SB Nation - Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals: Manager Search...Mid-November Update.

Ed Chigliak — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:00:30 -0000

More photos » by Itsuo Inouye - AP

The latest word on the Washington Nationals' skipper search comes via the TwitterFeed of SI.com's Jon Heyman, with Mr. Heyman writing:

"#nats gm mike rizzo says they'll announce their manager this week. they did interview valentine. riggleman also in mix."

This news, of course, goes along with this morning's reports, by Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin and FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal which both said that the Nationals were close to deciding who would guide the nation's capital's favorite baseball team through the 2010 season and (hopefully) beyond...

(cont.)...

BACKPAGE:

• DC Skipper Search: What "They're" Saying...

• Former DC GM Jim Bowden on Lastings Milledge.

DC Skipper Search: What "They're" Saying...

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal first quotes DC GM Mike Rizzo, in an article entitled, "Source: Valentine a finalist to be Nats manager", stating that Jim Riggleman, who ended the season as the Nationals' Interim Manager, "...is one of the finalists," for the opening on the Nationals' bench, but Mr. Rosenthal's "major league sources" tell him, "Bobby Valentine is the other," skipper still under consideration. While Valentine would be, in Mr. Rosenthal's estimation, "a more dynamic choice" Mr. Rosenthal concedes that, "Riggleman appears to be the favorite," since, as previously reported elsewhere, "...(the) Nationals ownership is believed to prefer an inexpensive manager," plus:

"The Nats' biggest concern with Valentine is whether he can stomach losing as they go through their rebuilding process."

Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin, who cites Mr. Rosenthal as, "for my money the best reporter in the business" in a Nationals Journal post entitled, "The manager search nears resolution", agrees with Mr. Rosenthal's assessment of the Nationals' concerns about Valentine, and goes on to say that the decision comes down to "a referendum of sorts on how the Nationals' braintrust (and its ownership) views its own team,":

"You don't hire someone like Valentine unless you think the team is close to contending -- let's say, a year or two away."

What sort of message does staying with Riggleman send to the fans then? In Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin's full article on the impending decision entitled, "Nats search for manager could lead to Riggleman", Mr. Sheinin writes "the more conservative move" of promoting Jim Riggleman to the full-time position would allow the team to, "...reevaluate the position a year or two from now, when the team, theoretically, is closer to contending." I wonder how the idea of "Placeholder Jim" will go over with the DC Faithful?

Riggleman or Valentine?

• Former DC GM Jim Bowden on Lastings Milledge.

Former DC GM Jim Bowden is appearing on MLB on XM's "Power Alley" along with Seth Everett this week, and a caller today asked Mr. Bowden why things didn't work out for Lastings Milledge in DC? Mr. Bowden's response:

"...We saw Milledge as a corner outfielder and not as a center fielder. Um, and so, then what happened is, we were never able to acquire a center fielder, and finally Mike Rizzo, after he became General Manager, was able to get Nyjer Morgan from the Pirates, so they had to get a center fielder...Um, you know, Lastings Milledge is a guy that still has not had the at bats to see what he could do, he's got tremendous bat speed, um, and so certainly he's going to get that opportunity in Pittsburgh next to McCutchen(Andrew), and if he can hit second in the lineup and force feed some fastballs, you know, I still think he can be a .280, 20 homer, 80 RBI guy for a long time, he's got great make-up, he definitely had a falling out, he missed a meeting with Manny (Acta), um, as soon as he missed that meeting they optioned him out, um, and from that standpoint on, um, I think they wanted to move him, uh, somewhere else...I think if they had a spot for him in left field they might have kept him, but a chance to get a center fielder, it was a baseball decision, which you certainly have to understand."

Meeting with Acta? Eh...whatever...

