Oh, and BTW...Mike Morse is not very good at baseball.

As a Mariners fan I have to thank the Nationals for sending Langerhans our way.  A plus defender with an average lefty bat is just what the doctor ordered after Endy Chavez took the Betancourt Express to Season-Ending-Injury-Town. As someone who'd like to see the Nats do well I'd love to say this trade will help both teams. 

Unfortunately, the player the Nats got in return is, basically, useless.  Morse has hit for a pretty decent average, but it's also pretty empty (.097 ISO).  The more he plays in the field, the more you will want to punch him in the face.  I'm still shaking from the time I so hated watching him play right field, that I unconsciously willed him to injure himself while diving for a ball.  The guilt may never leave me.

So I hope there was some other reason the Nats were compelled to deal Langerhans, because even they won't find a place where Morse can contribute value, I'm afraid. 

The Nationals SB blog is having a discussion in this fanpost about trading Nick Johnson.  Who knows if Rizzo's reading Federal Baseball...but it can't hurt our chances of landing NJ to make our case for a deal, can it?  With first base turning out to be the Mariners' version of Spinal Tap Drummer or Seahawks Wide Receiver this year...and Griffey doing a pretty good Vidro impression so far...it seems pretty likely that adding Johnson will help the team one way or another.

Is it possible for a pitcher's ERA to be less reflective of his ability than Washburn's is after today's game?  I didn't see the game, but I counted at least four plays by outfielders which caused Dave's voice to reach the Pitch+Decibel Threshold equaling "Truly Awesome Play."  With an average defense behind him Mr. Chipmunk goes about six innings and gives up four runs or so (i.e. vintage Washburn) and his ERA is ~6.00.

Could Jakubauskas seriously be much worse?

Franklin the ERA Fairy says: 

Erik Bedard has been cleared to pitch!

I know lots of people think he was a whiney slacker, but we're stuck with him and he did, after all, have a cyst in his pitching shoulder!  It's not like he didn't have good reason for his low Innings-Pitched last season.

M's can hope to get a half-season out of the guy and maybe flip him for some prospects at the deadline.

MLB has been a real mixed bag for those of us who want to access its content through our "thinkin' irons."  With goofy blackout restrictions meaning you usually can't watch your team I've stayed away from any of their online packages.

So now the playoffs are here and I find their options baffling.  The "MLB.tv with Gameday Audio" package is really a live audio package with post-game archived videos.  Bogus. 

Then there's TBS' HotCorner ("hoootcoooorner").  WTF is this thing?  How do I get it?  Do I have to pay for it?  This promotional article on MLB.com leaves something to be desired as advertising in that it really doesn't tell me how to pay for and acquire the product. 

I guess I'm just dim so I'll just go here at noon when the Phils-Pilots Brewers game begins and see what happens.  Anyone else know how to watch the playoffs over the tubes?