Natstastic

The sweet smell of baseball in the morning

2008-02-25T00:30:00.002-05:00

The first game is Spring is only 2 days away. That means baseball fans can stop hearing about Mike Bacsik's bullpen sessions and whichever Boone is important at the time and start actually hearing about GAMES. And even more importantly than the begin of play, the 2/29 game will be the first carried on 3WT this season. The station will carry 10 games this spring before beginning the usual full season. Our good friends at MASN don't have any information posted, which I assume means no games will be broadcast. I would have confirmed that, but when I get on MASNsports.com and try to get contact information, that particular page is always down. Helpful.

But I think that we will move onto the next spot in the quick trip around the field, which I hope to finish by the first game of the season. So, 3rd base. This is a no-brainer, Zimmerman is the man at the Hot Corner until at least 2012. That is when he gets to try free agency if the Nats haven't come to an agreement with him for a longer deal. And speaking of that deal, much was made of the conversations being had between Zimm's agent and Bowden. Covered by Ladson, and the Post.

For those that don't like to read, the Nats seem to be offering Tulowitski or McCann dollars, which is 6 years, $30 million or so. Ryan (by way of his agent) is looking for 6 years $55 million. So, they are a little ways apart on this deal. Now, I would love to see Zimm sign an Ovechkin-esqe deal for like 15 years and be done with it. But I can see both sides. Zimmerman is not, at least offensively, David Wright, who got more like $55 million. But it is also arguable that his is worth more to the Nats than McCann is as a player. That means that this next season is important for the relationship in a number of ways. If Ryan has a stellar year and heads into arbitration next season, the Nats could stand to get screwed and might sour the relationship with the 'face of the franchise'. Not really what we are looking for. It would result in a huge raise in the price of Zimmerman and could put him out of reach. If he puts up bad numbers, then it means he is more likely to sign a long-term deal rather than risk a smaller raise in arbitration.

But either way, don't expect to see this taken care of in the next couple weeks or months. In fact I doubt there is a contract before 2010, and certainly not before 2009.

From a play perspective, Zimmerman needs to show his talent offensively as a player. There have been a lot of statements made about 100+ RBIs, 30 HRs, and a solid BA. I don't know if he will make these numbers or not, and I'm not a big enough stats geek to crunch the numbers and then lie to you about it. But I do know that if he puts up the same numbers as last season, its not going to result in the payday that he wants or presumably deserves. That shouldn't be a worry though. Zimmerman is likely to put up bigger numbers with the offensive up-tick in the lineup that has been provided by the outfield acquisitions and the upgrades at catcher. That help in the lineup should mean that Zimmerman sees a modest bump in his numbers regardless of personal improvements, so it means that we should, in all likelihood, expect and get big things at the plate from #11.

Tomorrow we'll hear about catchers and why I hate Paul Lo Duca. Then, last but not least, the juvenile penal system that is the Washington Nationals outfield, with officer Kearns excepted.

Opening Day Tickets

2008-02-20T15:42:00.004-05:00

I love that new ticket smell. All bright and shiny on my computer screen and asking me if I want to pay extra to get them next week or if I want them delivered to my cell phone, or if I just want Will Call. And all this for the opportunity for me to get my 2 tickets to the first game of the season at the shiny new Nationals Park.

I just can't help but be excited. The team is better, but not tons better, than last year. Plus if they overachive again, we could be looking at a mini-playoff run. I just can't wait to take my new seat for one day only on the first base line to watch the Nats take the field and somebody (please not Patterson, please not Patterson, pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase not Patterson) throw out the first pitch of Major League Baseball in North America for the 2008 season. For those of you that don't have tickets and for some stupid reason don't want them; enjoy John Miller and Joe Morgan. I get to actually watch the game without interuption.

Now that I have paid for those, I just need to wait for them, and more importantly, my actual tickets to arrive or at least get mailed. That might be something to work on Stan.

Up the Middle

2008-02-20T01:14:00.004-05:00

Ok, since this topic has been written about extensively by everyone known to the internet and most have more and better to say than I do, this is going to be brief. I don't think that Lopez is going to start. At least not in April. I think that there remains a possibility that we could see 2005 Guzman instead of 2007 Guzie and such an outcome would mean that even .245 out of Felipe is a serious improvement. Belliard is not my favorite person, but he is a more than serviceable second baseman who showed a sold bat and steady fielding last year. None of them, save maybe Lopez have any chance of being a long term solution. And I don't see Lopez as filling that gap without first changing not only his attitude, but the very way he plays the game. To check and see if I am just a ranting moron with internet access, check out these:

http://nationalsreview.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/on-to-the-infield/
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080216&content_id=2376322&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=was
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2007/12/the_middle_infield_the_future.html
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080201&content_id=2362038&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=was

Those should at least give someone a pretty basic idea. Belliard is kinda old, kinda pudgy, but signed really cheap and good with a bat. Lopez could be a good baller if he would get over himself and actually meet his potential. We pay him way too much. Guzman can't hit, gets hurt, is awesome, gets hurt, makes $4 million, gets hurt. That pretty much covers it. Expect to see Ronnie and Christian as the double play combo, I don't think Lopez will impress enough at Spring Training to earn a starting spot.

Oh yeah, vote on your choice for the second baseman making the debut on Opening Day on ESPN.

1st Base

2008-02-19T00:36:00.002-05:00

This is one of the main issues for the Nats in Spring Training. Who is going to start at 1st? I know that there are a lot, I mean A LOT, of people in the blogosphere and the chat rooms that wonder why it is even a question and just want to give D-Young the job. Now, Da Meat had a great, no wonderful, no, oh just insert your own superlative for good season last year. But those were career numbers. And need we forget that his defense was a little shaky at times. Plus, Dimitri is old. I mean pretty much on the back side of his career and not going to be getting any better old. The odds are that he won't repeat the numbers and magic of last year, and even if he comes close won't do it in '09. So Da Meat is clearly not the long, or even really mid-term solution at first.

