A Defector From The Evil Empire

Welcome To The Rebellion

The Nats made a fine move earlier today (although the official announcement won’t come until Friday at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, FL (the Nats’ Spring Training complex) by landing former Yankee Chien-Ming Wang.

Wang was called up in 2005 and went 8-5 in 17 starts with a 4.02 ERA. What followed were two spectacular seasons where Wang won 19 games in both 2006 and 2007 going 200+ innings both years (well, o.k. he only went 199 1/3 in 2007) and recorded sub-4.00 ERA’s both seasons as well. He finished second in the American League Cy young voting in 2006.

In 2008, Wang was named the opening day starter (essentially designating him as the team’s “ace). He was en route to possibly his best-ever season until a June 15th game at Houston against the Astros. At that point, Wang was 7-2 and the Yankees were cruising to an eventual 13-0 rout of the Astros. Wang, an American League pitcher not used to running bases, tore a tendon in his right foot sidelining him for the remainder of the season.

In 2009, Wang never got going and some fear that his foot injury caused him to over-compensate for his lack of power in his legs by overthrowing in his arm which led to a disastrous and injury riddled season.

He had season ending shoulder surgery in July of 2009.

Wang worked out for a bunch of teams just like Ben Sheets earlier this year before eventually Sheets signed with the A’s.

What the Nats are hoping for here is a return to form pre-injury. Shoulders are difficult to predict on recovery – as an example, Mark Mulder just retired at the ripe “old” age of 32 due to struggles with shoulder injuries. Still, Wang’s signing could prove valuable – he certainly has staff “ace” credentials and if he stays long-term he could be a very effective #2 pitcher behind Stephen Strasburg (provided he turns out to be all the Nationals hope for).

MLB.com writer Bill Ladson is reporting that the details of the contract are not yet disclosed, but some (Ken Davidoff of Newsday.com) are reporting that Wang’s deal is around $2,000,000 guaranteed with incentives to make much more (no link provided but it shows up on a google search).

If the numbers are right, this could be the steal of the century for the Nats if Wang can make 35 effective starts. And at the tender age of 30, Wang is entering the prime of a pitcher’s life and could help anchor this rotation for years to come.

In any case, Chien-Ming Wang goes from the Evil Empire to the Rebellion and just may be a very important piece in the quest for a Championship in the future.

Wh**ptee - D**

Two Cheaters Side-by-Side

I’m not going to jump up and down. I won’t.

I know the Nationals desperately needed an adequate back up catcher for Jesus Flores. I know they needed a catcher who could start for when Jesus Flores goes on the disabled list for an extended stay (like he has the past few years).

The Nats did that – and they did so by inking a sure-fire Hall of Fame catcher in the twilight of his career. Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

I put the “Pudge” in quotes not because he uses that as his nickname, rather because I cannot believe the media still has the audacity to use it. I mean, really, does this REALLY look like a guy who should be called “Pudge?”:

That doesn’t even look like the same guy. And don’t normal humans typically put on weight over the course of time. The dude’s 38 and looks like he lost 30-40 pounds in the past couple of years. This is a professional athlete who’s supposed to be building muscle and working out and he LOST that much?

If I were Carlton Fisk, I’d throw up in my mouth every time I hear that hack Karl Ravech from ESPN call Ivan Rodriguez “Pudge.”

I know it’s not been proven, I know I am only speculating and no, I cannot prove anything, but if steroids were to help any one position on the field more than any other it would be catcher – and Rodriguez played for the Rangers, the same team Jose Canseco was playing for when Canseco was handing out syringes like lollipops at a bank drive-thru window.

Again, no proof, but COME ON.

I appreciate that the Nats are trying to improve the team on the field and I honestly believe this move will help the team in a desperate need area. I will continue to root for the Nationals to improve, but I will NOT root for Ivan Rodriguez. I hope to God that Jesus Flores plays 162 games per season for the next two years and Ivan Rodriguez never sees the field. I know it’s unrealistic, but I don’t care.

