The Nationals Report

That's right kids, it's GUZMANIA time again and he's startin' off hot (as if he ever wasn't!) So what if 2/3 of his hits came off Georgetown. Those kids wanted to win! Flop can suck one cause Guz is here to stay! (Until the wind blows a peanut shell onto the field and hits him in the eye lacerating his cornea, then its WOO GUZMANIA 2K9!!!)

And so do we. And we want you!



The Nats Report is starting an ESPN, head to head fantasy baseball league, and we'd like you to be a part of it. The rules are all the standard ESPN ones, and it's a non-keeper league (so no drafting Jack McGreary). If you'd like to be a part of this totally awesome rad experience, leave your email in the comments, or email us at natsreport@gmail.com and we'll send you an invite.

The Man with the "Hoo" face returns, and talks about his offseason, and the suck that was the RFK locker room.



I echo the thoughts of the commenter on Nats Journal; that of the guys spotlighted thus far, Bergmann seems the most down to earth, and seems like he would be fun to drink a beer with.

Nothing boosts a team's confidence by giving a merciless beat down to a college team. Seriously why do they play college teams anyways?

/Count it

Update: Nationals 15, Hoyas 0.

Josh Smoker pitched just fine, allowing two hits and a walk in two innings while striking out three. Not too shabby considering most of the Hoyas were older than him. You'll have the chance to read more about him in the paper tomorrow.

Other tidbits: Willie Harris goes 2 for 2, de Caster 2 for 4, Diaz 2 for 4, Whitney 2 for 3 with 3 RBI, and the Nats toss up 16 hits.

Collin Balester was quite disappointed that he walked two guys, but he did strike out five in his two innings of work. And Mike Hinckley -- who, back in 2005, was the Nationals' top pitching prospect -- mopped up with two innings of relief work, also walking two. Manny Acta said after the game that Hinckley will almost certainly be converted to a reliever this year, giving him a chance to reach the potential that has been held back by injuries and poor performance the past couple years.

Interesting about Hinckley being converted. He was once the golden boy, and hopefully he can recapture some of that by throwing out of the pen.

By now, I'm sure you've read about last night's 3-3 tie with the Marlins. (Trivia: Who had the first RBI for the Nationals in Spring Training 2008? Answer: My boy, Alex Escobar) Here's a link to Nats Journal if you haven't.

But this is the first time we've seen in print what we've all thought; that coming opening day, someone we all like will most likely be gone.

Which brings the return of Johnson to what might be a jarring conclusion. Bowden was going through the roster befofre the game, and considering the number of players who are out of options, he has come to a conclusion.

"I'm not sure you can actually field this team without making a trade," he said. "I'm not sure that's possible, if everything goes well."

That could mean a first baseman, an infielder, an outfielder -- whatever. But even as more than a dozen scouts sat behind the plate Wednesday night, Johnson's return to the field was more about the moment than what it might lead to.

To me, that reads that Nick Johnson, if healthy is gone, and so maybe is Austin Kearns if Elijah Dukes starts killing the ball. I'm not a giant fan of AK being shipped out, but we'll see how it goes.

Chad Cordero, taking hacks in the cage.

I saw this on BPG, and I like it a lot.



Credit to ndwas.

Evidently Elijah knows how to spoil a good walk. To be honest, his swing doesn't look too bad. He goes a little past parallel on the backswing but he looks flexible enough to pull it off, though it will lead to inconsistently. He also needs to bend the knees a little more as his stiff stance is causing his feet to wander. He is staying down through the ball well and finishes with a nice follow through. Its a little rough around the edges but nothing a little practice can't fix. I'm liking Mr. Dukes more every day. This is a side of him I didn't think I'd ever see.

Good article in the Post today about our favorite bald, soft tossing, history making pitcher, Mike Bascik.



He always come off as likable. I just like him to come off as intimidating, and as a good pitcher.

I think JPatt has found out the root of all his problems. The mullet. Judging from the photo below, he's obviously going for a more clean cut look, and surprise he's throwing pain-free. Coincidence? I submit that it is not!

Right?

Well, maybe no.

There was an envelope placed in Manny Acta's hand, and inside the envelope was a letter. The letter was from the Lerner family, which owns the Washington Nationals, and inside the letter was a check. And the check? Well, it doesn't even matter what the number was, or how many zeroes it had. What mattered was the check itself, a bonus for a job well done in 2007. The letter -- it mattered, too, applauding Acta for a fine job on and off the field as the Nationals' manager. But above all, what mattered to Acta was the gesture.


"I told them, 'You don't need to do this -- this is my job,' " said Acta, who confirmed receiving the bonus after a reporter, who already had been told of it by another source, asked him about it. "I don't have any incentive bonus in my contract. I've never had one in any contract -- because it's just my job. My job is to win. My job is to get it done. And I thought it was an outstanding gesture. I wasn't expecting it."

That's nice to see. One, an owner that appreciates his employees enough to give him an unsolicited, unexpected, and well earned bonus. And two, a manager that says, "You don't need to give me more than my contract. My job is to win". I'm feeling pretty good about this team, this morning.

And I could not be happier.

A Freakin' Wily Mo Pena webpage. UNOFFICIAL, no less.



Wily Mo, you've arrived.

According to Mr. Campbell there will be plenty of single-game seats for those of us that live too far away (me) or are too poor (both) to purchase a season-ticket plan. You're not a true fan until you sit in the upper deck when its 30 degrees and the wind is whippin'. (I know you all remember last April, but you probably weren't sitting where I was. UPPER DECK SAY WHAT!)

Consider these numbers: 123 homers, 646 RBIs, 69 steals.

Cumulatively speaking, these numbers paint the picture of a fairly unsuccessful baseball team, and the 2007 Washington Nationals were indeed unsuccessful (73-89). But that doesn't matter.

More playing with numbers: 673 runs, 931 strikeouts, 46 saves.

Yes, the Nationals were a particularly terrible offensive team, finishing 30th in runs scored, 26th in hits, 28th in homers, 29th in RBIs, 26th in batting average and 28th in slugging percentage. The pitchers struck out the fewest batters of any staff in the league.

Hate, hate, hate.

Granted this article is from a fantasy perspective, and we don't have Johan Santana or Carl Crawford (noted fantasy beast) on this team, but it's sad to think that "experts" think a 15hr 15 steal season for Lastings Milledge would be good.

News and notes from this week in baseball:

Tomo Ohka signed with the White Sox yesterday. Oh how I don't miss those days. To be honest his record wasn't horrible (4-3, 3.33 ERA) but he was an ass and that's what did him in. It'll be interesting to see how well he fits in under Ozzie #$%@ Guillen.

