Bar,

If you are going to do the front office, I can save you the effort on the Marketing Department. F. Complete and utter failure to market this team. The last series at RFK is coming over the horizon. Have you seen any marketing over gala send-off at RFK? Nope. Rather than work, they just slashed ticket prices. Outside of the core of Nats die hards, how many people know that the new Stadium is on time and will be ready to go in April 2008 with Cherry Blossoms blooming in the Left Field pavilion?

"the setup guy for years to come"

There really isn't such a thing, nor should there be. In the years to come, Rauch will either become too expensive to justify keeping in the role or he'll become hurt. Either way, what Rauch does can be produced by countless others, a year or two at a time.

Cordero too, although I will accept that there might be something special to being a closer.

Hah, first post on the new post after being MIA (not in MIA) since Wednesday. Stayed up late after returning to DC catching up to past games and missed posts.

Sorry to miss the Detwiler debut.

I'm really hoping for Da Meat to get his groove back and make a real chase for the batting title. That would secure the #1 story of the 2007 season for me. #2 would be the amazing performance of a bunch of nobody pitchers for half the season (maybe it is the bullpen or St. Claire for helping them survive?). #3 would be Nook's resurgence since giving up switch-hitting.

The #1 story for the franchise in 2007 has got to be the 2007 Draft Class and signings. The #2 story would be the Vermont starting rotation (based on what I've read). #3 would be the diamond find of Rule 5 Flores who could be our catcher of the future or a good trade, but what a steal!

One position I'd like to see you add to your list: Hitting Coach.

My biggest pleasant surprise: the Nats Journal going into the regular season. Now the off-season? Gravy. Thanks Barry.

I've got to agree with the multitude of postings about the lack of Nats marketing this year -- and what there has been has been rehashed enough to cringe whenever I hear "Pledge Your Allegiance" for the rest of my life.

But, consider the other side, putting on your "Plan" thinking caps, for just a moment.

It's March 2007: Imagine if the team spent a ton of money to market the Nats in '07 - get a bunch of first-timers jazzed up to see a question mark team in a rundown park (although we love it) with lousy concessions and a bunch of players no one (outside of us) has heard of.

Do you spend the money to bring people to RFK with a predicted awful team with a chance to turn them off, or wait a year to bring them to the new park and ensure at least a good experience (hopefully a good product on the field too)? In my opinion, looking at the year, throwing money to market 2007 was like throwing money to fix up RFK instead of Nats Field (my money is thinking it'll be GEICO next year). Or like throwing money on a big FA for 2007, instead of using it for 2008.

I will admit I expected some small marketing blitz, however, when the team turned things around in May-June and was winning (ok, .500), school was out, weather was great. But, nothing. Still, the proof for me is going to be what happens this off-season with the marketing, especially right after football season ends.

Well....as I put out there in a previous post...Will Zimm end up with more homers or errors? My bet was homers b/c I'm a Zimm fan, but after this weekend I'm not so sure.

I think Manny has been a great addition to this team.

I'm very curious to see how the short stop/2nd base situation plays out since Belliard has made such a case for himself this year.

What ever happened to getting some Journal t-shirts made?

I agree the the big stories this year have been Flores, the draft, and Da Meat Hook, but the most interesting one to watch in the off season is the Guzman/Lopez/Belliard combo. Before the year, most were calling for Belliard to replace Guzman, but now it seems he should replace Lopez. Lopez has been a bust and continues to prove he is not a major league quality shortstop. Defensively, he should never play another game there and should be considered a full time second baseman. I believe the team should dump him and look for another backup shortstop that can play second and go with the Guzman/Belliard double play combo. With Guzman's injury history we'll need a real backup shortstop so Bowden has some shopping to do. And since they are hinting the team won't get into the free-agent pitching pool, there should be some extra cash after we sign a CF and resign/extend Zimm and a few others.

Also, has the prospect of a Church/Kearns platoon been brought up with the front office? It seems the outfield should be Pena, TBA, and the platoon unless Dmitri does the South Beach Diet in the offseason and Nick (finally/ever) gets healthy.

As for the bullpen: I also agree there should be such thing as a long term set-up man. The set-up man should be the closer of the future and there should be a revolving door as these guys burn out. I don't really think we'd lose much if we went to a Colome/Abreu (or someone like him) tandem in place of Cordero/Rauch. The life span for bullpen guys isn't very long in most cases and I fear the window to trade them, especially Rauch, has passed.

Easily my best would be the ragtag rotation. I would wager that it has to be the best performance per dollar paid in the bigs.

#2 would probably be the draft class, again we'll have to wait a couple of years to see if that pans out but we could have brought the farm from last to middle of the pack in one year.

#3 would be everyone else putting together something special. Not just meathook (although he's the poster boy) and not just the rotation, but everyone played thier butts off and made us an actual baseball team as opposed to a AAA squad playing in a big city. I would credit Manny for a lot of that he deserves any votes he gets.

Wow. This is why baseball rocks. I could not agree any less with 428's assessment of what the team needs.

But I bet we both have the exact same opinions on the Redskins offense.

I'm tearing up. Only a few weeks left.

notes on presented questions:

Manny Acta - way more than expected, which was an interim manager 'til the team got into contention and then one of the "big boys" would be brought in. Jury's still out, but he may be so key to the club chemistry that they can't replace him.

FLop / Belliard - As earlier stated, this may point to big F/A money being spent on middle infield. FLop is what he is. Belliard is probably a fairly good utility infielder. No more, no less.

Zimms HR vs. Es. - Total mystery. Some plays are almost beyond Brooksie. Some look like he should be playing in a Men's rec league. Let's chalk it up to youth and wait another year.

Jesus Flores - With any luck and the right developmental process, we might not need a #1 catcher until 2018.

Nook Logan - May actually prove that the Tigers rode the wrong horse. I'm beginning to think that he changes the whole F/A, outfield equation.

Add Randy St. Claire to the list. Makes one wonder whether this chewing-gum-and-bailing-wire pitching rotation we've had this season woulda had the same relative success with another pitching coach. Probably not, I'll venture to guess.

"Have you seen any marketing over gala send-off at RFK?"

Well, now that you mention it, yes I have. I've gotten e-mails from the Nats telling me about the giveaway items for that weekend, the presence of ex-Senators for the final game, etc, etc. I've also heard the same from Charlie and Dave on the radio broadcasts, and I imagine Bob and Don have mentioned it on the TV broadcasts as well. We're still almost two weeks out from the final weekend, so I expect there will be broader mention of the goings-on next week to try to attract a good walk-up crowd.

This is pretty much the same marketing approach the Nats used for the bobblehead nights, and they pulled in pretty good crowds for those games. At least they looked like good crowds from my seat anyway, even though they weren't sellouts.

Would I like to see the Nats do more or better marketing of the final weekend? Sure. But don't go accusing them of doing no marketing at all, because that's not true.

"Three weeks from this morning, you will wake up, and there will be no Nationals game."

And could we just not acknowledge that just yet? Not sure if I'm ready for the Hawaii Winter League on MASN yet...

