One play does not a season make

It was 3-2 in the top of the eighth inning. Dutch hit a double down the line. Suddenly, we find ourselves embroiled in controversy, all at the drop of a bat. Or so everyone is saying.

If you look at the photo, you'll notice the bat in a precarious position at the exact point of entry for a feetfirst slide into homeplate, so I suppose there is some truth in Soriano's excuse for the dangerous headfirst slide. That bat was sitting there just waiting for the chance to break our $10 million dollar man's ankle, and you can see the black menace nearly salivating at the chance to do the deed. Yet Soriano was quick minded enough to realize this danger, only to put his neck at risk instead. And the worst part is the fact that Tschida missed the call and took away the tying run, so Fonzie put his life on the line for naught.

What does a season make, however, are LOBs. The Nats left plenty of them, too, in getting 12 hits and only two measly runs. Schneider left six all by himself, and Guillen, Johnson, and Clayton left three each. It's not that they had bats laying in the way of hits with RISPs, unless you count the bats in their hands.

Vidro had an exceptionally good day (3-5, 1 RBI) until he was thrown out at second for the last out in the ninth in an attempt to stretch a single into a double. He's looking pretty good this year, dropping a noticable amount of weight to make him look more like his former All-Star self. I didn't see any bats in the way of his getting to second, though. He just didn't make it. Not a good way to end a game. Not a good way to start a season.