DY in DC:

As you know I have been on the road and in a weird way I am feeling more out of touch with the NATS then if I wasn’t in DC. The big issue is an internet connection (see my hotel story) and without a connection in my room I feel lost. The hotel doesn’t even give me the Post, I get USA today so unless there is a feature story I only get a snippet that is there for every team.

Anyway now that I have whined let me comment. The roster has been trimmed over the past few days and I have been very happy to see some of the cuts/transactions. I am glad to see Jiminez being cut because I have stated I would rather have the youngsters gaining experience at the major league level. I realize that they wanted to have some experience on the bench but I only think that is valuable if the veteran can deliver.

My other big one is the release of the Travis Lee, I liked the Dmitri Young signing from the start and I think his upside is much more then anything that Lee could provide. Travis Lee is a former golden boy like David Carr, talented players whose desire never matched the talent. I give Lee credit for stepping aside and hopefully he finds what he is looking for.

Less then a week to go !!

Moment in time

I have always professed that the only real TV is sports TV and ever now and then I am rewarded with one of those moments that prove my point in spades. I went to the ESPN zone for dinner, and unless you have had your head in the sand you will know that it is March Madness. I don’t follow college basketball much anymore but I still check in on it and today was a great experience. The hometown Georgetown Hoyas were playing UNC Tar Heels and the zone was packed with everyone following every basket. The place was electric, loud and fun! There was a table of UNC fans all dressed in powdered blue, the bar was full of Hoya fans pounding on the bar and there was even a pseudo drunk outside the window who was cheering for UNC and pantomiming every call. It was amazing to watch and feel the electricity of the crowd, screaming at missed rebounds and pounding the bar to cheer on their team, these moments transcend the everyday and take you a place that you rarely go.

In a twist of fate Dontrelle Willis will be starter for the Marlins on Monday. Not that I am disappointed but it does mean that I have seen him pitch more then any other pitcher in the bigs.

The challenge for the team is well...pretty big in this game, Willis is an ace and the offence of the Marlins is explosive. They have speed (Ramirez) and power (Uggla), their only weakness is their long/short relief, even having said that the team is very solid.

The starting outfield is starting to settle, but unfortunately some of the same or previously identified issues are back/still there. Logan is barely hitting above the Mendoza line, he has at least been drawing some walks, currently leading the team. Given his performance I honestly can't see how the team can afford to carry a player who is not contributing in aspects of the game, the NATS simply do not have the star power or pitching to get through a season with this type of player as a starter. Given his numbers he should probably hit right-handed only, but Mitchel Page won't allow that to happen for at least month or two into the season.

The other issue is Church, who is once again giving Bowden stress headaches with his constant teasing. Acta has stood behind Logan proclaiming him the starter but has not done the same for Church. Church is a far more productive player then Logan even if he hits .250 I believe his overall package is better. I think Acta would love to have Logan take over the CF spot then he can insert Church/Snelling into LF, however given the current stats I think the outfield should be Snelling/Church/Kearns. You could then bring in Logan as a defensive replacement in the 6/7th inning.

Haute couture

Got into town (DC) last night and I gotta tell ‘ya I am very excited to see a game! It’s been about five years since I’ve last seen a game. I was in Montreal on a holiday and I was able to catch all six games of a home stand, much too my wife’s delight. It was Dontrelle Willis’ first year, and although he looked ok he didn’t do anything amazing. The Expos had his number that day and he lasted only 4 or 5 innings at the time I couldn’t see what all the hype was about, wow did I miss that one

Back to reality, the NATS dusted the Mets on Saturday in a game that really put Snelling on the radar so much so that Bowden is talking about him as a member of the 25 man roster. Zimmerman look fantastic again, it’s really amazing how good this guy looks.

I was in an Urban Outfitters today looking at some t-shirts etc. If you know of Urban Outfitters it is a very trendy place, and as I was perusing the vintage inspired wares I notice a familiar logo. It’s the Expos logo in a faded version on a royal blue faded tee. The thing Is there was like six stacks of these shirts, I mean in all my life I have never seen that many Expos tees in one place outside of the Big Owe.

I don’t know if I should be sad or if I should rejoice that my team has not been forgotten and is now a fashion statement. I always knew I was ahead of the curve when it came to fashion.

Ditect to your TV sort of

I was reading Peter King the other day (see the paragraph below) about the DireTV deal

Bud Selig, you're really going to make me get the dish? That really ticks me off. I guess $180 annually from me and 20 of my pals, isn't enough. You've got a bunched of ticked-off baseball fans out there, just to let you know. A lot of them, actually.

