BOTTOMFEEDER BASEBALL BLOG

Dedicated to the constructive criticism of the Washington Nationals.

ALL ARTICLES AND PICTURES UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED ARE (C) DAVID W. NICHOLS

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Monday, May 19, 2008

Just Throwing It Out There

What if I told you the Nationals could sign a true center fielder that hit .302/.379/.438 last season, with seven homers and stole 21 bases in 317 at bats? Do you think that player might be interesting to add to the mix that currently includes Lastings Milledge (.234/.305/.316, 1 HR, 14 RBIs), Austin Kearns (.187/.295/.267, 3 HRs, 16 RBIs), Wily Mo Pena (.214/.272/.238, 0 HR, 5 RBIs) and Elijah Dukes (.042/.143/.083, 0 HR, 1 RBI)?

Granted, this player is no spring chicken. He'll be 41 the last day of May. He's not the gold glove caliber defensive player he once was, and certainly not a piece of the long-term puzzle. But at this point, with the outfield defense as pathetic as it has been, especially over the weekend, wouldn't it be nice to have at least once PROVEN major league veteran in the outfield that could take charge defensively and provide some on-base percentage assistance to a team that is seriously deficient in that area?

The Nationals' team OBP is .315 WITH Nick Johnson's stellar .415 factored in. One shudders to think what it will be over the next 4-to-6 (6-to-8?) weeks without him.

Does anyone have Kenny Lofton's phone number?

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