12/21/24
March 30, 2005
As Nats Fans Get Jitters,: their centerfielder comes up lame. A couple of WaPo stories (registration) before baseball in Washington starts anew.
Except for Chavez, the Nationals have no natural center fielder. Except for Chavez, with his 32-steal speed and knack for making contact, the team also lacks any player who has the classic tools of a leadoff man. Maybe that's what lulled Chavez into thinking he was irreplaceable. Now, he knows differently. Wouldn't that require him to actually be replaced? I mean, I'm all for wake-up calls, but not at the detriment of the team and it's goals...
posted by bcb2k2 at 01:58 PM on March 30, 2005
It doesn't always end badly, the Twins sent Torii Hunter down to triple A during the 2000 season and he came back ready to play, a changed man....hopefully for them Chavez will get the message. When Chavez said he wanted to be traded and they told him they couldn't get anything for him, that should have been a wake up.
posted by chris2sy at 02:27 PM on March 30, 2005
There are Nats fans?
posted by chicobangs at 03:00 PM on March 30, 2005
Here's a Nat fan wannabee. [waves] But considering the atrocious record the 'Spos had last year, and now this hole in the lineup, it's looking to be a veeeery long inaugural season.
posted by alumshubby at 04:07 PM on March 30, 2005
Fuck 'em. I hope they go oh-fer-162.
posted by docgonzo at 08:16 PM on March 30, 2005
Thanks for that realistic contribution to the forum... Usually the commentary around here is a bit more sophisticated...
posted by karlo16 at 11:23 PM on March 30, 2005
As a 25+-year fan of the Expos i think doc is entitled to express some bitterness.
posted by goddam at 11:37 PM on March 30, 2005
I haven’t lived in Montreal since I was a kid, but I’ve been an Expos fan for 20+ years myself. I guess I’m not as bitter about the move as the fans that still live there. I understand that they are upset, but the bottom line is that the team had no future in that city without some people in the stands. The city of Montreal let that tem die by not showing up. The second the current collective bargaining agreement expired, that team would have been contracted had they stayed in Montreal. The owners would’ve finished what they started years ago. Now, my favorite team may have a new name and a new city, but at least they still exist, and I can breathe easy knowing they will for years to come. Add some new owners with some deep pockets, and they might even have a chance to compete on an even playing field with the big guys. You’d never have been able to say that about the Montreal Expos…
posted by karlo16 at 12:22 AM on March 31, 2005
The city of Montreal let that tem die by not showing up. With a lot of help from the old owner.
posted by yerfatma at 07:24 AM on March 31, 2005
There's nothing worse than a former Montrealer: Despite no knowledge of the facts at hand they still feel the right to lecture the city about what they should and should not be doing.
posted by docgonzo at 08:24 AM on March 31, 2005
I wish the Nats well--I know several of their "new DC fans" and I have a feeling they are going to be backed like they never have been....I do feel sorry for the true fans left in Montreal--they got screwed by what happened. Small markets teams are at the whims of the big boys.....
posted by daddisamm at 08:28 AM on March 31, 2005
Tom Boswell is the best writer in the game, by the way. I'd read that man's grocery list.
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:03 AM on March 31, 2005
Well jeez. And Endy was going to be my fantasy sleeper/stolen base guy. I do applaud Robinson though for having the guts to make this move.
posted by panoptican at 09:28 AM on March 31, 2005
Apologies to GMH