for all you Jim Bowden haters

from Tom Boswell of the Washington Post:

Of all the Nats worthy of a season-ending salute, nobody -- not Chad Cordero with 33 saves or Ryan Zimmerman with 87 RBI, not Ronnie Belliard who saved the infield or Brian Schneider who changed the diapers of the pitching staff -- deserves more credit than Bowden. While everybody talked about the "plan" of the Lerner family and president Stan Kasten, Bowden prevented the present from being a disaster. And he did it on as thin a shoestring as stingy Marge Schott ever provided him.
Bowden was told to scrub the Aegean Stables -- with a toothbrush. His mission: Slash payroll by $30 million to the third lowest in the sport, yet still field a respectable team. Oh, while you're at it, see if you can't unearth a half-dozen overlooked gems who could be part of a future contender.
Somehow, Bowden and his staff did it. Even though, without bad luck, they'd have had no luck at all. Cleanup hitter Nick Johnson never played. Shortstop Cristian Guzman hit .329, but missed 119 games. Everybody knows whom the Nats subtracted: Alfonso Soriano, Livan Hernandez, Jose Vidro, Jose Guillen, Ramon Ortiz, Tony Armas and a quality bench. But look what Bowden added -- at almost no cost. Besides Young, Belliard and Pe?a, he traded last September for center fielder Nook Logan, who's hit .291 since the all-star break. Bowden got Chico in the Hernandez deal and added Bacsik, Hanrahan, Redding and reliever Jesus Colome as discarded minor- league free agents. Bowden knows junk better than Fred Sanford.
Yet none of these may be Bowden's best long-term move. Young catchers are gold. Bowden spotted Jesus Flores, a 22-year-old Met at Class A who was exposed as a Rule 5 player. The Nats grabbed him, though it meant keeping him in the majors all season. No problem. Flores already has game-tying homers and game-winning hits. Maybe he needs more polish in the minors, maybe not. Maybe he'll be good soon, maybe later. But he will get there. The division-rival Mets have nobody comparable in their system behind 35-year-old Paul Lo Duca. That's how you steal a march on a mega-market rival.