Ryan Howard won his arbitration case and will make $10 million this season. People around baseball are throwing up their arms saying this is an absolutely ridiculous amount of money. Seriously, what are those guys talking about, ARod makes nearly triple what Ryan Howard is going to make this year. The stink is that he's only been in the league for two years and that no one has ever made this much money that soon. I say why not. You get paid based on how valuable you are, not how long you've been working for the company. Ryan Howard is the Phillies most valuable player, and some would say he's the most valuable offensive player in the National League. So you go and get yours Ryan, you're worth it! (Just don't play well against the Nats, Capiche?)

The Nats have no fantasy prospects.

The Marlins might be getting a new stadium. Seriously, why is there being money put into this team. I'll let you in to a little secret, the reason you see attendance of 3,000 to a Marlins game is not the weather. If that were the case the beach would be empty too. The reason people don't go to Marlins games is that they know that if their team is good this year, its surely to be awful next year as all the players are sold. They're the Clippers of baseball. They really need to be put out of their misery and shipped to a city that wants them. (Portland, Las Vegas, etc) By the way, why doesn't Las Vegas have a single professional sports team. If I were one of the nearly 2 million people that lived there, I'd be jacked.

Scott Boras is a dick, as if you didn't already know.

Doug Mirabelli is the most hilarious man in baseball. Never before has such an average/below average player become so valuable. I'm starting to think of finding a decent knuckle-baller in the minors (are there any?) and trying to become his own personal catcher. I'd sleep over at his house, we'd play x-box, take walks on the beach, making millions. It'd be a dream come true. And Doug is living that dream.

Well that's all for now. If it wasn't obvious we're just killing time until Spring Training games start. Only 9 more days! (Georgetown doesn't count)

Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik, meanwhile, knows all about the "O," but he doesn't want to hear it. He said in Dallas, where he grew up, Cowboys, Rangers and Mavericks fans don't yell "STARS!" during the anthem — even though they represent the same city as the hockey team.

"If you go to a Nationals game, you probably shouldn't say it," he said. "It's a Baltimore Orioles tradition. It's a cool tradition, but if you're there to watch the Nationals, save it for the Orioles."

Damn right, Mike Bacsik.

Thank you Bob Cohn (via Needham) for covering an issue I feel very passionately about. Seriously, why are people doing this. They don't even know how it started, they just think its cool to shit on America. Well it needs to stop!

I like this guy's demeanor, at least the one he's putting forward now.

I need to go on Ray King's diet plan.


Before:


After:

Nice short article from Sheinin this morning about the state of our pitching staff. He addresses the fact that gone are the Jerome Williams and Jason Simontacchi's from this year's Spring Training. They've been replaced with players of varying degrees of promise.

And interesting tidbit in here from Bowden:

"I'm not opposed at all to developing [Detwiler] out of the bullpen like the White Sox did with [Mark] Buehrle, and I'm not opposed to starting him in [Class A] Potomac and starting 20 games there," Bowden said. "A left-hander with that kind of stuff, as hard as it is to get lefties in the bullpen, I'm not opposed to a guy developing [in the bullpen] when he's that's close [to being ready] and has that kind of stuff. I believe in that."

I'm largely in favor of this because it gives young players, who are close to being ready, the chance to face real hitters in challenging situations. This gives them the advantage when its time for them to become an every 5th day guy that the team depends on. Also, with out shortage of lefty's out of the pen (not counting King), we might need his arm for reasons other than his own development.

What do you think about putting Detwiler (or other College level prospects) in the bullpen to get their feet wet?

In the last week, the Nationals have made major waves (/sarcasm) with some free agent acquisitions. First, the Bo(o)ne Collector signed the last remaining baseball Boone in existence to a minor league deal to play second base, and second base only, according to Bret.

Boone on whether he would spend time in the minors, or learn another position in order to help his chances: "I haven't played another position. I plan on going out and playing second base and getting as many at-bats as I can over in accelerated [spring training camp]... I don't think we have a script or anything like that. It's going to play out, and we'll know either way. But I'm planning on playing second base and helping somebody. Obviously that's my goal. There's a lot of unknown out there, but it's kind of an exciting unknown."

Way to be flexible there, Bret. It's a good thing we don't have any experience veterans who have actually thrown a baseball in the last two years already on the team.

Today, the Nats signed Odalis Perez to a 1 year, Minor League deal for $850,000. While this signing gets me as excited as when we picked up Pedro Astacio, you've gotta be impressed with Bowden's waiting for the bottom to fall out of the pitching market. This guy made $7 mil last year, and now...all I can say is I hope Odalis didn't go all MC Hammer.

The Mets agreed to a 1 year deal, worth $2 million with our former breaking-ball missing, Jewish-eternal-fate-questioning, Soul-Patch sporting Outfielder.

Is it really that easy to make more than a million dollars today?

This article made me chuckle, and I'll quote for you what I'm talking about...

Chris Schroder, Jesus Colome and a healthy Ryan Wagner are expected fill out the rest of the bullpen, while Ray King, Mike Bacsik and Joel Hanrahan will compete to be on the 25-man roster.

here too.

"Obviously, with our bullpen, we feel it's one of the better ones in the National League," general manager Jim Bowden. "Chad Cordero has more saves at his age than any other pitcher except for Francisco Rodriguez, and that's an amazing accomplishment. With Jon Rauch, Luis Ayala, Saul Rivera, Jesus Colome, Chris Schroder and a healthy Ryan Wagner, our bullpen will be one that will keep us competitive."

You may remember, though you probably don't, about the Nats Report's view of Ryan Wagner (here and here). I personally don't care if it's "A HEALTHY RYAN WAGNER" or "JUGGS PITCHING MACHINE WITH HAIR", he still sucks.

Sources. Here and Here.

This is good news, and will allow what I've stated as the best plan all along to occur, which is to give Flores a full year of seasoning in the minors before he assumes the job full-time in 2009. It also gives you the perception that the Nats aren't confident in the knees of an older, HGH-aided veteran, though the source claims that the proximity of the injury and signing are purely coincidence. Yeah. Right.

How do you feel about this left-handed, defensively challenged addition?

Update: Deal is finalized, and Flores will start the season in AA. Good moves.

Ut-oh. It appears our HGH-injecting, stationary-filling new catcher has a knee injury, of undetermined severity.
What does this mean? Well, two things. If it's serious, your starting catcher is named Jesus. This is not the worst thing that could happen, but I've been on record as stating that I think Jesus needs a full year at AAA before taking over full time. If Lo Duca is hurt for any long period of time, Flores would split time with Mueller or some other place holder. It could also mean that this could be the beginning of a long string of post-doping injuries that often plague players after they come off the juice. Since we don't know the specifics of the injury, we're forced into rampant speculation (the blogger's job).

Elsewhere in the article, there's another nugget of great news. Ready for it?



ESCOBAR re-signed! This guy, in his brief period of health, was dynamite. Power, speed, you name it. I would LOVE it if this guy could make it as a fourth outfielder, with Dukes slapping the ball around in AAA for a half season. I know people will laugh at my love for a player who's injury list is as long as the phonebook, but I don't care. I love Alex Escobar. I said it.

