Nats Enquirer

Jesus walks (off)!

 
"We trust the kid. He's got some huge hits for us. Why not keep him out there?"
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 9/05/2007)

NAAAts 4, Marlins 3: Jesus redeems himself for two dropped foul pops with walkoff winner, gets a pie in the face...

NAAAts running away with race for 4th!

Meanwhile...

We're still trying to digest the news that Ray King got traded. [Insert fat joke here].

Detwiler and Maxwell (J-Max?) have arrived.

Tonight at RFK, a battle between two guys competing for 2007's "Worst Facial Hair in a Bio Pic" award: Sergio Mitre vs. Tim Redding. Will tonight's crowd be even smaller than last night's?

(photos of TV by The Nationals Enquirer) 

If you can't say anything nice...

...stop talking to the media.

FelipE announces that he's done with talking to the media. 

From Nationals dot com:

On strike: Shortstop Felipe Lopez announced on Tuesday that he is no longer talking to the media. The relationship between the two parties became strained after Lopez made three critical errors in the last four games of the recent road trip.

After the last game of the road trip, a reporter told Lopez that he looked unsure of himself on the field. Lopez immediately ended the interview and has not talked to the media since.

But does his new policy include bloggers? He's not taking my calls, which is strange. FelipE, if you're reading this, text me.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Happy Laberg Day!

"This is a good step in the right direction."
(Jason Bergmann, via Washington Post, 9/04/2007)

NAAAts 6, Marlins 3: Bergmann's Labor Day (7IP, 9K, 4H, 1ER) dandy nailed down by Rauch, Chief.

Holy crap, Wily Mo hit a breaking ball!

NAAAts gain ground in The Battle for Not Last Place.

Meanwhile...

Callups! Ross Detwiler, Jonathan "Spellcheck" Albaladejo, Arnie Munoz, Justin Maxwell and Ryan Langerhans to be called up today. Where's Watson??

Loverro says Lerner cash will be spent on bats, not arms in the offseason.

Blasphemy! Blogger in the broadcast booth! Fascinating three part (part 1, part 2) read + photos + video over at JANF -- part 3 should be up today?

We refuse to acknowledge this Guzman business. There's just no way. Right?

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Giant Killers

"He's the guy we want up there in those types of situations."
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 9/03/2007)

NAAAts 2, Giants 1: Ho hum, Zimm delivers another winner. Welcome back Chico!

Battle for 4th place in the NL East begins this afternoon at RFK (here's hoping for a good start from Bergmann..)

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jesus, Joel, giant

 

"I threw strikes."
(Joel Hanrahan, via Washington Post, 9/02/2007)

NAAAts 4, Giants 1: Losing streak over! Hanrahan finds the strike zone, Flores provides the firepower.

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

All talk, no Acta-tion

"It's just about staying focused and finishing the month strong, not [slacking] off and making sure that not everything that we put into this season for six-and-a-half months, counting spring training, goes out the drain in the last month of the season. Because this game is just like life. What have you done for me lately?"
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 9/01/2007)

Giants 3, NAAAts 2: Manny's pre-game chat can't stop the bleeding. Losing streak hits seven. It's getting ugly.

Meanwhile...

Escobar Injury Shocker! Does this mean I can stop holding my breath? After being declared "more than likely out for the rest of the year" just a few days ago (although I'd like to find the person who thought he actually had even a teeny tiny shot at coming back before the end of the season), Alex Escobar is now officially done. Cooked. Out for the rest of the year. Stunning. AE will have ankle surgery, soon. The countdown starts now for the appearance of the first "Alex Escobar is feeling the best he's felt since he was 16 and is just weeks away from rejoining the team" story. With that said, I hope they keep him around, just for fun.

Big Pattsy Surgery Shocker! The leeches and yoga didn't work.

• Chico, Abreu get called up. Where's Detwiler?
• Return to normalcy for Bonds. Thomas Boswell declares Steroid Era over.
• Don't forget to vote in the MLB Mascot Brackets over at Home Run Derby! Voting is open until Labor Day at Midnight -- Vote for your Racing Presidents vs. Bernie Brewer... Dan Steinberg is probably sitting at his computer voting as you read this!

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)