Ivan Rodriguez will make the hall of Fame someday strictly because of his offensive numbers because that’s all that most members of the BBWA care about anymore anyway. They’ll overlook his laziness behind the plate in favor of that rocket arm that was bolstered artificially be steroids. They’ll ignorantly put him in failing to take into account that he probably would never have eclipsed the real Pudge for games behind the plate because the only way he could’ve possibly pulled it off was to inject himself with a substance that allowed him to do so.

Bully for you “Pudge.” You keep on sticking around and continue looking as skinny as a high-school freshman playing flute in the band while living the lie of an ex-steroid user. I’ll not root for you and I would sincerely hope nobody else in Natstown does either.

Today Is The Day

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia. - Charles M. Schultz

Today is the day. Either he does, or he doesn’t – Stephen Strasburg, that is.

The deadline to sign the players that teams drafted back in the first-year players’ draft in June is upon us. 11:59 p.m., Monday August 17th. As Julius Caesar says in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [Abridged] : “Why, that’s today!” - in reference to being reminded to “beware the Ides of March.”

I’ve heard the arguments for why the Nationals should, nay, HAVE to sign him: they failed to sign Aaron Crow (the colossal dumbass) last year, the team needs to make a statement that says they mean business in terms of building a winner, the team needs to tell its fanbase that it cares, etc. But I think they’re being held over a barrel by super-agent Scott Boras who is hell-bent on destroying the draft system and a player who seems eager to act as a pawn.

Rumors are abound about how much the team has offered, but the Nationals’ front office has publicly confirmed that the figure is the highest amount of money ever offered to a number on overall pick. And isn’t that the point? Every year, the number one pick should drive the market up, and the Nationals have stepped up.

To me, this kid just ain’t worth the headache. He alone is not going to turn this franchise around. Baseball is a team sport and the Nationals have a lot more problems that can be addressed. They need to shore up the defense up the middle. Next year, they need a high quality 2B and they need to get a player in the system who can/will replace Cristian Guzman after next year’s trading deadline.

They need to determine whether or not Jesus Flores can not only stay healthy, but continue to be a productive major-league caliber catcher.

They need to clean up the bull-pen. Is Mike MacDougal really going to be your closer? Is he capable? Will 10th overall pick Drew Storen be your closer of the future? Can MacDougal set-up? What about long relief?

Then there’s the rotation: Zimmermann = DONE for at least a year (probably two and possibly forever). Stammen = Detwiler = Martis = Mock = Chico = Balester = 4th and 5th starters. They need a bona fide ace and a #2 or #3 to go along with Lannan and see who shakes out of the remaining prospects to fill out the rotation (and that assumes Strasburg signs).

If the Nats dump $17+ Million on Strasburg, the front office may be hesitant to add too much in the free agent market (plus, there’s that statement from Kasten indicating the team will NEVER address the pitching problems in the free agent market). For my money, I’d rather see what the Nats can do about getting a front-line starter via free agency and let Strasburg pitch in Indy ball or even in Japan.

In the end, Boras works for Strasburg and not vise-versa. If the dollar figure continues to climb and the kid still goes unsigned, I can’t blame the Nationals because they broke the bank for the kid; I can’t blame Boras for trying to get every dollar he can for his client (although filling Strasburg’s head with grandiose ideas can’t be in his client’s best interest). Nope, I blame Strasburg himself. Get in, get your money and GET TO WORK.

Look at Aaron Crow from last year. He’s already lost money and value by pitching in the Indy leagues and now he’s still holding out for more money from the Royals – HE STILL HASN’T LEARNED. He’s not going to come close to earning what the Nats offered him last year and HE’S GOING TO TRY IT AGAIN!?!?!?!?!?

If Strasburg is really going to be this stupid, then I’d rather the Nats move on and get someone with a good head on their shoulders and not someone who wanted to take some time off and enjoy a lengthy summer vacation while his agent did the “work” which got us to this point.

If the Nats don’t get Strasburg, it’s not the end of the world.

Pirates Will Challenge Nationals For "Championship"

Wait, Who Plays 1B, 2B, SS, LF, CF, RF, SP, RP, Bat Boy For The Pirates?

There is an interesting “pennant race” developing that not many people are talking about: The Race For The #1 Pick In 2010. The Nationals looked like they had a stranglehold on this race, but recent events leading up to today’s trade deadline have the Nats in serious jeopardy of losing this race.

