No WMP tonight huh? Can you say pinch hitter?

Barry, assuming Mark Lerner and his ownership posse won't be encountering a Clint clone or hearing Sweet Caroline while they're in Minute Maid, Coors or Dodger Stadium, is there any possibility you could discreetly draw that to their attention and slyly hint that the absence of same makes those parks very, very appealing? I mean without compromising your journalistic objectivity, of course. I know that if you could do that, I and some 20 to 35 thousand of my closest friends would be eternally grateful.

And if perchance the real Ryan Seacrest is seen around Dodger Stadium, could you perhaps mention that the Nationals already have enough Ryans for one team, so it wouldn't be a good idea to be hiring a Seacrest or Seacrest clone for the new park?

How 'bout it - could you do that for us?

Please tell the Lerners to note the excellent customer service at Dodger Stadium! They must train everyone from the parking lot attendants to the hot dog guys to be neatly dressed, friendly and helpful. Quite a contrast with RFK.

Minute Maid, as Barry pointed out in the chat yesterday, is kind of odd. On one hand, it's a bit on the tacky side, what with the train and the centerfield pole and hill.

On the other hand, it's got that retractable roof. That may sound like a bad thing - and trust me, I know how crappy indoor baseball is - but seriously, try sitting through nine innings in Houston in August. Not only is it hot and muggy, but it kind of smells, too.

I don't know what the Lerners are going to get out of their trip to Houston, but I can assure you the bathrooms are fully stocked and the water fountains all work. That's a start!

Well with WMP going 0-4 last night (with 1-2 SOs?) It makes sense to rest him with another right pitching, but I think this is further proof that theis team is going to ride with Kearns no matter what he does with the bat.

I've also run into the no toilet paper quandry at RFK (as a former Girl Scout, I was prepared, but that's probably Way Too Much Information). I will say, though, that since the new owners took over, the stadium personnel that I've encountered have been friendly, polite, and helpful for the most part.

I'm assuming that Oswalt will not pitch tonight due to his oblique strain (I think that was the cause)? The Nats site does not have him as the probable pitcher, but the 35-center did.

I'm STUNNED to see Lopez starting, after what he did in the first inning, last night.

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To summarize, we're on pace to score fewer runs than we ever have since arriving in DC. This is despite the unforeseen seasons from Dmitri, Ronnie, Guzman's first half, etc. Cut it however you like, but the offense really is critically deficient.

Our pitching/defense appears to be middle-of-the-road, even by Nationals comparisons (scary). We have yet to approach our prowess of the inaugural season (the pitching of which kept us in contention until late in the season).

Moral of the story: we are a feel-good team this year, but we can't let our minor success compared to laughably low expectations temper the fire. We have much further to go on both sides of the ball (sorry, can't help the football analogy). As most of us have started to feel, however, even as our pitching situation appears to be on the upswing, our offense will be letting the team down for the foreseeable future without a major shot in the arm.

Posted by: faNATic | August 23, 2007 06:09 PM

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Duh, faNATic -
We KNOW this. Why? Because we're Nats FANS. We're smart. We know what's up.

Do we think we're challenging for the pennant? No.

Do we think we have a team of "hard-working, tail-busting, sometimes-playing-over-their-heads, play-to-the-final-pitch, show the 90M payrolls and blowhard pundits what we CAN do" players? Yes.

You want to douse reality on some baseball fans? Go to Tampa - arrive early, fans go to bed by 8. Or B'more. They can at least blame Angelos.

We like our kool-aid RED and hot! Don't wanna drink it? Lots of other choices for ya out there! ;-)

We should not lose the points made by faNatic at the end of the last chain, to the effect that while this year's pitching has been a pleasant surprise, our offense seems likely to continue to be deficient going forward.

Two thoughts on this: First, on the positive side, the success of the random pitchers we have used this year validates the argument that some (in the organization and outside) were making in Spring Training that the 2006 starters were so bad that random castoffs and AAA pitchers could probably outperform them. (I guess that's on the positive side ... hmmn ...)

On the negative side, while we seem to have a lot of likeable guys on the team, at least some of those guys probably have to go and be replaced by top-shelf talent if we're going to contend. This team is not 2-3 players away, more like 5-6 (including pitchers). We probably need a leadoff hitting middle infielder, a power hitting left fielder, a top-of-the-order hitting center fielder, and two top-of-the-rotation starters.

Before we go out and sign any top-shelf free agents, we probably need to develop a few of those players internally. Otherwise you just end up with an average team with 1-2 stars that are too old when the young guys come up.

So maybe 2012 instead of 2009-10 is more realistic.

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You want to douse reality on some baseball fans? Go to Tampa - arrive early, fans go to bed by 8. Or B'more. They can at least blame Angelos.

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Or try the Major-League farm club franchises: Pittsburgh, KC, Tampa, Cincinnati, Colorado -- perfecting the motto:

"We build 'em, You Buy 'Em!"

"So the recent discussions y'all have had about Logan and his future and Schneider/Flores, etc., have got me to thinking about rolling out a series over the next week or so, breaking down each position with stats and contract status, etc., and then letting you guys discuss the future of each position on this team. Would y'all be interested?"

I think this could be interesting BUT I also think it can be very divisive to compare one player with another. Also the writer must be very careful not to play favorites - as I believe Barry sometimes does. I'm sure it is hard to be objective when you personally like one player better than another or are down on a player for something that is not his fault - such as being on the DL. It can also cause some fans who favor one player to bash fans who support another. Please be very careful, Barry.

So, back to the point of this Journal, I hope that the LErners learn something about stadiums on their field trip. I hope they notice things like "local color" including foor and beverages, as well as the classy way that some stadiums appeal to fans. Clint is so cheesy that he wouldn't even work in Wisconsin. I love the usher who does Sweet Caroline, but I'm sure he'll find a way to entertain with a Nationals song that isn't used by other clubs.

I also hope that the Lerners consider what another previous poster said and utilize fan surveys for the new stadium. If they don't we ALL need to send them emails to let them know our preferences!

I am looking forward to the new stadium almost as much as the new payroll!

Go Nats!