SB Nation - Matt Chico

Washington Times: Washington Nationals Chat.

Ed Chigliak — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:15:08 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Will pitchers like Joel Piniero be more likely to sign with the Nationals now that they know they'll be throwing to a promising young catcher in Jesus Flores and a 14-time All-Star in Pudge Rodriguez?. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Browse more photos »

I submitted two questions to Washington Times' writer Ben Goessling's "Live Nats Chat" Friday afternoon, asking first if he had any sense at the recently-concluded Winter Meetings that free agent pitchers were seriously considering the Nationals as a destination and then inquiring about the status of one pitcher already on the DC roster whose name surprised me recently when it was brought up as an option for the 2010 Nationals' staff.

• Check out the Full Chat Transcript HERE.

• If you aren't following Washington Times' Writers Ben Goessling and Mark Zuckerman on Twitter, you should be:

Twitter.com/washtimesbb

My two questions and the answers from Mr. Goessling after the JUMP...

Federal Baseball (FB): Did you get any feeling about whether free agent pitchers are considering DC as an option at the Winter Meetings?

washtimesbb: I didn't hear anybody say anything definitively, but my guess is, the Nats will have to pay a bit of a premium for anybody they sign. I'd assume any of the second-tier guys (Garland, Padilla, Marquis, Pineiro) will go for between $30-$36 million over three years.

FB: What was the last you heard about Matt Chico? I was somewhat shocked when Rizzo mentioned him a little while back as an option?

washtimesbb: You know, I kind of was, too. I don't see how he's better than most of the young guys they have (Balester, Mock, Stammen, Detwiler, Martis, etc.). But he has pitched a full major-league season, so I think he scores points for that. I think ultimately he could be the long guy they want in the bullpen.

Washington Nationals' Possible Candidates for September Roster Expansion

Dave at Nats News Network — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:54:55 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Collin Balester could rejoin the team as early as Sept. 1 when the major league rosters expand. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Browse more photos »

With September 1 literally just hours away, major league teams can expand their active roster to include anyone occupying a spot on their 40-man roster. Traditionally, teams have utilized the "September call-up" in one of several ways:

1) For contenders, it's a chance to give their regulars a night off here and there in preparation for the gruel of the playoffs

2) For middle of the pack teams, it's often a reward to long-time minor leaguers or AAAA-types toiling in obsurity

3) For bottomfeeders, it's an opportunity for a chance to see that prospect that everyone is excited about, even for just a quick appearance

The Nats seem to fall into all three categories this year.

The Nats have already indicated that they will wait until Syracuse's season is over before calling anyone up, though. So any help will still be at least a week away from arriving in D.C.

Because of the rash of injuries, trades and bullpen struggles, general manager Mike Rizzo has already made the bulk of his September call-ups before the roster expansion happened. Jorge Padilla, Pete Orr, Justin Maxwell, Mike Morse...even pitchers like J.D. Martin, Tyler Clippard and Jorge Sosa would have been prime candidates, were it not for the need earlier in the season.

So who is left? Let's take a look!

ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER

By my count, with Justin Maxwell's impending promotion there are currently 14 players on the 40-man roster NOT on the active 25-man roster:

C: Jesus Flores (15-day DL), Luke Montz (AA-Harrisburg)

SS: Ian Desmond (AAA-Syracuse)

OF Austin Kearns (15-day DL), Nyjer Morgan (15-day DL)

LHP: Scott Olsen (15-day DL), Ross Detwiler (AAA-Syracuse), Matt Chico (AA-Harrisburg)

RHP: Collin Balester (AAA-Syracuse), Shairon Martis (AAA-Syracuse), Marco Estrada (AAA-Syracuse), Luis Atilano (AAA-Syracuse), Ryan Mattheus (minor league DL), Stephen Strasburg

60-day DL: OF Roger Bernadina, RHP Terrell Young, 1B Dmitri Young, RHP Jordan Zimmermann

Players on the 60-day DL do not count toward the 40-man roster, so there may still be some wiggle room to place a player or two on the 60-day to open 40-man space.

Of the 14 players on the 40-man, Flores, Morgan, Olsen and Mattheus are out for the season with injury. And from the sounds of this, Kearns is probably joining them. So we can rule all of those players out.

Rizzo has already been on record that Chico is not likely a candidate, and Strasburg's plans have been laid out in excrutiating detail. Additionally, Rizzo has all but ruled out a cameo for Drew Storen, blazing his way up the minor league chain after being selected No. 10 overall in this year's amateur draft.

That leaves Desmond, Detwiler, Balester, Martis, Estrada and Atilano off the 40-man roster eligible. It's been assumed that the Nats will recall a couple starters to relieve some of the burden from young arms accumulation of innings. But with the signing of Livan Hernandez, who eats innings as well as any pitcher in the majors, maybe that goal has already been achieved.

Still, I can envision seeing Balester, Detwiler, Martis and Estrada all being recalled and utilized as starters or swing-men in September.

And I'll also pencil in Desmond. He's had a terrific season, and the Nats have to be wondering if the best arm and range in their minor league system can handle the bat enough at the big league level to replace the very quickly aging Cristian Guzman and his bunions.

Atilano is 2-0, 2.45 in two starts since his promotion to Syracuse, and the one-time first round draft pick of the Altanta Braves has enjoyed a fine season overall, but the Nats are probably happy to let him finish the season and head into spring training.

As for players currently not on the 40-man roster? There are certainly some candidates, and most of them are bullpen guys that could again help manage the workload of some of the young starters.

OTHER PITCHERS

There are six relievers in Syracuse that could certainly get "The Call" : RHPs Zech Zinicola, Zack Segovia, Josh Wilkie, Clint Everts and LHPs Jack Spradlin and Yunior Novoa.

Segovia has some major league experince, a 2.70 ERA and five saves for Syracuse. Everts was the Expos 2002 first round pick. In 2009, in over 57.1 IP at three levels (Potomac, Harrisburg & Syracuse), Everts has been outstanding (8-1, 1.41 ERA, 1.116 WHIP, 10.4 K/9). Spradlin is 4-3 with four saves and has a 3.19 ERA and 1.212 WHIP across AAA-AA in 44 games. He has struck out an even 7.0 per nine.

Wilkie was an unheralded pitcher from George Washington University (sound familiar?) and has been promoted twice this season. Novoa has a great change but has only been "just decent" this season, despite being promoted three times this season. Zinicola (6.04 ERA) has struggled this year.

OTHER HITTERS

Most of them are already with the big club. Rizzo said the other day he doesn't envision calling up a third catcher just for the heck of it. Montz is the only other catcher on the 40-man, and he's really regressed this season (.184/.295/.314 in 347 plate appearances) after hitting 16 homers last season.

Could Seth Bynum (.263/.306./453, 18 HR, 62 RBI in 433 ABs), Kory Casto (.268/.332/.373, 7-55), Norris Hopper (.291/.342/.344, 23 SBs), Brad Eldred (.267/.338/.478, 16-56) or Daryle Ward (.235/.320/.389, 12-45) get promoted? Possible, but not likely. The only compelling possibility is Hopper, who is a plus defender in center. But you have to figure whatever at bats Wee Willie Harris doesn't get are going to go to Justin Maxwell, in what could make or break his tenure in the organization.

SURE TO BE INCORRECT PREDICTIONS

The Nats add a bunch of arms, but just one more hitter, injury notwithstanding.

