More Bowden on Bowden

Jim Bowden continued his review of the job he did this year with his analysis of free agents, released player signings, Rule 5 draft picks, and waiver moves. He starts with his gold star free agent signing, Esteban Loaiza. No arguments from me, that was a fantastic deal. He moves on to the most frequently criticized signings, Cristian Guzman. Here is where Mr. Self-Indulgent comes out in full force. Bowden describes Guzman as

one of the worst free-agent signings in baseball. However, his solid defense helped key our first-half stay in first and his impressive September gives us hope he can return to the solid performer he was in Minnesota.

I beg to differ with his argument of solid defense. Guzman played serviceable defense, at best. He would make the spectacular play at times. But all too often he played indifferent defense and made a large number of errors on routine plays. Nick Johnson bailed him out on more times than I can count with scoops of low throws. Looking at qualified NL SS (2 GM per 3 team GM), Guzman ranks 13/15 in SS fielding percentage in the NL. He was tied for 3rd in errors committed by NL SS with 15. He was 11/15 in range factor ([PO+A]/innings played). And he was dead last in Zone Rating (The percentage of balls fielded by a player in his typical defensive "zone," as measured by STATS, Inc) among NL SS. Next he discusses Vinny Castilla. I agree that his first half offensively was solid, and is not far from end of season expectations. And, his defense at 3B was very good. Among qualified 3B, Castilla's fielding percentage is 2/9, his had the second fewest errors, 6/9 in range factor, and 5/9 in Zone Rating. His knee injury really hurt not only him but the team. Bowden mentions that two teams have already inquired about his availability. I think he's blowing smoke, but I'll wait and see. The one thing he fails to acknowledge in the Guzman/Castilla free agent signings is the fact that he surrendered 2nd and 3rd round draft picks to sign them. That is way too often glossed over by Bowden. The Nationals farm system needs help. Badly. And by signing the guys when he did, he cost the Nats a chance to replenish the farm system. I really want him to address that aspect, but know he never will. He briefly discusses Tony Blanco and Ty Godwin, the Rule 5 (not V) draft picks. He says they were "...solid selections. But they'll be hard to evaluate until they're major league ready in another three years. Both have potential." Godwin is honestly no better than an AAAA OF. But he spent the season in New Orleans after a deal allowing the Nats to assign him to the minors. I have issue with his selection of Tony Blanco, who wasted away on the bench, robbing the Nats of the opportunity to promote an arm or a bat when it was needed. The reasoning? Bowden had no chance of consummating a deal with the Reds, his former team. Apparently, there was bad blood which forced the Nats to hold onto a player who was not ready. Why the Nats didn't find a phantom reason to place him on the DL is beyond me ... other teams do it. He only mentions Hector Carrasco and Mike Stanton as released player signings. Carrasco was a great find, though I still view it as a lucky, great find. And Stanton's signing needs to be couched with the fact that his acquisition led the Nats down the road that led to the loss of Sunny Kim. The acquisition of two prospects from the Red Sox yesterday helps a little bit, but it's still a move with questions. He closes with the two pitchers he lost for nothing, Claudio Vargas and Sunny Kim. Here is exactly what he had to say.

Lost Claudio Vargas to Arizona. He pitched well at times but still had an ERA over 5.00 and was just a .500 pitcher. His right elbow was an injury risk, but this move could be evaluated either way. He was out of options and not pitching well for us. Lost Sunny Kim to Colorado. This move, if evaluated right now, would be called a mistake. But if Blanco becomes a 30-homer, 100-RBI guy in 2007 or '08, then it will have been the right long-term move.

That's news to me about Vargas being out of options. According to what I can find, Vargas only had 1.157 years of service time. From what I know about options, he could have been sent down. This may be an outright lie from Bowden. Comparing losing Kim to keeping Blanco is disingenuous. If you want to stick to the comparison, I'd argue that you could have done both. It was at this time that Blanco was experiencing vertigo. Bowden could have hid Blanco on the 15-day DL given that it's difficult to prove a player has fully recovered from vertigo. Personally, I still believe that Sunny Kim was lost in exchange for holding onto Mike Stanton, which was not necessarily the best move. But in both cases, he fails to address the biggest question. For a team bereft of high minor SP options, why would you drain the pool even further? As proven by the late season scramble to find any SP, this was a critical mistake that damaged the team's chances at competing for the Wild Card. For as much as yesterday's article seemed reasonable to me, this article is patented PT Bowden. ----- UPDATE: Mea culpa. It appears that Vargas burned up his remaining option years while with the Marlins. I stand corrected.

Nats Trade for Prospects

The Red Sox acquired Mike Stanton from the Nationals in exchange for two prospects, RHP Rhys Taylor and RHP Yader Peralta. Given that this is basically a three game rental for the Yankees series, the term prospects is probably a bit generous.

Taylor, 20, went 2-2 with a 1.49 ERA in 11 games (5 starts) for the Red Sox's Gulf Coast League entry this season in his professional debut in the United States. Taylor signed with the Red Sox as a non-drafted free agent after pitching last summer in the Australian Summer Baseball League. During his 11-start stint in the GCL, Taylor posted a .209 batting average against and walked just 1.7 batters per 9.0 innings. The 19-year old Peralta went a combined 2-3 with four saves and a 4.57 ERA (23 ER/45.1 IP) in 27 games out of the bullpen for a trio of Red Sox affiliates: Greenville, Lowell and the GCL Red Sox. In three professional seasons, Peralta's ERA is 3.33 (50 ER/135.0 IP).

I don't know much about either prospect. Guys over at Yuda's have uncovered this about Taylor.

According to the man who signed Taylor, Jon Deeble - the Australian Olympic baseball coach who is also the director of Pacific Rim scouting for the Red Sox - Taylor is potentially one of the best pitching talents Australia has produced in some time. "There might be a few kids around who could throw as fast as him, but there would be none who are faster," Deeble said yesterday. What impressed Deeble was obviously Taylor's fast ball, but also the fact that at only 17, he already stood 187 centimetres and was likely to grow more. "Back then, he was 81 to 83 miles per hour (130-134 km/h) and now he is up into the high 80s and we see him filling out nicely in the body," Deeble said. "He's six three now (191 centimetres) and only 154 pounds (70 kilograms) and we see him getting a bit taller and being 224 pounds (102 kilograms). "I just think he has got a good arm and good free lose delivery. Obviously, he's a project for us, but hopefully he can add a bit of muscle and I think he can throw in the mid-90s (150 km/h), which is a good above average major league fast ball."

Nats in the Instructional League

Hat tip to Scout.com who has the breakdown of what Nationals' prospects will be making the trek to the Dominican Republic for the 7-week Instructional League beginning October 7.

Baseball America - Carolina League Top 20

Baseball America touches on their Carolina League Top 20 prospects. Three Nats make the cut. 7. Armando Galarraga, rhp, Potomac 15. Kory Casto, 3b, Potomac 17. Frank Diaz, of, Potomac UPDATE: Nats Q/A today produced these Nats related ones Q: Who would u think is a better Pitching Prospect In the Nat orgnization Gallaraga or Balester or who has more potential A: I'm a HUGE Galarraga guy. Just the body, the ultra-clean delivery, electric stuff and the competitiveness—it's all there. I'd take him over Balester. Q: Did Casto's age work against him in any kind of a major way? A: It did, but not that much. He would easily be tagged the most improved player from a defensive standpoint in the league this season. You almost have to throw out his age when considering how much time he’s spent at third base, so he's on a different timetable than most. With Ryan Zimmerman in the organization though, all that work at third might go to waste. I smell a position change here, mainly because you can't ignore Casto’s bat. Q: Who's is the better defensive shortstop Ian Desmond or Robert Valido? A: Valido is leaps and bounds ahead of him, though he's a year older. Desmond wasn't overly impressive in any phase of the game, and though defense is his calling card, managers crushed him in this league. Valido did it all for the entire season, and if you're ranking SS in this league, Desmond is probably no. 5 or 6 on that list. Q: Correct me if I am wrong But are you saying that Armando Galarraga is the Nats best pitching prospect ahead of Michael Hinckley and Daryl Thompson? A: I think he's ahead of both those guys right now, but you're forgetting about Clint Everts. Q: what about, in talking about nat's pitching prospects, michael o'connor (who was the nationals minor league pitcher of the year)? - and, lastly, any love for josh whitesell and salomon manriquez? A: Michael O'Connor has solid stuff, big swing and miss fastball. He's a top 30 guy in my opinion. Whitesell got some love, but was behind Head at first base. Manriquez had an outstanding offensive year, not so much with the defense, but the bat really came to life. I need to see more out of that production to believe it's for real though.

