Do the Nats always get the short end of the stick?
The Nationals played some of the most exciting baseball in the history of the franchise this past weekend in Interleague play versus the mighty New York Yankees. Downed by the Yanks 7-5 on Friday night, Washington roared back from a 7-run deficit to win Saturday's game in front of record numbers at RFK. They followed this with a triumphant win on Sunday, 3-2, courtesy of Ryan Zimmerman's walk-off two-run homer. It must have been one of those "moments of a lifetime" for young Zim…
I was surprised that it took MLB.com a while to react to both of these stories. On Saturday and Sunday, articles about the games were posted several hours after they had concluded, while what I would consider less meaningful news from other games got much faster ink. Secondly, check out this photo of an elated Ryan Zimmerman. It's a great shot from a great moment at a great game–why wasn't this photo featured in MLB.com's daily photo gallery, or at least one photo from one of these two awesome games?
As a Montrealer and lifelong fan of the Expos/Nationals, I suppose I've always thought that the team got the short end of the stick, whether it was from fans, owners or MLB. Just maybe that's what makes the team so endearing to me–I have a soft spot for the underdog. I picked the Red Sox to win it all at the beginning of the 2004 season. That paid off. I snagged the Tigers in my pool this year. That's working out! The Nationals may not be in first place, but they're underdogs who are keeping the game interesting, so they've got me on side!
It's a little hard to call Alfonso Soriano an underdog with the way he's swinging the bat. However, I don't think anyone expects him to remain a National through the season. Jim Bowden is involved in daily trade talks trying to move his star slugger. Potential suitors for Soriano, Guillen, Hernandez and Vidro include the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels and Blue Jays. Bowden is said to be actively pursuing the Angels' 2B Howie Kendrick.
[…] Bedlam in Washington! Ryan Zimmerman just hit a walk-off, 3-run homer to win this July 4th home game against the Marlins, 6-4. That's the second time Zim has pulled off these dramatics in the past 3 weeks: he hit a 2-run walk off homer versus the Yankees a couple of weeks ago. Rookie of the year? […]