I thought I would pipe in. As you know I think Selig and many baseball owners are the worst in major league sports. Too many of the owners do everything they can to squeeze the customer of every last nickel and this again is one of those cases. I always point to the NFL when this type of situation comes up. Football passed baseball many years ago and there is no end in site for how far they can go. They have pooled their resources to everyone's benefit and have franchise stability that no other league can claim. If you look at how they have broken up their broadcasting they have created competition for a single product. They have done so by creating separate packages for AFC / NFC, Sunday / Monday night and then they have created their own network which is carrying Thursday night games (although this one flies a little bit in the face on my point the NFL Network is available for pick-up by any cable/dish company, so even though a user has to may more they at least don't have to switch, assuming your provider is carrying the channel)

Baseball has a system where the overwhelming amount of revenues need to be locally generated and that means TV/ Radio are going to provide the majority of those funds. This automatically puts New York / Chicago and LA at a distinct advantage. How does this make sense?? I'll tell you, it's because you have owners like Steinbrenner who could give a shit about the game, some to the point where all they care about is how much money they can make. These are the type of owners that gave rise to the backlash from communities in the mid-late 90's when teams would look for help when building new stadiums. Steibrenner is another case, he could care less about competition he wants to win and if it is in a 6 team league or in its current structure he does not care.

So to see that baseball is following the carrot is nothing new, it just continues to put their product further away from the common man and further alienates it fan base. A fan base that has been kicked and beaten over the past 25 - 30 years, from a point when it was the undisputed champion of professional sports to the point where it is probably #3 behind Football and Nascar.

You need to have good ownership like Robert Kraft in New England or The Rooney's to get things the way they are in the NFL. Unfortunately we have many owners Angelos, Steibrenner, Loria who may be fans but don't care about the game or the league they only care about their team and themselves. So forcing MLB fans to abandon their current dish / cable provider and switch to DirecTV does not really surprise me. I just think it is a narrow view and another benchmark as to why baseball is no longer the top game in America.

Countdown / Cutdown

There a round of cuts today according to Barry Svrluga today. The only notable was Chris Michalak who was doing ok starting but there is still time for him to development. I am sure there will be more as there is only 20 days left.

The countdown has begun for me as I will be in Washington for opening day and I am stoked. I have never been able to make a home opener, I have skipped school called in sick etc. but I have never been in a position to actually attend a game. I still remember the first game of the year with the sun shining in the front still with patches of snow and me tuning in to watch the game with my baseball glove on. I would go outside and toss the ball on the roof and catch it in between innings, there is nothing better then that first game and I am actually going to see it live for the 1st time.

I'll be taking pictures and writing about my experience I am also hoping to catch the exhibition games against Baltimore on Sat/Sun and it will be good to Camden Yards.

Shawn Hill is on the mound today against the Mets and according to the pre-game Beltran, Delgado and Reyes will be in the lineup so it will be a good test for him.

Ownership

I have been reading various articles over the past few weeks that contain various backhanded or alluding comments to the "cheapness" of the NATS ownership. Given that they just renewed the contract of Zimmerman I thought I would finally comment on these writings.

Lets just start by saying your all nuts!!!!!!!!!!

I am a longtime Expos fan. Yes EXPOS, I am living in a time warp and they will always be the EXPOS to me. Yes I am a loser but if you have cheered for a team your whole life, skipped school to watch home openers or can remember the TV being wheeled during the EXPOS pennant drive then you'll understand. There are some Houston Oilers fans, original Senators fans only fans from longtime franchises that have move will be able to understand. If you can understand this then you will understand where I am coming from.

The Lerner's have done nothing that any fan, outside commentator or ink stain can complain about. They are not carpet baggers like Loria, or nuts like Al Davis or looking too make a buck like Rupert Murdoch. Anyone who follows the NATS need to look know further then down the road to Baltimore and look at Peter Angelos to see what poor ownership can do to a franchise. The Lerner's are not spending money on washed up veterans, in baseball you seem to pay more for what the player has accomplished (for another team) then what they will accomplish for you, this is just good business. They are still spending money only its in player development again smart business for a franchise that was depleted by Selig and his cronies.

I would agree that maybe they could loosen-up for Cordero and Zimmerman but if you don't agree with that style (something that the Indians used somewhat successfully) then you don't agree. Zimmerman (knock on wood) could blow his knee and be done or Cordero could blow-out his elbow and be done. I hate to talk about people like commodities but that is how the game of baseball is played and it is a harsh reality.

