Nats Enquirer

After saying all the wrong things, Bryce Harper says all the right things

(In the video above, Bryce Harper signs an autograph and poses for a picture with a kid who appears to be twice his age after his first practice with the Nationals in Florida on Friday, September 17.)

And so, Baseball's LeBron James took flight in a Curly W cap for the first time on Thursday. Bryce Harper went 0-2 in his Florida Instructional League debut for the Nationals, striking out twice. His "professional debut" took place a day after pretty much alienating the entire D.C./MD/VA Sports Universe in one 10 minute interview on DC sports talk radio. But Harper redeemed himself with quotes that almost make you want to buy the kid a beer soda pop:

"I'm just going to work hard down here. I'm going to work as hard as I can," he said when asked when he expects to be in The Show. "I'm going to let the higher powers take care of that. I'm just going to let them do it, see what they see. I like being challenged, so they can move me up as fast as they want. It really doesn't matter. But I've still got a lot of things to learn."
(Bryce Harper, via MLB.com, 9/23/2010)

"I hadn’t seen pitching for five months, it’s a little hard. It’s not easy to go up there ... and ‘Hey, wake up and let’s rake a little bit.’ I wish it was that easy. I was really comfortable at the plate, very comfortable. Thought I was on the fastball, thought I was on the slider. The change-up got me a little bit. It took me a little bit to get going in college ball. Everybody gets a spring training. This is mine."
(Bryce Harper, via Florida Today, 9/23/2010)

Florida Today's Mark Decotis reports that Harper had mixed results in a 5-inning debut in right field: "Harper played five innings in right field, snagging two fly balls and diving and missing a clean double."

Something tells me that like Strasburg, we'll be dissecting every word, at bat, and action this kid makes for the foreseeable future. Until the day he eventually signs with the Yankees a few years down the road...

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No Zim, No Dunn, No Problem

 

(Michael Morse is making a case for Michael Morse. Roger Bernadina is doing the same for Roger Bernadina. Picture of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

"This is still an important time in our season. The games matter because of the standings, but it also matters because of the glimpses we get of the players who are going to play expanded roles this season and beyond."
(Stan Kasten, via Ben Goessling/MASNSports.com, 9/23/2010)

"That's what we expect. That's what they expect of themselves, too. This is a young team that has some very good players. Today kind of showed what kind of depth we had and what kind of team we can have moving forward."
(Ryan Zimmerman, via Washington Post, 9/23/2010)

Nationals 7, Astros 2:  Zim-less, Dunn-less Nats survive thanks to Morse, Bernadina, Espinosa, and Detwiler.

Stan Kasten would have us all believe today is a sign of good things to come...

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Stan Overboard!

 

(Bye, bye. Stan Kasten to resign from the Nationals at the end of the season. AP Photo)

The Plan is Dead.

Stan Kasten jumps (sinking?) ship.

"Let me assure you:  This is just about me.  This has nothing to do with anybody else, or anything else, this is just about me.  What's good for me, for my family, and my own personal expectations, goals, aspirations.  Purely that, and nothing else. ...Leaving here is going to be hard.  But the decision to leave was not hard. It was just the right thing to do now."
(Stan Kasten, via Nationals News Network, 9/23/2010)

And so, SI's John Heyman Tweeted the Truth. It's official: Stan Kasten will resign at the end of the 2010 season.

Bud Selig's shotgun wedding between the Lerner Family and Stan Kasten ends in divorce.

Here's the complete text of Ted Lerner's statement on Kasten's departure, via a Press Release from the Nationals:

"Stan Kasten will always be an important part of the history of the Washington Nationals.  He was vital to ownership winning its bid from Major League Baseball and his agreement to serve as the team’s chief executive for the last five years has been critical to building the Washington Nationals franchise.
 
Over his tenure he has positioned the Nationals to become one of the most exciting franchises in baseball and we thank him for all that he has accomplished. 
 
We certainly respect his decision to pursue other interests at the end of the regular season, but will continue to call upon him for his vast knowledge of the game, the league and the franchise.  He will remain a friend and valued partner of the team and ownership group."
 
