Nationals Journal

The Nationals have announced that Jim Lett and Dan Radison have been added to their 2010 coaching staff as bullpen and first-base coach, respectively. The team also made official the hiring of former Seattle Mariners manager John McLaren as bench coach, and that Pat Listach (third base), Rick Eckstein (hitting) and Steve McCatty (pitching) are all returning.

Lett, 58, has 15 years of big league coaching experience, including stints as a bench coach in Toronto, Cincinnati, Los Angeles (Dodgers) and Pittsburgh. As bullpen coach for the Dodgers from 2001-04, he worked alongside current Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman, who was Jim Tracy's bench coach at the time. Most recently, Lett worked as a coach in the Milwaukee Brewers' farm system.

Radison, 59, was a coach during both of Riggleman's previous full-time managing jobs -- with the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He has also worked in the Yankees, Cardinals and Mets organizations as a coach, scout and minor-league manager. Most recently, he served as the Cardinals' minor league hitting instructor.

As previously reported, McLaren's role as bench coach will reverse the roles he and Riggleman had in Seattle, where Riggleman was hired to be McLaren's bench coach before the 2008 season, then succeeded McLaren after the latter was fired.

When I started on the Baltimore Orioles beat at The Post in 1999, the Baltimore Sun beat writer -- my competition -- was a veteran scribe named Joe Strauss, who remains one of the best beat guys in the business. He taught me many valuable lessons, most of which involved me picking up The Sun to find he had whupped my rookie tail on another news story, but the best of which was this: You can never over-write an injury to a star player.

I thought about Strauss and that lesson when I got word of Stephen Strasburg's knee injury Thursday night, as I was in the middle of reading "Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire!" to my 3-year-old daughter. (Reminder to self: Leave Blackberry in other room when putting kids down for nighty-night.) Strasburg may not be a "star" yet, in the traditional sense, but in terms of value to the organization, I'd say he ranks only behind Ryan Zimmerman. And even though a knee injury, even if it involved a torn ligament, is nowhere near as serious as an elbow or shoulder to a pitcher, major knee surgery could require many weeks or even months to rehabilitate, which, of course, would call into question Strasburg's readiness for spring training.

So I gave the story the full star treatment as I turned Fancy Nancy (and my daughter) over to my wife and started dialing numbers frantically.

What few details I could scrounge together certainly sounded bad -- Strasburg heard a "pop" and crumpled to the ground when it happened -- and the fact the team had apparently put a gag order on everyone in both Arizona and Washington raised more suspicions.

The team, of course, eventually put out a statement regarding the injury, saying it was not considered serious and that an MRI showed only inflammation. But the team was concerned enough to set up a more complete examination of the knee on Friday, with one additional twist coming later in the evening: At first, Strasburg was scheduled to travel to Washington to see the Nationals' team physician, then the statement was revised to say he was traveling instead (because of the proximity) to Los Angeles to see noted orthopedist Lewis Yocum.

Hopefully, we hear only good news today out of Strasburg's examination by Dr. Yocum. But until then, I'm going with the Strauss Rule and treating this like a major situation.

*On a related note, here is a story I missed Thursday out of Syracuse, in which the Chiefs, the Nationals' Class AAA affiliate, reportedly lost about $45,000 in 2009 but are hoping Strasburg's potential arrival in 2010 will boost attendance and revenues. Interestingly, Chiefs GM John Simone puts the chances of Strasburg starting the season there at "50-50."

Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals' prized pitching phenom, twisted his left knee while shagging flies during batting practice before the Phoenix Desert Dogs' regular season finale in the Arizona Fall League on Thursday, and has been scratched from Saturday's scheduled start in the AFL championship game, the team said in a news release Thursday night.

According to the release, the injury is not considered serious, and an MRI exam taken shortly after the incident showed only "inflammation." Still, Strasburg is scheduled to fly to Los Angeles on Friday to be examined by orthopedist Lewis Yocum.

Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo did not immediately return voice and text messages seeking additional information, and players and coaches in Arizona were instructed not to discuss the injury with the media.

According to two sources who were briefed on the injury, Strasburg, a 21-year-old right-hander, stepped awkwardly while shagging flies in the outfield, heard a "pop" in his knee and crumpled to the ground.

Strasburg, who signed a record $15.1 million contract after the Nationals drafted him No. 1 overall in June, had been scheduled to start for the Desert Dogs in the nationally televised (on the MLB Network) AFL championship game Saturday. He was 4-1 with a 4.26 ERA in five starts in the AFL, having previously missed a scheduled start in the AFL all-star game after waking up with a stiff neck that was later diagnosed as a strained muscle.

The Nationals added three minor league pitchers -- right-hander Juan Jaime and left-handers Atahualpa Severino and Aaron Thompson -- to their 40-man roster on Thursday afternoon, in essence protecting them from the Dec. 10 Rule 5 draft.