So then why not Nick? Well, Nick Johnson can hit, and hit, and hit. And walk. And hit more. So then why is a guy that is 29 with a .420 OBP who led the Nats in AVG his last semi-full season not starting? The short answer is: Nick is accident prone. I don't think its his fault. I just think that he has some Karmic inbalance that means for every walk he draws he must have a requisite number of days on the DL. '05 and '06 were great seasons for Nick. He sat out all of '07. But even if he is an injury risk, he still probably has 3 or more good seasons in him than Young does. I hate to say it and if people actually read this blog, feel free to argue, but Nick is simply younger. 34 is just a bigger number than 29. I'm sorry, that's how math works.

So fine, one might be around longer, the other is likely not going to fall down the stairs on the way back into the dugout. So lets look at numbers. Nick has a better career OBP. Young has better AVG and SLG, though both have solid numbers in all three. Nick strikes out slightly more often, but walks something like 3 times more often. They are almost even on RBIs and home runs if you adjust for the number of at-bats. So offensively, it is basically a dead heat.

That means, gulp, intangibles. Both are considered leaders and good clubhouse influences from what I have read. But Young is clearly seen as a leader and a mentor for some of the 'project' players like Dukes. That is a role that almost nobody else in baseball and certainly nobody in DC can fill in quite the same fashion. Also, even though Young's age works against him as a longer term solution, it works for him in a strange way that he is a less desirable trade quantity. Nick, as a still semi-young or at least baseball middle-aged player has more trade value.

The Nats have moved Chris Marrero, the former outfield prospect to 1B. This seems to be the organization's attempt to give a kid with limited speed and outfield defense a shot to use his good bat at the Major League level. Chris hit a combined .275 with 23 homers at Hagerstown Low-A and Potomac High-A last season. He is just now trying 1B. He will not be ready this season. He probably won't be ready next season. But if he is going to be the First Baseman of the Future, it will probably happen in 2010. Oh, and Dimitri is signed through the 2009 season with an option for 2010. Funny how that works, isn't it?

So, it looks like Nick, if healthy, will be traded in favor of Dimitri assuming he is healthy and last year wasn't a total fluke. But in either case, don't get too attached, both of them are really not more than a 1 or 2 season holder until we can find a younger, maybe more powerful, first baseman. But for now, its going to be Da Meat bobble night, and praying that he can hide Dukes' cell phone all season long.

It's almost time!

2008-02-15T22:55:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again, when the bright, shiny new Spring Training begins. Catchers and pitchers report, the countdown to the first preseason game shows up on mlb.com, John Patterson tells everyone that will listen (or feign interest) that he is 110% and this year is the year. Ahh, the sweet comfort of familiarity.

But with everyone starting to trickle into Viera, and myself back from finishing the final semester of my Master's program, it is probably long past time to do a Spring Training intro. We'll start with the pitching.

The Starting 5, at least according to Bill Ladson, will be Patterson, Hill, Bergmann, Lannan, and Chico, presumably in that order. I think Ladson, as he is prone to do, is either misstating or overstating the case for starting pitching. So, as with all things Bill Ladson, lets take this with a grain of salt and review the pitching rotation as I see it on March 30. I think that Hill and Bergmann are virtual locks, assuming that they show up and look at least average. Add to that Chico, who is owed and I seriously mean OWED a spot after being the only reliable arm that could get trotted out every five days for the entire season.

Lannan could be a member of the 5, but we only saw a little of him and he may not be ready, or someone else could be more ready to take what I consider to be the #5 spot in the order. Lets remember that at this time last year he was an A ball pitcher that wasn't on anybody's radar. I think he could be solid, but don't know if he is yet.

That leaves Patterson. Anyone who was a Nats fan in 2005 knows that John Patterson has the ability and the drive to be a top of the rotation pitcher on this team, or most any team in the NL. But that was 2005. We drafted Zimmerman in 2005. Chico, Lannan, Mock, Clippard, Detweiler, and a whole list of other pitchers were a mere gleam in the eye of some scout somewhere. This is 2008. I don't want to ask what you have done for me lately, but where the hell have you been for the last 2 seasons John?

Oh, yeah, Patterson was doing a coast to coast tour of doctors, healers, homeopathic treaters, witch doctors, and everyone in between that would have made a Super Tuesday campaign envious. And after John have nerve treatment and learned to breath through his eyelids, he ended up just getting more surgery and not pitching for a really long time.

So as far as Patterson in the rotation is concerned, I think that if he shows up and pitches, fine, give him the second game of the season, never ever ever let him pitch the home opener, and be happy about it. But if he sucks, which is a likely possibility if history is our guide, then we have other arms to look to.

Redding: Tim Redding was my second favorite surprise last season (after Dimitri). He showed some poise and confidence that was missing from the rest of the arms that started games and he also showed a fastball and level of control that made Don Sutton giddy as a school girl. I think he shouldn't be counted out before anyone has even thrown a side session in front of the coaches.

Detweiler: Last year's big draft success means that Ross is definately in consideration. But I think that he has to start the season at AA Harrisburg, if not in Potomac. You might see him later, but I think that this is more an end of the year or everyone else in broken sort of solution.

Clippard: Former Yanks property, I don't really know too much about him. I would assume that unless he shows an absolutely stunning arm that you will either see him in the high Minors or the bullpen to start the season.