Bowden on Bowden

EWWWW! The headline in the print version doesn't paint a very good visual. Thankfully it's just Mr. Self-Indulgent slurping himself in this week's Examiner article. Bowden will spend the next two days reviewing the moves he made. Today he focuses on his trades and the draft. Juan Rivera and Macier Izturis for Jose Guillen. Bowden gives the trade a thumbs up. I'd agree with him but would have liked him to address an aspect of the deal that is often ignored. How much better are the Nationals with Guillen than they would have been with Rivera and Izturis? Offensively, the Nats had the clear advantage in the deal: Guillen 282/337/476 260TB 24HR 76RBI in 546AB Rivera 272/318/447 148TB 13HR 54RBI in 331AB Izturis 253/307/355 66TB 1HR 15RBI in 186AB However, how valubable would the MI Izturis have been with Vidro's injury and Guzman's season long struggles? Would it have been worth accepting the downgrade from Guillen to Rivera? I realize hindsight is 20/20 but given the machinations Bowden had to go through to acquire any MI (it ended up Junior Spivey), having someone like Izturis around would have been nice. But in the grand scheme of things, the deal was a success. Marlon Byrd for Endy Chavez deal was a clear steal for the Nationals. Byrd has proven himself a solid RH half of an OF platoon. No worse than a #4 OF. Tomo Ohka for Junior Spivey. This is one of those deals that, given Ohka's performance in Milwaukee, looks terrible. But given the position the Nats were in MI-wise and add onto that the fact that Ohka had worn out his welcome with Frank Robinson and Randy St. Claire, I think it was a deal that made sense at the time. Zach Day and JJ Davis for Preston Wilson. I'd agree the deal was a success for the Nats. But I'd argue that it was not necessarily the deal that Bowden needed to make. Bowden locked his sights on Wilson early in the season and refused to alter his course. Yes, the Nats needed some punch offensively. Yes, Day had conflict with Frank Robinson (noticing a trend?). Yes, JJ Davis is nothing more than a Triple-A OF. But, the Nationals had an abundance of OF at the time of the trade and the more glaring problem was offense from MIs. I doubt Day/Davis would have brought a MI of note, but there were other pieces he could have moved. We will never know if there was a MI out there that could have helped, but it's a question for Bowden to answer. Bowden wraps up with his perception of the 2005 draft. There, shockingly, I think he's selling himself a bit short.

The evaluation of our entire draft however, might be determined if we are able to sign our fourth pick, Justin Maxwell.

I wouldn't go that far. I think he did a good job given just the selection of Ryan Zimmerman. If anything, he should have said the evaluation of the entire draft might be determined by how the other 19 signings perform. The MLB First-Year player draft is honestly a crapshoot. First round picks flame out (Matt Anderson, 1997 1st pick of the draft) and later round picks excel (Mike Piazza, 62nd round pick of the 1988 draft). Zimmerman has had a meteoric rise to the majors and has put himelf in a position to compete for a starting spot in 3B. All in all, Bowden is not as self-indulgent as I expected given the headline. We'll see if the modicum of modesty remains tomorrow when he reviews the Rule 5 draftees (Ty Godwin and Tony Blanco) and waiver moves (Claudio Vargas, Sunny Kim, and Ryan Drese to name a few).

Final AFL Slot Filled

The Nationals will be sending LH SP David Maust to the Arizona Fall League as their sixth representative. The 26-year old Maust spent his third season no higher than Double-A Harrisburg. In 26 games (14 starts), he was 5-4 in 100.2IP with an ERA of 2.36 and a WHIP of 0.92. He had 7.0 K/9IP, 1.3 BB/9IP, and 0.6 HR/9IP. Maust is joining SP Josh Karp, RP, Chris Schroder, 1B Larry Broadway, 2B Brendan Harris, and 3B Ryan Zimmerman (who will take two weeks off before arriving in Arizona, Tony Blanco is rumored to take his two weeks of AB).

Farm Authority Report - Top Triple-A Prospects

I'm going to start my review of the Nationals top prospects with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs.

Background: I considered hitters that played roughly one-third of the time or more, this allowed me to consider players who were promoted multiple times during the season. With regards to pitchers, I focused on SPs who started roughly 10% of the games or more; and RPs who appeared in roughly 20% of the games or more. Players will only appear in one top prospect list though I may comment on guys who made an impact (be it positive or negative) at other levels.

Top 5 Zephyrs Hitting Prospects

1. Brandon Watson OF - The 23 year old finished 355/400/419 in 88 games in New Orleans. His appearance at #1 is more a function of the fact that the Nationals lack major league prospects at the Triple-A level. I have written about Watson before. His 355 BA was buoyed almost entirely by singles (113/132 hits) and he does not draw a large number of walks (28BB in 372AB). He also needs to become more selective stealing bases as 31/44 is not the greatest SB %. If Watson can continue to hit the ball on the ground, learn to take a walk and use his speed, I believe he has the ability to be a serviceable leadoff hitting CF.
2. Brendan Harris 2B/3B - The 25 year old had a respectable 270/329/417 in 127 games in New Orleans shifting between 2B and 3B. Harris has adequate power (including the only PH HR for the Nats this year) for a 2B, not so much as a 3B. His performance at 3B is not necessarily important as Ryan Zimmerman is the future there. He showed some ability of knowing the strike zone (40BB/77K). His biggest hurdle will be getting the Nationals front office to notice him. He apparently doesn't give them the impression that he is capable of handling 2B defensively in the majors. The Nationals are sending him back to the Arizona Fall League (302/358/469 in 2003) where he will be playing for Nats bench coach, Eddy Rodriguez. Hopefully, he'll have the opportunity to assume a role similar to Jamey Carroll in 2006.
3. Rick Short IF - The 32-year old Short is hardly what anyone would call a prospect but the numbers he put up at New Orleans (383/456/569) are hard to ignore. Short showed moderate power (11HR), amazing strike zone control (46BB/27K), and flirted with 400 through mid-August. His storybook season had its ups (RBI single in his first major league AB, HRs off of Dontrelle Willis and John Smoltz) and its downs (demoted back to New Orleans immediately after his first hit and most depressing, separating his shoulder on a play at 2B when Frank Robinson finally gave him his shot). Assuming his recovery from shoulder surgery goes well, Short needs strong consideration for Carlos Baerga's PH/utility IF spot in 2006.
4. Tyrell Godwin OF - I'm stretching the definition of prospect for the 26-year old Rule 5 draft pick from the Blue Jays. He has a similar skill set to Brandon Watson (321/387/443) with a little bit more power (9HR) and a little less speed (22/34). I'm not sure where he fits in the Nationals' future plans as he is ideally a #4 or 5 OF which is a position the Nationals are already well-stocked.
5. Matt Cepicky OF - I'm once again sticking with the very loose definition of prospect with the 27-year old Cepicky. The LH OF had fairly average numbers in New Orleans (269/347/477) but failed to produce in his limited exposure in Washington. His season ended with a knee injury in New Orleans.

