Our Long Nationals Nightmare is Over

Win a game, lose a pitcher? Not quite a fair trade, but Nats fans can't really afford to be picky, now can we? It was nice to see somebody else's team implode under the weight of bad defense, ineffective relief pitching and utterly absent bats.

Shawn Hill's elbow problems cost him at shot at the no-hitter, but given his medical history I wasn't expecting him to make 30 starts this season anyway, were you? Still, it's no stretch to say Shawn's been the staff "ace" so far. When he joins J-Patsy on the disabled list (and he will) the Bergmann, Chico, Williams, Simontacchi rotation he leaves behind will be less than imposing. But that's a problem for another day.

Today we celebrate the return of the Nats offense, long thought by the scientific community to be all but extinct in North America. And who was right in the middle of this run-scoring renaissance? That's right folks... Cristian Guzman. 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored. Ok sure, it'll probably be his best line of the season. But, c'mon... GUZMANIA! It's worlds better than BATISTERIA!

Is this instant offense the mystic influence of Lenny Harris? The all-time pinch-hit leader, the veritable Sausage King of Chicago? Maybe, but let's not get carried away by one good outing. Remember, the Nationals touched up Scott Olsen for 10 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings the last time he pitched. Maybe Scotty's just not that good. In any case, while Mitchell Page deals with some fairly scary medical issues, it's nice to know that Lenny is on the case.