anyway.
And yes, I was being sarcastic when I said that this post’s title was awesome. It’s unimaginative and dumb, much like the majority of network television. Which is why I got my TiVo today! Woo!
Since then NBC has been reduced to peddling “Heros” which is like X-Men and Lost, but not as cool and twice as contrived. Or “My Name is Earl,” which is not funny at all. Sorry. Oh, and let’s not forget “Deal or No Deal”, possibly the worst hour of TV to come along in the last 15 years. The show’s concept is worthless. There’s no skill involved whatsoever. It’s based on the same concept as Russian Roulette: pick one thing out of an ever smaller number of things and hope it’s not the worst thing you can possibly imagine…like a gunshot to the head. Besides that, the show is FAKE! It’s not real at all and everyone, from the contestant to the audience, are actors. Worst kept secret in crappy network TV.
Anyway, back to baseball. No incredibly enlightening post tonight as my girlfriend and I are going to see the Blows play the Blue Jays. Every Tuesday they offer half price upper reserve tickets and we figured, eh, why not? After the collapse of the Nats last night, I’d rather watch the Jays spank the Blows around for a few hours and then catch the Nats highlights on Sports Center anyway.
And yes, I was being sarcastic when I said that this post’s title was awesome. It’s unimaginative and dumb, much like the majority of network television. Which is why I got my TiVo today! Woo!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Tradegate!
What would a season be without some controversy? Nothing, I tell you! Nothing but boring. And what better way to attempt to distract fans from another dismal season than a controversy? No better way! That’s really what I think Tradegate, my name for this whole hullabaloo over the trade of Gary Majewski, along with Royce Clayton, Bill Bray, Brendan Harris and Daryl Thompson to Cincinnati for Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez last July. Basically, the Reds are mad because almost as soon as they got him, Majewski went on the DL and hasn’t been the same pitcher since. Oh, that and the fact that the other players in that trade haven’t exactly saved the Reds from an abysmal start to the season, either.
The Reds filed a grievance with MLB today that alleged the Nationals did not disclose the extent of Majewski’s tendonitis to the Reds prior to the trade, the logic being that had they known, the trade wouldn’t have happened. At this point, no one’s really talking much about it. The Reds and Nats both aren’t saying anything, mainly because they know that one wrong word could cost them the case. However, Bow Bow has said in the past that the Nats provided Cincinnati with every medical record and report they asked for and that Majewski’s arm troubles were plastered all over the media. I can only vouch for the second part of that statement being true. Majewski’s tendonitis was a known secret around DC last year. And I would assume that Bow Bow wouldn’t be foolish enough to screw around with a big trade like that by hiding information about a pitcher’s problem that was bound to get out anyway. Bow Bow had to know that it was only a matter of time before Majewski’s arm got really injured. Otherwise why trade him along with three other players, including a promising reliever in Bill Bray? Why take two (theoretically) good pitchers, the position you’ve said many times you’re focusing on to build the franchise, and trade them away for two position players? So, following that logic, why try to hide the problem?
If anything, you’d expect this to have leaked long ago. Washington is a town built on poorly kept secrets (Watergate being the easiest example). And with the supposed dissension in the ranks of the Front Office, I would think this sort of fraud would have made its way to the Washington Post by August of last year. Some pissed off employee would have let it slip, certainly. But, so far as I know, that didn’t happen.
So, at this point, here’s my theory. The Reds are just mad because they made a terrible trade. Not the worst trade ever, but still one where they got the short end of the stick. They’re mad that their bullpen is atrocious because Bray and Majewski aren’t adding value. And they’re mad because they lost two long-time Reds in the deal at the hands of their former GM of ten years. Below is a link to Federal Baseball, where you can get the summary of my theory by looking at his graphic of the grievance document.
I’m interested to see what MLB has to say on the matter. At this point, there’s really not enough factual information out there to make a real educated guess, despite my theory above. Although it’s pretty much air tight, in my opinion. Just kidding.
The Reds filed a grievance with MLB today that alleged the Nationals did not disclose the extent of Majewski’s tendonitis to the Reds prior to the trade, the logic being that had they known, the trade wouldn’t have happened. At this point, no one’s really talking much about it. The Reds and Nats both aren’t saying anything, mainly because they know that one wrong word could cost them the case. However, Bow Bow has said in the past that the Nats provided Cincinnati with every medical record and report they asked for and that Majewski’s arm troubles were plastered all over the media. I can only vouch for the second part of that statement being true. Majewski’s tendonitis was a known secret around DC last year. And I would assume that Bow Bow wouldn’t be foolish enough to screw around with a big trade like that by hiding information about a pitcher’s problem that was bound to get out anyway. Bow Bow had to know that it was only a matter of time before Majewski’s arm got really injured. Otherwise why trade him along with three other players, including a promising reliever in Bill Bray? Why take two (theoretically) good pitchers, the position you’ve said many times you’re focusing on to build the franchise, and trade them away for two position players? So, following that logic, why try to hide the problem?
