Nats Enquirer

Let us know when it's time to start worrying about Strasburg.

 

(Photo by Getty Images. Stephen Strasburg could potentially break the fragile heart of NatsTown.)

Should we start worrying yet?

After Bud Selig's comments yesterday: Yes.

It's been a few weeks since the Strasburg Negotiations heated up when Stan Kasten smashed up Scott Boras' car, but with the August 17th deadline looming just over a month away now: is it time for Nationals fans to start worrying about the team's ability to sign Stephen Strasburg? We've been trying to block it out here at the offices of The Nationals Enquirer. We're not particularly concerned thatthe Nats haven't spoken directly to Strasburg since Draft Day, as Boz reported yesterday:

Strasburg said that "I haven't heard from the Nationals" since he was drafted, other than receiving a minor league contract -- a technicality that prevents him from becoming a free agent.

What really matters is that Rizzo has been talking to Boras (also via Boz):

While the Nationals have not spoken directly to Strasburg, acting general manager Mike Rizzo has been in frequent contact for weeks with Strasburg's agent, Scott Boras, according to Nationals President Stan Kasten.

That's all well and good: team talks to agent rather than player during a negotiation. Par for the course. But  Bud Selig's comments yesterday on the Strasburg negotiations had the effect of pushing the panic button:

"They're very sincere about signing Strasburg, and I'm hopeful that they will, and I know they are going to make him a very meaningful offer. Now, what happens from there is going to be up to Mr. Boras and Mr. Strasburg and what they want to do, and what the Nationals want to do."

"I look around. I think about this subject a lot. Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard. They all signed at slot or under -- [and] they're all doing pretty well. Let's be honest, in this economy, the numbers that are being spent [on young players] are pretty good."
(Bud Selig, via Nationals Journal, 7/14/2009)

In other words: No surprise, but Bud expects the Nats to toe the party line. And they probably will. And Boras will take his ball and go play somewhere else. Time to start preparing for the bad news, NatsTown.

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Bud threatens contraction for Nats

(Reuters Photo. Ted and Mark in happier times. Smile Ted, the money is still rolling in!)

"They bought a team from Montreal that didn't really have anybody there. [And they have run this thing straight into the ground. In hindsight, I should've just contracted the damn Expos. And I should have known a bunch of mall rats weren't fit to own a baseball team. I apologize. I'm considering just contracting the franchise and putting everyone out of their misery.] But they understand what they have to do, and I have every confidence they will do that. I don't think they need me or anybody else to defend them."
(Bud Selig, via Nationals Journal, 7/14/2009)

Actually, Bud thinks the Lerners are "on the right track." Go figure.

Earlier this afternoon, Bud Selig held a Q&A session with the Baseball Writers Association of America. Dave Sheinin (Post) and Mark Zuckerman (Times) transcribed the Nats-related details online. Not surprisingly, Bud refused to admit there's a problem in Washington, rushing to the defense of the Lerner Family (via Chatter/Wash Times):

Q: On what basis can you say they understand what they're doing and you have confidence in them to do that?

Bud Selig: Because I've been talking to them, and I know what they want to do, and I know what they've done in their farm system, and I've had other people evaluate their farm system and their organization. And while obviously this has been painful for them, I have every confidence they know what they're going to do and they're going to do it.

Feel better now, NatsTown?

Meanwhile, if you haven't read Thom Loverro's piece from earlier today, it's required reading...

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This much we know: it wasn't Pat Corrales.

(Photo of Pat Corrales graciously provided by Miss Chatter)

"It's a huge part of the puzzle. It's a huge part of the makeup of a championship-caliber club. I've been on several championship clubs in the big leagues, and you don't win unless you have guys in the clubhouse that have character, that stick together and that play as a unit."
(Mike Rizzo, via Washington TImes, 7/3/2009)

Character, character, character!

Via Deadspin, the Houston Chronicle's Jose de Jesus Ortiz posted on his blog on Sunday about the sleazy exploits of a married MLB player attempting to pick up a 20-yr. old intern in Houston:

"...after a recent game, a Major League Baseball player asked a female intern from another media outlet if she'd like to join him at a club in Houston later that night.

That was the first stupid decision made by the player, who just happens to be a married father. The young lady then accepted his phone number, which was a major no-no in the context of how it was offered.

As if that weren't silly enough, the young lady, who has nearly 700 "friends" on Facebook, decided to post this message on her Facebook account for over four hours: "Was asked out by (team name and player name) last night and I have his cell phone number to prove it."

Naturally, it turns out that the failed pickup attempt was perpetrated by a current member of the Nationals: Courtesy of Steinberg's Bog this morning, Jeff Pearlman reported  yesterday that the player was indeed a Washington National. Of course, given the new focus on the importance of character around NatsTown, the team responded swiftly: by considering a ban on interns in the clubhouse.