2009 SBN Baseball Awards - NL Rookie Of The Year.

Ed Chigliak — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:12:00 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Is Andrew McCutchen the SB Nation's '09 NL Rookie of the Year? (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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In 2008, the voting members of the SB Nation's baseball sites elected Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto as the NL Rookie of the year after the then-25-year-old catcher had hit .285 with 35 doubles, 23 HR's and 86 RBI's in 141 games behind the plate in Chicago. The only other player to receive a 1st place vote last season was Braves' right-hander Jair Jurrjens, who finished his rookie campaign with a (13-10) record, a 3.68 ERA, 139 K's, (6.4 K/9) and a 1.37 WHIP in 31 starts and 188.1 IP, but Jurrjens finished 3rd overall in the voting behind the Reds' Joey Votto, whose 10 2nd place votes allowed him to take second overall, but made him a distant runner-up to the SB Nation's top choice. Over a week later, the Baseball Writers Association of America awarded their NL Rookie of the Year Award to the same Cubs' catcher, with Votto and Jurrjens finishing second and third...

Who will the SB Nation's Baseball writers pick as the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year? The answer is only a jump away...but before you click through, register your own choice for ROY in the Poll below...

Rk	Player	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Tommy Hanson	Atlanta Braves	9	9	6	78
2	J.A. Happ	Philadelphia Phillies	6	9	7	64
3	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates	8	3	5	54
4	Chris Coghlan	Florida Marlins	7	5	4	54
5	Dexter Fowler	Colorado Rockies	-	3	1	10
6	Randy Wells	Chicago Cubs	-	-	6	6
7	Garrett Jones	Pittsburgh Pirates	1	-	-	5
8	Casey McGehee	Milwaukee Brewers	-	1	2	5
9	Seth Smith	Colorado Rockies	-	1	-	3

• Atlanta Braves' right-hander Tommy Hanson ended 2008 by winning the Arizona Fall League's MVP award, (the first time a pitcher in the hitter-friendly league had done so), and though he started the '09 season in the minors he was up by June and able to win 11 of the 21 starts he made, going (11-4) and allowing just 41 ER in 127.2 IP for a 2.89 ERA with 116 K's (8.2 K/9) and a 1.18 WHIP. (ed. note - "When's the first Strasburg v Hanson matchup?")

• J.A. Happ finished the 2009 season with 2 appearances in the World Series for the Phillies, giving up a run on 2 hits in 2.2 IP against the eventual-"World Champion" Yankees. In 23 starts and 35 overall appearances during the regular season, Happ was (12-3) with a 2.93 ERA, 3 complete games, 2 shutouts and a 1.23 WHIP in 166.0 IP, in which he struck out 166 (6.5 K/9) and walked just 56 (3.0 BB/9).

• Washington, DC fans saw the best Andrew McCutchen had to offer this season, when the then-22-year-old outfielder hit 3 HR's in 5 at bats in one game at PNC Park to help Pittsburgh to an 11-6 win over the Nationals. The former 1st Round pick, taken 11th overall by the Pirates in 2005, finally arrived in the majors in early June, giving him enough time to get in 433 at bats, over which he accumulated 124 hits, (26 doubles, 9 triples, 12 HR's), for a .286 AVG with a .365 OBP, .471 SLG, .836 OPS, (122 OPS+), 22 steals and 54 RBI's.

?'s For The DC Faithful...

• Would Jordan Zimmermann have competed for the ROY award if he'd been able to go all season?

• Is Strasburg a lock for next year's award?

• Did I give Chris Coghlan too much credit with a third-place vote because of what he was able to do against the Nationals? Clearly, I wasn't the only one he impressed, but I wonder if the Marlins' early dominance of DC influenced my decision?

• Will the Pirates' OF of Lastings Milledge, McCutchen and (Jose Tabata?) be the envy of the NL in a few seasons? Did I tell you what Former DC GM Jim Bowden said about Milledge? No? Eh, some other time....

• Strasburg v Hanson Pt. 1? Who's going to miss that?

Poll

Who is your 2009 NL Rookie of the Year?

AFL Update: Drew Storen Kinetoscope...

