M.L.

If BallWonk wanted to just hang out for a while, he'd invite Zimmerman. If he needed someone to run a meeting, he'd hand the gavel to Officer Schneider. If he needed a superhero to stop a rogue alien from blotting out the sun, he'd shout for Fonzie. If he needed to intimidate a gang of hardened criminals with nothing more than a stare, he'd bring out the Chief.

But if BallWonk just needed to get a job done, maybe some light plumbing, or installing new brake pads, or getting the damned vines down off the telephone pole out back, or if there were post holes to be dug or sandbags to be stacked, BallWonk would call in Riker. Nick just has that air of get-the-job-done-icity. If the Nationals score only one run in a game, it's probably Nick that drove it in, unless he's the one across the plate. If the Nationals get one-hit, Riker probably got that hit. If the Nationals get no-hit, Riker probably walked three times. And if anybody ever throws a perfect game against the Nationals, you can bet it will be when Nick is on the DL.

The shame of it is that Riker is so consistent in getting the job done that when the Nationals win he's rarely the hero of the game. He just always seems to find a way to get to first, the hardest out in the National League, but too often he's the best player on a losing lineup.

So it's nice to see our own stubble-cheeked blue-collar hero get a homer and a double in a game we held on to win.

Delegate Count: Zimmerman 12, Riker 9, Soriano 8, Chief 5, Ramono 5, Vidro 3, Pedro Armas 3, Kearns 2, Schneider 2, Patterson 2, O'Connor 2, Church 1, Barbarian 1, Pedro Astacio 1, Released: 6