From the 40-man: RHPs Balester, Detwiler, Martis, Estrada and SS Desmond

Need to be added to 40-man: RHP Everts and Segovia and LHP Spradlin

Your guess is as good as mine, though. Let's hear 'em in the comments.

Let's Try This "Winning" Thing Again: Cubs vs. Nationals Preview, Wednesday 8/26, 7:05 CT

Al — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:00:10 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y Huh - AP

Write your own caption.

Browse more photos »

I know you don't want to keep hearing me talk about what other teams, many of which are better than this year's Cubs, have done in past years to overcome huge deficits to make the postseason.

But I am an optimist by nature and so I'm going to anyway. Is it likely the Cubs will replicate what these other teams did? No. Is it impossible? As of today, with 39 games left in the season, also no.

The largest blown lead in major league history was by the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers, who led by 13 games on August 11, with 47 games remaining. That's a lot of time, though not much more than the Cubs have left now. But that Dodger team also had a six-game lead with 15 left, and wound up tied with the Giants and lost the famous three-game playoff when Bobby Thomson hit "The Shot Heard Round The World".

You've certainly all heard about the 1964 Phillies, who had a 6.5 game lead with 12 games left, then lost ten in a row, including 1-0 to the Reds on September 21 on a steal of home and a 12-inning loss to the Reds on September 25. If they win those two games, they win the pennant, since they won their last two games of the season to finish one game out. The Cardinals, who won that pennant, had to fight off three other teams to win it.

Another example of a huge turnaround was the 1978 Red Sox, who on August 30 won the first game of a doubleheader to go seven games up on the Yankees. They then went 3-14 and trailed by 3.5 games -- losing 10.5 games in little more than three weeks. (Sound familiar?) They had to win eight games in a row the last week of September just to tie and force the playoff game, which they also lost.

And in one of the most bizarre playoff races ever, in an admittedly weaker division than the NL Central is now, on August 30, 1973 the Mets were ten games under .500, 6.5 games out of first place and behind five other teams, in last place. They went 21-8 and won the NL East and took the A's to seven games before losing the World Series.

I say again, just so everyone's clear: is a Cubs miracle likely? Of course not. But until the numbers turn decisively against the Cubs, I will retain hope. They had better start playing better baseball, though. Tonight. Weather permitting.

Meanwhile, lineup for tonight via Twittermyer:

Theriot, ss; Bradley, rf; Lee, 1b; Ramirez, 3b; Fukudome, cf; Soriano, lf; Baker, 2b; Hill, c; Harden, p

Today's Starting Pitchers


Rich Harden Cubs	vs.	Livan Hernandez Nationals

8-7	W-L	7-8
4.04	ERA	5.47
138	SO	75
50	BB	51
21	HR	16
vs. Was	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Rich Harden	8-7	22	21	0	0	0	0	118.0	98	59	53	21	50	138	4.04	1.25

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Livan Hernandez	7-8	24	23	1	0	0	0	135.0	164	83	82	16	51	75	5.47	1.59

Livan Hernandez was released by the Mets last Thursday and signed yesterday by the Nats. It's his second stint in a Washington uniform; he was one of their better pitchers in 2005, their first year in DC, when he made the All-Star team; he stayed there till mid-season 2006, when he was traded to the Diamondbacks -- for Matt Chico and yesterday's starter, Garrett Mock. He was pretty bad for the Mets this year, and the last time he faced the Cubs in a regular season game was July 22, 2006 in Washington. Boxscore for amusement value only. Aramis Ramirez is 10-for-26 (.385) against him with 4 doubles and 3 HR.

Rich Harden beat the Nats in DC on July 16; he was outstanding, giving up only three hits and an unearned run. In seven starts since the All-Star break Rich is 3-1, 1.64 with 55 strikeouts and only 14 walks in 44 innings. No National has more than eight AB vs. Rich and the only one who's hit him well is Nyjer Morgan (4-for-7).

The Cubs are on CSN again tonight; this time they get the main CSN channel. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Please visit our SB Nation Nationals site Federal Baseball. They still seem a little lonely over there.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 8 pm, 9 pm and 9:45 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Washington Nationals Now (0-5) Under Jim Riggleman After 6-2 Loss To Livan Hernandez's New York Mets.

Ed Chigliak — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:19:03 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

5 months ago: New York Mets starting pitcher Livan Hernandez throws to Washington Nationals' Ronnie Belliard in the first inning of a baseball game in Washington, Monday, July 20, 2009. Belliard singled on the pitch. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Browse more photos »

Livan Hernandez is now (8-0) in his last 8 starts against the Washington Nationals. The streak stretches back to September 2, 2006, when Livan last lost to DC in the first start against his former team following the trade that sent him to Arizona for RHP Garrett Mock and LHP Matt Chico. Hernandez held the Nationals to just 2 runs on 5 hits, walking 2 and striking out 3 in 7.0 IP, over which he threw 97 pitches, 57 for strikes and got 12 ground ball outs, 4 of them back to the mound. DC starter J.D. Martin, in his MLB debut, allows 8 hits and 5 ER in 4.0 IP. The Mets score two in the first on two RBI doubles and three in the second on three RBI singles for an early 5-0 lead that ends up a 6-2 win.

Mets win, 6-2 final.

• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...

• Check Out: The Amazin' Avenue GameThread.

BACKPAGE:

• Adam "DP" Dunn

• Clippard? Tyler Clippard?

• Olsen May Be Out A While...

For The Completists, Full Game Report After The JUMP...

Nationals now 26-66.

BACKPAGE: (Under Construction)....

• Adam "DP" Dunn

After Ronnie Belliard singles and Nick Johnson reaches on a throwing error in the first, Adam Dunn steps in against Livan Hernandez, takes a first pitch curve that clocks in at 70 mph and then grounds an 84 mph fastball to second, Luis Castillo throws to Alex Cora and back to Daniel Murphy at first, double play...Bottom of the eighth, Pedro Feliciano on for New York, 5-2 Mets, Ronnie Belliard walks and takes second on a trademark single by Nick Johnson, NJ™. Adam Dunn steps in against Feliciano, and swings at the first pitch he sees, thinking he'll get the same first-pitch-fastball as the two previous batters(?), but Dunn gets a slider and he grounds to Daniel Murphy out near second in the shift, who throws to second for Cora, who throws to first for Feliciano covering, double play...

• Clippard? Tyler Clippard?

J.D. Martin gave up a leadoff single to Mets' CF Angel Pagan in the first tonight, and after a sac fly from Luis Castillo, a double by Daniel Murphy put New York on the board with a 1-0 lead. One out later an RBI double by Jeff Francoeur put the Mets up by two, and when he came back for the second, Martin allowed three-straight singles by Pagan, Castillo and Murphy to make it 5-0 before the Nationals knew what hit them...DC Manager Jim Riggleman pulled Martin in the fourth when the Nationals scored two on Josh Bard's RBI double and had Livan Hernandez momentarily off his game, but Alberto Gonzalez's groundout ended the rally and it looked like the DC Faithful were in for another long night with the DC Bullpen...

