Some Thoughts on Tom Watson

Boy what a week it was on the Scottish coast at Turnberry. I’ve seen plenty of majors in my life but this one has to rank as one of the most memorable. It’s almost hard to digest what was going on while it was happening, and probably will take some time before we can really look back on it with some perspective.
Tom Watson is one of those guys that has been a sympathetic figure. What happened with his caddy Bruce Edwards was heartbreaking. And to see him play that well at age 59 is…well…unprecedented. The greatest tournament of all time (the ‘86 Masters) was Jack Nicklaus in his 40s making a run. Watson is more than a decade older!
The thing that made him so successful this past week is how he is able to manage a round. He knows exactly what club to hit and where to hit it. You could often see Watson walking up 50 yards in front of his ball to look at what lied ahead on the next shot. How many other players do you think did this?
He also had the right mindset. When he hit a wayward shot or missed a putt, he just shook it off. He said, well that’s over with, and went right on to the next hole. That’s how he was able to stabilize and finish off his rounds well.
So what happened on Sunday? A bunch of players went to the top of the leaderboard only to fall off. And when Tom Watson stood on the 18th tee, he was ahead by 1. He hit a good second shot, only to have it bounce a little too hard. And while it really was heartbreaking to see him miss that putt, it’s hard to fault him for it. Putting was never his strength.
So that left Stewart Cink. It’s a shame Cink was put in the role of villain, because I’ve always liked him. He is a great player who was due for a major win. And Watson just didn’t have enough to sustain him through the playoff.
What makes it such a difficult pill to swallow is you know this was Tom Watson’s last chance: one big chance at a glorious swan song that no one has had before. But I do think years from now we will look at this week and marvel at what the so-called “old geyser” accomplished. Well done Tom.

"It could be worse."
"Yeah, they could be the Nationals."

A conversation between Dick Stockton and Eric Karros during Saturday's Yankees-Angels game. As we get to the dog days of summer, there isn't a whole lot on TV to watch for me except baseball and golf. And unfortunately that means watching the Washington Nationals. Boy is it hard to be a Nats fan.
I watched their game Friday against the Astros, which just seemed to be a microcosm of the year. The starting pitcher, Scott Olsen, got shelled for hit after hit. He was lucky to only give up four runs. The third base coach made a horrible decision to send Nick Johnson home on a single (he was out by a long ways at the plate). And yet somehow down 4-1, the Nats got to the Houston bullpen, scoring 4 runs in the 7th to go up 5 to 4. Now as a Nat fan I knew that lead would not be safe. Sure enough, the Nats give up a run in the eighth and a run in the ninth to lose 6 to 5.
The main problems all year have been the defense and the bullpen. There was one key play in the later innings when Johnson should have caught a foul ball, which would have been the second out. Instead, for some reason he quit on the ball and it fell in. The batter later got a hit, leading to the tying run. New Nat Nyger Morgan even ran all the way from center field to left on one ball to catch a fly ball right in front of the left fielder.
And the bullpen wasn't any better. Joe Beimel and Mike MacDougal could not find the strike zone or get critical outs in the ninth inning.

I don't really know what to do to help this team. There have been bad decisions made all over the place, from management to the coaching staff. And there are probably Triple A teams that have better talent in the bullpen than the Nats. At least the football season starts before too long...