Barry, Thanks for the updates. Talk to us when you see Faith Hill, Shania Twain or some other country music star.
Why Nashville? Why not a MLB city?

Airport hotel? Or are they staying there to save money, further fueling the "Lerner's are cheap" mantra??

Nah. I'll buy the secrecy angle.

LOL!!! My first thought was The Parents couldn't afford to let them stay with all the cool kids.

With as mammoth as the Opryland Hotel is -- seriously, that place is ungodly -- why would they need to be off site?

Did Lerner make them use their Starwood Points for the trip?

How about the signing of a free agent? LoDuca I hope. He flies in, signs the contract, and flies out?

Barry, do you ever get a little star-struck when you're around all these names at once?

i think laird is doable also.

we still need starters. dave bush out of milwaukee might be nice value if we are talking to them...

hope zimmerman's recovery is going well.

I am never getting into the Hall of Fame, am I?

I disagree strongly with the suggestion that we have adequate middle infield depth. We have 2 guys whose best position looks like 2d base (Belliard and Lopez) and one guy at SS (Guzman) whose contract is expiring, been hurt much of the past 2 years, and has a career OPS of .680. I know he looked great for 174 at bats last year, but there is a good chance it was a fluke (BABIP 2007 - .359, career - .298), and even if it was not a fluke, he'll get expensive in 2009. We need someone who can take over in 2009 or tail end of next year.

Along these lines, Joaquin Arias of Texas is someone they would be willing to trade (per Nick Cafardo's good piece on Boston.com yesterday), along with Gerald Laird (Catcher). Several sources say they are looking to add a veteran to the bullpen, possibly a corner IF or OF bat, too. We have things they might be interested in. Bowden has surprised me in getting guys cheaper than I thought he could, so I will not speculate on deal particulars* except to say Cordero would be a poor fit for them in that bandbox.

A couple of other interesting names kicked around on several sites (USS Mariner, the Cafardo article, and I think ESPN) are Jose Lopez, Jeff Clement, and Wladimir Balantien of the Mariners. I had mentioned before that Safeco might be a park suited to Cordero, and that moving him to a set up role in fornt of Putz would allow Brandon Morrow to move to the rotation.

* I had good intentions, but Cordero for Lopez and Balantien, Kearns for Arias and Laird.

Is there going to be a winter meetings chat this week??

Jeez Louise, I leave town for two days and look what happens.

On the whole Brian-Ryan-Lastings thing (and I know most folks have moved on from this, but...), yeah, Church I can let go, but Schneider was a shock. I could see how the Mets wouldn't just trade for Church outright. One of my coworkers who's a Mets fan said the Nats got a "TOTAL steal." He's more in awe of the Nats getting the trade than anger at the Mets for doing it.

How old is Randy St. Claire? Given Schneider's age (and the position he plays), what's the chance of him playing maybe three more years and then coming back to the Nats organization as a pitching coach (most likely starting in the minors) and being groomed to take St. Claire's place?

The Nats are rumored to have inquired about Brett Tomko as a free agent. 4-12 last year. Inquired does not mean anything. Not a great option, and he had a bad year last year for SD as a partime starter/reliever. Seems like the sort of guy you pick up in February right before camp starts. Just to see if he has anything left.

In the category of "inter-divisional trades we never saw coming" what about Dontrelle Willis to the Nats? I know we don't have the CF or C the fish need, but we've got the pitching and now an extra $9M in the mix.

As much as I would love some D-train love Mick, it says on mlb.com that Willis is likely to remain with the Fish. He's still cheap, provides leadership, and they're hoping that he can put his act together again with Wiley (his pitching coach in 2005, when he was Cy Young Runner-up).

I dig the Mariners/Rangers trading posted by reposter (I didn't bother checking).

I just think that we can hose a team on Cordero. Any team that hasn't done a lot of homework could get worked up, especially in this market for closers. If we didn't have Lastings, I'd say trade CC to Milwaukee for Tony Gwynn Jr. or something.