Positive surprises:

-- D'Mitri Young chasing the batting title
-- Young pitchers developing in the minor leagues (including strong draft)
-- Shawn Hill, who has become a real stud
-- And to a lesser extent, Jason Bergmann

Negative surprises:

-- So much for Patterson as staff ace
-- Lopez and his attitude, fielding and hitting...can you can "non-tender"?
-- Zim's arm...see glove, throw ball
-- High cost and rigid terms of season ticket plans at the new ballpark...with plunging attendance, shouldn't they be trying to get more people going to games?

Another lingering question is...What will happen to Nick Johnson? Will he finally be able to make a full recovery? If so, what happens to D. Young? And J. Patterson? Such promise in 05, is this it? Will he be ready for spring in Viera for 08? Will the fannies fill the seats in Nats Park next season, regardless of the teams play? Or, is the honeymoon already over, as it appeared to be this season, except for us diehards? The answer to most of these questions includes the word 'time'. It's going to take some more time to find the answers to these and many more questions about the future of the Nats. The one positive I can take from this year is the quality of the draft, which is what the team is basing the future of the club on. Isn't baseball fun...even in the waning days of an also ran.

"Not sure if I'm ready for the Hawaii Winter League on MASN yet..."

That's on MASN2. The Orioles Classic 2637 Games of Cal Ripken Marathon is booked for round the clock play on MASN during the next five off-seasons. Sponsored by Rogaine.

Pleasant surprises this season has to be Dmitri Young and Jesus Flores. As well as what Randy St Claire has done with the pitching staff he has. I don't think you could have asked for more than what he has gotten from the players he has.

Manny Acta hasn't been a surprise to me. I met him at one of the winter caravan stops and after listening to him speak for over an hour, I knew he was more than capable of leading this team.

Negative things this year has to be the non-return of Nick Johnson. Followed closely by the injuries to Patterson and Guzman.

Another big negative is the food at RFK. The Lerner's and Kastan promised to make things better but you still stand in line for cold hot dogs and I have stood in line this year only to get to the front and have them tell me they don't have what's on the menu. It's easy to say it will be fixed next year at the new stadium. But they didn't seem to make things any better this year at RFK when they said they would.

I think the resurgence of Nook Logan and the development of Justin Maxwell, plus the acqusition of Willy Mo Pena has changed the thinking on the outfield completely. I think either WMP will be in left or they will non-tender him and sign Adam Dunn. My guess is they stay with WMP since they'll have to spend a boat load of money and sign a long term deal to get Dunn, plus won't they would lose draft picks? That is a big no-no.

Instead I think they put together a package trade to get a 2B/SS guy coming into the last year of a contract ala Soriano for '06. With Lopez, Church (and Logan?) as well as a couple relievers on the trading block I'm sure JimBow can put together a deal.

Middle infield is the place where we are farthest from getting help from the farm (along with 1B) and the FA market is worthless so it makes sense to make a move.

"the resurgence of Nook Logan"

Did I coin a term?

Not a great surprise -- Chad Cordero leading the league in blown saves. The guy has heart, but I cringe every time he goes out there. He makes the 9th inning an adventure, but I'd prefer a little less drama in my closer.

Pleasant surprise - 14 9th inning wins and very few blow-outs. Lots of come-from-behind, never-say-die moments. Unpleasant-no parking so no reason to buy expensive season tickets to troll the bait at sketchy late-night metro facilities.

Story #3 -- The Return and Fall of Christian Guzman

Story #2 -- Running in place, holding your breath
Writing off 2007 on and off the field

RFK, marketing, Johnson, Patterson -- wait til next year, no really, we mean it this time.

the best part about this team is the watchability. they are just fun to watch. you cannot say that very often for sub-par teams (ie: Orioles) - but this teams seems like it can win every game.

thats why i am against any big name FA. stick with the core, lets watch this pan out and see if some stability in the rotation can make up the difference.

For 9th inning closer drama, does anyone remember "full pack" Stanhouse? Earl Weaver dubbed him that because of his ninth inning cliff hangers. It may go with the territory, so Cordero's not an outlier.

As to marketing, I fall into the group who thinks it's not been good. In this town, first impressions count for a lot, and my sense is that the first impressions created by the Lerner/Kasten combine has been less than stellar. Just check how the Post's editors handle the Nats. Will the 2 1/2 million people who tuned out this year be tuning in next year and beyond? Dunno.

HEY! I resemble that remark!

--------
Zimms HRs vs. Es.
Some [plays] look like he should be playing in a Men's rec league.
Posted by: Catcher50 | September 10, 2007 12:30 PM

Story #1 -- New owners, same old fans ...
and a lot fewer of both.
Big story in 2012 -- Nats draw 1.7m -- How Could They Not See This Coming?

Interesting point, but to paraphrase Janis Joplin, "it's all the same [RF]ing season, man..." If they let the momentum of 2005 die, and MLB did that, and Kasten did it again this year, starting it up again in 2008 will be that much harder, and more expensive. Money spent 'keeping it warm' in the meantime would have been a good investment. Caring can come and go, but p'd off can last a long time.
----------
In my opinion, looking at the year, throwing money to market 2007 was like throwing money to fix up RFK instead of Nats Field (my money is thinking it'll be GEICO next year). Or like throwing money on a big FA for 2007, instead of using it for 2008.
Posted by: ShawNatsFan | September 10, 2007 11:44 AM

"As to marketing, I fall into the group who thinks it's not been good. In this town, first impressions count for a lot, and my sense is that the first impressions created by the Lerner/Kasten combine has been less than stellar. Just check how the Post's editors handle the Nats."

Yes, unfortunately for the Nats their marketing efforts must overcome the negative bias and inattention supplied by the Post. Not that the Post should be rah-rah cheerleaders for the Nats, but they should at least provide a level playing field. And they don't. So for the Nats, it's like having to market yourselves with one hand tied behind your back. I see signs that they are trying when it comes to marketing, but they're going to need to work harder than they have been. The marketing operation needs a Manny Acta at the helm to get them to overachieve the same way the players have been this year (most of them, anyway...)

On the plus side: Flores, Young, Belliard, Guzman, Logan (my expectations were low), Hill, Bergmann (my expectations were underground), Redding, and the Draft(!!!).

On the downside: Nick (had hoped for June), Lopez, Kearns (my expectations were higher), Schneider, Patterson (saw it coming, still sucked), Cordero (overall good, but too many blows), and Mitchell Paige (I wish him luck).

Marketing and promotions were much weaker than I expected. I could not discern any improvement over the MLB run marketing of the forst 2 years. Very embarassing for a MLB club. Dan Snyder does more marketing in one week than the Nationals did in a year. Fewer promotions than last year. Stealth marketing by email. The weakest area of the team. Truly abysmal. Remarkably poor. Excruciatingly under planned and performed.

Really great news that the Journal lives on. It has been a part of my day since it fired up in early March. Long Live Barry.

Abstain. I responded to this poll earlier in the season and stirred up a hornet's nest, which was impolite given the venue, so I'm just gonna hush.

One of my biggest disappointments is someone flaming Natscan out of existence (it seems).

"Big story in 2012 -- Nats draw 1.7m."

This will not be true if the Nats become a consistent winning team. I see the situation as a potential opposite of Baltimore. Ten years ago, the O's ruled and the Ravens were an afterthought. Now, one new stadium and a Superbowl title later the Ravens own that town and the O's can't draw flies.

