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The ears of Livan Hernandez and Chad Cordero should have
been burning on Monday as baseball's best players gathered
for the All-Star Game. So should those of all the Washington
Nationals if they had heard the accolades their peers poured
on them, especially from the National League East teams that
know them best.
Washington players themselves, at least the two Nats that
NL Manager Tony La Russa deigned to name to his vast 32-man
club, played it humble and safe here. For Hernandez and Cordero,
there was no premature drinking of the playoff Kool-Aid.
"Me and Cordero are the first players in the history of
the Nationals franchise to be all-stars. So, I'm very excited.
I want to thank my teammates. Everybody there is an all-star,"
said 12-3 ace Hernandez. "You don't go to the World Series
in July. But if we keep playing like this, I think maybe we
make the playoffs."
"Maybe." What a wise word. And digestible, if need be.
"Our division is the hardest in baseball. It is difficult
to say who will win right now," said Hernandez. "But I know
my team is in first place."
While the veteran Hernandez, who was the '97 World Series
MVP, enjoyed being among the few players he thinks of as his
equals, the 23-year-old Cordero was so excited his cap brim
almost bent. Had Cordero experienced any all-star moments
when he realized where he was and what he'd accomplished?
"The entire time I have been here," he said, even mentioning
all the claptrap in his complimentary all-star gift bag. "I
met Albert Pujols and Derrek Lee. I just got to meet Jimmy
Rollins."
Not the Jimmy Rollins, with the .269 career batting average?
The Nats' hats still fit, even Cordero's. But they shouldn't
listen to what was said here if they don't want their noggins
to swell.
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