So, hey everybody. We're getting close to Viera, aren't we? Be ready for the deluge of posts once this thing gets going.

I know we haven't been posting much over the past few weeks, but there really hasn't been much to speak about. I know that chief signed a one year deal but really, that was going to happen anyways. It's an okay deal for the Nats really. I mean I'm not in love with Cordero as our closer. He's probably taken a few years off my life thus far, but we could do way worse.

That's not what has gotten me all hot and bothered though. No sir, that would be the negotiations between the Nationals and their oft maligned infielder, Felipe Lopez. Last year was a breakout year for Lopez...in his own eyes. After posting MVP type numbers of .245 BA .308 OBP and 24 steals, Lopez is asking for 5.2 million dollars for the 2008 season. WHAT A STEAL!!! This guy should be arrested for stealing. In what line of work could you consistently perform poorly at your job and then walk in to your employers office and as for a 33% percent raise!!! My parents obviously should have pushed me harder when I was a kid to play baseball. Just to put this in perspective, Troy Tulowitzki is on the verge of signing a 6-year 30 million dollar extension. That means he will make roughly the same as Flop this upcoming season. Does anyone see the madness here. I mean all Tulo did was become an integral part of a World Series team that closed the season with a ridiculous winning streak.

Guz, you better beat out Flop for the SS spot on our roster, I can stand to see that muppet playing for our team. I would be a crime against all of us who work hard at our jobs and get measly 3-5% raises each year.

Felipe Lopez kills my inner child.

and he wasn't even in SE DC!!

Seriously.



He should be ok for Spring Training, but C'mon. This guy is a freak injury magnet. I mean, the WBC thing wasn't necessarily his fault, but still. This is just crazy.

And now, the perfunctory Holiday-We're-Closed-sign-in-the-store-window post.

Hope everyone has a great holiday, and that you enjoy your time off. We'll still post should anything of grave importance occur, but I'd doubt it. Eat too much, and then pledge to eat less after the first. It is the natural way of the world.

Link.

We're being active, and that's good. I think I saw Pete Orr once in Richmond. I think he struck out three times. So, he's got that going for him.

And we've already covered the Return of the King, and how we're actually glad to see the man come back. So, I'm imagining that'll turn into a major league deal after Spring Training.

Pete Orr, on the other hand, looks to be a Columbus guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

According to the Nationals website, the Nats are targeting BOTH Jason Jennings and Mark Prior.

This would make this offseason an unbridled success, and if any news outlet said we didn't have the best offseason, they'd be lying to themselves. We've added youth, power, speed. We've also added experience and flexibility on the bench.

I know we've jumped the gun a little bit, proclaiming the NL East Wild Card winners already. If this move goes down, it goes in stone, and I am a believer in Trader Jim and Stan the Man. I'll turn into Nats320.

I HOPE that happens.

THERE IS NO WAY NOOKULAR LOGAN TOOK STEROIDS...NO @#$%ING WAY!!!

I find the notion that Nook Logan took performance enhancing drugs to be preposterous. It's obvious it didn't help him bulk up any, we've all seen pictures of the guy. Some people claim they take it to recover from the daily grind. But in Nook's case...WHAT DAILY GRIND! The guy played every other day, sometimes not even that much. If I were Nook, I'd be pissed. Not at George Mitchell anything like that. No, I'd be pissed at my dealer for selling me fake HGH. Cause it clearly wasn't the real stuff.

I wish I had other stuff to write about, but there's nothing, absolutely nothing. Today Paul Lo Duca and Lastings Milledge were unveiled to the Washington media. You can dress em up but you can't take em out. Check out the banner shot from Nats.com


First things first, that guy in the background looks scary. I'm pretty sure he's a Marlins fan wondering what its like to actually sign a new player. Second, Trader Jim looks really pleased with himself. I don't pretend to imagine what's really going on in his head but I'm guessing its something along the lines of, "That's right Jimmy, you really duped em all this time. You're a god damn genius. No one does it better than you. Take that Reds! How's Gary Majewski doing? PWND!" Lastly, Mr. Milledge also looks mildly amused, but look at Lo Duca! I'm glad he could spare the time out of his extremely busy day to grace us with his presence. It's not every day you get to see a 4 TIME ALL STAR. I know you were just traded from a contender to the Nationals, but seriously, show some @#$%ing respect, at least paste on a fake smile.

You're not starting off on my good side Paul, not at all. If you're going to mope on stage, you might as well have just phoned in and placed a cardboard cutout of you on the stage. That is, if the Mets shipped us the one they used behind the plate last year.

Milledge on the other hand, I like your style. You already know how to give the media what they want, the almighty quote. "We're gonna go out there, we're gonna bust our tail and we're gonna win." Similar to but not quite as legendary as maybe my favorite sports quote of all time, "We'll take the ball, and we're going to score!" (oh, Matt Hasselbeck), but still, I like where his head's at. He's hungry for wins, which can only help.

From now until we're mathematically eliminated from the 2008 playoff race, the following statement will end all of my posts:

2008 Washington Nationals, NL Wild Card Winners!

This was mentioned casually in passing, in both Boswell's article about Lo Duca, and in Barry's Journal this morning. For those to lazy to click, both these gentlemen implied that their was an ever so slight possibility of landing Brian Roberts from the Orioles.

Sweet Sassy Molassy, I would make that trade in a minute. What trade? Any trade, getting Brian Roberts. Want Guz, Chief, and Maxwell? How about Lopez, Chico, and Rauch? Pena or Dukes as the deal breaker? Sure. Take em.

Roberts would be THE BEST ALL AROUND PLAYER ON OUR TEAM, instantly. "What about Zimm?" Zimm doesn't have the complete game that Roberts has, not to say that in a few years, he won't. Instantly, we have our MI defensive problem solved, we have a leadoff hitter with speed, and we've got a marquee name that can spray the ball, and should be a perennial lock for the All Star team. Ok, well, he and Utley can take turns.

I've already read in multiple places where people are saying that Angelos would never allow this trade to happen. That may be true. It doesn't mean I can't dream, does it?

According to Barry.

Well, the position is settled now, and I imagine that Flores will spend most of this year in AAA, playing every single day, and we bring in a warm body to backup Lo Duca for this one year.

I don't love this move, and I don't hate it. It's like signing Ray King.

This weekend...nothing happened.

It's been a slow weekend for Nats news and I was out of town for the weekend. Thus...no posts.

Last week was a week of highs and highs (we think). I think I speak for Jon in that I don't think we made one bad move. Ryan Church and Brian Schneider never figured in to our long term plans as a team so their departure isn't a huge blow. Were Church and Schneider really going to produce that many runs this year...I don't think so. The only player leaving for which I had any affinity is Jonathan Ablalalalaladingdong. He showed some sick stuff in his short stint with the big club and he could've been a major piece of our pen for years to come. But there can only be so many spaces for a spot lefty and Ray King takes up two and ate the third.