Here are the standings as of today:

Team..............................Record.........Games “Behind"

1. Washington Nationals . . . . 32-70 . . . . . . . . --
2. Kansas City Royals . . . . . . 40-61 . . . . . . . . 8.5
3. San Diego Padres . . . . . . . 41-62 . . . . . . . . 9.5
4. Cleveland Indians . . . . . . . 42-60 . . . . . . . 10
T5. Oakland Athletics . . . . . . 43-58 . . . . . . . 11.5
T5. Pittsburgh Pirates . . . . . . 43-58 . . . . . . . 11.5
T7. Baltimore Orioles . . . . . . 44-57 . . . . . . . 12.5
T7. Arizona D’backs . . . . . . . 44-57 . . . . . . . 12.5

While at first glance it looks as though the Nats have this one in the bag, in the last 10 games they actually “lost” ground in the standings by picking up one game on Arizona; two games on each of San Diego and Oakland; and three games on Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The only team they “kept pace” with is Cleveland.

We need to handicap this division and look at our chances here in “The Division of Suck”:

1. Washington Nationals. Current frontrunner and defending champions. The Nats have made losing an art form early this season. However, the lack of moves near the trade deadline gives this handicapper pause. Are the Nats serious about backing up their Strasburg pick with Bryce Harper or not? Seems to me they could be off-loading what little talent they have if they were.

2. Kansas City Royals. Perennial doormat. Always a threat in the Division of Suck and the only reason they are so far back right now was they had a torrid April going 12-10 and ending the month on top of the AL Central. In the end, I think the Royals can’t even LOSE the right way and end up a distant third in this race.

3. San Diego Padres. Pre-season favorites for the Division of Suck with the sale of the franchise up in the air and the pending Jake Peavy trade (that never happened). After a decent start though, Peavy ended up going down with an injury and hasn’t pitched since June. Now comes the rumor that the Padres lone offensive talent, Adrian Gonzalez, is about to be traded to the Red Sox. No Peavy + no Gonzalez = INSTANT CONTENDER.

4. Cleveland Indians. So much hope and so much promise. So little delivered. This team went into the season looking at the MLB playoffs, not the MLB PAYOFFS. The Indians have already traded Ryan Garko and now their ace Cliff Lee. Rumors have Victor Martinez possibly moving before 4:00 p.m. today. Can that be enough to make up 10 games in the Division of Suck standings? I think so.

5. Oakland Athletics. Well, they trade FOR Matt Holliday in the pre-season to avoid being in the Division of Suck. Now they traded AWAY Matt Holliday to win the race. Don’t know if they can make up 11 games though. They do play the Mariners a bunch of times……

6. Pittsburgh Pirates. THE DARKHORSE. Ladies and gentlemen, I challenge you to name all nine starters of Pittsburgh’s opening day roster. Go ahead. I’ll wait…… You only came up with four or five names didn’t you? Well, don’t worry, they don’t play for the Pirates anymore anyway. Any recognizable name that was on the Pirates earlier this year is now gone. Away: Freddie Sanchez, Jack Wilson, Tom Gorzellany, Adam LaRoche, that other guy you could name. Hell, even the Nationals got Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett. This team is my sleeper and YES I think they can make up a measly 11.5 games with Lastings Milledge playing LF for them now.

7. Baltimore Orioles. I think the O’s end up in last place in this division; in fact, if the Blue Jays trade Roy Haladay I think the Orioles move into the American League East and the Blue Jays move into the Division of Suck. The Orioles have way too much talent to win this division.

8. Arizona Diamondbacks. With the Rockies coming back to earth, I predict the D’backs move out of this division and into the major leagues again. Too much pitching to be here but the fact that Brandon Webb hasn’t pitched certainly helped them get here.

In the end, I still think the Nats wind up near the top. 8 ½ games clear of the next “best” team is a lot of ground to lose. Of the teams here I think the Pirates have the best shot and the Nats play the Bucs starting tonight. If the Nats can pull of the sweep of the team that apparently would sell their sister into prostitution if they could, I bet the Pirates can pull it off.

So, who do you root for here?

