An AP article looked at the benefits of vision training for the University of Cincinnati baseball team. The article also mentions that Steve Lombardozzi of the Nats does vision training, with strobe goggles, almost every day. He says that the training allows him to see everything much better, from the pitcher's windup to the spin of the ball. Lombardozzi said that the team's eye doctor recommended the strobe goggles. It's hard to argue with the results so far.

If teams think such training is valuable, then why don't they emphasize it more? Why not ensure that every hitter does some of the training on a regular basis?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vision-training-program-cincinnati-gets-175605338--mlb.html

Bryce Harper Teams Up with Marucci and JustBats

In case you're confused about what Bryce Harper is doing in the video, a recent Yahoo Sports article pointed out that rubbing bats on a cow bone is an old-fashioned tradition in baseball. It was thought to harden the sweet spot of the bat and make the bat last longer.

The bone-rubbing may or may not have any real physical benefit. But it might have a psychological benefit. After all, baseball players can be very superstitious. If they think something will help, then it just might.

The Diamondbacks have permanently installed a bone on a railing next to the dugout on their field. The bone was brought to Arizona by current hitting coach Don Baylor. As some of you may remember, Baylor is most famous for being a fill-in analyst for Nats post-game shows on MASN a couple years ago. Oh yeah, he apparently used to play baseball too. Got hit by pitches a lot.

Anyway, since the Diamondbacks are doing well this year, more teams might bring back the cow bone tradition. Will the Nats be one of them? I'm surprised that Baylor didn't revive the cow bone tradition in DC when he was here.

Tiffany Goodwin has received national attention for her exploits at a Richmond Flying Squirrels game last Sunday (May 15, 2011). She brings a glove with her to baseball games to protect her young children. She also happens to have some catching skills. She caught a pop-up while holding her 8-month-old son in the other arm. Her young daughter was clinging to her leg.

Richmond Times-Dispatch story

But her husband has been receiving some good-natured ribbing. He brought a glove too and tracked the ball as it came down. He was going to catch it when his wife snared the ball before it hit his glove.

The family goes to Potomac Nationals and Washington Nationals games as well as Flying Squirrel games. In the famous photo, the husband is seen wearing a blue Nationals shirt.

Awesomeness?

I saw a commercial for an upcoming movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson. It looks like a "chick flick." I didn't think much of it but then I saw Owen Wilson wearing a Nationals jersey. Huh, what? Could this be a first? A major character in a big studio movie wearing a Nats jersey. The title is "How Do You Know?". According to IMDb, Wilson might be playing a baseball player in the movie, a Nats player. Another first? A Washington Nationals player as a featured character in a major studio Hollywood movie.

OK, I found this site with the official trailer. Owen Wilson is playing a pitcher for the Nationals. Could he be the missing no. 1 starter that Rizzo has been looking for? (kidding)

Almost as interesting as seeing that Nats hat in "The Karate Kid".

The Prevent Cancer Foundation 5K will take place in West Potomac Park on Sat., Sept. 25, at 8 am. The race supports the efforts of the foundation to educate people on how to maintain a healthier lifestyle and help decrease the risk of developing cancer. It's a relatively small race for the D.C. area, maybe just a few hundred runners and walkers. Andrea Roane of Channel 9 will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies. Denise Austin is the Honorary Chairperson.

More relevant to this website is the team competition at the race. Any group of people can start up a team for this race. When I registered, I noticed that the list of current teams includes the Washington Nationals First Ladies. Cool. So if you're up for a 5K run or run/walk next week, why not sign up for this race and get a chance to meet and run with some of the Nationals First Ladies.

I don't know how many of the First Ladies will be participating but I'd guess that there will be a good number because they started up a team. The Nats are playing at home that weekend so I'd guess that some of the Nats players will show up at the race, even though they have an afternoon game that day. The race should be over by 9 am and West Potomac Park is a very short drive to Nationals Park, so I think it's possible for the players to be on hand for the race and still make it to the stadium for their warm-ups.

