I started my Nats Boy Report blog last spring with an analysis of why Nick Johnson should be given the starting first baseman job over Dmitri Young. It made sense to me at the time, but it all turned out moot, because Nick lasted about six weeks and Dmitri lasted about as long as it takes to open a box of Sugar Free Ding Dongs. Kory Casto, Aaron Boone, Paul LoDuca, etc. all got significant playing time at first base. Which should, in part, explain a 59 win season.

Its pretty generally reported that the Nationals are looking for a new power hitting first baseman this off season. There have been a few names bandied about in blogs and 'trade rumors' websites. I'm no Kreskin, but here's what I see happening/not happening.

1. Paul Konerko. I have had a theory since the trading deadline last July that Paul Konerko is going to be a National in 2009.

Here's why: There were two rumors at the end of the trading deadline, just crazy enough to be true, that would support this theory: 1) It was reported that Bowden was talking to Kenny Williams about trading John Lannan and Joel Hanrahan to the Pale Hose; 2) It was also reported that Bowden had serious discussions about trading for a first baseman in July, but that the deal was not completed because the trading partner was in the pennant race and wanted to hang onto the first baseman until the off season.

If in fact both rumors were true, wouldn't it make sense that it was a Lannan and Hanrahan for Konerko deal? Nick Swisher, who has been named as a possibility for the Nats by Phil Wood in Newsday, would surely be had for less than Lannan and Hanrahan. Jim Thome is pretty much a DH these days. And, people forget, that Konerko is an ex-Red and a player that Bowden traded for in the past as GM for the Reds. Konkerko fits the profile.

Today, Newsday in NY reported that Konerko (along w/ Jim Thome) may be moved by the White Sox -- although the Nats were not mentioned as possible suitors. He also would have to waive a no trade clause, which, given the current state of the team, might be a sticking point. Also, this was before Adam Dunn was a free agent.

2. Adam Dunn. This makes so much sense. Dunn is exactly a player Bowden would like. Ex-Red. Bowden drafted him. Left handed power hitter. First baseman. Could also play left field, thus allowing Nick Johnson some ABs if and when he is healthy. Good friends with Austin Kearns.

There are reports that the Nats have already contacted Dunn's agent. Fox Sports reported in 2007 that the Nats nearly completed a deal with the Reds for Dunn at that time.

Right now, my guess is that Dunn is number one on their list, and if he is available and can be signed, this conversation is over. Konerko, and the others named below, are probably all Plan B.

3. Mark Texiera. For the life of me, I don't understand why Texiera, who is coveted by several pennant contending teams, would want to join the upstart Nats. The Angels. The Yankees. Yet I've read several places that Texiera is on the Nats radar. Supposedly its because he's from Annapolis. But since he grew up an Orioles fan, and since they are supposedly also interested in him, if location was the primary consideration, it appears that he'd go put that silly bird on his head and take their 200 million.

For what its worth, I don't think Texiera is a good idea for the Nats. He is a good player but not an impact player, not on the field or at the box office. He's a good guy, but really has anyone ever bought a ticket thinking "I want to see Mark Texiera"? And, for a team trying to build a fan base, star power should be a requisite if you're going to sink 200 million in one guy. (Alfonso Soriano, for instance...)

4. Prince Fielder. Fielder is often named as a possiblity on the official Nats website by Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Personally, I'm just happy Ladson finally stopped taking cheap shots at Brad Wilkerson.

But Fielder on the Nats? Please. He's young and he hits a lot of home runs. But he's probably 300 pounds -- how long is he going to be able to play the field? Dmitri Young proved that that formula is probably not a long term solution. The Nats probably can't spare the amount of prospects needed to acquire Fielder anyway. The Brewers, who just offered CC Sabathia $100 million, don't sound like they're ready to break their team up just yet anyway.

Any of these guys, though, would be an upgrade over Kory Casto, Dmitri Young, or Paul LoDuca, all of whom spent significant time at first base last season.

