"I've had an opportunity to spend a great deal of time with Ted Lerner and Mark Lerner. We have a foundation built and we understand them a little bit and they understand us. [And believe me; when this negotiation is over they will not only understand us, but they will know us. In the Biblical sense. Bwaaaaa ha ha ha ha.] Our goal here was to provide the franchise, prior to the draft, with every bit of information we could with where we felt Stephen's value points were and why. [Bwaaaa ha ha ha.]" (Scott Boras, via Baseball America dot com, 6/10/2009)
"An extraordinary player receiving a substantial bonus far above other draft picks has happened before ... Obviously Stephen falls into that class of players. They just happen to have that extraordinary ability.[Bwaaaaa ha ha ha ha.]" (Scott Boras, via Associated Press, 6/10/2009)
(AP Photo. Moments after drafting Stephen Strasburg with the #1 pick, Mark Lerner says to Stan Kasten: "My Dad wants to know if this Strasburg fellow is going to cost him more than that Crow fellow wanted last year.")
(AP Photo. Austin Kearns argues the game-ending third strike call with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher. Security must have been fairly lax after the rain delay, because a fan in a Manny Acta jersey got on the field to join in the argument. Who was that guy?)
(Photo by Getty Images. Enough with the Ben McDonald references, already!)
"There are rare opportunities for franchises to obtain a talent that is extraordinary. In most instances, those opportunities come via free agency. Teams that capitalize on these opportunities can sway the competitive balance. [Assume the position, Mr. Lerner.]'' (Scott Boras, via SI dot com, 6/8/2009)
"We're attempting to sign someone consistent with the system already in place. That's our view, and no one [from MLB] is telling us that. We're simply not going to change the sport." (Stan Kasten, via Washington Post, 6/9/2009)
Draft Day 2009:The second* most important day in the brief history of the Washington Nationals is here.
Nats will pick Stephen Strasburg #1; but will they sign him? Boras vs. Kasten will be a bloodbath.
Draft Fail? Don't even think of it. No way they botch the #1 pick tonight. Right? Right? Then again, if any team could find a way to f#!k this whole thing up and take Ackley #1, it's our Natinals.
Before tonight's game, news broke that the Nationals have (mercifully) yanked Joel Hanrahan from the closer role; and have named Mike MacDougal closer effective immediately, until he melts down, too. Looks like Mike could get his first chance to implode Natinals-2009 style tonight.
"We are going to have him relax (yeah, right!) and pitch in the middle of the game in order to get his confidence back (riiiiight). I spoke to him and told him I have a lot of faith in him (pfffffffffttt), and I have proved that (as shown by the way I've jerked him around all season). But right now, he hasn't been consistent enough to be pitching back there. He took it very well." (Manny Acta, via Nationals dot com, 6/6/2009)
"I don’t think I was any more excited than anything else when I found out the news. But it’s good. It’s been a while since I’ve done it, and I look forward to doing it again." (Mike MacDougal, via Chatter/Washington Times, 6/6/2009)
Anonymous, unnamed sources with no knowledge of the situation tell The Nationals Enquirer at this hour that the team has no plans to reinstate the wildly popular "Closer by Committee" of Kip Wells and Julian Tavarez.
That makes 3 losses in a row, 18 of 21. So, they'll probably wait until after draft day (Tuesday) to fire Manny, right? Although, there's another off-day Monday...
Progress? We're still shocked Manny came out of the dugout to argue that blown call at third in the second.
You know, it's a lot easier to look the other way when Dunn is fumbling around in the outfield when he's mashing baseballs.
Anyway, Verducci's piece only adds to the growing hype surrounding Harper; and what High School legend would be complete without tall tales about monster, 570 foot homeruns? Here's a snippet from a March 2009 feature in the Boston Globe (in which Harper also denies any use of PEDs):
Standing on home plate, on a diamond on the edge of the desert, Las Vegas High School assistant baseball coach Harry Traynor shakes his head in disbelief and points.
"We measured it at 570 feet," he marvels, recalling the titanic blast hit by freshman Bryce Harper last season. "Unbelievable. I've been around baseball 30 years. I've never seen anything like it."
At the moment, Haper isn't eligible for the MLB draft until 2011. But Brian at Nationals Farm Authority flagged Verducci's story several days ago, and hit on the key takeaway for the Nats: Bryce Harper's parents are considering having their son complete his GED this summer, enrolling him in junior college in the Fall, thus making him eligible for the 2010 draft and (barring injury) a no-brainer for the #1 pick:
What the Harpers are considering, however, is having Bryce earn a GED credential this summer and enroll in a junior college this fall, which would expose him to more challenging baseball competition as well as make him eligible for next June's draft, in which he would likely be the first pick in the country. Under that scenario, assuming the Nationals keep losing games at something close to their current rate (they have the worst record in baseball, and it isn't even close), Washington could wind up with Strasburg and Harper in the next 12 months—the baseball equivalent of the Cavaliers getting James and Dwight Howard in consecutive NBA drafts. Of course, in both cases the Nationals would have to negotiate with Boras, who represents Strasburg too. A combined outlay in the neighborhood of $100 million is entirely possible. Boras, according to league sources, will use the six-year, $52 million deal he negotiated with the Red Sox for Daisuke Matsuzaka in December 2006 as the benchmark for a Strasburg deal.
Pretty much the second that shot went in last night, I changed the status on my Facebook page to "I wish LeBron played for the Nats."
NFBL wondered if the Nats currently have a Lebron-type player on the current roster (they don't), or in the system (not yet), and ended with:
I guess it will be fun to watch, to see who becomes that LeBron. I just hope it happens while I'm still here on earth.
Well, hang in there, Mike. If Tom Verducci is to be believed, you just might see your very own Lebron in Washington before you croak. Here at the Nationals Enquirer, we accepted the Strasburg hype hook, line, and sinker. We're fully prepared to blindly do the same with Bryce Harper.
Let the Bryce Harper Watch begin! Get that GED, boy! And, to the Nationals: Just keep losing, baby! Oh, and Ted Lerner: get out your checkbook and get ready to assume the position for Boras; he owns your ass.
