It's Quiet . . . Too Quiet

So calm. So peaceful. No raging invective against Linda Cropp, no invective against the invective against Linda Cropp because you're a bunch of sexists/racists/gentrifiers (keep the landed gentry out of DC!), no invective against the invective against the invective against Linda Cropp. In place of this rigamarole we get to see the jerseys (Ball Wonk has an artist's conception here, and the team store is packing in the rubes - I mean customers. Valued customers). Response in the thriving Nationals online community has been overwhelmingly positive, so I feel like Martin Luther nailing theses when I say that they're ass-ugly. Here I stand, I can do no other.

My big problem is the lettering. First, it's lame. Bland. Uninteresting. Blocky. Lame, bland, uninteresting, and blocky are okay when there's tradition behind it. These monstrosities have no tradition. Second, it's totally incongruous with the cap. Regular readers know well that I have been against the curly, dude ranch W since I was a toddler, but the fact is that it's there, it's ours, and it doesn't want any more bears. So why have lettering on the jersey that's the exact opposite of the letter on the cap? What the hell is wrong with these people? All the world's best baseball teams have script on their jerseys, from the L.A. Dodgers to the Chunichi Dragons. And so do the really crappy teams.

So to recap, I don't like the dull jerseys; the lame, compromise name; the cheesy, late-60's W; the sleepy, cranky manager; the self-promoting GM; or the weak-hitting center fielder. Yet somehow I'm completely happy.

Not much going on in the personnel department. We're still after Odalis Perez, as are the Mariners and Orioles. The Times reported a couple days ago that Odalis would take less money to play for the Nats, which makes sense when you take into account both the dilapidated stadium and the unstable ownership and management situation. Maybe it's the thriving online community.

As I mentioned Monday night, Jim Bowden elected to tender all our arbitration-eligible players, which is good. Catcher Brian Schneider, of whom I am a fan, signed today, as did pitcher Tomo Ohka, of whom I am also a fan. I'll let the inscrutable and poorly-translated Japanese press tell you about that one:

A landlord is to remains to Expos.

He was expected for pitcher Tomokazu Oya (28) to receive the offer of a re-contract from Expos, and to remain on the team on the 21st.

It plays an active part as a forerunner, such as a landlord mentioning 13 victories in 02 and mentioning ten victories 03 years. Although it was large to have suffered a fracture in response to the hit ball in June this season near the right-hand head and it returned in September, it remained in the results of three wins and seven losses, and the earned run average 3-40.

For explanation of why Ohka is called "Oya" and "landlord," check out one of my first posts, and the first time I used the lame-ass translation gimmick. Anyway, as I also mentioned on Monday, Ohka is better than everyone thinks he is, a real forerunner, and I expect him to mention a good number of victories and the earned run average under 4-00.

One more thing. The Washington Baseball Blog changed its name to Nationals Pastime. I figure it's just to move up the alphabetical list of blogs to your right. And there's a new one, the Gray Pages, so now I'm not the only one with the wrong team name in his blog title. Gray Pages did that on purpose, though, crowning me King Dumbass.

Wait, one more. J.D. Drew got $11 million a year from the Dodgers. So, yeah, my Drew for CF idea was criminally stupid. I, like Will Carroll, am not afraid to own up to my mistakes.

UPDATE: Turns out Ohka hasn't signed, and the inscrutable Japanese Press is merely informing us that he was tendered. Told you I was King Dumbass.