Ed Chigliak — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:01:18 -0000

Drew Storen - 11/2/09 vs Surprise Rafters.

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It was a Washington Nationals'/Phoenix Desert Dogs' reliever taking the loss again tonight in AFL action, as, (two days after Drew Storen's BS/L Saturday in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Star Showcase), right-hander Josh Wilkie, on Monday, blows a two-run D-Dogs' lead in the seventh, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while throwing 28 pitches, 13 for strikes and recording only two outs before being replaced on the mound by fellow DC prospect Jeff Mandel who gets a quick groundout to end the inning in what had been a 2-0 Phoenix shutout of Peoria, AZ's second-favorite team, the Javelinas...

...Mandel ends up throwing 1.1 scoreless, holding it close as the Desert Dogs rally for a run in the top of the eighth, but the Seattle Mariners' right-hander Anthony Varvaro closes it out for Peoria with a quick 1-2-3 ninth for the 4-3 Javelinas' win...NOTES: DC 1B prospect Chris Marrero ended the night 2 for 4 with a run scored and his 18th AFL RBI in 17 games and 70 AB's over which he's collected 25 hits for a .357 AVG with 6 doubles, 3 HR's, a .418 OBP, .571 SLG and a .989 OPS...Nationals' SS of the Future Danny Espinosa and Potomac's favorite backstop Sean Rooney were a combined 0 for 8, dropping Rooney's AVG unprintably low, while Espinosa's dipped to .328 after 17 G and 64 AB's.

BACKPAGE:

• Drew Storen: Random Pics.

• Drew Storen Kinetoscope.

BACKPAGE:

• Drew Storen: Random Pics.

• Drew Storen: Kinetoscope. (ed. note - "Grab Hold and Drag Down.")

ONE

TWO

THREE

THE END.

Arizona Fall League: Matt McBride Homers, Aaron Crow Hit Hard Again

raygu — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:40 -0000

The AFL was back in action on Monday following a day off on Sunday. The Rising Stars game was very exciting for those who watched as the Indian's catching prospect Matt McBride hit a two-run homer off of Nationals pitching prospect Drew Storen.

Let's take a look at the performances from Monday's games:

Jose Tabata, OF, PIT-0-4, (.349)

Buster Posey, C, SFG-1-3, BB, K (.224)

Brandon Allen, 1B, ARI-1-4, K (.167)

Domonic Brown, OF, PHI-1-4, 2K (.256)

Thomas Neal, 1B, SFG-0-4, RBI, BB (.288)

Hector Gomez, SS, COL-2-3, RS, 2B, HR, RBI (.271)

Starlin Castro, SS, CHC-1-4, RS, SB (.414)

Bryan Peterson, OF, FLA-2-3, BB, RBI (.400)

Jay Buente, RP, FLA-2 Inn, 5 K (3.86)

Matt McBride, C, CLE-2-4, 2 RS, 3B, HR, RBI (.420)

Yonder Alonso, 1B, CIN-3-4, RS, RBI (.293)

Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL-0-3, 2 K (.267)

Jonathan Gaston, OF, HOU-1-3, HR, 3 RBI (.226)

Ike Davis, 1B, NYM-2-4, RS, (.339)

Taylor Teagarden, C, TEX-0-3, BB, 2 K (.240)

Aaron Crow, SP, KC-4 Inn, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 K (7.94)

Washington Nationals' Stephen Strasburg Named AFL Pitcher Of The Week. (w/pics)

Ed Chigliak — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:09:44 -0000

11/2/09 - Stephen Strasburg vs The Surprise Rafters.

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Even though Stephen Strasburg missed this past Saturday's televised AFL Rising Stars Showcase, the one start he did make last Monday in Surprise, Arizona, against the Surprise Rafters, in which he threw 68 pitches, 43 for strikes in 5.0 IP, allowing just 4 hits, 1 ER and 1 walk while collecting 6 K's, was enough to earn the Washington Nationals' '09 No. 1 overall pick the honor of being named the AFL Pitcher of the Week as reported in an article at MiLB.com entitled, "Strasburg, Rosario earn top honors". According to the announcement, Strasburg's averaging 9.98 K/9 so far in the Arizona Fall League, which is the best amongst AFL starters, as are his three wins in four starts...