If this sounds like fun, check out the official website. You'll be supporting a good cause. You'll get a chance to run with other fitness-minded Washingtonians. And you may get a chance to meet some of the Nats First Ladies and possibly some of the Nats players in a non-baseball setting. I signed up yesterday. There's still time to register. It'll be a great way to kick off the fall and mark the end of the baseball season at the same time.

Of course my top preference would be for the Nats to be a playoff team and a true contender for a championship. But since that's not happening this year, I'll have to turn my attention elsewhere once the post-season starts. I tend to favor the small-market teams and those who aren't perennial contenders. This means that I really, really don't want to see the Yankees win it again this year. The Red Sox probably won't make the playoffs at all. Neither will the Angels (or Anaheim or whatever the official name is now).

I'm glad to see that Tampa Bay is coming on strong and challenging the Yankees for the division and the best record in baseball. I was surprised to see that the Twins are also in the hunt for best overall record. I hadn't followed the standings in a while so I didn't know how good Minnesota has been playing. They have the best record in baseball since the All-Star break and a 9 game lead in the AL Central with just a couple weeks left to play.

So since the Nats won't win anything this year, I'd like to see either Tampa Bay or Minnesota win the World Series. I wouldn't mind seeing the Padres win it all too, just for the novelty of it. I'm kind of glad to see that small-market Cincinnati is doing well too. They haven't won much in a long time although they had a good run a few decades ago. Besides, if the Reds manage to win it all, Ray Knight will probably enjoy it a bit, even if he's a Nats guy now.

So who would you like to see as the champion in 2010?

Maybe this is just a coincidence and this has to do with another team, but in the 1984 movie "The Karate Kid", in the scene where Larry Drake and his buddy are drinking beer and putting the bottles on Miyagi's truck by the beach, Larry Drake is wearing a red baseball cap with a curly "W" logo. The logo looks exactly like the current Nats curly "W". Maybe it was a cap representing the old Senators or the Nats but the movie didn't have anything to do with Washington. Maybe there's another team out West with the same colors and logo.

Anyway, I thought it was funny to see. The scene is at about the 1:20 mark of the movie if you happen to have a copy of the DVD on hand. Check it out.

Every Nats fan now knows about the worst-case scenario that is Stephen Strasburg's elbow, and that he is likely to require Tommy John surgery. He'll most likely miss the entire 2011 season at the very least. (Jordan Zimmermann did come back from his surgery in 12 months but he still hasn't tested his reconstructed elbow over the long-term.) Thus, the Nats will be without their presumed ace for next season. The team's hopes for moving up in the division as a possible wild-card contender in 2011 have greatly diminished. How does this effect the decision to re-sign Adam Dunn or not?

Dunn has been slumping lately but over the course of a full season, he provides a lot of offense. His presence in the line-up also results in other hitters getting better pitches to hit. Ryan Zimmerman is a more effective hitter with Dunn in the same line-up.

If the Nats sign him to a new deal, it could be for 3 or 4 years. (A 4-yr deal is risky enough so I can't see the Nats going for an even longer deal.) Without Strasburg, the Nats are unlikely to see a major improvement in their record in 2011. And Strasburg may need some time in the first part of 2012 to get adjusted to the rigors of a full MLB season. (He was supposed to do that this year and next year, but then, well, you know.) Strasburg may not become a full-time dominant pitcher until the latter part of 2012 and 2013, assuming he returns from the injury and likely surgery with the same stuff he has now.

Would it be merely a luxury to have Dunn in the line-up for 2011 and 2012 if Strasburg is not available for the entire seasons? If Strasburg comes back strong in 2012, then Dunn could be an important part of a (possible) contending team for 2 or 3 years. Or does the team think that Bryce Harper could be ready to join the team by late 2011 or spring 2012 and take over the role that Dunn now plays in the middle of the line-up?

Before today, I thought the Nats would wait but then finally re-sign Dunn to a new contract. Now, I'm not so sure. 2011 could be yet another rebuilding year with Strasburg being out for the entire season (or most of it). Will Rizzo and Kasten hold onto Dunn? Or just wait for Harper? I don't know. It'll be interesting to hear what you all think. And what the other commentators around the area think about this.

