The plaque sat in Jim Bowden’s office. Beautifully framed, made of wood, it depicted Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman doing what only Guzman does so well – dribbling a weak little grounder down the third-base line, a cringe already on his face as he casually jogged in the general direction of first base. Below the picture, engraved into the dark wood, lie the Nationals’ logo and the following inscription:
“Cristian Guzman #15 The Greatest Rally Killer in the History of the Washington Nationals.”
“The doubters who blame Guzman for single-handedly torpedoing the Nats’ chances at the wild card might as well kiss my bumper,” said Bowden late yesterday night. “If they think the reason we’re here is to win right away, they’re crazy.
“We were going to wait,” Bowden admitted. “We were going to do it after the season, when Guzman had had a chance to officially eliminate us from the playoff race. We were going to have a small, intimate ceremony – Cristian is a very private man – and let him know how much his contributions meant to our ultimately disappointing season.”
As it happened, Bowden’s love for Guzman’s particular talents got the best of him Tuesday night; when Guzman stepped into the batter’s box with two men out in the bottom of the second inning and promptly popped out to Marlins shortstop Damion Easley, Bowden had seen enough. He fetched his assistant to get the plaque. And after Guzman somehow drew a walk off Marlins starter Ismael Valdez, Bowden and manager Frank Robinson pulled him out of the game for pinch hitter Brandon Watson in the seventh inning.
In front of an appreciative crowd of 24,936 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Bowden and Robinson gave Guzman the award. They shook his hand, they said a few words, and they sent him on his way, lest he get any big ideas and take more pitches.
“I try to do my best,” Guzman said quietly to reporters after the game. “Every night I come out and give fifteen, twenty percent. Sometimes I can only give ten.”
Bowden was effusive in support of his shortstop, who has hit a mere .196 in 2005. “We’re not paying Cristian Guzman $17 million to hit home runs. We didn’t invest that money in a player who’d selfishly guard the spotlight as if it were a plate of delicious Maryland blue crabs. That wouldn’t be fair to the people of this great city.”
The Nationals braintrust knows a thing or two about bad luck. They experienced decades of misery in Montreal, and it’s only fair, reckons Bowden, that Washington baseball fans ought not to be spoiled by instant success.
“In Boston, they endured almost a century of failure before finally winning that World Series, and it created an amazing mystique,” explains the enthusiastic GM. “It really put that city on the map.” Here in Washington, the Nationals aren’t sure they can keep up their ineptitude for 86 years, but with Cristian Guzman on the team, they’re set for at least the next four.
A Washington Post columnist since 1984, Thomas Boswell is known for the many books he has written on baseball, including “How Life Imitates the World Series.”