If the Nats manage to bring home a WS Title and snot-nosed Danny continues to run the 'Skins into the ground, the same thing could happen in D.C.

As we all know, this is a front-running town.

My guess is that the promotion will be much better next year. If I were in charge of marketing, I would be loathe to attract too many new people to RFK, knowing that there are significant limitations to the fan experience there... at the risk of not making a good first impression. From a marketing standpoint, the team had everything going against it: projected 100+ losses, very few faces/names that were going to be with the club long term, to help with branding... aging facilities, etc. The shrewd marketer attracts enough business to meet expenses (very low this year) while preparing to woo them the next year with a new stadium, competitive team, etc.

There's no sense in alienating the fan base for nothing (which is what attracting first-time fans would do). It would be like opening a five-star restaurant, but serving Subway sandwiches while you were waiting for the renovations to be completed.

Of course, there are some places that the marketing department dropped the ball... such as the way that season ticket holders have been treated... there's no reason that should be the case, regardless of the situation... but my guess is that it will be much improved next year.

Anyway, the real marketing engine will be how the team does on the field... and I think expectations will be a bit higher next year...

I'm not sold on Rauch as the set up guy for years to come. I worry that he's pitching too much and may hurt his arm. Luis Ayala was the set up guy in 2005 and did great before he hurt his arm. I think Ayala has done well this year returning from injury. I could see putting him back in the set up role some day.
I still see Rauch as a reformed starter. I think he could be a long reliever. The Nationals' relievers all seem to go about one innning. It might be nice to have someone who can go 3 innings once in a while and not have all these games where 4 or 5 relievers pitched.

Don't forget the built in buzz of a huge spike in attendance due to a few new players and a new ballpark. The more drastic the jump from this year's attendance to next year's, the better it looks.

shuffler:

Though, you gotta admit, the Nats formula is pretty cool, if it works... six good innings, lights out, lights out, lights out. The problem is when you don't get six from your starter... and the gift is when you get seven.

(not that this is exclusive to the Nats... everyone does this...)

Wigi sez "Of course, there are some places that the marketing department dropped the ball... such as the way that season ticket holders have been treated..."

Wigi, aside from the last-minute delivery of season tickets and the lack of a fancy box and a season ticket holder pin, how have season ticket holders been mistreated this year? I was a new STH myself this year, and I think I have been treated very well myself. Did you get shafted somehow?

To answer my own question about potential middle infielders JimBow could trade for, I have a short list - I have no idea what the contract status is of any of the below, but these are all the guys between 27-31 yo who have a better OPS than Ronnie Belliard (let me know if I missed anyone).

12/78 Chase Utley - Phillies (can they afford Howard, Rowand AND Utley?)
Freddy Sanchez
12/77 Freddy Sanchez - Pirates
10/77 Brian Roberts - Baltimore
10/77 Ty Wigginton - Devil Rays
6/77 Matt Ellis - Athletics

I should have added that these are all 2B men right now, though several have played SS as well.

With Guz having hit over .300 this year and being due $4M+ we won't be bumping him from the SS spot this year...

Did you see tha tix for the last weekend (premium weekend $10 adder) against Philly are being discounted for $15. Now that's a walkup fan appreciation weekend. Does this mean the upper deck tix are free?

I guess there just isn't any nostalgia built up in three years at the good ol RFK.

There have been disappointments and a few good things this season, but the one that stands out for me as the biggest disappointment has been the way Barry and the so-called fans have turned against John Patterson because of an injury that is not in any way his fault. I guess it is just human nature to kick someone who is down, but I really hate to see it and will never understand it. I know that some of you think (hope?) that JP is finished, and you are entitled to your opinions, but the mean-spirited and vindictive remarks that have appeared on this blog have saddened and sickened me. I personally believe that it would be unconsionable for the Nationals not to give him a chance for a comeback. Yes, I know that baseball is a big business and there is no room for sentiment, but business is run by human beings and baseball players are also human beings, not just robots who take the field just for the fans entertainment. Bash me for saying this if you want to - and I am sure you will - but leave John Patterson alone. He deserves support not derision.

Is the Talented Ms. Shipley gonna be posting the lineups? :-)

How' this for the 2008 starting line-up

Guzman - 6
Maxwell - 8
Zimmerman - 5
Pena - 7
Johnson - 3
Kearns - 9
Flores - 2
Belliard - 4
Hill - 1
Bergmann
Detwiler
Balester
Chico/Hanrahan/Lannan

If you can't get better, maybe you can get younger...

If she won't, I will!

1) Logan-8
2) Lopez-6
3) Zimmerman-5
4) Young- 3
5) Kearns-9
6) Pena-7
7) Belliard-4
8) Flores-2
9) Hill-1

Marlins:
1) Ramirez-6
2) Uggla-4
3) Hermida-9
4) Cabrera-5
5) Willingham-7
6) Jacobs-3
7) Ross-8
8) Olivo-2
9) Olsen-1

Section 419: I was referring only to the delay in getting actual tickets to the season ticket holders... and as an aside, I am not a season ticket holder, though I would be, were it not for the prohibitive commute... and in fact, I even asked Stan about some sort of ticket plan for people like myself that make about 10-15 games a year, but would prefer to have a complete homestand, rather than a game here or there. Anyway, having been a season ticket holder for a couple of different sports teams. I would say that it is a big deal to have the tickets in hand at least a few weeks before the season starts... if for no other reason than to get any bugs worked out... it is a matter of being comfortable with your purchase, and that is a big part of any sale... and in the case of season ticket holders, they're your best and most loyal customers.

My point was just that there was a lot of angst among people who put out a lot of money for tickets... that's all.

jpfan: Without taking it upon myself to answer for everyone that posts to this blog, I respectfully suggest that you're misreading the intent of most of the people that have been critical of Patterson's situation. First, Barry is a reporter, and I think he owes it to his readers to be skeptical, because that gives him license to dig a bit deeper and ask the probing questions. As far as fans go, I doubt that there's a single person that wouldn't love to see JP back in his 2005 form. For whatever reason, JP isn't there, and given the circuitous path his rehabilitation has taken over the last two years, there's certainly grounds to wonder if he'll be back.

As for giving him another chance, I am of the mind that says he'll get his chance with the Nats, because if JP were with another team and was on the FA market, he is exactly the kind of guy that Bowden would pursue, with the idea that the contract would be long on incentives and short on guarantees.

The fans perception of the JP situation isn't helped by the fact that the Nats minor league system has a number of prospects that show promise... a year ago, we wouldn't be having this conversation, because there wouldn't be credible alternatives in the system to take Patterson's place... we would just assume he'll be back next year.

Here's a little dose of reality for all the Nook lovers out there.

Numbers AFTER the all-star break;

.296 average - GOOD!
.333 OBP - Not Good
.385 Slg - VERY not good.

add to that he's only had 10BB vs 44SOs and his sometimes highly suspect defense adn I think you'll see that Nook is not, CANNOT be the answer in CF for next year.

What estuartj is not telling you is that Nook Logan has a slightly more palatable monthly split of OBP:

July: .349
August: .355

September is only .222, but that's with 2 of all whopping 8 games against a dominant Smoltz and Willis.

Logan is a lead-off man, SLG is a red-herring. 10 SB since the All-Star Break is more relevant (2 in July and 8! in August).