However, right-hander Josh Wilkie, the subject of Tracee's featureThursday, was not added to the roster and his future with the organization is now unclear. The Nationals' 40-man roster is now full, and barring any changes Wilkie will now be subject to the Rule 5 draft, where another team can claim him for $50,000.

Jaime, 22, went 5-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 14 appearances (12 starts) split between Class A Vermont and Class A Hagerstown.

Severino, 25, went 10-0 with 15 saves and a 2.62 ERA in 44 relief appearances in Class A Potomac and Class AA Harrisburg.

Thompson, a 22-year-old acquired in August from the Marlins in the Nick Johnson trade, posted a 3.93 ERA in 26 starts at Class AA Jacksonville (the Marlins' affiliate) and Harrisburg.

Typical, that I'd get scooped on the news of my own departure. According to a tweet from the Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg -- and OK, let's make it official, according to me as well -- the WaPo will soon be looking for a new Nats beat writer, and I will soon be heading for new pastures. (And certainly they'll be less green in the literal sense.) The Post's internal e-mail went out yesterday, and it explains the basics. For the last two seasons, I've covered, or at least tried to cover, the Washington Nationals. It's a demanding job, both rewarding and unrelenting like a marathon. Some do it for years, with a grace and vigor that makes me envious. But sometimes for me, it felt more like a test of endurance than journalism. I started to miss the journalism.

No doubt you've got a few questions. Such as, "What happens now to the Nats beat?" And, "What will you be doing next?" And, "Won't you regret the opportunity to cover Stephen Strasburg, and watch Ryan Zimmerman, and learn how Rizzo et al rehabilitate the organization, and be there to witness it once Nats Park is packed and the team (and maybe even Teddy) is winning?"

All good questions, and I'll take 'em in order.

Lots of great reading material to spotlight this morning, beginning with Tracee's excellent feature on pitching prospect Josh Wilkie, who was little-known outside our circle of hard-core Nats (and GW) followers, but who is certain to have lots of folks rooting for him now thanks to Tracee's piece. Here is my news story on the announcement of the Davey Johnson hiring. And here is Boswell's solid take on the Nats' newly revamped front office. (Also, remember to tune in for Boz's chat Thursday at 11 a.m.)

Here's a look at how the new hierarchy (still missing a couple of pieces) looks, straight off the team's official Web site. Interestingly (or not), Bob Boone, one of the few remaining high-level holdovers from the Jim Bowden regime, has the spot just below Rizzo under the Baseball Operations heading.

In his column, Boz makes mention of Mike Rizzo's firm stance on the issue of balancing scouting versus stats in a modern baseball front office: Rizzo, it is clear, is a scouting guy. Here is the full context of some remarks Rizzo made on that issue Tuesday:

"I think [sabermetrics are] certainly a part of the evaluation process," Rizzo said. "We utilize it. I always say a perfect evaluation is when my eyes say what the numbers say -- when they meet up. My philosophy is, we always lean towards the scout rather than the numbers, but it's part of our process. It's a piece of the puzzle that we utilize. I wouldn't say we go overboard with utilization of it."

According to Rizzo, the Nationals' numbers experts are "two very high-achieving guys in sabermetrics." One of them is a holdover, Adam Cromie, who joined the Nationals in 2007 and last year was promoted to assistant director of baseball operations. The other is Jay Sartori, who isn't yet listed on the team's official Web site, but who was hired last week as director of baseball operations after previously working in MLB's labor relations office as a contracts administration manager.

The Nationals clearly spared no expense in restocking their front office with some of the most respected, accomplished and (I'm told) well-paid scouting types in the game. But could they be doing more on the sabermetrics side at a time when other teams are pouring lots of resources into it?

The Arizona Fall League is not quite six weeks spent in the desert playing before a smattering of diehard fans and a slightly larger smattering of scouts. So do the players really care about the AFL championship? Nats reliever Jeff Mandel says yes.

Mandel and his Phoenix Desert Dogs teammates, champions of the East division, will play the Peoria Javelinas at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The game will be televised on the MLB Network and also available on mlb.com. The Desert Dogs and Javelinas had identical 18-12 records going into Wednesday's games.

"When you're in the hunt it makes it a lot more fun," Mandel said. "Six weeks is not a full season but it's always a lot more fun. Everybody's in a better mood. It's only an extra day, we're not spending too much extra time here. We might as well win the whole thing."

Just got done speaking to Nationals GM Mike Rizzo and meeting the majority of his new front-office hires -- the amassing of which Rizzo called "the most important part of our offseason." Suffice it to say there is a lot of optimism around the organization these days. The bulk of the new guys had been to Arizona this fall to see the team's prospects in the Arizona Fall League. (Jay Robertson, the newly hired special assistant to Rizzo, said this about Stephen Strasburg: "I told a scout from another organization, 'He's two grades better than anyone you've ever seen.'")

