There it is. Bryce Harper hit his first professional home run (off Padres prospect Erik Davis) in an Arizona Fall League game in Scottsdale yesterday, finishing the game a triple shy of the cycle: 3-5, HR, 2 RBI.
And here's another look at the home run; although we'd suggest taking some Dramamine to fight the effects of motion sickness caused by the cameraman's shaky hand:
(Adam Dunn will be a Type A free agent. Hooray. Photo by UPI/Alexis C. Glenn via Newscom.)
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post delivered the good news Thursday -- Adam Dunn will be designated a Type A free agent, meaning that the Nationals will get two extra picks in the 2011 draft after they offer him a one-year contract in arbitration and lose him to the [insert team other than the Nationals here]. Lovingly copying and pasting from Kilgore:
If the Nationals offer Dunn a one-year contract in arbitration, which they must do in order to receive compensatory draft picks in the event he signs elsewhere as a free agent, then the Nationals will receive two extra draft picks in the 2011 draft.
Dunn will be eligible to file for free agency five days after the World Series ends, when the exclusive negotiating window closes for the Nationals. The prevailing sense around the league is that the Nationals will not re-sign Dunn this offseason, and the Cubs, according to one league source, are the current favorite to land Dunn. (via Nationals Journal, 10/28/2010)
*sigh* Great. Well, at least they're getting new uniforms in 2011, right? And Jim Riggleman says they'll be contending by mid-2012, with or without (and most likely without) Adam Dunn; and (with or without) most likely without Riggleman, since we're guessing he'll take the hit for Rizzo around mid-2011.
(Stephen Strasburg hits 101 on the radar gun during his debut June 9, 2010. Photo of MASN/TV by Nationals Enquirer staff.)
Hate to admit it, but we stumbled upon a replay of Stephen Strasburg's major league debut on MASN Wednesday night, and we couldn't switch back to Game 1 of the World Series on FOX. (Memo to MASN: if you put Strasburg's debut on tape delay every night from now until Opening Day 2011, we'll watch every single night.)
Here we are, now 4+ months removed from that night, and as we're watching -- riveted -- the question creeps in: what if Stephen Strasburg is never as good again as he was that astonishing night, June 9, 2010?
And with that thought, Strasburg just struck out Adam LaRoche to end the 7th with his 14th, and final, strikeout of the night. Time to switch back over to the World Series.
(Jim Riggleman yucking it up. He'll be back for another season with the Nationals. UPI Photo by Gary C. Caskey via Newscom.)
Could've sworn the Nationals had made this announcement at least twice before the end of the 2010 season, but today it's really, really official:Jim Riggleman will return as manager in 2011. Bang, zoom, go the fireworks.
Next question: will Jim Riggleman still be around when Stephen Strasburg returns from Stephen Strasburg Tommy John Surgery in September?
In case you're interested, here's the text of the official press release from the Nationals:
One of the biggest drags about Bryce Harper playing on the Scottsdale Scorpions "taxi squad" in the Arizona Fall League is being forced to wait around for Wednesdays and Saturdays to see how the kid does. So far, so good, by the way.
And that's not to say we're not interested in how the other Nats prospects in the AFL are doing. You know: Adam Carr, Cole Kimball, Brad Peacock, Sammy Solis, Stephen Lombardozzi, Derek Norris, and Michael Burgess.
But the Bryce Harper story is just too damn intriguing to have to wait around to see what he's going to do next.
Anyway, in the video above, Bryce Harper can be seen taking on the autograph hounds out in AZ, signing autographs on Saturday Oct. 23, his second (and latest) start for Scottsdale. Note the number of bats lined up on top of the dugout, a few kids strategically placed in the front row, and the sound of a grown man whistling and calling out to "Mr. Harper" to get an 18 year old kid's autograph. Weird, right? Also, watch as several prospective autograph seekers underthrow their baseballs, only to be met with a look of disdain from Mr. Harper.
Baseball Jesus 2.0 doesn't have time to retrieve underthrown baseballs. Can you blame him?
(Javier Vazquez buries his head in a towel after another bad start. Photo by Alex Gallardo/Reuters.)
"We need a guy to head the rotation, a front-of-the-rotation guy to put everybody in what we feel is their proper place in the rotation. That's the No. 1 priority going into the offseason." (Mike Rizzo, via Nationals Journal, 9/29/2010)
Why do we get the feeling Javier Vazquez isn't exactly what Mike Rizzo had in mind back in September when he declared that his top priority this offseason is to land a #1 starter?
And so, Javier Vazquez will probably end up signing a Marquisian 2-year deal with the Nationals in the offseason, and it will be up to the Nationals PR people to figure out how to write a press release that makes Javier Vazquez out to be exactly the pitcher Mike Rizzo had in mind back in September when he declared that his top priority this offseason was to sign a #1 starter.
(There's Bob Short on the left, the former owner of the expansion Washington Senators who delivered the Senators to Texas after the '71 season. Our sources tell us Craig Sager wore that same jacket on air during the ALCS on TBS. AP File photo, via Daylife.com.)
The question: Is it time for Washington baseball fans to 'forgive' the Texas Rangers?
All is, or should be, forgiven, right? Especially for a new generation of baseball fans who quite possibly don't know Bob Short from Rick Short, or even care to know the difference?
Anyway, the Rangers are heading to the World Series for the first time in franchise history -- a history that includes some dark years as the sad sack Washington Senators -- and they took down the Yankees to get there. Good for them. And now the question is whether Bud Selig's World Series Ratings Nightmare comes to fruition this weekend by way of a Giants victory over the Phillies.
Meanwhile, it's still fun to take shots at Bob Short given the chance -- like at the final Nats game at RFK in 2007, when fans unfurled "Short Still Stinks" banners. But it's time for Washington baseball fans to move on - if they haven't already. Has been since 2005. Maybe that's easy to say for those who weren't around during the years when D.C. went without a baseball team, and even lived for years under the Peter Angelos occupation.
And there it is in video form: Bryce Harper's first professional hit in the Arizona Fall League last night -- almost a grand slam -- a two-run, ground rule double.
Sounds like the guy holding the video camera got a little excited - almost a double-rainbow moment! Hey, wait: was that Rob Dibble?
And with that near-miss, Harper finished his debut 1-4 with a double, 2 RBI and apparently made it rain after popping up to the heavens in the first inning:
First-pitch swinging, Bryce Harper popped up to shortstop in shallow left. Very high. It started raining when he made contact. (via Adam Kilgore/Twitter, 10/20/2010)
In his post-game comments, Harper made it a point to thank the opposing pitchers for not pulling any punches:
"I was thinking about the Arizona Fall League the whole time. I was thinking what it would be like to go out there and play. Just to be up with the top guys." (Bryce Harper, via Washington Post, 10/20/2010)
And when Harper jogs out to right field in Scottsdale for the first time tonight, his cleats will include a tribute to Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins? According to this story from MLB.com, yes:
If Harper looks like he is having fun, it's because he is. He's living his dream -- the baseball dream. Harper's cleats read "J-Roll," a tribute to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins. It's not hard to imagine that one day Harper will have his own name on his shoes, but for now, he's content wearing shoes that fit. (via MLB.com, 10/20/2010)