- JimR is right. These winnable games that slip away are worse than blowouts. Hard to shake them off the next day.
- Oswalts brusback on the 1st hitter was a thing of beauty. He let the Nats know who was in control of the dish and they never recovered.
- Taveras is a machine at the plate. There is no difference whatsoever in his approach on a night that yeilds a 3x5 night or a 0x5 night. Choppers or flairs to 3rd or short are the result all the time, some get through, some don't. He seems to have lost his strikezone management discipline that he had earlier this year. He hacks at everything.
- Speaking of hacking, Wilson (and Lane for that matter) is in serious trouble. Everyone knows he will swing at junk so he is not getting anything to hit. Same for Lane. Pitchers are not throwing anything that resembles a strike knowing that they will hack at slop out of the zone and get themselves out. Fascinating from an analytical standpoint but not very fun to watch.
- Whole bottom half of the lineup is a black hole. But you guys already know that.
- Poster known around here as "Houston" is still one of the nicest guys I know. This does not stop him from running some pretty serious smack with 70 year old grandmothers, even when the Astros are on the ropes. Oh, and, I was able to snap a pic of him wearing my daughters Strawberry Shortcake cap. Bidding starts at $10,000.
- I'll jump into the fray re: Lidge. He has become a stuff non-truster of the highest order. 1st 4-5 pitches, upper 90's heat and a wicked slider. A true thing of beauty. Then he bounces that 54' slider and it's over. 3rd base coach for the Nats jogs in to chat with his #7 hitter hack (Jackson?) and Lidge proceeds to serve up a steady diet of 89mph fastballs. He tried maybe one more slider (which he also bounced) and was visibly shaken. Call it "tipping", call it "having the book" on a pitcher, call it "flying open" (didn't see this), Lidge has a marble or two loose upstairs or is hurt.
- Oswalt balked. Everyone knew it, even him. Tough way to give up an ER.
- Berkman was positively statuesque on the Ward Single. I think I saw a pigeon fly off of his head as Heavy D approached the bag. Sure Ward tatooed the ball but it could not have been more than 5' from where Berkman was standing.
- Ward has gone from reviled tub-o-goo to local fan favorite in two short games.
The team is clearly struggling. I would expect some big lineup changes shortly. Off to today's game in a few hours...
