Jim Bowden: Excitable Boy

Do you remember when Jim Bowden said that heads would roll because the Nationals' hitters were playing so badly?

"These guys have three days to wake up. We are going to Atlanta with John Patterson, Livan Hernandez and Esteban Loaiza on the mound before the roster expands. Our best guys are going at them, and you know what? Be a man, wake up and do some damage. Or guess what? After that, Frank can do what he can do. When we get to Thursday, and they are not hitting, you might as well put other people in there. There are a lot of guys that can score no runs a game."

Do you remember when Bowden said he would call up minor leaguers to give Frank Robinson the resources he needed to compete for the wild card?

"I need to give [Robinson] some choices. Between this trade and our callups on Thursday, he has some more choices. We are going to have some fresh legs and some fresh bodies. Maybe they will spark the guys we have now. ... We are going to do what we can to jumpstart us and get some energy."

Now we learn that Bowden really didn't mean any of it:

Zimmerman is the only player from the Nationals' farm system that will be called up on Thursday. Budget restraints prevented them from calling up more players. However, Bowden expects more promotions in another week.

"We are going to make the best moves we can and watch out budget," Bowden said. "The Triple-A team [in New Orleans] plays through Sept. 5. So it may be an advantage to wait a few days, save the money and call up an extra one or two guys rather than call them up right now and limit ourselves."

Bowden's mercurial personality lead us to only once conclusion: he is the Excitable Boy.