Two other free agent rumors floating around:
1. Matt Holliday. This is a guy that would be a franchise lynchpin for the Nats. The only problem is that he is on the last year of his contract, and, as we have seen with the Soriano trade, its not prudent to trade valuable members of your current team for someone who is only renting a year here and playing well only to acquire a big contract from someone else. I would trade anyone in the organization not named "Ryan Zimmerman" to get Holliday if the contract extension was worked out first. But the consensus is that he's going to St. Louis for Ryan Ludwig and some other players. I don't think we have a player not named "Ryan Zimmerman" who is as good as Ryan Ludwig, so this issue is probably moot.

2. Manny Ramirez. Believe it or not, I actually saw this reported on MLBtraderumors.com and by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. This would be so much fun. Manny can hit. Manny is colorful. I'm pretty sure that people have bought tickets to see Manny Ramirez. It would rejuvenate the franchise in this city and put us back on the national map for a while. Manny might like coming here because it would be his show, and we play in a pretty high profile city. Can we sign Manny and Dunn?!?! I don't see it happening because I don't think Manny would want to come here. But it makes so much more sense than other more credible rumors, that I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

(Originally posted on November 9 on Nationals Review.   Obviously some movement has taken place -- both real and rumored -- on Holliday and Texiera).

I'm back home here at MLB.com for a while because I felt like that tree falling in the forest -- don't know if anyone was alive out there at the Nationals Review.  So for a while I'll maintain both blogs. Looks like things are getting interesting....

Like many others who post here on MLB.com, I've found that the site as it currently exists is not the site that I created.   My cool recommendations to Morrissey CDs are gone.  Photo albums are now clumsily posted as posts, etc.   

So I've moved on and changed the name of the blog.   Its now The Nationals Review, and can be found at http://thenationalsreview.blogspot.com/     

Please stop by, and leave a comment letting me know you've gotten there from MLB.com.  I'm hoping that someone is reading.   OK, maybe not Luis Ayala, though. 

Thankfully the Nats are out of the beer-swilling hell hole that is currently known as "Wrigley Field" and I can go on ignoring the exploits of the Chicago Cubs for a while longer. 

The Cubs are exactly like the New York Yankees, except they fail where the Yankees often succeed -- on the field.   Their fan base has the same obnoxious sense of 'entitlement'  as Yankee fans do. They act as if everyone SHOULD be rooting for their Loveable Cubbies no matter what.   

The parallels between the Yankees and the Cubs go further than just their fan base, however, The Cubs buy up players like money is water -- the only difference is that neither the media, the organization, nor their beer-swilling fan base will own up to it.  The denial extends even to their manager, the obnoxious glory seeking Lou Piniella, who, for the past 20 years, has basked in the glory of winning a world championship with the Cincinnati Reds with a team that was assembled by Pete Rose.  Piniella stated on MASN yesterday that they 'added nothing' when he first took over as manager.   (Apparently Soriano and his 138 million dollar contract counts as nothing to Sweet Lou.)

Lets look at how the beloved Cubbies were built, shall we?

Free agent signings -- Alfonso Soriano, Darrell Ward, Kouske Fukudome, Mark DeRosa, Ted Lilly, Ryan Demptster, Jim Edmonds, Reed Johnson, Jon Lieber, Jason Marquis.

Salary dump trades -- Derek Lee (Marlins), Aramis Ramirez (Pirates), Rich Harden (A's)

That's 13 of 25 players that were bought.  If the Yankees did such a thing, the criticisms would be heard all around baseball.  The best home grown Cubbies are a maniac pitcher who beats up his catcher when he loses, a sore armed pitcher named Wood whom the fan base holds its collective breath for on a daily basis, and some guy named Pie.  But its the loveable Cubbies, so its all ok.  No one has ever addressed the fact that they are trying to buy a pennant.  

Even with all this paid for talent, they could only muster a split with the Nats in their season series and got drubbed in a home game 13 - 5 to our boys, after leading 4 - 0 in the sixth inning, notwithstanding that we are nearly 40 games under .500.  Best team in the National League?  Yeah, right.