Logan is The Answer in Center unless FA CF = $ instead of $$$. Not likely, in this market.

jpsfan, I'm not sure that people have really been bashing Patterson. Maybe I've misinterpreted some posts, but its the same kind of conversation we have about Johnson, the difference is we're stuck with Johnson because of the new contract, whereas with Patterson we see a potential opening for a young starter which, after this year especially, is more interesting. Does this win ballgames? No. But "New" always captivates the attention.

I personally would love to see a healthy Patterson back. But how long does one wait for that? I have the same view on Escobar. We've given him a shot, he's made a great performance when he could, but that was only ever so often. Maybe he needs a new team.

To me, the entire team has been an amazingly pleasant surprise. Could anyone have guessed that bargain bin starting pitchers lined up to begin the year would essentially all drop out with injuries, and those dredged up to replace them would continue to be competitive? And with all of the injuries to the pitchers, the position players were hit hard as well, with Guzman, Johnson, Escobar, etc. The keys seem to have been Manny Acta and Randy St. Clair. They have made this team play hard even when down several runs, leading to some comeback wins that were really fun to watch. Faced with pre-season predictions of historic ineptitude, the Nats have done us proud thus far in 2007. I, for one, can't wait for next year.

Nook must have read my post, 0 for 0 with 2BB and a Run scored so far.

Still, his OBP is not good enough for a lead-off hitter and I can't believe that 506 is excited about 10 SB (only 3 CS). Maybe if Manny was going to let him run like Reyes, but until then...

I say Guzman leads off again next year and we put Maxwell in the 2 spot once he's ready...what you do until then I don't know.

Dmitri's got to be the surprise of the year, one surprise after another, in fact. I was surprised when he agreed to go to minor league camp, I was surprised when he made the team, I was surprised when he was reported to be a positive influence in the clubhouse, I was surprised he hit so well and I was very surprised when he made himself into an almost adequate first baseman. Is it possible we've begun to take him for granted? Remember this is a guy who just a year ago was flat out fired by a team in a pennant race. How often does a guy like that come back the next year to content for a batting title? Never is how often. Never until now.

According to Wikipedia, estuartj, .340 is usually about average for lead-off men. And no, I didn't just make it say that, before you ask. Though I'm thinking of updating the John Patterson entry to talk about how lazy he is and how's he's faking his injury and how Barry Svrluga is out to destroy him because of that time he stole his girlfriend (Barry stealing John's, of course).

What about Logan leading off and Guzzie hitting later in the lineup? Number 6 as a second lead-off man? Actually, Guzzie 1, Logan 6. Or Logan 9, Guzzie 1, to really infuriate the defense.

Anybody else see Wily Mo's HR and think it was a base hit at first? :-)

I wouldn't accuse you of making it say anything. I'm actually very surprised to see .340 considered adequate for a lead-off guy with no power.

I have no idea where all that about Patterson is coming from, do tell - please.

Yeah, it actually surprised me too. I don't know how to check lead-off men only and suspect that ol' MLB.com won't do it for me. Scanning the list of names in the "league leader" section, though, tells me that contenders have much higher OBP. I would never argue Nook as "The Answer" for a contender, but for another year, I think he's got what we need.

The Wikipedia editing was just a bit of silliness.

Juan-John: I thought it was a grounder at first!

I'd be curious what the OBP avg is for MLB leadoff hitters this year and then see what the slugging percentage is for the guys with OBPs less than .350, my guess is tha you either get slap and dash hitters who hit or walk on at a high clip and then steal bases OR you get lower OBP guys with enough pop to get those bases with their bat instead of legs.

The thing that surprises me about Nook's slugging is all those cheapy doubles he gets. How much would a single home run change his slugging?

To clarify (as I watch football and baseball simultaneously while doing some work for tomorrow), what surprises me is how low Nook's slugging percentage is, even with all the cheapy doubles.

I guess the point I was getting at is do we want the poor mans Reyes or the poor mans Soriano?

How about WMP with 2 HRs tonight! 7 HRs in 23 games acording to the MASN guys!

"I guess the point I was getting at is do we want the poor mans Reyes or the poor mans Soriano?"

I laughed very hard at this.

I guess it's better than our former situation with Ryan Church, the Poor Man's Peña.

Section 506: what's your secret to watching football and baseball simultaneously while doing some work for tomorrow? I can do the first two with relative ease, it's the third that gives me trouble... ;-)

Juan-John, the secret is to cycle through a number of windows on your computer that contain valuable work-related information without actually reading or even looking at them.

Flippie, Flippie, Flippie. {sigh}

LOL!

Heck of an at-bat for Lopez.

You know, I don't think he should start next year. I think Ronnie should get the shot at starting 2B. But I think Lopez should be allowed to compete for back-up.

Unless they non-tender Lopez he is going to make at least twice as much as Belli, can you spend that much on a back-up middle infielder?

I think Lop either starts or is gone next year.

Argh, thrown out at home? Was that Toleman or Lopez? I really, really am trying Felipe, but you're making it impossible to like.

Yeah, and you can't fault Flippie for his hustle, even if he was out at the plate.

[RF] it. Going home. Will finish work tomorrow. :-)

I thought he was safe easy, did he miss the bag?

You know, no one has said this yet:

Maybe Lopez is cursed.

They need to sacrifice a live chicken, or maybe just order in from KFC.

Sacrifice Screech?

Going home.

506(AM): I don't think you can fault Lopez for that... or Tolman, for that matter... it took a perfect throw to get him... anything else and he's safe... plus you're already leading in the game... not much risk in sending him... plus you got a run ahead of him in the same play...

What a night for WMP, 3 for 3 with 2HRs, 1BB and 3 RBIs.

So long Adam Dunn?

Is anyone else sick of Ray Knight talking so much?

What's up with the umpires this year with awful calls against the Nats? First in Philly and now in Florida - ridiculous.

Wouldn't know, I'm marvelling at how worked up Charlie and Dave can get over the umpires.
---------------
Is anyone else sick of Ray Knight talking so much?
Posted by: Nats Chick | September 10, 2007 09:13 PM

Yes, Nats Chick, Ray Knight just goes on and on and on. For once, I welcomed a rain delay.

As a long time Oriole fan I do not expect much promotion of the Nats after April if the stadium is near sold out. When the Orioles were sold out they never had very many promotional nights because they didn't think they were necessary. An occasional hat night or T-Shirt night.
With that said I'd like to see 25 player T-Shirt nights through out the season.

I hear ya about Knight yabbering, but I gotta say I loved hearing him break down the exact timing for funning the bases, citing Nook's 3.5 second time from the right batter's box, and breaking down the timing for basestealing - bringing his stopwatch and everything!

I'm pleasantly enjoying Ray Knight in place of Sutton. I don't have a problem with Sutton, but I like the detail that Ray brings from being a player, coach, and manager. Just like the best parts of Sutton are when he sticks to pitching, and offering the nuances of pitching.

And, for those of you who have problems with Sutton (Alabama native) calling Schneider "Snyder" -- i'm sure you've caught Ray ("Georgia Peach") doing the same thing. After spending the weekend in Georgia, you can't get on these guys about that!

Go WMP! Two rockets - one aimed low, the other aimed high, but no air under either!

