Somebody stop me!!

That's what "The Mask" says right before doing something he shouldn't. And that's what Jim Bowden should have said right before trading Chris Snelling for Ryan Langerhans.

Bowden made a great deal in ridding the Nats of Jose Vidro and his huge contract. In the process, he acquired a young hitter with some promise. Not a great hitter and a guy who was injured a lot, but a guy who if given the chance might blossom into a productive hitter. That's the kind of hitter the Nats need more of, because they have gobs of time this year to let players develop.

But Bowden cut short the Snelling experiment to acquire a guy who is now with his third team this year. The Braves cancelled their Langerhans project and so did the A's. But we have Jim Bowden as the master of our domain, right?

Is there any chance Bowden is able to see something John Schuerholz doesn't?

No.

Is there any chance Bowden is able to see something Billy Beane doesn't?

No.

Those are two of the best GMs in baseball, and they both decided to dump Langerhans in the space of a few months. And we gave Beane something valuable in return.

That's called a dumb trade. Yes, we know, this is a minor trade and not likely to affect the team's fortunes in a significant way. And, yes, we know, there is probably a lot that Jim Bowden is thinking about that isn't being published in the papers.

But why do this deal? Bowden says that he wanted a good defensive outfielder. Maybe he did, but is there anyone out there who thinks that if Ryan Langerhans is patrolling the friendly confines of the Nats' new stadium next year that the team will have come close to executing on its long term strategy? No. Every day that Langerhans is in the outfield is a reminder that the Nats still have a lot of work to do.