You know the inevitable is going to happen -- either a goat, a black cat or a Bartman is going to send them down again. There's a Wil Nieves homerun somewhere in the post-season to get them all crying again.  I can't wait.

Its gonna happen.

Generally this is supposed to be Nationals blog, but I don't see any cyber-police keeping me from posting on other subjects.  So I broke the tedium of the Nats losing streak on Monday night to take a drive down to Richmond to see Bruce Springsteen at the Richmond Coliseum. I've seen Springsteen on every tour since the Tunnel of Love tour in 1988, and in fact had already caught two shows on the Magic tour when it came through DC last fall shortly after the CD was released.   I had deliberately not checked the internet for setlists, etc, figuring that I would be surprised if the Boss threw in an unexpected chestnut or two that I hadn't heard last fall.  Truth be told, I was really looking forward to hearing the solo in "Gypsy Rider" and was hoping that "You'll Be Comin' Down"  (also from the "Magic" CD) would be added to the setlist.

What I got when Springsteen took the stage was the most unexpected concert that I could have ever imagined.  Many people on the floor had signs noting Springsteen songs.  Some were typical favorites "Thunder Road", "Jungleland", etc., but some of the signs had really obscure referenced songs such as "Stand On It", "Trapped", "Seaside Bar Song", "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street", "Ramrod".  Turns out that, at one point in the show, Springsteen stops doing his set list and gathers these signs and takes requests.   It made for an odd concert experience.  "Backstreets", a personal favorite which is usually played near the end of the show for great effect, was almost haphazardly broken into when Bruce read a sign and directed the band "play Backstreets, this guy's band just broke up."  "Stand on It" and "Cadillac Ranch" were both played.  Then, at one point, Springsteen saw a face in the crowd he recognized, calling the guy his 'friendly stalker' and took his request.  It was "Crush on You", which had not been played for 28 years, and which Springsteen stated was the worst song he ever put to record.  Sure, after this went on a while, Springsteen broke back into the traditional set, but then took some more requests for the encore.  It was memorable.  I loved the show, it was probably the most enjoyable of the twenty-odd Springsteen shows I've attended over the last twenty years.  And there was something immediate, and very cool, about Springsteen coming up with fantastic versions of requested old obscure songs at the blink of an eye.

But the whole notion of taking requests in a middle of a show arguably belied the idea that Springsteen was an artist and that the concert was an unique presentation which was designed to present a specific artistic vision of his music.  The whole notion of taking requests smacked of something a has-been oldies artist might have done for what was left of a once strong fan base, and seemed light years away from the Springsteen who was putting his music where his mouth was by headlining the Vote For Change concert series in 2004. The Boss seemed to have lost an idea of what he wanted his music to say, so he just threw up his hands and played what people asked him to. Michael Stipe of REM often bristles at audience members who call out titles while an REM show is taking place, stating "I'm a human being, not a human jukebox."   And I wonder, as I think so fondly back on the Springsteen Richmond show, if in fact that is all that Springsteen has been reduced to -- taking requests in a small southern city that not-so-long-ago was too small to accomodate such a significant tour.  

I'm not sure whether it was the best Springsteen show I ever attended, or the worst.  But it will stick in my memory forever.   Maybe I just wanted to hear "Gypsy Rider".   Or maybe I'm just annoyed that I didn't read up on the concert so I could have made a sign that read "Tougher than the Rest."

On a more sombre note, the health of the E Streeters seemed to be in jeopardy.  Of course, Danny Federci passed away a few months ago.  Patti S. wasn't there -- presumably to take care of the kids?  But most distressing was the apparent poor health of the Big Man, Clarence Clemons, who still did his sax fills flawlessly, but in between his spots sat in a big gold cushy chair on the sidelines while Springsteen, the Mighty Max, Little Steven, Nils, etc. were rocking out.  I'd like these guys to stick around a little bit longer.  

Back to reality the last couple of nights, the Nats lost two more to the Sillies and now the losing streak is 12.  Back in '05 and '06 I used to make the trek up to Citizens Bank to root for my boys (incongnito, of course, I had no desire to return to DC in a body bag.)   This year, I'm glad I saved my money and my central nervous system, and was able to leave Citizens Bank with a push of a button on my remote.   

