Six Months

Other than it being the gestation period of the baboon, that's how long Jim Bowden's contract was extended today. Confirming the stories from yesterday, Tony Tavares announced the extension of Bowden as GM. More importantly was the following announcement by Bowden:

The Nationals today also appointed Bob Boone as interim Senior Director of Player Development/Assistant General Manager, Andy Dunn as interim Farm Director, and Scott Little as Field Coordinator.

I don't know much more about Scott Little than the article states. The Field Coordinator coordinates all on field instruction, supervises all minor league staff, directs spring training, mini-camps and instructional league, creats player development plans for all players and servs as a Major League Spring Training instructor. Little will be filling the spot left vacant by Doug Sisson who joined the University of Georgia as a hitting coach/recruiting coordinator in June of this year. Andy Dunn was the VP of Baseball Operations this year. As the interim Farm Director, I imagine he will assume many of the day-to-day activities previously done by Adam Wogan. From what I can find on Dunn, he has little actual player development experience. Most of the work he has done in baseball has been in the sales, marketing, and this year, overseeing the actual field. He was quoted numerous times regarding the positioning of the fences, status of the mound, and condition of the turf. It will be intersting to see how effective he can be in a player development role, and moreover how much actual authority he will have. The Bob Boone announcement has both a positive and a negative spin. Looking at the glass as half-full, this more than likely means Boone will not be taking over as manager of the Nationals (assuming Frank Robinson does not return). The farther Boone stays away from the dugout, the better. The glass is half-empty if he is taking an active role in player development. His track record in actually developing players is spotty at best. An example, Boone was one of the people who recommended Preston Wilson for his standout defensive abilities. As I can attest firsthand, Wilson was far from a standout defensively. The underlying issue in all of this? Until the DC City Council and MLB work out the lease agreement and subsequently the sale of the team, the Nationals are going to hamstrung by the current management's interim status