The Fed Lowers The Boom

How's your interest rate? Much less, after reading this, no doubt.

In the first 20-game stretch, the Nats hit a particularly punchless .240/.322/.345. Yet, that's positively Ruthian performance compared to the first 14 games of this next interval, in which they've batted .211/.287/.304. To put this in perspective -- because, as an old roommate used to say, I'm a big fan of perspective -- the Nats as a collective body have essentially spent the last two weeks impersonating Rey Ordonez. Keep in mind these two weeks are making the first three weeks, in which the Nats basically hit like the Royce Clayton we all knew and loved, look good.

There's more -- including a handy-dandy chart about the 'improvements' to the starting pitching, which is still depressing -- just a click away.