Tyler Clippard, who'd thrown 2.2 scoreless and hitless in the last series against Chicago, came out for the fifth and quickly retired the side in order, striking out David Wright with three straight pitches to put on exclamation point on a dominant frame. The sixth was more of the same, Jeff Francoeur flies out, Jeremy Reed tries to bunt his way on unsuccessfully, and Alex Cora gets a two-strike fastball high and tight and K's swinging for Clippard's second straight 1-2-3. The 7th? 3 K's? That's right, Tyler Clippard shows no mercy. Brian Schneider gets a 90 mph fastball on the outside edge, followed by a change at 78 in the exact same spot, and then it's back up to 90, and at the eyes, and Schneider K's swinging for the first out of the inning. Livan Hernandez takes a 1-0 change for a ball, but otherwise it's three strikes swinging, and then Clippard starts to work over Angel Pagan. A change outside to start followed by a curve that drops in for called strike and an 0-2 count. Clippard dials it up to 91 and throws high and inside for a ball, 1-2, and then throws another change low and away, back where he started to get Pagan swinging and bring and end to his third scoreless frame.

Logan Kensing gives up a solo shot to Jeff Francoeur in the ninth, but that's the only hit and only run he gives up in 2.0 IP, which might actually inspire some confidence for the once again rebuilt bullpen the rest of the way.

• Olsen May Be Out A While...

• Olsen expected to miss significant time | nationals.com: News - Bill Ladson

"Scott Olsen visited Dr. James Andrews on Monday, and it appears that the left-hander will not be playing baseball for a lengthy period of time."

• Washington Times - Chatter - "Olsen will have surgery; out for year" - Ben Goessling

"Left-hander Scott Olsen's shoulder injury isn't as bad as the Nationals feared when an MRI showed "labrum issues," but it will require surgery..."

• Washington Post - Nationals Journal - "Olsen Has 'Labrum Issues'" - Chico Harlan.

"Scott Olsen came to the Washington Nationals this offseason with a track record for durability. But now, just 11 starts and 62-2/3 innings into his 2009 season, Olsen won't get a chance to pitch again for quite some time --..."

GAME REPORT:

New York Mets At Washington Nationals. Game 92 Of 162.

J.D. Martin’s MLB career starts with an 89 mph fastball for a strike to Mets’ CF Angel Pagan, who ends up with a check swing single when Willie Harris waits for a roller down the third base line that doesn’t go foul like he’s hoping. Luis Castillo gets down a perfect sac bunt, and Pagan scores from second when Daniel Murphy pulls a cut fastball down the line in right. 1-0 NY. David Wright swings through a two-strike 90 mph fastball. Jeff Francoeur gets hold of a low curve that ends up bouncing off the wall in left for an RBI double. 2-0 Mets. Jeremy Reed grounds out to second to end a long top of the first...Nyjer Morgan flies out to Reed in left field. Ron Belliard lines a 3-1 "fast"ball to left for a one-out single. Daniel Murphy charges a swinging bunt by Nick Johnson and throws wide of second trying to cut down the lead runner, both runners safe, but Adam Dunn grounds to second, Luis Castillo to Alex Cora to Daniel Murphy, double play.

Alex Cora drives a leadoff single to left center that falls in for a single. Brian Schneider grounds too weakly to second for Ronnie Belliard to even think double play. Livan Hernandez grounds out to J.D. Martin in front of the mound. Angel Pagan lines a looper to center, and Alex Cora scores from second avoiding the tag on the throw home by Nyjer Morgan to Josh Bard. 3-0 NY. Luis Castillo singles through second and Nyjer Morgan’s throw home is late and allows Castillo to take second. Pagan scores, 4-0. Daniel Murphy lines to left for yet another RBI single. Castillo scores, 5-0 NY. David Wright lines one right into Nyjer Morgan’s glove...Cristian Guzman flies out to center. Austin Kearns grounds out to center. Willie Harris works a two-out walk off of Livan Hernandez. Willie Harris takes third on Josh Bard’s opposite field double. J.D. Martin hits a check-swing grounder back to the mound to end the second.

Jeff Francoeur sends a chopper over the mound for a leadoff single. Jeremy Reed grounds to second, Belliard to Guzman to Johnson at first, double play. Alex Cora grounds ot first, Nick Johnson fields and steps on the bag...Nyjer Morgan grounds back to the mound. Ronnie Belliard grounds a 1-0 pitch back to Livan. Nick Johnson K’s looking at a two-strike change.

Ronnie Belliard knocks down a grounder from Brian Schneider before throwing to first™. Nyjer Morgan tracks a fly ball off Livan Hernadez’s bat and makes the catch for the second out. Angel Pagan grounds to first, NIck Johnson backhands and steps on the bag...Adam Dunn beats the shift with a line drive single through short. Cristian Guzman moves Dunn up with a groundout to first. Austin Kearns’ single moves Dunn to third. Willie Harris pops out unproductively to third. Josh Bard rips a liner by first, Dunn scores easily, Kearns comes around third and beats the throw home, 5-2 Mets. Pinch hitter, Alberto Gonzalez grounds back to the mound, 5-2 NY after four.

Luis Castillo flies out to left, Daniel Murphy grounds out to first and David Wright goes down swinging for a quick fifth from Tyler Clippard...Nyjer Morgan grounds a 1-1 pitch to short for the first out. Ronnie Belliard grounds a 2-1 pitch to second. Nick Johnson flies out to left on a ful-count "fast"ball.

Tyler Clippard gets a flyout to right from Jeff Francoeur, Austin Kearns takes care of it. Jeremy Reed bunts to third, Willie Harris Zimmerman’s it, throwing to first after barehanding it. Clippard throws a high inside fastball by a swinging Alex Cora for the final out of the Mets’ fifth...Adam Dunn skies one to center, Angel Pagan settles under it and makes the catch. Cristian Guzman gets jammed and grounds out to first. Austin Kearns takes a two-out walk from Livan. Willie Harris flies out to center.

Tyler Clippard throws a high two-strike heater right through Brian Schneider’s bat. Clippard dials it up to 92 mph to get Livan swinging. Angel Pagan sees it all, a 76 mph bender, a low 90’s heater and a two-strike change outside that he swings over to end the Mets’ seventh...Josh Bard gets called out looking at a fastball outside and low. Anderson Hernandez lifts his arms on a fastball inside that ends up breaking back in for a called strike three. Nyjer Morgan grounds out to second.

Cristian Guzman fields and throws out Luis Castillo. Daniel Murphy K’s staring at a fastball on the outside edge. David Wright grounds out to second to end the top of the eighth...Ronnie Belliard faces Pedro Feliciano in the Nationals’ eighth. Belliard walks. Nick Johnson hits a trademark single over short. NJ™. Adam Dunn grounds to Daniel Murphy out near second in the shift, Murphy to Cora at second and back to first, double play. Cristian Guzman will face right-hander Sean Green. Guzman flies out to center to end the frame.

Logan Kensing gives Jeff Francoeur the one pitch he can hit and he hits it alright, HR to left and into the bullpen. 6-2 NY. Jeremy Reed flies out to Nyjer Morgan. Alex Cora grounds out to second, and the Mets’ ninth ends when Brian Schneider grounds out to first...Francisco Rodriguez vs Austin Kearns. Kearns has hit bat broken as he grounds out to first. Willie Harris grounds out to second. Josh Bard watches a full-count fastball all the way in. Mets win, 6-2 final.

Nationals now 26-66.

Washington Nationals: Minor League Minute - Potomac Nationals' Boomer Whiting Breaks SB Mark!!