Top 2 Zephyrs Pitching Prospects (In all good conscience, I can only come up with 2 legitimate pitching prospects in New Orleans)

1. Jay Bergmann RP - The 24-year old Bergmann had a breakout season between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A New Orleans. In a combined 74IP, Bergmann excelled with a 1.11 WHIP, 2.19ERA, 9.2K/9IP and 3.5BB/9IP. He showed the ability to both pitch in middle relief as well as closing out the occasional game. With Luis Ayala recovering from elbow surgery (bone spurs), Bergmann should be on the short list of RPs competing for a spot in the 2006 Nats bullpen.
2. Travis Hughes RP - The 27-year old Hughes was claimed off of waivers from the Texas Rangers. The hard-throwing RH RP made 52 appearances (59.2IP) for New Orleans with a 1.21 WHIP, 3.02 ERA, 11K/9IP, and 3.8BB/9IP. Hughes is yet another RHP option for the 2006 Nationals bullpen. Whoever the GM is should take note and realize that there are choices in-house for relief pitching and focus available dollars on SPs.

Special Mention: Chris Schroder SP, the 27-year old Schroder was selected for one the 6 available spots in the Arizona Fall League (AFL). I cannot really understand why as his numbers between Harrisburg and New Orleans were terrible, 1.46 WHIP, 6.26 ERA, 2.0 HR/9IP, and 5.1 BB/9IP. The only positive was his 11.2 K/9IP. My only guess is the Nationals are going to try him out as a SP and will use the AFL to see if he has the endurance and ability.

Youth Will Be Served

The Nationals defeated the Giants 2-0 driven offensively by Ryan Zimmerman and Rick Short. How about that? Frank Robinson trotted out an apparent 'white flag' lineup comprised of the likes of Gary Bennett catching, Deivi Cruz at SS, Carlos Baerga at 1B, and a slew of inexperienced players in the remaining spots. And they won. The offense was spurred on by Ryan Zimmerman and Rick Short who went a combined 4/7 (out of a total 8 hits) scoring both runs with Short delivering the GW RBI. Imagine that, Frank finally relented and played Zimmerman. Do you think he knows what the kid gives him? Is he getting a good read of what he's capable of doing? Zimmerman handled himself admirably at the plate, he struck out twice but he did not get cheated in his other two ABs ripping two solid singles and starting the Nationals rally in the 7th. Maybe now that the Nationals are all but eliminated, Zimmerman will actually see regular playing time. Rick Short also proved himself worthy of a long look in the off-season. He is definitely not a defensive specialist, but it is becoming clear that he's more than capable with the bat. He could easily replace Carlos Baerga as the PH/Utility IF. Let's hope the Nats given Short a long look in the off-season. He's more than a good story, he's a good player.

Baseball America - Vermont Expos

Baseball America reviewed the NY-Penn League's Top 20 prospects. Once again, not Nationals made the Top 20. During a subsequent chat, Baseball America's Matt Meyers answered the following question regarding the Vermont Expos. Q: Thanks for the chat. The Nats are 0 for 2 so far on the top 20 lists. Anyone worth following from the Vermont club? A: Nice to get some international love, so I had to take this one. The Vermont squad has a few guys worth keeping an eye. The most obvious is Clint Everts who has as high of a ceiling of any pitcher in the Nats system. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is currently ahead of schedule. The Nats told him not to worry at all about results this season and just focus on regaining his arm strength. He hardly threw his curve or his change but the 5th overall pick from the 2002 draft should be back at full strength in 2006 and is just 21. Couple of position players worth mentioning are Francisco Plasencia and Dee Brown. Plasencia was one of the last cuts from the list and showed the ability to play a strong center field, hit for average and some power and steal some bases. He is certainly a talent and worth following. Brown is the son of the late Jerome Brown, an Eagles defensive lineman in the Buddy Ryan era that used to run the show in Tecmo Super Bowl for Nintendo, and he has some nice raw power.

I'll Believe It When I See It

From Barry Svrluga's Nationals Notebook:

With the Washington Nationals holding only the faintest hopes of reaching the postseason, Manager Frank Robinson said he might look at some of the team's inexperienced players. Of particular interest: infielders Ryan Zimmerman and Rick Short.

I'd place strong emphasis on the word might. -----

"Sooner or later, Zimmerman's going to start three or four ballgames in a row, and Short may start two or three, [Brandon] Watson one or two."

I think I'll keep that quote from Frank right next to my magic beans. -----

"But basically, you're going to see the same guys that have been here finish out the season."

That's the Frank we know and l... well at least we know him.

An Eye Towards the Future

What do you know, the Nationals were nice enough to put a primer of their off-season direction in today's Washington Examiner. Jim Bowden talks about who is arbitration eligible and who is a free agent from the Nationals, not to mention a brief description of Type A/B free agents. A conspiracy theorist could look at the names written and the order in which they were written and try to extrapolate the off-season direction of the Nationals.

Examples of Type A free agents are pitchers Kevin Millwood and A.J. Burnett and outfielders Johnny Damon and Brian Giles.

This is the second time Bowden has mentioned Burnett, Millwood, and Giles. Burnett and Damon will likely command the most on the free agent market and honestly should not be in the Nationals' plans. Millwood is an intriguing name but as fans of the Phillies will tell you, he's a crapshoot plus I don't believe he's worth surrendering a first round draft pick for. Currently, the Nats are not in the top 15 picks of the 2006 draft so their 1st round pick would not be protected. While Brian Giles is intriguing, there are two things that he brings that do not necessarily help the Nationals. First, he's 35 years old, not the age you want to bring into a developing team. Second, he's an OF, a position the Nationals seem to have an abundance of options.

Type B free agent (which would cost a second-round pick) would be pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Brett Tomko.

Tomko and Washburn also both make a second appearance. I would definitely consider both of these guys with one caveat to Bowden. Wait until after December 7, 2005 to make an offer. That would be the arbitration deadline, a date Bowden ignored last year whe he signed Vinny Castilla and Cristian Guzman thereby costing the Nationals a 2nd and 3rd round draft pick. He should talk to these guys but wait and hope their current teams not offer them arbitration.

The players we have eligible for arbitration are: Marlon Byrd, Luis Ayala, Jamey Carroll, Alex Escobar, Brian Schneider, T.J. Tucker, Brad Wilkerson, Nick Johnson and Junior Spivey. Only Nick, Brian and Brad have a chance of being awarded $3 million or more.

I don't see much to the listing here. Though I suggest you remember who Bowden highlights as the three players he believes will crack $3M in arbitration. My guess is one of them will be moved prior to 2006, most likely Brad Wilkerson, an OF who looks like he may age quickly with a quick skill drop-off who also happens to have Scott Boras as his agent.

Our free agent list includes: Esteban Loaiza, Preston Wilson, Tony Armas Jr., Hector Carrasco, Joey Eischen, Mike Stanton, Gary Bennett, Carlos Baerga, Deivi Cruz, John Halama, Antonio Osuna and Keith Osik. We'll rank these players 1-12 and when there's a new owner in place, we'll pursue the ones we want to re-sign. Some we'll want back; others we won't because maybe we can do better through our farm system, free agency or by trading.

Here is where my conspiracy theory kicks in full force. I could see that order above be the Nationals' preliminary wish list in order of preference. Loaiza is listed as a free agent because it seems apparent that Loaiza will not exercise his part of the mutual option for 2006 in hopes of signing a long term/higher dollar deal. I'd be wary to go anywhere beyond two years and no more that $3-3.5 million/year. Wilson being listed second is troublesome. He cannot be offered arbitration from a common sense perspective. According to the rules, he cannot received anything less than 80% of his 2005 salary in arbitration. That means he would have a minimum salary of $8M in 2006. Way too much. Additionally, if the Nats do not offer him arbitration, their window to negotiate is reduced down considerably, making a deal much tougher to complete. If Wilson is willing to come back for a 1 year/$4 million deal with some sort of option, he may be worth it. Otherwise, thank him for what he's done and move on. Armas. He has been nothing but a question for the Nats since he was acquired. Constantly injured and never living up to his expected potential. I believe it's time to let him go someplace else to see if he can live up to his promise. Carrasco. He has been a wonderful story for the Nats this year. He is yet another of the RHP RP salvaged from the scrapheap who pitches brilliantly. There are at least one or two of them every year. I worry that Carrasco's performance has set a salary expectation that makes his return on investment in 2006 too low to bring him back. If he's willing to come back at something of home team discount, maybe. But I agree with people (Yuda) who have said they expect a team like the Pirates will offer him a 3 year deal. If that's the case, pass. Eischen and Stanton are both LH RP, I see only one of them returning. Flip a coin. Draw a line after Mike Stanton. Everyone after that point is not coming back. The best thing that Bowden said?