Matthew Clemens, the infamous Phillies fan who intentionally vomited on an off-duty police captain and his young daughter at an April Nats-Phillies game in Philadelphia, was sentenced to one to three months in jail and community service for his actions. I posted about the guy's disruptive behavior in a previous FanPost here.

The family court judge had some stern words for Clemens, calling him a mean-spirited and vulgar young man who tarnished the reputation of the entire city of Philadelphia. The judge also suggested that Clemens should fufill the community service obligation by cleaning ballpark toilets and trash containers.

If Clemens were assigned to Citizens Bank Park, I think he would probably skip out on his duties and watch the game. Better for him to be assigned to cleaning toilets at, say, a police station, given that it was a police captain that he attacked. I do hope that his time in jail is unpleasant, as unpleasant as he made that April day for the police captain and his daughters.

Every Nats fan is well aware of Nyjer Morgan's struggles this year, at the plate, on the bases and in the field. Despite having a good series against the Orioles, he is still hitting just .255 for the year. He has 16 stolen bases but he has been caught (or picked off) 11 times, a dreadful percentage. He makes the occasional spectacular play in CF but he cancels that out with poor plays on fly balls and on questionable decision-making on other plays (whether to throw home or hit the cutoff man, etc.).

Morgan took D.C. baseball fans by storm last year, hitting .351 over 49 games and stealing 24 bases in 31 attempts. The honeymoon has long since passed and now he is the target of increasing criticism, especially as the entire team is slumping badly as the All-Star Break nears.

What are the alternatives to Morgan, both in the field and in the line-up? Roger Bernadina has been hitting well this year, with an average of .284 and 5 HR in 52 games. He also has 6 stolen bases while getting thrown out twice. He has the speed to play CF plus he has a great throwing arm as we saw in Sunday afternoon's game. Michael Morse is a possibility in RF. He is hitting .340 with 3 HR in limited action.

In the line-up, Bernadina could also take Morgan's spot there and lead off. Morse could stay at the no. 7 spot. Ian Desmond could move up to the no. 2 spot. He has been slumping lately but it could be due to hitting low in the order. He is only hitting .239 in the 8th spot, .253 in the 7th spot. But he is hitting .353 when he has batted 2nd. Bernadina and Desmond could be a very potent combination in front of Zimmerman, Dunn and Willingham.

The top brass of the Nationals are aware of Morgan's struggles but Jim Riggleman sounds like he's going to stick with Morgan for the time being. Morgan has a career batting average of .236 in May and .246 in June but career averages over .300 for July, August and September. Maybe he is simply a 2nd half player and he really will wake up and catch on fire for the team again. After watching three months of subpar play, it's hard to have much confidence in him but those numbers are very interesting.

***

Nyjer Morgan isn't the only reason for the Nats' struggles this month. The entire team seems to disappear after the 4th or 5th inning, and not just against the Orioles. That can't be blamed entirely on Nyjer Morgan. Sluggers will have slumps, as Ryan Zimmerman is right now. Adam Dunn has been performing exceptionally, driving in runs and hammering tape-measure shots just like he's supposed to be doing.

One problem that could be fixed easily is Adam Kennedy. He has not seen much playing time this year with just 160 AB in the Nats' first 76 games. He was a full-time starter last year for Oakland. He doesn't appear to be handling his part-time status very well. Not only is he not hitting (.238 BA) but he is also making many mistakes in the field. He made another mental error in Sunday's game, throwing to 1B on an attempted double play off of a grounder that took its time getting to Zimmerman and a speedy runner racing down the 1B line. Kennedy should never have thrown the ball. He did so, with the result being a ball rolling into the dugout and the tying run scoring. This is not the first significant mental error Kennedy has made in recent weeks. Riggleman is trying to give Kennedy more playing time to keep his skills sharp but that strategy is backfiring. Kennedy is showing that he deserves less playing time, not more.