So I just got home in time to read about a bad call by an ump that stifled the Nats AND a terrible call by the ref in the Ravens-Bengals game that gave the game to the Bengals.

It reminds me of another reason I like baseball so much better. A referee called a very shady offensive pass interference on Baltimore, taking away the tying touch down. Then called a very shady holding on Cincinnati that gave the Ravens a first down on the 10-yard line.

How on earth can anyone prefer a sport with such disgustingly powerful officials? Baltimore's lost was because of that one crummy call.

That happens every now and then in baseball. Ask Dmitri about his missing home run. BUT, we have 162 games to regress to the mean. Baltimore losing this single game on a single bad call may mean the end of their post-season hopes. How can anyone prefer that sport?

Boy, ya'll are sure quick to hate on Lopez. He's made a few errors, but who hasn't on this team? Except for maybe Kearns (1 error all year?). I just think ya'll read about Lopez's snub of Barry and took it a little too personally. Which I understand but something else must be going on that we just don't know about.

C'mon now, ya'll know overall his baseball has been good this year. And if ya'll are going to forgive Zim's (nobody calling for HIS head), ya'll better sure forgive anyone else's errors. Maybe he's still trying to figure out how to deal with the slump he's in, as well as placate the media when they ask him a bunch of negative questions. Maybe he's ultra superstitious and thinks the media jinxed him. Maybe stuff's still going on at home. Whatever. He'll figure it out if we all just leave him alone. I think his baseball has been pretty great so far this year, slump aside. Man, some of those turned twos were downright sparkly.

Anyway, I learned my lesson on Kearns. I wasn't feeling it for the guy, thinking he was a little blah all year. But lo and behold! his hitting improves and suddenly I see him as hard-working, doesn't make a big fuss, pulled himself up outta his slump and now I'm all about Kearns.

Just sayin'....

Just watching Chief. Some of the Fish are just mailing it in. Did you see the "crowd" at the game? And that was before the rain. I think that the owner, there, is truly...I don't know what to say. GAME!!! This guy presented a truly bogus stadium plan in Montreal (Build one for $150M, Canadian??? Yeah, Right!)and now he wants the city of Miami to fund a stadium, when the real estate market in that area is a disaster. They would probably move, except that there is no place to move.

I don't know about the call in the football game, can't keep up with all of the arcane rules since Rozelle began to change things. What I do know is that the second call was definitely a makeup call and one of the first things that we are taught, as umpires is never, never, never do a makeup call. It turns one bad call into two.

Atta Boys!!

Just 6-8 more wins. That's all we ask.

Agreed, Catchcher50, but I won't go into any more details for risk of angering the single-issue bloggers.

What I will say is that in baseball there is no need for a make-up call, because over the course of 162 games, you know things will even out. In a sport with only 16 games the impact of one call is disgusting and the pressure for a make-up call must be much more intense. Which one does a better job determining who is a better team on the field?

Dang, that game looked great on the radio, even with the strange IFR call. Nice baserunner kill later by Nook, though.

WMP got the job done on the road. As much as I've panned him, I can't wait until he gets to turn Nats Park into the House Of Thrills.

Just five months and a week until pitchers and catchers, BTW. And just a little more than a month after that until the cherry blossoms bloom on South Capitol Street and the slugging begins.

Lest we forget, the Chief delivers as we expect. Oh you Nats!

"Just five months and a week until pitchers and catchers, BTW."

----

Not sure I'm quite ready to hear that... :-)

Nice win tonight, despite the horrific officiating.

Most pleasant surprises are Acta, Hill and Bergmann. They all look legit. When they are on, they are good enough to produce on a playoff team. I think we need to look at every player and determine if they are good enough to play for a plyoff team if that is what we want to be.

In terms of Season Ticket holders, I can tell you that I definately feel like tthe team takes us for granted. I almost didn't get my tickets for opening day because I couldn't be at my house ALL DAY for 2 days the week before the season started. If not for a sympathetic FedEx employee, I might have missed the game. Also, it sucks that the promotional nights are unknown before the beginning of the season. I'd like to know that before I split up my tickets. They also need more ticketplans to service people who want 10 and 15 game plans.

In terms of marketing, I hope they do something like the "Nationals Caravan" again this offseason, however, I hope that they get players that are more relevant than an unknown Nook Logan and Mike O'Connor. At that rate, they are going to tour Clint and Screech, in which case I may need to kill myself! They need to realize that Fans want to see Zimmerman, Acta, Meathook and WMP. Perhaps Schneider, Hill, Bergmann or Chad. This is the best marketing they can do. Also, make sure it is well advertised and done in advance. Other teams do "Fan Fests" that are like kickoff events for all fans where most or all of the team shows up.

The real test will be who they go after in the off season. Torii hunter would look go in a Nats uniform but they also need another high average hitter.

Finally, I hope that the Nationals aren't just simply silent, like they were last offseason. It was like they went to sleep in the offseason. They need to create a buzz that lasts throughout the offseason. They also are in huge need of a Officially Sponsored Fan Club that is sanctioned by the team. IT is a way to keep people interested throughout the year. Also a way to organize things like fan appreciation days and trips to spring training.

i can't sleep. Anyone out there still?

Biggest surprises of the season have to center around the pitching and Da Meat Hook. Starting pitching has been much better than expected. Bullpen has been solid and Cordero is, well, he's a closer. They can be a maddening wave (Gagne, anyone) and aren't all like Rivera. I'll take Chad.

Gotta be excited about the minors and our pitching. 1B is solid next year, with Young/Johnson and possibly Schneider sneaking in a few games. 3B is no question, nor is C (keep Schneider with a bit more of Flores). If Flores continues to progress, maybe there is a trade market for Schneider next year at the deadline.

Middle infield: I like Guzman, with Lopez at 2B. Lets try that for another year and see what happens. Really, the minors don't have anything near ready and the FA market sucks for middle infielders this year, so what's the choice?

Outfield. WMP is intriguing. I wouldn't mind seeing them go after Hunter, but I don't want Jones. Also, please no Dunn. We are the Washington Nationals, not the Washington Reds. Go after Hunter, keep WMP in LF and Kearns in RF, Church and Logan as your 4th and 5th outfielders. See how the minors progress and go from there.

Really, the FA market this year - Not too much out there that I'd want. I'd rather see this team continue to grow, groom it's pitching, and maybe you end up with a trade for a big bat.

Even though the Nats lose a lot of games, they seem to come up with ways to make games exciting. Shawn Hill and Wily Mo yesterday, for example. It's a scrappy team. Got to like them.

I thought Ray Knight was a good commentator last night. He pretty much said at one point the Nats' bench coach was asleep for not telling Nook not to try to steal second. Nook tried, and he was out by a mile except the batter walked. Then Knight said Nook could steal third in a heartbeat, but he didn't try. So Knight's contribution was a wake-up call to the snoozing coaches on the Nats' bench. Not a bad contribution, IMHO. Acta does need to review some of his coaches in the off-season.

My biggest surpriseS have been:

(1) the woeful lack of marketing by the team; it actually scares me (and %$&#^^@^#%&* to the "Pledge Your Allegiance" campaign -- maybe worse than nothing. . . ); and

(2) Jim Bowden's willingness NOT to deal when no good deal exists. Stick with tha' Hook, stick with Big Belly, don't give people away!

gratis: (3) Spanky's comeback from a statistically down year to a statistically even year . . .