So the outfield has transformed from Pena, Church/Logan, Kearns into Pena, Milledge/Kearns, Dukes/Kearns. Which would you rather pitch to? Exactly. Pitchers don't care who you inseminated, beat, and or disrespected. They only care if you can hit. And the second group I mentioned hits better than the first. Case closed!

Okay I think I've beat this dead horse enough. The Nationals Report thinks Trader Jim is a genius and might be leading us to the promised land.

Your 2008 Washington Nationals...

NL Wild Card Winners!

We've got the stones to believe, DO YOU?

Disclaimer: I, Jon, share Kyle's enthusiasm, and depending on the way the rest of the offseason shakes out (signing some arms), I will be right behind him. If not...we'll see.

This is what I wanted to hear! The Nationals have signed Aaron Boone to be this year's Tony Batista with a 1 year, $1 million contract. As I mentioned previously, the anti-Red Sox karma is fine by me.

The news on WMP is a little more complicated then we thought it was last night. I'll let Barry break it down for you, legalese style:

They also agreed to the aforementioned extension with outfielder Wily Mo Pena, the one GM Jim Bowden said last night was innacurately reported by ESPN. The twist: Pena will get $2 million in 2008 -- thus avoiding arbitration and getting only a slight raise from his $1.875 million in 2007. But he'll have a mutual option for 2009. If the club picks it up, he'll make $5 million in 2009. If the Nationals decline, then Pena can pick up the option for $2 million.

Here's somewhat of a weird twist, considering today's earlier Rule 5 transactions, which I'll get into in a second.

Also: Ryan Langerhans brought back on a split major league/minor league deal. If he makes the big league club, he'll earn $500,000. He'd make $300,000 at the minor league level.

Ryan "If-I-Want-To-Palm-A-Basketball-I'd-Need-Langer"-hans, the lefty who doesn't hit his weight. Seriously. Hit .167, weighs 205. I'd lose some weight, if he's not gonna hit better just to avoid that distinction.

Rule 5 News: We picked two players, 1B Matt Whitney, who is a power hitting prospect that missed a year in the Minors after he broke his leg on a sprinkler head playing basketball (best run-on injury ever), and OF Garrett Guzman. Aside from the obvious clubhouse issue of having multiple Guzmanii, there is now a logjam in the outfield, even worse than before.

The Rule 5 draft has certain stipulations which I'm sure you are all aware, but in case you've somehow stumbled onto this blog from an odd google search, (You wouldn't believe the kind of search terms we get traffic from...particularly "ass apple" and "nipple"...weirdos) I'll break it down.
Each team fills up their 40 man roster with their 25 man active roster, and their high prized prospects that aren't quite ready yet. Every year, the Rule 5 draft allows teams to take unprotected players from other teams, under the stipulation that the player taken has to remain on the active roster all year. If not, the player has to be returned, and there may be a monetary cost too (although I'm not sure, and don't feel like looking).

The point here is, we've taken a 1B and another OF. One of whom is a lefty. In the Outfield, somebody has gotta go. It won't be Milledge or Dukes, because both don't have a high trade value. We just signed WMP to an extension, but similarly, his value won't fetch any high returns. That leaves us with Kearnsie. I've already said before , Kearns could be productive in the new ballpark. I think at the cost of his contract, we should keep him and send whichever of the new OF acquisitions doesn't pan out in ST to AAA. We could see if Langerhans has figured how to hit in the offseason (unlikely), see if there are any Lefty outfielders on the FA market that could be had on the cheap, or we could stick with Guzman. This last option is dangerous because of the lack of lefty bats, Guzman would get more at-bats than you like your Rule 5 pick to get (with Flores as an exception and not the rule). In my opinion, this was a stupid pick, and we should have picked up some players with non-guaranteed contracts so we're not hamstrung on keeping the guy on the squad the whole year because he has "potential" (a la Tony Blanco).

I like Whitney, only because he's younger than Tony Bats, and if he makes it through the season as a defensive replacement and pinch hitter, he adds to 1B depth in the minors, of which we don't have a lot (don't talk to me about Larry Broadway). I will miss Tony Bats and his running to first after being HBP and his occasional power shot, but we gotsta move on. This isn't the 2007 Nationals. This team might have a chance.

I'll write tomorrow about the Nationals relative gains in this not-yet-finished offseason, and maybe you'll be converted to our cult that thinks that next year, around September, we might be playing games that mean something.

It seems the earlier reports of the 2-year 7 million dollar WMP deal might have jumped the gun a bit. Seems there's a deal there but the terms may be a little different.

Svrluga is on the case!

Barry seems convinced we're pushing hard to sign Paul LoDuca to platoon at catcher with Jesus Flores. I'd rather we not, but what do I know, I've only never managed a professional baseball team ever. I do though, think of myself as the next Theo Epstein.

Regardless, I do not want him, not at all sir!

Edit: Well, you may not have to have him, sir.
YAYYY DAMIAN MILLER MAYBE!! What, was Benito Santiago unavailable?

UPDATE: LoDuca looks like he's moving north...FOR 5 MIL! REDICULOUS

Ladies and Gentlemen, Bloggers, Analyists, and Steve Phillips, I'm here today to tell you the State of the Nation(als) is strong! (Waits for applause)

Stan Kasten and I have worked together in a bipartisan fashion to make the moves that will make this group stronger, and help it compete in the new, globalized world of the National League East.

Just because we are better off than we were one year ago, doesn't mean we can relax. There is an Axis of Evil in our midst, and we cannot allow their acts to go unanswered. Omar Minaya, who I believe is from Azerbaijan or something, is a threat to our Nation(al) security, and he must be stopped. I received word from an intelligence report that Minaya has an evil plan to sign every hispanic player in the league, making a super-immigrant team that cannot be felled. We cannot allow that to happen. Well, he can have Felipe Lopez, but hands off our Jesus.

That brings us to another point. A lot of the "Media" has given this administration guff about signing players with troubled pasts. A lot of you know that I have a history of giving people second chances, and I believe very strongly in that. This team is about forgiveness, understanding, and togetherness. Oh yeah, and winning. But for all the naysayers that claim that Mr. Milledge and Mr. Dukes are a danger to the clubhouse, and to society at large, I offer you this solution. We have Jesus on our team. Well, we actually have two Jesus'. Jesuses? Jesui? Anyway, we've got the J men to help these kids find the path. Barring that, we've got Da Meat Hook, who will simply eat any one or thing that hurts the team (or gets in his way to the Pre-Game spread).

