Snakes In My Pants

I’ve always hated the phrase “has resumed baseball activities”, becuase it the phrase is typically followed by no other details, and only used by GMs trying make themselves look less bad when a key player is injured.

Well, the Nats have stretched this to a whole new level with Nick Johnson:

…Tuesday marked the first time [Nick] Johnson, 30, did any kind of baseball activities since May 13, 2008. He has undergone underwater therapy, trying to swing the bat.

Swinging a baseball bat underwater in a pool is “baseball activities.”  Wow.  Whats next?  Is sliding into bed a baseball activity?  Walking 90 feet to the fridge in a baseball player’s mansion?

At least the Nats provided some details…

…at least there are a lot of Duck Boats available! 

On a semi-serious note - I’d like to hear Cruiser’s take (as David asked in a comment on Cruiser’s previous post) on where the Sox went awry.  Was it Ortiz’s .154 average with an ALCS-high 9 K’s?  Was it Lester and Beckett’s combined 1-2 record, with a combined ERA approaching double digits?  Was is that with all of the Sox’s “experience,” only Youk and Pedroia - two of the youngest guys in the lineup - showed up for the series?

Perhaps when you combine all the Sox “advantages” into a performance like that, there’s no way you can win.

With this performance by the Rays, I’d like to think there’s some hope for the Nats next year!

This is unfortunate.  The Friends of the National Zoo’s (FONZ) first online auction, Auction for Animals, has a “Bat Signed by Washington Nationals’ Felipe Lopez“.

Amazingly, someone has bid $40 on it.  Maybe they didn’t know that you can buy the bat direct from Rawlings without the autograph for $23.99.

My favorite line in the auction:  “Estimated Value:  Priceless”

AL:

Red Sox over Angels in 5

Rays over White Sox in 4

Red Sox over Rays in 6

NL:

Dodgers over Cubs in 4

Phillies over Brewers in 5

Dodgers over Phillies in 7

World Series:

Red Sox over Dodgers in 4

WS MVP:  Jonathan Papelbon

The Cash-man does not cometh to DC. He’s staying with the Yankees for at least three more years, saying that he still has a “job to finish here.“

I can’t take credit for this, because someone had it in the stands at a game, but its still funny:

International sign for choking:

I’m definitely being a bitter Nats fan, as there is some pleasure in watching our NL East foes once again spend October in the same place as the Nats.  Its sadly even more fulfilling when it comes with another choke in the last game of the season, and in this case the last game at Shea stadium.

Angst aside, collapsing in September for two consecutive years has potential to turn into a real curse on an organization.  There are much better excuses this year, particularly with Wagner injured and Nats castoff Ayala attempting to impersonate a closer.  Coming into September in the lead, collapsing, and then dropping the last game at home to close the deal leaves a taste in the mouth that could be around for many many years to come.

Today’s New York Times post-mortem of the Yankees season and immediate future has a couple of good nuggets that explain where the organization finds itself. The keys here are health and youth.

Read it all..

Brian Cashman has reportedly told the Yankees that he wants to return (or not). They have affirmatively indicated an interest in having him return.

Cashman’s decision is likely to come down to this: With which face of his boss, Janus Steinbrenner, will he have to work? Happily for Yankees fans, there are growing indications that while Yammerin’ Hank has been the mouth of the organization, Prince Hal might be the brains.

Read it all..

Maybe someone can help me with this, because I’m apparently missing something. Articles on mlb.com keep stating that Willie Harris is eligible for arbitration after this season.  By my understanding, he’d be at least a year into free agency.

This was Harris’ eighth season with playing time in the Majors, though 2001 was abbreviated and I believe does not toward Major league service because it was a post-June call up.  He played 2001 with O’s; 2002-2005 with the White Sox; 2006 with Boston; 2007 with Atlanta; and 2008 in DC.

I’d be happy as a Nats fan to see Willie back with the team, and given the cheap owners of the Nats I’m guessing that will be much more likely if he is not a free agent.
From MLB’s rules: Read it all..

Pego, Christine and I sat in the rain until the Nats final home game was canceled because of rain.  There will be no make up date for the game. This lead me to an interesting question - what happens if the Nats end up a half game out of last place in the majors?  Would they end up picking second in the MLB draft, likely to Seattle, or would all of a sudden this game have potential impacta nd it have to be played?

It would seem very fitting for the Nats to be absolutely terrible this season, but have a rain out of a game they probably would have lost ruin getting the first round draft pick.