I'm not sure why, on the sharp one-hopper to second, Maton waited to see whether the second baseman would field the ball before he committed going to third, where he was a dead duck.
So, OK, we are within a slam, but also, we have guys who are still champing at the bit to be the instant hero who ties the game or puts us in the lead with one swing. But again, we are closer. That's something.
The Dombrowski winners were all stars-and-scrubs teams, to your point. But also as you imply, we are a long way from having anything like nine average big league players.
Englert in. Interesting. He threw 21 pitches on Friday. I would have thought only Cisnero and Alexander since they were the only two bullpen guys who hadn't pitched yet this series.
One thing keeping me tuned in is remembering that these are the Washington Nationals, so on a list of all the teams that could choke up a five-run lead to lose a game, the ex-Expos is near the top of it.
Welp, Wentz couldn't get us out of the third. It will be up to Cisnero to work a bunch of innings. He hasn't thrown more than 31 pitches in an outing this decade. But he's probably going to throw more than that today.
And now Baddoo with the walk. These may not be good or talented hitters in the big picture, but at least we're learning that they're able to make the most of the slight gifts they do have, which should make them fun to watch sometimes.
Here is a tidbit I just learned about Miggy that truly delights me: he will retire as the last major leaguer to have played regular season games in Montreal.