Nats Enquirer

New blogger Mike Rizzo riles up Orioles, Nats fans over Wil Nieves MASN ad.

(AP Photo. On Thursday, MASN announced the release of Mike Rizzo's new blog on MASNSports.com. In his first post, Mike immediately stired up trouble with O's and Nats fans alike.)

Don't look now! It's another Nationals blog!

Over at the D.C. Sports Bog, Dan Steinberg raises concerns over what Mike Rizzo's new MASN blog is going to be all about, based on Rizzo's first post (a Q&A with MASN's Ben Goessling). We're not so concerned.

In the press release by MASN announcing Rizzo's foray into the seedy world of internet blogging, Rizzo says:

"This is a really great opportunity to interact with our fans, to consider their questions, to explain how we reach decisions as a franchise and even to hear alternative ideas and perspectives."
(Mike Rizzo, via MASN Press release, 3/18/2010)

And wouldn't you know it? Right off the bat, Rizzo is confronted with some of those dreaded "alternative ideas and perspectives." Take this comment on the first post from "Johnny B."...an Orioles fan:

Dear Mike Rizzo,

Could you please ask that the Wil Nieves commercial from last year not be played during Orioles broadcasts? The commercial is mildly annoying even with the mustache. We the Baltimore fans would appreciate it and will see if the horrible father/son Oriole commercial from last year would never be shown again.

So, just one post in, and Rizzo is already stirring up trouble with Orioles fans, turning up the heat on the 2010 Battle of the Beltways. Smart play by Rizzo.

But Rizzo clearly struck a nerve with his readers on the Wil Nieves "issue", as seen in a follow-up comment by commenter "023staN":

We the Nationals fans would appreciate not playing the Wil Nieves commercial during home games this year. And also away games. Thank you.

We're glad to hear Rizzo's got his own blog now; here's hoping he gives Nats fans a reason to keep reading. And here's hoping MASN keeps running that Wil Nieves spot again and again and again and...again, throughout the 2010 season:

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March Badness

 

(AP Photo. Jason Marquis got lit up like Tyler Walker again on Wednesday against the Astros.)

"I've got three more starts to straighten it out."
(Jason Marquis, via Ben Goessling/MASN, 3/17/2010)

Release Jason Marquis!

Dear Mike Rizzo: You could also really improve the clubhouse aura by releasing Tyler Walker today. Sincerely, NatsTown.

Meanwhile...

• Dunn's back is still killing him.

• The Mets reportedly don't want Guz. You gotta love the sub-headline on Nationals.com: "Shortstop likely tough to trade because of $8 million salary". Thanks, Jimbo.

• Chris Needham is spot-on RE: the Nats handling of the Dukes decision: "If Stan Kasten had spent half the time explaining the move in these sorts of terms as he did fighting Jim Bowden's twitter feed, there'd probably be quite fewer pissed-off Nats fans tonight."

• FJB is seeing nothing but bad process.

• Stan Kasten's sales force harnesses the power of google. Creepy.

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Dukes: "All I've been doing is my job."

(AP Photo. Unconditionally released by the Nationals on Wednesday, Elijah Dukes isn't laughing now.)

March Madness.

Hours later, and we're still trying to process the Elijah Dukes news. Over at Nats Insider, Mark Zuckerman captures the debate around the decision quite nicely, which is helpful. At this hour, the fishy decision to release Dukes, which was defended to a man by Rizzo, Kasten, and Riggleman as strictly a baseball decision, still seems to be holding up as that. Sort of. Despite what Jim Bowden said (and Stan Kasten smacked down).Despite Mike Rizzo's vague hints about an improved aura or something in the clubhouse:

"The things that happened in the clubhouse are clubhouse matters. We are not going to go into any details on what happened behind closed doors. We have a more cohesive, united group. I think the chemistry will continue to be great. We think we are going to be a better ballclub moving forward."
(Mike Rizzo, via Bill Ladson/All Nats All the Time, 3/17/2010)

So it's a chemistry thing? But what does Elijah Dukes have to say about all of this? The Associated Press went straight to the source and got a few comments from Dukes outside a Florida hotel on Wednesday afternoon:

"I don't know what to say. It felt a little funny. I guess I wasn't expecting it. ... That's part of baseball. No big deal, no hard feelings. Just part of the game."

"Nothing happened. If something had happened, I'd know about it."

"All I've been doing is my job."
(Elijah Dukes, via Associated Press, 3/17/2010)

So there you have it. Dukes seems just as surprised as everybody else by the decision, denies any on-or-off-field incident. He just works here. Or, worked here.

