I Wish I Could've Passed Over This Game

It's been said that a bad day at the ballpark is better than a good day most anywhere else. Those who've said that clearly weren't in attendance at game two of what's already been a looooooong season.

First, let's look at the good.

OK, now that we've done that, let's look at what went wrong.

Josh Wilson might have had the single worst defensive game in the history of the major leagues. Somehow thanks to an official scorer who is either 1) a fan of moonshine or 2) legally blind, (perhaps 1 caused 2?) he was only credited with one error, but wow, I know I'm not the only person who clenched their sphincter when the ball was hit towards him.

It really was a sight to see. As it rolled towards him, he'd circle it like a novice matador, sliding around it as if he were afraid of being gored by it. When it got close, he'd slide his glove down to make the play, all the while sliding his body around it every which direction. On the two or three times glove actually met horsehide, he scooped it up and lobbed the throw without ever setting his feet.

Shawn Hill's line looks ugly, but much of that ugliness is because of El Matador. With Cristian Guzman now headed to the DL and the Butcher of Columbus, D'Angelo Jimenez on his way, Wilson's probably headed back to the bench.

I sorta feel for Hill. Some of it was his own doing, but he, for the most part, got the ground balls he needed. It's just that the stiffs behind him (including the OLE! play by Boots Young at first) stunk.

They've been completely terrible offensively so far. And it wasn't until the 5th and 6th inning that they started showing the patience with their batting eyes that helped them out so much last year. Of course, they did only manage to score two runs on those fives walks over those two innings...

Much of that lies at the feet of the Marlins starting pitcher. He pounded the zone early in the game, and, as I've mentioned 5 times already today, the Nats current lineup is especially vulnerable to left-handed pitching.

I'm about done with Ryan Church. The guy can play, but he's a head case. He wasn't a bad defender until the team and certain writers started talking about how bad his defense was, then he started doing his deer in headlights impersonation of any liner hit to center. It happened again today, as he got caught on one ball he definitely should've nabbed, and another he might've had a better read on.

If he's not going to field at all, and he's not going to hit, then it's time to look elsewhere. He did, though, smoke a ball late in the game, probably the hardest hit ball of the night.

I love Ryan Zimmerman as much as the next guy, but tonight's game shows how stupid and selective the idea of clutch is. He had a bunch of chances to get the big hit, but hit into a force out every chance he had. He's lucky that they didn't turn into GIDPs.

I've noticed (and this goes back to last year) that when he gets two strikes on him, he's MUCH more likely to hit a weak grounder. Same happened tonight.

For the second straight game, Brian Schneider, with runners on and trailing big, hit a sac fly. And for the second straight game, the crowd cheered him like a conquering hero. It's not that the sac fly and the run are a bad result. It's just not a good one. With the bases loaded and trailing by 6, is trading one run for an out really something good?

Scott Olsen started the game 2-2, smoking a double past Kearns in right. The defense had him played the other way, thinking he wouldn't be able to pull anything, but when Hill's best pitch is a high-80s sinker, they might need to reconsider that. He did the same thing two innings later, hitting one that almost went past Kearns for a second double.

Kory Casto did ok against a tough lefty, ripping a solid hit in the fourth for his first major league hit.

It's really disheartening right now, but things would be a bit better if the offense were doing well, and it's just not going to against those particular pitchers.

They get Anibal "Lee" Sanchez tomorrow. He's a righty, but he also dominated us last year (25 innings, 7 ER). He's a bit wild, and if they can show the patience they had against Olsen late in his appearance, they could make it interesting.

On the other side is Matt Chico, the AA-baller making his Major League Debut. Somewhere, Miguel Cabrera is salivating.