So what's up with that deal?

[Nationals]

At one point, I had considered Ryan Howard to be untradeable. Well, not just one point, a series of points. Call it a freaking line. That line ended yesterday. A vision came to me and, lo, I beheld the road to the Promised Land. I have power aplenty--true, it was marshaled by Mr. Howard's 50-HR potential, but players like Mssrs. Kemp, LaRoche and Peralta all carry power with them. Mr. Howard's propensity to strikeout was also, to say it in a word, alarming. 190-some strikeouts in a season where he was on the DL for 15 days is just not conducive for rallies. Ergo, the value of Howard had somewhat reached it's end. I had acquired him (and two others who never amounted to much) in July of 2004 for Brian Roberts and Jimmy Gobble. He has proven his manifold value. And so with the ability to upgrade my rotation was provided to me in the form of a young Canadian left-hander in Jeff Francis, it seemed clear that now was the time to pull the trigger. I do not believe that my team could improve on its finish this season with Howard. It is time to refocus priorities. From henceforth, I shall name Mr. Kemp as the centrepiece of my offense.

The moves are not done yet, but this was a big first step.

Happy trails to Mssrs. Howard and Fields.

And happy new beginnings to Mssrs. LaRoche and Francis.