Felipe Lopez had some [expletive] interesting [expletive]to [expletive] say.

Seems to confirm my suspicion that the problem with Felipe is that he's trying too hard. As opposed to Zimm who sometimes doesn't appear to care that he just tossed a routine throw into right field.

Any Meat update, Barry?

Jones for this, Jones for that... this runnin' with the Joneses, boy, just ain't where it's at...

Just printed out the lineups. I really am leaving for the ballpark now. I think.

Anybody else read Boz's love letter to the O's today? God, I wish he would treat the Nats more fairly!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402465.html

The Braves are to Jones' as the Nats are to Ryans.

Not to mention Jesuses.

As to getting a tender offer for next season, the Nats should tell Felipe, "You're [expletive]."

BP pictures from the new park are posted in Miss Chatters site. Pretty cool and you get a nice look of parts of the stadium as well.

And used to be to Joses.

(Barry, were you the "Washington Reporter" that Jose Guillen talked to about returning to Washington? How much joy would that bring to your heart?)

As for Felipe, does he kiss his children with that mouth? It's good to see that he actually cares about his performance; maybe today we'll see some proof of that.

The Washington reporter in question was Sheinin. I haven't seen Jose since the winter meetings last year. Would have loved to see him in the playoffs this year, but that seems doubtful.

hey, I need a link for this "Jose Guillen Returning to Washington" Business.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/15/AR2007091501185.html?nav=rss_sports/index/mlb

Done!

sweet, thanks! I'd ditch Kearns for a HEALTHY Angry Man any day.

Indeed, because while Austin doesn't mean to hurt people, Jose does. Oh, yes, he wants that collision to hurt.

Section 506-

Nice one about Boz. I think that should give him a pass for the rest of the season.

How many times is Zimmerman going to bail out Hill today? As many as necessary, I hope.

Re: Felipe's choice of words with the press -- IIRC, Schneider had a similar outburst last year when he was feeling extraordinarily frustrated. I guess the profanity bothers me less in the context of extreme frustration than it does in casual conversation.

Felipe's words don't bother me one [RF] bit. It's his [RF] play and all the [RF] errors that get on my nerves. The cussing doesn't appear to be helping him improve.

If Kasten opens the gates for batting practice he will be my hero for life. That was the norm at ball parks until maybe 20 or 30 years ago.
Now, if he could bring back Sunday doubleheaders....

Missed Miss Chatter today. Also, the alternative tailgate location was occupied by an office party. I'd expect the same next weekend.

For the 9/23 tailgate, we'd best stick with the original plan, I think: Enter Lot 8, go all the way to the northeast end -- Section 8k -- and then around to the right to try to park next to the river and get some shade. (Thanks to Miss Chatter for putting the shade idea into my head.)

I need to work real hard this winter, because an inordinate number of summer afternoons will find me in my perch to watch BP around 4:00. Thanks, Stan!

(Hmm, wonder if I can sneak the laptop in there...)

I wasn't at today's game, that's why you missed me :-) I've been furiously editing video. Sticking to your plan sounds like a fine idea. People can beebop between the two too!

Cool, misschatter. Good luck on the video editing.

Nice dig, 506. That was an awesome column by Boz.

Tough game, guys. Especially all that first-pitch swinging and popping up or grounding out. Not that it might have mattered much (and not that I have the chops to back up such a bold suggestion), but if you'd laid off a few first pitches, Hudson might not have got his first complete-game victory of the season.

Tomorrow night against whilom Nat Brian Lawrence should be an interesting affair, and hopefully a more profitable one.

Done! And enjoying a well-deserved beer. Watched the game on tv (of course). It's too bad Shawn Hill didn't seem to have his usual stuff. I worry about him being too hard on himself, though.

Brian Lawrence should be interesting considering we never got to see him pitch. I'm not even sure what he looks like!

Barry, The season ticket holder event over the weekend was lame! It wasn't anything like the Picnic in the Park event last year. We got there when the gates opened and waited in line for 30 minutes before the players started signing autographs. By the time we got one autograph, they were done. Also, we were in line for Rauch to sign and he didn't look happy doing it. Also, I had heard rumors that the Nats were planning another Picnic in the Park but I guess it was not to be. Can you check into this and let us know what happened? What can we expect from the Nats as far as improvement in fan events now that we have the new stadium? Are we going to see an event at the DC convention center similar to what the O's do before the season starts? It will be nice to see the promised upgrade!

There were a couple of Braves fans sitting behind me in the OF before we all migrated to a shadier area. They were filling me in as I caught up with my scorecard (late due to tailgating with another group) and I asked them just how many Jones boys they had. They allowed as how they probably couldn't handle any more, but I did assure them that we had cornered the market on Ryans.

