Back on the Braves Bandwagon

Even though they won today, our Nats will not be in the playoffs.  Sorry if I'm the first to break that news to CHB blog readers.  At least the Nats were a little more relevant this season and finished with 69 wins.  More importantly, they avoided 100 losses.  

Instead of limping through another lost season there were some highlights.  At one point they were 20-15 and in second place.  And of course we saw the debut - and injury - of Steven Strasburg, we drafted and signed Bryce Harper, and saw serious promise in players like Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, Jordan Zimmermann, Sean Burnett, and Drew Storen. 

Plus, we started the best brawl in baseball this season!

There is finally legitimate hope for Washington baseball.  Even without Strasburg improving to 81 wins is NOT out of the question next season.  Hopefully we resign Adam Dunn and sign Carl Crawford to protect our one legit star in Ryan Zimmerman and add to the roster of youngish talent. Then who knows?   

But progress will mainly depend on finding a legit lead off hitter, and the development of their core of young starters.  If Zimmermann, John Lannan, Ross Detwiler, Jason Marquis and Livan Hernandez can hold things together they could make a run at a .500 record in 2011.

This October I am happy to get back on the Braves bandwagon.  As many of you know, I moved to DC from Florida and was a pretty serious Braves fan until the Nats came to town in 2005. Though Chipper is out for the rest of the season I will happily root for Bobby Cox to make a deep run in the postseason.  The guys wins, and knows how to lead. 

However, it is hard to see anyone taking down the Phillies in the National League, especially with a pitching staff that will go Halladay to Oswalt to Hamels.  Their bullpen is still a little vulnerable but they have six or seven legit stars on the that team.

In the AL, the dark horse pick seems to be the Twins.  I don't know much about the American League teams; when we got the Nats I also stopped following the Orioles.  I do know the Yankees have only one reliable starter in CC Sabathia, that without a healthy Evan Longoria the Rays look vulnerable, and that Nolan Ryan is instituting some interesting changes in how the Rangers handle pitchers and train starters.  

So I guess I'm going Twins versus Phillies in a World Series that will pit America's second most obnoxious fans versus those who eat lutefisk.

A few more sports notes

• Evan and I tried to watch the Skins game versus the Eagles, and even with the drama of McNabb going back to the city that traded him that game had no zip or energy.  It was flat out boring, and we quickly went back to MLB Network's look ins to the Braves-Phillies and Giants-Padres games.  Baseball is way better than football.
• But the Heels are relevant again after dismantling ECU over the weekend.  As T.J. Yates told the News and Observer, 'we're probably the happiest 2-2 team in America.'  The Heels are getting some of their suspended players back, and despite all that off the field tawdriness it's hard to give up on the Heels.  Traditional nemesis Clempson visits Chapel Hill next week.  A win over the Tigers will even the Heels' ACC record at 1-1.
• Evan's Little League Phillies lost over the weekend but he had a nice game.  He's generally been a dead pull hitter throughout his Little League career, but he had a great at bat late in the game, taking an outside pitch - with 2 strikes - to right to drive in two runs.  Oddly enough, he has played in four games and has yet to have a ball hit to him even though he has played at third, short, first, and center field. He's played four innings at first and has not even made a put out.