Sports Talk: Hot Streak Is 2nd Shot

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HIT BY HIT, IN ONE MINOR-LEAGUE TOWN after the next, Brandon Watson stated his case until the Washington Nationals had little choice but to give him another shot.

His International League-record 43-game hitting streak finally ended when he went 0-for-5 Monday for Columbus. He was hitting .330 in 57 games for the Clippers when the call came.

Still, it wasn't as though the Nationals were itching to promote him. When Watson's streak was around 30 games, Manny Acta was asked what he thought about "what Brandon is doing."

"Which Brandon?" Acta asked, noting farmhands Brandon Harper and Brandon Claussen. When the question was clarified, Acta's response was simply: "Good for him."

Even Monday, hours before Watson's streak ended, Acta said no move was imminent.

"Obviously, we congratulate Watty," he said. "We like what he's doing as a kid, as a player. He has to keep it up because we haven't talked about [calling him up], but that doesn't mean that what he's doing is not being noticed."

A day later, Watson was on his way to Washington as a replacement for utility man Robert Fick, who went on the bereavement list following the death of his mother.

But Watson is not a token call-up. He started in center field on Wednesday, the Nationals' latest attempt to milk production out of the position.

Watson will get an opportunity but he'll have to seize it quickly. He knows this well. The 25-year-old squandered a starting spot last year with a .179 performance in nine games. He was let go by the Nationals and later by Cincinnati. Signed by Detroit in the winter, he was cut in the spring.

Washington brought him back as a warm body on a thin roster at Triple-A.

Watson returns to Washington with as much momentum as one can muster leading to a call-up. His streak set a record in a league which was founded in 1885.

"It was a little bit of luck and a little bit of skill. I was fortunate to keep it going," Watson said. "Now, I'm just going to go out and enjoy every minute, just like I was doing down there."

Written by Express contributor Derek Turner
Photo by Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post.