If he gets less playing time, who should pick up the slack? Easy decision -- Alberto Gonzalez. He is an outstanding defender. He filled in more than capably at 3B when Zimmerman was on the DL earlier this year. He provides great defense at 2B and SS. He hasn't been hitting as well in recent games but he had been hitting around .290-.300 for most of the season. The Nats don't need him for his offense. If he could hit .260-.270, that would be adequate. He would shore up the infield defense. If he had been playing 2B today and Desmond had been at SS, it's very possible that Baltimore doesn't score that 3rd run and the game might have played out differently. Gonzalez would probably have made fewer errors throughout the past three months than Kennedy has. Maybe Gonzalez is not ready to be the everyday 2B and spot starter at SS and 3B but I think he deserves far more playing time than he has been getting. And he needs to move up in the IF "rotation" ahead of Adam Kennedy.

Kennedy is playing himself out of a role altogether on this team. The 2010 Nats are not good enough to overcome all of these errors. Yes, Ian Desmond has been making some errors lately but he looks to be a mainstay at SS for many years to come, so it makes more sense to let him struggle and learn. That can pay off in later seasons. But Kennedy is not a key part of the long-term plans of the team. The organization paid out a decent amount of money for him last off-season but I don't think that's a good enough reason to play him over Gonzalez. Might it be time to cut losses and put Kennedy at the far end of the bench where he would only come in for emergency situations (an injury to another IF)? Or even release him? Maybe. That could also provide a jolt to the rest of the team and wake them up.

Now that Stephen Strasburg's major league debut is official and approaching quickly, the Nats will have to make the (tough) choice of which starter gets demoted, either to the bullpen or to Syracuse. Many people believe that one of the current starters will get moved to the bullpen and Tyler Walker will get moved to Syracuse (or DFA'd if he doesn't have any options left).

Jim Riggleman declined to make a statement on the issue at tonight's postgame press conference. When asked whether Luis Atilano had secured a spot in the rotation even after Strasburg's arrival, Riggleman said that he couldn't comment because the decision will affect other people. If Atilano is declared "safe" as a member of the rotation, then that means one of the other pitchers is at risk.

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Versus -- a channel better known for its coverage of hockey, the Tour de France, NASCAR and (in its previous incarnation as OLN) fishing -- will televise Stephen Strasburg's final minor league start on Thursday. The AAA Syracuse Chiefs play in Buffalo on Thursday. The current plan is for Strasburg to be called up to the big leagues (presumably on a permanent basis) soon after the start in Buffalo. So he won't be shuffling off to Buffalo but shuffling out of Buffalo and onto the next stage of his baseball career.

Versus should be available on most cable and satellite channel line-ups. I'm not sure if I'll be able to catch the game. If everything goes according to plan, there will be many chances to see Strasburg pitch on TV the rest of this summer, for the Nats. I saw the MASN coverage of Strasburg's previous start. Moderately interesting but it's still minor league baseball. Better to see it live than on TV, in my opinion.

Like the one Cristian Guzman had a few years ago. It's no secret that Nyjer Morgan is struggling mightily, at the plate, in the field and on the bases. He's not just slumping. His entire game has fallen apart. Blurry vision may explain all of this. That’s the only thing I can think of. Guzman struggled to hit .200 and then had season-ending injuries before he had the Lasik eye surgery. Though Guzman still doesn’t walk at all, he has had a very good BA in the years since getting the surgery.

I’m hoping that maybe the solution could be just as simple for Morgan. Poor vision could explain his strikeouts and lack of hitting, the misjudgments in the field and the inability to see pitchers throwing to 1B when he has a big lead off the bag.

Otherwise it’s something deeper and more serious such as the lack of confidence as mentioned in comments on one of the posts. The Nats need to get him a vision test immediately and be able to confirm that as a problem or rule it out. They need to act now because the team is going into a slide, largely because of him. As others have pointed out, Morgan is also becoming a danger to the other outfielders on balls hit in the gaps.

It seems that this is more than just his play leveling out from the high level of last year with the Nats. He’s not just returning to his career levels. He is far worse than that right now. There’s something wrong, medically or psychologically. The Nationals should do everything they can to rule out various causes. The first step should be an eye exam.

