Quick notes:
- The inning from Merkin Valdez was a reminder why he used to be in the same prospect discussions as Matt Cain. Nasty off-speed stuff, and double-nasty fastball. It was the kind of inning that made you laugh off any talk of him being a part of the Nick Johnson trade. Of course, it makes perfect sense. Merkin would pitch ten innings for the Nationals before straining his femur sac, and Nick Johnson would take 50 at-bats before his hamstring turned into gelatinous spread. And everyone would mutter "What if?" under their breath.
- From the correlation definitely equals causation files: Aaron Rowand, leadoff hitter and offensive sparkplug. Emmanuel Burriss's line since I called for his demotion: .326/.388/.360. Rowand since I wondered what was wrong with him: .364/.364/.636. It might be a coincidence, but I'll offer my post-writing services up to Rich Aurilia for a small fee.
- This was the first sweep of Atlanta since 2003. It feels great, but does it feel like the first sweep against the Braves since 1983 to anyone else? Watching Chipper Jones strike out four times: this is what it feels like when doves cry.
- Congrats to Randy Johnson on win 299. Begun, the media hype has.
Sweeeeeeeeeep.