Fouled-Off Bunts: One If By Land; Two If By Sea Edition

Jim Bowden continued his whirlwind tour of New England, interviewing with Les Sox for a second time, where they probably grilled him about the wisdom of investing $1 million on a pinch-hitter when the team only has three pitchers.

• Colin Powell has turned up the high-powered heat on the DC Council. He's been slapping some backs for the Malek/Zients group, of which he's an investor. Accordingly, Mayor Williams reendorsed that group. Can you hear the uppity snorts coming from Park Avenue?
  
  The same article reports that Franklin Haney, who greatly raised his profile with his announcement that he'd pay for cost overruns, is supposedly sweet-talking Stan Kasten, who has already be courted by the Lerner family. Haney's offer would certainly be more attractive now, but he's clearly a long shot for the role. (I've read on the BPG message board that Malek's groups has floated the idea of paying for cost overruns, but I can't find confirmation of that anywhere. Have any of you seen that?)


• The saga of Los Dos Joses continues.
  
  Guillen had his surgery today: "There was a lot of damage," Guillen said by telephone. "I'm pretty dizzy, but I think everything will be fine." If you're interested in his injury, it's a SLAP lesion.
  
  Vidro has passed on surgery. H e received another injection in the knee, which was plagued by tendinitis last season, and will begin another batch of rehab in a week or two. This needs to be watched closely. His legs/knees/entire lower body have been breaking down for about three seasons. Is rehab going to be enough?


• Bill Ladson returns with another mailbag, this one containing actual useful information!
  
  Ryan Drese's rehab is going well, and he should be ready for spring training. To beat the horse that I thoroughly gutted during the season, his arm angle was his problem last year. As his arm hurt more, his arm dropped lower, negating the action on his sinker, leading to lots of BP-quality pitches. I'm optimistic that he'll be a viable fifth starter next season -- and it wouldn't shock me to see him put up solid numbers.


• One of the sub-categories of the burgeoning cottage industry of Nats-blogging is Marlon-blogging. Pro Marlon: Banks, Beltway. Anti: Senators, Federals, OMG!, Curly W, TP, Wonk


• Basesless Speculation of the day: With Boston apparently having pitching coming out their gills now, it'd be easier to trade one of those spare arms for Wilkerson, eh, Bodes?


• Les Carpenter chats at 1 on Tuesday. Get your questions in -- he only gets to six an hour.


• Movie Pick O' The Week: Anatomy of a Murder. Excellent and fast-paced (despite its length) court room thriller starring Jimmy Stewart as a lawyer trying to get his mojo back, and who cheats and grandstands his way through a trial, using every trick in the book. It wonderfully questions the legal system, notably whether it's better to let a guilty man go free, and how victims, especially women, frequently have to defend themselves from crimes committed upon them. The acting is excellent -- one of Stewart's best performances. (And I'm not just saying that because of the humor/squirm factor of him uttering "panties" and "sperm.")