Theodore N. Lerner
Managing Principal Owner

Fox Sports.com's Jon Morosi Tweeted this shortly after the news broke: 

Another source said a "lack of (financial) commitment from ownership" was a factor in Kasten's decision to resign

Uh oh. That doesn't sound good. Time to cue the ominous "Lerners are Cheap" music?

Via the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, Kasten isn't retiring, wants to "do something."

"This is just about me, what's best for me. I don't feel like I'm retiring. I want to do something."
(Stan Kasten, via Nationals Journal, 9/23/2010)

Seems like only last October we were wondering when Stan would fly the coop north to Toronto. Now he can...

Bad news for the Nationals, for many reasons. Repeating what we said earlier this morning in our Dear Stan plea: Without Stan Kasten around, who will protect Nationals fans from the Lerners, and the Lerners from themselves?

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Dear Stan Kasten, Please don't go.

(Stan Kasten to leave the Nationals high and dry? Photo via Kevin Dietsch/UPI, Newscom Photo)

If what Thomas Boswell wrote about Stan Kasten leaving the Nationals before the start of the 2011 season  is true, then The Plan is officially dead, and NatsTown is totally f**ked. Or maybe The Plan died years ago, but nobody bothered to tell us. Is Kasten finally going to ditch NatsTown after all this time?  Let's now lovingly copy and paste directly from Stan Kasten Boz:

"I can honestly tell you that no decision has been made," Kasten said. "Remember, I am the master of misdirection."

Although friends, family and baseball associates know he has been reconsidering his future with the Nats for months, and some are certain he already has decided to leave, Kasten may still want to keep his options open. And as a result, he will continue to have as much influence as possible on the Lerner family, whom he has tried, with mixed success, to move toward his less-frugal way of thinking.
(via Thomas Boswell/Washington Post, 9/22/2010)

We've said a lot of unfair and just plain dumb things about Kasten through the years. But the thought of a post-Stan-Kasten world is pretty scary. Without Kasten around, who will protect Nationals fans from the Lerners, and the Lerners from themselves? Rizzo?

Dear Stan, 

If you promise to stick around for at least another year, we'll agree to take back everything bad we ever said about you, and publicly acknowledge that we know it wasn't you at the wheel of one of those Phillies Nation party buses at Nationals Park on Opening Day 2010 (although our sources report you may have been in the back of one of those buses, shotgunning beers with your favorite paying customers from North of D.C.). Please stay.

Sincerely,

Nationals Enquirer Staff

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YES-pinosa!

 

(Danny Espinosa rounds the bases after his 2-run home run in the 7th Wednesday night. Screengrab of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff. Headline lovingly swiped from the Stinger/Steve Ray)

...but no Storen...

Nationals 4, Astros 3: Danny Espinosa's 2-run shot is the difference. A shocking quality start for Marquis, team-leading 11th win for Tyler Clippard, and save by Drew Storen Sean Burnett.

Jim Riggleman opts for Joel Peralta and Sean Burnett (with Miss Iowa himself Miguel Batista warming) in the 9th to nail down the save. Storen sat. Prior to Wednesday's game, Riggleman talked about pulling Storen Tuesday night with 2 outs in the 9th, and confidence (via Nationals Journal): 

"If a guy's confidence gets shaken that easy, then he might not be the right guy. I have no doubt that Drew is going to look at that as a situation where, 'I'm not the closer here yet. I aspire to be that. But it's results orientated, and I'm going through the process of becoming a closer here someday.' We really think that he will. But that doesn't have to be in the remainder of '10. It doesn't have to be in the year '11."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 9/27/2010)

On Wednesday, Riggleman stuck to his guns, opting for an everybody-but-Storen approach. It worked -- but what did it really accomplish? Another vote of confidence by Riggleman for Drew Storen?

Update: via Adam Kilgore/Nationals Journal, Storen threw a bullpen session before the game, Riggleman didn't want to overwork him. And this, which kinda sorta sounds like a vote of confidence:

"If there's a big situation tomorrow, he'll be ready for that."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 9/23/2010)

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Bryce Harper is a Cowboys, Yankees fan.

 

(Bryce Harper has a lot to learn about his future home town. Photo by Getty Images.)

Way to ingratiate yourself with Washington D.C. sports fans, kid.