...this won't change the way we build this franchise. We have to build through development like the small-market A's and Indians have -- whether it's by me or a new GM.

Let's hope this is true in an edited version:

...this won't change the way we build this franchise. We have to build through development like the small-market A's and Indians have -- [with] a new GM.

A Rare Appearance

It's good to know that Ryan Zimmerman is still hanging around. I got to watch a really good game from really good seats (thanks, DM) with an all too familiar outcome, a late inning collapse with a rally that came out a few inches short in a 4-3 Nationals loss to the San Francisco Giants. Let me get this out of the way first, I booed Barry Bonds. But I have to tell you that HR to the upper deck in RF was the hardest hit/longest HR I have ever seen in person. As much as many will not agree, I have to tip my cap to him. That was impressive. No surprise to anyone, Frank Robinson trotted out his veteran lineup again. They didn't show a whole lot against Giants uber-prospect, Matt Cain. The rookie RHP was certainly impressive, 7IP 4H 2R 2BB 7K. Fortunately for Nats' fans, Livan was more impressive (Bonds HR aside) until the 9th inning where he surrendered the eventual game winning HR to Moises Alou. The Nats tried to make a game of it in their final AB where Ryan Zimmerman was called upon to deliver in a critical situation and in my estimation, delivered. Zimmerman came to the plate with the Nats down 4-2, bases loaded, and 1 out against Armando Benitez. Zimmerman showed great patience working the count to 3-0 , taking a strike, and then following a fastball straight back to the screen, a clear indication that he had his timing down right. He followed that up with a SF to LF driving clsoing the gap to 4-3. This was my third time watching Zimmerman play in person and I'm drinking the Kool-Aid. This kid is good. Really good. He looks comfortable at the plate, rarely overmatched, and definitely not like someone who was playing college baseball three months ago. He didn't let the pressure of the situation impact his AB. He didn't let the pressure of 5 days of no game activity impact his AB. He didn't let the implied pressure from Frank Robinson and his disdain for younger players impact his AB. What he did was work a count to his favor and get himself into a position where he could drive the ball in hopes of scoring multiple runs. And he says the right things to the press. "I guess you could say I did part of the job," said Zimmerman, satisfied with the sacrifice fly but wishing he had singled in two runs instead (Washington Times). I am looking forward to what Zimmerman will do in Arizona and I hope he gets a legitimate chance at the 3B job in the spring. Because he is proving he may be this damned good.

Nationals Name Minor League Players of the Year

The Washington Times noted the Nationals had named their pitcher/player of the year.

The Nationals named third baseman Kory Casto and left-hander Michael O'Connor as their minor league player and pitcher of the year. Casto hit .290 with 36 doubles, 22 homers and 90 RBI for Class A Potomac. The 23-year-old infielder was the Expos' third-round draft pick in 2003. [The 25-year old] O'Connor went 10-11 with a 3.54 ERA and 158 strikeouts in 26 starts for Potomac. A native of Ellicott City, Md., he was a seventh-round pick in 2002 out of George Washington.

Both Casto and O'Connor will be honored before tomorrow afternoon's series finale against the Giants.

Baseball America - GCL Nationals

Baseball America has begun their review of the top prospects at each level in the minor leagues. No National was among the top prospects. I had a question answered by Allan Simpson Q: Is there any ray of hope coming from the Nationals players in the GCL? Did any of the 2005 draft picks surprise? Disappoint? A: Nationals draft picks didn't make much of an impact, but don't forget that Ryan Zimmerman debuted in Class A and is already in the big leagues, the team didn't have second- or third-round picks and fourth-rounder Justin Maxwell remains unsigned. Fifth-rounder Ryan Delaughter held his own, though he can be pitched to as he sits on fastballs. He hits the ball well to the opposite field, but scouts say his swing may need re-tooling. Keep an eye on RHP Andre Enriquez, a 14th-rounder whose fastball was clocked at 94.

Injury News

Left-hander Michael Hinckley, once considered the Nationals' top pitching prospect, saw Dr. Tim Kremcheck in Cincinnati, and it was discovered that Hinckley has a tight capsule in his left shoulder. Hinckley is expected to have surgery in the shoulder soon. Hinckley played for Class-A Potomac this season and went 3-9 with a 4.93 ERA in 22 games. He is expected to be ready for the start of Spring Training.

Know We Know

The Generalissimo finally gets the definitive answer to the question surrounding Ryan Zimmerman's playing time.

"I'm not trying to get him spots," Robinson said. "We're riding the horse that brought us here. The ugly girl we asked to the dance is the one we're going with."

While I don't agree with the answer, I understand it and now won't have to wonder why Zimmerman isn't getting any spot starts. Frank's loyalty is admirable and if I were a veteran player, it is a positive with respect to bringing players to Washington next year. If anything, the loyalty to Guzman and Castilla have demonstrated that if you are a veteran and you are promised a starting job, it's more than likely yours come hell or high water. I'm going to enjoy the ride over the next two plus weeks as the Nationals fight for the Wild Card spot. I won't kvetch about lack of playing time for Zimmerman or any other younger player. But once (a) the season ends or (b) the Nationals are eliminated, I hope that Frank realizes it's time to look towards the future.

Nats Farm Teams Fail to Reach 0.500

The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star thankfully touches on a topic given short-shrift by the local newspapers ... the Nationals farm system. They highlight the fact the Nationals farm teams went a combined 301-387, an 18 game improvement on 2004. While it would be nice to see the farm teams finish with a winning record, the primary goal of the farm teams is to develop players for the major league team. Winning records and playoffs are nice, but not mandatory. Regular readers know that I am no fan of GM Jim Bowden, but I have to agree with him on this:

In the minor leagues the most important thing is developing players. The reason I want to win is I want to develop winning players. So my philosophy is you develop first, but I want to the team to win. I want the players who are prospects and developing learning how to win.

If I were to place a percentage on the focus, I'd say 80% on development and 20% on winning. They mention a few players who had breakout seasons, including Savannah's Collin Ballester, Potomac's Frank Diaz and Kory Casto and Harrisburg's Armando Galarraga. I'd add Vermont's Francisco Guzman and Francisco Plasencia, Potomac's Ian Desmond, and Harrisburg's Vince Rooi. I'm working on an analysis of each team with highlights of which players moved into the spotlight and should be considered future prospects. The bottom line is that the Nationals still have a long way to go to just restore their farm system to respectability let alone to the level that produced Cliff Floyd, Larry Walker, Jose Vidro, and Vladimir Guerrero (not Pedro Martinez as the article mentions, he was a Dodgers find). Once again, Bowden sums it up best:

As far as the pool of players in our farm system, although it's improved, we have a long way to go and you don't redo a farm system overnight. You have to do it one draft at a time. So it takes four to five years to get it back to where you wanted to get it.

News & Notes - Frustrated by Frank Edition

Mark Zuckerman offers up some Nats notes in today's Washington Times. He touches on why Ryan Zimmerman continues to sit on the bench while Vinny Castilla plays.

Despite pleas from fans and the media, Robinson plans to continue starting Vinny Castilla at third base over rookie Ryan Zimmerman as long as the Nationals remain in the playoff race. Robinson acknowledges that Zimmerman, 20, at times has looked impressive since his promotion from Class AA Harrisburg. But the manager also has held firm to his long-standing belief that veteran players should get priority over rookies, especially at this crucial juncture of the season. "I think Vinny has the right to be out there if he's capable and wants to be out there," Robinson said. "I don't know what the kid gives me. I don't know what he's capable of doing. But I do know what Vinny is capable of doing. I guess you can call it loyalty. ... The kid will have his day."

