Give Jim Bowden a Pat on the Back

It's been awhile since I said anything nice about Jim Bowden. I hated the Dmitri Young and Ronnie Belliard extensions. I was not a fan of the Lastings Milledge trade. I absolutely hated the Jon Rauch trade. And did anyone mention the Aaron Crow debacle? Doesn't look too good for Bowden.

But I think he did good today. If you haven't heard, the Nationals acquired SP Scott Olsen and OF Josh Willingham for 2b Emiliano Bonfacio, OF Jake Smolinski, and PJ Dean. On talent alone, the Nationals scored a big victory here. Olsen and Willingham add some much needed talent to the floundering Nationals, who have a noticeable absence of impact players. But Olsen and Willingham are impact players. Olsen, 24, is a potential stud lefty, who is coming off the best season of his career in 2008. Olsen delivered a 4.20 ERA in just over 200 IP this season and looked fantastic in September against my Mets. Needless to say, I'm disappointed he's not out of the division. While Olsen may never develop to be more...