If anything, you’d expect this to have leaked long ago. Washington is a town built on poorly kept secrets (Watergate being the easiest example). And with the supposed dissension in the ranks of the Front Office, I would think this sort of fraud would have made its way to the Washington Post by August of last year. Some pissed off employee would have let it slip, certainly. But, so far as I know, that didn’t happen.
So, at this point, here’s my theory. The Reds are just mad because they made a terrible trade. Not the worst trade ever, but still one where they got the short end of the stick. They’re mad that their bullpen is atrocious because Bray and Majewski aren’t adding value. And they’re mad because they lost two long-time Reds in the deal at the hands of their former GM of ten years. Below is a link to Federal Baseball, where you can get the summary of my theory by looking at his graphic of the grievance document.
I’m interested to see what MLB has to say on the matter. At this point, there’s really not enough factual information out there to make a real educated guess, despite my theory above. Although it’s pretty much air tight, in my opinion. Just kidding.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
A Closed Letter to the Blowrioles Fanbase
Dear Howard County/Dundalk Resident,
Your team is not good. In fact, they stink. Oh sure, I know you’re immediately laughing it off and saying that Washington stinks too. That we have the same problems as Baltimore: bad hitting, a bad GM, a pitching crisis, etc. And I won’t disagree with you on the whole. But, we both know that the Blows, dollar for dollar, are a mess of a team and organization.
I realize that our teams are only similar in their geographical location. In fact, I don’t really see the MLB-imposed Beltway Battle as anything more than a nice way for MLB to make a weak-ass attempt at bringing more people to both RFK and Camden Yards. I know that most Blows and Nats fans share this feeling. This is the most similar that the teams are going to be for the foreseeable future, so enjoy taking heart in our pitching troubles, hitting troubles, and ownership bungles. It won’t last forever. Oh and please don’t forget that your hard earned dollars that you spent for those overpriced tickets, Blowrioles jerseys, midget-sized $5.50 beers, and that mediocre (at best) Boog’s BBQ went to pay for a team with a $93 million payroll and all of 4 more wins than the Nats.
“Well at least we’re 2nd in our division” you say. Yes, that may be true. But look at your division. You’re 10 games back from the Red Sox (who utterly embarrassed you last Sunday…or did you forget that travesty of a ninth inning?). The Sox are probably the best team in baseball. The rest of the AL East, however, is up in the air. To this point, the Yankees have not played to their potential. They’re so desperate they gave The Rocket $28 million and their first borns to pitch for them. However, you and I both know that won’t last forever. At some point, the firepower that $195 million buys will come back and then the Blows will be in third. Let’s not forget the Blue Jays, who ran you right out of Canada last week. The Jays are just one game behind you and guess what, they’re coming to town tomorrow! I may just have to go to one of those games to see the pounding in person. Luckily, that only leaves the Devil Rays, the perennial 5th place holder in the AL East. They’re still bad, so you’re saved from finishing last. Congratulations. You’re destined for a fourth place finish…again. I admire your consistency.
And need I even discuss the ownership? The Dark Lord of DC area baseball is still trying to get MLB to pay him for allowing the Nats into town. I guess noone likes to see their inflated attendance dwindle to pathetic levels. I mean, who’s going to waste money on that crappy BBQ? That’s in addition to the complete train wreck of the front office. Having the Dark Lord micromanage the team doesn’t help either. So, to recap: greedy, ambulance chaser for an owner who’s more concerned with squeezing every penny out of the gullible fan-base then with building a solid organization from the farm system up (have you seen the Frederick Keys? They oscillate between mediocre to bad effortlessly).
And the Nats? Well, we stink too, don’t get me wrong. Our pitching rotation is like a house of cards; one strong gust of wind and it’ll all come tumbling down. But the difference between the two clubs is expectation. The Nats were never supposed to be good this year. That’s because everyone in the front office from the owners down to our manager, understood that there is a longer-term effort going on here. Could we have signed some big names (Hernandez and Soriano come to mind) to help the cause this season? Yeah, but it would not have made a marginal difference. We were always destined for the bottom of the NL East. The difference between the Nats and the Blows is that there is a system at work here. Sure they’re last this year, but it’s so in a few seasons we’ll actually have achance at winning the division, pennant, maybe even the Series. The Blows are just trying to finish third, and have been trying since 1998 just to get above .500. Playing not to lose is always a good strategy.
