How 'bout That! A Win...

But at what cost?

Being up 8-2 at the start of the 9th, maybe most of the players were already in the clubhouse. In the blink of an eye, 63 year-old Canuck Matt Stairs belted the 259th homerun of his long, somewhat unillustrious career (might I add, as an A's fan, Matt Stairs always had one of the prettiest swings in baseball... quick and compact, then extending and exploding through the zone).

And at 8-6, it suddenly became a save opportunity, only Mike MacDougal appeared a little tight and immediately began feeding the beast. With a mess of lefties coming up, Riggleman turned to the shaky arm of Ron Villone, who, as we discussed last week, has lost the ability to get lefty hitters out. After Utley reached, the Nats got their Christmas miracle, with Ryan Howard pounding a ball to second, unable to beat the relay by the shortstop that would have scored the tying run.

Ian Desmond paid immediate dividends, and aside from a shaky 9th, looks prepared to handle shortstop duties for the rest of the month. I'm not sure how they will handle Guzman's frail ego, but somebody will have to take their reps at second base. Some scoring after Desmond's bomb would have been nice... the Nats have proven time and time again that no lead is safe.

The disappointing aspect is that the Nats keep digging into the cupboard, but nothing is for as to what that hand might find. Tonight, Desmond was gold and Segovia was a fresh pile of mastodon dung. Jorge Sosa gave a few good innings before his started suicide bombing games. And we all know about the ticking time bomb that spells his name Livan Hernandez.

Hey, a win is a win... let's not give the Royals Bryce Harper just yet.

The Bullpen Nails One Down

Well, John Lannan deserved this one. I know the dozens of people watching at home cringed when Manny emerged from the dugout and signaled for a reliever. It got dicey when Brett Gardner started running wild (stole on a pitchout, not easy) and MacDougal lost A-Rod. But MacDougal trusts his stuff, and he's worked the end game before. Cano had been lighting up the Nats, but he kept railing him with that fastball, and Cano kept stabbing, hoping for a mistake. I was hoping he change his plane, get him chasing a high fastball or one low and away, but he kept putting it knee-high, 4 inches out, 96 mph and tailing away. Finally, Cano did what he was supposed to, rolling the designed double play ball to second.

They get Joba today at lunch. The Nats got their one to avoid the sweep, and can fluster Chamberlain by working longer counts.

Nationals sign MacDougal

I liked Mike MacDougal when he popped up with KC and slammed the door on a few games. He was an ACC-guy getting a legit shot, and while deep down it was obvious he only had fringe tools to compliment his vicious heat, he basically held down the Royals' closer job for three seasons, while healthy at least . After he washed out of KC with injuries, he showed up on the radar with the White Sox and was effective for about a month. Since then, he has walked 52 batters in his last 63+ innings while striking out 54. These numbers look great next to Daniel Cabrera's, but they still have no business on a major league roster.

In the end, he doesn't seem to have been able to entirely shake the injuries. His violent motion will only make him more prone with age. This is a good risk for a contending team who may need veteran help down the stretch, but the Nats aren't contending, and already have a busload of guys that can't throw strikes. At 32, he is a righty fireballer with little fire left, and when he does light it up, it hasn't been pretty. Honestly, I'd be shocked if he makes the big club, but Syracuse seems to be loaded with his type (Dave Williams, Ryan Wagner, Gary Glover). This is a step backwards from a team that looked like they were taking a step forward by overhauling the rotation.