I don't normally ask you guys for help, but this is a special situation. My sister's two year old beagle, Riley, is currently locked in the pound and will be put down on the 22nd unless a new home can be found. She is looking to move the dog (easier than moving Michael Young) and is hoping to find a taker. For more information please e-mail me and I can put you in contact with my sister if interested.

Congrats to Ian Desmond on the impending birth of his first child. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com

Remember when Ryan Church thought all he had to do to be the CF was show up? Ian Desmond is under no such illusion and is ready to fight for his spot, and history is on Desmond's side when it comes to cutting down on the errors. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com

Storen sure did look nervous during his debut. He now says he is calm and relaxed and ready to take over the closer's role. --Bill Ladson from nationals.com

Zimmerman wasn't mad at the Nationals when Dunn wasn't retained. He was just upset about losing a close friend and teammate. --Mark Zuckerman at csnwashington.com

The loss of Dunn leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the Nats order, but the top of the order was the real problem in 2010, and that has to get better to have any sort of success in 2011. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com     

Continue reading this post »

Today is officially the day that pitchers and catchers report for the Nationals, but not many of them were in a waiting mood, and some position players showed up as well. Including team leaders Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com

Jayson Werth brought his beard with him. --Dan Steinberg in The D.C. Sports Bog

The complete history of Nationals facial hair. --DangerNat at natsnq.com

The Nationals remain in baseball Hell. I sure hope Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg can locate Michael's sword before it is too late. --Tom Verducci at si.com

Nyjer Morgan is ready to be a better man and a better baseball player. --Bill Ladson from nationals.com

Jesus Flores is ready to exist. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com

Harper's bat is expected to be good enough to play at any position, but if he can move to center field then... --nationalsarmrace.com  

If one were so inclined to not be in Viera then there is a strong possibility that Harper will still be around for the televised game on March 6 (link includes complete listings). --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com      

Continue reading this post »

O, great muse of yore we sing of thee with mighty verse transplanted from an eastern land. Green grass, wind aided homers, aging vets, and youngster darlings destined for minors camp. --Jenn from natsfangirls.com

The Nationals have new batting practice jerseys. --nationalsenquirer.com

Meet Fly Eli or TAFKED (The Artist Formally Known as Elijah Dukes). --Howard Altman at tbo.com

Dukes also claims that teammates hid marijuana in their man purses and he smoked on charter flights out of peer pressure. The only question this raises in my mind is how does one secretively smoke pot on an airplane. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com

Bryce Harper has a list of goals for Spring Training. --Bill Ladson at nationals.com

Al Kaline was a major leaguer at 18 and so far he is impressed with Bryce Harper. --Bill Ladson from nationals.com         

Continue reading this post »

Mike Rizzo had a plan for the off-season. He wanted to make the team more athletic and capable of playing better defense, and if we let our preconceived notions guide us we might not understand.--Tyler Radecki from tyler-radecki.com

Stephen Strasburg has begun step 1 of a throwing program. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com

106.7 the Fan will be carrying the Nats games this season and is also looking to add more baseball related programing. --Dan Steinberg in The D.C. Sports Bog

And here is hoping that the hosts they have either start talking about baseball (both Holden Kushner and Grant Paulsen work for MLB Radio on the weekends), or they hire someone that can. --WFY from yurasko.net  

PECOTA rankings make Marcel and Bill James look downright optimistic. --nationalsreview.com

Option status of players on the Nats 40 man. --nationalsarmrace.com

Gates open at 4:00 for the Nats Fanfest on March 30. --Cheryl Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

Fantasy baseball and sports video games owe a lot to Strat-O-Matic (reading this article I could help but think of it as D&D* with baseball players). --Joe Lemire from si.com

*Also note that I am just as excited about Dragon Age II as baseball season so I really have no room to talk 

Continue reading this post »

Intangibles are a tricky thing. By their very definition they cannot be defined. This week is going to be a little different. There won't be any numbers or stats or projected added wins. A lot of these intangible qualities weren't even that much of a problem for the 2010 Nationals. From what was reported the clubhouse was full of good character guys that all got along. That doesn't mean it can't improve it just means it wasn't a problem, and for some intangibles the negative impact far outweighs any possible positive effect. I am going to list what I feel are the five most important intangible qualities for a Major League baseball team, and briefly discuss each one.