---

Jones for this, Jones for that... this runnin' with the Joneses, boy, just ain't where it's at...

Wait a minute. Everybody just stop for a minute. 9/23 is just ONE WEEK away?!? No. Wait. I'm not ready yet.(pant, pant). Can't they just keep playing a little longer? Oh gawd. I haven't prepared. It's too soon. What am I supposed to do after next week? (gulp) I promise I will quite griping about Cordero. I promise to appreciate every play, even the less sparkly ones. I'll come more often, and spread the Nats cheer wider than ever, if you'll just keep playing a little longer. Please?

C'mon ya'll. Can't we DO something?

sigh.

Hope Fick changes his at-bat music ("Gonna Fly Now") before the Phillies come to town.

Didn't know that you were in Lot 8 today, too, Hendo. Sorry to have missed you!

So I went and drank away my sorrows at the seemingly good idea of starting Rothlesberger over Brady on my fantasy team. They were playing Buffalo for goodness' sakes!

But not even that could keep me from the GB/A to prove the Nats aren't the worst team in history, in baseball, in the league, or in the division.

Nationals are on pace for a 72-90 finish. That will require them to go 6-7 in the remaining thirteen (!!!) games of the season, or one victory in each of the four series remaining, plus two more victories here or there.

It's also clear that the fate of the Philadelphia Phillies (is there a less imaginative nickname in sports?) lies in the hands of the Washington Nationals. Here's the list (and much longing to be in the National League's central division)

30. Tampa Bay (63-87), .420 (-3.5)
29. Chi Sox (64-85), .430 (-2)
27. Baltimore (64-84), .432 (-1.5)
27. Kansas City (64-84), .432 (-1.5)
25. Florida (65-84), .436 (-1)
25. Houston (65-84), .436 (-1)
22. San Francisco (66-83), .443 (0)
22. Pittsburgh (66-83), .443 (0)
22. NATS!!! (66-83), .443 (--)
21. Cincinnati (68-81), .456 (2)
20. Texas (70-79), .470 (4)
19. St. Louis (70-78), .473 (4.5)
18. Minnesota (72-77), .483 (6)

PHILADELPHIA (7 games remaining)
3.5 Games from the Division (E# 11) - Sweep would make E# 4
1.5 Games from Wild Card (E# 13) - Sweep would make E# 6

Thanks for the standings update, 506. Great stuff. And for that dig at Boz earlier. I've admired his baseball writing for years, but I do wish he could learn to love OurNats the way he loves that team up the road.

Barry, many thanks for the report on the naming of the Media Center for Shirley Povich. Did you ever meet him? I grew up reading his daily Post column, captioned This Morning. I believe he published a collection of his columns called "All These Mornings", perhaps in the '70s. He was a truly great sports writer. Even had me interested in boxing for a spell!. I never failed to smile when his byline reappeared during his "retirement".

I, too, am finding it hard to believe there's only one week left. I hope we have a decent crowd tomorrow night against the Mets; I hear the large fellows who play with that funny shaped ball are on TV tomorrow evening! With any luck, we can be home for the second half, right?

Barry, thanks for the effort you've made all season to provide timely, interesting stuff thru NJ.
And, to second the thought expressed earlier, please, please make sure the Lerners and Mr. K see the Thanks for the Memories posts. Many, many great posts there.

Hope to see a lot of you at the game Monday.

Yeah, I've got tix to the whole Phillies series. Not that I'm an addict or anything... :-)

I'll be at the game tonight with the Peace Corps section. If ya'll get there a little early you might see me in the parade of Peace Corps flags!
Dunn Loring, I think 506's dig at Boz was sarcastic. The link he gave was to another nice story about the Nats.

Barry,
Loved "twirled" in the gamer today. Nice old-fashioned baseball sportswriting word. Were you channeling Shirley Povich?

I think Barry used "spun" once or twice this season, too. The shade of Mr. Povich must be pleased.

Speaking of spinning, we learn that the reason Lawrence is pitching for the Mets is that El Duque is out. Can we sneak in a win here -- or at least not get Hudsoned again?

Great night for baseball. Pity I'll be in Atlanta. (Waiting for Delta 457 from National, as Barry would say. The mechanics are on board, so there goes my afternoon meeting.) Let's get 'em tonight.

About the gamer, I think Zim's quote was a gem. You just have to laugh.

That's exactly what Hudson was yesterday, tinkering with a curveball he said just "popped into my repertoire," then occasionally dropping down nearly side-arm to throw a wicked slider.