So don’t be too happy with taking the series this weekend. Each game in the series was decided by one run. Much of that was due to the excellent pitching by the Blows and Nats alike. Which only serves to highlight the spirit of the Nats rather than the Blows. The only “starter” who pitched in the entire weekend was Jason Simontaachi. Everything else was pitching by committee, essentially. And still there were no blowouts. Even today’s game was a one run nail-biter.
Personally, I can’t wait for the series here in Baltimore. I’m interested to see how things go when our starters (unpredictable and unstable as they are) are back and maybe, just maybe, Nick Johnson will be back and ready to airmail a few balls onto Eutaw St.
Sincerely,
PMW
P.S.: The whole yelling “O” during the National Anthem is lame. Everyone outside of Bawlmore is laughing at you because it’s so lame. That and the John Denver “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” song. “The Wire” and “Homicide” were based in Baltimore so singing about living in the country is laughable. Sing that stuff out in Dundalk or Westminster.
Your team is not good. In fact, they stink. Oh sure, I know you’re immediately laughing it off and saying that Washington stinks too. That we have the same problems as Baltimore: bad hitting, a bad GM, a pitching crisis, etc. And I won’t disagree with you on the whole. But, we both know that the Blows, dollar for dollar, are a mess of a team and organization.
I realize that our teams are only similar in their geographical location. In fact, I don’t really see the MLB-imposed Beltway Battle as anything more than a nice way for MLB to make a weak-ass attempt at bringing more people to both RFK and Camden Yards. I know that most Blows and Nats fans share this feeling. This is the most similar that the teams are going to be for the foreseeable future, so enjoy taking heart in our pitching troubles, hitting troubles, and ownership bungles. It won’t last forever. Oh and please don’t forget that your hard earned dollars that you spent for those overpriced tickets, Blowrioles jerseys, midget-sized $5.50 beers, and that mediocre (at best) Boog’s BBQ went to pay for a team with a $93 million payroll and all of 4 more wins than the Nats.
“Well at least we’re 2nd in our division” you say. Yes, that may be true. But look at your division. You’re 10 games back from the Red Sox (who utterly embarrassed you last Sunday…or did you forget that travesty of a ninth inning?). The Sox are probably the best team in baseball. The rest of the AL East, however, is up in the air. To this point, the Yankees have not played to their potential. They’re so desperate they gave The Rocket $28 million and their first borns to pitch for them. However, you and I both know that won’t last forever. At some point, the firepower that $195 million buys will come back and then the Blows will be in third. Let’s not forget the Blue Jays, who ran you right out of Canada last week. The Jays are just one game behind you and guess what, they’re coming to town tomorrow! I may just have to go to one of those games to see the pounding in person. Luckily, that only leaves the Devil Rays, the perennial 5th place holder in the AL East. They’re still bad, so you’re saved from finishing last. Congratulations. You’re destined for a fourth place finish…again. I admire your consistency.
And need I even discuss the ownership? The Dark Lord of DC area baseball is still trying to get MLB to pay him for allowing the Nats into town. I guess noone likes to see their inflated attendance dwindle to pathetic levels. I mean, who’s going to waste money on that crappy BBQ? That’s in addition to the complete train wreck of the front office. Having the Dark Lord micromanage the team doesn’t help either. So, to recap: greedy, ambulance chaser for an owner who’s more concerned with squeezing every penny out of the gullible fan-base then with building a solid organization from the farm system up (have you seen the Frederick Keys? They oscillate between mediocre to bad effortlessly).
And the Nats? Well, we stink too, don’t get me wrong. Our pitching rotation is like a house of cards; one strong gust of wind and it’ll all come tumbling down. But the difference between the two clubs is expectation. The Nats were never supposed to be good this year. That’s because everyone in the front office from the owners down to our manager, understood that there is a longer-term effort going on here. Could we have signed some big names (Hernandez and Soriano come to mind) to help the cause this season? Yeah, but it would not have made a marginal difference. We were always destined for the bottom of the NL East. The difference between the Nats and the Blows is that there is a system at work here. Sure they’re last this year, but it’s so in a few seasons we’ll actually have achance at winning the division, pennant, maybe even the Series. The Blows are just trying to finish third, and have been trying since 1998 just to get above .500. Playing not to lose is always a good strategy.
