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The acquisition of outfielder Nyjer Morgan and relief pitcher Sean Burnett was a perfect Rizzo deal. Morgan has already paid huge dividends with his energy, defense and scrappy attitude to get on base. Morgan makes catches in center the center fielder is supposed to make. He makes catches you think he shouldn't be able to make. Even when he drops a ball that he dove for, he gets up quickly and fires to 2nd to gun down the runner anyway. Burnett had that hiccup versus the Marlins in his debut, but still has some good numbers in his last 6 appearances, allowing just 1 earned run.

Some say, "if he gets Stephen Strasburg signed, then he should get the spot." I think he should have the title before Strasburg is signed. It sends a message to Strasburg and his people that the Nationals are a long term destination and Mike Rizzo will be his general manager for the life of his contract.

It's also a good thing that Rizzo and Strasburg's agent Scott Boras have a long standing relationship. Rizzo told me while he was with Arizona Diamondbacks that he and Boras would work together more because California was Boras's home base. It was a quick plane ride for both of them. Rizzo guesstimates he has done a dozen contracts with Boras over the years and that familiarity will help in the Strasburg deal.

The players have a great rapport with Rizzo too. That's a good thing for the future of the franchise. When free agents inquire about the Nationals with current Nats players, they will endorse Rizzo and tell them that Mike will give them a fair shake. That helps the Nats profile league wide. I feel Rizzo adds credibility to the Nats as the team is perceived around the Majors. Those benefits will play out in a positive way for the Nats for years to come.

So lets go ahead and establish a nice foundation: make Mike Rizzo the GM, and take off the "acting" title.

Favorite moment Sunday: Manny Acta comes out to talk to Scott Olsen in the 9th inning. Acta could have easily taken him out. Tells him to stay in and finish the game. Love seeing that confidence. Earlier in the year, we were not seeing starters come even close to sniffing the 8th inning. Now its becoming a regular occurrence. Guys are getting the chance to challenge for complete games. As Rob Dibble said Sunday, the starter a lot of times has the best chance to finish what he started. Give him that shot. Now Olsen won't have to wonder, "what if?" O.K., he gave up the 2 run shot, but the Nats had room to allow those runs, Mike MacDougal came on and finished it off. The crowd was really into the game too, rooting Olsen on, helping him through the tough jams.

I have heard a lot over the short tenure of the Nationals in Washington about D.C. not being a baseball town: that it is a Redskins town, the Red Sox fans take over, blah blah blah. I'm telling you, the fans were tremendous at Nats Park. It had that home field advantage feel. They made life difficult for the Braves.

The fans recognized when Olsen needed that little extra boost. When Craig Stammen walked off the mound his first time out after 4 innings, he got a standing ovation. The fans appreciated what Olsen did. Sure, he didn't get the complete game that he wanted, but what he did was the next best thing. And the fans took notice.

I always love those moments in sports where you know something that the rest of the sports world think they know about your team. People make assumptions about your team because of what they saw in the past. But you were there. You saw your team grow and get better. You were there before everyone else was and can say, "I saw them when they first got it going." This may not be that moment, but it could be. Pretty cool step for the Nats that Sunday in July.