Bochy on Nats: "They really don't have a weakness" (with Morse update)

Giants manager Bruce Bochy had nothing but compliments for the Nationals in his Thursday afternoon media session. But that's what you'd expect from a wise veteran manager who is more interested in preparing his club for the National League Division Series than lighting a fire under the opposition.

"They have the best record in the National League," Bochy said of the Nats. "You know, they have such a balanced club, starting pitching, bullpen, their lineup. You know, they have been tough on us. Their record is what it is. They are good, solid club (with) speed. You have to play your best ball to beat them. They really don't have a weakness. I just think that when you have the best record in the league, you have to be considered the best in the National League. They should feel like that."

That's high praise from a skipper with two World Series titles to his credit in the past four years. But Bochy comes by his affinity for Washington baseball honestly, having lived in northern Virginia and delivered the now-defunct Evening Star - "I couldn't get up early in the morning," he wisecracked - when his father was stationed at the Pentagon.

"We came here from Panama," he recalled. "I was 10 years old. So I played Little League baseball at Bailey's Crossroads. We lived in Falls Church. I had a paper route and moved here when I was 15. I had a lot of friends here. A lot of them come to the game. Friends I played Little League with. It is good to get reunited with them. I loved living in Virginia.

"I didn't want to move. I was going into high school. Basketball was my sport then. That's what I wanted to play. My dad retired, moved down to Florida. We moved down there. That is when I switched to baseball."

Bochy remembers attending his first major league game at RFK Stadium, then home to the American League's Washington Senators.

"We get on a bus (for) 10, 15 cents," Bochy said. "Frank Howard was my guy. (The Senators) had a center fielder, Don Lock, (and) I was a big fan. Paul Casanova, these guys. Ed Stroud, a guy that was really fast. Ended up being neighbors with Mike Epstein, who was with the Senators. ... He told me a lot of stories about the teams back when Ted Williams was managing."

Playing the Giants in the National League Division Series also means a return to D.C. for former National Michael Morse, who hit .279 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 131 games for San Francisco this year after inking an offseason deal as a free agent.

Morse has been sidelined with an oblique injury, playing only once and having only two at-bats since Aug. 31, but Bochy was hopeful the slugging outfielder/first baseman would be healthy enough to make the club's roster for the NLDS.

"Morse is going to take BP today," Bochy said. "He's going to swing in the cage today. If that goes well, he will get on the field. We will make a call if we think he is ready. He is close. I think today will make that determination. Hopefully, all goes well today. That is what we are waiting on before we set the roster, to be honest."