"He was making stuff up," Zimmerman said.

Hey Barry, with 13 games left in the season the Mets lead the Phillies by 3.5 games. The Nats final 13 games: 6 vs Mets; 7 vs Phillies. Going into this - the Nats are a combined 7-16 against these 2 teams (3-9 v Mets; 4-7 v Phil). The Mets also have 7 games vs Marlins and 1 makeup game with the Cardinals. The Phillies other games are 3 games apiece v Cards and Braves.

The Mets have the advantage - but what is your prediction, both for the division winner (and by how many games) and for how much the Nats figure into spoiling it for one team or the other.

Agree with the post about how WEAK the season ticket holder events were. These were so bad, I think they would have been better off doing nothing. Soda and water was not available for purchase Friday. The only 'event' was stationing four lower-level Nats for autographs for fifteen minutes. Detweiler, Schroder, Bascik, and Bergmann on Friday -- Rauch, Chico, Ayala and Flores on Saturday. You'd think they'd schedule Zimmerman, Kearns, Da Meat, Wily Mo -- some popular players -- for this. Skipping BP one day to take care of season ticket holders seems like a good investment to me.

They gave away three door prizes each day -- pretty good swag but only three -- doesn't exactly give you a good chance of winning. The ushers didn't check the emails provided to season ticket holders for entry, so many of those in attendence at these events were Braves fans -- in fact, Braves fans won at least one of the three door prizes on Saturday (they were sitting in Sec. 317), and were snickering about it as they stood up in front of the Nats fans doing the tomahawk chop and that tired and politically incorrect chant.

The ushers inside the stadium were hostile, screaming at you to only walk certain places like you were in prison. I attempted to get into Matt Chico's line at 5:05 and was angrily told by one usher to go away, the line was closed (despite only having about 10 people in it.) I waited till HE went away and got in the line about five minutes later. They aren't building much good will with these events. Acting politely with season ticket holders is a bare minimum, I would think, and maybe they need to hire people in the new stadium who's first reaction to things is not to scream angrily.

Jon Rauch is the most fan unfriendly ballplayer to wear a Nats uniform, IMO. I've been to about 60 games a year for the past three years and I have never seen him sign autographs voluntarily -- when selected for these events, he comes off as hostile. He's the only Nats player I've seen act this way towards the fans.

Did anyone else catch the injury update in Ladsen's column today? It's about the appearance of JPat in the clubhouse after his surgery and his recovery plans. What specifically caught my eye was the following:

"Patterson hopes to throw in three weeks and then play in the Dominican Winter League for the Licey Tigers. Nationals third-base coach Tim Tolman will be managing the club."

So let me get this straight... surgery was Friday 9/14. He hopes to throw in 3 weeks. He wants to play this winter in the Dominican Winter League whose regular season goes from 10/17 - 12/22. Best case that's one month recovery time. OK, let's say for argument's sake he can't pitch till midseason (mid November)... that's still two months recovery. It seems to me that if he had taken the team's medical advice and simply done this when they asked him to instead of seeking alternate methods with unrecognized treatments in Canada he could have played the last 1/2 to 2 months of the season.

What a wasted season for JPat. I hope for his sake he comes all the way back but I think we've discovered this season that the Nats don't need him as badly as they once thought they did.

Uh-oh, MKevin, you've baited JPs mom, tirade alert!

Methinks we will need some offense tonight. How about this:

Jimenez, ss (hitting well of late)
Belliard, 2b
Zimmerman, 3b
Young, 1b (hopefully)
Kearns, rf
Pena, lf
Maxwell, cf
Flores, c
Redding, p

It's the Mutts, I'd feel more comfortable with Logan in center. He knows it a lot better than J-Max. And J-Max is a threat off the bench, which Logan is not.

For those saying how unfriendly Jon Rauch was, it isn't just you or the fans. That's just how he is! Seen him in Spring Training at Carl Baerger complex, talking with the other players, he's pretty much a jerk to them too. Just on a rarity basis, your autograph from him ought to be worth something.

Rauch hasn't been the same since Delilah cut off his hair. You'd be cranky too if someone severed you from your source of power.

506, I agree that my lineup presents some defensive risks, but after yesterday I am desperate for some pop. The Mets have dropped three straight and are going to come out swinging, thinking they're going to need some runs to support Brian Lawrence. Plus Maxwell is supposed to be able to field his position well.