OK so having nothing pertinent to add to the biggest surprises/disappointments discussion (it's all been said) I offer an observation I made this morning when looking at the overall standings.

The Nats are fighting right now to maintain distance between themselves and the Marlins. Translation, between themselves and 5th place in the NL East. Further translation, between themselves and a last place overall finish.

The Nats are currently at 65-79 on the year which puts them tied with SanFran at 10 spots up from the bottom. The Nats currently own a 4 game lead over the Marlins who have a 61-83 record and are tied with Tampa and ChiSox (how fast and far the mighty fall) for last place.

Looking at the last 10 games for each team, the Nats are 7-3 while the Marlins are 3-7. It doesn't take much to see that the play over the last 10 games has put the Nats where the are in the standings, especially considering the 4 game separation between the two teams, and coincidentally between 21st place and 30th place, can be directly attributed to 4 straight wins over said Marlins.

The Nats are playing well against bad teams. Of those 7 wins in the last 10 games 4 have come against the Marlins, 2 against SF, and 1 against Atlanta. The 3 losses have been by a combined score of 19-5 - most of that in 2 games against Atlanta (16-3).

So while the Nats have every reason to feel good now, it's going to take a herculean effort to maintain their position in the standings over the last two weeks. This morning they hold a comfortable 4 game lead over the Marlins but need to keep it up to avoid it slipping to 3 or 2 by the end of the series. The end of the season is a bear. They're only a bad 4 game stretch away from last place overall. I hate being pessimistic especially when we're all talking about Manny's candidacy for MOtY and talking about how pleasantly surprised we are with this team's play, but with series remaining against ATL, NY, Phi, NY, Phi, a late season swoon and ending the year with a sour taste in our mouths seems far too plausible for me still.

That's what I've been saying for 22 years!

---------
What I will say is that in baseball there is no need for a make-up call, because over the course of 162 games, you know things will even out.
Posted by: Section 506 (After moving) | September 10, 2007 10:55 PM

Didn't see the game, just Charlie&Dave'd it, but I wouldn't assume Ray was right. Maybe he was, maybe not. Manny is clearly in the "better safe at first than CS at second" school.
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So Knight's contribution was a wake-up call to the snoozing coaches on the Nats' bench. Not a bad contribution, IMHO. Acta does need to review some of his coaches in the off-season.
Posted by: JohnR (VA) | September 11, 2007 08:03 AM

Sorry, MKevin and all, but nobody is talking about Manny for MOTY anymore. Some third-place votes, maybe. Likewise Dmitri's batting title -- you don't make up (15?) points in 2 weeks.
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I hate being pessimistic especially when we're all talking about Manny's candidacy for MOtY
Posted by: MKevin | September 11, 2007 08:41 AM

There is hope! We are 65-79 with 18 to go.

2 are at the hapless Marlins, then we have 10 home games left, 3 vs Atlanta, 3 vs NY and 4 vs Philly and then 6 on the road to finish at the Mets and Phillies.

I think we sweep Florida, go 5-5 at home and then steal one game from each of the last two series on the road. That's 9-9 down the stretch and gives us a 74-88 overall record. We might even get an extra game or two if the Phillies tank after getting eliminated and if the Mets shut down some key players once they have the division locked up, say maybe 77-85 - best case. Not a bad way to finished, especially if we can be the team that eliminates the Braves and Phillies from the post-season.

With WMP's big night at Florida last night I thought we might update his "projections" for a full season based on his performance this year in Washington (Boston stats excluded). I'll use Austin Kearns 523 ABs as a baseline...

Willy Mo Pena
.267 avg
.321 OBP
.569 SLG
.890 OPS
51 Home Runs
145 Strike Outs
36 Walks

These are the power numers we want from a power hitting corner outfielder. If he keeps this up for the next 3 weeks can we finally kill the Adam Dunn rumors?

Now if only that voice in the back of my head would just SHUT UP and quit saying, "They still have a really good chance for a .500 season..."

Somebody sign me up for the loony bin... :-)

Also, regarding Nook Logan - he has now (on the year) stuck out 76 times vs 19 walks, for a 4-1 ratio.

Willy Mo Pena has struck out (in DC) 20 times vs 5 walks for a 4-1 ration.

If you say that he's turned it on since the all star break I'd agree with you, but then since the all star break he has 12 SO vs 44 walks for a 3.66 to 1 ratio. No better really.

Biggest surprises:

1. The 2nd String Starting Pitching Rotation - (highlights Levale Speigner beating Johan Santana; Bergmann no-hitter into 8th against Smoltz). Solid performances from Bacsik, Redding, Simontacci etc. Remember at beginnning of season Patterson and Jerome Williams (who?)were supposed to lead the staff.

2. Bullpen - solid all season even though they pitched a LOT of innings (2nd string SP rarely got to the 7th or 8th)

3. Dmitri Young - I thought it would be a disaster; great story - great guy. If Guzman stayed healthy they would be #1 and #2 for comeback player of the year.

4. Revitalization of the Farm System - it appears to be a great start - lets hope they can maintain it.

MKevin-

Don't forget that the Marlins pretty much have the same schedule as the Nats since it is pretty much all NL East all the time down the stretch for the entire division.

Fish play Rockies and Cubs. Does that give them any advantage over our schedule of all mets, braves, phillies?

Yes, J-J you do need a reservation for the looney bin. Going 16 - 2 to finish up .500 is way beyond any team's means. Its nice to dream, but I still think that a 8 - 10 finish will put us 2 games ahead of last year's record. Pretty good for a team that was supposed to be of Historically bad proportions. Can't wait for next year with the new park, bigger payroll, and a few more pieces filling in the puzzle. Go Nats!

Both very valid points and something I looked at too before my negative-nellie diatribe, but I just can't shake this nagging feeling of gloom and doom looking at that schedule coming up. Mostly, that nagging feeling manifests itself in the form of enduring the 2-day 16-3 drubbing at the hands of the Braves last week.

===================

MKevin-

Don't forget that the Marlins pretty much have the same schedule as the Nats since it is pretty much all NL East all the time down the stretch for the entire division.

Posted by: Section 508 | September 11, 2007 11:20 AM

Fish play Rockies and Cubs. Does that give them any advantage over our schedule of all mets, braves, phillies?

Posted by: NatsNut | September 11, 2007 11:33 AM

I know what you're saying MKevin. It really is a toss-up how the last 18 games are going to look and Friday and Saturday's games didn't bode well.

On another note. My new favorite sentence (from Svrluga's notebook):

"Ross Detwiler, this year's first-round draft pick, hung his 'Strawberry Shortcake' backpack in the front of his locker. Jonathan Albaladejo stuffed his 'My Little Pony' pack on an upper shelf of his locker."

Ooops. Not Svrluga's. Amy Shipley's sentence.