5. Character Matters

What does driving while talking on a cell phone have to do with the game of baseball? Nothing, except I couldn't find any scientific studies that tested the reaction times of ball players against the reaction times of distracted ball players, but there have been studies done on drivers. The interesting findings are that cognitive distractions have a greater negative impact on reaction time than the act of talking on a cell phone. The drop off in reaction time is virtually the same when a person is talking hands free vs. using the cell phone in a more traditional manner. The intensity of the conversation had far more to do with the drop off in reaction time than the act of talking on the cell phone.

Continue reading this post »

Interesting interview with Bill Ladson on the Beyond the Boxscore podcast. He talks a lot about the improved defense, how he thinks Desmond is going to be a star, and that he thinks this could be the year the Nationals don't finish last. It all begins around the 45 minute mark and runs for about 15 minutes. The rest of the podcast is worth listening to as well. --Dave Gershman at beyondtheboxscore.com

Good news. The Nationals are close to finalizing a contract that will have Charlie and Dave on 106.7 FM. --Mark Zuckerman from natsinsider.com  

Bob Carpenter talks about the Nationals pitching staff and why Jordan Zimmermann is key. Seems to forget about the existences of Maya and Gorzelanny. --nationals.com

Fun with Nats' players names. --nationalsreview.com

Corey Brown is working hard to get into the best shape of his life. I half expected him to turn towards the camera and cut a wrasslin' style promo on Nyjer at the end. --Corey Brown via youtube.com

An easy to read list of all the moves the Nationals made this off-season. --Mac at section409.com

Da Meat Hook wants you to know that Zimmerman is a leader. --Dmitri Young at mlb.com     

Continue reading this post »

As a follow-up to the story that ran in The Post Kilgore fills us in on some of the stuff that didn't make the paper and why it is important to have a home base. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com

When some people look at Ian Desmond all they see are the 34 errors, but Desmond is a player a lot of other teams want not just for his potential, but also for his hustle. --Phil Wood at masnsports.com

Joining Desmond in the middle infield this year will be Danny Espinosa who displays great attitude and answers every question asked of him the right way. This is the type of player teams want on the field. One that just wants to quietly go about their business, do what is asked of them, and have a desire to always get better. --nationals.com

Eury Perez still has to get better at getting on base, but when he does he is a dangerous man. He is also a plus defender and will be a prospect to watch in 2011. --jasonsbaseballblog.com

Ryan Zimmerman is the most underrated player in baseball. --Rory Paap from hardballtimes.com      

Continue reading this post »

After the Smiley Gonzalez scandal the Nationals tore down their presence in the Dominican and two years later it looks like they are finally heading in the right direction. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com

If you are interested in learning more about how Dominican baseball is run then check out the documentary The Road to the Big Leagues. --imdb.com

When Luis Ayala recorded the final out for Mexico in their victory against Venezuala Monday evening he still had to wait until the Dominicans beat the Peurto Ricans to know that he was a champion. --Jesse Sanchez from mlb.com

To say Bryce Harper is a super prospect might be an understatement as he has exceeded every unrealistic expectation placed on him. Ok then, I expect Harper to go 1.000/1.000/4.000 in Spring Training, exceed that Mr. Harper. --William Yoder at thenatsblog.com

Continue reading this post »

There are going to be a lot of new faces when players meet in Viera for Spring Training in a week or two, and some of the moves have people in the organization feeling pretty good. --Bill Ladson at nationals.com

One thing that has been interesting to watch is the number of guys signed that can play centerfield and the fact that Mike Rizzo took the time to make this point with every signing. --Mark from centerfieldgate.com

One player that can play centerfield, but more than likely will end up in a platoon in left is Roger Bernadina, and recently it has been discovered that he is nicknamed the shark. --DangerNat at natsnq.com

I was going to suggest a group outing to left field with everyone in Shark Boy masks, but it looks like the Nats have already thought this through and have a shark hat ready to go. --Dan Steinberg in The D.C. Sports Bog

And as a follow-up the natsnq caught up with the fans that nicknamed Bernadina and discovered the origin of the shark name. After a Winter of cheering for Karim Garcia, who has played baseball in more countries than Ryu has had street fights in, I can fully get behind fans like this. --DangerNat at natsnq.com

Pudge Rodriguez stole the show at the Caribbean Series by throwing out the first pitch Friday night. --Jesse Sanchez at nationals.com       

