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Come again?

By Basil

Beltway Boys has some difficulty comprehending St. Barry's assessment---stated not once, but twice in a Post chat---that the Nats and Marlins will fight it out in a proverbial stink-it-up contest to see which Loria-tinged squad finishes last in the National League East. Now, don't take this as a sign that I foresee excellence or even above-competence in the Nats' immediate future, but I agree with the sentiment. If the Nats are anywhere but firmly in fourth place, I'll be disappointed.

The Marlins will be young this season, obscenely young. Some people vastly overrate young talent and some people dismissively underrate it. (And, make no mistake, the Marlins have a lot of young talent!) At any rate, how will Florida get by with its pitching staff as presently constituted? Answer: it probably won't.

----

Speaking of pitching---and, yes, perhaps bad pitching---the the Denver Post is reporting that the Nats "will sign" reliever Felix Rodriguez. (Hat tip: revived Banks of the Anacostia.) Nothing from the Nats yet, though.

Assuming this goes through (and Rocket Bill has been on the beat), a couple of questions come to mind:

  1. Is this guaranteed money?
  2. What can we expect from F-Rod?
I suppose I could present those questions, all tidy-like, in an Advisory Opinion, but . . . as you can probably tell, the motivation to be bland (intentionally bland, at least) is wanting.

As for the first question, Rocket Bill reported that the Nats were offering a minor league deal. Let's hope. I feel dicey about offering Rodriguez guaranteed money, because ---

As for the second question, what if I were to tell you that Rodriguez walked 20 guys and struck out 18 in 32.1 innings pitched last season? Maybe that was a sample size thing, or maybe it was a lifelong National League guy hobbling off to the American League thing, or maybe it was an after some years of gradual decline his arm is suddenly and finally shot thing.

It's Awards Time:

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