Hernandez…Schneider…Church…obviously the way to ensure putting away the Washington Nationals is to play Washington Nationals against the Washington Nationals. The Nats have never been particularly good since they've existed, but when you get ahold of a few of 'em and deploy them strategically against their former employers, watch out [1].
Our men in Washington showed up their men in Washington. Five in the first, led (as much as anything) by Ryan Church's double — Ryan always seems to start or return from injury strong — and Brian Schneider's sac fly, and then Liván Hernandez locked it down for seven solid. Conversely, their ex-Met Anderson Hernandez fielded but didn't hit, just like old times. There have been moments this season when our infield has been depleted (which has been most of the time) that I've thought it was a shame we traded Anderson for Luis Ayala last summer, but that's stone revisionism. I didn't give a whit about Anderson Hernandez by 2008, no matter how good he looked with the glove in 2005 and 2006, no matter much he resembles South Park's Kyle [2] when each of them takes his hat off. Every time Kyle…I mean Anderson grounded out (which was frequently; he went 0-for-12 this weekend), he'd remove his helmet in disgust and that hair of his would go off in all directions, Broflovski-style.
As do the Mets sometimes, come to think of it. Sunday's direction, however, was straight up. The Mets soared and stayed aloft, a position we can only hope they maintain as we brace for the team that comes to Citi Field next. I mean the Phillies, but I suppose that could refer to the Mets as well, seeing as how we never quite know what we're going to get from our own.
But we love them anyway.
Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets is available from Amazon [3], Barnes & Noble [4] or a bookstore near you. Keep in touch and join the discussion on Facebook [5].