Some have opined that the Nats ownership is cheap, and that the only plan profitability.  Others have opined that Aaron Crow, the Nats' number one draft choice who chose not to sign by demanding over 4 times what last year's choice got, was a greedy punk and that the Nats should say good riddence to him.

Crow's motivations are not really of interest to me.  He could be greedy, he could just not want to play for the Nationals.  He's gone and I don't care about him any more than a Phillies fan cares about JD Drew.

But the organization has rightly taken some heat for failing to sign a number one draft choice in the midst of selling the Future as part of a "Plan".   Seeing this, Jim Bowden saw fit to give the press a blow by blow account of the Crow negotiations in order, supposedly, to do some damage control.   The entire account can be found on the Washington Post Nationals Journal blog.  But here's the quote that made me pause:

Q: What about when you're talking about the bonus money given to Crow and then Ramirez in the 15th round?  A: He was done at one minute 'til midnight at the end. Here was a guy that, we were holding on to that because we didn't know if we had enough money in our budget to get Ramirez. We had enough money to get Ramirez because we didn't sign Crow.

This is a direct quote from the Nationals Journal.

What Bowden revealed here is that the "Plan" isn't to sign all the draft choices or to restock the farm system, its to spend X amount of money doing so, and that ownership is ready to let what it perceives as draft picks with potential walk if they don't fit the budget.  I'm talking about Ramirez here, not Crow.   Bowden states succinctly that the only reason Ramirez was signed is because Crow freed up some money in the budget by balking at the Nats offer. 

Why was the ability to sign Ramirez tied to Crow?  I thought the plan was commitment to the farm system to make the team a winner long term.  If Ramirez was worth the money given to him, a real commitment would have brought him in notwithstanding Aaron Crow's negoitations

Fans call for Jim Bowden's head because the team is so bad and players are acquired on the cheap and marketed as superstars (Wily Mo Pena) . Is it really all Jim Bowden's doing, or is he simply doing what his employer has instructed him to do?  Small market teams like Kansas City and Pittsburgh do this sort of thing.  Washington is a very affluent city with one of the top five media markets in the U.S.  The stadium cost the city $611 million.  Parking is $35.  Tickets behind home plate are $170 or more. The team is drawing betweeen 25,000 and 30,000 per game.  Why do we have a small limited budget for players, not only at the major league level, but at the draft level as well?    

Something of a nostalgic weekend at Nationals Park.   No, I'm not talking about the memories being made by the current 10 game losing streak.   But two pitchers were in the house that, at one time, were considered important parts of the 2005 Nationals.

Livan Hernandez has always been one of my favorite players.   He has panache, he's fun to watch.  He throws pitches at 60 MPH and gets star players to look silly swinging at his stuff. He goes out there with every intention of pitching 9 innings.  He can hit.  And he did a lot of good work for the Nats in 2005 when -- can you believe it -- they actually were in contention.  Livan returned Saturday night to pitch in Nationals Park.  Livan talked often of wanting to pitch the first game in the new ballpark and he finally made it, but not in the way imagined.  After being designated for assignment by the Twins, he was picked up by the Rockies.  It was fun to see him, and if the Nats had to lose, I can't think of a pitcher I'd rather see them lose to.  But I couldn't make an argument that bringining him back would be a good move.  The big Nats Park scoreboard, which gives up to the minute stats -- indicated that Livan's ERA went from 24.00 runs a game to a measley 14.00 by his Saturday night winning performance. And, even staked to a big lead by the Rox, Livo gave up a cool 6 spot in 6 innings.  Even with those big numbers, Livo won the game and has an 11 - 9 record.  Good luck, Livo, we wish you the best.  

