As a season ticket holder of the Washington Nationals, we’ve certainly had our share of misery this season. Losses, injuries, and FBI investigations really add up.
We just wanted to take a few quick sentences to give boys a pat on the back. Four in a row since the trade deadline. We know it ain’t much, but when your previous best day of the year was the first of the season, well we’ll take what we can get.
Since officially becoming the youngest team in the league, the boys in red, white, and have neither resembled nor played like the team that is baseball’s worst. Infused with nifty glove-work and speed at the middle infield positions, and what seems to be a genuine leadoff hitter, we’ve actually been looking forward to rather than dreading the standard 7:10 first pitch.
Emilio Bonifacio, left, and Alberto Gonzales walk together after their 10-6 win against the Cincinnati Reds in Washington.
We especially would like to give props to new second-basemen Emilio Bonifacio. He’s young, unproven, and it’s a small sample-size, but this slap-hitting 23-year old is one of the more exciting players we’ve seen step on the field for the Nats in a while. Bonifacio’s blazing speed has helped him produce 2 doubles, 2 triples, and a stolen base in his first 4 starts for the Nats, all wins. Now, not to say that Emilio is the next Jose Reyes, as he’s yet to draw a walk, has a tendency to swing and miss, and doesn’t appear to have much power, but hey, at this point, we’ll take what we can get (it’s been thaaat bad). You can’t teach speed, and he is fucking fast.
Regardless of the negatives and the impending slump that is bound to happen, Bonifacio, along with Alberto Gonzales, and a steady if unspectacular pitching staff has given us in Washington something to cheer about these last four days. Yes, we know, it’s the Reds and the Rockies, but in a year where our last opportunity to watch the home team win 4 straight was in April, we’ll take what we can get. we know it’s cliche, but it certainly is a breath of fresh air to watch a young team hustling their way to a few wins.