A Veteran Speaks - Does the Team Listen?

Josh Bard Offers Commentary On The State of the Nats on XM Radio

This morning, Josh Bard was interviewed on Baseball This Morning – an excellent radio show on XM channel 175.

The hosts wanted to ask Bard (who has been on successful teams like Boston, Cleveland and San Diego all when those franchises were winning ball games and contending for playoff spots) what it would take to turn the fortunes of the Nationals around.

One of the hosts, Buck Martinez (a former catcher and manager himself) pointed out that Bard offers the Nats some much needed leadership and a veteran presence in a crucial position on the field.

When asked about what the Nats could possibly do to take an abysmal season and draw any positives that could help the team going forward. He said that the team needs to forget about what’s happened to this point and start doing some of the little things right. It may not pay immediate dividends in terms of wins and losses, but the mentality of the club will change.

“We’ve got to get back to fundamentals,” Bard said. “When you have a young pitching staff like we have, you have to play good, solid, fundamentally sound defense and ensure that every time they make a good pitch an out will be made behind them.”

Very sound advice indeed. The way the Nats have been playing lately I wonder why anyone would want to pitch for them. Cristian Guzman looks like he regrets signing that extension and Ronnie Belliard appears to be moping around the dugout and looks dissatisfied with his diminished role. Julian Tavarez also looks like he finally woke up from that drunken stupor and realizes he did, in fact, go home with the fat chick from the bar.

Bottom line? We aren’t talking about professionals here. These are guys who would rather be elsewhere. Bard made reference to the attitude of a professional athlete.

“Playing good defense isn’t going to get you a big contract,” said Bard, “but it sure does help a team win ball games.”

One of the hosts then asked him about that philosophy: how does a ball player set aside personal financial gain in order to play for championships.

“I know no other way than to play to win,” said Bard. “When I was in San Diego, I learned from guys like Mike Cameron and Trevor Hoffman who taught me about all of the little things to show your teammates you care about the team. I mean Mike [Cameron] always gave up his body whenever he had the opportunity just to make an out and show his pitchers how much he wanted to help them win. Trevor taught me about playing hurt and giving of your body to help the team.”

So with that, I propose a serious overhaul and we need to dump Guzman as soon as anyone offers us more than a used jockstrap for him and Belliard needs to go as well. I believe both could be valuable elsewhere: Guzman doesn’t have the range for a long-term solution at SS, but if he can find a niche on a team in contention now, he’s certainly a good hitting SS and can help a team in need at that position; and if Belliard can ever learn to accept a backup role or if he can find a team in desperate need of a 2B full-time for a short period of time, he’s be useful to that team. But on a team with a 26-62 record, they appear to be collecting paychecks.

Julian Tavarez needs to go. He shouldn’t even be on a major league roster. I can’t believe someone out there would actually give up a wooden nickel for him so it’s time to cut ties and move on.

Go with Alberto Gonzalez and Anderson Hernandez at SS and 2B respectively and we’ll have solid defense up the middle with Nyjer Morgan in CF. Bard can be the infield leader behind the plate full-time (even if his defensive skills have diminished, he makes a great leader behind the plate and certainly has more pop in his bat than Wil Nieves). Live with Willingham and Dunn in the corner OF spots until you’re forced to trade Nick Johnson and then move on of them to 1B and call Elijah Dukes back up.

The Nats truly are at a crossroads. They are relying HEAVILY upon young, impressionable players and having guys around them like Guzman, Belliard and Tavarez who are aging veterans going through the motions teaches these kids the wrong way to play.

If the Nats want to break the culture of losing, it’s time to cut the losers before you turn all of these future Nats into losers.

Me and My Blog

Well, I thought I’d go ahead and give this whole blog thing a try.

So here’s the “rules” for my blog (at least as far as rules go for blogging):

1. I am a fan of the sport of baseball first and foremost. I live close to Cooperstown, NY and I enjoy reading about and researching the historical background of the game. At the end of the day, I root for baseball to succeed everywhere it is played: from little league to the Major Leagues and everywhere in between – professional and amateur.

