On the one hand, the Nats have won six out of their last ten games. That's good---hardly remarkable, but a welcome enough period of success. On the other hand, the Nats have won six out of their last seven games---almost all of them in dramatic fashion, and in the one that wasn't, one of the most unlikely no-hit artists came this close to pulling off a no-hitter. Now, that, my friends---that's pretty thrilling stuff.
Take the one or the other. It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose.
Harper deconstructs the Boswellian perspective on the matter, and one can pretty much guess how that goes. But in case you need a primer, I'll provide a quick one: If Nook Logan is a rookie, then I'm a member of the mujihadin.
[editor's note, by Basil] Just to be clear, I'm not. Then again, neither is Nook.
Anyway, today's rousing come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals capped a thrilling week of baseball. Left for dead after Preston Wilson, of all people, cranked out a two-run homer off the Chief in the top of the ninth, the Nats rallied in the bottom half for a thrilling walk-off win. The rally was occasioned by two events that were heretofore exceedingly frustrating. Most notably, Jose Vidro drove in his first runs since the Pierce administration---and, yes, Vidro's injury woes have caused many of us to drink, much like our former handsomest president---plating Felipe Lopez for the tie and Nick Johnson for the win.
In a less heralded development, Johnson was in position to score the winner thanks to a gutty one-out walk by Ryan Church. Yes, it was only a walk, but for Church it was something just short of a momentous development. In this plate appearance, Church fell behind oh-and-two. As I noted recently, Church practically never succeeds on 0-2 counts or at any time thereafter. And, when I say "practically never," I do so advisedly: Church's track record strongly suggests that he is virtually helpless in such situations. But I suppose this is why exceptions exist, and today's plate appearance was such an exception. No doubt St. Louis' faltering closer, Jason Isringhausen, aided Church's cause by apparently delivering nothing particularly convincing in the way of a put-away pitch. (I only listened to the radio broadcast, obviously, so I can't really say.) Yet, if I'm going to cite the ugly stats a week ago, I might as well point out when a guy overcomes the stats a week later.
Make no mistake---Vidro was the hero, and deservingly so. But Church contributed, not that I really expect the organization to point this out terribly much.