We're still trying to catch up on all the good stuff we missed last week -- the highlights lowlights, in no particular order, were (let us know if we missed anything):
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5 game losing streak! JimBo freaks out!
"It's not fun. It's not enjoyable. And it just kind of built up tonight. Just let it out, and get it out of our system, and hopefully we can get this thing straightened out, turned around." (Jim Bowden, via Washington Post, 8/24/2006)
Nationals drop 5 in a row. How bad did it get? So bad that Jim Bowden (!?) called a closed door meeting with Frank and the coaching staff in FLA after a particularly bad 9-7 loss on Wednesday night (and another gutless performance by Tony Armas). Don't forget, Bowden pretty much hand-picked this coaching staff for Frank (remember all his bluster about bringing in a "high-energy" staff in the offseason?) Hilarious. We said a while back that we thought that Frank would step down before the end of the season. Not surprisingly, we're backing away from that and think that he'll wait it out for his pink slip on midnight, October 2.
Oh, and we didn't miss the best line of the season about the Nationals, penned by the Washington Post's Barry Svrluga, in response to Bowden's quote (above) about turning the Nats season around now:
At this point, that task is akin to turning around a cruise ship in a phone booth.
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Injury Shocker! Escobar gets hurt again!
"It's just like he's got a cloud hanging over his head, a negative force." (Frank Robinson, via Washington Post, 8/26/2006)
A few days removed from a trip to the hospital in Florida for a mysterious infection in his elbow, Escobar messes up his shoulder diving back to first on Friday night in Atlanta and lands on the 15-day DL, possibly done for the year. I'm throwing a pity party for Alex Escobar, and you're all invited. Just bad, bad, bad, bad, bad luck.
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Damian Jackson: Released.
Apparently, Jackson was really, really, really hated in some circles. We're a bit puzzled by the reaction to the release of Jackson. You'd think he killed a bunch of kittens or something. As far as we're concerned, he's guilty of nothing more than doing nothing for the Nats. Yes, he stunk it up in a Nats' uni. Sure, he threw a chair a few weeks ago and reportedly berated a clubhouse attendant at one point...but...come on, people, he was simply a utility guy on one of the worst teams in baseball! Nothing more, nothing less. It didn't matter who had filled that roster spot -- it wouldn't have made a difference -- not Jamey Carroll (playing more like Jamey Carroll in August) or anybody else.
(Photo of Armas/Robinson by Wilfredo Lee/AP. Photo of Escobar by John Amis/AP)
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