We aren't done making this team better. We are linked with Livan Hernandez, Bartolo Colon, and other fat guys whose names I can't remember at this moment. This brings us to the most important aspect of this State of the Nation(als). My "Roadmap for Victory in the NL East Mission Accomplished America" plan. Please pay attention and take notes, as there will be a quiz at the end.

1. To finish first in any category at the end of the season. Now, the Liberal media will tell you that the only categories that count in this business are Wins, Losses, Home Runs, etc. I don't think that's the truth. We could lead the league in weight. We could lead the league in felonies. We could lead the league in outfielders. There are opportunities out there, and my job is to explore those.

2. To get ejected more often. With Robert Fick gone, and Dmitri's diabetes-rage under control, we've got to lean on the new guys and Manny to get the job done. Everyone knows that ejections get shown on Sportscenter. We've gotta compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in media coverage, and this is one way to get this accomplished.

3. To spread Nationalocracy all over the world. We've been talking to some Japanese relievers at the Winter Meetings, and Stan is very keen to sign some players from Asia to expand our fan base. But I say, Asia is just the beginning. That's why, I will ask Major League Baseball to authorize funding for a Spring Caravan to Mars. It's one thing to be a global brand, but it's entirely different to be a Universal brand. Take that, Red Sox.

4. This last initiative is already underway and showing signs of success. Bob Boone and the Nation(als) Intelligence Agency have come up with an important discovery that could move the Nationals into first place, forever. The NIA has come up with a brainwashing device that makes teams act like the Kansas City Royals (spending no money, and trading away any and all talent). The early success story is obviously the Florida Marlins, trading away Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. There are, unfortunately, side effects and unintended consequences. As you may have noticed, the device's emission have floated into Kansas City, and have turned the Royals Front Office into the New York Yankees Front Office. We are sorry for this mistake, and we have crews working around the clock trying to fix this problem. Stan Kasten wanted me to say that he's sorry to Andruw Jones. He'd never be headed to KC if we hadn't used this device. But this device is good for the Nation(als), and its good for America.

In closing, I want to thank you, citizens of the Nation(als). You have shown your support by watching this team, when we had Jason Simontacchi pitching, and D'Angelo Jiminez batting. You've shown commitment, and an unwillingness to Cut and Run, even when Ryan Langerhans is hitting. We will reward that commitment by cutting payroll, and trading your fan favorites. Granted, these trades may have made us better, but I can assure you, that was not our intention.

Good night, and God Bless America.

Just a quick rundown of the "Winter Meetings Checklist" posted on Nats.com last week and what can be checked off:

More starting pitching:

Half Check! Tyler Clippard from the Yankees. Youth talent but nothing proven yet. More importantly no innings eater yet. I'm still holding out for Livo.

Leadoff Hitter:

Nothing! There aren't many true leadoff hitters out there on the market but anything is better than what we've got. Problem is that the defensive lineup seems set, so who would squeezed out for a leadoff hitter...I predict 2B. Its going to be a tough find though.

Center Fielder:

Check! The Nats have acquired both Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes through trades. Both come in with some questions about character and none about talent. Hopefully a change of scenery will provide both with new life.

Power Hitter:

Check! Both Milledge and Dukes have above average power so it seems as if we're trying to kill two birds with two stones here. Neither have played full major league seasons though so the breath is still being held on this. Smart money is on at least one or both working out.

Most Nationals fans that I know are pretty familiar with the names Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes for various reasons. The same cannot be said though for Tyler Clippard. All you ever hear Yankee fans talking about is Phil Hughes. So I'd like to take a moment and go around the blog nation and give you a little taste of what people are saying about our new pitcher. BTW, here is his myspace page...lame.

Pending Pinstripes:

Clippard throws a fastball from 88-92 mph, throwing all of his body at the batter to create some mild deception. He backs it up with very good curveballs and change-ups...Clippard was 22 years old and was just the 2nd or 3rd High School pitcher in his draft class to make it to the majors. That’s impressive. I like the way his secondary pitches work when his fastball can be located.

Fire Joe Torre:

A lot of ballclubs would take Clippard's mind blowing second half and set him up in the major leagues right away. However, Clippard is a finesse pitcher. Finesse pitchers take a little longer than power pitchers to adjust to new leagues...That is not a knock on Clippard - as he is only 21 years old.

Baseball America:

When Clippard is on, his biggest strength is his ability to keep hitters guessing.

Moreover, if you look at the stats of Clippard, you'll see that he's consistently thrown 150 innings every year for about 4 years now (~130 in 2007 due to moving around in the system). With his finesse pitching style, it seems as if he's going to be a durable guy. This bodes well for his future in Washington, where it seems the rotation is survival of the fittest at times.

Many out there are giving Albaladejo no play in this story, simply putting him a "a reliever" and therefore a wise more for the Yanks. What they're missing out on is that he's a good pitcher. Watch some of his film from last summer/fall and you'll see some nasty stuff out there. His career K/IP is nearly 1 and his WHIP in the majors is a minuscule 0.63. This is no chump we're sending the other way. I see him becoming a mainstay of the Yankee pen for the next few years provided he doesn't implode under the pressure.

I chalk this deal up as a win/win on both sides. The Nationals are absolutely stacked in the pen. It's the only reason we were able to win as many games as we did in 2007, especially with the starters only giving you 5 innings night in, night out. The Yankees, have a dearth of talent in the pen sans Joba (who looks to be in the rotation at the moment) so this trade makes sense all around. I'm excited to see how Clippard progresses this spring and look forward to cheering him on at stadium to be named later.

Nationals trade Reliever Jonathan Albaladejo to Yankees for Tyler Clippard.
Link

Again, full break down on this tomorrow, but initial reports are...YESSS!!! We just swindled my other favorite team, but I'm ok with that because the Yankees needed bullpen help as bad as we needed a Starter.

Tyler had one major league start that was epic. He struggled afterward, but this kid has the stuff. This team is getting better by the day.

KEEP GOIN JIM!!

Link

I could say more, and I will. But for now...

Everyone else is talking about the Elijah Dukes trade so peer pressure mandates that I chime in with an opinion on it. The way I see it is this: I'd be pissed too if I had to play for the Rays. Look, how angry would you be if you toiled years in the minors only to be brought up to a major league team who has never even sniffed third place in their division. Now I'm not advocating killing your kids unless they really piss you off, but I'm ready to give the man a chance. We're batting 100% in restoration projects so far so why not.

Message to all you Dukes haters out there (this means you, every blog in the Natosphere Update: Except Banks of the Anacostia):

Let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone. We all have done, or know someone who has done some really stupid things. Maybe you got your girlfriend pregnant in high school, maybe you drove drunk and crashed your car. I don't know. All I know is that you weren't poor (allegedly), given millions of dollars and then told to never do anything wrong...ever...or else. Short leash...fine, but you don't know the man. So I'm giving him a clean slate, as should you all!

