October 31, 2006 [LINK / comment]

Soriano files for free agency

Well, duh! Imagine what a shock it would have been if he had not done so. Alfonso finished fourth in the majors with 46 home runs, and tenth in the majors with 41 stolen bases, but his .277 batting average was not exactly stellar quality. Sure, he's a crowd-boosting, big-name draw, but will other teams be willing to pay him as much as he seems to think he's worth? See Washington Post. Three other Washington Nationals have also filed for free agency: Tony Armas, Jose Guillen, and Robert Fick. I hope they can work out terms with Guillen at least, and I think the others would be useful as well.

Yours truly at bat

Now that baseball is over and we struggle to somehow cope with the next five bleak months, I thought it would be appropriate to indulge in a little whimsical diversionary nostalgia. This photo was taken in some Northern Virginia park way back in the 1980s, before anyone had even dreamed of building a "retro" ballpark. I also used to play on the softball diamonds near the Tidal Basin in D.C. for the Department of Labor team. I'll never forget one particular character on our team named Colin. Whenever a tourist bus drove by, he would greet the passengers from the hinterlands with a loud and ostentatious "Welcome to Washington, folks!" Those were the days...

Andrew at bat