The good, the bad, and the ugly

I bumped into DCSportsChick at our friend's birthday party today, and as we got the notice (hers on her Blackberry, mine as a text on my Windows Mobile -- plug, plug, Microsoft) of the Nats 6-3 win over the Cards today to not only sweep the second series in a row, but extend the win streak to 6 in a row. The 6 game streak is one of my signs of success, so I felt a lot better about that.

We then dug into the fact that we're both bothered by the fact that we're off to play San Francisco, and thus it looks pretty inevitable that Barry Bonds will get his record breaking homer off the Nats. I'd love to put my head in the sand and believe that our troop of pitchers will be able to keep him from hitting it, but in his own park, with our pitching staff, I just find this to be a fools errand.

The schedule shows John Lannan pitching for Monday -- the four game series gives a lot of opportunity. Tuesday looks like Bacsik, Wednesday Redding, and Thursday Hanrahan.

I actually feel pretty good about the team going into this series -- I think the bats are lit up, the team looks good, and more wins are very much possible. This streak can go on; Bonds homer chase has nothing to do with the wins of the team. I just think that Barry Bonds, say what you will about him, is likely to hit a homer off one of our pitchers. It's not like we're sending out the cream of the major leagues in a pitching staff.

Bob Carpenter and Don Sutton were asked today how they would call the event. Don had some good words about it; his lack of excitement about the event, how much they hoped it would pass them by. I'm with them -- I do hope that the footage is against another team for that big one that pushes past.

Ball Wonk (who apparently isn't back, but is making a rehab start) seems to think that the one that tied the record is the key one, and thus every one past this is not important until the last. I disagree -- we talk about Cal and the streak, and we all focus on the one that pushed him past, and THEN talk about the end of the streak. So goes it with the home run chase. This is footage we'll see for years -- and while I'm pretty sure you'll see it come off a pitcher wearing grey away Washington jerseys, I wish you wouldn't. Pittsburgh can have the honor on the weekend.

DCSC commented on it as well.