Continue reading this post »

Longo vs. Zim is the closest position debate in all of baseball. They are so close in all aspects of their game that they might as well be the same person, and the CBS writers are split when it comes to selecting who is better. --William Yoder from thenatsblog.com

The Nationals sign Laynce Nix to a minor league deal. Yet another guy with the ability to play center field. Is Nyjer paying attention? --Ben Nicholson-Smith at mlbtraderumors.com

Nationals minor leaguer suspended for PEDs. The complete list that is included in the update is pretty interesting. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

Depth can turn to need quickly and while it appears the Nationals have a lot of catchers, Pudge is old, Ramos is unproven, Flores is injury prone, and Norris is a year or two away. Shopping Flores might not be the best idea. If Pudge is washed-up and Ramos proves to be a bust then who's the catcher if Flores is gone? --Mike Henderson at nationalsdailynews.com

The Nationals defense looks to be better in 2011, but one troubling bit of news is that players typically peak defensively before they do offensively. --Rob Neyer from sbnation.com

Continue reading this post »

How to write about something that might not exist? That is a question that has plagued me for the last couple weeks. Most of my research and time was spent looking at the Nationals hitting statistics and trying to figure out why they scored so few runs in 2010. I am not saying timely hitting doesn't exist. It does, but it is more a confluence of events that only look timely or clutch in hindsight. I have no idea how pressure effects human beings that have lived their entire lives under intense pressure. As sports fans we have seen success and failure in clutch situations time and time again. Olympic athletes train their entire lives for one moment, and sometimes they blow it. They work hard to get to the biggest stage in the world and they just can't come through in the clutch.

Continue reading this post »

Bryce Harper might not have a chance to break camp with the big club after Spring Training, but that doesn't mean he won't be the center of attention. --Mark Zuckerman at csnwashington.com

Everyone's favorite racing president said, "To speak softly and carry a big stick," and so far Bryce Harper has half of that down. --nationalsenquirer.com

Justin Maxwell traded to the Yankees for Adam Olbrychowski*. --Dave Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com

*I worried so much about spelling it correctly today that I actually didn't have to look it up.

Justin Maxwell will always look back fondly at his time with the Nationals, but is excited about joining the most storied franchise in baseball. --Byron Kerr at masnsports.com

The human good luck charm, Orlando Cabrera, is still unsigned, but the human cursed necklace, Felipe Lopez, is now a Tampa Bay Ray. --Ben Nicholson-Smith from mlbtraderumors.com    

There are two storylines I have been rather dubious of this Winter. The first is that the Orioles had an amazing off-season that is much better than the Nats. --Harper from natsbaseball.com

And the second is that the Royals are poised to be contenders in a couple years. In 2006 the Marlins had four players finish in the top ten in ROY voting, in 2009 they had the ROY, and in 2010 they once again had multiple players in the top ten in a loaded year for rookies, and none of it has lead to anything, all because the owner still needs to spend money on veteran cogs to make the young player gears turn. The Royals payroll is set to be low this season, and that might be a good thing as it will give them financial flexibility to sign draft picks and those important veterans when the time is right. --Rob Neyer at sbnation.com   

Continue reading this post »

Project pitchers were popular this off-season, and although the Nats missed out on Webb and Duchscherer they still have their own project pitcher in Wang. --Phil Wood at masnsports.com

The Nats are like a bad drug. Just when you think you have kicked the habit they pull you back in, and NFA_Brian is no different than the rest of us addicts as he will write from time to time at nationalsprospects.com. In his first column he examines the jump the Nationals made into the top half of organizational rankings by Baseball America, and what they need to do to get even better (international signings). --Brian Oliver at nationalsprospects.com

Valentines Day is coming up and we all know that means pitchers and catchers report, but it also means your wife or girlfriend will be expecting a gift. Why not give them a Screech or Uncle Slam gram (Hint: for $100-$150 you can buy jewlery which women prefer to giant mascots visiting them). --Kristen Hudak from masnsports.com

Josh Willingham won't be patrolling left field for the Nats in 2011, but that doesn't mean a platoon of Bernadina/Ankiel and Morse can't put up similar production. --Mark Zuckerman at natsinsider.com

One thing we will never know as fans is what it is like to be inside of a major league clubhouse, but most players and former players say the relationships built in the clubhouse matter and Rick Ankiel is a good chemistry guy. --gondee from talkingchop.com 

