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Still Painful Posted by: Kristen in Miscellaneous on August 26th, 2008 12:48 pm

 Baseball just goes on and on and on and on, grinding you to nothingness. - Stephen Hunter

Dave forwarded along this essay by Stephen Hunter today and then offered his own commentary as well.  It’s beautifully written and every word had me nodding along.  It’s been a tough season for Nats fans.  For days, I’ve been wondering around (not blogging), thinking “it’s just a game.  Why does it hurt so bad?”

Hunter’s essay reminded me, as sometimes we need reminded, that baseball can and will break your heart.  It’s almost designed to.  And though there may not be a lot of us watching and listening here in DC, baseball has broken a lot of hearts throughout history.

Some came so close, only to often see their victory slip away.  Others have spent years waiting for something or someone to get their franchise back on track.  Some teams transform quickly, making all the right moves.  Others sit back and watch their GM spoil a promising inaugural season in a new park.

I don’t know how much more time, energy and money I can give the Washington Nationals if he stays on board.  I found a lot of comfort in SBF’s recent interviews with Stan Kasten because I really want to trust him.  I want to believe he’s miserable after each loss instead of counting that evening’s profits.  He’s kind of my Colin Powell aboard a sinking ship.  When things are so outrageously out of hand, you want to be able to look somewhere and say - see competence.  Stan has always been very kind the few times we’ve met him.  He seems bright and his accomplishments in Atlanta give me great faith in his abilities.  I only wish he seemed more involved in baseball decision making.  Alright, and to be fair, Powell misled me last time I trusted him.

I want to trust that Stan can fix this disaster if given the opportunity and the resources.  Because of that I believe that I can still find the time, energy, money and place in my heart to support this mess of a franchise, but I can’t do it with you know who at the helm.

Last year, baseball was fun.  That team was fun to watch and it’s good when baseball provides happy moments, not depressing ones.  They were scrappy, in a crappy old stadium.  They played hard; they had fun.   It was improbable for them to win as many games as they did, but whether it was Manny’s attitude, the character of the clubhouse, or something else, they provided a summer’s worth of enjoyable baseball.  For every good story in 2007 (Dmitri’s Comeback Award, for example), there’s been something equally disappointing in 2008.  From the FBI investigation, to negotiations with Aaron Crow, to tv and radio ratings, to offending and potentially losing Chad Cordero this team has been a fountain of painfully bad news.

Hunter’s essay asks us to channel our collective anger toward something.  I’m sure we can all quickly think of an appropriate target, but instead Hunter suggests the President’s Race, for some very good reasons.  It’s not nearly enough, but maybe it’s a start.  (Don’t hate me, but I’ve never been a fan of it - I’m just not a gimmicks girl).

As I type this, breaking news pops into my inbox.  Austin Kearns is going on the Disabled List, for the second time this season, this time with a stress fracture in his foot.  He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, which means he probably won’t play again in 2008.  So ends a miserable .217 season for Kearns.  He sustained the injury on August 3 and apparently has been playing hurt for three weeks.

More of the same.

With those thoughts and the Kearns news, I break my baseball break, sort of.  I haven’t been watching or listening since last Sunday.  I’m trying desperately to sell many of my remaining tickets (you can barely give these away) and thinking hard about whether I’ll be back next year or not, at least as a season ticket holder.  Meanwhile, checking the boxscore for the NY Nats has been fulfilling the baseball fix.  If only fans could be traded to contending teams too.

Baseball is just a toothache. It’s a headache that won’t dance to the music of Tylenol. It hurts and hurts and hurts. — Stephen Hunter

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 12:48 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

18 Responses to “Still Painful”

  1. Nate says:
    August 26th, 2008 at 1:07 pm

    Tampa Bay was the worst team in baseball for more than a decade, and it’s the resulting haul of high draft picks that have contributed most significantly to their “quick” transformation. Nothing against Andrew Friedman, but he inherited a farm system that is almost the antithesis of the Nats minors.

  2. Kristen says:
    August 26th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    To clarify, I guess I meant from horrible last year to phenomenal this year as a pretty quick transformation. Always helps when the farm system is in place.

  3. Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball says:
    August 26th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    which only happens, of course, when you sign your high draft picks. sigh.