(ed. note - "I was in attendance last Monday for Strasburg's start against the Rafters, and though I violated what is probably Rule No. 1 of photography by not sufficiently cleaning the camera lense before I started snapping away, what follows after the jump are all the pictures (some out of focus, I tried) that I was able to take of the Nationals' No. 1 pick in action...")

Strasburg pics, After The JUMP...

Stephen Strasburg 11/2/09 vs Surprise Rafters - Surprise Stadium, Surprise, AZ.

(ed. note - "Tomorrow, Drew Storen on the hill...")

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:01:31 -0000

by Ann Heisenfelt - AP

Carlos Gomez makes the wrong kind of contact.

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Some things to read while realizing you left your credit card in your other armor.

Thanks to Dan, Tyler and Rubie for filling in for me last week while I took a quick break to experience life in New York for a few days. Writing the Mug is no small feat, and all three of them did admirable work in my place, so be sure to stop by their sites today to thank them. It's good to be home. With that said, I'm going in for oral surgery in roughly an hour so I'm off again tomorrow, and I've lined up another of my favorite Brewer bloggers to fill in. I'm hoping to return on Wednesday but that will depend on how I bounce back and how coherent I am on Vicodin.

The Brewers, of course, saw fit to ruin a perfectly good day of my vacation by trading J.J. Hardy for Carlos Gomez. If you weren't around the site this weekend, you missed a lot of great content on the trade: Jordan weighed in with his disappointment, Jeff made the case for keeping Mike Cameron anyway, and Noah, writing his first weekend roundup, had a great collection of thoughts on the deal from around the web. With that said, there's still a bunch more out there:

The Transaction Oracle compared Gomez to Tom Goodwin and said, "Gomez's version of selectivity is staring blankly at a random pitch and then flailing at the next one."
Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press called Gomez "clueless" and said he "has the baseball instincts of an Icelandic grade-schooler." (h/t BBTF)
The Grand National Championships called Gomez "a Juan Pierre without all that incessant singles hitting."
TheJay has a look at the career paths of players who have made as many PAs as Gomez has at such a young age with such a low OBP. Not exceptionally pretty.
Aaron Gleeman says Gomez has gotten a bum rap, but also likes the deal for the Twins.
Miller Park Drunk has a roundup of other things people are saying about Gomez.
Meanwhile, despite Jeff's objections, Doug Melvin confirmed that the Brewers' decision to acquire Gomez means they won't make a push to retain Mike Cameron for 2010.
Nick's Twins Blog has an overview of the deal, including my scouting report for Hardy.
Twinkie Town has some questions about Hardy's defense (based largely on the comments of some frequent BCB'ers), and whether or not it's as good as advertised.
FanGraphs has a look at Hardy's defense, and rated him the third most valuable defensive player in baseball since 2007.
Along with the Red Sox (and presumably some others), the Reds confirmed interest in Hardy. Melvin didn't want to deal Hardy in the division, so he was forced to accept less from someone else.
The Ghost of Moonlight Graham called the deal a steal for the Twins.
Rubie Q called the deal "worst nightmare stuff."
Baseball-Intellect says the Twins got Hardy for "pennies on the dollar."
Sabernomics is having a hard time choosing a winner in the deal.
Jorge Says No! says this deal has the potential to be win-win.

As of this writing, 54% of voters in the poll on your right think the Twins won the trade, with just 13% picking the Brewers. Gomez is walking in the door with a large portion of the fans believing he's not worth much, and it can be tough to overcome that when you're carrying a sub-.300 OBP. This could be the deal that sinks Doug Melvin.