The Lerner's are sticking to their plans and are giving direction to a franchise that has long been rudderless, to hear these statements is discouraging because they not only have to fight this public opinion but they are still building their market. Among other things Angelos is still trying to screw them, the broadcast deal they have this year is really appalling and he and Selig don't care about the game or if it succeeds in DC. they only care about getting their money. So with that in mind think about what this franchise has done and is doing to make this a viable franchise, think of what they have already overcome and you will see it is overwhelmingly positive. Unfortunately small minds can only see the hand in front of their face and will always try to bring down those with big minds and vision.

Go NATS!

What have we learned so far

So I have been a little busy at work but have still been able to catch a couple of the games via my MLB subscription, and I thought rather then do a report on each game I would do a bit of a status report. It is early I agree, but anyone who is following the NATS knows that for a large portion of the roster every pitch and at bat is being scrutinized.

The team has played 7 games so far with not much success 1-6, so what are some of the takeaways from these games:

1) Team defense is an issue
2) Some pitchers are developing
3) Zimmerman is continuing to shine
4) Prospects / suspects

Defense: this was a major issue last year and was something that the team focused on in the off-season, the primary moves being Lopez (who was one of the worst defensive SS in baseball) to 2nd and a hope that Logan would be able to become an everyday player. Now I realize that some of the errors are being made by minor leaguers or players who won't be with the team but by my count there have been 10 errors in 7 games. Yikes!

Pitching: Patterson seems to be fully back as well as Hill, both have pitched well but have lost either via unearned runs or some soft hits. There is a lot of potential between these two, however health issues have kept both of them from realizing that potential to its max. As far as the bullpen goes it seems that Rauch is continuing where he left off last year and that Wagner is also back on track. Traber is teasing us again but maybe he has turned a corner, Bill Ladsen has said he is looking good.

Zimmerman: I definitely thought there would be a drop-off with Zimmerman if nothing more then a sophomore slump. I know its early but he looks great again which hopefully translates into similar numbers as last year. Lets be honest I don't think anyone thought Zimmerman would be a 100 + rbi guy out of the gate, there are just too many factors that need to happen for that to take place, especially with a rookie but he did it. I would be ecstatic if he could maintain that and would be even more impressed if he was able to elevate his overall game. He himself has mentioned better defense and OBP while lowering his SO. Man, to have all that talent.

Suspects or prospects: Well it seems that a couple of our prospects aren't working out just yet. Logan is hitting .200 but is playing good defense. I have never liked the type of player that Logan is, speed, little power, good defense but won't walk has holes in their swing (in his case from the left-side) and continue to rely only on those tools. That is why I wondered about the Womack signing (who was released today), unless these players hit around .300 they do not make a contribution, which is magnified on a team that needs everyone to contribute. Our other suspect is Fruto who is popping th radar gun but getting hit, ERA of 23.14 so far. Its early and I don't think that the NATS really expected him to contribute at the major league level this year, but I was listening to the broadcast the other day and the visiting teams commentators said that Fruto had a reputation in the Mariners organization as not staying focused and that he liked too see the speed on the radar gun rather then worrying about the score.

The one prospect that seems to be working out is Flores. He is hitting the ball with some pop and is looking comfortable at the plate. By the looks of it behind the plate is where the issues will come, especially considering the staff that we have this year.

So things have gone pretty much as everyone expected and the team will continue its evaluation right up to the last day. It would be a major success if the team played at or above .500 for the 2nd half of the season because during the 1st half there will be lots of exploration and discovery.

0-2

Looks like the NATS are going 0-2 in their first two games of spring training. After yesterdays 12-7 loss to the Dodgers they are behind 6-2 to the Orioles today. Outside of Hanrahan who gave up 5 runs in a 1/3 of an inning the pitching has been strong including Patterson who got the start and gave up a run on a couple of bloops.

As far as the offence goes Zimmerman has strung together four hits including an HR , and Church has a walk along with his double from yesterday. The offence is slow in getting itself going and the spring training errors are being made by backups. Its early but there is a lot of work to be done. But the pitching staff is not going to be as bad as many have predicted.

Game on

The game is being broadcast on MLB TV today so it looks like I 'm dusting off the credit card. I'll be doing updates during the game for sure now so stay tuned

Catching-up and getting excited

I have been away for a little bit, nothing like a 6 inches of snow and a wicked cold to make you forget about spring training.

Today at 1:05 ET is the first official spring training against the Dodgers. Shawn Hill gets the start (look for an entry on the rotation this weekend) and other interesting arms who are set to see action include Fruto and Schroder.

As game moves along I'll try and find a source for updates (haven't purchased my MLB.TV yet, maybe I should do that) and will post updates as the game progresses.


Let the games begin