Here is a short-and-sweet summary of some news that came out of this afternoon:

*The Nationals have hired former Seattle Mariners manager John McLaren as Jim Riggleman's bench coach. (This was told to me by a source outside the organization and confirmed by a source within the organization.) This will be a reversal of the roles the men held in 2008, when Riggleman served as McLaren's bench coach, until McLaren was fired in June, with Riggleman taking over on an interim basis.

*Cristian Guzman has been told to prepare for spring training as a second baseman, not a shortstop. Guzman is coming off shoulder surgery, but has started to play catch and is expected to be ready by spring training. Rizzo called Ian Desmond "an option" at shortstop in 2010.

*The Nationals have reached an agreement to build a new academy in Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic, a crucial step in regaining the foothold the team had in the Dominican before the Esmailyn Gonzalez age scandal. The paperwork is being finalized now, and the academy should be running by next spring.

*First base prospect Chris Marrero has missed the past few AFL games with the flu, but is expected back any day now.

*Catcher Jesus Flores, who is rehabbing from shoulder surgery, also had arthroscopic surgery on his elbow to remove a bone chip. However, Rizzo said the elbow surgery will not impede Flores's progress and Flores is expected to be ready by spring training.

*Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (elbow ligament-replacement surgery) remains on his rehabilitation program, but has not started throwing yet and is still expected to miss the bulk of 2010.

*Center fielder Nyjer Morgan (broken wrist) is fully healed and swinging a bat in preparation for spring training.

*Lefty Scott Olsen (shoulder surgery) has begun throwing off a mound. His long-term prognosis, though, is unclear, and Rizzo acknowledged the difficult decision the team has as to whether to offer Olsen arbitration, or non-tender him.

As a lot of you noted in the comments, the Devil, er, Desert Dogs have won the East Division and will play the dread Peoria Javelinas on Saturday for the AFL championship. The game is at 2:15 ET on the MLB Network and Stephen Strasburg is lined up to be the starter.

Danny Espinosa was the star of yesterday's clincher with four RBI. Josh Wilkie pitched an inning in relief, giving up no hits, no runs and getting a strikeout.

The one Nat I didn't get to talk to in Arizona, Jeff Mandel, called me last night but I was already in dream land, so I'll talk to him, hopefully today, and get a post up on what he has to say. You will remember that he is the starter being converted to a reliever this season and his numbers are very good.

Editor's note: Chico Harlan is on vacation. He'll be back in December in time for the winter meetings. -- Alexa Steele

The wholesale revamping of the Nationals' front office continued Monday when the team announced it had hired Jay Sartori as director of baseball operations. Sartori previously served as the contract administration manager in MLB's labor relations department, and will bring expertise in interpretations of contract language, the Basic Agreement and salary arbitration rules to his new job.

The team also made official the hiring of Bryan Minnitti as assistant general manager, after he spent the previous nine seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, most recently as director of baseball operations.

The Nationals now have made seven high-level hires to their front office since the end of the season: Roy Clark (vice president of player personnel), Doug Harris (director of player development), Kasey McKeon (director of player procurement), Minnitti, Jay Robertson (special assistant to the general manager), Sartori and Ron Schueler (special advisor to the GM).

In addition, the team is finalizing a deal to hire Davey Johnson as another special assistant to Rizzo.

Let's start this morning with some reading material, because there is plenty. Here is the news story I wrote for the dead-tree edition off the Riggleman presser, and here is Boswell's typically excellent column. We also have this poll running on our home page -- take a second and weigh in.

Over at the Washington Times, Thom Loverro gives his take, theorizing (as I have) that the Riggleman hiring is an indication the Nationals' top brass doesn't see the team as being close to contending in the next couple of years. At MLB.com, Bill Ladson got Riggleman to reiterate that he views Cristian Guzman as a second baseman at this point, which meshes with this report from Foxsports.com that the Nationals are interested in defensive-minded free agent shortstops Adam Everett and Alex Gonzalez.

And that brings us to the FOF -- the Face of the Franchise. It was another good day to be Ryan Zimmerman. (Seriously, is there ever a bad day to be him?) One day after bringing home the gold (glove, that is), he brought home the silver as well. The Silver Slugger award doesn't have the same cache as the Gold Glove, but being recognized as both the top offensive and top defensive player at your position is an impressive thing -- and something only one other NL player (the Dodgers' Matt Kemp) can claim this year.

And as the title of this post implied, the hardware haul is very good for Zimmerman's bottom line. Incentives clauses in his contract state that he earns an extra $50,000 for the Gold Glove and another $50,000 for the Silver Slugger. That is in addition to the $25,000 he earned for making the all-star team in July, and the $175,000 he earned for hitting all his plate-appearances targets ($75,000 for reaching 500 PAs, and $50,000 each for 550 and 600) over the course of the season. By my math, that's an extra 300 grand.

Guess you could say it's a good year to be on Zimmerman's Christmas gift list.