Mock and the entire team from New Hampshire: Now, Mock didn't play in New Hampshire at the Low A Lake Monsters, but in truth he didn't play much at all last year. The supposed better half of the Livo trade still has to prove to be healthy, and likely needs another season in the Minors to help with his development. I haven't seen him pitch though, every time I went to Potomac he was still on the DL. I don't expect to see him. The Lake Monsters pitching last year was, in a word, filthy. I mean, like 5 guys with ERA under 2, and all sorts of dominant performances. None of these guys are going to make it up, but you might see some of them make a fast move through the program and get a call-up in September. But that is a loooooong way off, for now, don't worry about them unless you really are bored at work.

So what does that mean?

I see the order as:

Hill
Bergmann
Patterson
Redding
Chico

Schedule Released!!

2007-10-31T14:50:00.000-04:00

Well, only sort of. The tentative schedule for next season has been released and is posted on the Nationals Journal, courtesy of Barry and the Post. Among the most obvious and shocking items are what seem to be missing from this particular schedule.

No "true" Home Opener
Away game on July 4th
No Memorial Day
No Labor Day
Finish the season on the road

So that means that assuming that this schedule isn't changed in some fairly fundamental way, a number of Nationals traditions are going the way of the dodo as of this year. Now, I don't count opening the season at home among these, since it never happens, though it would be nice to start the new park in such a manner. But the 4th of July baseball in the Nations Capital and the new Nationals Park seems like a fairly good tradition to build on. So, if I were king of baseball for a day, this is what I would change in the ol' schedule.

First, baseball in DC on July 4, 2008. And every July 4 from now until the end of time. This is the way it should be and there is simply nothing else to say.

Second, if we can't open at home, at least let us close at home. In the case of this year, give the Nats their ESPN game at home against the Metropolitons and let us be happy. We can finish on the road if we have to.

Third, why is there no baseball on Labor Day?! I mean, if not at home, then fine, but just not playing? That isn't American, its something unholy that should not be allowed to happen. So change it.

No, I understand that these things are difficult and complex, blah, blah, blah. But we should at least get something from the league as opposed to a schedule that is, at best, lacking. I hope that when the "Tentative" is removed there is something to show for it.

Season Ticket Blues

2007-10-19T16:24:00.000-04:00

I got an email today in the account that I get my junk mail sent to. It was from the Nationals and had a subject that mentioned both season tickets and a "Special Bonus". Needless to say, my interest was peaked. I opened the email and to my surprise I found that the Nationals were going to try and hock season tickets at a special Postseason get-together at the ESPN Zone. Everyond would be there: Stan, Jim, ummm did I mention Stan? Anyway, that isn't all, all new season ticket holders that sign up and pay a deposit during a special hour either online or at the ESPN Zone get a goodie bag from the Nats! It includes:

• A Nationals game-used baseball

• An MP3 player

• A Teddy Roosevelt bobblehead

• A red curly W New Era hat

So aparently the answer to the often asked question, "How are season ticket sales going?" is "anemic to poor". That would be the only reason that the Nats are dumping a whole bag of trinkets on someone, anyone who will sign up. And you don't even have to go anywhere; do it online and you still get the goodies!!

This means that sales are going poorly, and so, for the sake of the team, I hope that a little stunt like this results in a bump in season ticket sales. I want them to do well, I want the park to be full, I want a big, happy long-lasting season ticket holder base for the Nats.

Which brings me to my next question: What about all of us that ARE season ticket holders? I understand that gimmicks exist and are used to put people over the top, but I also seem to remember a lot of talk from Stan about how important the season ticket holders are, "life-blood of the franchise" and all that. So Stan, where is my game-used ball? You have had my deposit for months and the only thing that I get is the possibility of a slightly better seat, but even that doesn't seem like such a big deal if you are pulling this to get more folks to sign up. So I ask again: Where is my game used ball? We didn't see many of those neat little things in the outfield seats at RFK where baseballs were the Holy Grail and I once saw a man dive over three rows of seats for the solitary t-shirt that "Clint" managed to actually fire to the rabble and masses in the cheap seats.

I would have bought my tickets with or without a gimmick, but I feel like the "perks" that were promised to season ticket holders have been slow in coming, or non-existent. There was no picnic this year, there were no benefits, there were no cheaper to purchase ticket deals. Where was it all? I don't want much Stan, and in fact, if you hadn't brought it up I wouldn't care at all! But since you did, I think it needs to be addressed: I want my game-used ball.

New Ballpark thoughts

2007-10-19T01:26:00.000-04:00

As I watched the Discovery Channel's inside look at our new Park, I got to thinking. So why is it that I had to stumble onto this program. I mean, I read the blogs regularly, I check the website daily, I get emails, I have season tickets, and yet I didn't hear a thing about this. The only thing that showed up was an ex post facto mention on the Journal. Though for those that are interested, Screech's Best Friend does have some info on the statues at the new park. In fact a brief review of the Natosphere found NOTHING regarding the show.

While this isn't the end of the universe, I do find it strange and depressing that the team made little to no effort to advertise this show to the fans on any level. And there is no excuse for it. The team produced a bunch of footage and access for the program (Build it Bigger), and even gave Schneider a cameo on it at old RFK.

The utter lack of any communication about a free and fairly good program regarding the Nats on national TV only goes to reinforce the concept that the Nationals do not have an actual, living, breathing, marketing department.

For those of you that are interested and didn't follow the above links to either the show's site, or the Journal, here are the dates that the program will be replayed. Watch. Revel. Enjoy.

