Well, the Nationals are clinging to first place by half a game over the surging Fish, who just got done sweeping the Nats at their new domed home, which is nothing short of amazing considering nobody at all expected them to contend this season and the offense keeps losing parts. Werth and Morse are still out, though Morse may be coming back soon, and studly young catcher Wilson Ramos is gone for the season after a crippling knee injury. His backup Jesus Flores is gone too, so right now we have a couple of catch & throw guys up from Rochester behind the plate. The pitchers are doing all they can do, but the offense sputters a lot, and that's pretty much the way it is.

My fantasy team is still in second with a 6-2 record, but this week's matchup against one of the third-place teams isn't working out so well. I keep losing outfielders to injury or parenthood or some damn thing, and the less said about my starting pitchers the better...well, okay, Wandy Rodriguez and Edwin Jackson are pitching well but can't buy a win. Colby Lewis is mediocre, but he starts for the Rangers, so he gets the wins whether he deserves them or not. I violated my own rule about no Mets, making an exception for R.A. Dickey (last of the major league knuckleballers!) who is doing well, and jumped on Roy Oswalt even though the Rangers are going to give him three weeks in AAA before they bring him up. The bulk of my pitching points are coming from the relief corps. I have Jonathan Papelbon, Chris Perez, J.J. Putz, John Axford and Tyler Clippard racking up the saves, K's and holds for me - well, now that Clippard seems to have been moved into the Nationals' closer job, I guess it'll be more saves and less holds from him. It's all good. Whether it's good enough to get me past my lack of power on the offensive side is what we play the games to find out.