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:00:16 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

"Your New Flat-Brimmed Closer, Drew Storen." Washington Nationals assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, right, introduces pitcher Drew Storen, the team's first-round draft pick and 10th pick overall in the baseball draft during a news conference at Nationals Stadium in Washington, on Wednesday, June 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Browse more photos »

Washington Nationals: Minor League Minute...

Breaking News:

The last time we talked with Anthony Masterson (Broadcast/Media Assistant with the Class-A Carolina League's Potomac Nationals), he had an interview with P-Nats' OF Boomer Whiting, who was, as of then, just 2 steals away from breaking Potomac's franchise mark for stolen bases, which until Sunday was held by SS Ian Desmond. Whiting stole two bases Sunday to break the franchise mark in the P-Nats' 9-6 win over the Kinston Indians.

Check Out: Anthony Masterson's Interview with Boomer Whiting.

MINOR LEAGUE MINUTE AFTER THE JUMP...(including Ed Chigliak asking "Acting" GM Mike Rizzo about Drew Storen)...

...The Syracuse Chiefs(AAA) beat the Columbus Clippers 5-2 on Sunday with a 4-run seventh inning the difference in the game. Pete Orr hit a bases-clearing double and scored on a wild pitch with Jorge Padilla at the plate, and Chiefs' pitcher Andrew Kown improved to (2-0) with the win...The Harrisburg Senators(AA) were shutout 7-0 by the Altoona Curve. (LHP) Matt Chico threw 5.0 scoreless innings in which he allowed just 3 hits...The Hagerstown Suns (Class A) hammered the Asheville Tourists 15-3 on Sunday. The Suns combined for 24 hits, with everyone's favorite catching prospect Derek Norris (DC's 4th Round pick in 2007) going 3 for 4 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI's...The Vermont Lake Monsters beat the Aberdeen IronBirds by a slim 1-0 margin on Sunday, with Monsters' third baseman Jack Walker's two-out solo shot the difference. 4 Vermont pitchers, Mitchell Clegg, Shane Erb, (W, 1-1-0), Gary Amato and Clayton Dill (S, 5) combined for the shuout.

BIG STORY:

• Nationals promote fast-rising Storen | nationals.com: News - Bill Ladson

Nationals Minor Leauge right-hander Drew Storen is an inch closer to the big leagues. He learned on Sunday that he's been promoted from Class A Hagerstown to Class A Advanced Potomac.

• NOTE: I used the opportunity to talk to "Acting" DC GM Mike Rizzo during the Nationals Bloggers Day a few weeks back to ask Mr. Rizzo about Drew Storen and whether or not we'd see him rise through the system like one of Storen's role models Chad Cordero had been able to...Mr. Rizzo's response:

Mike Rizzo: "Can I consider him a quicker-to-the big leagues, you know, college relief pitcher...Cordero's situation was ultra-ultra-quick to the big leagues, I don't see him pitching in the big league this season like Cordero did..."

• You can hear my quick ? for Mike Rizzo...HERE

This concludes your Minor League Minute and a half...

Adam Dunn in The WBC, Bowden Trade History, and Monday's Washington Nationals' Game Thread...

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 07:02:54 -0000

Is Having Adam Dunn In The WBC A Good Thing?

Sure. Having Adam Dunn in the WBC is a good thing. Every time he's mentioned as the "Washington Nationals outfielder" Adam Dunn as New York Times' writer Tyler Kepner refers to him in his article on Saturday's U.S. win over Canada entitled, "Mets' New Set-Up Man Preserves Win For U.S." where Mr. Kepner writes about,"Adam Dunn, the Washington Nationals outfielder who homered in the sixth inning," (ed. note - "Though Mr. Kepner eschews the use of the possessive apostrophe when he says 'Washington Nationals outfielder', and uses it in the title with 'Mets' Set-Up Man', which I've still not had explained to me...?")...it's name recognition for the Nationals, who enjoy the privilege of playing in the nation's capital, and therefore being one of many tourist destinations in DC for fans from around the country and world, which accounts, in my opinion, for the fact that every time I've gone to a game there's been noticeable presence from opposing team's fans, so any and all attention drawn to the team by Dunn's playing for the US Team has got to be positive...

But if Adam Dunn takes out his fellow Nationals like he did yesterday in the game against Canada in a play at second involving DC utility man Pinch Hittin' Pete Orr, then is that still a positive result of his participation? New York Times' writer George Vescey captured the moment in his "Sports of the Times" column entitled, "Day Off Ends In Road Win For Home Team", where Mr. Vescey cites the play as an example of how seriously the players are taking the WBC competition, writing:

"The game did have its moment of country hardball. In the second inning, Adam Dunn of the United States dumped the Canadian second baseman, Pete Orr, on a force play at second."

Well, I'll give Dunn a break this time...maybe he wasn't in camp with the Nationals long enough to realize that Orr is his teammate, but for next time, Dunn-K, that's Pinch Hittin' Pete Orr, DC's utility infielder, simply holding your arms up as you slide should be enough...

The Former DC GM's Trade History Doesn't Look So Bad...

Mlbtraderumors.com contributor Brendan Bianowicz compiled a list of every trade the former Nationals' GM Jim Bowden made in his time with Cincinnati and Washington which mlbtraderumors.com's Tim Dierkes mentioned in an article entitled, "Jim Bowden - GM Trade History", recently. Anyone remember Mr. Bowden's first trade as GM of the Nationals?

...Maicer Izturis and Juan Rivera for Jose Guillen. Izturis had been acquired by Montreal, along with Ryan Church, in an '04 trade with Cleveland for reliever Scott Stewart. Rivera arrived in Montreal along with Nick Johnson and Randy Choate in a trade with the Yankees, who got Javier Vazquez in return. Jose Guillen hit .283 with 32 doubles, 24 HR's and 76 RBI's that first season, and struggled with injuries before being granted free agency after the '06 season, but who wouldn't make that trade again?

Brad Wilkerson, Armando Galarraga and Termel Sledge for Alfonso Soriano? Even with Galarraga as good as he is now, what was Texas thinking? Was that seriously the best offer the Rangers got for Soriano? Advantage: Bowden...(ed. note - "Sorry, Wilkie?")

Mike Stanton for Shairon Martis? And that was the second time Bowden traded Stanton, the other trade resulted in little help at the Major League level, but Martis could very well start for DC this season. For Stanton? C'mon...Ryan Wagner could still come through, or Austin Kearns could finally meet expectations to make that trade with Cincy a steal. I'd trade Livan Hernandez straight up for Garrett Mock any day, and Bowden got Matt Chico out of Arizona too...

...Church and Brian Schneider for Lastings Milledge. Glenn Gibson for Elijah Dukes? Gibson was (4-8) at Class-A ball last season. Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham for Emilio Bonifacio, J.P. Dean and Jake Smolinski? (ed. note - "I'm sure the Marlins will somehow come out ahead in this one too, like they always do, but for now I'm alright with the Hammer and Olsen.") So why, I ask you, were so many, so happy to see Jim Bowden go?

Eckstein Strikes Again...