So don’t be too happy with taking the series this weekend. Each game in the series was decided by one run. Much of that was due to the excellent pitching by the Blows and Nats alike. Which only serves to highlight the spirit of the Nats rather than the Blows. The only “starter” who pitched in the entire weekend was Jason Simontaachi. Everything else was pitching by committee, essentially. And still there were no blowouts. Even today’s game was a one run nail-biter.
Personally, I can’t wait for the series here in Baltimore. I’m interested to see how things go when our starters (unpredictable and unstable as they are) are back and maybe, just maybe, Nick Johnson will be back and ready to airmail a few balls onto Eutaw St.
Sincerely,
PMW
P.S.: The whole yelling “O” during the National Anthem is lame. Everyone outside of Bawlmore is laughing at you because it’s so lame. That and the John Denver “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” song. “The Wire” and “Homicide” were based in Baltimore so singing about living in the country is laughable. Sing that stuff out in Dundalk or Westminster.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Holy Win-Streaks, Screech!
Well, well, well. Four games in a row counts as an official win streak. It’s undeniable now. When the Nats won two in a row, I was secretly referring to it in the deep, dark recesses of my mind as a win streak. Sure, that area of my brain is rife with desperation as I pray that the Nats elude the dreaded .250 win percentage forever burned into the minds of all Mets fans. As of February 28, 2007, I only had three hopes for this season (in no particular order):
The Nats will lose less than the 120 games of the 1962 Mets. Yankee and Red Sox fans are horrid enough. There’s no need to validate Mets fans by elevating their franchise to the one that produced only the second worst team in the history of the game of baseball. Plus, I don’t think the Nats are 120 losses bad.
The Nats will win a majority of the six games they play against the Baltimore O my God we spent $95 million for a craptastic team! That means that they need to take 4 of 6. I think it’s do-able and with any luck, they’ll just go ahead and take all 6 and make me the happiest person in Baltimore.
Make some real progress in The Plan and set up a decent 2008. I don’t expect miracles here. A 1 year plan is unrealistic when you look at how comprehensive the overhaul has been in the organization thus far. But as long as I see progress, I’m happy. Just so this long season wasn’t in vain, I’m fine.
So, after this fantastic weekend, I am feeling better about my Three Hopes. At this point, the Nats are on pace to go 56-108, light-years away from the 120 high-water mark, but still above the 100 loss mark reserved for teams like the Royals and Devil Rays of yore.
And yes, I think we can safely say that the Nats have a 4 game win streak going. Of course, with Jerome Williams (lovingly, I’m sure, referred to as Southeast Jerome in homage to Clinton Portis) coming back tonight against Tim Hudson, we should squeeze every last drop out of this streak as we can.
On another note, the Baltimore O’s my God our overpaid team has had 9 losing seasons in a row had one of the most disastrous half innings (http://bugsandcranks.com/baltimore-orioles/losing-it/) I’ve seen in a long time. It was bad enough that they were leading 5-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. What made it a story that will be told for years to come is that it a.) happened at Fenway against the Red Sox and b.) came on the heels of a terrific effort by Jeremy Guthrie, one of the O’s rising pitching stars. If we had that guy to go with Shawn Hill and Jason Bergmann, the Nats’ rotation future would be safe indeed. Anyway, this kid pitched the game of his career to this point, against unquestionably the best team in baseball right now, and he goes to the dugout with a 5 run lead, only to watch helplessly as the O’s inept bullpen all put threw underhanded to the Sox.
I’m not going to say that the Nats don’t do that because we all know Murphy’s Law. But even if (or perhaps when?) that happens in DC, I at least have confidence in Manny, the Lerners, Stan Kasten and, to a lesser extent, Bow Bow. I can reasonably expect that they’re taking precautions so that that sort of thing won’t become endemic to the organization as it has to Baltimore. I know many don’t agree with my level of confidence, but Kasten helped build the Atlanta dynasty and Ted Lerner built his business from the ground up. If Bow Bow can focus and not get distracted by shiny things, and if Manny becomes a good manager (both big IF’s, I know), then the Nats are fine. The O-crap’s! however, are in trouble.
Which brings me to the last part of this post: the weekend series in DC. I wish I could go to those games, but it’s just not practical being in Baltimore. Maybe if gas wasn’t $27.95 a gallon, I’d consider it. But the last three games of the series are here in Baltimore and I will be at all three of them so I don’t feel too bad. I’ve even talked my girlfriend into going to one, although I think she’s a baseball fan and just won’t admit it.