Now, the Brewers have to find a way to wisely spend the financial windfall. MLB Trade Rumors has the likely landing spots for this winter's top 50 free agents, and lists both Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn as likely Brewers, and also lists the Crew as a potential interested party regarding Jon Garland. Meanwhile, they have Felipe Lopez as a Dodger, Mike Cameron as a Padre and Ben Sheets as a Ranger.

Beyond that, there's not a lot of Brewer news, unless you wanted to talk about the decision to decline David Weathers' option.

Around baseball:

D-Backs: Exercised Brandon Webb's option for 2010.
Dodgers: Declined Jon Garland's option for 2010.
Nationals: Declined Austin Kearns' option for 2010.
Phillies: Exercised Cliff Lee's option for 2010 and declined Pedro Feliz's.
Pirates: Designated pitchers Virgil Vazquez and Eric Hacker and catcher Steve Lerud for assignment.
Red Sox: Declined their option for 2010 on Alex Gonzalez.
Reds: Outrighted outfielder Danny Richar and first baseman Kevin Barker to AAA. Both will be minor league free agents.
Rockies: Declined options on catcher Yorvit Torrealba and Alan Embree.
Royals: Declined 2010 options for Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo and Yasuhiko Yabuta.
Tigers: Removed outfielder Marcus Thames and catcher Matt Treanor from their 40-man roster.
White Sox: Bought out the final year of Jermaine Dye's contract.

I'm going to wrap this up quickly, because my pre-surgery meds are starting to kick in:

Miguel Olivo has been mentioned as a potential option for the Brewers next season. Beyond the Box Score has a comprehensive list of things he does well.
Phil Birnbaum looks at the possibility that younger umpires have more accurate strike zones.
Baseball Reference wants your thoughts to help improve their site.
Seventeen congressmen voted no on a resolution congratulating the Yankees for winning the World Series. One of them was Wisconsin rep Jim Sensenbrenner. (h/t Baseball Musings)

On this day in 1982, Robin Yount was the unanimous choice to win the AL MVP after leading the AL in hits, doubles, slugging, OPS, OPS+ and total bases, while playing shortstop for the AL Champion Brewers.

It's also a big day for Brewer birthdays:

Dave Bush turns 30.
Angel Miranda, who appeared in 116 games as a Brewer between 1993 and 1997, turns 40.
Dion James, who was the Brewers' first round pick in the 1980 draft, turns 47.
Teddy Higuera, arguably the greatest pitcher in Brewer history, turns 51. You should celebrate his birthday by purchasing the sponsorship on his Bref page, which is available for $10.

Drink up.

2009 SBN Baseball Awards - NL Manager Of The Year.

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:30:28 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

CC Sabathia Asks Charlie Manuel If He Was Named The SB Nation's 2009 NL Manager Of The Year, Manuel's Not Telling... (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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The voting members of the SB Nation's baseball blogs chose Lou Piniella as NL Manager of the Year last season, recognizing the then-second-year Chicago Cubs' skipper for having led his team to its second straight 1st place finish in the NL Central, with Charlie Manuel, whose Phillies had taken the East and would go on to win the World Series, and Fredi Gonzalez, whose Florida Marlins had overachieved impressively enough to earn the second-year manager three first-place votes, rounding out the top three. A little over a week later, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced that they'd reached the same conclusion, handing Lou Piniella his 3rd Manager of the Year award, (the other two with the Mariners), with Manuel and Gonzalez finishing second and third in their voting as well...

Piniella's Cubs were a huge disappointment in 2009, Charlie Manuel's Phillies repeated as NL East champs, and eventually went all the way to the World Series, but weren't as impressive in a less-competitive division which basically handed Philly the crown, and Fredi Gonzalez's Marlins finished strong and ended up second in the East but didn't turn quite as many heads as they played .500 ball the first half and never caught Philadelphia...or the Wild Card winning Rockies...So who did the SB Nation's Baseball blogs give the 2009 NL Manager of the Year Award to this time? Vote for your NL Manager of the year below and then see which skipper we selected after the JUMP...