Also on Saturday night we got a chance to say goodbye to Luis Ayala, one of the few remaining original Nationals. Nats were down 11 -6 in the ninth. While not likely, the Nats still may have had a slim chance to come back against the questionable relief corp of the Rockies.  In comes Luis Ayala.  Boom boom boom boom.  As is routine for Ayala, he gave up two runs in the inning, and any slight chance to come back was gone.  I'm not going to mince words about Ayala.  I think this guy stinks.  Really, really, stinks. He is directly responsible for losing two of the ten games in this current skid.  In Colorado on August 5, he came into a tie game into the eighth inning and proceeded to load the bases. The runs eventually scored.  Then, in a marathon game against Milwaukee on August 10, Ayala came in in the 13th inning of a tightly contested hard fought ballgame.  Within a couple of pitches, the team was in the showers because Ayala immediately gave up a home run to superstar slugger Gabe Kapler.

But wait, there's more.  July 23, San Francisco.  Nats up 6 - 4 in the 8th.  Ayala comes in.  Nats lose.  July 10, at home vs. Arizona.  July 5, in Cincinnati. The list goes on and on.  Ayala's 1 - 8 record does not tell the tale of his performance.  He's worse. Much, much worse. If you come in a game with runners on base and give up hits, you don't get the loss, but you haven't done your job and been a direct reason your team loses.  Ayala has done this repeatedly.

What drove me the most crazy about Ayala was his seemingly no-care attitude.  In spring training, most of the relievers would come to an auxillery field in Viera to do their running and throwing.  There were usually no coaches around, it was just pitchers and a few fans.  The vast majority of players conducted themselves professionally.  Luis Ayala would not.  He would spend his time half-heartedly doing his work and fooling around with other players by jumping on them and generally keeping them from working (which seemed to annoy them).   During the season, even after these excruciating losses, the next day Luis would be laughing it up and playing with fans in the outfield during batting practice (pretending to throw them balls, etc.) instead of taking the job seriously.  I went on a road trip to Cincinnati over the July 4 weekend, and the day after Ayala blew another tight ballgame, he was strutting around the hotel lobby on his cellphone looking like he was hoping for an audition on a male edition of "The Next Great American Model".   Obviously the difficult loss had affected me as a fan more than Luis.

So, even with a ten game losing streak at hand, Sunday brought good news when I found that Luis had finally been dispatched to Omar Minaya's Old Expos Home in Flushing, NY, for a AAA infielder hitting around .215.   This may be Bowden's finest hour as GM.

 Reading the press on the circumstances regarding the trade was like reading "The Emperor's New Clothes."  

1. Ayala had requested a trade because he wanted to be in a pennant race.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  Exactly what about this guy's performance gave him the right to expect to be pitching on a contender.  Phillies fans rejoice, because the New York Mets are about to lose 5 more games they probably otherwise would have won if Luis Ayala is put in games in crucial situations.

2. Ayala got angry and requested a trade because Joel Hanrahan, not he, was named closer when Jon Rauch was traded to Arizona.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Exactly what about this guy's performance gave him the right to be expected to be named closer.  He's the reason that the Nats didn't need a closer in the first place, because he kept giving up leads in the eighth inning.  Supposedly, it is reported, Ayala expected the job because he had done some closing for the Expos in 2004.  Well, pal, Rollie Fingers was a great closer in the 70s, too, that doesn't mean he's suited to close ballgames in 2008.  (Actually in my opinion Rollie Fingers in his 60s would be better than Ayala at his current age, 30.)

3. Jim Bowden stated that they 'owed' Ayala to grant his trade request.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??  What does this team owe Ayala?   In 2008, he's been about as reliable as Britney Spears' behavior while intoxicated.  He didn't even pitch in 2006 and for the first half of 2007 because pitched for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic with a bad elbow (against the Nationals' doctor's orders).  In 2005, he was an average middle reliever.  I think Luis Ayala owes the Nationals for pitching in an international tournament with a bad elbow while under contract, and for giving off the impression that he didn't give a damn what happened to the team for the past three years.

4. Ayala blames his performance on trying too hard because of his impending free agency.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME??   You can't quantify effort, and I cannot say definitively that Ayala wasn't trying, but, as I detailed above, it sure didn't look like Luis Ayala cared about his performance or that of the team. The impression that Ayala gave off was complete indifference at best.  I'm sure the Yanks and the Sox are going to be banging down their doors to give a 1 - 8 reliever a big contract to pitch in a pennant race, Luis.