It's Frank's illogical logic at work again. First it was Ryan Church cannot hit LHPs because he cannot hit LHPs. Mainly because he is never started against LHP (though he has done OK in a small sample size 345/406/621 in 29AB). Now it's he doesn't know what the kid gives him/is capable of because Frank insists on running his one-legged 3B out there every day. Yes, Zimmerman will have his day. That day will be the day after Frank retires/resigns/is fired. If anything has been proven this season, it's that pitchers aside, Frank is still stuck in a player's mindset rather than a manager's. A player believes that he deserves to play as a function of how long he has been in the majors. A manager can consider that, but bottom line is a manager needs to do what is best for the team as a whole. Frank will never do that. Both the Times and the Washington Post had not so good news about RP Luis Ayala. It is no big surprise that Ayala is done for the season because of a bone spur in his right elbow. A bone spur which can be tied almost entirely to his overuse/abuse by Frank. Ayala pitched all winter in the Mexican League and then was used 67 times (49 times before the All-Star Break). Frank's repeated use of Ayala, Carrasco, and Majewski definitely are cause for concern in the future. ---------- UPDATE: Chris over at Capitol Punishment says it much better.

Sigh

Now Boz knows how most of us have felt most of the season. Tonight's lineup versus the Mets: Brad Wilkerson, 1B Marlon Byrd, LF Jose Guillen, RF Preston Wilson, CF Vinny Castilla, 3B Deivi Cruz, 2B Gary Bennett, CA Cristian Guzman, SS Hector Carrasco, SP

The Kids Are Alright

First Boswell questions Jim Bowden's roster call-ups, now he's advocating playing rookies. Welcome to the Dark Side, Boz, we've been waiting for you. And better yet, he realizes one simple fact that "...the players about whom the Nats most desperately want answers -- Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Church, Marlon Byrd and ... Rick Short -- are also the players who give them the best chance to score runs for a change and maybe make some noise down the stretch." It only took him until the middle of September with less than 20 games remaining to realize that the typical everyday lineup for the Nationals cannot get it done. Be it injuries (Wilkerson, Vidro, etc), age (Castilla), or overall suckitude (we all know who that is), the lineup that Eddy Rodriguez gives Frank is barely adequate. While Castilla may still be solid defensively, his knee injury has turned him into a liability at the plate. He can still drive the ball but he cannot run the bases. In last Thursday's game against the Marlins, I watched Castilla drive a ball to the gap in left center, an easy standup double. But Vinny's gimpy gait made the play a whole lot closer than it should have been. I still believe Vinny can help the team, but it's best handled as part of a platoon with Zimmerman. Let Dutch get out there ... at third base ... at least 3 games/week. He already looks smooth with the glove. Marlins' manager Jack McKeon confirms it, "I've been watching this game a long time. Sometimes, you can tell just by the way they move, the way they react to situations. Zimmerman is going to be good." And he has held his own with the bat against Dontrelle Willis and John Smoltz. More playing time is only going to help. Many of us have been advocating regular playing time for Ryan Church and Marlon Byrd all year. Byrd cannot hit RHP (209/258/282 in 110AB) but can hit LHP (338/393/473 in 74AB). Meanwhile Church can hit RHP (291/342/451 in 213AB) and ... well, actually he can hit LHP too, when he gets the chance (345/406/621 in 29AB). Playing Church regularly against LHP might allow the Nats to see what they have. But if that's not the case, we know what Preston Wilson, a RH hitter, brings to the table and Brad Wilkerson, a LH hitter, is struggling with an arm injury. Perhaps allowing Byrd and Church to start a few games not only woldn't hurt but also might provide the offensive spark the Nationals need. First, Boz criticizes Bowden and Tavares. Now he's in support of playing rookies. Whatever will he do next? Frank Robinson better be looking over his shoulder, there's an angry old sportswriter waving his big foam finger closing in. -------- UPDATE: Basil over at Nationals Inquirer points out a great slam of Bowden. Give in to the Dark Side, Boz.

Maxwell Soon to Sign with Nats

Washington Nationals 2005 4th round pick, Justin Maxwell is expected to sign with the Nats some time next week according to Bill Ladson, Nats beat writer from MLB.com. Scouting Director Dana Brown was impressed with how Maxwell performed in the Cape Cod League (where they use wooden bats) and believes that Maxwell was worth the risk. Maxwell did not play in the CCL in 2005, but did in 2003 and 2004: 2003: 307/380/392 in 43G(153AB) with 2HR 16K 34BB 9SB in 11 attempts 2004: 263/386/382 in 17G (57AB) with 1HR 8BB 15K 9SB in 13 attempts [he broke a bone in his hand while he was there] Maxwell has been injury prone. Aside from his broken hand, he also suffered a broken ulna which curtailed his sophomore season at Maryland. If it were not for the injuries, Maxwell was projected as a late 1st/early 2nd round draft pick. It was this belief (as well as one year on college eligibility) that dragged these negotiations out as long as they have. If the Nats do in fact get Maxwell into the fold, the Nats will have signed an impressive 20 of their first 22 picks. The two who have not signed:

• 19th round pick HS RHP Bradley Clark who could still be signed as he has not committed to a 4-year college
• 23rd round pick Nebraska RHP Brett Jensen who has said he will return to college

This is definitely a good sign that the farm system is slowly being rebuilt.

Farm Authority Report 9/9/05

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 15-9]

• Final regular season game
• Mike Daniel LF - 2/3 1R 2RBI 1BB 1HR 1SF
• Clint Everts SP - 2IP 1H 2R(2ER) 5BB 2K 1WP

What Side of the Fence Are you On? Part II

One question answered. Two more questions created. Should he keep starting? At what position? Ryan Zimmerman made his first major league start last night against Dontrelle Willis and the Florida Marlins in a 12-1 debacle of a loss. The most interesting part of the game from a Nats perspective was that Zimmerman made the start at SS. After initially stating that it wouldn't be fair to start Zimmerman at SS, Frank pulled a 180 because, "From day to day, things change." I watched the first six innings and came away impressed. Zimmerman held his own in the field, actually making a couple of really nice plays. While at the plate, he looked OK in his 3AB versus Cy Young contender Willis, driving a double to deep CF, nearly beating out a grounder to 2B, and grounding into a FC. I missed the last 3 innings where Zimmerman made two fielding errors (one where the runner scored, the other allowed a runner to score). From reading through the game recap, I'm a bit confused why Jamey Carroll didn't take over at SS instead of 3B when Vinny Castilla was removed allowing Zimmerman to assume his more natural 3B. But that aside, I'm glad he finally got a chance to start. Now the questions begin. Should he start again today? While I was not a fan of bringing him up this year, now that he's up, absolutely play him 3-4 times per week. Let him get exposure to both tough starters (Josh Beckett today) and the not so tough starters (he should have started against Valdez on Tuesday). Where should he play? Apparently Jose Vidro's time in the field is done this season and the only other options at SS are Cristian Guzman (let's not go there), Jamey Carroll (not a full time player), and Deivi Cruz (which means Jamey Caroll, Carlos Baerga, or Rick Short start at 2B). Initially I was skeptical about playing Zimmerman at SS, but it might not be such a bad idea over the last 3+ weeks. I'd prefer to see him at 3B but if playing SS means he gets meaningful ABs in lieu of sitting on the bench, I'm all for it. One final thought, I heard him interviewed on the Nats pre-game show with Charlie Slowes. He is one of the more well-spoken 20-year olds I have heard in a long time. He seems to get it. He says the right things, "It was fun. I wish I could've done a little better." Maybe some of the comparisons are not too far off.

Farm Authority Report 9/8/05

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 5-3]

• Mike Daniel LF - 0/1 1R 2BB

What Side of the Fence Are you On?