Speaking of good guys, Stephen Strasburg reached out to a kid that suffered a UCL tear. --Charlie Leffler from mechlocal.com       

Continue reading this post »

The off-season is nearing its end and soon it will be time to get serious, but before that time comes here is a very good and very fun article about players and their at bat music which of course will lead to the discussion of what your at bat music would be. --Joe Lemire at si.com

The Nationals made a lot of moves in the off-season, but it is still too early to make any sort of predictions on the standings. --Bill Ladson from nationals.com

Most of the Nationals off-season moves focused on fixing the defense which has been a major problem since the 2006 season. --Mark Zuckerman at csnwashington.com

The MLB All-Star game is the only one I can stand to watch, but some people aren't satisfied with it. --Joe Drugan at section409.com

If the All-Star game were changed to have a fantasy draft and Jonah Keri and Dave Cameron were made GMs their teams would look like this. --Jonah Keri and Dave Cameron from fangraphs.com     

Continue reading this post »

Stephen Strasburg is not just trying to rehab from TJS, but also to quite using smoke-less tobacco. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com

And for those not interested in the Pro-Bowl or Royal Rumble last night Strasburg's debut was re-aired by MASN, and it reminded some that baseball is about the memories. --William Yoder from thenatsblog.com

As far as the other Nat's phenom goes he says he wants a September call-up, and while many feel this is unlikely he aims to prove them wrong*. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com

*One quality of a true superstar is to back up their boasts. Bryce Harper has for the first time stated a goal, and from what we have seen from him so far he is oozing with superstar qualities.

Continue reading this post »

When the 2011 season finally begins all eyes will be on Jordan Zimmermann, Nyjer Morgan, Danny Espinosa, and Bryce Harper. --Mark Zuckerman at csnwashington.com

And if you are heading up to Hagerstown to watch Bryce Harper then you are also going to want to keep your eyes on the new manager, Brian Daubach. --David Wilhelm from bnd.com

Also don't forget to check out some of the other prospects from Keith Law's Nationals' top ten. --Sue Dinem from nationalsprospects.com 

If the Nationals had an earlier fan fest then it would be possible that certain players on the guest list might not be Nationals. --Mike Henderson at nationalsdailynews.com

But would Josh Willingham have shown up in his new A's uniform? --Aaron Gleeman at nbcsports.com

What is it about playing for the Seattle Mariners that causes players to get DUI's as Adam Kennedy is now the second Mariners player to be busted this off-season. --Larry Stone from seattletimes.com

Justin Maxwell DFA'd to make room for Todd Coffey. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com    

Continue reading this post »

Tyler Clippard stood on the mound awaiting manager Jim Riggleman after blowing the lead to the Baltimore Orioles. Matt Capps was summoned from the bullpen to preserve the game, and on his second pitch he got the double play ball the Nationals needed to get out of the inning. The only problem was that Cristian Guzman threw the ball ten rows deep into the stands to complete the routine 6-4-10 double play. Which meant it wasn't a double play and all the Nationals could do was sulk off the field after sloppy play had cost them another game. It was a scene that was repeated far too often for the 2010 Washington Nationals.

In total the Nationals made 127 errors and allowed 84 unearned runs. Cutting down on the errors and general sloppy play is one of the quickest paths to improvement. 66% of errors led to an unearned run. This is probably somewhat inaccurate as it doesn't account for wild pitches or passed ball or multiple runs scoring on the same error or being the result of the same error, but it gives an idea of just how bad the Nationals were defensively. A league average team would have only allowed 64 unearned runs on 101 errors for an error to unearned run percent of 60%. Part of this can be blamed on pitching as the Nationals starters had a K/9 of 5.6 while league average was 7.0. More balls in play led to more chances for the fielder to make a mistake and when the fielders are as error prone as the Nationals were this is never good.

Continue reading this post »

The Nationals farm system jumped 4 spots from 23rd to 19th in Keith Law's ratings, and was said to be making nice progress since the MLB and Bowden years. --Sue Dinem at nationalsprospects.com

Despite this Bryce Harper was the only National listed in the MLB Network's countdown* of the top 50 prospects. --nationalsenquirer.com

Continue reading this post »

Stop me if you have heard this one before, a goat walks into a ball game, a baseball drifts through Buckner's legs, Denkinger gets the call wrong, the Mayflower trucks pull away, and a the final image of Lebron in Cleveland is of a banner falling to the ground. These are all moments people lived through and suffered through, moments of heartbreak, and they are moments that define sports.

