My Lyin Eyes

First off, to those of you with a significant other, Happy Valentine’s Day!  Don’t say anything stupid that will ruin your night.  To those of you who are single today, Happy Sunday!  Go watch some Olympics!

I know this is early to be apologizing for lack of activity, but it’s been a while since we’ve had this blog operational, and its hard to keep it up.  Once Spring Training picks up, it should be a little easier.  We know there’s enough to read out there without listening to three guys with no access talk, but hey, we’re nice.

There has been a bunch of almost news since Shawn Estes signed a minor league deal.  We may sign Kris Benson. The Adam Kennedy move is done, with no 40 man roster move announced.  The done deal-not done deal-maybe near done deal with Chien Ming Wang has been discussed and a resolution should come sometime this next week.  Pitchers and Catchers report this week, and with that will come a lot more news.

But this post is about a phenomenon all too familiar with baseball fans.

I’m sure this has happened to you.  You go to a game, and you check who the starting pitchers will be, and make a funny face when you see its a battle of number 5 pitchers.  You console yourself in thinking, “Well, I guess that means we’ll see some runs.”  This particular scenario played out May 2nd, 2009.  I went to see the Nats face the Pujols-less Cardinals, and was of course surrounded by overfed, and volume immodulated St Lucians.  Shairon Maris was on the hill, and to that point he was 2-0, but many were unimpressed.  All I knew about him was that he had pitched a 7 inning no-hitter for Netherlands in the WBC 2006.

If for some reason you remember that game, you’d remember that it was insanely fast.  Like, I think my fiance was watching a tv show, and I was home before it finished.  But the take away from watching Martis throw a 5 hit 1 run complete game against the Cards made me a fan.  He has 6 k’s and no walks, which are considered his main vice.  Cody Rasmus is a bomb about 15 feet to my right in my LF Box seat, whereupon a flood of beer and flying food crumbs showered my neighbors.

It was also the game in which Austin Kearns hit a triple.  You may remember this, because it was rare.  Because Austin Kearns was awful last year.  Also, Adam Dunn hit one into space.  I think it may be a threat to the Space Station, but if it breaks something, they’ll just fix it.  Anyway, back to Shairon.  110 pitches, 79 strikes.  A picture of efficiency, and perfection.

Because of this game, I want Martis to make the team out of spring training.  I know he has a crazy BB/9 rate, I know he has no real big league pitch aside from his change up, and I know that his chances are slim.  But the point is, its amazing what a small sample size and being an eyewitness will do.  I mean, I went home and bought his rookie card!  That aside, the competition for spots 4 and 5 will be tough, and will be undoubtedly the main Spring Training storyline this spring.