"According to a baseball source, the ballplayer ... was a member of the Washington Nationals. Furthermore, because of the incident, the Nationals are now considering a permanent, all-encompassing ban of interns from the team's clubhouse."

Our own Anonymous sources, always with no knowledge of the situation, confirmed for us that the player was definitely not freshly-minted bench coach Pat Corrales.

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Lerner Family: AWOL

(AP Photo. Mark Lerner, all thumbs.)

Where, oh where, were the Lerners today?

Stan Kasten explains (via Nationals Journal):

Q. Why aren't any of the Lerner family members here?

Stan Kasten: Because I'm the team president and this is my responsibility and I'm ultimately responsible for everything that goes on here and I accept all the blame.

Really!? If not for that pesky ownership stake, it almost sounds as if Stan is trying to get himself fired, too. Or maybe he's working on his exit strategy?

Anyway, we're unsure about Ted Lerner, but anonymous sources with no knowledge of the situation (the same not the same unnamed sources who gave us the scoop on Manny last week) tell the Nationals Enquirer that Mark Lerner pulled an all-nighter writing that bogus flowery, heartfelt letter to Nationals Fans and overslept the 11:30 press conference.

Oh, and here's Mark's letter, translated over at N3P. We were touched by Mark's words, but to be honest, we liked this letter better.

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Manny Overboard!

(AP Photo. Remember that time Manny Acta argued a call with umpires? That was awesome. It was August 12, 2008, against the Mets.)

"I thank the Nationals for giving me this opportunity and I'm sorry that things didn't work out as expected. It's normal for the manager to pay the price when the team is not doing well."
(Manny Acta, via ESPNDeportes dot com, 7/12/2009)

Nationals Fire Manny Acta

It's over. Manny Acta Era ends at 158-252.

It's just like our Anonymous, unnamed sources with no knowledge of the situation told us all along. They had to do something; but it's unlikely a new manager will change much of anything. Good luck, Jim Riggleman - you'll need it.

Now, we're just waiting for details on how the Nats botched the delivery of the news to Manny. Did they send via carrier pigeon? Text message? Smoke signals? Pizza delivery guy?

Best of luck to you in the future, Manny. Good thing the Wilpons have that job waiting for you in NY for next year! See you around the NL East...

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Mannyball.

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan. Tyler Clippard provided today's "Wow, I've never seen THAT before!" NatsTown Moment with his 8th inning balk on an Intentional Walk attempt, leading to the Astro's 5th run.)

"'Bizarre' is a good name for it. I never seen it before in my life. I've seen guys commit balks, but not while he is walking a guy intentionally."
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 7/12/2009)

Manny's Last Stand; Nats Fall Down

Astros 5, Nationals 0: 26-61, but who's counting? This is the end of the road for Manny Acta, though, right?

Riggleman Era begins Thursday?

This just in: The game ended hours ago, but the Nats just stranded another runner on base.

Boatloads and truckloads of guys left on base between innings 6-9. So many, we lost count. 13 LOB for the game? Yes.

Another mostly brilliant performance from J-Zimm goes for naught. 2010 should be fun, though!

According to sources with no knowledge of the situation, Stan Kasten "can't fu*king wait to fire Manny Acta";but will send Mike Rizzo to do the deed anyway.

Defining moment of the season happened in the 8th: Tyler Clippard, attempting to intentionally walk Houston's Hunter Pence, then balked home Berkman. The gory details, via (Not Matt) Chico Harlan, Washington Post:

Clippard was trying to intentionally walk Hunter Pence, a formality that generally doesn't require much in the way of execution. During his delivery, though, Clippard's cleat caught awkwardly on the front of the pitcher's mound. He flinched, took a sad tumble off the mound, and elected not to throw the ball.

Of course, Manny has an excuse for "the kid". He didn't know! (via Canadian Press 7/12/2009)

"He caught his spikes on the dirt," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "But all he had to do was release the ball and let it roll and it wouldn't have been a balk. But he's just a kid and he didn't know."

Meanwhile..Farewell, Ross Detwiler. Say "Hi" to Elijah Dukes for us. Welcome back Garrett Mock. Hope it works out as well for Mock up here as it did in Syracuse since his last demotion. Last time around wasn't so pretty.

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Houston Rockets

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan. Incoming!)

"It was just good tonight to kind of get a game where you could kind of relax. Once we started hitting the ball, you know, it was sort of contagious."
(Josh 'Ham Solo No More' Willingham, via Washington Post, 7/12/2009)

Wow!

But is one big night enough to save Manny Acta's job*?

Nats 13, Astros 2: Who are these guys? A 13 run, 21 hit ass-kicking.