I am not going to try and argue that DC Sports aren't at an all-time low, but I will try and argue that it is harder to look at the state of sports in D.C. and be positive. Everyone knows that things are bad. The two lasting images of this past Redskins season are of Albert Haynesworth lying on the ground and of McNabb sulking on the sidelines. Lost in all that are the few positives that are buried under the rubble of the once proud franchise. They are hard to find, because they are almost non-existent, but the rag-tag offensive line did start to play better as the season progressed, and Ryan Torian has a chance to be a productive NFL running back.

Continue reading this post »

Everyone is taking a stab at who will be on the 25 man roster once the season begins. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com

And more 25 man roster predictions. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

No matter who ends up on the roster will they lose 100 as Mike Wise predicted on his radio show yesterday, because, "That is what they do." --Segment 9 before Andre Blatche calls in

For the most part D.C. sports teams have not been successful recently and it is because we are all losers. --Mike Wise at washingtonpost.com

Anyone out there want to tell Bryce Harper that he is just being built up to job to the Phillies? Bryce Harper is the number 3 best prospect in baseball, and it isn't just the talent that gets him noticed. He has a force of will and presence that stands out just as much as the bat speed and arm strength. --Bill Ladson from nationals.com

Continue reading this post »

The Nationals might be in talks with the Indians about Sizemore and Carmona. --Phil Wood at masnsports.com

Sharion Martis DFA'd to make room for Hairston. --Dave Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com

Strasburg and Wang are just two of the many injured pitchers to watch this season. If Joe Nathan can return to form the Twins could have a very good bullpen. --Mel Antonen from si.com

Bryce Harper's jersey to be retired at CSN. --Craig Calcaterra from nbcsports.com

A different CSN has hired Mark Zuckerman full time and purchased the Nats Insider blog. --Mark Zuckerman at natsinsider.com  

I remember the one time I met Tony Beasley at a season ticket holder even in 2006. He was nice, funny, and good with the fans. It is nice to see him back in the organization. The most important thing that Beasley said in this interview is that there is now structure and unity in the organization. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com

Continue reading this post »

Ryan Zimmerman would play third for the all underrated team. --Jayson Stark at espn.com

The Nationals bullpen and bench stack up pretty well in the NL East but not the rest of the team. A few things will have to happen if the Nationals hope to finish out of last in 2011. --Mark Zuckerman from csnwashington.com

Mike Rizzo never did get that number 1 starter he was after, but in his second full off-season as GM it is evident he is still learning the position. --Harper from natsbaseball.com

Harrisburg, PA isn't any further than a day trip away and if you do head up there this season remember the names, Lombardozzi, Moore, Norris, and Peacock. Those are the four prospects to watch as you enjoy a warm summer day on City Island. --Geoff Morrow at pennlive.com

There are also other players to watch in the organization, and one of the most interesting parts of the season will be seeing how some of the questions surrounding these players are answered. --Jeff Bergin at nationalsdailynews.com

Nationals pitchers last season weren't very good at striking batters out. With Jordan Zimmermann expected to pitch for most of the year and the trade for Tom Gorzelanny Nationals pitching should be able to strike more batters out. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com      

Continue reading this post »

I feel like I should share this. I got a calendar of major league ballparks as a very late Christmas present this week. I am sure most of you would agree that April is one of the most important months of the year, and there are certain ballparks that shouldn't grace that month, or really even be in the calendar. Well, when April rolls round this year I will be looking at a half empty Oakland Coliseum hanging on my office wall.

No deal with a crossroads demon is needed for Ian Desmond to improve, but the onus is on him to prove he is an everyday shortstop. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com  

If you are interested in fantasy baseball and want some good value the Nationals might be a team to look at as Ryan Zimmerman should be the only difficult player to obtain, but Ian Desmond might be a steal in the late rounds. --Scott Pianowski at yahoosports.com

Do you want to blow the whistle for Nyjer Morgan, or model the item of the series? Then you too can be a Nats Pack member. --Cheryl Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

MASNsports.com is taking your suggestions on how to cover Spring Training. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com