(cont.)...

Rk	Manager	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	Pts
1	Jim Tracy	Colorado Rockies	24	1	2	125
2	Tony LaRussa	St. Louis Cardinals	3	7	10	46
3	Fredi Gonzalez	Florida Marlins	2	6	5	33
4	Joe Torre	Los Angeles Dodgers	-	9	2	29
5	Charlie Manuel	Philadelphia Phillies	-	3	5	14
6	Bruce Bochy	San Francisco Giants	1	1	1	9
7	Bobby Cox	Atlanta Braves	-	1	4	7
8	Bud Black	San Diego Padres	-	1	1	4
9	John Russell	Pittsburgh Pirates	-	1	-	3

• Jim Tracy took over in Colorado with the Rockies off to an 18-28 start under Clint Hurdle and turned things around almost immediately, leading them to a 74-42 record for a franchise best 92 wins and a Wild Card birth in the postseason that marked the third visit to the playoffs in the team's 17-year history.

• Tony LaRussa's Cardinals took the NL Central by the widest margin of any of the '09 NL Division winners, and St. Louis was back in the postseason for the first time since they took the World Series just three years ago.

• Fredi Gonzalez once again got the most he could out of baseball smallest payroll, finishing second in the NL East, 6.0 games behind Philadelphia, and third in the Wild Card standings, 5.0 games behind Jim Tracy's Rockies. The Marlins' 9-20 May likely cost them the season, but Gonzalez rallied the Fish to a 41-31 second half, which was apparently enough to save the third-year manager's job.

?'s For The DC Faithful...

• Did anyone else deserve 1st place votes?

• What about what Joe Torre was able to do in LA with Manny suspended for an extended period?

• Have the Nationals named their new manager yet?

• We were told a decision would be made shortly after the World Series concluded? Will the Nationals make a splash in the morning papers now that the '09 season's officially over?

• Any chance the new Nationals' Skipper competes for the twenty-ten SBN NL Manager of the Year award?

Poll

Who Is The NL Manager Of The Year?

MLB Trade Rumors: On the Beat with John Perrotto Version

raygu — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:37 -0000

by Eric Risberg - AP

about 1 month ago: Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley takes a break on the mound after the San Francisco Giants scored their third run in the fourth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. San Francisco won the game 7-2; Billingsley was the losing pitcher. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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Every Sunday, John Perrotto from Baseball Prospectus puts out an article talking about possible trade rumors and signings, along with analysis of the goings on around baseball. Yesterday's article was chock full of names who could be available in trade talks this offseason, with some suprise names.

Let's take a look after the jump:

Here is a list of names who could be available in trade talks per Perrotto:

Chad Billingsley Kerry Wood

Dave Bush Bobby Jenks

Jeremy Guthrie Pat Burrell

Adrian Gonzalez Nelson Cruz

Heath Bell Ryan Ludwick

Glen Perkins Dan Uggla

Kenshin Kawakami Juan Pierre

Derek Lowe Ryan Doumit

Javier Vazquez Dioner Navarro

Carlos Zambrano Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Matt Capps Geovany Soto

Christian Guzman Elijah Dukes

Corey Hart David Dejesus

Poll

What name on the Perrotto list is most surprising?

Where In The World Is The Washington Nationals' Elijah Dukes? [UPDATED: 6:28 pm EST 11/9]

Ed Chigliak — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:42:38 -0000

More photos » by Brian Blanco - AP

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(ed. note - "Within 12 hours of posting this story, fans of Elijah Dukes, who were wondering when or even if he'd make his way down to the Dominican Winter League to play with the Tigres del Licey, got an answer. According to an article by Daniel Rufenacht at Licey.com (the team's official site) entitled, (or roughly translated as) "Major League Infield":

"In the Dominican league, until the middle of November, the teams play inexperienced players, veterans of smaller leagues and Mexico...

...In the next few days, Elijah Dukes, Jose Batista and Felix Pie will be integrated into the Tigres' roster."

