THE BELTWAY BOYS: Phils Fall To Nats Bats, 6-3

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Phils Fall To Nats Bats, 6-3

[August 16th] - Somewhere, there is a guy who hides deep within the shadows between the real and the unreal. There in his closet is an on/off switch that is plainly marked "Washington Nationals." About a month ago, he turned the switch to the "off" position. Last week, having sensed that the suffering he caused was second only to having a Republican in the White House, he turned the Nats back on.

Hey fella, leave the dang switch alone.

The sweep against the Colorado Rockies was expected if the Washington was to have any hope in catching all those teams suddenly in front of them. But the Phillies are different. They ARE one of the teams who surged past the then struggling Nationals. Further, the Phils sent to the mound 10 game winner Brett Myers.

Wasn't even close.

The Nationals scored 6 runs on 10 hits, thanks to two home runs by Preston Wilson and a solo shots by Brian Schneider and Nick Johnson. All of a sudden, the Nationals are beginning to flex their muscles. Why? I don't think it's because all of a sudden the entire team has found its batting stroke. Rather, the team simply couldn't continue to hit as poorly as they had for the past month. Statistically, the team had to start hitting again. By the end of the season, these long streaks of quality hitting [remember, the team led the league in team batting average as late as mid June when the Nats went to Arizona to play the Diamondbacks] and even longer streaks of poor hitting will all even out and the Nats will end up being a slightly better than average team.

For now, let's enjoy the winning streak while it lasts. Oh, by the way, did anyone notice that Cristian Guzman made another error??

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 9:34 PM

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Rasner Rocks For Yanks

What was it that Jim Bowden said when he lost Darrell Rasner to the Yankees through waivers last winter? Wasn't it something like, "C'mon, it wasn't like he was going to make an impact at the major league level?" Well Jimbo, it seems like some of your "minor" transactions are coming back to haunt you.

Rasner, a 6'3" righty from Carson City, Nevada, was waived February 11th by the Nationals, just a couple of weeks before the start of spring training. He was picked up and assigned to 'AAA' Columbus. He had some injuries this year, but it didn't effect his pitching. In 58 innings for the Clippers, Rasner went 4-0, 2.76. But wait. There's more.

Pitching on Sunday against the Twins, Rasner pitched 6 strong innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits. In two starts, he's now 1-0, 1.17.

What do you always like to say, Jim, something about "You can never have enough pitching?" Let's see, you waived Rasner, and he's starting for the Yankees. You waived Claudio Vargas, and he's starting for the Diamondbacks. You waived Byung Young Kim, and he's starting for the Rockies. You traded Tomo Ohka for a guy no longer in the major leagues, and he's starting for the Brewers.

Jim, if I were you, I'd stay away from the waiver wire. Seems like you haven't figured it that it's supposed to help the team, not hurt it.

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I am a 49 year old father of six. Born in Beirut Lebanon, I have lived in dozens of countries world-wide and ten states here in America. Although I was born in the Middle East, I consider Washington, D.C. my home town. I have lived in Pocatello Idaho since 1991. Although D.C. is a great place to enjoy life, Idaho is a great place to raise your children. My kids have benefited from the safe surroundings and quality education we have here.

Two of my six children were born with serious physical and mental handicaps, which has made my life anything but normal [don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have had it any other way]. Kendi died two years ago at the age of 20 due to a nurse's error during a routine medical procedure. I miss her so very much.

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Big Changes, Little Names

Big happenings? Nah. Just happenings. Zach Day was designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies and Capitol Punishment is reporting that the Nats have claimed him off the waiver wire. So we ended up getting Preston Wilson for nothing. That's nice. Billy Traber, he of the tight leash, was sent down to New Orleans and replaced by Mike O'Connor.

That's all well and good, but don't look to any of these moves making a difference in the play of the team. But hey, it's something to talk about. Right?