First it was Nick Johnson's swing, now it's Austin Kearns' that DC Hitting Coach Rick Eckstein is tinkering with, as MLB.com's Bill Ladson describes in an article entitled, "Kearns' new stance pays dividends", where Mr. Ladson reports that Mr. Eckstein "...suggested he(Kearns) open his stance so he would no longer be vulnerable to inside pitches." (ed. note - "Mr. Eckstein can't be the first one to have suggested this...can he?") Kearns returned to the lineup Sunday, and got the start in right, with Lastings Milledge starting in center and Elijah Dukes in left. Then again, Adam Dunn's starting in right with the US entry in the WBC, so don't read anything into those positions...there are still a lot of things for DC Manager Manny Acta to sort out...What about Willingham?

MONDAY GAME THREAD...

On February 26th in a 2-1 win over Detroit it was Collin Balester starting the day after DC Ace John Lannan got the first start of Spring Training, with potential fifth starter Jordan Zimmermann following Balester's 2.0 scoreless and hitless with 2.0 scoreless and hitless of his own in which he struck out 3 to Balester's 1 and walked no one while Balester issued 1 free pass. On the next day they were scheduled to pitch,(a 6-4 win over NY) Balester and Zimmermann swapped places with Zimmermann throwing 3.0 more perfect innings and adding 3 K's to his Spring total in the start, while Balester came on second and struggled, allowing 5 hits and 4 runs on 2 HR's.

No one's gone into print with the order they'll appear in for tonight's game against Houston or said whether Shawn Hill's injury troubles will give each pitcher his own individual start...MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, on the Astros' beat, reports in an article entitled, "Astros' spring troubles continue", that, "Fifth-starter hopeful Felipe Paulino will make his first start of the Spring," for Houston...so whichever pitcher throws for DC, all three starters will be pitching for Major League jobs. Paulino's a 25-year-old right-hander, who's got just 3 starts and 2 relief appearances with the Astros under his belt while Collin Balester's 15 starts into his MLB career and Zimmermann's yet to pitch above Double-AA...

7:05 pm EST, it's a night game in Spring. Someone update the starters when you see them in the Comments...Please? Who's Watching The Watchm...uh, the Nationals.

Let's Go Nats Go!!

Federal Baseball.com: An Unofficial Washington Nationals Blog: ReIntroduction and Primer...

Ed Chigliak — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:55:49 -0000

"While you others represent, I present my rep." - Posdnous (Plug One)

"Let's Go Nats Go!!" - Official Team Cheer

(ed. note - "Before beginning a sort of reintroduction, I just wanted to point all federalbaseball.com readers, new and old, to the post the SB Nation's Chairman and CEO Jim Bankoff put up the other day entitled, "Welcome Yahoo Users", which explains the recent distribution agreement the SB Nation reached with Yahoo Sports, then the fun starts..."):

Federal Baseball.com: Staff Positions and Bios...

MInistry of Peace: e chigliak - (ed. note - "I'm sticking with my original bio...")

About DCDaily: Federalbaseball.com: Expos' fan since birth. Raines, Dawson and Carter to blame. Followed to DC. Still waiting for Playoffs. '81 was half a season, and I was 6.
Interests: Marcel Proust, Jack Kerouac, Wong Kar Wai, Alain Resnais, Alan Moore and baseball.

My old photo gallery...

Ministry of Truth: Records Department (Editor): Winston Smith

(ed. note - "Winston Smith: No bio available...")

Ministry of Plenty: Doghouse - W.A.R. Effort

Bio:

Doghouse is an escaped physicist who compulsively posts half-understood statistics and attempts to see the bright side of every Nats-related situation. He is seriously worried about Screech's grimy condition, and is not at all rational about the possibility of Nick Johnson being injured. If encountered in the wild, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REASON WITH HIM. Instead, apply beer until the subject agrees that Ronnie Belliard may have lost a step since his All Star season. Under no circumstances ask him about the time he spent "coaching" Alfonso Soriano from his CF seats in RFK during the 2006 season.

Ministry of Plenty: Nationals News Network

via cdn3.sbnation.com

In addition to his duties with Federal Baseball, Dave Nichols is the proprietor of Nationals News Network and Capitals News Network, an official "Hockey Friendly Blog" to the Washington Capitals. He covers the Washington Nationals and Washington Capitals for DC Sports Box.com and is a contributing columnist for Bleacher Report.com. Early in his career he spent four years in radio, working for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Redskins and University of Maryland radio networks. He prefers to take a constructive, critical look at the dealings of the teams he covers, which sometimes leaves him as the voice of doom and gloom. You can reach Dave directly at natsnewsnetwork@gmail.com.

Ministry of Plenty: Scout

Bio:

(My Brother, Braves' Fan and Source For All Things Baseball)

(ed. note - "You may have noticed the first post of what I hope will be many from sdsuaztec4, who lives in San Diego and has the "Strasburg Package", and so has offered to cover the projected #1 pick in the '09 Draft, and future Nationals' Ace?, San Diego State University starter Stephen Strasburg. If the first post is any indication, sdsuaztec will be providing the best coverage of Strasburg's starts in the blogosphere...Why not one more time with this video?")...

(another ed. note - Coming Soon...I reached out to all the Nationals' minor league affiliates, asking if anyone at any level of their respective organizations would like to contribute weekly/bi-weekly posts about the goings-on down on the farm, and so far I've received positive responses from four of the five, expressing interest in keeping you, the federalbaseball.com readers, up-to-date on every level of the DC system. (ed. note in an ed. note - "C'mon Syracuse?"))

(ed. note - "For Any New Visitors To Federalbaseball.com or any of the other blogs in the SB Nation...These are the best tutorials I've found for navigating the comments, FANPOSTS, FANSHOTS, and just about everything else you could hope to know about the ridiculous platform the SB Nation's crack tech team has devised to make the bloggers look good...and I was going to make my own tutorials, but these embarrassed mine...totally was...")

Slyde at Red Reporter (SBN's Cincy Reds blog) put together a post entitled, "RR Tech Tips: Enhancing Your Reading Experience", which offers particularly good information about navigating the sites.

The Cheat at South Side Sox (SBN's CWS blog) posted a guide entitled, "Make South Side Sox Better: A Guide To Better Posting" which has info on FANPOSTS, FANSHOTS, Tagging, Headline Writing, etc.

Nationals Blogs We Dig, Other Than Our Own...(in no particular order).

Nationals Pride.com

Fire Jim Bowden

Nationals Farm Authority

We've Got Heart

Bad Nats - (ed. note - "Doghouse once swore this was the best Nationals blog on the intertubes...I'm paraphrasing, of course. We eagerly await their next post...")

Bally's Blog

PRESIDENTS RACE: LET TEDDY WIN

Nationals Journal

Chatter- (now with more posts)

FEDERALBASEBALL.COM GLOSSARY (ed. note - "So some of this makes sense...")

1 - Player Names, Nicknames, (Explanations): (In Alphabetical Order) (ed. note - "Trust me, these make a lot more sense if you follow the Gamethreads...")

- Luis Atilano - Nickname Pending (let's wait and see if he makes the Opening Day roster).

- Collin Balester - Bally, Ballystar, Battlestar.

- Ronnie Belliard - Ronnie B., Belli, Belli-YARD(upon homering), "Old Drop and Throw" (because he drops every grounder then throws to first)

- Roger Bernadina - Bernie? I got nothing...

- Jason Bergmann - Neptune NJ's Finest, Rutgers' Finest, The Bergmann of Alcatraz, "Not A Fly Ball Pitcher." (At least Bergmann doesn't think so.)