2. I am a fan of the Washington Nationals. Sounds weird, I know, living in Upstate NY; but that’s me. Here’s the story of how I became a Nats fan: I grew up on Cape Cod surrounded by Red Sox fans. My father’s side of the family were from New Hampshire and grew up all Red Sox fans. My father (who’s middle name is Ferris as he was named after Red Sox pitcher “Boo” Ferris) decided he wanted to be different from everyone else and decided on his own to be a Yankee fan in New Hampshire. It was made easier by the fact that the Yankees were historically the best team at the time he was born (1940’s) and continued to be even until today. My mother’s side of the family was from the Washington, DC area – and as a result they were all either Senators or Orioles fans. When the second incarnation of the Senators moved to Texas, the remainder of the family became Oriole fans. Because I identified more with the mom’s family than with the dad’s family, I became a Redskins, Capitals and Bullets fan; but my father was the one who really liked baseball and got me into the sport I love so much today, so I decided to take on the Yankees as my favorite team, despite not liking the American League style of play. The 1980’s were some really lean years for the Yankees and the Red Sox fans (most of whom I considered “friends”) really let me have it (despite the fact that even then, they had a 60+ year drought of championships). I finally got my day in the sun in 1996 when the Yankees won it all and built a team with a core group of guys who were really worth rooting for: Jeter, Williams, Pettitte, Rivera, O’Neill, Martinez, etc. Then the downward spiral began. They started trading away their good young players and pillaging other teams by buying up superstars. They offended my sense of fair play. They cobbled together rosters with big names and no substance. They spent like drunken sailors and failed to care about the sport in general (a practice ongoing today). It got to the point where I actually rooted FOR THE RED SOX in 2003 because I was just so sick of it by that point. It was then I knew I needed a change. So in 2004, the announcement was made that Washington, DC was getting a baseball club, it was a natural transition for me – and as luck would have it, I could dump the American League altogether and get myself a National League team. I’ve been hooked ever since and despite their lackluster record in DC so far, the Nats are my team now and I never again want to ever acknowledge that the Yankees matter.

3. I do have other teams I follow because I either always have or have found something worth keeping track of: (1) The Los Angeles Dodgers – the Dodgers were my dad’s National League team so they’ve stuck with me. (2) The Pittsburgh Pirates – I loved Andy Van Slyke, Doug Drabek and the early 1990’s Pirates. It breaks my heart to see them as the joke they are today. (3) The Houston Astros– the Astros are the parent club of my local A-ball affiliate here in Troy, NY (the Tri-City ValleyCats) so I follow them and the players that come through Troy. (4) The Baltimore Orioles – essentially leftover from my mom’s rooting interest.

4. I follow some players as well – players who I believe are great players or great ambassadors for the game of baseball. Right now they are Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki, Brad Ausmus, Jason Varitek, Dustin Pedroia, Derek Jeter and there are more I’m sure I’ll pine about in the weeks, months and years to come (provided I continue on that long). Historical players that were my favorites for various reasons: Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Sandy Koufax, Cal Ripken Jr.,Walter Johnson, Mike Schmidt, George Brett and others.

5. I play baseball in an amateur league in based in the Albany, NY area and I reserve the right to self indulge every now and then and talk about my experiences on the diamond myself – both past (high-school, college, semi-pro and amateur) and present; perhaps even future.

So that’s it.

I also have a wife and three kids (my oldest son who is six recently went to his first-ever Major League game – April 19th: Nationals v. Marlins, pictured above) and I may talk about them from time-to-time as well.

At the end of the day, I hope to keep this blog about Nationals baseball, though. I really follow the Nats more than anything else. It may prove difficult over time as one with a young family and a budget to follow closely. I don’t have the MLB Extra Innings package or MLB.tv yet. But I do have XM radio and listen to most games on XM radio (by the way, after listening to most every team’s radio crew, I believe Charlie and Dave are two of the best in the business). So I’ll try to reflect on what I see and hear when I can and comment on the State of the Nationals as best as I can given my limited documentation. I’ll also pledge not to be a mouthpiece for the organization and express my thoughts as candidly as possible.

Right now, the team ispretty bad (historically bad, you might say) and I’ll offer my thoughts on how to change things for the better and hopefully by 2009 I’ll be writing about a team headed for prosperity.