So we move on, and start getting used to the idea of a rotating cast of Willie Harris, Mike Morse, and Justin Maxwell in right. I have a hard time believing the Washington Nationals will be better off in the short- or long-term with this move. Still have a hard time believing this was mostly a baseball decision.

Godspeed, Elijah Dukes. Hope you land on your feet and figure it out somewhere.

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The End of the Elijah Dukes Era in DC.

 

(AP Photo. Another Jim Bowden guy bites the dust. Elijah Dukes is gone.)

Elijah Dukes released by Nationals

Wow. Shocking news out of Nats camp today. And maybe most shocking is that it might not be related to off-the-field problems. We'll see.

Adam Kilgore reports that the move was a "baseball decision"; at least that's what Jim Riggleman says:

Manager Jim Riggleman said it was a strictly baseball decision and not related to any off-the-field problems. "We like some of our other options in right field, really," Riggleman said. "Elijah was great."
(via Nationals Journal, 3/17/2010)

Huh? But what other better options are there? Willie Harris? Bernadina? Maxwell? These are better options than Dukes?

There's got to be more to this story...

Dukes, who missed time last Friday because of a sore toe was not included in either of Tuesday's split squad lineups. Borrowing from Kilgore again, Riggleman said the absence wasn't related to injury/physical issues:

Elijah Dukes is also absent from either split-squad lineup today, but Riggleman said he just has a routine day off. "No physical issues," Riggleman said.
(via Nationals Journal, 3/16/2010)

No physical issues. But issues? Something isn't adding up. There's got to be more to this story...

Godspeed, Elijah Dukes. Hope you can figure it out somewhere.

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The Strasburg Circus isn't coming to town...yet

 

(Photo by Getty Images. The Ringling Bros. and Barnem & Bailey Circus arrived in DC this week; the Racing Presidents posed for pictures with the elephants - is that Livo on the far left? - on Tuesday. The Stephen Strasburg Circus won't be coming to town until the summer.)

"The official decision has not been made."
(Mike Rizzo, via Bill Ladson/MLB.com, 3/16/2010)

Oh, come on, Mike!

Despite that statement (above) by Mike Rizzo claiming the decision on Strasburg's immediate future hadn't been officially made yet, Rizzo made it pretty damn clear on XM/Sirius yesterday that...the decision about Strasburg's immediate future HAS been made:

"I do believe that (Strasburg's) learning curve is very, very fast but I do believe that there is a curve there so I'm leaning toward sending him to the minor leagues. I don't think that's a shock to a lot of people. I believe that he will be in the big leagues at some time this year if he progresses and stays healthy. And once he gets to the big leagues, of course, we believe he should not go back to the minor leagues. So that's kind of the progression I have with him."
(Mike Rizzo on XM/Sirius MLB Homeplate, via Big League Stew, 3/16/2010)

No surprise there. And as much as we'd love to see Strasburg break camp with the big club -- who wouldn't want to see the team head north with its best 25 players, including by far the best pitcher in the organization? -- we're on board with the decision to take it slowly with Baseball Jesus.

Meanwhile...

Speaking of "unofficial" decisions: apparently John Smoltz won't be ending his career in Washington (we're not even sure how serious a run Stan Kasten/Mike Rizzo made at landing him in the elusive search for veteran starting pitching). Smoltz is not "officially" retiring yet, he's reportedly staying in playing shape, but is entering the broadcast booth to do TV with the Braves, TBS, and MLB Network this season.

Mets interested in trading for Cristian Guzman?

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Now is it safe to start printing those World Series tickets?

(Photo of World Series trophy via MSG.com. The Nationals are dreaming of World Series glory after posting their first win(s) of the spring on Tuesday.)

Nats leap back into Grapefruit League race with a pair of wins.

Wake up 0-11; go home 2-11 by late afternoon. Not bad for a day's work.

"Just for everybody's psyche, it's nice to get a win on the board."  
(Jim Riggleman, via Ben Goessling/MASN, 3/16/2010)

Best news of all, it sounds like the Nats finally got some good performances across the board from start to finish: Lannan, Thompson, Slaten, English in the 4-2 win over the Cards; Stammen, Bergmann, Clippard, Burnett, Bruney in the 12-3 pounding of the Marlins.

Meanwhile...

Uh oh! Nyjer Morgan tweaked his hammy. Adam Dunn tweaked his back.

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McCatty happy with "free and easy" Wang

 

(Photo of TV/MASN shot by Nationals Enquirer staff. Chien Ming Wang fends off the Taiwanese media after throwing his first bullpen session of the spring on Monday afternoon.)