The Virginian Pilot does a good job of explaining both sides of the argument. Should Ryan Zimmerman sit or should he play? As expected PT Bowden plays the role of hyperbole king:

"I told Frank today, the one thing you've got to do for me when you're making your decisions is look at Zimmerman not as a rookie but as a 10-year veteran. His makeup is not a rookie. Whatever you'd think of Scott Rolen if he was here, that's how you should look at Zimmerman. He will not panic in a clutch situation in the field or at the plate. ... Winners win, and he's a winner."

Can he please stop with the obsessive pimping? From what I have seen, Zimmerman appears to have the ability to be a successful major leaguer. However, he's 20 years old and has not even started one game yet. He'll inevitably have his struggles and hopefully he'll weather them an become a better ballplayer. But Bowden needs to ratchet back the PR blitz by about 95%. Then we are presented the 'old school' perspective from Frank Robinson:

"Would it be fair to put him out there ahead of these other guys who have played those positions for quite some time?"

Frank is a Hall of Fame player. I understand that. Frank knows more about the clubhouse politics/pecking order. I know that. But the one thing I do know is that if a player is injured or is underperforming, it shouldn't matter whether he has played for 10 games or 10 years. What matters is putting the best product on the field to win games. Especially in a pennant race. Vinny has been playing well over the past 18 games (309/356/418) but he is essentially playing on one leg. I don't think a game off twice a week is going to hurt the Nationals on the field. On the contrary, I think it will help them. Not only has Zimmerman shown he is capable defensively but he also has shown he is not overmatched as of yet at the plate. Additionally, allowing Vinny to sit twice a week will give him a chance to maximize what he can do when he plays, not to mention he provides a serious threat off of the bench as a pinch hitter late in games. I'll close with a quote from Zimmerman himself:

"It wouldn't be fair to the veterans and it wouldn't be fair to me, because that would put a lot of pressure on my shoulders. Not that I couldn't handle it. I wasn't expecting to come up and play every day. I don't think anybody gets drafted and thinks they'll be up that year. It just happened."

The kid gets it. I think Nationals fans should feel really good about the future.

NY/Penn League Player of the Week

Francisco Guzman, Vermont 6 G, 21 AB, 6 R, 11 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .524 AVG, .905 SLG When Guzman arrived in Vermont, the Expos were mired in what would become an eight-game losing streak. By the end of his first week in the lineup, the team had won four straight, matching its longest streak of the season. It may not have been all Guzman's doing, but the fact that he hit over .500 last week with six runs, two homers and five RBIs certainly didn't hurt. The 6-foot-4 outfielder started the week by picking up an RBI groundout as a pinch-hitter in the Expos' 11-4 loss to Oneonta, marking the only time in eight games with Vermont that Guzman has been held without a hit. From there, the 21-year-old hit safely in five straight games, including a spectacular three-game series against Tri-City, in which he was 8-for-11 with seven runs, a double, two homers and three RBIs. Guzman hit .344 in 40 games with the Gulf Coast Nationals before being promoted to Vermont.

Farm Authority Report 9/7/05

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 7-6]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 2/3 2R 1RBI
• Mike Daniel RF - 0/1

Farm Authority Report 9/6/05

September 5 was the final game of the season for New Orleans, Harrisburg, Potomac, and Savannah. Vermont's schedule ends on September 8. New Orleans (AAA) [Defeated Iowa 8-3]

• Ty Godwin LF - 2/5 1R 1RBI 1K triple
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B - 3/4 1R 1RBI 1GIDP
• Jon Rauch RP - 3IP 3H 1R(1ER) 0BB 2K

Harrisburg (AA) [Lost to Trenton 1-0]

• Josh Labandeira SS - 2/3 1K 1HBP
• Larry Broadway DH - 1/4 2K
• Armando Galarraga SP - 5IP 4H 1R(1ER) 2BB 2K; Win

Potomac (High A) [Defeated Winston-Salem 8-5]

• Ian Desmond SS - 2/5 1R 1K 1SB double
• Frank Diaz CF - 1/5 2RBI double
• Kory Casto 3B - 2/4 2R 1RBI 1K triple HR
• Josh Whitesell DH - 2/4 1R 1RBI 1K double triple

Savannah (Low A) [Lost to Augusta 5-3]

• Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 0/4 1R 1K 1SB 1HBP
• Devin Ivany CA - 1/3 1K
• Edgardo Baez RF - 2/4 1RBI

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 9-6]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 2/4 2R 1RBI 1HR
• Mike Daniel DH - 1/3 1R 2RBI 1BB 2K

Nationals Minor Leaguer Highlight - Hoosier edition

Seth Bynum gets profiled at Hoosiers.com. The 25-year old isn't really a prospect. He began the year in High A Potomac (179/237/286) and finished it in Low A Savannah (301/394/484).

Impending Roster Moves

Charlie Slowes announced that the Nationals would be making three roster moves after Monday's game. Coming up to the Nats will be RH RP Travis Hughes and aged CA Keith Osik from New Orleans and RH SP Darrell Rasner from Harrisburg. Hughes and Rasner are on the 40-man so do not require any additional moves. Osik will be added to the roster spot freed up by moving RH SP Ryan Drese to the 60-day DL with shoulder surgery. Hughes was unable to be recalled for 10 days (or the end of the Triple-A season) after being sent down last week. He will provide RH help in the bullpen as RH RP Luis Ayala will be undergoing an MRI on his ailing arm. The 24-year old Rasner, a 2002 2nd round draft pick, will likely assume Tony Armas spot in the rotation. Armas is going to Texas for a check-up on his shoulder. Rasner is a sinkerball pitcher with adequate control. In 27 games this year with Harrisburg (26 starts/1CG), Rasner was 6-7 with a 3.59ERA. In 150.1IP, he has given up 150H (10HR) while walking 29 and striking out 96. Think Zach Day (hopefully with thicker skin). He is probably a #4/5 SP at best but it will be interesting to see what he can bring to the Nationals down the stretch. Still unresolved is the roster move made to account for Kenny Kelly's addition to the roster.

Farm Authority Report 9/5/05

New Orleans (AAA) [Lost to Iowa 13-2]

• Ty Godwin LF - 3/5 1R 1RBI 1SB
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B/2B - 1/3 2K
• Brendan Harris 2B - 1/2 1RBI 1BB
• Bill Bray RP - 1IP 2H 4R(4ER) 2BB 0K 1HR

Harrisburg (AA) [Lost to Trenton 7-5]

• Josh Labandeira SS - 2/3 2R 1RBI 1BB 1HR double
• Larry Broadway 1B - 0/4 1K 1GIDP
• Danny Rueckel RP - 3IP 5H 5R(5ER) 2BB 3K 1HR

Potomac (High A) [Defeated Winston-Salem 6-1]

• Ian Desmond SS - 2/5 1R
• Frank Diaz CF - 2/5 1R 3RBI 1K 1HR 1SB
• Kory Casto 3B - 1/3 1RBI 2BB 2K
• Salomon Manriquez CA - 1/5 1K double
• Josh Whitesell DH - 1/3 1R 1BB 2K

Savannah (Low A) [Defeated Augusta 4-1]

• Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 0/4 2K
• Edgardo Baez RF - 0/3 1BB 2K

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Tri-City 9-2]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 4/4 3R 1RBI double HR
• Mike Daniel LF - 0/2 1BB 2K
• John Lannan SP - 7IP 7H 2R(2ER) 6BB 3K 1WP; Win

Well, We're Waiting

The Nationals pulled one out of the fire last night winning a game they should have won in 9 innings in 12 innings. Once again, a great outing by John Patterson was wasted (14 no-decisions this year!!!) Additionally, the Nationals once again had to use multiple arms out of their bullpen taxing an already overworked group of guys who have not complained. To recap ... Wednesday night, doubleheader versus Atlanta: Stanton, Majewski, & Eischen pitch game 1, while Stanton & Cordero go in game 2. Thursday night against Atlanta, Bergmann, Carrasco, Majewski, Stanton & Ayala pitch. Friday night against Philadelphia, Stanton, Eischen, and Carrasco pitch. Last night against Philadelphia, Eischen, Cordero, Majewski, and Stanton pitch. And still no help for the pen from roster expansion. Yet. But Bill Ladson mentions his game notes that help may be on the way.

