First in war, first in peace, last in place

Well, let's put it this way: everything was over with the ceremonial home opener pitch last season. At least Mark Lerner had the good sense to bar members of the Bush administration from getting on the field yesterday afternoon. This time out, the Nats waited five innings before declaring the 2007 season a lost cause: local boy done good Ryan Zimmerman made a spectacular play to retire Dontrelle Willis early on, which was overshadowed by a routine warning track grab center fielder Nook Logan made before exiting the game -- the kind of catch that kept Jim Edmonds on Baseball Tonight highlight reels. The Running Man's got guts -- and a knack for freaky injuries. Logan's trip to the DL opens up two distinct scenarios: either spring over-achiever Chris Snelling gets a fighting chance as an everyday player, or final 25-man roster cut Kory Castro's stay in the minors will be mercifully short.

I dunno, I was sort of looking forward to seeing what Manny Acta sees in Logan, but he'll be back before April turns into May. As for Cristian Guzman, possibly gone for the rest of season: that 4-year/ $16.8 million contract looks REALLY bad right about now. Also: John Patterson really needs a month or so in long relief to get his groove back, especially after throwing batting practice for 3 2/3 innings. With this starting rotation (time to place bets on when Pedro Astacio gets the call up from AAA), the Nats just don't have that luxury. Still interested in finding out whether Shawn Hill and Matt Chico can build on promising spring stats and eager to see whether Felipe Lopez can swipe 40 bases, but the Nats current record projects to a 0-162 finish. That sounds about right.