Courtesy of MLBTradeRumors.com:

2008 MLB Free Agents

Updated 3-2-07

1. John Smoltz (41)
2. Carlos Zambrano (27) (re-signed)
3. Joe Nathan (33)
4. Mariano Rivera (38)
5. Jorge Posada (36)
6. Curt Schilling (41)
7. Bobby Abreu (34)
8. Ichiro Suzuki (34)
9. Andruw Jones (31)
10. Carlos Guillen (32)
11. Jeff Kent (40)
12. Mike Lowell (34)
13. Jason Jennings (29)
14. Jake Westbrook (30)
15. Ivan Rodriguez (36)
16. Freddy Garcia (32)
17. Kenny Rogers (43)
18. Torii Hunter (32)
19. Jason Isringhausen (35)
20. Omar Vizquel (41)
21. Marcus Giles (30)
22. Eric Byrnes (32)
23. Paul Lo Duca (36)
24. Bob Wickman (39)
25. Corey Patterson (28)
26. Adam Dunn (28)
27. Scott Linebrink (31)
28. Michael Barrett (31)
29. Milton Bradley (30)
30. Jon Lieber (38)
31. David Eckstein (33)
32. Aaron Rowand (30)
33. Juan Uribe (29)
34. Bartolo Colon (35)

Bleck. Free agents are clearly not the answer, signing most or all of them would probably be a waste of money and not much of an upgrade (Rowand might be the only exception but not at Hunter money).

I think the Nats are going to have to stick with their stable of average to slightly below average position players that have just enough upside to justify keeping them around (only Zimmerman is exempt from this label), and hope that (i) the pitching staff can hold it together again; (ii) the second half non-switch hitting, base-stealing Logan can hit well enough to lead off and play center; (iii) two of Belliard/Lopez/Guzman can play well enough to fill the middle infield positions; (iv) Nick Johnson can come back, or Meat can do that again; (v) WMP can develop a batting eye, supply the missing power stroke and play decent LF; and (vi) Kearns can step it up a level.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new 2008 Nats, same as the old Nats:

1. Logan, cf
2. Lopez/Guzman, ss
3. Zimmerman, 3b
4. Johnson/Young, 1b
5. Kearns, rf
6. Pena, lf
7. Belliard/Lopez, 2b
8. Schneider/Flores, c

i've been hoping all year nats could get to 10 games under .500. that would stare a lot of people in the face for a long time.

i say felipe needs some love. he's a 2b is all.

i don't think i've ever said it here but i'm actually gonna stick up for rauch and cordero. i've been hard on them too long. cordero blew most of his games early in the year. so balance it against some of those games we probably shouln't have won late and I feel better.

stats compared (r,hr,rbi,obp,slg):
Jose Guillen:
2007 76 - 20 - 89 - .356 - .460
2006 28 - 09 - 40 - .276 - .398
2005 81 - 24 - 76 - .338 - .479
2004 88 - 27 - 104- .352 - .497

Austin Kearns:
2007 71 - 13 - 59 - .347 - .403
2006 86 - 24 - 86 - .363 - .467
2005 62 - 18 - 67 - .333 - .442
2004 28 - 09 - 32 - .321 - .419

both are injury prone above average outfielders with great arms. both are very replaceable...

offense still hasn't scored 600 runs this year. by far worst in majors. no middle infielder is gonna solve that (except Arod).

this team is a lot like the redskins. good defense that wants to manage low scoring games. just without the cheerleader calendar.

i really don't see how this team trades up big this year. we need to conserve the minor leauges. let these guys play together and win together down there. stabilize the minors first. i'd also rather have as many picks as possible next year instead of a big free agent acquisition. we've been patient this long so no reason to get antsy when we are finally showing signs of the plan working.

keep flores and schneider together for 3 more years...

successful season by any measure. i love the ownership and front office for the draft and making the most of the product on the field. they are following through on everything they promised. marketing and parking and all those issues are very secondary to me...

very long now... but who was saying bat speed was 130 mph. i remember chipper jones and ripken being clocked at 93 - 94 mph about 10-12 years ago and that was considered very very good for the time. most were 90mph. when two forces each going 90mph meet each other the ball goes a long way. 130mph is like serving a tennis ball not swinging a 2 1/2 pound bat!

Kearns injury prone?

If you look at the team as a roster instead of a line-up, I think we're a lot closer to competitivness (ie playing in September with a shot at the Wild Card, think ATL this year).

Outfielders '07
Kearns
Logan
Church
Langerhans

Outfielders '08
Kearns
Logan (Maxwell?)
Pena
Church

Infielders '07
Young
Belliard
Lopez
Zimmerman
Fick
Jimenez
Batista

Infielders '08
Johnson
Lopez
Guzman
Zimmerman
Young
Belliard
Batista

Catcher remain the same

Guzman replaces Jiminez
Pena replaces Langerhans
Johnson replaces Fick
Maxwell to replace Logan or Church?

If you give give Manny Acta the tools he can build a winner.

For the rotation we probably have 10 guys coming to camp for 5 spots (really 7 competing for 2 slots, but whatever). Think of last years invited starting pitchers and then look at this list;

Patterson
Redding
Hill
Bergmann
Chico
Hanrahan
Lannan
Detwiler
Balester
Mock

If we can avoid the dreadful starts that have doomed the last two seasons (mostly due to uncertainty in ST) then I say this is ALREADY a 85+ win team and potential wild card winner.

I think JimBow still has a surprise or two up his sleeve yet. Look for a trade no one much expects, probably in Dec. or Jan., ala getting Soriano for 2006.
I don't think Patterson is coming back, I don't think Nick will stay healthy if he does come back, and I think they'll be lucky to get 4 good months out of Guzzie without his shoulder blowing out again (whether he tells anybody about it or not, g-d bless 'im).
My hopeful side says Wily Mo can learn to spot the fastball well enough to approach
the numbers (Posted by: estuartj September 11, 2007 10:49 AM) above. My wildly optimistic side wonders: What if this isn't a career year for Dmitri Young, it's just the first time he's sober and sane and healthy, which means he really can hit .330 again?
Longterm is right, Lopez is a (moody) second baseman playing out of position at SS.
They need a power hitter in center field.
They need one (more?) dominant starter, and all the bullpen they can find. No matter how the new park plays, it will not play like RFK, and the difference will come disproportionately out of the bullpen's share.
SO:
Lopez 2b
Guzman ss
Zimmerman 3b
New Guy CF
Peña LF
Young 1b
Kearns RF
Schneider c
P

bench
Belliard, Logan||Church, Batista, Not-Fick utility guy/PH, Not-Jimenez utility guy/PH

starters
Hill, Bergman, Chico, best 2 of who's left

pen
Rivera, Colome, Albaladejo, Ray King!, Ayala, Rauch, Cordero

"Kearns injury prone?"

He means injurING prone

heh heh. That makes a little more sense.
_____
"Kearns injury prone?"

He means injurING prone

Posted by: Section 506 (After moving) | September 11, 2007 03:00 PM

estuartj:

The thing is... they are an 85 win team today, if you discount April... the problem is... each win over 85 is going to be disproportionately against teams that have kicked their butts this year... like the Mets, Phillies, and Braves. They don't play anyone else enough to make a difference really... but the good news is that those in-division games all count double. It was frustrating to watch the west coast road trip and all those one run games... all of them were winable. The big difference will be hitting on the road... and that is not a problem that is easily solved...

The rest of this season will be very telling... if they can play close to .500, they could be a big deal next year. If not, I don't think that necessarily means they'll be bad... but September will show what they're made of.

I would love to see Pena make contact more. I'd love to see Nick back. I'd love to see a formidable offensive presence im CF...