Saturday night was not only nostalgic because of Livo, but it was my last chance to boo loudly another subpar performance by Luis Ayala.  Aaah, the memories.  My vocal chords can recover.

The departure of Ayala means that, for the first time in Nationals history, there are NO former Montreal Expos on the active roster.  Only three Expos -- Cordero, Johnson and Hill -- remain on the 40 man roster.  This may be a mess, but its OUR mess, not Montreal's, anymore. Maybe Luis, Joey Eischen, Zach Day, Tomo Ohka and Claudio Vargas can all have a nice reunion with Minaya at Citi Field in 2009.   

Oh, what a beautiful morning.   Didn't get to bed till late last night because I spent another fabulous evening at Nationals Park, sitting in the rain to watch the 79th loss of the season -- 14 more than on the same date in 2007.   Tim Redding started and pitched a pretty servicable game.  Then came the top of the fifth inning.  Two outs, runner on first, Nats up 2 - 1. Rockies have the worst road record in the league.  Matt Holliday hits a routine fly ball to centerfield.  Lastings Milledge breaks in on a ball clearly heading for the fence.  It goes over his head, runner scores, tie game.  Next batter, Brad Hawpe, two run home run.  Nats lose.  Friday Night -- Party Night at Nationals Park!

Tim Redding is quoted in the paper stating that what bothered him most about Hawpe's homerun is that Hawpe never should have been up in the fifth inning in the first place.  Good for Tim.  One of many annoying things about this season is that the amaturish nature of the play is never addressed publically.  Someone needs to stand up and say it -- some of these guys are not major league quality players.

Lastings Milledge has a lot of enthusiasm and hustles.  But the fly ball last night was not particularly difficult to catch for a major league player and missing the ball was inexcusable. Even though he readily admitted he should have made the play, this time of thing happens all the time.  Milledge stated at an ESPNZone appearance that he has trouble judging fly balls off the bats because he was not used to playing with wood bats.  Its been FOUR YEARS since you've turned pro.  You'd think that if he were the big prospect the Nats tout him as, he might know how to track a fly ball off a wooden bat.

This is made worse given that, just the night before, Brian Schneider, who was part of the 25 percent of the 2007 starting lineup dispatched for Milledge, hit a home run to dead center field. Schneider was one of the most popular Nats.

Its not just Milledge, by any means.  Routine plays are botched.   The clutch hit never comes.  Manny Acta prides himself on being able to 'take it'.  I personally wish he were NOT able to take it and would explode, at least once.   There needs to be less patience and more accountablility..  

But remarkably, the night would only get worse after the game was over.  The deadline for signing draft choices was looming at midnight.  The Nats' number one pick, Aaron Crow, was proving particularly difficult to sign.  Finally Jim Bowden emerged at 1 a.m. to inform the press that the Nats had failed to sign Crow, which meant he would go back into the draft.  Bowden, ever the Col. Tom Parker, pointed out that we get another first round pick next year for failing to sign him.   Oh boy!

From all accounts Crow and his representation made ridiculous demands -- asking for a $9 million contract (last year's first rounder, Ross Detweiler, got a little over $2 million).  I'm not sure that Nats management can be criticized for not meeting Crow's demands.

But why did the Nats not do their research to see what Crow's demands would be BEFORE drafting him?   This team sells the future like Snake Oil, and quickly points out how all of its draft picks get signed and how the "Plan" is to restock the farm system.  Be patient, they say.

If this is your plan, then you need to be extra sure that you pay attention to detail to assure that you can actually sign these young players before wasting a draft pick on them.  A number one draft pick.   

The bottom line -- the Nationals, the team with the worst record in major league baseball, is the only team with a top ten draft pick that did not sign.  Getting another pick means waiting another year for another guy in another spot.  Is the Red Porch going to fill the park for the next 25 years?

The future is eternal.  I'm sure the Nats will get better in the future.  But the question I'm beginning to ask -- will I live to see it?