Cinco Preguntas

Joining the rest of Western civilization, I've traded questions and answers with the good folks at Curly W. My curmudgeonly replies to their questions should pop up on their site sometime today. [Hey, look at that! They've magically appeared on his site. (It took me a long time to find a picture that looked sufficiently grumpy)] In the meantime, here're Brandon's answers to my mediocre questions.

1: What makes a baseball blog good?

For me, the best baseball blogs are the ones where I can feel the writer's enthusiasm jumping out of the screen at me. I love writing that makes me feel something. I think that blogs are the ultimate in personal expression; only a blogger's passion and personal values constrain the content. I enjoy reading the beat writers' accounts of games, but I've never read a piece by any of them and really felt what it must have been like to be there and experience it. I love reading Screech's Best Friend's posts (for example) because when he uses all caps YOU GET PUMPED UP WITH HIM! I love MissChatter's firsthand accounts of Nats events because you know she's psyched to be there. Anything that makes me smile, laugh or think "hell yeah!" is a great blog.

2: Who is your least favorite Nat, and why?

This is a tough one. We Nats fans have been blessed so far to not have anyone eminently hateable on the team. I'm not talking about unpopular players like Guzman, I'm talking about villains like Rafael Palmeiro or Barry Bonds. I guess my least favorite current Nat would have to be Tony Womack, only because of what his signing means about the desperation of this club at this moment in its history.

3: With the prospect of facing regular losses, why'd you decide to spring for season tickets this year?

Because there are very few things in this world I love more than an outing to RFK. Sure, I want the team wins and I hate watching them lose, but I can honestly say that my life has been so enriched by having this team here for the past few years. I've shared so many awesome moments at the park with my friends and family, and even by myself. I went to a game last year with my Dad and it was probably the first baseball game I've attended with him in fifteen or twenty years. I've had a blast tailgating before and after games with old friends and new. I can vividly remember these moments I've spent with the people that matter most to me, but I can't remember if the Nats won or lost.

Oh, that and I wanted to get priority for the new stadium.

4: What qualities do you look for in a good GM, and which of those does Bowden have?

Bowden is such a controversial figure, but there is no question that he is nothing if not tenacious. The dude will never give up and he'll never take no for an answer. That kind of resolve is a very powerful force if it's aligned with the greater interests of the team. Bowden goes astray when he starts shining that laser on himself, as he did last winter when things were in limbo. Even after two and a half years it's still hard to comprehensively evaluate his performance with the Nats because the equation has changed so much.

5: If Jim Bowden weren't involved in professional sports, what would he be doing? Would you still be blogging, if you couldn't write about baseball or football?

If Jim Bowden weren't involved in professional sports I think he'd make a heck of a lobbyist or salesman. After all, he got Krivsky to take Tex! (snicker)

I don't know if I'd still be blogging if I couldn't write about baseball or football. I tried to start a general-purpose blog of snarky commentary on current events back in early 2004, but I got bored with myself and it died.

Super-Duper Bonus Question: Nook Logan, Alex Escobar, Chris Snelling, Mike Restovich and Ryan Church all climb into a steel cage. Who wins? Would your answer be different if we gave Church a metal folding chair?

I think Church wins even without the folding chair. He's got to have a belly full of anger inside him. Fate has just not been kind to him for some unexplained reason. I'd love to see the guy get a shot here but at this point I'm rooting for him to get traded so he can hopefully get a fair shake somewhere else.