King of Columbus

We always like to keep tabs on former Brewers. We especially like to keep tabs on former Brewers who have served two tours of duty with the club.

So it makes it especially sad for me to report that Ray King has been optioned to AAA by the Washington Nationals. And let's be honest, if you're getting sent down by the Nationals, can the end of your career be far off?

The move stunned King, who had a 5.68 ERA in 12 appearances, but had held left-handed hitters to a .235 average. His last appearance came Wednesday night, when he allowed two infield hits and a double to opposing pitcher Johan Santana in 2/3 of an inning.

"I look at it like this: There's guys out there with numbers that are worse than mine," King said. "Last night I gave up two squibblers and I get banged for two runs. Today I'm out of a job."

King, 34, has 72 hours to report to Columbus. He said he might ask Bowden for a trade that might get him a major league job, and Bowden said he was open to making moves that would improve the Nationals.

"I'll say it like this: I don't want to go to Triple A," King said. "I'm not saying I won't."

I think this is the place where Woz would make a joke about the dearth of Cougar poon in Columbus being the real reason that Ray's in no hurry to report...but I'll leave that up to him.

A tip of the cap goes to Sarge from our friends at Wrigleyville23 for the head's up on this story.

Ray King: A Model Of Health?

Ray King "...hardly has a gut..." Say it ain't so?

A new man: Reliever Ray King arrived in camp in the best shape of his life. He lost 23 pounds and hardly has a gut. King decided to stay away from junk food and sodas and start working out with son. He said instead of going to In-N-Out Burger, King ate salmon instead.

King decided to lose weight after watching some video tapes of himself dating back to 2003, when he was with the Braves. He felt that being overweight changed his mechanics, which prevented him from making better pitches.

"I had a reality check," King said. "I felt I had to better myself physically. I feel good. I look back and I say, 'What if.' You can't dwell on the past. The only thing you could try to do is change it and see what you can do about the future. The main goal was to try to drop these pounds and see if it could make a difference."