Which brings me to a slightly different topic... I think Bowden has done a great job ever since he's gotten some direction, in terms of "The Plan". Once there was an overarching philosophy to the personnel situation, Bowden has gone out and basically done everything he's needed to do. He's been shrewd with the trades (or non-trades), done very well with the draft, and put the team in a place to be successful in the future.

Nice points about Bowden Wigi.

I have said often that getting from 75 (or so) wins in '07 to 85 (or so) wins in '08 is going to be MUCH easier than getting from 85 to 95 wins in order to compete for the NL East pennant or to consistently comptete for the wild card.

The guys that are going to win 85 wins next year are almost all in the organization. We may have 75% of the guys that are going to win a World Series in the organization too, but they are all too young to drink so we'll have to be patient.

If the Nats can win 85 or so games next year and God Willing play 2 playoff games in the new stadium I would be happier than words can express - and I do think it is possible, if not probably - but it will be at least 3-4 years before we're going to replace the Mets as the NL East champion year after year, but it will happen.

Wigi sez "The thing is... they are an 85 win team today, if you discount April..."

The thing is...you can't discount April. Those games count, unlike the ones in March. Two things this team has never done in its three years here, no matter who's playing or who's managing, is start strong or finish strong. Starting strong next year will be key to being an 85-win team, no matter what offseason moves are or aren't made. Finishing strong this year would do a lot toward making me think they're capable of starting strong next year. So these last two weeks, when they play the Braves, Mets and Phillies, will tell us a lot about who they could be next year, IMHO anyway.

I agree you can't discount April, but when people say that we've been over .500 since whenever it does mean something because this team has changed so dramatically since April.

That said, it is very key that the team take advantage of the stability we've developed over the past 2 months and builds on that through Spring Training to come out of the box fast next year instead of taking several weeks to find themselves while they quickly drop out of contention.

Section 419:

That's true, you can't discount April... if you're looking at the 2007 standings... but you can, if you're looking to assess how they might do in the future. There was a lot of strangeness and uncertainty at the beginning of the year... unreasonably low expectations, (at that point) incomplete evaluation of the pitching situation, new manager, etc. I think it is safe to say that the April performance is not indicative of what the team could do in the future, while the ensuing five months is... and if you were to extrapolate that performance across a whole season, you would be at or slightly above .500.

I wouldn't make that claim on a smaller sample size... the Nats have had plenty of ups and downs since May...

I agree with you (that is what I said in the post, above) about what happens the rest of the season being telling of the future... but even if they're only .400 the rest of the way, they would be .400 against teams in the hunt, which for this year isn't too bad. Being .500 between now and the end of the month would be a huge success... and I hope it happens... I haven't seen them win in person since 2005... so I am due.

To market well in this town, you have to tie into DC's baseball past. Let's start with the uni's. The current uniform is the '68 to '71 Senators cap with what looks like a thrown together minor league jersey. Please. Blue W cap with blue W jersey.

Teddy Roosevelt losing the President's Race on his bobblehead night. That was a sad day for me...

"To market well in this town, you have to tie into DC's baseball past."

Like completely alienating the city by only catering to affluent whites? Or leaving in the middle of the night?

No offense to all the Senators fans out there, but I want this to be a new team that appreciates the past. But tying ourselves to the Washington that was famously "first in war, first in peace, and last in the American league" sounds more like tying ourselves to a cement block.

We got a lot of pride for Washington's traditions. The Senators, the Grays, and the expansion Senators. I hope in that great ballfield in the sky they smile at what what we're doing here in Washington.

And I hope they're smiling that we're gonna do it our way.

506, I think there is a good balance of the old and new - statues of Walter Johnson, Josh Gibson, and Frank Howard at the new park, so a lot of respect for the past. You are right, though, this is the new team for the new millenium - I love your images:

"We got a lot of pride for Washington's traditions. The Senators, the Grays, and the expansion Senators. I hope in that great ballfield in the sky they smile at what what we're doing here in Washington.

And I hope they're smiling that we're gonna do it our way."

506, it's long been a pet-peeve of mine the ratio of whites to blacks at the games. I really hope the FO is doing something about that. I suspect that was/is the problem with Atlanta's attendance too. And if Kasten was part of that problem there, let's hope he can correct that mistake here.
That said, it does seem to me that the ratio has improved a bit throughout the year. If it's because of a concerted effort, please, please I hope it continues. I encourage them not to forget the neighborhood families in their fast and furious drive to sell the high price suites to the hot shot firms and businesses. The neighborhood families are the ones that the team needs the loyalty from the most. All other audiences are just too transient in this town.

Sorry about the late hour of the post, but there's finally a new one up. Enjoy tonight's game.

Wow... talk about a sensitive topic to weigh in on. I'll do my best to play devil's adovcate without touching off any nerves.

Let me say first and foremost, I have long thought that the name of this iteration of the Washington D.C. baseball franchise should have been The Grays, not the Nationals. Actually, truth be told, of all the names being floated about when the team was rumored to be coming here, The Nationals was my least favorite.

In addition, I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of honoring the heroes of the Negro League that played in this area in the past. However, you can not selectively choose what from your past you want to keep and what you want to discard. Baseball has a spotted history in D.C. If you want to celebrate the good parts of it (Walter Johnson, the 24 Senators) you have to be willing to accept the bad too.

The issue of African American attendance at games is not a Nationals/Kasten issue, but an MLB issue. It's one they say they are aware of, and one they say they are working to address through city baseball programs in the areas where they have teams. Is that happening? I have no idea.

Simple facts are people tend to look up to and gravitate towards people who look like themselves. That's not to say that if everyone had their way we'd be running in color coded packs, but as a general rule, when people (especially younger people) look for heroes and role models, they tend to identify with the person that most closely resembles the one looking back at them in the mirror.

Ask yourself this: how many African American faces do you see at a Capitals game? By comparison, same venue, same region, how many African American faces do you see at a Wizards game?

MLB has been very public in their concern over the decline in the number of African American players and with good reason. Without question, many of the game greatest players have been African American. How many of the games most dominant players are African American today? Ryan Howard and Dontrelle Willis stand out as obvious examples, but ask yourself how many of the games most dominant players today are of Latin descent? David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana... the list goes on and on. I have no statistics to back this up mind you but speaking for my own imperical experiences, I see a lot more Latin faces in the crowd at RFK than I do African American.

The answer to this quandry is simple. If you want more people from more races in attendance, have people they can identify with on the playing field. If they're playing, they will come. How to achieve this is however not as simple. Sports like basketball and football continue to dominate in terms of African American participation and attendance. It would seem that MLB is on the right track with the programs they're putting in place. Does more need to be done? Probably. What exactly is that? I don't know. That's why I'd make a lowsey commish.

"The neighborhood families are the ones that the team needs the loyalty from the most. All other audiences are just too transient in this town." Well said, NN.

Decades ago, I took my boys to many an O's game on 33d Street, and we'd park on the street and walk to the stadium with the locals. I don't know how many people walked to the games, but it was a significant number.

However, I do not get the sense that such a neighborhood emphasis is at all being incorporated in the marketing for the Nats at the new digs. Of course in southeast, you don't have block after block of tree lined streets and comfortable middle class homes, either.

I'm afraid that kind of urban experience is gone forever.

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