With right-handers Tony Armas Jr. and Luis Ayala battling injuries, look for the Nationals to call up some pitchers, including Darrell Rasner and Travis Hughes, sometime next week. Rasner, playing for Double-A Harrisburg, is 6-7 with a 3.59 ERA in 27 games. He was the Expos' second-round pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft. He will likely be added to the rotation. Hughes has been with the Nationals twice this season, and has given up no runs in 4 2/3 innings. The numbers game is the reason he twice had to be sent down to Triple-A New Orleans. In addition, look for Jon Rauch to be back with the team. He is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A New Orleans and is doing very well. In six games -- five of them starts -- he is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

Some time next week? How about today?

What's on Second?

Apparently, Kory Casto.

The Nationals plan to convert Class A Potomac third baseman Kory Casto into a second baseman during the two-month long Dominican Instructional League that runs from early October to early December. Casto is hitting .288 with 21 home runs, 36 doubles and 88 RBI. "Every player has a purpose as to why we're putting them [in the Dominican Instructional League]," Bowden said. "Casto is perfect. We can move him from third to second because [Ryan] Zimmerman is going to be our long-term third baseman. I think it's going to help his development."

That is certainly interesting news. Casto was drafted as an OF in the 2003 draft, converted to 3B, and now is going to work at 2B. The good news ... the Nationals are actually showing some forethought in seeing if Casto is the heir apparent to Jose Vidro in 2 years. The bad news ... Brendan Harris should not worry about planning any visits to DC. I'll be interested to see how this works out. And how soon it is until Bowden starts the Rogers Hornsby and Joe Morgan comparisons.

Farm Authority Report 9/4/05

New Orleans (AAA) [Defeated Iowa 10-4]

• Brendan Harris 2B - 2/5 1R 2RBI 1K double 1HR
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B - 1/2 1R
• Josh Karp SP - 5.2IP 6H 2R(1ER) 0BB 2K 1HR; Win
• Bill Bray RP - 1IP 2H 0R 0BB 2K

Harrisburg (AA) [Lost to Trenton 6-1]

• Josh Labandeira SS - 0/4
• Larry Broadway 1B - 0/3 1BB 1K

Potomac (High A) [Defeated Winston-Salem 5-4]

• Ian Desmond SS - 0/3 1R 1SB(#32) 1HBP
• Frank Diaz CF - 1/4 1RBI 1K double
• Kory Casto 3B - 1/3 1R 1BB
• Salomon Manriquez CA - 1/4
• Josh Whitesell 1B - 1/3 1R 1RBI 1BB 2K 1HR
• Mike Hinckley SP - 7.2IP 6H 4R(4ER) 4BB 5K 1HR

Savannah (Low A) [Defeated Augusta 4-2]

• Devin Ivany CA - 3/5
• Edgardo Baez RF - 0/4 2K
• Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 1/3 1R 1BB 1K

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Lowell 5-3]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 2/4

Dogs and Cats Living Together ... Mass Hysteria

Wow. I'm a little bit scared. Why? Washington Post columnist Tom Boswell took off his big foam Nats finger (H/T Capitol Punishment) and laid out the truth.

"In baseball, you never like to say 'must games.' But these next two are important. I hope Joey [Eischen] and I saved some of the bullpen tonight so we're ready for this weekend," said Mike Stanton, 38, who took one for the team by working three innings despite pitching in his fourth game in three days.

Why was a distinguished veteran of 1,018 games (seventh most in history) used/abused in such fashion? Because either MLB or team president Tony Tavares (guilt as yet undetermined) was too cheap to provide enough Sept. 1 call-ups. The Nats, who'll make more than $30 million in profit for baseball this year, are trying to stay "under budget" at a paltry $54 million. So, over a matter of a few hundred thousand dollars, GM Jim Bowden wasn't permitted to bring up the 10 minor leaguers he wanted. And the three players he was allowed to bring up on yesterday (none pitchers) turned out to be the wrong ones at the wrong time.

"We needed pitching so we wouldn't wear out our bullpen. And we bring up three position players?" said one veteran.

Oh, it's definitely getting testy in Natsland: pull together or be pulled apart.

I, among others, have been known to criticize Boz for his fanboy ramblings. So let me be the first to tip my cap to Boz for his candor. Bravo (now go put the foam finger back on, I know you want to).

Farm Authority Report 9/3/05

Washington (MLB) [Lost to Philadelphia 7-1]

• Ryan Zimmerman 3B - 1/3 double (1st major league hit); played in field for 1st time, started nice looking around the horn 5-4-3 DP. I was at the game and Zimmerman seemed comfortable out there defensively. He entered the game in the top of the 4th. After the first batter reached on a double. Bobby Abreu ripped a hard liner towards Zimmerman. It was a little bit high but it appeared that Zimmerman mistimed his jump and could have caught it. He started a beautiful inning ending double play, fielding a slow groundball and quickly getting the ball to 2B so the DP could be completed on the speedy Jimmy Rollins. At the plate, Zimmerman appeared over-anxious. He faced a total of 4 pitches in 3AB. His double to left center in the 5th was hard hit as was his lineout to RF in the 7th. All in all, he looked good out there with the only criticism that he needs to show a little bit more patience and see a more pitches at the plate.
• Rick Short PH/2B - 0/1; entered the game as a PH in the 8th and fouled out to RF. He stayed in the game as the 2B only fielding a humpback line drive single to shallow RF.
• Kenny Kelly RF - 0/0; Entered the game as a defensive replacement in the 8th. Only action in the field was handling a single to RF.
• Brandon Watson PH/CF - 1/1 1BB; Entered the game as PH in the 6th. Made two putouts in CF.

New Orleans (AAA) [Defeated Iowa 11-7]

• Ty Godwin LF - 1/5 1RBI 3K double
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B - 1/5 2RBI 1K
• Brendan Harris 2B - 1/5 2R 1RBI 1K double
• Travis Hughes RP - 1IP 2H 1R(1ER) 2BB 2K

Harrisburg (AA) [Lost to Trenton 7-6]

• Larry Broadway 1B - 1/4 1R 1RBI 1HR
• Josh Labandeira SS - 3/3 2R 1RBI 1BB double 1E

Potomac (High A) [Lost to Myrtle Beach 6-2]

• Ian Desmond SS - 2/4 1R 1E (#39)
• Frank Diaz CF - 2/4 1R 2RBI 1HR
• Kory Casto 3B - 1/3 1BB 1K 1SB
• Josh Whitesell DH - 1/3 1BB 1K

Savannah (Low A) [Split DH with Augusta 5-3 & 5-7]

• G1: Edgardo Baez RF - 1/3 1RBI 2K triple
• G1: Devin Ivany DH - 1/3 1R 1RBI 2K
• G1: Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 0/1 2BB
• G1: Collin Balester RP - 2IP 3H 1R(1ER) 1BB 1K; Win
• G2: Edgardo Baez RF - 0/3 1BB
• G2: Devin Ivany CA - 2/4 1R 2RBI 1K 1SB double; 1PB
• G2: Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 1/4 1K 1SB

Vermont (SS) [Defeated Lowell 7-2]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 1/4 1R 2RBI 1K double
• Mike Daniel RF - 0/1 1K

Roster Moves & Other Stuff

With just four games remaining in the season, the Harrisburg Senators announced a few more roster changes today. The Senators will be sending outfielders Dee Haynes and Cristian Guerrero to triple-A New Orleans. The Senators will get two players from Savannah, infielder Brad Ditter and outfielder Doug Vroman. --------------------------------------------- Senators’ star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was named the Senators’ Most Valuable Player for the 2005 season. Zimmerman, who was promoted to the major leagues earlier in the day, was not on hand to accept his award. Members of the Senators’ team voted on the MVP award, which was announced prior to the Senators’ final home game Thursday. Other award winners were: 2005 Most Competitive Player: Dan Dement 2005 Fan’s Favorite: Melvin Dorta 2005 Carl J. Dordaro Leadership Award: Darrell Rasner 2005 Mort Rosen Community Service Award: Justin Echols Justin Echols - "Community Service" The post-season awards were made possible through the Capital Area Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame. The Senators players voted on the Most Competitive Award while fan balloting over the last two home stands provided the winner for the Fan’s Favorite honor.