A Case for Cordero

2007-10-11T22:02:00.001-04:00

With the season now over and the playoffs more than underway, I finally decided that now would be the time to post on a topic that has been under consideration among Nats fans for as long as there have been Nats fans: Chad "the Chief" Cordero's durability and longevity as a closer.

This last season, Chad recorded 37 saves, while blowing 9. Now, 9 is a lot, and arguably too many, but it isn't the kind of numbers that should have a closer considered "done" and have people calling for his replacement or trade. So before everyone gets all up in arms over how Chad is done and he never could get a 1-2-3 inning so lets get rid of him, stop and look at the number of blown saves among the other Top 10 closers:
7, 8, 7, 7, 6, 2, 6, 4, 6

Now I was lazy and didn't include names, but sufficed to say that some of the gods of NL closers are on that list. And they aren't the guy who only blew 2.

So what does this show us? It shows that Chad, who admitted to struggling during his grandmother's passing, still recorded a huge number of saves on a losing club and only blew 2 more saves than 40% of the Top 10. He only blew 3 more than 70%. That is simply astounding. While Chad has not been nearly as overpowering in his relatively short career, it should be remembered that he has and continues to get the job done with numbers that are comparable to the best in the Senior Circuit. So what does this mean?

It means that the Nats really do need to stick to their guns. Chad is a closer, plain and simple. He should only be traded for closer type levels, nothing less.

Home and Away

2007-09-09T23:38:00.000-04:00

So, with the pain that is Atlanta now only a Delta flight of a memory, lets look back on what was an important home stand and will be an important trip to Miami. First, the 5-1 home stand was a showing of why the Nationals are not nearly the worst team in baseball this year, let alone history. Now, I was out of town, so that meant only limited internet review and no actual watching of the living bobble head series. But I did live the dream during the Marlins series. What we say is a team that was happy at home, wanted to stay out of last, and played well against mediocre opponents.

The Result: bad wins against bad teams. None of the Florida games were serious blow outs, and all of them seemed to show that the Nats were a better, though not by much, team than the Fish. Then go to Turner Field. Now our bad play turns into ugly and pathetic losses. The main reasons for this was not only the lack of offense, a chronic problem, but the defense that made average little league teams look good. Zimmerman needs to figure it out. I know games like that happen. But he made repeated errors in back to back games and looked worse than a September call up. Need to fix that. Now, FLop. He not only looked bad, but didn't look like he cared. He doesn't talk to the media, only reinforcing the lack of concern. Plus, I'm beginning to see Jimenez as a serious offensive and defensive replacement for SS. That is not a good sign. But what it shows is that FLop needs to show a little bit of pop (or contact) with the bat if we are to put up with the multiple errors every game. It like Wily Mo, I can almost stomach the 2,503 strikeouts per season when he hits a home run every other plate appearance. But with Lopez hitting weak numbers, playing poor defense even for him and not even seeming to care about the issue, it means that I have to see him as not being part of the long-term future. But that means that Belliard becomes an everyday player with Guzman for next season. I don't see that as a real solution. Ronnie has shown what he is this year: a solid player with decent defense and a .270-80 BA. Fine. Put that on the bench and make us a contender. But there is nobody in the farm system and no one on the roster that is likely to help us out in this middle infield. So look for a replacement for Lopez in the off season, or at least someone brought in to remind him to actually try in the Spring. Now onto Florida and a hopeful nail in the coffin for the last place Marlins.

The Wily Mo Connection

2007-08-21T09:18:00.001-04:00

OK, so now a guy with a career reputation, with number to back it up, as a prolific strike out goes 3 for 4 and absolutely kills one out at "The Juice Box." So this raises a huge new question mark for the Nationals outfield. Alright, fine, Bowden found the 40 HR bat that we need, even though it came along with a ton of Ks. But the real question is: where do you put him? He is, at best, a mediocre, and more likely a poor defensive corner outfielder, who wants to play right field. The problem is that Kearns is the Nats right fielder of the present and future. I know that Kearns hasn't been putting up the numbers at all this season, but I don't think that you can give up on him regardless. Church has also failed to meet the expectations of everyone that said, "Just give him a full season, he'll show you." But has he done so poorly all around that you replace him with Pena? I don't know, but I think that such a decision comes too soon. Plus none of this solves the issue of CF, which has been a revolving door for the Nats ever since they moved to DC. And it is a problem that still hasn't been solved and I don't think will be until 2009 at the earliest.

As for the long term impact of Wily Mo, its still way to early to tell. How will he handle RFK in the long run, or more importantly, the NEW ballpark next season? Will he continue to hit for average and not strike out? Will his power truly help turn this line-up around offensively? I think that the answers are going to be bad, then just poorly; no; and not as much as we need because of the previous 'no'.

Despite this, the trade was a good one. We got a big, although flawed bat for a minor league 1B that is probably only going to cost us one minor league reliever. So we basically are going to get Pena for a Winston Abreu.

Chico Gets the Hook

2007-08-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

So Matt Chico's time in the bigs, at east for now, is over. Chico has been sent down to AAA after another lackluster start where he committed the trifecta of pitching sins by throwing too many pitches, walking too many batters, and going less than 5 innings. The move makes room for Wily Mo, who will likely be starting in left field.

I have to feel bad for Chico. His most recent starts have been poor to terrible, but the kid has managed to take the ball every five days and go out there and at least try. And with his demotion, the Nats have now eliminated the last member of the Opening Day rotation. I would assume the goal over sending him down for a couple of weeks is to get him the chance to work on his control and mechanics, which have been seriously struggling and causing most of his problems. Hopefully we will see good numbers in the two or three starts out of Chico and not a collapse that sometimes comes from a demotion like this.