  4. ridgely says:
    August 26th, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    I’m having the same thoughts as Kristin,regarding the Season Ticket issue. It’s not like an All Star Game is happening or anything else that you would benefit from by staying a STH. I’ve been in since the beggining,but it’s a lot of money,I’m losing my ticket partner. I cannot believe thousands won’t bail. The team has gotten worse every year. If they fire Bowden and replace him with a top notch GM,I’ll get cheaper seats and hang. If not,I think I’ll just go whenever. If they stand pat,the thought of Austin Kearns,Willy Mo Pena coming back,forget it. I can’t beieve they’ll sign a FA of any stature. If they think the ratings are bad, wait till the attendance next year. It’ll probably mirror RFK’s decline. It’s very sad.

  5. John DC says:
    August 26th, 2008 at 2:47 pm

    PLEASE cheer up!!
    I am sad about the Nats failures, but there is such a dePRESSion in the Natosphere these days and I can’t stand it.
    Hang in there, guys! Things can’t stay this bad. Really, they can’t.
    I’m not affirming every decision that Nats execs have made, but the teams woes are not all their fault either. This process takes time, and we’ve had a lot of bad luck with injuries this year. I am convinced we are three to five players and a couple years away from contention and that things will improve next year.
    Think how good you’ll feel for sticking with them instead of bailing.

  6. Cheryl says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 9:30 am

    My name is Cheryl and I’m a baseball-aholic.

    I am with John DC! Things in the Natosphere have been very depressing. It is hard to read it these days and bring me down even more. I am married to Mr. Eeyore himself (Doom and gloom friend of Winnie the Pooh). Yes, We all know that the Nats are terrible. Our entire opening day roster has been on the DL at one time or another and there is an overwhelming hatred towards JimBow (rightly so). Things can only go up from here, right? Let’s hope so. The Natosphere was pretty down back in mid April too and Dave even posted something about it. http://bottomfeederbaseball.blogspot.com/2008/04/pull-plug.html

    I try my best to see the positive in a situation (which drives Dave nuts most of the time), but it is tough this time. I’m depressed too, but it is in my nature to rally around my team and still be there for when they need us the most. People seem to give up in this town and kick them when they are down (not accusing anyone here of doing that though). If people don’t care anymore, why would the players care and play hard? Maybe management doesn’t care anymore either and are just letting things slide? Who knows. Taken from our friend Griff’s comment on Dave’s blog back in April, “This is a lousy sports town (aside from the Skins) with front running fans. Just like the politics that is this city’s base, everyone loves a winner and everyone quickly separates themselves from a loser.” Very true.

    As I said to Dave yesterday, I am just so thankful that we have a team here! I love baseball with my heart and soul and bad baseball is still better than no baseball to me. I wish we (the fans) could just sit down with Stan and front office and let them know that fans care so much that it hurts and we want to help in some way.

    We have been season ticket holders since 2005 and I am not ready to throw in the towel. When the going get’s tough, the tough get going. Who’s with me? :)

  7. Kristen says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 9:50 am

    Cheryl and John-
    I appreciate your enthusiasm. That was me last year no matter how bad we lost ;) Obviously it’s been more of a challenge to stay positive this year.

    I’m not exactly ready to throw in the towel but look at other teams that have spent years and years promising a better season next year only to be sorely disappointed. Tonight will be my 63rd game this season! That’s commitment, I think.

    I was ready to stand beside the plan and be patient. But not signing Aaron Crow felt like, yeah, we don’t care that much about the plan either.

    Why should I?

    I love the guys on the field and I think it’s gotta be tough playing under these circumstances. As they slowly get shipped to new teams, I’m left with what exactly…

    A vague long term plan
    No real commitment to spending on anyone
    Knowing we’ll probably draft Strasburg and lose him at the August deadline
    A ethically challenged GM who has given me no reason to ever trust his judgment again
    No understanding that major league ticket prices should correlate to watching a major league team on the field

    I guess what I’m saying is - It’s not like we were stellar last year. We had lots of injuries then too. The starting rotation was a mess. But there were notable differences. Players played hard. They gave us watchable baseball. Ticket prices did relate well to the on field product and we had a great draft. There was a real sense we were moving in the right direction, into a beautiful new park of all things.

    Give me a reason to be excited about next year…

    That’s what I have left to sort out. I’m trying to channel anger at the people who deserve it, sympathy for the players that are stuck here, happiness watching the ones that managed to escape fight on contending teams to play October baseball and love - for all the wonderful people I talk to every time I get to the ballpark. Baseball is supposed to be fun. It’s been downright painful this season.

  8. Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

    John Lannan. Elijah Dukes. Jesus Flores. Healthy Ryan Zimmerman. Another developing year from Lastings Milledge. The fastest guy in professional baseball, Emilio Bonifacio. Collin Balestar.

