Finally, a curly W
Submitted by Jeff on Mon, 07/02/2007 - 6:11am.
- It speaks volumes about the lack of offense the team has been generating that the three runs the Nats scored Sunday—two of them on Jesus Flores' first major league home run—were the most the team scored in a game on this six-game road trip. Fortunately, the Nats combined that relative outburst of runs with a strong start by Mike Bacsik and effective relief. The result: a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh, their first in a week. (Box score)
- As expected, Dmitri Young was named to the NL All-Star team as a reserve, the only Nat to make the squad. Young couldn't be happier. "This is a great feeling. I've come full circle and this pretty much made it official," said Young, who had a pair of hits yesterday to raise his batting average to .340, third-best in the NL.
- John Patterson said he hopes to be able to pitch again in September provided his unorthodox Canadian therapy is a success. The treatment will begin on July 10 and last two to three weeks.
- The Times, in an unsigned column, claims that "patience is wearing dangerously thin" in the oft-injured pitcher. With young talent rising through the minor league ranks (perhaps to make it to Washington by September), "the Nationals probably won't have a need for a 30-year-old, oft-injured pitcher with 18 career wins" next season. The Times' advice: "[U]nless he wants to be on the streets this winter looking for a league-minimum contract and a spring-training tryout, he has to get back out on the mound and prove that he can still pitch."
- On a more positive note, the Times' mailbag has exactly one question, about the effect the closed-door meeting manager Manny Acta held after Saturday's game will have on the team.