According to the AP, 21-yr-old Matthew Clemmens of Cherry Hill, NJ (just outside Philly) pled guilty today to intentionally discharging his stomach contents on another spectator and that person's 11-yr-old daughter at the April 14th game between the visiting Nats and the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Clemmens and his partner-in-drink heckled off-duty police captain Michael Vangelo and his two daughters (15 and 11) throughout the game. Vangelo's older daughter asked the two to stop using profanity. Clemmens' friend was also spitting, hitting Vangelo's younger daughter.

After his friend was ejected from the park, Clemmens apparently got a call on his cell phone from his friend. Clemmens said he needed to do what he needed to do. "I'm going to get sick." He proceeded to put his fingers down his throat, threw up on Vangelo and Vangelo's younger daughter and began to punch Vangelo in the head. Other spectators jumped on Clemmens and stopped him. Authorities also stepped in and landed some blows to Clemmens' face. (Seems to have been justification for that.)

The statement from the public defender: “It’s probable he consumed too much alcohol." You think?

I know there are some problem fans in most cities but I'm not sure there are that many with this type of extreme behavior at the ballpark. The Phillies even won that day, 14-7. Shouldn't Clemmens have been happy about that? I just thought this story was too over the top not to post here.

Jesus Flores

We're closing in on the end of the 2nd month of the 2010 season and still no word about whether Jesus Flores will ever play this year. Or ever play again at all. Pudge Rodriguez has taken over the catcher position admirably, even despite his recent hitting slump, so the Nats haven't suffered too much from the absence of Flores. Could Flores be this year's John Patterson or Shawn Hill, someone who has injury after injury but shows just enough promise for the team to keep bringing him back until it finally becomes clear that the player will never really come off of the DL?

Jason Marquis

If Marquis really was bothered by the "loose bodies" in his elbow and he is able to rehab the injury according to the schedule, then there is actually some hope that he could be a decent member of the 2010 starting rotation. Admittedly he has had a very rough start to his time in Washington but maybe he could pick up some of the luck or perseverance of someone like Jeff Francis, the Colorado pitcher who beat the Nats this week in his first start in a year and a half.

John Lannan

He only missed one start but he hasn't been the same pitcher that he was last year. We couldn't really call him a dominant pitcher last year but he was fairly good. Too many walks last year but a good ERA. This year he has an ERA over 6.00 and he's walked more batters than he has struck out. Never a good sign. He has been inconsistent at best. Unreliable might be a better adjective. Will he end up on the DL at some point if he can't get it together? Maybe.

Chien-Ming Wang and Jordan Zimmermann

Both pitchers started the year on the DL, with the expectation that they wouldn't be available until the second half of the season. It sounds like Zimmermann may be progressing faster in his rehabilitation than Wang. With Lannan struggling, Marquis out and Stammen being inconsistent, the team could use Wang or Zimmermann (or both) to help out with the rotation as soon as possible. It won't be in the immediate future though.

Are there any important updates on these players?

With Roger Bernadina being called up, the team now includes speedsters like Nyjer Morgan, Ian Desmond, Justin Maxwell and Bernadina. This could very well be the fastest team in the league, even with slow runners like Adam Dunn in the line-up. We don't need power hitters to steal bases though. Those other guys will do plenty of damage with infield hits, singles getting stretched into doubles, doubles getting stretched into triples, pitchers getting distracted by Morgan and Desmond at 1B that leads to walks and more base hits for Guzman and Zimmerman (when he's back).

This is also part of the reason why I don't think the Nats' improved play in the first month of 2010 is a fluke. Unless all of these guys get hurt, the Nats will remain a fast team. They are playing all-around good team defense, with Desmond starting to challenge Zimm for most appearances on the Web Gems list on Baseball Tonight. Riggleman's emphasis on fundamentals and fielding practice is part of the reason. So is Pudge Rodriguez's commitment to working hard and concentrating on all the details of the game. His winning attitude seems to be rubbing off on the other players the way it did when he went to Detroit a few years ago.

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Hey, it's always fun to add some drama into a baseball season. This is a simple post, mostly since I don't have any clue about what's actually going on with the "floating bodies." I could speculate about what the MRI actually revealed. Bone chips? Midi-chlorians? A broken gear? But that wouldn't add to the discussion, nor increase the entertainment value of the story.