We Got Our Answer ... Sort Of

Barry Svrluga, the Nats beat writer, has an article in Friday's Washington Post providing some of the answers to why the Nationals only recalled Ryan Zimmerman as part of roster expansion yesterday. Yesterday, Bill Ladson of MLB.com explained that the Nats would only call up Zimmerman due to "roster restraints" which definitely caused me to scratch my head. For completeness, Deivi Cruz was also added to the roster without anyone being sent down. Why didn't the Nationals call up more than two players?

...Nationals President Tony Tavares nixed that plan for financial reasons.

Financial reasons? The Nationals are a team that has made more than $12M than expected on ticket revenue alone. Tavares continued:

"The average amount of guys to call up is something like five. I pushed back on Jim and said, 'Make sure you're calling up people that are going to be used.' If you bring up 11 guys, you start talking about changing the size of the [chartered] airplane and all kinds of things. Everybody, including the Yankees, has to have some kind of budget"

The average amount is five. The Nationals called up two. There is still no reason they could not have brought up another pitcher given the fact that they had a doubleheader on Wednesday and were starting a pitcher who is known to rack up high pitch counts in low innings pitched. And guess what happened, Tony Armas went 4 innings throwing 81 pitches forcing Frank Robinson to use 5 relief pitchers in a 10 inning game. Definitely not the type of roster management one would hope for in a pennant race. Ok, so let's turn the page and prepare for a 10 game homestand against playoff contenders Philadelphia, Florida, and Atlanta. Now that the Nats are back home, I guess it's time to add a few more players to the roster. Perhaps a pitcher or two given the heavy usage of the bullpen recently and perhaps a middle infielder who can play 2B given that Jose Vidro may be done for the season. Who's in line for a call-up today? Back to Svrluga:

They will start Friday by adding speedy outfielders Brandon Watson and Kenny Kelly -- addressing the team's sloth-like base running -- as well as infielder Rick Short, who flirted with hitting .400 for Class AAA New Orleans.

Excuse me? Who was called up? Two OFs who are the mirror image of one another and a guy who deserves a call-up but is really not a major league quality 2B. Who is making these decisions? Once again Jim Bowden tries to solve a RP/MI problem by calling up OFs. I'm not even going to get into the fact they are bringing up Kelly who is not on the 40-man roster instead of Ty Godwin who is the exact same player and is on the 40-man roster. The Nationals do not need two pinch runners who can only play OF. They need a RP and a MI. Where is RHP Travis Hughes? Where is Brendan Harris? If they are bound and determined to promote someone not on the 40-man, where is LHP Bill Bray? Once again, the Nationals GM has proven himself to be an inept roster manager ... at best. I will close with a positive spin provided by a guy I've really been impressed with this year, CA Brian Schneider

"This team is making a lot of money right now. Just put it like that. Revenues are higher than predicted. The good thing is if these guys come up a couple of days late, they still get the experience."

I hope it's only a couple of days late, Brian. I really do.

Farm Authority Report 9/2/05

Washington (MLB) [Lost to Atlanta 8-7 in 10 innings]

• Ryan Zimmerman PH - 0/1 1K; Made his MLB debut, striking out in his only AB in the 7th inning.

New Orleans (AAA) [Lost to Oklahoma 9-3]

• Kenny Kelly CF - 1/3 2RBI 1BB 1K double; will be called up on Friday (requires a 40-man roster move)
• Brandon Watson RF - 1/4; will be called up on Friday (on 40-man roster)
• Rick Short 1B - 0/3 1GIDP; finishes year at 0.383 as he will be called up on Friday (on 40-man roster)
• Brendan Harris 2B - 1/3 1BB 1K 1SB
• Ty Godwin LF - 0/3 1R 1K 1GIDP 1SB
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B - 1/4 1R 1RBI
• Bill Bray RP - 0.1IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K

Harrisburg (AA) [Lost to Reading 4-3]

• Josh Labandeira SS - 0/4 1K
• Larry Broadway 1B - 1/4 1R double
• David Maust SP - 7.2IP 7H 4R(4ER) 1BB 6K 1HR; Loss

Potomac (High A) [Defeated Myrtle Beach 4-1]

• Ian Desmond SS - 0/5 1RBI 1K 1E
• Frank Diaz CF - 2/5 1K 1SB 1CS 1E double
• Kory Casto 3B - 0/2 2BB 1K
• Salomon Manriquez CA - 1/4 1R
• Josh Whitesell 1/3 1R 2RBI 1BB 1K 1HR

Savannah (Low A) [Split DH with Greenville 4-6 & 5-0]

• G1: Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 1/3 1BB
• G1: Edgardo Baez RF - 2/4 1R 1K double triple
• G2: Edgardo Baez DH - 0/2 1BB
• G2: Devin Ivany CA - 1/3 1RBI
• G2: Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 0/2 1R 1BB 1K

Vermont (SS) [Lost to Lowell 8-1]

• Mike Daniel LF - 0/4 3K

Imagine Me Scratching My Head

No big shock, Ryan Zimmerman will be called up today as part of roster expansion. Matt White was outrighted to New Orleans opening a spot on the 40-man roster. Apparently, Zimmerman will not be playing regularly which I do not necessarily agree with. But there was one comment that drew my attention more than anything else:

Zimmerman is the only player from the Nationals' farm system that will be called up on Thursday. Budget restraints prevented them from calling up more players. However, Bowden expects more promotions in another week.

Budget restraints? Where is this coming from? I thought the Nationals had an excess of cash (even taking into account the Preston Wilson and Deivi Cruz moves). This isn't your parent's Expos, if there isn't budget available, someone has some explaining to do. Now on to the second sentence. Excuse me, how is there no budget to bring them up today but there will be in another week? Is Bowden waiting for his allowance on Sunday? What's the deal here? Perhaps I'm over-analyzing or maybe Rocket Bill is sniffing glue, but those two sentences confuse me.

Farm Authority Report 9/1/05

New Orleans (AAA) [Lost to Oklahoma 4-3]

• Kenny Kelly RF - 1/4
• Brandon Watson CF - 1/4
• Ty Godwin LF - 1/3 1R 1BB 1K
• Rick Short DH - 1/4 1R 1RBI 1GIDP double
• Brendan Harris 2B - 0/3 1BB 1K
• Edgar Gonzalez 3B - 3/4 1R 1K double

Harrisburg (AA) [Defeated Reading 5-3]

• Ryan Zimmerman 3B - 1/4 1K double
• Larry Broadway 1B - 2/4 2R 2RBI 2HR
• Josh Labandeira SS - 1/2 1RBI 1BB 1HBP double
• Armando Galarraga SP - 6IP 6H 3R(3ER) 1BB 5K 2HR; Win
• Danny Rueckel RP - 3IP 0H 0R 0BB 4K; Save

Potomac (High A) [Lost to Myrtle Beach 11-3]

• Ian Desmond SS - 1/3 1BB 1CS
• Josh Whitesell 1B - 0/1 1RBI 2BB 1K 1HBP
• Salomon Manriquez DH - 0/3 1RBI
• Kory Casto 3B - 1/4 1R 1K double

Savannah (Low A) [Lost to Greenville 5-4]

• Edgardo Baez DH - 2/4 1K
• Devin Ivany CA - 0/3 1BB 1K
• Rogearvin Bernadina CF - 2/4 1K 1SB

Vermont (SS) [Lost to Lowell 4-2]

• Francisco Guzman RF - 2/4 1K