Mike Rizzo

There will always be 48 for 48, "Oh, my God, we just won the World Series!" and one of the most iconic moments in Philadelphia sports history. Brad Lidge will always have those memories, no matter how much he wanted to continue his career in a Phillies uniform. His time in Philadelphia ended Thursday when the erstwhile closer signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Washington Nationals. The Phillies, teetering at the luxury tax limit and leery of Lidge's health, did not formally offer him a contract, according to a source.

WASHINGTON - Things couldn't be going any better for the Washington Nationals, and still they are embroiled in one of the game's most fascinating controversies. The Nationals pull into Citizens Bank Park this weekend with the best record in baseball. At 77-47, the franchise is 30 games over .500 for the first time since 1994. That was the ill-fated season when the most infamous strike in professional sports history halted everything in mid-August, shattering any hope the Montreal Expos had of building a downtown ballpark.

The Washington Nationals' front office worked hard this offseason to lather up a real hatred for the Phillies with a D.C. campaign that reached its zenith earlier this month when the teams met in the "Take Back the Park" series. You could feel the buzz in Nationals Park during that three-game series and a real animosity between the teams emerged in the aftermath when Cole Hamels shockingly admitted he hit 19-year-old rookie Bryce Harper on purpose in the Sunday night nationally televised series finale.

Cameras flashed like fireflies throughout Citizens Bank Park on Saturday when the lanky righthander with the scruffy goatee looked for the sign from his catcher as he prepared to throw his first-ever pitch against the Phillies. Typically, when the Washington Nationals come to town, there is little sense of anticipation. No need to bring cameras. This was different. Stephen Strasburg, the most talked-about rookie pitcher since perhaps Dwight Gooden, tested his sizzling fastball, paralyzing curve, and 90 m.p.h.

EITHER VINCE McMahon has seized control of the National League East, or we are so far through the looking glass that life has begun to imitate sports marketing. Good luck picking the saner of the two options. All day Monday, the phone lines at the local radio stations lit up like the 1970s as callers from across the Delaware Valley waited their turn to live vicariously through Cole Hamels. The previous night, the Phillies lefty cemented his status as a "true" Philadelphia athlete by tattooing Nationals rookie Bryce Harper's lower back with a 93-mph fastball, thus providing a much-needed diversion on an otherwise blase Monday morning.

VALENCIA, Venezuela - His eyes tearing up with emotion, Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos embraced his rescuers Saturday and said he had wondered whether he would survive a two-day kidnapping ordeal that ended when commandos swept into his captors' mountain hideout. Ramos said that he was happy and thankful to be alive a day after his rescue, saying that his final moments as a prisoner were hair-raising, as police and the kidnappers exchanged heavy gunfire in the remote area where he was being held.

A DAY AFTER announcing that Stephen Strasburg will start only twice more this season, Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson met with the star righthander to explain the decision. Johnson was joined by general manager Mike Rizzo and pitching coach Steve McCatty. Strasburg, who is 15-6 with a 2.94 ERA and leads the National League with 195 strikeouts, had Tommy John surgery to replace an elbow ligament 2 years ago. "I'm not sure any of us understand," Johnson said. "But it's the right thing to do. " For months, Johnson has been peppered with questions about the Nationals' plan and he always said the team would limit his innings.

Cameras flashed like fireflies throughout Citizens Bank Park on Saturday when the lanky righthander with the scruffy goatee looked for the sign from his catcher as he prepared to throw his first-ever pitch against the Phillies. Typically, when the Washington Nationals come to town, there is little sense of anticipation. No need to bring cameras. This was different. Stephen Strasburg, the most talked-about rookie pitcher since perhaps Dwight Gooden, tested his sizzling fastball, paralyzing curve, and 90 m.p.h.

WASHINGTON – Truth be told, we all are a little bit bored. The Phillies are marking time until Chase Utley and Ryan Howard come back, at which point they will begin marking time until October. It is too early to be worried in a world with two wild cards and too late to do anything about the age of the team's core players, so we wait. Such are the realities in a town where only the World Series is good enough anymore, and where the crowds arrive a little later and leave a little earlier and grumble a little louder than in the recent past.