"I was happy with what he did. He felt good and the ball has that sink to it. It was very good to see. The arm slot looked good. He was free and easy with the ball."
(Steve McCatty, via All Nats All the Time, 3/15/2010)

Chien Ming Wang's first Nationals bullpen session of the spring is in the books.

Taiwan rejoices!

Meanwhile...

Farewell, Ron Villone. Nats make more cuts.

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Mid-Season Form?

(Photo by Getty Images. The Nationals have laid an egg so far this Spring. Just don't mention that to Ryan Zimmerman)

"If we were 10-0, would you say we were going to win the World Series? No. So there you there you go. I don't want to say the fans don't understand. It's nothing against anybody else who's in here. Some of these guys aren't going to be on our team. It's not their fault."
(Ryan Zimmerman, via Nationals Journal, 3/14/2010)

Don't blame Pete Orr for the 0-10 spring, Zim!

Message received, Zim, but unfortunately, the major culprits so far through this little 0-10 dip are guys who ARE going to be on your team. (pssst! check your bullpen!) See Clippard, Capps, Villone, Burnett, Walker, etc. And that Tony Plush fellow. So, as much as we're 100% fully on board with the idea that Spring Training wins and losses aren't significant, you can't simply pin the 0-10 record on the "non-regulars". The regulars have been brutal. But it's only Spring Training! We get that...

But then why does Riggleman seem to be taking it so badly? Quick, someone remind Jim that Rizzo removed that "Interim" tag over the winter. You're on solid ground, Jim (*gulp*!)...

"I really don't know what the right word is. I know I don't feel good about it. I certainly would like to be 10-0. Right now,  a win would be better than what we are. ... It feels terrible to lose. I don't care what you are doing. It's terrible to lose."
(Jim Riggleman, via All Nats All the Time, 3/14/2010)

Meanwhile...

Two pieces of really good news over the weekend, besides an injury-free start by Strasburg: Mike Rizzo hinting that money wouldn't drive the Desmond/Guzman and Strasburg decisions; and Mike Rizzo killing the idea of Ian Desmond as a utility guy.

Unfortunately, MASN will not be replaying yesterday's Liberty/Gardner-Webb thriller tonight, and instead will broadcast Nationals spring training baseball. Nationals/Braves at 7!?

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Strasburgeddon II (but I'd rather watch the Big South Women's Final on MASN!)

 

(Photo by Getty Images. Stephen Strasburg makes his second start of the spring on Sunday against the Cardinals. Nationals fans will have to settle for listening to the away broadcast on XM/MLB Audio.)

"Our only expectations are: he threw his game. He did what we wanted him to do, what we want all our guys to do. Recovered well. Threw his side session. Took a day off and then pitching the game. You just hope that routine starts to really settle in and that becomes the norm for him."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nats Insider, 3/13/2010)

Riggleman's list of expectations for each Strasburg start (via Mark Zuckerman/Nats Insider) sounds reasonable. Our only expectation for today's 3-inning appearance is this:

"Arm doesn't fall off."

That's it. Just be healthy; oh, and maybe knock Felipe Lopez on his ass with a 100 MPH fastball up around the eyeballs, and we're happy. I'm sure it'll sound great on Cardinals radio!

While were on the topic of expectations...It seems odd that MASN (and WFED, for that matter) wouldn't have cashed in on another highly anticipated start by Strasburg by broadcasting today's game from Space Coast. Oh well; NatsTown is used to it by now. We'll just have to settle for the Cards' radio broadcast while watching the following riveting programming on MASN:

12:00 PM
MASN COLLEGE CLASSICS #10:
LOUISVILLE vs. MARYLAND (12/13/80)

2:00 PM
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL:
BIG SOUTH (LIVE)
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT FINAL

Sweet! Thank you, Mr. Angelos! We'll be watching!

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Where "little ailment" often turns into "60 days on the DL"...

(AP Photo. The oft-injured Elijah Dukes missed his first action of the spring on Saturday because of a sore foot.)

"He has a little ailment in his foot. It's nothing serious. He has the knee issue that goes on sometimes. We just felt like, you know what, let's just wait until tomorrow and put him out there. Hopefully, these fields will be dried up tomorrow."
(Jim Riggleman, via All Nats All the Time, 3/13/2010)

Elijah Dukes was scratched from Saturday's lineup; and we cringed when we read Jim Riggleman's comments (above) about the injury. The way things work with the Nationals, Mr. Riggles pretty much just guaranteed Dukes a trip to the 60-day DL with talk like that. Just a "little ailment in his foot"; thanks Jim.

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