But I would anticipate that Matt will be back with the big club in September as one of the call-ups. In fact I think that the club owes it to him to come back up and at east keep him with the club and give him a couple more innings in September. I understand the need to see more of Lannan, Hanrahan, and possibly Bowie if he returns, but Chico has been the closest thing that this team has had to an iron man on the pitching staff and deserves at least a little prize for his efforts. Plus, even with his bad starts, the kid posted an ERA of under 5.00, better than some of the pitchers on the '06 staff. So Matt, good luck and see you again in September, and then again in February when you get a shot to pitch that opening series in the South Capitol home.

Trader Jim Strikes Back

2007-08-17T14:39:00.000-04:00

So only one day after signing the last in a long line of draft picks, JimBo has finally pulled the trigger on Wily Mo Pena who has been widely talked about as a possible waiver trade for the Nats. So now we have a 25 year old former Cincy outfielder for a player to be named later. It is now officially my hope that we can pursue Adam Dunn in the off-season if for no reason other than consistency in our outfield acquisitions.

But the trade with Boston raises at least two questions. First, who goes to pay for Pena. In a perfect world, you would trade a Logan or a Church or maybe even a Langerhans; coupled with a King or Bacsik for Pena. The main hope is that the Nats don't give up one of the shiny new draft pieces for the seriously slumping Pena. The second and more pressing issue is: where will he play? Even if he gets sent to Columbus for a couple of weeks, Pena is almost a given as a September call-up, but the other question is whether he will be at RFK as soon as this weekend and whether we will try him at LF or CF. These questions and more have yet to be answered. But here is the official release anyway.

OK, question answered. Pena will play left, Church center, and Kearns continues in right. So ends the Nook Logan Experiment.

Zimmerman's Defense

2007-08-16T14:35:00.001-04:00

At this point, it is well established that Zimm is one of the best defensive 3rd basemen in the majors. That is right now, at age 22. But he does have a serious problem, namely, sailing the ball every time he has an easy play to make. This simply doesn't make sense. It goes against the fundamental concept of "easy", being something that is "not hard or difficult; requiring no great labor or effort." (Thank you Webster's). In fact, Ryan has now committed 18 errors over the course of the season, which just happens to be the same number of home runs the Zimmerman has hit going into tonight's game. Now, the thinking from the Nationals brain trust seems to be that there is a basic mechanical issue that needs to get worked out by Ryan. It is either foot work (Manny) or he is standing too tall (Ryan). In a way, it seems that they are both right. Zimmerman seems to pull his feet in too close together when he has time with a throw, which both puts his feet out of position and makes him stand too tall. This isn't something huge. In fact, its something that can get and hopefully will get worked out in the near future. But if Zimm wants a Gold Glove, he needs to take the problem seriously, or he risks just become a mediocre infielder and a defensive liability as he loses range later (much later) in his career. Last year's winner, the perennial winner, Scott Rolen, committed only 15 for the season, which was a high number for Rolen, who has committed 10 or less a number of times in his career. But one thing is forgotten about ol' Scotty: in his first full season, he committed 24 errors, and followed that up with 14 the next two seasons. Even the god of all third basemen, Brooks Robinson committed 21 errors in his first full year. But Zimmerman has the talent, and ability, to be as good or better than Rolen, and maybe even Brooks defensively. This year is, in effect, the delayed rookie season for Zimmerman, and if he works to solve his issues, we should see the outstanding numbers that he is capable of.

In the meantime, he has hit 18 homers going into tonight's rubber match. Last year he hit 20. This year he will easily match and likely surpass that total by a wide margin. But all this raises the new poll question of the week. Will Zimmerman end this season with more HRs or more E5s? The polls are now open, please vote and feel free to discuss.

A little hometown love for John Lannan

2007-08-16T14:29:00.001-04:00

This is a great little story about Lannan from the point of view of a guy who knew him in middle school and got to watch him pitch that solid game against the Giants a little while back (that was only like a week ago wasn't it? Seems longer to me.) But anyway, hopefully the guy will get his wish: Lannan isn't at Shea, but he is starting against the Mets (Lannan is from Long Island) on Saturday at RFK.

Batting 1.000 in the Draft!!!

2007-08-16T00:02:00.001-04:00

OK, so the Nats have decided to really step up tonight. A great win over the Phillies, and a last minute announcement that Jack McGeary signed on the dotted line for a $1.8 million bonus. This means that the Nationals have signed 20 of their top 20 draft picks. This is not only astounding, it is borderline unprecedented. I tip my hats to the Lerners who went out of the slot to pay for McGeary and got what they said they were looking for. I mean, this kid turned down a scholarship to Stanford and now finds himself the next in line of Washington Nationals young LHPs.

The big thing is that the Nationals went way over slot for this signing. Everyone has said that McGeary of 1st round talent, but nobody thought he would ever sign. Turns out he had 1.8 million reasons to sign with the Nationals and he did. This just makes me giddy, I got to watch another great home game, plus the last of the star draft picks is in the fold!

Now, Bill Ladson had posted a downer of a story right after the Smoker signing about how McGeary was not, just flat out not going to sign with the Nationals and had decided to go to Stanford. I've got to say that I was a little skeptical when it was published, and it was roundly denounced in both the Post and the Washington Times and pretty much everywhere else that said the deal was still open and it was just a matter of how much money the Nationals were willing to spend (read; how willing to piss off MLB the Lerners were). And now, reading back through that article of Ladson's, two main things caught my eye. First, Dana Brown was the source of all the talk on the Nationals' side of things. Brown knows scouting, but he is not, repeat NOT the GM or the President, who are the ones making decisions on whether deals are dead or not. This one clearly was not. I think that it was telling that the info was coming from a scouting director, not somebody more directly involved in the operations and signing side of these things. It was Brown's job to find McGeary, not to sign him. The second thing is the statements from McGeary himself, "I was surprised that I was taken as high as sixth. I thought I would be falling in the teens or 20s." This means that he probably felt like the Nats wanted him, plus it made it easier to go over the slot and pay 1st round money for a sixth round pick then 1st round for a 15th round pick. Overall, I think that Nats320 is right, this draft had the ability to be a turning point: it is. The Nationals and the Lerners have stepped up and paid the money that they needed to and have now made the light pay roster of this year make even more sense. The extra bonuses to those like Smoker and McGeary were at least in part possible because of The Plan. All hail The PLAN (at least for tonight).