- Daniel Cabrera - The Project, DC's Own DC Daniel Cabrera, The Closer In Training.

- Kory Casto - Kasto, Casto!!(clapclap) Casto!!(clapclap)

- Matt Chico - Slowhand...

- Elijah Dukes - Elijah "Super" Dukes, SooperDukes

- Adam Dunn - The Big Donkey, Dunn-K, The Bigger Wilkerson, or Big Wilky for short.

- Jesus Flores - The Jesus, WWJD?

- Alberto Gonzalez - The General

- Cristian Guzman - The Guzzzzz

- Joel Hanrahan - "Wild" Joel Hanrahan

- Willie Harris - Thrillie Harris, WILLIE HARRIS WANTS TO PLAY!!, (Doghouse says, "TAWH = The Amazing Willie Harris, a magical force capable of playing any position and fielding any batted ball.")

- Anderson Hernandez - A-Hands, Acta's Favorite Infielder

- Shawn Hill - "The Oft-Injured Shawn Hill", Hill on the Mound, The Pride Of Mississauga, Ontario.

- Nick Johnson - Nicky J., Babe Ruth the 3rd, Nick Nick, Johnson Johnson, The Semi-Mythical Healthy Nick Johnson, Nick "When Healthy" Johnson, Trade Bait.

- Austin Kearns - AK, Kearnsie, Bluegrass, Mr. Kentucky, Bowden's Favorite Outfielder, Doghouse's Favorite.

- John Lannan - John "Cool Hand" Lannan, "Ace"

- Lastings Milledge - Lasto, L-Millz, "Deep Center" Milledge

- Garrett Mock - MOCK'd (as in, "You just got...")

- Scott Olsen - Nickname Pending

- Wily Mo Pena - WMP, WMPe, Bender©

- Saul Rivera - Saul "Sa-ool" Rivera, Sa-Oool!!, The Hardest Working Reliever in Baseball

- Steven Shell - Nickname Pending

- Ryan Zimmerman - THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!©, Zim(n), The Face of the Franchise©, The Nationals' #1 Pick in '05, The Best Defensive 3rd Baseman in Baseball. (ed. note - "Don't ever talk bad about Zimmerman, seriously...")

Addendum...(Nats News Network adds to the Nickname Madness...)

some nicknames i've used in the past...

—Wee Willie Harris
—The Man With Two Last Names (Anderson Hernandez)
—"Oh Danny Boy" Cabrera or "The Enigma"
—Scott Olsen is either "Alien" or "Peanut-Head"
—and when we’re referring to our two Zimmerman(n)’s, i think we should make a pact to refer to the 3B as Zim and the pitcher as Zimm (altho i realize the pitcher has two "n"s and one "m", i just think it’s funny and a way to distinguish them)
—Blastings Thrilledge
—William Moses Pena the Third
—Jesus Colome is the "The Other Jesus" or "The Second Coming" or "Slow", as in "Slow" Jesus Colome
—Wil "Prettyboy" Nieves

TERMS -

The Plan - The 5? Year Plan For Rebuilding The Franchise From The Bottom Up. (ed. note - "No one really knows when The Plan started...The Nationals have always been at war with the Hated Mets.")

The Hated Mets - (ed. note - "That's what me and Stan Kasten call them...though I don't know Mr. Kasten...I just read that he did, uh, call them, that, and I always have...Uh, ok.")

NatsTown© - Dave from Nats News Network explains...

The W.A.R. Effort - Check Out One Of Doghouse's Latest posts and SEE...

(ed. note - "Where I (e chigliak) comment on my own commentary.")

The DC Closer Tradition = Making It Interesting.

OPS+ = A stat that compares a batter's overall ability (on-base plus slugging) to league average. 100 is exactly league average, greater than 100 is better, and less than 100 is worse.

ERA+ = Just like OPS+, except for pitchers.

Oh, and this is what you'll see every time the Washington Nationals sweep some poor MLB opponent...

That's, uh, just about it...

?'s For The DC Faithful...

(ed. note - "Did you actually read this far? Thanks. If there are any questions, my email is on the masthead at the bottom of the page, or there's this thing called the Comments Section, where comments can be left...and I love answering questions, and there was no sarcasm in that last statement...")

Spring Training: Game 1 Game Thread: Washington Nationals vs Houston Astros.

Ed Chigliak — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:11:23 -0000

Baseball America's List of the Top 100 Prospects in Baseball...

There is one Washington Nationals' prospect on Baseball America.com's just-published list of the "Top 100 Prospects" in baseball, and his name is Jordan Zimmermann. (Two "nn's", got it?) The good news is that the 22-year-old, 6'2'', 200lb, right-handed starter is in the top half of that draw, coming in at #41, with the fact that his 2.90 '08 ERA was, "the lowest among Nationals farmhands" mentioned by the BA Staff, who collectively determined the rankings.

Baseball America.com's Aaron Fitt had Zimmermann listed as the top prospect in the DC system when he published his list of the, "Top 10 Prospects: Washington Nationals", back on January 6th of '09, so the fact that he's the highest-ranked Nationals' prospect here is not surprising...The fact that he's the only product of the DC system to make the list? Not that surprising either, considering the next player on Mr. Fitt's list, LHP Ross Detwiler, is thought by most to have taken a step back in the first half of last season, before recovering in the second half and helping the Class-A Potomac Nationals win the Carolina League crown.

"Several prospects who passed throught Potomac took major steps forward," Baseball America's Aaron Fitt writes, "...headlined by Jordan Zimmermann, who emerged as the clear-cut top prospect in the organization." Zimmermann posted a (3-1) record and a 1.65 ERA in 4 starts and 27.1 IP for the P-Nats before being promoted to Double-A Harrisburg, where he went (7-2) in 20 starts as a Senator with 103 K's and a 3.21 ERA, working with the Best Slider and Best Fastball in the Nationals' organization in Mr. Fitt's estimation.

ESPN.com's Keith Law** had Zimmermann 42nd overall when he published his article, "Ranking the top prospects", on January 2nd, and Mr. Law described Zimmermann as a "classic four-pitch pitcher" with a "90-94 mph four-seamer", change and curve, whose, "...best pitch remains his mid-80's slider," which Mr. Law, like Mr. Fitt, believes makes Zimmermann the best prospect in Washington's system, listing him atop his list of the Top 5 Prospects by organization. (ed. note - ** = ESPN INSIDER's only, sorry).

Described to Washington Post writer Chico Harlan by Nationals' Assistant GM Mike Rizzo, "...as someone who could be 'major-league ready as soon as this spring training," in a Nationals Journal post by Mr. Harlan entitled, "The Season Ticket Holder Luncheon (And A Dukes Update)", on January 23, 2009, the Nationals' fourth pick in the first two rounds of the '07 MLB Draft, taken 67th overall, Jordan Zimmermann is in camp with the Nationals competing for a spot in the '09 starting rotation. With the recent release of Odalis Perez, Zimmermann's MLB debut seems inevitable in the near-future...

And Now...

THE FIRST GAME THREAD of SPRING...

Washington Nationals at Houston Astros 1:05 pm EST, Kissimmee, Florida's Osceola County Stadium.

Selected with the 324th overall pick in the 11th Round of the '05 MLB Draft, lefty John "Cool Hand" Lannan takes the mound for the Washington Nationals today at Houston's Spring Training home, Osceola County Stadium, with the Astros starting left-handed free agent acquisition Mike Hampton in the first game of 2009 for each team.

