Notice how well Nick Johnson is doing since his return from the DL, unlike two other once-injured Nationals I could mention. He's hitting AND fielding equally as well as he was before he left. Did you see that ridiculous out he made during last night's loss? He had to break at least three laws of physics in order to do that. As far as I'm concerned, HE is the team leader right now.
Nick IS the premier offensive player on this team. He has been all season until his injury, and he is once again. Our offense can only rise with his presence. He hits with runners in scoring position (what a novel idea!) and he gets on base any way he can when the bases are empty. And, he fields his position superbly.
He is criticised often on this board and the others for his lack of "power". I don't know exactly what "power" means, but would be more than willing to discuss the matter further with the naysayers. I have a feeling that many equate home runs to power, conveniently excluding RISP or Slugging %. Anyway, at the risk of going on too long, let me get to the salient pints, uh, er, points:
1) Nick's the best offensive player we've got.
2) Nick's the best power hitter we've got.
3) Damn it's good to see him back and hitting his stride!
PS: I want to echo Ken's comments on Guzman. He had a terrific game, let's hope this is the start of something. A 50-100 point improvement at that position could really help us a lot.
