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Nats 2006: What I learned

Like every other Nats blogger, I feel obligated to do a season wrap-up. Unlike every other Nats blogger, I waited two weeks to do it.

  • It is not hard to crash a major press conference. The Lerner announcement was the second I had been too in as many years.
  • Alfonso Soriano was better than I expected and much more entertaining. He had a great individual season and will fleece somebody, possibly Peter Angelo$, in the offseason. He will be like a new car, diminishing returns as soon as the contract is signed. Of course, if the free agent compensation picks are taken away, Soriano’s season will do nothing to help the Nats in long-term. If you look at the standings, it did nothing in the short term.
  • Brad Wilkerson is not as good as I thought. I hope he found a new bank though.
  • Ramon Ortiz is terrified of comebackers and going into the ninth with a no-hitter.
  • Ryan Zimmerman is better than advertised.
  • The briskets, while tasty, are not quite as good as Stan Kasten said they were.
  • Tom Paciorek’s Ray Romano impression horrifies most people.
  • Blogging about a team on the way to a 71-91 season takes its toll on even the most prolific blogger.
  • The Natmosphere is not as “pasty” as I had been led to believe.
  • MissChatter throws (and crashes) the best parties.
  • Nationals Farm Authority may get linked from nationals.com at some time.
  • Fans loved Frank Robinson a lot more than I expected.
  • There is a general manager who is so dumb that Jim Bowden could sneak one past him.
  • Bowden gets beat-up by his girlfriend and might have a drinking problem.
  • Jose Guillen is less bright than I thought — he refused a good contract offer in spring training even though he was hurt. Now, he’ll have to fight for a roster spot with someone in the spring for the league minimum.
  • Fred Malek likes grilled puppy
  • Austin Kearns shops at Harris Teeter in Pentagon City.
  • The much-vaunted soft-serve (still unavailable in a batting helmet) was actually ice-milk at the begining of the season. Did it switch to real ice cream?
  • Biking to RFK was much easier than I expected, though I am still a little skeptical of leaving it in the parking lot.
  • Marc Fisher was right when he said Marion Barry would jump on the bandwagon eventually.

    Things I already knew

  • The ballpark would remain controversal.
  • The Nats would stink
  • Robinson was dead man walking
  • Bowden is a “preening schmo”
  • Everything I ever said about Peter Angelo$ is true