Nats Enquirer

Dawn of the Dud

"I know that 37 pitchers is a funny number. But every pitcher we're bringing to Viera has some intriguing feature of interest in his career history. The more pitchers we look at, the more we improve our odds that one of them will be that guy."
(Stan Kasten, via Washington Post, 02/13/2007)

1 might be the loneliest number, but 37 is the funniest number. Spring is in the air!

Like a scene out of George A. Romero's 1978 Classic, NAAAts pitchers and catchers report for duty in Viera, FLA.

...meanwhile, Patterson wants a big raise ($1.85 mil), but Nationals only offered $850K...The Starting Centerfielder inked a 1-year deal...and Steve Trachsel signs a deal with the O's; guess that $400K or whatever the Nats offered earlier this winter wasn't enticing enough. 

Enquirer Exclusive: Nats Offer deal to Eddie "The King" Feigner

"I've never gone into a spring training where I didn't know who the first three starters were going to be. They might not have been the quality that we wanted, but we knew the first three. And then, it was a question, always, of who four and five were going to be. Or, in the good years, it was just who the fifth starter was going to be. I've never been to a spring training where we knew who one of the five was going to be, and he won one game and made eight starts last year. [So we decided to give Eddie Feigner a shot. Yes, we are aware that he died a few days ago, but shoot, we're talking about the greatest fast-pitch softball pitcher who every lived! A legend! He once threw a pitch 104 MPH! Are you kidding me!? Have you looked at the list of the OTHER guys who will be reporting to camp on Tuesday? Are you kidding me?! Hell, even I haven't heard of half these guys! I'll take my chances with Feigner."
(Jim Bowden, via Washington Post, 02/11/2007)

Desperate NAAAts hope to coax Eddie "The King" Feigner to Viera.

According to multiple sources outside of the organization, the Washington Nationals have invited softball pitching legend Eddie Feigner to report to camp with pitchers and catchers in Viera on Tuesday. Feigner died on Friday, February 9th. (In a 1967 exhibition game, he struck out Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew consecutively!?)

Feigner, above, unavailable for comment.

(photo from http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/)

Enquirer answers the mailbag!

Cold enough? We're just minutes away from the start of Spring Training, so let's celebrate with another edition of the Nationals.com mailbag. As usual, real fans email their questions to Nationals beat writer Bill Ladson at MLB.com. We copy and paste the questions over here. Then the magic happens.

As always, keep those e-mails coming to Nationals.com, and we'll keep copying and pasting them over here and giving our half-assed answers. Thanks a bunch.

Who do you think will benefit the most from Manny Acta's managerial style?
-- Sean J., Germantown, Pa.

Anyone with a Nats blog.

What do you think about the Nationals' bullpen situation?
-- Dave N., Riverside, Calif.

If there's a bright spot for the '07 NAAAtionals, it's definitely the bullpen. Although you can bet you'll see an arm or two come flying off after one-too-many 3 inning start by the RBC (Rotation By Committee).

Since John Patterson says he is 100 percent ready, will he be the Opening Day starter?
-- James U., Glendale, Calif.

Let's see him get through the first day of long toss, maybe throw off a mound once or twice this Spring, and then we'll see...

Do you think the Nationals can play above-.500 baseball in 2007?
-- David V., Brooklyn, N.Y.

Yes. I'm drunk.

I don't see you bring up Beltran Perez much in your starting pitching discussions. Do you think he is out of the Nats' plans?
-- Patrick B., Mankato, Minn.

Pitching discussions? We didn't really discuss anything around here -- we spent the offseason posting pictures of Dr. Phil and a bunch of dead guys and stuff. Sure, Perez is in the mix as much as anyone.

Have the Nationals considered changing the team's name back to the Washington Senators?
-- Brian K., Washington, D.C.

I don't know, but I'd love to see the Wizards change the team's name back to the Bullets, wouldn't you? "Wizards" is just so D&D or Harry Potter-ish for our tastes.

Here are two comments from the fans

First, I would like to say congratulations to Austin Kearns for getting a new three-year contract, but I don't know if that is all good because Schneider received a long-term deal and look at his numbers in 2006. Look at Cristian Guzman and his numbers. That's why I don't like big contracts. I know Nick Johnson had a great year in '06, but we won't see him until who knows when. That's why I think the Nationals should stick to no more than two-year deals.
-- Jarred T., Fredericksburg, Va.

Go to hell.

Tell your reader, Woody S. from Orlando, Fla., that the likelihood of former Expos fans switching to the Toronto Blue Jays is about as likely as Phillies fans switching to the Yankees! Apples and oranges.
-- Steph M., Montreal

Poor Woody...

Bargain or Bust? Only time will tell, but Kearns is part of The Plan.

"I really do think it's closer than what people expect because I think there's a lot of pieces of the puzzle that are already here on the field, and pieces that are here off the field. It excited me."
(Austin Kearns, via Washington Post, 2/2/2007)

Nats willing to gamble at least $17.5 million that Kearns is a building block.

(Photo by Evan Vucci/AP)