First off, you're down to your final two opportunities to ask me questions for our weekly Nats Live Chat. Scheduled to start at 2 p.m. today (though I may be a few minutes late because Stan Kasten is holding an informal media luncheon at 1 p.m. and I'm not sure how long that will last). Send your questions in now to natsmailbag@washingtontimes.com, then check in here at 2 p.m. for the chat...

In other news, how 'bout those resilient Nats? Coming back from four runs down on back-to-back nights to topple the first-place Mets? Not bad. They're currently 68-83, and if they manage to go 5-6 the rest of the way, they'll finish 73-89. That would be a two-game improvement over last season. Who would have predicted they'd avoid 90 losses? (Certainly not this intrepid reporter, who had them going 66-96 back on Opening Day.) ...

I know there has been some scuttlebutt about Nats asst. GM Mike Rizzo being a candidate for several GM openings currently out there (most notably Pittsburgh) but, at least so far, there has been no development in that regard. A club scource told me last night that the Nationals have not been contacted by any other teams seeking permission to interview Rizzo ... yet. Doesn't mean it won't happen eventually, but it hasn't happened so far. ...

And finally, I made mention in this morning's paper about the Nats holding Firefighter Appreciation Night yesterday at RFK. It was a nice tribute, with players wearing "DCFD" hats that included the date "9-11-01" on the side during batting practice. I wondered whether it would have made more sense to hold the event closer to Sept. 11, since there was an obvious connection there. But as Nats VP of communications Chartese Burnett pointed out to me this morning, the event couldn't be held until yesterday because of D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin's availability. Makes perfect sense.