In an interview with Holden Kushner and Brian Mitchell on 106.7 The Fan D.C. on Wednesday afternoon, Bryce Harper admitted to the following, immediately making him persona non grata in D.C. (except for the fact that Nationals fans need him):

• Bryce Harper is a Cowboys fan.
• Bryce Harper is a Duke fan.
• Bryce Harper is a Yankees fan.
• Bryce Harper is a Lakers fan.

Guess Bryce Harper really IS Baseball's LeBron James.

He didn't admit to it, but Bryce Harper is also a front running dink.

[Update: Of course, Dan Steinberg has a transcript of the interview up on the Bog.]

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About Jim Riggleman's vote of confidence for Drew Storen

 

(Long walk for Drew. Jim Riggleman pulled Drew Storen with two outs in the 9th on Tuesday. Screengrab via MLB.com/MASN.)

What better way to signal to your rookie closer that you trust him, especially after an absolutely crushing 4-run meltdown and blown save just a few days prior, than to pull him with two outs in the 9th inning with an 8-4 lead?

Granted, it wasn't a save situation (at least no yet). And granted, Storen looked shaky at times in the 9th, recording two outs but also giving up a home run and a walk. And granted, this was a huge win hanging in the balance for the Nationals, sort of -- because if they managed to hold on, a win would prevent a third consecutive 100-loss season. They did: that 100-loss mark will have to wait until next year.

But leaving Drew Storen out there to figure shit out in an otherwise meaningless game at the end of a lost season seems more important to the future of the Washington Nationals than a W in an otherwise meaningless game, right?

But Jim Riggleman thought otherwise. He took the ball from Storen, handed it to Sean Burnett, and with one pitch, Burnett induced a pop up to seal win #63 of 2010. Bang, zoom. Here's Riggleman's explanation, via Nationals Journal:

"We don't have any specific role for anybody. We're just trying to get outs. And I felt like the best way to get that next out was to bring Burnett in. Did i think Drew would get the next out? Yeah. But I was a little more confident that Burnie coming in fresh there to face a guy off the bench, turn him around right-handed, was a little more to our liking."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals Journal, 9/22/2010)

That's some vote of confidence for your future closer, Jim!

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Laugher!

 

(Kevin Mench and Willie Harris enjoyed a good laugh at Justin Maxwell's expense after Maxwell slipped in the on-deck circle after scoring in the 8th. Those are two giant heads right there, by the way. Picture of TV/MASN by Nationals Enquirer staff.)

100 losses will have to wait until 2011.

Nationals 8, Astros 4: Big comeback in the 8th, and further proof that baseball is just plain weird. 7 runs with 2 outs in the 8th by the Nats? Go figure.

Bad first inning, but John Lannan was good enough to win: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 86-pitches. Tyler Clippard got the win.

Pudge's big night: 2-4, 2-run home run to tie it in the 8th. And with that HR, Pudge Rodriguez now leads Wil Nieves in home runs, 4-3. But why is Pudge even playing at this point? Where is Wilson Ramos?

Jim Riggleman pulls Drew Storen with 2-outs in the 9th and a 4-run lead. Huh?

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That Empty Feeling

 

(And the empty blue seats go wild! AP Photo.)

10,999 paid (a new low for the Nats), ~8,000 (?) showed up.

"If we want good crowds out here, we're going to have to play better baseball and win more games."
(Jim Riggleman, via Washington Post. 9/21/2010)

"But you look at our record, why would you come see us?"
(Adam Dunn, via NatsInsider, 9/20/2010)

Astros 8, Nationals 2: And the good news is, almost nobody was there to see it.

How low will the attendance go at Nationals Park? Check back tonight.

Another awful, lost weekend in Philly probably didn't help.

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First Blood

 

(Jason Marquis, awful again. AP Photo.)

"I want my $15 million back."
(Ted Lerner, via Nationals Enquirer, 9/16/2010)

"Some nights are going to be like that."
(Jason Marquis, via Washington Post, 9/16/2010)

Awful: 0.1 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 38 pitches.

Phillies 9, Nationals 1: Looking on the bright side, Marquis wasn't as bad as he was back on April 18. He got an out Friday night!

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