"He would even drift off with thoughts of hunting while playing first base."

 

(Also, Adam LaRoche is an avid deer hunter. Photo of Adam LaRoche and a buck via BuckCommander.com.)

Adam Done

Nationals agree to 2 year (16 million bucks?) deal with Adam LaRoche

Maybe LaRoche can help Mike Rizzo hunt down and bag one of those elusive top of the rotation pitchers he's been chasing all Winter?

Last man standing!  And now, thankfully, let us safely put to bed all the talk about how a platoon at first base wouldn't be so bad for the Nats in 2011. Let's just leave all the glaring question marks to the starting rotation, okay? At least now pending a physical, there's no question about what the Nats will get out of first base the next two seasons: a good if not average bat, a good if not average glove. Vanilla. And that's good news.

If you liked how Manny Acta expressed emotion during his 2 year stint with the Nationals...well, you'll LOVE Adam LaRoche. And now, get to know Adam LaRoche (quotes courtesy of BuckCommander.com)!

• Biggest buck ever? "230 inches (gun) and 170" (bow)"
• Dream buck? "Any buck over five years old."
• When Hollywood makes a a movie about Adam LaRoche, who plays Adam LaRoche? "Matthew McConaughey"
• He's an old hunting buddy of Ex-Nat Ryan Langerhans.

Here's LaRoche's CamoSpace.com profile page, in case you're interested.

And then there was that time back in 2006 when LaRoche's ADD got the best of him in a game against the Nats. Let's let this 2007 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article describe the scene:

On May 14, 2006, LaRoche's life was altered by a routine grounder up the first-base line.

The ball crawled off the bat of Washington's Nick Johnson, LaRoche scooped it up, and it should have brought the final out of the fifth inning and kept the Braves within one run. LaRoche thought to tag Johnson, then decided instead to turn and step on the bag. But he did so inexplicably casually, and Johnson -- going full bore out of the box -- beat him by a hair.

As the cruel baseball gods would have it, the Nationals would score four runs that inning and win, all while the Turner Field crowd booed LaRoche incessantly, prompting LaRoche to turn to an umpire and say, "I feel naked out here." ...

He often needed to be awakened from naps shortly before games.

Or to get nudged in the dugout when he should have been in the on-deck circle.

Or to glance up at the scoreboard for the count.

He would even drift off with thoughts of hunting while playing first base.

"I just learned to play with it for so long," LaRoche said. "I'd be out there and forget things ... and I'd just get used to it."

...

"Adam doesn't show much emotion, but stuff does bother him," Braves outfielder Jeff Francouer said. "And that bothered him."

It was not new. Through his years in the minors, LaRoche's love of the game and work ethic often were questioned by managers, coaches, even teammates. Some, as LaRoche recalled, used to tell him "at least fake some excitement." (via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/1/2007)

And please don't misunderstand, Nationals Enquirer staff are happy with the Adam LaRoche signing (better than Lee, or Pena!), but now we're gonna go fake some excitement!

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Comments

[JDC]

Gosh, I feel so medium about this news!

[WFY]

I can't believe you didn't note the Bryce Harper style warpaint.

Fortunately, I did. Thanks for the photo BTW.

[The Nationals Enquirer]

@WFY: don't thank me, thank BuckCommander.com!

Well played by you, sir, taking the Bryce Harper warpaint angle... It didn't occur to me until I read your post this morning...

[Sec314]

This is an awfully long post. I just sorta skimmed it. LaRoche plays the infield, right?

[The Nationals Enquirer]

@Sec314 Not sure. Will check on that and get back to you.