So, Ed wants us to get out of the comments and write something, eh? (When I say "us," I mean, "us commenters." I'm not using the royal We or referring to the voices in my head.) Well, what do you all think of the new guys on Your 2008 Washington Nationals?  Here are my authoritative assessments, based entirely on what I read in other blogs and half-remembered "fun facts" from Charlie and Dave (for the stat-averse: OPS+ and ERA+ are hitting and pitching performance compared to the league average.  100 is average, more than 100 is better than average, less than 100 is worse than average):

• Lastings Milledge -- I was among the first to leap aboard this bandwagon! I love his aggressive, semi-boastful, almost-flashy attitude, and how was always one of the two Nats quoted in early-season articles.  Granted, he's made some gaffes in the field and on the basepaths, but Manny is nothing if not a teacher.  We can chalk those up to inexperience and look forward to someone giving Zimmy a run for Face o' the Franchise (while a paragon of virtue, Z-man is a dreadfully dull interview; not so for LMilz!).  With the bat, he's been good for an OPS+ of 84 so far. (Ex-Nat Ryan Church, part of our swap for Milledge, is currently tearing it up with an OPS+ of 132.  But we know he'll collapse later in the season, right? Milledge will blossom for years.  Church is a bum--the guy in the row behind me said so.)
• Paul LoDuca -- Although not technically part of the Church+Schnieder for Milledge trade, it sort of ended up that way for the purposes of fan complaints.  PLoD was the other one always good for a quote in the early season, and I admit that it's a struggle for me not to call him "squirrel" when comes up to bat (I'm trying to stay positive in my cheering).  I chided him as "Schneider without the defense" when I heard about the offer, but he's had a 72 OPS+ so far this year before losing a couple of weeks to a HBP on the hand that left him unable to grip a bat.  Interestingly, he has zero Ks in his 50 PA this year, with 5 walks.  He's thrown out 1 runner against 6 SB  this year.  Schneider has an 82 OPS+ so far, with 3 CS and 3 SB against.  Of course, Schneider has struck out 7 times this season, so PLoD's got him there.  I guess he's Snyder (as HoFer Don Sutton would say) without the defense, the strike outs, half the walks, and 70 points of BA...
  
• Elijah Dukes -- My initial reaction to this acquisition was, "Eep!"  However, he's held it together, behavior-wise, at least for the first month (notwithstanding his recent ejection from a rehab game, apparently for arguing balls and strikes).  His potential and all-round hunkiness certainly have some of the ladies who share my section all a-flutter; we'll see if his batting numbers can match.  I'm still hoping for a "Wily Mo with speed."
  
• Odalis Perez -- Who?  Boy, I was steamed when he got the nod for opening day over a "veteran Nat" like John Lannan...  Still, his "out" pitch is a thing of beauty on the super-slow-mo replay, the ball breaking down and in wickedly while the batter flails uselessly.  He has decent control, with 2-1 K/BB and 1.3 Walks/Hits per IP.  With an ERA of 3.18 and ERA+ of 132, his 0-3 record has largely been a result of bullpen bobbles and the Nat's anemic early-season offense.  New guy or not, pitching well is a shortcut to my approval.
• Wil Nieves -- Mr. Snow is my fave new guy.  Great attitude, the pitchers like him, and he can throw (2 CS and 9 SB).  After a dozen years rattling around the minors with some time as backup catcher for the Yankees, he's on the batting tear of a lifetime, with an eye-watering 156 OPS+ (based on an absurdly small sample of 35 PA, but who cares?  MVP! MVP!  Who needs Church when you have Nieves?).
• Aaron Boone -- I always find myself wondering, "Was he the one who posed in Playboy, or the one who was in The Young Riders?"  Anyhow, "Buffalo" Boone apparently plays every position (including running the scouting department), and even hits the ball.  While my overall impression is, "meh," I'll give him props because he wears his pants up.
• Johnny Estrada -- So, today's revelation is "I'm glad there are all these other catchers to give my arm time to heal."  What are you doing on the 25-man?! However, he not only wears his pants up, he even wears stirrups, so I'll give him a pass.  That is, until the Meathook comes back to help him pack his bags for Columbus.  (OPS+ of 7--that's seven--in 41 PA.  But 4 CS and 9 SB in spite of the arm trouble.)
• Rob Mackowiak -- Your name is hard to spell, but I'm sure Dukes will be happy to lend you bus fare to Ohio. OPS+ of 26 in 27 PA.  I know, life is hard as a utility guy/PH.  Once Dukes and Meathook are healthy, I'm afraid there's no room for Robbie Mack.
• Willie Harris -- "Wee" Willie is small, fast, and managing a 79 OPS+ in 47 PA.  I've seen him make some great plays in LF, plays that would have been questionable for WMP (we're still waiting to see Dukes' fielding performance).  L'il Willie absolutely has the inside track on 5th OF over RMaK--we all know how Manny loves him some late-inning defensive replacements.

So, who's your fave new guy?  Are you really going to let me trash Rob Mackowiak like that? Tomorrow's game is a long time away.  What else are you going to do between now and then? WORK?! It's a beautiful day out--post on teh interwebs!