Elijah Dukes, he of the gun-picture message, of the chest bumping in the Dominican League, is a Washington National in exchange for a PTBNL.

Keep yourself informed here for now, Kyle will be on here later with the run down.

UPDATE: PTBNL is Glenn Gibson a la ESPN

Some quick stats:

Drafted in 2006, 4-3 record in 12 starts, with a 3.10 ERA. This is guy is young talent, and part of the Vermont Lake Monsters pitching staff that performed extraordinarily well the first half of their season.

Baseball America:

Background: The son of former major league lefthander Paul Gibson, Glenn showed off his superior feel for pitching at short-season Vermont. He might have been the New-York Penn League's best pitcher until his final two starts, when he tried to pitch while sick and saw his ERA balloon from 1.74 to 3.10. It was later discovered he had mononucleosis, causing him to drop about 20 pounds and reversing his solid progress in the weight room.

Strengths: Gibson's savvy makes his stuff play up. He pores over hitting and pitching charts before every start so he can exploit weaknesses, and he mixes speeds and locations very well. He can throw his plus changeup in any count for strikes, his slow downer curveball can be above-average at times and his fastball can touch 91 mph and has late movement.

Weaknesses: Gibson's fastball sits in the high 80s and isn't overpowering, which limits his upside and margin for error. He still needs to add strength to his frame, particularly his lower half, to improve his durability and velocity.

The Future: Gibson is ready for a full-season league and should begin 2008 in low Class A. He looks like a safe bet to reach the big leagues as a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Snap judgement: This isn't exactly Dukes fornothing as it was rumored to be. Gibson isn't one of the high profile names, but he was number 8 prospect and this guy did say he was going to kill his wife, and it could be assumed he meant it. This is the classic "troubled player with loads of talent for talented youngster who won't develop for years" trade, and sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. This does bring up a quandary of too many outfielders in the mix, as all of the players we picked up need playing time to be effective. The smart thing to do would be to send the odd man out to Columbus for seasoning (my vote for Dukes), and let the remaining players start almost every game. The likely thing is that AK, as well as Cordero or Rauch are on their way out of town. I hope not, because AK's home-away splits last season were night and day, and this guy needs a chance to hit in a non-death valley.

Take a quick poll of "baseball people" around the league and the opinion on the Nationals is still pretty much the same as it was two years ago. Some talented players, but farm system is understocked and there's no end to the suck in sight.

Along comes Bill James from SI givin' us some love!

13th in the league in young talent, and they're only talking about players ON the roster. That's top half of the bigs people, 14 spots higher than the Yankees. This year, wild card, next year, World Champions!!!

I possess the skills of a soothsayer. I called for this move, not more than 3 days ago on BPG (I'm GUZMANIA2K7), lo and behold, it occured.

The King is back. This is fantastic news to me, because this guy is LIGHTS OUT against lefties.

How lights out you say? .161 BA against. Way too many walks at 4.8P9, but thats ok.

As long as King is used as a LOOGY exclusively, he has a great deal of value to this team.

We can ship him out again at the deadline as we did last year when we got a Single A power bat. He's the new Mike Stanton.

Welcome back, big guy.

So before today, almost ever Nats fan I know believed that Jim Bowden was headed to baseball's winter meetings to shake a few hands, share a few pints (and not drive afterwards), and to lowball every team in the bigs. And in true Bowden fashion, he has calmly cracked open a few dozen eggs and gently placed them on all of our faces.

Lastings Milledge is a National.

Here's the tale of the tape folks. In exchange for a player once described as "untouchable", the Nationals will be without the services of OF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider.

I'm excited to see that we're not going to just sit on our hands this winter but this trade carries some large risks with it. That being said, it also had tremendous upside.

Here's how it could go wrong:

The Nationals start the season with essentially another starting rotation of relative unknowns. The staff is still extremely young and its another year of on-the-job training. This year though, instead of the guru Schneider mentoring the staff and calling the games, a young Jesus Flores will be behind the plate. Never having played a full season as a starting catcher in the bigs, Flores loses respect of the staff, becomes impatient at the plate (Schneider was no better at this), and ineffectively calls the games. All the offense in the world can't save bad pitching, unless you have ARod. The improvements shown by last year's staff are all but erased this year and the Nationals are yet again relegated to the rally cry of "Lets not be last!" in September.

Here's how it could go right:

The Nationals sign a veteran starter to anchor the staff and provide some leadership (Hello Livo!). Jesus Flores continues to call effective games and in turn gains the trust of the young pitchers we will no doubt have starting for us this year. He also continues to improve at the plate, while showing off that uncanny knack for the clutch hit. Lastings Milledge integrates seamlessly into the outfield alongside Willy Mo Pena and Austin Kearns (maybe, but more about that later), and the nationals now have 3 relatively young bats with pop in the OF. Sounds like something we can build around for sure!

Three's a crowd

One of the problems I foresee in this deal is that it does not practically fulfill one of our off-season goals, find a CF replacement for Nook Logan. Milledge has the tools but hasn't played there in a few years. I insinuated earlier that we could possibly see an OF of Pena, Milledge, and Kearns. So there are some options here. First off, there's nothing saying that Kearns will be back this season. Bowden loves his former Reds and to be honest I am a Power Kearns fan and believe we should retain his services. That said, he did have a pretty bad year at the plate and he could be gone. The option I prefer, however is to see Kearns shift to center, and we plug Lastings into right. Kearns has not exactly been known for his range but he's got a cannon for an arm. I think with a full pre-season of preparation to play CF, he could be a valuable asset there. Think an Alfonso Soriano redo.

At least we're not being idle

If we're to believe the Nationals website, Stan is interested in COREY FREAKING PATTERSON.

I'm here to tell you, this is unacceptable. I'd rather have Nook Logan start until a kid is ready. In no way do I think Corey Patterson is worth more the $20. Let's look at his stats, shall we?

-Career BA: .258 with a .215, .276, and .269 the last three years. That looks nice doesn't it?
-He strikes out once every 4.3 AB. Not horrible, but nothing to be excited about, or anything you want your leadoff hitter doing. HELLLLOOOO Brad Wilkerson with no power.
-He steals some bases. Woopty do. Again, so does Nook Logan, and he's basically free.
-Career OBP: .298, with the last three years: .254, .314, .304. Awful.
-Here's another good one. Walks. Last three years: 23, 23, 21. So he doesn't hit, doesn't walk...

Basically, this guy has no business on a major league roster. In fact, looking at his numbers, I don't know how this guy has gotten two contracts. Didn't GMs learn anything about fast not being the most important thing when they used to get sprinters to be pinch runners, and they sucked? Guess not.

Please Stan and Co. Anybody but Corey Patterson. Anybody. Look at David Dejesus. Mike Cameron. Rocco Baldelli. Carl Crawford (I can dream).

