What Not to Do

Note TO self FROM self:

Never, ever again get so excited because your baseball team gets off to a dynamite start at the beginning of the season. As soon as you start having those crazy hopes and dreams (not to mention writing about those crazy hopes and dreams), everything goes to damn Hell. Your team's hitting and pitching begins to fall apart. Only five players out of the entire roster haven't let you down so far: Nick Johnson, John Lannan, Odalis Perez, Lastings Milledge, and Cristian Guzman.

Lannan and Perez have been solid starting pitchers. When your team's starting pitching allows only the 2 or 3 runs per game that those two have, your team should win. But since everyone on the Nationals apparently forgot how to hit (excluding Johnson, Milledge, and Guzman of course) they haven't been able to break an 8 game losing streak that will probably continue today when John Smoltz tears the Nationals a new one.

Now you look like a stupid asshole for getting all excited before. From now on, you, be reticent of fortunes that any wins the Nationals get will foretell. If they win anymore games this season, as it were...

It's About Damn Time...

...that the baseball season is here again. Thank God because, while I am loving the Washington Capital's season and Alexander Ovechkin's superhuman hockey exploits, there's just nothing like spectating the epic clashes between two teams battling for control of the diamond. The Nationals got off to a good 3 (wins) 0 (losses) start but blew a 5 run lead yesterday to lose 8-7 to the Phillies. Although, even with a 3 (wins) 1 (loss) record they are still at the top of the National League East. It's still only the first week of the baseball season so I am constantly having to check my enthusiasm and high hopes. I'm just gonna have to see how the rest of the season goes but so far the Nationals are having a promising start.

Speaking of starts, Opening Night on Sunday was just amazing. I wasn't able to go the inaugural game at the new Nationals Park but I did watch the entire game on TV. I laughed (with and not at) at George W. Bush's high heat (as Joe Morgan so aptly put it) ceremonial first pitch. Then there was Jon Rauch's passed ball that scored from third and tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the 9th inning which got me steaming mad. And I cheered wildly, hopping around my apartment like a maniacal madman when Ryan Zimmerman hit his walk off home run (bottom of the 9th, 2 out, 1-0 the count) to win the Nationals very first game in their new ballpark.

God I've missed baseball. I just love the tense minutes of each close game as they tick by and thrive on the myriad of possibilities of what each new inning will bring. Baseball is a game where truly anything can happen at anytime (unless you're the Orioles because then you're pretty much guaranteed to lose no matter what).

Nick Johnson picked up right where he left off in September 2006 when he broke his leg and was out for the entire 2007 season. Ryan Zimmerman continues to establish himself as the most potent hitter in the lineup and the face of the franchise, having already hit 2 game winning home runs in just 4 games! Lastings Milledge, whom anyone that reads my blog knows I was rather unsure of, has proven that he can be a dangerous hitter when he's given the chance. Paul Lo Duca is a much better hitting catcher than Brian Schneider could ever be and his bat adds a much needed punch to the lineup. And last, certainly not least, Cristian Guzman is just on freaking fire. It seems like everytime the guy comes up to bat he ends up on base.

I cannot wait to see what the rest of the season brings. The Nationals may not be on top of the NL East for long (in all likelihood they won't) but I am going to enjoy their magnificent start immensely while it lasts. Besides, it's still early enough in the season where I can have the Washington Nationals at the World Series stars swirling in my eyes.