Baseball hero in Malta

Leading US baseball player Ryan blogs about his return from his Malta visit. The Nationals are not the same without him. From Distinguished Senators:

Well, I'm not King of Malta. It didn't even come up, and I was too shy to mention it. I felt quite the fool for packing all my ermine and most of my scepters, let me tell you. Other than that, we had a great time, and I heartily recommend Malta to anyone who's willing to endure a trans-Atlantic flight and isn't offended at being assumed to be an Englishman. There was a downside to my trip, though..

What happens while I'm enjoying the charms of the Mediterranean and leaving my unaccustomed wedding ring in the bathroom more often than not? Disheartened by my absence, the Nationals win twice and lose five times, going from first place to fourth. Guillen and Castilla stop hitting, Guzman keeps sucking, and nobody pitches - but I don't need to tell you this; you were right here suffering through it while I was drinking cheap Maltese wine and saying "Gozo" in an hilarious Baltimore accent (try it!).

Perhaps you're not convinced, but surely it's not coincidence that while I was sitting in Newark trying to convince some really snippy immigration guys to let me back in the country even though I sold my passport to a cab driver in Rabat, the Nats pounded out 11 runs and humiliated our suck-ass rivals, the Mets. Am I reading too much into the events of a week? Blame exhaustion and jet lag...