They weren't all Happy Days

dl004d has never seen an episode of Happy Days.

Resolved

A team that gets better in the second half has a good GM. A team that gets worse in the second half has a bad GM. The Nationals have a bad GM. (Then again, Tampa has been winning, too.)

Sunday's game was just unbelieveable. I mostly blame the players for only getting four hits in 14 innings, but Frank Robinson's managing was just terrible.

1. In the 8th inning, Jamie Carroll -- not Kelly -- should have ran for Bennett. If the only thing Kelly can do is pinch run, he shouldn't have a roster spot.
   
2. With a day off on Monday, Chad Cordero only pitched 12 pitches. He definitely could and should have come out in the 10th inning, saving Ayala until the 11th.
3. If Ryan Drese was going to be employed as an emergency pinch runner in the 9th (which seemed okay, given the terrible roster and all the injuries that further limit the team's choices), why wasn't he ready to go onto the field sooner? Where was he?
4. Majewski, not Stanton, should have relieved Ayala in the 11th. However, once the decision to bring in the inferior pitcher was made, he should have finished the inning so Carassco didn't have to throw 50 pitches in relief.

This team is losing because it's not scoring enough runs. When it was winning, it did so because Jose Guillen and Nick Johnson were doing all the work. Lately, Guillen has been terrible, and Johnson has been injured. So, there are no hitters left on this team. I'm a total and complete pessimist. When my first-of-the-month predicted standings are released, I might have the Nationals in last.

Third base

Here's what's average.

As of this writing, the average National League 3rd baseman has

• BA .274
• OBP .346
• SLG .445.
• He strikes out 1.56 times for every time he walks.

Here's what the Nationals have:

• BA: .255
• OBP: .328
• SLG: . 390
• He strikes out 1.88 times for every walk.

Nice work, Jim. Why haven't you traded for Joe Randa yet? Bill Mueller? Kevin Youkilis? Shea Hillenbrand?

Coors Field

First Vinnie Castilla, and now Preston Wilson. Jim Bowden apparently doesn't understand that Coors Field inflates statistics.

See, at first glance, Wilson looks like an okay player -- his .813 OPS isn't great, but it's still better than Brad Wilkerson. But take him away from Coors Field, and his road OPS since 2003 is .795, .689, and .691.

Why do we want this guy?

I remember it like it was yesterday

2003, New York Yankees pitching rotation:
Roger Clemens
Andy Pettitte
Mike Mussina
David Wells
Jeff Weaver/Jose Contreras

Bullpen:
Mariano Rivera
Chris Hammond
Antonio Osuna
Sterling Hitchcock
Juan Acevedo
Jeff Nelson

Actually ...

The name of the team should be the Dukes, and then we could all take the A train to the new stadium.

Today's predictions

AL East: Boston, New York, Toronto, Baltimore, Tampa Bay
AL Central: Chicago, Minnesota, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City
AL West: Los Anaheim, Oakland, Texas, Seattle

NL East: Florida, Washington, Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia
NL Central: St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Houston, Pittsburgh, Cinnicinati
NL West: San Diego, Los Angeles, Arizona, San Fransisco, Colorado

Wild Cards: Minnesota, Washington

AL Division Series: Chicago over Boston, Los Anaheim over Minnesota
NL Division Series: St. Louis over Washington, Florida over San Diego

ALCS: Los Anaheim over Chicago
NLCS: St. Louis over Florida

World Series: St. Louis over Los Anaheim

AL MVP: David Ortiz
NL MVP: Derek Lee

AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
NL Cy Young: Dontrelle Willis