Lannan, who is auditioning for the role of staff ace with DC this season, was (2-0) with a 2.18 ERA and 16 K's in 20.2 IP last Spring, but Lannan lost a battle with Matt Chico, who dazzled the DC coaching staff with a high leg kick and took the last spot in the '08 Nationals' rotation out of camp. Lannan traveled to Triple-A Columbus but never pitched there, as "The Injuries" began and he was quickly recalled. "Cool Hand" Lannan ended '08 with a (9-15) record, 117 K's and a 3.91 ERA in 31 starts and 182.0 IP.

After Lannan, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article entitled, "Lannan gets the nod", the Nationals will throw Garry Glover, Mike Hinckley, Shairon Martis, Garrett Mock and Steven Shell at the Astros tomorrow. Washington Post writer Chico Harlan has the roster that's traveling to Kissimmee in a post entitled, "Let The Games Begin", and those of you hoping to see Elijah Dukes, Ryan Zimmerman or Adam Dunn will be disappointed, (alternately, those of us who want to imagine that Dunn isn't a National, can pretend for a few more days...)

Who's Watching The Watchme...Sorry, that's next week...

WHO's WATCHING, LISTENING OR SOMEHOW FOLLOWING THE NATIONALS' FIRST GAME OF SPRING...???? See you in the Comments section a little before 1:05 pm EST...

Other News and Notes...

In case you missed it yesterday, I published a rumor that had made its way into the ears of more than a few members of the Natosphere, (as the Washington Post's Nationals Journal has taken to calling all the internet writers who cover DC's favorite baseball team on the interwebs), about the Nationals' interest in Toronto Blue Jays' Assistant GM Tony LaCava as a possible replacement for DC GM Jim Bowden, should Mr. Bowden be forced to step down as a result of his connection to the federal investigation of the skimming of signing bonuses given to Latin American players.

It's now 10hrs after I first published the rumor, which three separate source had confirmed having heard themselves, there's been no response to the rumors from anyone involved with the Nationals...The response from the Natosphere:

- Steven at Fire Jim Bowden, whose opinion on the current DC GM is unclear, weighed in on the rumors with a post entitled, "Meet Tony LaCava."

- Brian Oliver at the Nationals Farm Authority included Tony LaCava in a post that was up before the rumors even surfaced entitled, "GM Candidates"...and Mr. Oliver also had an interview recently with ESPN.com's Keith Law entitled, "Keith Law Talks Nationals", which everyone around the Natosphere considers a must-read.

WHO'S WATCHING THE NATIONALS?

For Random Updates Whenever I Hear Something...Check out the FEDERALBASEBALL.COM TWITTERFEED.

And for Spring Training News From Around the SB Nation, there's the SBN's Spring Training Hub...

Wondering How Astros' Fans Are Feeling About Their Chances in '09, check out...The SBN's Astros' Blog: The Crawfish Boxes.

The weather in Kissimmee, Florida? Right here

eMb.

Washington Nationals: Spring Training 2009 Profile- John "Cool Hand" Lannan

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:00:11 -0000

John "Cool Hand" Lannan's Improbable Journey...

The Washington Nationals selected John Lannan with the 324th overall pick in the 11th Round of the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft. The 6'5'', 200 lb left-hander out Siena College and originally Long Beach, NY, was coming off a (10-2) '05 campaign with the Siena Saints (as in St. Bernards) in which he'd posted a 2.29 ERA in 12 starts and 1 relief appearance while striking out 83, walking 28 and throwing 8 complete games, 2 of which were shutouts.

Lannan got a quick mention at the end of MLB.com's Bill Ladson's article on the '05 Nationals' Draft class entitled, "Nationals excited with draft results", which, of course, focused on the #1 overall selection, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, as well as outfielders Justin Maxwell and Ryan DeLaughter, right-handed starters Marco Estrada, Scott Barnes and Robert Leonhardt, and left-hander Jack Spradlin, with John Lannan described as, "...the other lefty they(Washington) drafted in the 11th round," though DC's Scouting Director Dana Brown praised both of DC's left-handed selections:

"'It's just tough to get left-handed pitching. There were a lot of other lefties on the board, but they were relievers,' Brown said. 'We felt those two starters we drafted had fastball command. That's why we went after them.'"

After going (3-5) with a 5.26 ERA in his first 14 professional appearances with the Nationals' Class-A affilliate in Vermont in 2005, Lannan was just (6-8) with a 4.70 ERA in 25 starts in his first full season with the Class-A Savannah Sand Gnats in 2006, but his (6-0) start with Class-A Potomac in '07 earned him a call-up to Double-A Harrisburg, and he soon jumped again, to Triple-A Columbus, all before July 26th when an injury to DC starter Jason Simontacchi led the Nationals to call upon John Lannan, who was by then considered the top pitching prospect in their organization, though five pitchers (C. Balester, C. Willems, Z. Zinicola, G. Gibson and M. Chico -who had already debuted in April '07-) had been ranked ahead of Lannan in the January '07 edition of Baseball America's Top Ten Prospects list which was compiled by BA writer Aaron Fitt.

Nationals' Manager Manny Acta heaped praise on Lannan before his MLB debut in another article by MLB.com's Bill Ladson entitled, "Nationals to give Lannan a shot", where Mr. Acta was quoted as stating:

"The kid has taken every challenge that we have thrown at him, so far. He has pitched well at every level. Our baseball people down there feel that he is ready to come up...[He is] one of the guys that is going to be part of the future...according to everything we heard, and the way he has pitched this year, he is going to be part of the plan."

With an ejection in his debut against Philadelphia, the result of back to back hit batters, Lannan quickly endeared himself to the DC Faithful, and he impressed enough in his first 6 MLB starts that even though he was shut down for the season in Mid-August, merely as a precautionary measure, he was considered a front-runner for a spot in the starting rotation heading into Spring Training in '08.

Lannan lost out to Matt Chico (and his new/old high leg kick delivery) in a battle for the last spot in the Nationals' starting rotation, and was set to start the '08 season with Triple-A Columbus, but he only had time to throw a simulated game before being called back up to DC in the wake of a series injuries to Nationals' pitchers. Upon being recalled, the same command which had originally caught Scouting Director Dana Brown's attention back in 2005 was cited by DC Manager Manny Acta as the one of the main reasons Lannan was being brought back to the majors, as he told MLB.com's Bill Ladson in an article entitled, "Lannan happy to be back in majors":

"'[I like] his command. It's very good for a guy his age, especially being left-handed,' manager Manny Acta said. 'He is able to hit that glove consistently and he shows no fear.'"

31 starts, a (9-15) record and a 3.91 ERA with 117 K's, 72 walks and a 1.34 WHIP later, Lannan had earned himself a spot in the '09 rotation as the only returning starter that we know, or at least assume, will be on the mound for Washington in '09. Washington Post writer Chico Harlan wrote Saturday, in an article entitled, "Nats Seek Stable Set Of Arms", that Lannan has, "...a lock on a rotation spot," but don't tell that to Lannan, who, Mr. Harlan writes, has, "...never dared to let himself feel entrenched," though DC Manager Manny Acta hinted yesterday, in an interview with XM MLB Live Weekend host Casey Stern, that Lannan, Scott Olsen and Daniel Cabrera are set in 3 of the 5 rotation spots as of right now. We'll just have to wait and see how the rotation looks after six weeks of Spring Training...