Josh Smoker is a Washington National

2007-08-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

Or, more precisely, a Gulf Coast League National for the time being. The signing was announced today and means, as I'm sure you have heard, that the Nats have signed 19 of their 20 picks. Smoker came for a nice even number: $1 MILLION. It was a good pick up and means that the Nationals have now signed both of their compensation picks from letting go of Soriano at the end of the season and not trading him last July. The result is basically getting Smoker, a hot prospect and only 18 years old, along with Jordan Zimmermann, a RHP currently with the Lake Monsters as part of that phenomenal pitching lineup in Vermont. So, in the end, Bowden got what he wanted, namely two young pitching prospects in exchange for an all-star rental.

That leaves only one late pick that the Nationals would love, but don't need to take in order to have had a great draft year. So for all the comments about how the Lerners haven't been giving up the $$, this should quiet some of that, it means that they are willing to not only pay for usable now college talent (Detwiler), but also to pay good money for high school talent that will fill out the system and give us something to grow over the years.

Smoker likely the Newest National

2007-08-14T15:59:00.000-04:00

Barry on the Journal is reporting that Josh Smoker has likely signed and the official announcement will be made at 4:30 this evening. I haven't been able to find any info about dollars or anything else, but it looks like that Nationals have brought another good young arm to Washington and have now signed all but one sixth-round draft pick from this year's Amateur Draft. More on the details if I find them. Ok, Nationals Farm Authority now saying a $950K bonus was reported by the Washington Times.

Wily Mo

2007-08-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Sox are looking to reach a deal with a National League team in the near future and are close to reaching a deal. There has been a lot of talk about the Nats being the team that picks up Pena, who has recently cleared waivers and could be up for grabs. There isn't a lot of additional info on this, though I have seen some rumors that the deal has fallen through. Still no word on the more hopeful (and more likely) signing of Smoker or possibility Jack McGeary, though McGeary is widely thought to be going to college, not pro ball. Here is the deal, the Nats have the chance, but likely not the goods, to make a trade with Boston for the likes of Pena, who has had an awful season. But there is, at least in my mind, a good possibility that Smoker will get signed, likely above his slot, and that we will see him in the system for a couple of weeks before he heads out to fall and winter ball, which I would assume is likely for a kid in his position. If something is heard, which is hopefully will be, then I'll get it our as soon as possible.

Bye bye Bacsik

2007-08-13T00:43:00.000-04:00

And with that, you can bid Mike Bacsik adieu as a starter from the Washington Nationals. With Tuesday being the return of Hill to the, well, hill, it means that there needs to be a spot opened up in the rotation. So Bacsik was the choice. And really he was the only one.

Lannan-been too good, and you haven't seen enough to make a true decision.
Hanrahan-same as Lannan, but has shown more consistent composure and has seriously looked like a veteran of a couple seasons in his starts.
Redding-Older than the rest of the options (he'll be 30 over the winter), but he has shown good stuff recently and could become a good veteran piece or even a low-level trade at a later date. But again, you need to keep seeing him.
Chico-Last man standing. I know that he has struggled in his last 3 to 5 starts or so, but he is the only person to hold up through the whole season and you have to at least give him a cookie for that work.

That leaves Bacsik. He simply hasn't been spotting his pitches and, to be honest, it looks like everyone has seen enough of him now that the book on Bacsik is pretty open and he has to pitch perfect in order to work through a major league lineup once, let alone two or three times. So he's going to the bullpen. I hope that he does well and I wish him luck.

But all this raises an even bigger question. The Nats, with the 300 pitchers called into Spring Training and mocked in so many places (including here to some degree), but the end result now is that you have a bunch of mediocre to promising arms that you have let start and now you want to see them all. But I've heard rumors, especially on the TV broadcast Don Sutton had a throw away line a couple nights ago, that there would not be a six-man rotation. This, in my opinion, would be the way to go with this team. It would give you the chance to see an additional pitcher for a couple more starts and spread around the experience. But I wasn't hired in the off-season and Manny was, so the rotation stays at five. This means that as Bergmann and maybe Bowie get back, there may be even fewer spots and more people will have to get shuffled to the 'pen. It also means that we will likely not see Ross Detwiler brought up, even for a brief showing, this season. I think that this is probably good. We have seen a lot, I mean a lot of young arms and have found a couple of guys that might have parts in the rotation in '08. But we don't need to rush Detwiler just so that we can all oooh and aaah until he gets slapped around in the early innings. The most impressive thing is the confidence and ability to bounce back after a beating that most of the call-ups have shown. A lot of that comes from time spent well in the minors and is something that Detwiler (who needs a nickname by the way) can only learn down on the farm. So, with folks like Bacsik going to the 'pen, its best that the young promising arms stay down and build experience. No ball on Monday, and look forward to the all important August 15 deadline for draft signings coming up this week!!

