Free for All Roundup of Short Critiques of The Post

-- Nita Congress

Alexandria

Credit Where Credit's Due

Why was such small type used to identify the photographer who created that splendid July 14 front-page picture of Judge Sonia Sotomayor? An achievement such as that deserved a more legible byline for photographer Toni L. Sandys; the writers of the adjoining articles had bylines in larger type.

I was present at the unveiling of the bust of Justice William O. Douglas in Georgetown near the C&O Canal years ago and watched a news photographer closely. He positioned himself in advance of the event exactly where, it turned out, he needed to be. He captured the unveiling at exactly the second that the covering cloth was high in the air.

That's skill -- something that Sandys demonstrated with her photograph of Sotomayor.

-- Fletcher Cox

Falls Church

Lessons From the Diamond

I was appalled to see Fred Bowen's negative article about the Washington Nationals leading the KidsPost page July 16 ["Nationals Put the Blame in the Wrong Place"]. He wrote: "Well, [Christian] Guzmán almost never gets a walk (only seven bases on balls in 72 games), [Adam] Dunn can't field and [Nick] Johnson gets hurt nearly every season. In addition, the Nats' pitching is awful."

Instead, Bowen could have written about Guzmán being third among league shortstops in hitting, Johnson staying off the disabled list this year and Dunn's recent 300th career home run.

What the last-place Nationals demonstrate is that, despite being incredible athletes, they are a young team that lacks the consistency to win against better teams. Maybe that's the message The Post should send to younger readers.

-- Sarah Weiner

Takoma Park