(ed. note - "For those of you who like going deeper into stats, Doghouse has been leading the Federalbaseball.com W.A.R. Effort, and he put together his pitching projections in an article entitled, "Pitching for W.A.R" about a month ago now, which contains the Marcels and CHONE projections for the DC Starting Rotation as well as the official W.A.R Spreadsheet which is being developed under the guidance of the SB Nation's Beyond the Boxscore.")

The Mailbox Is An Inbox Now...

MLB.com's Bill Ladson is back once again, but not with the "Mailbox", this time around it's the, "Inbox: Who will play first in '09", which features a question from someone known as Bern D., (aka Berndaddy, a regular voice in the Federalbaseball.com Comments sections), who asks Mr. Ladson whether or not the Nationals will pursue hitters in this year's draft to compliment the legion of arms DC has in its system, with Mr. Ladson responding that if you asked the Nationals' Asst. GM or Scouting Director, they'd say that they'll draft the best available player with each pick, but in Mr. Ladson's opinion:

"I'm sure they will go after hitters, but I expect them to draft an equal amount of pitchers like they have in previous years."

And Mr. Ladson then fields a question from yours truly, "Ed in New Jersey", who was wondering, "If Joel Hanrahan can't hold onto the closer role, who's next in line for a chance as Washington's stopper?" Mr. Ladson's response:

"I asked Acta the same question Sunday afternoon. He will not know until the end of Spring Training. Right-hander Shawn Hill could do a great job in the role if Hanrahan falters. The guy is all business on the mound and I believe his arm could withstand pitching an inning or two in a game."

I've speculated this offseason that Jason Bergmann could end up in a relief role, but I hadn't considered Hill for a bullpen spot, though now that Mr. Ladson mentions it, such a move could lessen the load on Hill's oft-injured right arm. Washington Post writer Chico Harlan's broached the same subject with Hill in a Nationals Journal post entitled, "How is Shawn's arm", where Mr. Harlan wrote, "...if he's healthy, he figures he can be in the rotation," but, "...if he's not in the rotation, he won't complain."

DC Closer Shawn Hill? It could happen...(Though I'm 100% in "Wild" Joel Hanrahan's corner...")

10 Days away from the first game of Spring...2/25/09 @ Houston...

?'s For the DC Faithful...

What do you expect from John Lannan in '09?

Do you expect Shawn Hill to move to the pen? What about Jason Bergmann?

Any other starters you think would be better suited to a bullpen role? (ed. note - "I'm looking at you Daniel Cabrera?)

The Washington Nationals In 2009? The Future Or More Of The Past?

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 07:42:18 -0000

Thirteen Days Until 2009 Really Begins For The Washington Nationals...

Asked what it meant to him that he was invited by the Washington Nationals to attend the 2009 MLB Rookie Career Development Program (RCDP), Jordan Zimmerrmann, DC's 2nd Round pick, 67th overall in the '07 Amateur Draft, who is expected to claim a role in the '09 DC rotation, tells an unidentified MLB.com reporter:

"Uh, It was a big honor, ah, I mean I didn't really know what to expect, I talked to a couple guys that were here from the Nationals last year and the year before and they said it was a good experience."

In 2008, his first full professional season, Zimmermann was (3-1) with a 1.65 ERA and 31 K's in 27.1 IP for the Class-A Potomac Nationals, allowing 15 hits, 5 ER's, 1 HR and 8 walks before being brought up to Double-A Harrisburg where the 22-year- old right hander posted a 3.21 ERA over 20 starts and 106.2 IP, surrendering 89 hits, 42 runs, 38 earned, 9 HR's and 39 walks, while striking out 103 batters.

According to Baseball America's Aaron Fitt, in the '09 edition of his, "Top 10 Prospects: Washington Nationals," Zimmermann's first full season saw him jump from the 7th ranked prospect in the organization to 1st overall, ahead of a fellow member of the '07 Draft class, Ross Detwiler, who was selected 61 players earlier than Zimmermann, going 6th overall with Washington's 1st pick of the Draft. Detwiler attended MLB RCDP in 2008, and asked an opening question similar to that which was posed to Zimmermann, but by a different unidentified MLB.com reporter, Detwiler responded: "Well you know, It always means a lot when they, uh, consider you to come to one of these things, uh, being, I mean, they, I guess they consider one of the top prospects," and Detwiler also talks of meeting fellow Nationals' prospects (John Lannan and Garrett Mock), and how it was a great way to get to know the nation's capital after he'd been introduced to the Washington's baseball fans in his MLB debut the previous September.

John Lannan was 6 starts into his career after debuting with Washington in 2007 when he attended the '08 RCDP and met Detwiler, and Garrett Mock would debut later in 2008, after having been drafted by Arizona in 2004 and traded to Washington along with Matt Chico for Livan Hernandez in August of '06. Ryan Zimmerman and Lastings Milledge both attended the RCDP in 2006, though Milledge was with the Hated Mets at the time, and Kory Casto went in 2007, where he may have met then-Tampa Bay prospect, Elijah Dukes, who was there to represent the Devil Rays...Lannan, Zimmerman, Zimmermann, Mock, Milledge, Dukes, Detwiler...Olsen, Flores, Hernandez, Balester, and Martis...What do they all have in common? They're all 25-years-old or under and they all figure to be part of the '09 Nationals' roster, for better or worse...We're now 14 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting and two months away from seeing if this youth movement's got wheels...

Upon being hired as the Nationals' Team President back in May of 2006, Stan Kasten told MLB.com's Bill Ladson, as quoted in an article entitled, "Q&A with Stan Kasten", about the process Atlanta had undertaken under his direction in order to build the franchise (over a 4-year period!) into a beast that dominated the NL East for more than a decade:

"First of all, we had to redeploy the money that we were spending year in and year out on free agents. We thought it was better spent on Minor Leaguers, scouting, adding Minor League teams, drafting more players, adding trainers and instructors in every level. It took us a little time to do it that way, but we thought it would pay off in the end, and it did."

During the recently completed Nationals' FanFest, Stan Kasten took a moment to address the crowd at a panel discussion and convey his enthusiasm for the upcoming campaign, telling the gathered fans and reporters that a great deal of last year's trouble could be attributed to injuries, but heading into '09, Mr. Kasten states, as quoted in an article and transcript by Washington Post writer Chico Harlan entitled, "The Stanifesto":

"...that young team and that injured team is now coming back a year older, a year more mature, with a lot of good young talent. And that team that was injured last year -- they're all healthy. They're all coming back healthy."

An '08 MLB.com Press Release about the Rookie Career Development Program entitled, "MLB, MLBPA hold 2008 Rookie Career Development Program", listed players around the league who had attended the seminar in previous years, and if you consider that the Nationals mentioned above are included amongst a list of players that includes Jermaine Dye, Curtis Granderson, Ryan Howard, Grady Sizemore, Ryan Braun, Matt Garza, Hanley Ramirez and Felix Hernandez, you might even begin to develop a sense of enthusiam that laughs in the face of all the pundits, scouts, number crunchers and remote viewers who say '09 will be another struggle for the Nationals, and you might just find a way to embrace the irrational belief that maybe, just maybe, this is the Nationals' year...?

eMb