Anyway, as the weekend approaches, I’m going to write a special post for the series. Hopefully I’ll get to catch most of the games on MASN.
Some interesting articles to check out on what I posted about today:
1. Baltimore Orioles on SI.com
2. O's Frustration Boils Over
3. Late Bloomers (article in Boston Globe)
4. Nationals' SI.com Site
5. Nats Beat Braves (from Seattle Times)
6. Bugs and Crank post on O's Meltdown
7. Nationals Journal
And check out the news feed for lots of other information.
P.S.: My predicition for the Presidents' Race tonight: GW will just edge out TJ. George has won every race during this streak...the front office won't mess with karma.
The Nats will lose less than the 120 games of the 1962 Mets. Yankee and Red Sox fans are horrid enough. There’s no need to validate Mets fans by elevating their franchise to the one that produced only the second worst team in the history of the game of baseball. Plus, I don’t think the Nats are 120 losses bad.
The Nats will win a majority of the six games they play against the Baltimore O my God we spent $95 million for a craptastic team! That means that they need to take 4 of 6. I think it’s do-able and with any luck, they’ll just go ahead and take all 6 and make me the happiest person in Baltimore.
Make some real progress in The Plan and set up a decent 2008. I don’t expect miracles here. A 1 year plan is unrealistic when you look at how comprehensive the overhaul has been in the organization thus far. But as long as I see progress, I’m happy. Just so this long season wasn’t in vain, I’m fine.
So, after this fantastic weekend, I am feeling better about my Three Hopes. At this point, the Nats are on pace to go 56-108, light-years away from the 120 high-water mark, but still above the 100 loss mark reserved for teams like the Royals and Devil Rays of yore.
And yes, I think we can safely say that the Nats have a 4 game win streak going. Of course, with Jerome Williams (lovingly, I’m sure, referred to as Southeast Jerome in homage to Clinton Portis) coming back tonight against Tim Hudson, we should squeeze every last drop out of this streak as we can.
On another note, the Baltimore O’s my God our overpaid team has had 9 losing seasons in a row had one of the most disastrous half innings (http://bugsandcranks.com/baltimore-orioles/losing-it/) I’ve seen in a long time. It was bad enough that they were leading 5-0 going into the bottom of the 9th. What made it a story that will be told for years to come is that it a.) happened at Fenway against the Red Sox and b.) came on the heels of a terrific effort by Jeremy Guthrie, one of the O’s rising pitching stars. If we had that guy to go with Shawn Hill and Jason Bergmann, the Nats’ rotation future would be safe indeed. Anyway, this kid pitched the game of his career to this point, against unquestionably the best team in baseball right now, and he goes to the dugout with a 5 run lead, only to watch helplessly as the O’s inept bullpen all put threw underhanded to the Sox.
I’m not going to say that the Nats don’t do that because we all know Murphy’s Law. But even if (or perhaps when?) that happens in DC, I at least have confidence in Manny, the Lerners, Stan Kasten and, to a lesser extent, Bow Bow. I can reasonably expect that they’re taking precautions so that that sort of thing won’t become endemic to the organization as it has to Baltimore. I know many don’t agree with my level of confidence, but Kasten helped build the Atlanta dynasty and Ted Lerner built his business from the ground up. If Bow Bow can focus and not get distracted by shiny things, and if Manny becomes a good manager (both big IF’s, I know), then the Nats are fine. The O-crap’s! however, are in trouble.
Which brings me to the last part of this post: the weekend series in DC. I wish I could go to those games, but it’s just not practical being in Baltimore. Maybe if gas wasn’t $27.95 a gallon, I’d consider it. But the last three games of the series are here in Baltimore and I will be at all three of them so I don’t feel too bad. I’ve even talked my girlfriend into going to one, although I think she’s a baseball fan and just won’t admit it.
Anyway, as the weekend approaches, I’m going to write a special post for the series. Hopefully I’ll get to catch most of the games on MASN.
Some interesting articles to check out on what I posted about today:
1. Baltimore Orioles on SI.com
2. O's Frustration Boils Over
3. Late Bloomers (article in Boston Globe)
4. Nationals' SI.com Site
5. Nats Beat Braves (from Seattle Times)
6. Bugs and Crank post on O's Meltdown
7. Nationals Journal
And check out the news feed for lots of other information.
P.S.: My predicition for the Presidents' Race tonight: GW will just edge out TJ. George has won every race during this streak...the front office won't mess with karma.
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