So, do you think Marquis is really injured? Or is this a way to cover up the mess that was his last "start" and his off-season signing?

"It’s hard to pitch with floating bodies in your elbow." - Mike Rizzo, Nationals GM

Austin Kearns has signed a minor league deal with the Indians. In a stunning coincidence, Manny Acta happens to be the new manager of the team. Wow, funny how that happens.

But seriously, it shows how highly Manny continues to regard Kearns, for whatever reason. Yeah, he is a decent defensive OF but he hasn't been able to hit major league pitching in a couple years now. At least this is happening in Cleveland, not Nats Park. It's a low-risk move for the Indians. If Kearns continues to struggle at the plate, then they can send him to the minor leagues without having a lot of money tied up with him.

Could Dmitri Young be the next player to show up at Cleveland's spring training camp? Wily Mo? Paul Lo Duca?

Yes, you read that right. He will finish his goal of running a marathon on all seven continents if he completes tomorrow's (Sat., Dec. 12) Antarctic Ice Marathon. It's the southernmost marathon event in the world. The Washington Post had a feature article about him in Friday's paper, on the front page in fact.

I take extra interest in this story since I'm a fan of both the Nats and a new participant in endurance sports (triathlon and some shorter running races). And a resident of the Washington area. McCarthy could be the first true Washingtonian to run a marathon on all seven continents.

The president of the Florida Marlins finished the Ironman World Championship race in Kona, Hawaii, an impressive feat. (Despite the Marlins being a division rival, I have to give the guy his well-deserved due for that.) If McCarthy can finish the Antarctic Ice Marathon tomorrow, will he be the biggest bad-a$$ baseball executive in the major leagues? Hard to say, but if he finishes, all Nats fans should start boasting about him. Hey, we need something to boast about.

I didn't watch much of the World Series at all, mostly because it was the final steps in the completion of a money-fueled almost predetermined plan. Though money doesn't guarantee championships, it sure does make it easier to make mistakes. Most teams could not survive the disasters of Carl Pavano and other failed free-agent signings a few years ago, but the Yankees can turn right around and sign CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira in one offseason and basically buy a championship. If the Nationals had signed Sabathia, Burnett and Texeira last winter, they would probably have been one of the top teams in the league.

I suppose if you have the money and you're willing to spend it, then you should go ahead. But I don't think it will be good for baseball in general if the Yankees begin to dominate the league again the way they did at the end of the last decade. There was so much hope for opening up the playoff club to smaller-market teams when Tampa made it to the World Series last year but maybe that was just a fluke. It's not impossible for small-market teams to win but it takes a lot of luck. Most of the playoff perennials are the big spenders/large-market teams while the bottom tier of the league (Kansas City, Pittsburgh, et al.) is made up of small-market teams.

I'll still follow the Nats and watch the games next year but I'll probably watch even fewer national broadcasts than I did this year. I only watched a couple national games all year as it was (those not involving the Nats). I barely watched any of the playoffs. I hope baseball changes its economics in 2011 (?) when the next round of collective bargaining is supposed to begin.

Why is the baseball draft limited to residents of the U.S. or Canada? Other pro sports include prospects from other countries in their drafts. Limiting the baseball draft in this manner negates the attempts of the league to create more parity among the teams. After all, only the very wealthy teams can afford to shell out tens of millions of dollars just to negotiate for the rights of someone like Daisuke Matsuzaka. I don't think you'll be seeing the Pirates, Twins or Royals doing that anytime soon.

Why don't they make the draft a worldwide one? I can't see why the players' union would be opposed to this. As Boras said during the Strasburg negotiations, overseas players benefit from this system far more than U.S. prospects do. Not that I'm agreeing with everything Boras says, but I think the loophole should be closed. The current system limits the process of signing top foreign players to just a handful of teams, the usual suspects of the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Cubs, and a few others.

I admit to not following the amateur prospect scene too closely but I've started hearing more and more about Bryce Harper as a potential no. 1 overall pick in 2010. He plays a few different positions but his primary position is catcher. Jesus Flores has not proved to be durable for the Nats so maybe it would be a good idea to get someone who could compete with Flores for the starting job in 2011.

