THOMAS BOSWELL: Washington Nationals spring training: Livan Hernandez, 36, is in no rush to call it a career – The Post
Fanboy Boswell pens another love letter/birthday present to everyone’s favorite fat, rubber-armed, slop tossing pitcher, Liván Hernández who turned 36 yesterday. Happy birthday ¡LIVAN!

I am right there with Bos on this too because the Washington Nationals are more fun when ¡LIVAN! is around. Last year, they were a much better baseball team with him around — he had 20 starts with 2 or less runs given up which is one more than Roy Halliday had. Should we expect that kind of performance this year? Probably not, but with my at least, ¡LIVAN! has a looooong leash.

It seems hard to believe, but ¡LIVAN! has been a part of all but two seasons of the Nats existence. It was a long 3 years without him after Jim Bowden traded him for Garrett Mock and Matt Chico in July 2006, but once he returned in 2009 it felt like he never left. I’m pretty sure that since ¡LIVAN! returned to D.C. he has won more games than either of those two combined ever did.

The sentimentalist in me really hopes that he is around for a playoff run with the Nats. I guess it isn’t just the sentimentality either, because if ¡LIVAN! is pitching in the playoffs with D.C. it is going to be sooner than later.

Columns like this, as goofy as they are make me wish that it was Opening Day already. I need a foam finger!