Dissecting Bowd-Son

Loyal readers of Pravda know that Bill Ladson is your go-to guy. He certainly works hard, but as I and a few others have noted, he's not always where you'd need to go to view things critically (See the post below this for another example).

When at the games, if you look at the pressbox, he's easy to identify, because he's the only one wearing a NATS #1 foam finger (at least when Tom Boswell's not there).

The other way to identify him is that Jim Bowden is usually whispering in his ear.

With that in mind, there are some interesting things in his latest notebook.

Vinny's knee still hurts. Originally he was going to be back Tuesday, but Guillen's HBP changed that.

The team is considering Dutch Zimmerman if Vinny continues to ache (and stink). Ladson says that his 'baseball source' [Who could that possibly be? Hmmmm] said they almost promoted him last week.

WTF, Bodes?

I love Dutch, but he's hitting just .267/ .333/ .456. That's wonderful when you factor in his age, and the advanced league, but it's still just double-A!

Not only is he not ready offensively, why would you start his arbitration clock? The earlier you bring him up the sooner you lose him, and the more quickly he gets expensive. Great idea, Bodes.

If you want a slick fielding, non-hitting third baseman, use some of your contacts and get Chris Sabo out of retirement.

NJ will be back on Tuesday. Good!

Now, who gets wacked? Buck says, Sunny Kim, who Ladson conviently notes, has put up a Horganesque 8.15 ERA in relief.

It's amazing how that stat just popped up there in today's notebook, isn't it?

The team is discovering that Preston Wilson sucks as a CFer. Who knew? (Put your hand down; It was rhetorical)

But Ladson quotes Frank defending him, using the 'he's just getting used to RFK' line.

Does that make any sense at all? Isn't a popup that drops in behind second base the same no matter what? And Coors Field has one of the largest centerfields in the majors. It's not like he was going from a bandbox to Griffith Stadium. Give it a rest. He stinks.

Ladson also says that 'a reporter' initiated the questioning. I'm presuming he tacked that on in case Big Brother was watching.

Ladson mentions that the Nats tried to acquire Eddie Guardado, but that the Mariners wanted John Patterson. That's laughable by itself, but I appreciated Ladson's positive outlook, and risk-taking assertion about Patterson: "Patterson is considered one of the best starters on the Nationals' roster."

Way to step out on a limb there, Laddy!

I hear Some would say that you're one of the best beat writers on Nationals.com!

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We kid because we love, Rocket Bill! (Well, I do, but I'm pretty sure that Distinguished Senators hates you)