Bryce Harper has been called the best hitting prospect of the past decade, but that doesn't make him the best outfield prospect in all of baseball right now. That might change once he gets his hands around the throat of minor league baseball. --Jonathan Mayo from mlb.com     

Continue reading this post »

There are just four Thursdays left until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, and as I have just finished on one cliché of good teams win close games I am going to move onto another cliché for this four part series. The cliché I will be looking at is that teams win because of pitching, defense, and timely hitting. I am going to add intangibles onto the end just to make it a four part series. The last two have some definition issues to be worked out, but that is still a couple weeks away, and I am ready to get to the meat of this column, but there is one more thing. Just what makes a team a surprise team? I am going to define it as exceeding the teams expected win total by ten or more games. Looking around message boards and some early prognostications from beat reports has the Nationals anywhere from 59 to 78 wins. I am going to say most reasonable people will be expecting the team to win around 72 games. So, in order for the Nationals to be a surprise team they have to at least win 82 games.

In order to understand where the Nationals pitching needs to go it must be understood where it has been, and that is nowhere good. A quality start is defined as a pitcher pitching six or more innings and giving up three or less earned runs. By itself it tells nothing about an individual pitcher. An innings eater with a mid 4.00 ERA and 200 innings can easily amass a good number of quality starts, but it is a measuring stick, and it is very telling when an entire pitching staff can only manage 69 quality starts when league average is 86, and it is even more telling when that same rotation can only manage to average 5.5 innings per start against a league average of 5.9. The Nationals starting rotation in 2010 was nothing short of awful.

Continue reading this post »

Soon you might be getting that cold beer on a hot summer afternoon faster than ever. --Dan Wetzel at thepostgame.com

The Nationals' offense would be better if they had guys at the top of the order that could get on base, and it looks like in order for that to happen Nyjer is going to have to rebound. It would also be nice if Nyjer were to stay on base as well. --Ben Goessling at masnsports.com

Yesterday the Nationals added Todd Coffey and Jerry Hairston Jr. --Dave Nichols from natsnewsnetwork.com

By adding Hairston, Coffey, and Gorzelanny the Nationals have created competition, and say what you will about the level of competition it is still better than Jerome Williams, Jason Simontacchi, and Tim Redding. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com

In some ways I am still convinced that RFK hid the many flaws of those early Nationals teams, but some people miss the old girl. --William Yoder from thenatsblog

With Harper, Strasburg, and the Werth contract people are finally going to be talking about the Nationals. --Thomas Boswell in The Washington Post

Wang will be ready for Spring Training and J.D. Martin released. --Bill Ladson at nationals.com

Continue reading this post »

With nine Scott Boras clients on the Nationals it is hard to not think that the future of the franchise is somehow tied in with the future of Boras Corp. With that being said it should be important to Nationals fans to understand what makes the man tick, and how he is able to keep getting such good deals for his clients. --Jordan Kobritz at bizofbaseball.com

Yesterday was arbitration day and the Nationals agreed with their two remaining arb eligible players, Slaten and Morse, and the Cubs agreed with Gorzelanny. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com

The two wins that Gorzelanny might be worth in 2011 won't help the Nationals much, but if the goal is still 2012 he could help then, and let's face it if the Nationals had gotten a couple 2 WAR players last season and had a mid-70s win total Zack Greinke might be here instead of Milwaukee. --Enno Sarris from fangraphs.com

The Gorzelanny trade won't make much of a difference in the standings in 2011 and that might be all that matters in judging the trade. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com     

One thing that will be interesting to see in 2011 is how much Pudge plays. As of right now Riggleman says it will be a dead even split, but Ramos or Flores will get more at bats in the second half of the season and Pudge more in the early part of the season. --Byron Kerr at masnsports.com 

Continue reading this post »

Yesterday was a busy day in Natstown. In an effort to find One Eyed Willy's treasure the Nationals traded for deformed Fratelli brother Sloth Tom Gorzelanny. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com 

The Nationals didn't give up any meaningful prospects and took a step in solidifying the back end of their rotation. Any effort that helps the Nationals to not use 13 starters next season is a good effort in my humble opinion, and why the difference in wins is likely insignificant in the standings the Nationals learned the hard way that those insignificant wins can cost $40 million and 2 years. --Sue Dinem at nationalsprospects.com 

I always think it is important to see how the other side feels about a trade, and it is not happy. --Justin Havens from espn.com