Here's what Baseball America's Prospect Handbook has to say about him (note that this was drafted before this season):

"Considered a potential first-round pick as a junior in 2004, Maxwell battled freak injuries in his final two seasons at Maryland. He signed late with the Nationals for a $390,000 bonus in 2005, and he was held back in extended spring training to start 2006 in order to find his rhythm. Maxwell hit a three-run homer in his pro debut in low Class A in late April before heading to the disabled list two weeks later after breaking his toe. He returned to the field a month later but played most of the second half at Vermont, where he flashed the power-speed mix that has tantalized scouts for years. Maxwell is a true five-tool talent with above-average speed that translates well on the basepaths and in the outfield. A long strider, Maxwell has excellent range and a solid-average arm in center field. He show plus raw power in batting practice but has yet to harness it. Maxwell's swing tends to get long and he has trouble with pitches on the outer half. He has a solid approach at the plate, but he needs an uninterrupted string of at-bats so he can polish his offensive game. Maxwell should return to low Class A to open 2007, but at age 23 he needs to get moving, so the Nationals figure to push him once he gets his feet wet."

I say let's push him again tonight!

As someone who commits journalism myself, I have to respond, Dunn Loring.

Homers belong on broadcasts of the Simpsons, not in the press box.

He can support whomever he wishes in his personal life, and I believe from what he's said and written about his own baseball fandom that he is in fact a Nationals fan, but when he sits down at his keyboard I don't want Thomas Boswell to love the Nationals. Or the Orioles. Or anybody else. I want to read an accurate and impartial analysis that Boz happens to phrase in some of the finest writing you'll find in any daily newspaper on this planet.

Of course, one of the things you learn really fast in this business is that impartial looks like partial in the other direction to a partisan on one side or the other. Which is why there's a journalism axiom that "you're not covering a story correctly unless both sides of it hate your guts".

As to the great (and THAT is even an understatement) Shirley Povich, I still remember how Povich filed his final column on the very day that he left us, and that The Post ran that very solid piece of writing in the same editions as his obituary.

I don't think any of us could ask for a better way to go.

--- ---- --- ---

...And for that dig at Boz earlier. I've admired his baseball writing for years, but I do wish he could learn to love OurNats the way he loves that team up the road.

Barry, many thanks for the report on the naming of the Media Center for Shirley Povich. Did you ever meet him? I grew up reading his daily Post column, captioned This Morning. I believe he published a collection of his columns called "All These Mornings", perhaps in the '70s. He was a truly great sports writer. Even had me interested in boxing for a spell!. I never failed to smile when his byline reappeared during his "retirement".
Posted by: Dunn Loring | September 16, 2007 11:56 PM

I think JP's treatment in Canada and the surgery last week were for seperate problems. If memory serves one was a forearm issue and the other and upper arm issue. Can someone back me up on that?

Bob L. Head, very interesting on Maxwell, I have a lot of hope for him. You wouldn't hear me complain about starting him, though I myself wouldn't do it. I'd be thinking that Nook's spectacular catches - whether necessary or not - can suck some of the wind out of rallies, but even more, the thought of having to face Maxwell off the bench might make the Mets sweat a bit. His pinch-hit grand slam echoed loudly around the division, from what my out of town friends tell me.

Of course, getting an even better look at the kid isn't a bad idea either.

estuartj - JPat's arm problems this year appear to be all related to the same thing: scar tissue constricting his radial nerve.

The following is an excerpt from Barry's article dated 9/1:

"The next day, it started bothering me," he said. From that point forward, Patterson had trouble regaining his velocity, and he said yesterday that the resulting pain from his nerve problems -- which affected both his forearm and his upper arms -- was "the worst pain you can imagine."

Link to the full article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/31/AR2007083101831.html

My thinking on Maxwell is that you want to give him a few starts to see what he can do while, at the same time, putting him in a position to succeed and not in a game or situation that risks destroying his confidence. Tonight we face the less than scary Brian Lawrence. Tomorrow it's Maine and Wednesday Glavine. So, better to start him tonight. Logan is also an asset off the bench, as a pinch runner and/or late inning defensive replacement (I think this is his appropriate role on this team, where we need to improve AVG, OBP and power numbers -- I don't think Nook will ever be a good enough hitter to bat first or second on a contender, if you're only going to hit singles you need to hit them more often than Nook does). Plus Church would be available off the bench.

New post.

Hey, maybe that's what happened to me, too!

---

Rauch hasn't been the same since Delilah cut off his hair. You'd be cranky too if someone severed you from your source of power.

Going with the assumption, which was once posited by a pillar of the NJ community, that everyone has some good in them, I've seen Rauch tossing balls up into the stands on occasion and there was also the story about him helping Guze tie his tie (or shoes?) after the infielder's injury.