Not this S again

Heavens to betsy a real live scandal in Washington. Who would have expected that?

Every two-bit blow dried TV sports hack is so happy to have a chance to pick up one of the precious local Emmy's for their in-depth coverage of this "cheating" scandal.

Please.

I repeat my self: I couldn't care less about steroids in sports.  And neither should anyone else.

It's cheating you say. It's against the rules.  So are emory boards and corked bats. 

Unless the integrity of the game is at stake (i.e. I'm looking at you Pete Rose) why should I care if some of the trained performers are destroying their bodies for my amusement?  I don't.  They bought the ticket, they are taking the ride.  They made a choice: I want to fame and money that comes from athletic achievement and I'm willing to sacrifice my health for it.

It's called freedom folks.  Maybe you'd make a different choice.  Good for you.  Now shut the F up and let me watch 600 ft home runs.

But now we're going to be subjected to another round of anguished moralizing from TV radio and bloggers all dredging this crap up.  

One positive at least for me is: there will be a ton of ink and electrons spilt over the next few weeks on this subject.  And I can safely ignore it all.  I probably would have wasted my time reading about the sport itself.  What will I do with all this free time?


I baseball news I care about: grapevine brings news that Nick J. is a target of TWGMIBB.  Usually, custom dictates that you don't deal in your own division.  But when it comes to TWGMIBB, you HAVE to. 

Now, all that he's got on his ledger to deal are potential mediocraties like Jon Niese, Mike Antonini, Eddie Kunz, and big leaguer Bobby Parnell.

Check out their numbers.  They may have "potential" but not one of them screams useful big leaguer.  Parnell throws hard but then again so does Hanrahan.  Neither knows exactly where it's going.  The others are fodder, maybe a tick better than Clippard and more advanced than say McGeary or Arenson. 

The caveat I always hear is: well you can't expect much for Nick J.  He's hurt all the time.  Well, he ain't hurt now.  And you are only buying the next four months.  If you want to add 2-3 wins to your team over that time (hint that may be the difference between making the postseason and not) you are going to have to pay.  Even better, there is no long term commitment involved.  $3m tops.  No one else on the trade market offers a better combination of win now and don't pay later.

Rizz: if you are still awake after D-Cab's last start then here's what you need to be looking for: a young middle infielder who can get on base.  Pitching is second but please don't panic and deal Nick J. for middle relievers.  Just don't.  I find it real hard to believe that the Red Sox turned down Nick J. for Manny Delcarmen.  I have no doubt Theo would do that deal in a heartbeat.

Call Sabien in San Francisco.  He needs to win NOW.  He doesn't have a contract for next year and if they don't win the west or at least get the wild  card then he's gone.  That means his focus in the next four months.  And he's got a buttload of young pitching.  Alderson, Bumgarner and a few others.  Finally, they have a sucking chest wound at 1st.  Nick J. might make the Giants 4-5 wins better over the next four months just by benching the suckitude they've been running out there.

Comparing the losing

There isn't much to say about the current 6 game losing streak.  How many times can you write about a decent start, some early offense and then a bullpen collapse.  It's like having to watch a community theater production of Death of a Salesman over and over again.  The acting is amateurish but the lines sparkle at times but in the end you are depressed at both the content and the players.

So I'd rather compare what this losing feels like versus previous bouts of losing. 

The '08 start: my recollections are of having almost no hope from the get go.  Games would go by with no discernible offensive highlights.  It felt like defeat was preordained.

2nd Half of '05.  Maybe the closets to this stretch in that the first half success gave you hope every night.  Hey 10 in a row was possible so maybe tonight's the night the magic returns. 

This may be the worst of all simply because game after game is a stomach punch.  The top of the order always leaved you with hope that an insurmountable lead could be generated or a small deficit could be overcome.  Then, the Lucy-like bullpen whips the football out from your toe and bam flat on your back.

I am even awaiting the first successful late inning close out by the pen.  It has to be coming, the odds have to fall in their favor once right?   It will seem like a little green shoot, a little bit of sunshine has finally appeared and optimism peeks its fragile head out for a look around. 

Then ka boom they collapse again smashing optimism and finally deflating you once and for all.  Maybe I'm wrong, maybe they can lose a town.


I like all this trade chatter of the past few days.  I hope it's true that Boston and the Giants are looking to upgrade at 1B (SF) or DH (Bos).  Both of those teams have loaded farm systems esp. pitching.  At this point, would you love to see Manny Delcarmen at the back end of the bullpen?  Bard or Buchholtz too.  And would FJB's head explode if they got Michael Bowden? Could he type his last name without twiching?

Buster's a reader?

Highly doubtful.

But I have irrefutable proof that I raised this topic before My. Olney.

I can also say the sun will rise in the East tomorrow and be ahead of a lot of prognosticators.


Of more interest is this nugget from the Times:

Indeed, the Nationals have seen this act far too many times already this year. Six times they've entered the ninth inning either leading or tied and wound up losing. Seven times they've scored six or more runs and still lost, including the last three days.
And then the most damning stat of them all: Washington relievers have had 15 opportunities to save games this year. They've blown 10 of them.
"We have tried everybody and their cousins, and we still can't get anybody to put a zero up in the eighth and the ninth innings," Acta said. "And that's really just killing us."
Acta has tried Hanrahan. He has tried Julian Tavarez. He has tried Kip Wells. And he has tried Beimel. The only thing that has changed is the name on the back of the uniform, leaving the beleaguered manager with growing discontent in his clubhouse and few answers for how to remedy the problem.

Does the "discontent" spring from legitimate concerns by the players that Manny is misusing the bullpen?

If that's the case and the players have decided they don't trust their leadership then the game's up.  No organization can function when the leadee's don't trust and believe in the leader.  It's true for Boy Scouts through the Army and right on to the Shady Acres condo board. 

Of course, when the hitters stank last year Lenny Harris was the sacrificial lamb.  Does Randy St. Claire have a long term lease?  His tenure has seen Nats pitchers throw better than expected for the most part.  Esp. the bullpen guys who have thrown an inordinate number of innings with decent results the last few years.

Maybe he'll survive with the old chicken salad out of chicken s(*&^ defense. 

Nats send Terrell Young, the #1 player taken in the Rule V draft back to Cincinnati.  Fortunately, no one from this draft is doing much.  David Patton is the only one I could think of who's still in the Bigs (aside from Everth Cabrera the Padres SS).  He'd fit right in with the pen now.  Don't they get seom money back for returning Young?  That's got to be the reason.