2007-08-11T02:07:00.000-04:00

So that was an abusive loss. 11-4 is not what you look for out of a team that is supposed to be on a winning streak and looking for a good end to the regular season. But it is what we got. And it was all because of one thing. Walks, all 10 of them killed this game. I thought it was over for sure when Chico started literally giving away runs like candy, but then Livo decided to give up homer like so much of the same candy. I was really kind of a chronic problem for all Nats pitchers today. 10 walks. I really just don't know what to say. I mean, Rivera and King walked 4 and only got one out between the two of them! But deep breath. This is bound to happen to all pitchers sometimes. They are after all, human. Except for Rauch who is simply too tall to qualify at simply human.

But back to my point, the real issue is that they all crapped out at once. This is no good. We could have handled Chico, or even Chico and Rivera. But three pitchers all missing their marks on one night is just too much. It really cast a shadow on the fun of batting practice off Livan, or as Carpenter referred to it, slow-pitch softball off Livan.

So, since its late, or early, or whatever two things to take away.

1. Matt Chico is starting to look shaky and in need of some more seasoning again. This is unfortunate, but not really unexpected. The kid is 22 and never even saw a AAA start in his life. Months like this are going to happen.

2. Homers are not enough for this team to win consistently. In fact, the Nats look their best when everyone is drilling doubles around the park like the St. Louis series looked at times. We hit 3 solo shots and scored 4 runs. Need more base runners, more base hits, and less of the ill-timed long ball.

Alright, enough for now, I need sleep.

Just Had to Post This...Now w/ Commentary

2007-08-09T18:58:00.000-04:00

Got this email from MASN regarding the outage earlier:

Thank you for contacting MASN.

Television blackouts are periodically imposed upon all teams in Major League Baseball. They are beyond the control of the teams themselves.On Saturday night, the start of the Nationals’ game was briefly blacked out for about 15 percent of MASN’s subscriber audience.

A miscommunication regarding blackout programming for Saturday night’s game caused some DC area cable subscribers to miss the first several innings of the game. Satellite customers were not affected, nor were any cable customers outside of the Washington, D.C. area.While this was an isolated incident --- and was in fact the first network error in MASN’s three year history of televising more than 430 Nationals baseball games -- it was unacceptable and we apologize for the inconvenience.

We appreciate the feedback from Nationals fans, who allowed us to correct the mistake quickly.

MASN will continue to hold ourselves to the standards of excellence that the Nationals and their fans deserve from their sports network.

Thank you again for contacting MASN.

Sincerely,
Your friends at the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network

Well, it only took 5 days for them to email back, so thanks for small favors. But here is the real issue. It seems like MASN is dumping the blame either on Baseball, or on DCA. Well, that's fine. But here is the problem: As the provider of the game's feed and as the producer of the product, you would think that MASN would make an explicit effort to make sure that their product gets out eeach and every day. Apparently, they don't do that. I guess its just enough to have cameras and Bob and Don there and hope for the best. This is not only bad for the fans, its a stupid premise to run a network on.

Second, it said that the blackout (read here: our inability to do our jobs) only affected 15% of MASN subscribers. Those being the 15% that are within the DC Metro area and could have seen the game on DCA. Masn covers a huge area according to their website: The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is a registered trade name of TCR Sports Broadcasting Holding, LLP, a regional sports network. MASN serves a 7 state area, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Charlotte, North Carolina and including Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, the District of Columbia and parts of West Virginia. So what this means is that the people who couldn't watch the game are the ones that would be most interested in doing so. It was the people that live in DC and the 'burbs. I would be that folks in Cleveland Park, Rockville, and Arlington have more interest in the Nationals game than people north of Aberdeen or in North Carolina. So this means that even though only 15% of possible viewers were blacked out, something like 50% of the hardcore Nats fans got screwed. This is just poor and needs to be fixed.

The last thing is the half truth about it being the first network failure. OK, it is the first time that the game was suposed to be on WDCA that it wasn't. But it is by no means the first time that there have been 'technical difficulties'. I have personally had at least 4 outages this season, including Wednesday night when the feed went black right at the beginning of the game and the sound and picture kept freezing and cutting out for the first inning. If you want Nationals fans to quit complaining, yelling, emailing, calling, and writing letters, then don't run a network that would be considered poor by a Community College-run local cable access channel. In other words, Peter Angelos, pay up. You got the TV rights, now spend some money to protect them. I would be that a failure to provide regular TV access to the DC area for Nationals games could be considered a breach of the agreement that you stole from MLB. In fact, maybe that's it. DC is a litigous town Stan, find some lawyers and sue MASN. If they can't provide good access, maybe this agreement should be void. Put somebody on that. Or send the MASN agreeement to me and I'll get on it! Just so long as we can end this idiocy and I can watch games every night like anyone else in the United States (and parts of Canada) get to without fear of 'technical difficulty' lies from MASN.

Giants Early Re-cap

2007-08-09T01:40:00.000-04:00

So now we are only waiting for the business-person's special in San Fran to start and then the Nats' date with history is done. Its obvious that now Mike Bacsik is going to be the answer to a trivia question for the rest of time. And after I saw the pitch, the first thing that I thought was, man, he really missed with that pitch. But then, after staying up late to watch the press conference, and reading some of Manny's comments in the paper, I almost have to wonder if Bacsik accidently on purpose left that pitch up in the zone. I've got three reasons for this thought. First, Bacsik is a soft-tosser, but he chose in a full ocunt against the most feared hitter in a generation to throw his fastball. Just doesn't really make sense. I would love to hear from Schneider how they come to that pitch and why they threw it then. Second, is Manny's comments after the game that he felt Mike was a little to excited about being part of history. And third is the way that Bacsik came off during the interview. He was well-spoken, funny, and thoughtful. But that isn't what was so interesting. When he was asked about giving it up, he seemed less interested in the fact that it but the Giants up by one, and more interested in the fact that he was now part of history and since someone had to give up the homer, it might as well have been him. All of this make me wonder if he wasn't at least a little happy in a perverse sort of way that it was him that gave it up. Now, I'm glad it wasn't Lannan, who would then become the most infamous rookie pitcher in the history of the game, but I get the feeling, kinda like when a cable company tells you that a game isn't on because of 'technical difficulties', but you suspect something more, and wonder why Mike Bacsik chose that pitch then.

