Lazy Feet, Lots of Sliders, A Homer and a Joe Horgan Jersey

Random thoughts....

Shawn Hill is Teh Awesome! What impresses me is his intelligence as a player. He managed the rundown of the runner off second perfectly, tried bunting for a base hit when the 3B was camped out in Petworth, and something else I made a mental note of but have now forgotten...

Were all the bunts he did because his lead shoulder is still bugging him? Was he afraid to swing?

Hard to tell from where I was sitting, but it looks like he was throwing from a lower arm slot. That's usually not a good sign, but what the hell do I know?

His slider (was it a curve?) was deadly. I can't tell you how many ugly swings I saw on that thing, where the batters were way out in front and off balance.

Memo to Manny: Next time, put one of the defensive subs in section 468.

Is the CORDERO SUCKS!!!! crowd going to be calling for Rauch's head today?

Have you ever seen so many missed/failed bunts in one game as this one? Why is this team so terrible at it? It's been that way for 3 years, and even seems to be worse this year. Fix it, Manny!

I'm sure Philly fans were quaking in their boots having to face the dreaded Langerhans, Schneider, Logan, Jimenez in the bottom of the ninth.

Ryan Zimmerman is a sloppy player. His errant throws aren't a result of his arm, but his feet. He repeatedly and consistently refuses to shuffle his feet into a good throwing position, especially when he has time. His E in the 8th was a perfect example, where he had plenty of time to make an easy throw. Instead he threw off his back foot, off balance, and the throw went wild.

All he has to do is take a step or two. It's the same problem that has afflicted Lopez.

Bad throws are generally sloppy feet. Fix it, Manny!

An emailer let me know that he saw a Joe Horgan jersey at RFK tonight. As we know, Joe Horgan sightings mean bad things pitching-wise for Nats fans. Damn you, Joe Horgan!

When Tony Alfonseca waddled in from the pen, I wondered when the Nats had traded Ray King.

I love that little swagger/waddle that Ray King has when he comes off the mound. He sort of rotates his hips as he walks, so his dainty little feet and legs make small circular motions, while the bulk of his upper body rocks from side to side. He reminds me, in a vague sort of way, of the gears of a clock turning a pendulum motion into a rotational motion. If we split him open, is he part robot? (A gooey robot, perhaps)

Austin Kearns is terrible. That is all.

Did you realize that his double is only Tony Batista's second XBH of the year? Did you know it came on a slider you could've hung a three-piece heavy wool suit, complete with overcoat, on?

At one point, the Phillies had a conference on the mound - had to be the 7th -- and the entire infield came to the mound save for 3B Greg Dobbs. He stood at his position, kicking the dirt at the edge of the grass with his head down, looking like he had zero interest in joining the team and that was the only thing he could figure out to do so he didn't look like he was ignoring them. After a few beats, he slowly trotted in, just in time for the meeting to start breaking up. He hung around, grabbed the resin bag, looked around, watched everyone leave, then spiked the bag as if to say "go get 'em, team!"

Lohse came up and in on Zimmerman once or twice. I don't think there was intent there, but it'll be interesting to see if they try to get one back at some point in this series for the Utley injury.

Saul Rivera came in, again. I wonder when his arm is going to fall off. The man pitches in EVERY game. Despite missing the first two weeks of the season, he's second in the league in appearances.

Belliard continues his freefall. He swings at EVERYTHING. It's particularly painful watching the pitchers toss him anything high and hard. He comes out of his shoes, stretching his small body high, swinging with everything he has to catch up to the cheese. (He probably wishes that it really was cheese)

Wouldn't a better headline for this be "Nationals Fail To Sign Sixth-Round Pick?"

"Lerners Cheap Bastards" probably wouldn't fly over there.

Shawn Hill is Teh Awesome!!!