There aren't any "once-in-a-lifetime" pitchers (a la Strasburg) in next year's draft, are there? Who else might the Nats pick next year?

Until this September, Justin Maxwell hadn't shown that he could hit major league pitching. In his first stint of 2009, he batted just .125 in limited action. Many thought, justifiably, that Maxwell wasn't cut out to be a major-league ballplayer. Then something happened. He figured "it" out. He was recalled on Sept. 1 Over the one month-plus since that date, he has hit .311 over 26 games. He has also hit 4 HR and provided a spark to the offense in their current winning streak, along with Ian Desmond. Has Maxwell earned a roster spot for next season? He'll be 26 years old by next spring. If he can help to solidify the OF and provided good numbers on offense, he could help the Nats have more winning streaks in 2010.

Maxwell could split time in RF with Dukes. He could also give Nyjer Morgan and Josh Willingham a few days off over the course of the long season, giving him up to 10 starts in CF and 10 in LF to go with a possible platoon situation in RF. When Morgan went down with the hand injury, the Nats' offense went in the tank. But in recent weeks, Justin Maxwell and Ian Desmond have taken over Morgan's role of charging up the offense. If these two guys can play like this, and Morgan makes a full recovery, the offense could be much better next year. Not that it was that bad this season but the team was inconsistent until Morgan came along. Dunn, Zimmerman and Willingham will provide plenty of power but the Nats also need hitters like Morgan, Desmond and Maxwell to keep things flowing.

It's a universally held notion that the Nats need to fix (replace?) the starting rotation before the 2010 season. The bullpen has some good pieces in MacDougal, Tyler Clippard and Sean Burnett so GM Mike Rizzo probably only needs to fill out the depth of the bullpen. We don't need another overhaul like we had twice this year. CF was a huge problem until the Nyjer Morgan trade. Likewise, 2B and/or SS was seen as a problem area but Ian Desmond could be ready to step up full-time next year. Pete Orr and Mike Morse may be able to provide decent support as backups/utility players. So that leaves the starting rotation as the area most in need of attention.

(cont.)...

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As we enter the final stages of the 2009 season, the Nats are trying to figure out who should stay and become part of the team's future and who doesn't fit their plans for 2010 and beyond. Former players like Lastings Milledge, Joel Hanrahan, Anderson Hernandez and Nick Johnson are no longer with the team (though NJ could return as a free agent this winter). Elijah Dukes spent some time back in the minors but is now back with the big-league team. Is he the answer at RF? He struggled badly last year before turning it around in the 2nd half of 2008. His play has been inconsistent this year. He was on a hot streak a few weeks ago but now he's in a slump. His average has dipped to .236. He only has 7 HR in 254 AB but he has driven in 45 runs. He has 2 stolen bases but he's been "caught stealing" 8 times. Many of those were actually Dukes getting picked off of 1B.

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Most Nats fans know that Scott Boras will probably wait until just before the signing deadline before undertaking any serious negotiations for Strasburg's possible contract. Putting aside the fact that Boras has several other unsigned clients, some of whom may miss out on the deadline and end up shattering their careers as a result (since they won't be in as much demand as someone like Strasburg), Boras AND Strasburg are generating a lot of ill will around baseball. Is this really the way Strasburg wants to start out his professional baseball career? Apparently so.

People understand that this is a business but you can tell that even some of the current major leaguers are frustrated by the negotiation tactics here. Strasburg hasn't thrown a single pitch in a professional game and yet he wants more money than most major leaguers are likely to see over the course of their entire careers. No. 1 overall pitchers have poor track records and none of them have ever turned out to be true, long-term stars. The Nats' other 1st round draft pick signed a long time ago and promptly got to work. Meanwhile, Strasburg is probably checking out Hummer dealerships and setting up deals to buy a tricked out monster SUV as soon as his big, hoped-for payday comes in. Ugh.