No Bonds, but I still don't care

2007-08-07T10:34:00.000-04:00

Alright, so Barry didn't hit 756*. But it happened in a game that I can only describe as bittersweet. I hate watching losses in extra frames, and I hate it even more when it means that I stay up until something like 2 in the morning only to watch Chad give it up (not that I blame him, everyone gives it up occasionally) and then Ray King, giver of sage advice, pretty much fall apart on the mound in the 11th. I hate games like that. just hate 'em.

But, every cloud has a silver lining as they say, and this one was named John Lannan. Lannan, it is well known, is the 3,241st starting pitcher to be used by the Nats this year and started the season playing Real Baseball, Real Close, down in A ball. But now, despite the fears of many who have commented on the Journal and elsewhere, Lannan's most infamous moment remains breaking Chase Utley's hand. And for that I'm happy. I'm also glad that the team got a little respect out of the national media who was in S.F. to make an electric atmosphere more circus like, and then cover the moment. ESPN, si.com, thank you for mentioning that at least our pitcher doesn't suck, though your story was at best one note when compared to Svrluga's. But even though some of it was begrudging admiration at best, the most backhanded compliments came from John Donovan. John I guess thinks that a kid pitching seven innings of 1 run, that's right 1 run ball isn't reason enough to leave him in. Nope, it must be a slight against Bonds, because Bonds is in a hitting slump, yep, it was a hitting slump, not a decent outing by a rookie pitcher that you haven't heard of because you have your head so....well, I think that I make my point. The worst part is I agree with Donovan about Bond's hitting. He isn't in a slump, he's just not that good anymore. He is 43 years old. His swing does have holes in it. Yes, he can crush the ball if he hits it, but he has to hit it first. This is why I respect Manny, who chose to not once issue the intentional walk, and instead Bonds only drew 1 "normal" walk and went 0-3. That isn't so shocking, it just shows that he's human. A living incarnation of a juiced bobble-head sure, but still, largely just human. I just don't see this 'slump' as something new or creative. More just a thing to roll out when a new and under-the-radar pitcher comes in and does something unexpected while you are actually watching a game that doesn't involve a team from Boston or one wearing pin-stripes. But enough of that, I'm still mostly angry from lack of sleep and losing a decent little win-streak.

Next up for the merry-go-round of fun is Mike Basik. He's been pitching pretty solid and if he doesn't let his nerves get to him, he should be able to handle the most aging Giants line-up and make for another great game. By the way, my prediction is, NO HOMER in this series. I have my reasons, which I will only get into if I am proven to be a genius. So take a nap after work and stay up late on a Tuesday to watch history not be made as the Nats take on the San Fransisco Barry Bo...er...Giants.

Open Letter to MASN

2007-08-05T00:21:00.000-04:00

To TCR Sports Broadcasting Holding, L.L.P., who is better known to sports fans in the region as MASN:

We, the fans of the Washington Nationals are tired. Since the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and the revival of Washington baseball in 2005, we, the fans, have suffered insults that no other fans of any sport have been forced to endure.

For the Inaugural Season, the majority of us were left without games in our homes because of a disagreement that your principal owner had with Comcast cable. Disagreements between the Orioles and cable providers resulted in a stunted fan base, a confused public, and frustrated Washingtonians. While this slight was taken personally by many in the Nationals Nation, we have, largely, moved beyond it. The expansion of MASN and MASN2 to all the major cable providers salved some, if not all wounds.

But the 2006 and the 2007 seasons have not resulted in any honeymoon period. For 2006, our club operated like a shoe-string minor league team. There was no pre-game, no post-game, minimal graphics, and extensive advertising for sports teams in a different city all together. All of this while the Nationals served as the sole reason for the existence of the MASN network at this early stage in its development.

With the 2007 season we again looked hopefully for change. The inclusion of pre- and post-game programming, the addition of commentators and reporters all gave hope that the Nationals and their fans would be treated to the professional programming that is due a Major League baseball team. But again, our hope has been misplaced. This season has resulted in technical difficulties that have meant lost games, missed moments, and damped efforts to grow a fan base for a still very new club in its new home. The "technical difficulties" that resulted in the loss of the game on August 4, which was scheduled for WDCA was not the first, and will likely not be the last such transgression.

This letter is not a call for restitution, or compensation, or even an apology. This is a demand that you, quite simply, do your jobs. Produce and supply to us, the fans and your customers, the very minimal product that promised us when you handed out schedules for our refrigerators at RFK Stadium on Opening Day. Give us our baseball. Give it to us in its entirety. Give it to us with sound, without fear of blocked signals, of programming cutoffs in extra innings, of innings or even entire games lost to "technical difficulties" that never seem to be sully resolved. All that we ask is that you MASN, give us the very same treatment, and quality product that you supply to any other Major League club that you serve. Many fans of the Nationals are fans of wider baseball. Sadly, I have heard no stories of "technical difficulties" that have resulted in the loss of games, or even innings, for any other Major League club that you provide for.

All that we ask is for the same. All that we ask for is what we have been promised. All we ask for is our Nationals. And if you cannot provide it, then give us back control of our own future.

Signed,

A Nationals Fan