Being shut down by Cal Eldred in the year 2005 is pretty rough. But Jim Bowden can take some solace in knowing that his Nationals won’t have to face Donovan Osbourne, James Baldwin or Frank Castillo down the stretch. Well, probably not. From the Associated Press :

Jim Bowden strode into the Washington Nationals clubhouse, the door slamming shut behind him.

The general manager had just finished watching his team get shut out for the second straight game against a surprise starter, and his defense and pitching weren’t exactly stellar, either, in Sunday’s 6-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Several minutes later, on a ramp below the stands at RFK Stadium, Bowden described himself as “angry, frustrated, disappointed” and ripped his team’s performance.

“It was pathetic,” the GM said. “We gave them this game today. This is embarrassing. We gave them those runs.”

Turning his attention to the hitters, scoreless over 21 innings, Bowden said: “This isn’t a problem of one guy or two guys. We have an embarrassing problem of all eight. Zero offense.”

By contrast, the New York Mets managed plenty of offense over the weekend against San Francisco, scoring a grand total of 3 runs in 3 games while dropping two of three to the Giants.

This just in : L’equipe has named Jason Giambi the AL’s Comeback Player Of The Year.

Orioles pitchers issued a staggering 11 walks to Oakland yesterday en route to a 10-3 beating, Baltimore’s 8th loss in their past 9 games. None of those walks were issued by formerly popular actress Geena Davis (shown above). Temp manager Sam Perlozzo has been around the game long enough to know that you don’t catch many flies with vinegar. On the other hand, sparing the rod can spoil the child. I don’t know how many children or flies Perlozzo has hanging around clubhouse, but I can’t help but think he’s keeping a seat warm for Lou Piniella.

“If I had thought going in there and yelling at these guys would make them get a hit, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you right now,” he said. “These guys are not stupid. They’re trying. They’re putting pressure on themselves, but they’ve got to get over it.

“What would I yell at them for? For not getting a hit? They’re trying. When they quit trying, when they get lazy, I’ll yell at them.”