This all leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure Boras doesn't care but maybe Strasburg does. At least he should. He's going to be in a very prominent, public position over the next few years, assuming he actually signs and doesn't get himself injured a la Jordan Zimmermann. He's threatening to walk away from tens of millions of dollars? In the middle of a worldwide recession? Now he's threatening to not sign and play in Japan for a year. *shakes head* Yeah, that sounds like a real good career plan. Not that Japanese baseball is bad but what does Strasburg know about Japanese baseball and Japanese culture. He's going to have a tough time adjusting just to everyday life, let alone professional baseball, all as a young adult. Most American players who go over there are established MLB veterans who already know about the rigors of playing professional baseball.

If Strasburg signs, many fans will forget about the negotating tactics but I hope many others don't. I'd like to see a negative reaction so that future Boras clients see the downside to going along with Boras and acting like corporate raiders instead of prospective pitchers. Remember, these are guys who don't have any professional experience whatsoever. The players' union should be upset too. All the millions of dollars that are going to unproven prospects could be going toward salaries and bonuses for major league players with established playing credentials. Instead, they are going out to high-risk high schoolers and college players with no track record. It's one thing to roll the dice on someone like a Pedro Martinez who has a long history of injuries but an equally long list of outstanding accomplishments in the game. It's another thing to throw $50 million at someone who has only faced other amateur players, the vast majority of whom will never even play a single major league game. True, Strasburg was impressive in the international competitions last year with Team USA but how many prospects in all of professional sports have played great games only to do little over the course of their careers after that.

Sign a freaking contract already, Strasburg!

Austin Kearns' days in DC are numbered. No secret there. It's even surprising that he's still here but that might be the result of the large contract. He isn't even a major league hitter anymore, struggling just to hit .200. The coaching staff discovered that Daniel Cabrera was putting his foot on the rubber when he threw and they tried to correct it (unsuccessfully). So why haven't they taken a look at Austin Kearns' mechanics? There's one simple thing he can do, and it doesn't involve anything complicated. CHOKE UP ON THE BAT, AUSTIN!

He is consistently late on his swings. He often loses control of the bat and sends it flying into the stands. You can tell that he's trying to maximize the power of his swing by getting maximum extension and using the weight of the bat, instead of getting good bat speed. All of this is related to his bad habit of putting his bottom hand at the end of the bat, so that he is barely hanging on with that hand. This is why he has such a terrible hold of the bat and it may be why he can't catch up to major league pitching anymore.

Many hitters try to get through slumps by choking up on the bat. Why won't he do this? Or why won't the coaches make him do it? It's not rocket science. Is he afraid that he'll look like a weak contact hitter if he does? So what? Is that any worse than batting .198? It's not like he's hitting HRs with his current approach. The strikeouts wouldn't matter so much if he were also hitting HRs like Adam Dunn or Ryan Howard but he has just 3 HR in 167 AB this year to go with 49 K's.

Maybe he will always be too stubborn to change but he should realize that he is playing himself out of the major leagues, not just out of DC. Some have said that he is just homesick or that he doesn't like playing in a big city. That may be true but that's unrelated to the fact that he is consistently late on his swings and that he is holding the bat way too low. Some other players have their idiosyncrasies like Kevin Youkilis or Gary Sheffield but no one is going to complain if you are productive. When your idiosyncrasy directly affects your productivity, then you absolutely need to change the bad habit. At the very least, have him change his approach and choke up. Get him to improve his average to .260 or .270 (hopefully) so that the Nats can trade him for an OK prospect. That's about all the team can hope for. Then if he reverts to his bad habit of holding the bat so low next year, he'll be on a different team and it won't matter to the Nats.

Unfortunately I don't think this is going to happen. Frustrating since no one seems to be trying this simple solution. What is there to lose by telling Kearns to choke up on the bat? Nothing. So do it.

Jesus Colome was designated for assignment after the Nats' victory on the Fourth of July (Saturday). That roster move was long overdue. Colome had an 8.40 ERA over 16 appearances this season. He walked far too many batters and generally brought the pace of games down to a crawl. This contributed to the Nats' defensive lapses as the defensive players had to stand around out in the field waiting for Colome to throw his pitches, or watch as he walked yet another hitter. Time to bring up another of the youngsters and give him a tryout. Maybe Garrett Mock is ready to return to the big leagues again. But almost anyone would be better than Colome was this year.