When he arrives in the Dominican Republic, Dukes will join Nationals' infielder Ian Desmond and former Nationals Wily Mo Pena, Emiliano Bonifacio, Bernie Castro, Anderson Hernandez and Daniel Cabrera in the Licey lineup, as he attempts to work on hitting the breaking balls Dukes identified as his main weakness at the plate in several year-ending articles...Read the original story after the JUMP...")

(ed. note - "Thanks, and a head nod to FB.com regular CD3K for tracking down the article and providing the initial translations.")

In early September several sources reported that Washington Nationals' outfielder Elijah Dukes would be playing Winter Ball with the Tigres del Licey this offseason as he attempted to address what he saw as his main weakness at the plate, hitting the curve. Washington Post writer Chico Harlan spoke with Dukes about his plans in an article entitled, "At Pivotal Point in Career, Dukes Trying To Step It Up", in which Dukes explained that he didn't need to take the winter off:

"I don't really want no time off," Dukes said. "I just want to keep seeing it, keep seeing it, until spring training of next year. I just haven't figured it out yet. . . . The curveball is the last piece."

So where is Elijah Dukes? He hasn't played in the DWL yet?

MLB.com's Bill Ladson, who wrote about Dukes' winter plans in the DWL in a 9/5/09 blog post entitled, "Elijah Dukes to play winter ball", talked about the 25-year-old outfielder in the most recent edition of Mr. Ladson's "Inbox: What role will Morse play", where he responded to a question about pursuing free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye by stating that he sees Dukes as the Nationals' '09 right fielder:

"I don't see Dukes on the bench. As I say that, the 2010 season is the year Dukes must show that he can reach his full potential."

But there was no mention of what Dukes is doing right now to improve his chances of winning the job in right field or work on hitting curves...As of Sunday, Dukes' name was not on the Tigres' roster...Emiliano Bonifacio played right field for Licey last night...Anyone know when or if Dukes will be playing in the DWL?

Link: When Dukes played in the DWL in 2007, he had reported to the Tigres del Licey by the first week of October...

Washington Nationals' Drew Storen Takes Loss In AFL Rising Stars Showcase

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:48:55 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

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The Washington Nationals' second first-round pick of the '09 First-year Player Draft, Drew Storen of Stanford, and right-handed pitching prospect Josh Wilkie, an amateur free agent signed out of George Washington University in 2006, both tipped their caps to the crowd as they were introduced before the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Showcase on Saturday night in Surprise, Arizona's Surprise Stadium. Wilkie, who was named to the roster to replace the "injured" Nationals' right-hander Stephen Strasburg, would never take the mound. Storen, the 22-year-old right-handed former Cardinal closer came on in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 7-6 game which saw Storen and Wilkie's AFL East squad jump out to a 7-0 lead off the 7th pick in the '09 Draft, Braves' lefty Mike Minor, only to slowly allow Minor's AFL West teammates to creep back into the game, scoring two in the bottom of the first and four in the home third while holding the East scoreless after the big opening frame.

Storen, wearing the Nationals' road grey uniforms (#17) with the Phoenix Desert Dogs' cap, started San Diego Padres' infield prospect Lance Zawadzki with a 95 mph fastball for a called first strike, and six pitches later surrendered an infield single that got over the mound and was unplayable for A's infielder Jemile Weeks. Matt McBride, a catcher in Cleveland's system since being selected in the 2nd Round of the '06 Draft, was up next and he took a 96 mph fastball low and outside for ball one before unloading on the second-straight fastball from Storen and lifting it to left for a two-run blast and an 8-7 AFL West comeback...Storen retired the next three batters in order, but when the AFL East failed to score in the top of the ninth, he took the L. Storen's Line: (BS, 1), (L, 0-1), 2 H, 2 ER, 2 K's, 1 HR, 18.00 ERA, 19 pitches, 12 strikes,

• Final Score: AFL West 8, AFL East 7 - MLB.com's Gameday.