Gorzelanny has been a terrible starter at times and he has been a decent starter at times, but no one knows exactly what type of starter he is. --Dave Cameron from fangraphs.com

The Nationals rotation with Gorzelanny will feature a new wrinkle, experience and depth. Hopefully gone are the days of Atilano and Martis. --Mark Zuckerman from natsinsider.com 

Continue reading this post »

There is no formula to winning. Every time someone figures out one formula someone else figures out a new one, but in reality most formulas for bad teams to become good teams have always been some variation on building through the draft. There is however an issue with this. Sometimes make bad choices when drafting, and sometimes through no fault of the teams the prospects fail. When this happens teams find themselves in a cycle of destitution. Fans want the team to spend to win, and teams want to save money to spend on scouts and draft picks, and if draft picks miss then the teams find themselves playing in front of empty ballparks, and not even having enough money to draft properly. When the Nationals signed Jayson Werth, and attempted to trade for Zack Greinke they made an announcement. This isn't about the slow and steady approach anymore. This is about breaking the cycle.   

For every Tampa Bay Rays there is a Pittsburgh Pirates, or to state it even more accurately for every team that succeeds in building through the draft there are many more that don't. The Pirates, Royals, Indians, and Marlins have been following this program for years and while the Marlins have made cameos in the post-season those teams weren't without big time free agents like Gary Sheffield and Pudge Rodriguez, and in the brief eight years since the 2003 World Series the big market teams have begun to hold onto their prospects and covet young players more than ever making it even harder for teams to build from within. It is one thing when the Yankees and Red Sox are signing every free agent in sight to $100 million contracts, but it is worse for the smaller market teams when they are hoarding draft picks and signing first round talent in the later rounds due to signability concerns.

Continue reading this post »

Pujols and the Cardinals have set a date for negotiationsto end one way or the other, and by the end of that time Pujols will most likely be the highest paid player on the planet. Just look at the graph for a second and realize how much better Pujols is than other baseball players, and then realize that Scott Boras will locate the planet, factory, dimension, or genetics lab where Pujols is from and sell off his own army of Pujolses to the highest bidder. --Dave Cameron at fangraphs.com

The Nationals likely do not have an all-star at first, but at least they have someone and Adam LaRoche was introduced to the media on Friday. Also important to note that when Rizzo was asked about Strasburg throwing he said not a minute before a doctor tells him to. --Ben Goessling from masnsports.com

Mike Rizzo has a plan to make the Nationals a better defensive team and Adam LaRoche hopes he can help with that. --Dave Nichols at natsnewsnetwork.com

LaRoche also feels that opponents shouldn't feel like Nationals Park is a home away from home. --Byron Kerr at masnsports.com

The Nationals need to figure out marketing if they are ever going to make that happen, and exclusive fashion shows and a fanfest on a workday might not be the way to make that happen. --Jenn from natsfangirls.com

Of course winning cures everything and the Nationals have a powerful bat that will start working his way through the minors this season. --Bryce Harper video from mlb.com

Continue reading this post »

Anyone hoping for a steady line-up is going to have to keep hoping, because Jim Riggleman is already dreaming of ways to mix it up. --Byron Kerr from masnsports.com

Hopefully with the news that Willie Harris won't be returning any ideas of double switches that leave the pitcher batting 4th ended. --Adam Kilgore at washingtonpost.com 

With Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon involved in a shooting in the Dominican Republic it is important to understand the gun culture of the island and what troubles it can cause for major leaguers and future major leaguers. --Jeff Passan at thepostgame.com

Jayson Werth has made a career of proving people wrong, and now with a contract that has him labled as one of the most overrated and overpaid players in the majors he is going to have to do it again. --Danny Wild from milb.com 

The Nats are still trying to add more pitching and Chris Young is the current target. --Mac at section409.com

And Chris Young might be a better option than Jeremy Bonderman. --Phil Wood from masnsports.com

With all these claims by Strasburg that he is in the best shape of his life and the new that he plans to begin throwing off a mound in three to four weeks it got me curious. --Bill Ladson at nationals.com       

So I looked up when Jordan Zimmermann started throwing off a mound. At the time of this March 4, 2010 article it was still reported to be a month away*. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com 

*No one should start getting their hopes up that Strasburg is this far ahead of schedule, but the slim chance that we will see Strasburg in 2011 is looking more and more likely.

Continue reading this post »