Manny doesn't trust his 'pen with an 11 run lead; Craig Stammen coasts to first CG of career, win #2.

Nick Johnson, Josh Willingham, Adam Dunn: back-to-back-to-back bombs.

Josh Willingham's trade value going up!

Manny rushes to the defense of Guz. He's no quitter!

*Or will Stan Kasten be meeting Manny on the tarmac at Reagan National tonight after the flight home to deliver the axe? Anonymous sources with no knowledge of the situation tell us Stan will send Mike Rizzo to do his dirty work.

Our condolences to Ryan Zimmerman and his family on the passing of his grandmother.

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Texas Toast

(AP Photo. Willie Harris, up, down, and out.)

Sickening.

"It's at the point where it's beyond embarrassing for us. I think everybody in this clubhouse should be embarrassed by the way we played, and the way we lose games. We find a way all the time, and it's sickening. It's to the point where it's just hard to take, and we've just got to get better."
(Ordinary Joe Beimel, via Washington Times, 7/11/2009)

Astros 6, Nats 5: Hey, nice rally in the 7th, but the bullpen blew another one.

Nats a bunch of quitters? Not if you ask Manny:

But anonymous sources with no knowledge of the situation say Manny will meet Stan Kasten's axe after the game on Sunday.

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Effort, Less

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan. Memo to Cristian Guzman: The All Star Break doesn't start until next week.)

"Yeah, it is what it is. I don't know why you keep bringing that up. We didn't bring Dunn over here to play defense. He is what he is, and we love the 40 home runs and the 100-something RBIs he's going to bring. Because we didn't have that here. I can't ask Dunn to play outfield like Nyjer Morgan plays it. That ball was off the wall and it just kept on rolling and the other one he just couldn't get to it."
(Manny Acta, via Nationals Journal, 7/10/2009)

Manny's boys lay down on the job, again.

Astros 9, Nats 4: Tough night for Lannan. And in the field, an effort only Felipe Lopez could love.

Fine, Manny, we accept your overly defensive defense of Dunn's follies; but what's your excuse for Guzman?

Rob Dibble on the "Pathetic" effort, via DC Sports Bog.

Oh, by the way, Dunn wasn't out there daydreaming on Bourne's triple in the 8th, either. It was an attempted deke!

"I didn't want him to be running hard out of the box, because I knew it was going to hit off that wall," Dunn said. "That's kind of why I tried to deke him a little bit. It just hit that metal thing and took off."
(Adam Dunn, via Washington Times, 7/10/2009)

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A win is a win, even 2 months late.

 

(Photo of TV by Nationals Enquirer Staff. Tonight's post-game celebration, 2+ months in the making.)

Now, we've seen everything.

Nats 11, Astros 10: The beauty of the 2009 Washington Nationals is that on any given night there's a really good chance you'll see something you've never seen before and/or couldn't possibly imagine (even under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs). Usually, it's something going horrifically wrong for the Nats.

But for once, the bizarre ending worked in the Nationals' favor.

We will never forget the sight of gimpy Josh Bard, gingerly, painfully limping up the first base line to meet his maker after hitting into a double play, only to have Miguel Tejada airmail the throw to first. Nyjer Morgan, pinch running for pinch runner Elijah Dukes (now in exile in AAA Syracuse), scores. Nats win 2+ months after the fact? Hey, we'll take it. Too bad Joel Hanrahan wasn't around to see his first win of the season; it could very well be his last.

How does one get in touch with MASN to get my own Defining Moment TV spot? This was it!

Dan Steinberg sums up the weirdness as succinctly as humanly possible on Twitter:

Hanrahan wins thanks to a run scored by the dude he got traded for. Baseball is so damn weird.

Here's how we left things back on May 5th. For your convenience, our May 5 post is below :

Suspension of Disbelief

"Today was the battle of two struggling bullpens, and I think we could have helped ourselves a little bit if we would have played better defense."
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 5/5/2009) 

Nationals 10, Astros 10: To be continued. Two bad teams + Nats' dreadful Bullpen + Rain = see you July 9th!

Damn you, Kip Wells

Zimmerman extends hit streak to 23.

Boz says the Nats are in danger of "losing the town." Hasn't that already happened?

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(Photo of TV by Nationals Enquirer Staff)

Posted on May 05, 2009 at 11:10 PM

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"Today was the battle of two struggling bullpens, and I think we could have helped ourselves a little bit if we would have played better defense."
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 5/5/2009) 

Nationals 10, Astros 10: To be continued. Two bad teams + Nats' dreadful Bullpen + Rain = see you July 9th!

Damn you, Kip Wells

Zimmerman extends hit streak to 23.

Boz says the Nats are in danger of "losing the town." Hasn't that already happened?

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(Photo of TV by Nationals Enquirer Staff)