WHOA. Just saw something...Patterson is a Boras client. Did we need anymore reasons not to stay away from this joker?

DOUBLE WHOA. Didn't see this before...

In other news, the Nationals need help off the bench, and infielder Aaron Boone could be a great fit. However, Nats assistant general manager and Boone's father, Bob Boone, said his son may want to look at a place where he would start the season as a utility player and then start playing on a regular basis, which happened with the Marlins last year.

Boone played in 69 games for Florida and hit .286 with five home runs and 28 RBIs. He was playing on a regular basis at first base before a left knee injury in late June put him out for the rest of the season. Boone's father said the infielder's knee is 100 percent healthy.

"I think he would really help our club with his ability to play all the infield positions," the elder Boone said. "When you go and build your bench, you want to have people where [you don't have much of a fall-off]. When you look at it that way, Aaron fits the bill. There are so many things we have to put together [in other areas of the team] before that would happen."

GET THIS MAN A CONTRACT. If only for the positive karma, and the anti-Red Sox juju.

Winter meetings are about to start which means its once again time for Jim Bowden to get beat up in the media over his wheeling and dealing tactics. But this is not what this post is going to be about. That I reserve for another time...if I feel like it.

No, this post is about the new stadium. Since I'm too poor and live too far away from season tickets, I've got no gripes about ticket locations or prices or anything of that sort. What I really wanna know is what our new home is going to be called. Right now we're still stuck with boring old Nationals Park. Now my vision isn't so clouded as to think that the Lerner's have enough money not to sell the park's naming rights, therefore naming it after some historic figure of Washington baseball/political history. (Johnson Park anyone? Perhaps Banneker Field) But I sincerely hope they think of the fans even the slightest when they make their decision as to who to sell the park to. To demonstrate my point, I've complied the list of what I think may be the 5 worst names for professional sports stadiums. I'm also included offers that teams received for naming rights.

1. Pink Taco Field
2. University of Phoenix Stadium (The name chosen over Pink Taco)
3. Gaylord Entertainment Center
4. Angel Stadium of Anaheim
5. Jobing.com Arena

I'm not going to even discuss the first one. Parents, if your kids ask, tell them its a fast food chain; that's it, that's all. Second on our list looks innocuous at first...until you realize that its not on the campus of UoP, but is the stadium of the Arizona Cardinals professional football franchise, thus creating mass confusion for us all. As for the third spot on this list, I know its juvenile and stupid to laugh at the name Gaylord, but you were thinking it too. Number 4, thank you for reminding us that you're in Anaheim and not LA but that you want to be from LA but not lose your roots in Anaheim...of Anaheim. Last but not least, I'm not sure what Jobing is, but I'm pretty sure its illegal in at least 5 states.

So c'mon Ted, don't let me down. Let me walk to the park with my dignity intact, which is much more than I can say for the residents of Phoenix.

If you have any ideas for what you think we should name the new park, send em in, we'd love to hear from you. Plus, we'll pass them on the owners, as soon as I tape the list to a brick and throw it threw Ted Lerners' window.

Thanks to the always well written, and almost always funny Sports Bog, I found this story.

Highlights:
Colin Cowherd claims Sean Taylor basically had it coming, because he used to be hood. Also, people can't change. And he's omniscient. Oh, and he's blatantly ignorant on race issues. Some quotes...

Sean Taylor, great player has a history of really really bad judgment, really really bad judgment. Cops, assault, spitting, DUI. I'm supposed to believe his judgment got significantly better in two years, from horrible to fantastic? 'But Colin he cleaned up his act.' Well yeah, just because you clean the rug doesn't mean you got everything out. Sometimes you've got stains, stuff so deep it never ever leaves.

Stains.

I didn't grow up African American. I grew up middle class. I wanted Stephen A.'s perspective on the story. And during this story I leaned on Stephen A., Michael Wilbon and Jason Whitlock for a perspective I don't have. You walk around ESPN, it's in the halls, on the posters, Diversity, Capital D, big letter. You know why Diversity's really important at ESPN, a big company? Because it gives you more people with unique perspectives. And if you're a growing company, you want to stay fresh, you need to have a 23-year old Hispanic gal or guy tell us what's going on in your community. Asian, white, black, Hispanic, everybody, new voices, young voices, old voices. You walk the halls of ESPN, it's the United Nations. It's great. Canadians, Hispanics, Europeans. They give us a perspective we don't have.

I didn't grow up black, I grew up (tax bracket). Get it? It's racist madlibs.

What a putz. I always disliked him, but now he goes in the pantheon of Assaholic ESPN personalities, joining Jim Rome and Orestes Destrada. What you say? Orestes never did anything to nobody? Well, I don't like his first name, and his suits are ugly. SO he goes on the list.

Hey people that still read this blog!

I know it's been a while since we've been regularly updating, and we have our share of excuses. Lack of exciting news, for one. But, others manged to keep the embers burning. So, we won't use that excuse.

The purpose of this entry is to tell the people still reading this blog what we plan to do to make this blog more "necessary".
-Mondays will be for Weekend recaps, and looking at our current roster.
-Tuesdays will be looking at Nats Prospects.
-Wednesdays will be focused on our Divisional rivals.
-Thursdays will be a blog roundup.
-And Fridays will be a weekly recap and whatever else we feel like putting in there. Other than that, we'll post on a weekend if something exciting happens, other than that, this space will be quiet on weekends. Feel free to come and comment (yeah right), and we might have some other plans to make it worth coming to the page. Stay posted for that.

The weekly schedule will start next week, coinciding nicely with Winter Meetings. Come back then for a new, revamped Nats Report.

It could happen...

in MC WORLD!!!!

A nice little post about our favorite pitching coach, the man that turns shit to...something less valuable than gold. Maybe Iron? I dunno. RANDY ST. CLAIRRRRRRRRRE.

Kudos to Federal Baseball.

Today I bring you glorious news! The Great MIKE BASCIK could be back with the club next year!
I hope he's in Columbus, but maybe that's just me.

Next week, we sign ARod, and move him over to short, pushing the Guz over to second.

Now we're talking.

A Nats News Dump:

73 wins means this team couldn't have gotten any better coaching. I guess.

Da Meat Hook is the Comeback Kid. Twice.

Torii Hunter likes Washington. But he likes money more.

Nationals hire minority. This is news. I guess.

Guy with totally awesome name is new Assistant GM. I wonder who our assistant to the traveling secretary is? Wonder if they get tired of people thinking their job is funny?

That's about all you're gonna get for a little while. Don't see us signing A-Rod, and FA signings are unlikely for quite a while. When we get a brand spanking new redesign, we might feel more inclined to be all post-y.

