On Thursday night, the Nationals traded Vinny Castilla, his bad knees, hockey hair, and the $3.2 million he's owed in '06 to San Diego for pitcher Brian Lawrence, his bad career, and his $3.5 million contract for '06. The Padres are reportedly picking up the difference between the two contracts. As everybody knows, for the Nationals this deal had nothing to do with Lawrence, a little to do with Castilla, and everything to do with Ryan "Don't Call Me Brooks" Zimmerman, who has done nothing but hit since arriving on the scene in the spring as the Nats #1 draft pick. In keeping with the hitting theme, Zimmerman has been tearing up the Arizona Fall League. With the third base job basically handed to him, let's hope Zimmerman doesn' t get too comfortable: "Not that I needed anything to get ready for in the offseason, but this gives you kind of a sense of security." Good move by Bowden, good move for the Nats. Jim should keep his eyes open for a viable backup at third base (his plan for using Brendan Harris just isn't going to cut it), should the largely untested Zimmerman fall on his face in the spring.
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