    All these guys are still younger than you are Kristen, and have at least a full season of major league experience. That’s reason right there to be excited about next year. This year has been a disaster, starting from the day they signed LoDuca. But it will be over soon, and all those guys I mentioned will all come into spring training with more experience under their belts and ready to grow some more. Some will pan out. Others won’t. And still others will surpise.

    And remember, as big a gaffe as it was to not sign Crow, he’s not the only first round pick that didn’t sign with the first team that drafted him. It’s bad, for sure, that the Nats screwed up the first round but it’s not going to kill them. More first round picks fail than succeed. This one just failed to sign.

    Hopefully the Lerners and Kasten come to their senses and fire Bowden and promore Rizzo. Another reason.

    Look at me, the voice of optimism!

  9. ridgely says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    Certainly a game like last night gives you a glimpse of what we had hoped for. Next to Opening Night,it was the best game I’ve gone to all year. Zimm was just spectacular. Along with Lastings,who has improved as the year goes on. I know conventional wisdom says you have to wait for a couple of years to judge a trade. I liked Brian Schneider and Ryan Church as Nationals. I don’t think Church ever got a truly fair shake from Frank or Bowden. But I like the trade. Milledge seems like a hard worker,a good team guys as well. At the ESPN Zone he came across as well spoken and a smart young guy. He should onllly get better and his power stroke is coming on. Jesus Flores should IMHO, been the starter all year. He showed enough last year to warrant that honor. Bowden’s moves of Lo Duca and Estrada were a disaster. $$$ wise and on the field. I hope they just can play more consistantly and with an effort like last night. That will be enough to keep me in the fold. But,I’m counting on Bowden to take the fall for his follies. I don’t know if the Lerner’s feel that way. Apparently not.

  10. natsfan1a says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

    I’m with you, Cheryl, John, and Dave (though I also understand where you are coming from, Kristen, and it’s your decision to make). At times this year, especially during the blowouts, I’ve felt like “it is a loathsome, offensive game — yet I can’t look away” (to paraphrase a former sitcom character). Go Nats!

  11. Cheryl says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    Another thing that recently happened….the weight of the team and fans was lifted - the poor attitudes of LoDuca and Rauch are gone! I don’t think that it was a coincidence that the bullpen seemed happier on August 1st. It was like a weight was lifted from everyone’s shoulders. We won 4 games in a row - Aug 1st-4th! We had new life and energy on the field with Gonzalez and Bonifacio and things were looking up. Life was good that week (except for not seeing Griffey play here that weekend thanks to the trade, but……)! Injuries, coming back from the DL too early and not going on the DL soon enough have been serious problems this year for the Nats. Injuries were our worse enemy this season. We can only hope that the guys can get healthy in the off season and come back even stronger. Milledge is back on the right track and Dukes was too, until this last injury. He has some serious power and can be fantastic soon.

    Dave listed the other young ones too. Lannan has been our best started and Flores is on fire. Both are only 23!! There are a lot of teams out there that are great with a bunch of veterans, but they are on the older side. Look at the Dodgers for example. They have one of the oldest every day position players (Jeff Kent, 40) and several other position players in mid-upper 30s (Manny, Nomar, Casey Blake, Gary Bennett, Mark Sweeney, etc.). And older pitchers too (Maddux at 42, Saito, Lowe, etc.). At least we have some very talented young players that will hopefully continue to gel if they actually get time on the field at the same time! :)

    Keep the faith sister. :) Tonight is your 63rd game? So you have only missed one game (last night) the entire season? Very impressive.

  12. Kristen says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    Counting games in Atlanta, Baltimore and New York City! I missed a handful at Nats Park.

  13. Kristen says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 2:51 pm

    So I had to check this out… I miscounted. Tonight is #62…

    I’ve been to 23 of their wins.

  14. Rob says:
    August 27th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    23?
    we have that many wins!?!?! ;)

  15. Kristen says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 6:30 am

    Make that 24! :)

  16. natsfan1a says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 6:36 am

    Sounds like you’ve really paid your dues this year, Kristen!

  17. Dave at Bottomfeeder Baseball says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 8:39 am

    yeah, and apparently Cheryl hasn’t worn her Zim t-shirt since May, and last night she wears it and he homers! Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!!

  18. Guy says:
    August 28th, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    Kristen,

    Not to beat a dead horse but I waited 34 years for baseball to return and even bad baseball is better than no baseball. Be patient and if they get rid of Bowden things will get better.

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