What can you say? I guess you can say a lot of things. 73 wins is 16 wins from 1st in the division. That's a lot of wins. 21% less wins in fact.
The Plan provides for developing young talent, not overpaying for FAs, and some other things that I can't really put my finger on. I do know this. For the Nationals to compete with the Mets and the Phillies in the next 2-3 years, a good portion of this team needs to go.
Schneider, Lopez, Belliard, Church, Kearns, Pena, and Logan wouldn't start on the Mets. And they shouldn't be starting for a 1st place team. They all have a few strengths, but they also have weaknesses that wouldn't be welcome on a World Series caliber team. From the reports I've read, almost all of our draftees are projected back end rotation guys. You can't win with four 5's. Let's hope for some magic, because to win a World Series, or hell, even to be in the playoffs, that's what it'll take.


THAT BEING SAID, I love the Nationals. I love how when they put together a little string, I lose all semblance of reasoning. Anyway, season's over. News will be posted, rumors will be posted, and we may expand the coverage of the site. Enjoy the winter everyone.

So, remember how Ayala closed last night?

Here's why...

Ayala was on only because, when the Nationals called down to get closer Chad Cordero to warm up, Cordero rose -- and promptly threw up in his glove. Save the jokes about how that's what the Mets were doing all week. This was a serious situation.

"It was kind of weird," Acta said.

Cordero said he hadn't felt bad all day. But when he rose to warm up, he felt something. Some vomit escaped. "I grabbed my glove," he said, "and everything else came out."

Um....

Turns out, it should be more like this...

I'm here to say that moments last night were an embarrassment.

The pick off of FLOP after 5 throws over.
2 backwards k's with men on base on three pitches.

The good news, I don't believe we'll be in last place. The Yankees are 1.5 games out, and I'll be seeing them in person next Saturday, hopefully with playoff aspirations on the line.

We're toying with a redesign for the offseason, we'll see how that goes.

Anyway. Hope you can make it out to one of the last baseball games at RFK. I won't be, but were I hope, I would be.

Update: Bob Carpenter is out. I'm not torn up about it, but since I don't know who's next, I can't really say anything about it. We'll see what comes of this. I like Don Sutton, a lot. I like Charlie and Dave, a lot. I hate Don Baylor. I hate Ray Knight. I hate Johnny Holliday. Get me Vin Scully!

Hothead has a limo.

Courtesy of Nats320. Our favorite.

Here we are, September. The end of the line for 86% of teams, and the beginning of the long, cold, baseball-less winter. At 63 wins, we are hardly world beaters. We are expectation beaters, which is a lot better than perennial expectation shortcomings (see: Washington Redskins). There are a number of interesting stories to watch in the next month. Here are a few of them:

1. The Starting Pitching Conundrum- The current rotation of Shawn Hill, Jason Bergmann, Matt Chico, Joel Hanrahan, and Mike Bascik (with Redding out of commission for a week)
will not strike fear into the hearts of the NL East. It does have the makings of being formidable though. Shawn "When Healthy" Hill has shown some large bright spots, and with his devastating sinker and some strong innings in Fall League, I see him at the top of our rotation next year. There are issues of durability, but I tend to believe that's going to be the way for pitchers from now on. The 200ip pitcher is a rarity now.
Jason Bergmann has been inconsistant, with 2 or 3 gems (with one coming on his last start) surrounded by average or sub average starts. He has tools, but has control issues at times. Again, for what he is, and what he costs, a solid number 4, and a speculative 2-3.
Matt Chico, what can you say? Should he have been in the majors this year? No. He should have been in Harrisburg to start, Columbus near the end, and maybe with a callup. But, he was in the majors, and led the team in starts. Impressive, don't you think? More than any other pitcher on the staff, Chico struggles with control issues, and they have bitten him on many occasions. And with low 90s stuff, and no devastating out pitch (though his change has been responsible for a lot of his K's), he needs to have tighter control. But hey, Tom Glavine approves of him, so we should too.
Joel Hanrahan needs to have a big September to stay with in the rotation next year. He's another pitcher who has had a few nice starts, but has yet to show that he's a pitcher that a team trying to move the next level needs. I think he'll be a stop gap until a young pitcher makes his way up in the end of next season.
Mike Bascik is not good. Next.
Tim Redding

needs to get healthy in a hurry, and he may find himself back with the Nats due to an awful FA crop of pitchers. I hope he does, because I like his stuff. I think he'll be in AAA next year though. So we'll see.

2. The Middle Infield Conundrum- We at the Nats Report obviously love the Guz with a passion likely reserved for his wife and mother. We await his return, and count the days until he makes his appearance this month. That being said, do we know for sure that this year marks the return of Guz's offensive prowess? No, we're not positive. We hope so. Know why? Felipe Lopez is a crappy shortstop. He doesn't hit enough to warrant his D, and supposedly is having attitudinal issues. Ronnie Belliard continues to hit, albeit not at his previous levels this season, and has been reasonably solid at 2b. Should he lose weight so his range improves? Hell yes. Will he? No. Do we have ANY serious middle infield prospects that could help in the near future? No. So here's my prescription, Play Guz at SS all season, hope that he has a killer year, and trade him at the deadline if there's a market for him, since he's in his walk year. Hope that a middle infield prospect has made himself available, and if not, go after a big, young name on the market. Find a fielding first 2b, and platoon him with Ronnie. Oh, and non-tender FLop.

3. The Walking Wounded- Nick Johnson. John Patterson. Alex Escobar (haha. I know). These men have had the luxury of stealing money from the Nats this year. Some of them have net millions. Some less. What to do with these welchers? Nick could rebound this summer, and I hope he does, because he's an OBP machine. This displaces Meat, but that's a problem I don't mind having. JPatt is a head case, and should be cut and resigned to an incentive laden deal. That way when he has "nerve issues" again, we aren't throwing money at the problem. As much as I've said how much I love Escobar, this man is an injury magnet. I don't want him around the other guys...on second thought...maybe he'll steal everyone else's bad karma. He'll ward off injuries from NJ. ESCOBAR FOR BENCH COACH!

4. The Rookies- How soon will the golden children make their appearance? Despite Bowden's lip service, I see 2 or 3 rookies on the 25 man next year. Maxwell as a 4th outfielder. Detwiler as the 5th starter. Alaniz or Albalamadamadingdong in the pen. Write it down.

Ok, I'm tired. What do you think?

Jesus Flores > Brian Schneider, at least at the plate. I wish the bigs were like my softball where you could hit whoever you want despite who you have in the field. Man is clutch. I will doodoo in the fondue if he is sent back to the minors next year.

Ray King to the Brewers for a PTBNL. This is good, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is he is old, and was picked up for nothing. Unless we got back beans, this was a smart move.

Enjoy the pennant chase, Ray!

GUZMANIA2K7 may NOT be over!!!

Also, Zimm loves his Sunday reds, as he wins another game.

Kyle might chime in with our thoughts on the Saturday night game we went to...needless to say, we were pissed about the results of the President's race. BOOO.