This week is so exciting. My students keep asking me why I'm running to the computer every ten minutes. I tell them it's to check administrative emails...

Agree it's a longshot ND. But it's that marlins.com headline that makes me think he might be moved. mlb.com headlines can be red herrings. Remember the Nats headline before the milledge deal? About talking with Rowand and Jones' agents? (And it's now mysteriously gone from the site) Psyche!

Opryland. Ugh. Hope the smell of chlorine isn't getting to you yet Barry. Yet where else outside of Disney world can you take a $20 indoor pontoon ride to nowhere?

from gammons' blog today re: willis:

==
The Marlins have told teams that they will not trade Dontrelle Willis at a price based on last year's disappointing numbers, so the three consecutive seasons of declining wins and increasing ERA and baserunners per 9 will probably deter anyone from offering what Beinfest believes is suitable.
==

don't think i want to see us giving santana light offer for willis.

honestly, i don't really want to see us deal for an ace for 2008. it will be very expensive and we'll waste at least the first year of that deal. 09/10? sure, depending on how 08 plays out (both the major league club and where the youngsters are re: playing in the show for 09/10). but putting big money/prospects into an ace for a team whose goals are getting over 500 isn't really part of "the planTM." and it would be potentially mortgaging 10/11 for an 08 season that should be a stepping stone to the future, not trying to "win now."

Kearns should stay unless we get something of extremely high value -- Laird and Arias are not worth Kearns IMO. Kearns will hit better in the new ballpark, and his defense is killer. Not to mention his attitude -- we've already got rid of a high character guy in Schneider. I don't want to see the Nats become the Cincinnati Bengals.

From a personal season ticket holder customer perspective, I'd like for the team to retain at least a couple of players that I actually like -- they've already traded two players I like for one that recorded a rap song called "Bend Ya Knees". Winning in the year 2010 and beyond is not the only goal here -- I would hope that the team remains some entertainment value in 2008 for that $10K season ticket bill I'm getting ready to pay.

Brett Tomko sounds very Bowden -- he came up with the Bowden Reds. A usable if unspectacular pitcher, probably would be behind JP, Hill and Bergmann. My Redsfan memory of Tomko is that he told the press he was hoping to give up #62 to McGwire back in '98. He and Bascik should become fast friends....

I like Chris Burke, who has been mentioned as being available now that the Astros got Kaz.

His major league numbers haven't been impressive, but he was a top prospect and a lot of people still feel that if he plays every day he could turn into something special. His AAA numbers show average, power and speed. He can play 2B, SS and all three OF positions. He's 27.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Burke_(baseball_player)

From the last blog--I believe Flores will be an above average catcher not only down the line, but now. Definitely better than any of those mentioned in the last blog. Of course, we need a back-up.
I'll throw this out there--Any chance we have the goods to get one of the SF starting pitchers. Lincecum, Cain, Lowry.
Finally, Jon, Arias sounds interesting--a speedy, good defensive shortstop. H'mmm! I like that.

"Any chance we have the goods to get one of the SF starting pitchers. Lincecum, Cain, Lowry."

My impression is that Matt Cain's out of reach, and it would take a Zimm and then some to fetch Lincecum.

Lowry would seem to have less upside and thus be more affordable, if the Nats have someone besides Zimm around whom a deal could be worked. Unless Brian Sabean is still in love with veterans (a la da Meat or Bells), this idea may be a non-starter.

"How old is Randy St. Claire? Given Schneider's age (and the position he plays), what's the chance of him playing maybe three more years and then coming back to the Nats organization as a pitching coach (most likely starting in the minors) and being groomed to take St. Claire's place?"

St. Claire is in his mid 40s, I think. Not all that old to be retiring any time soon, unless someone makes him a managerial offer. As for Schneider becoming a pitching coach someday, I would think that would be doubtful. What does a catcher know about helping a pitcher with his mechanics? Pitching coaches need to be able to do that, among the other things they do. Are there any pitching coaches anywhere in MLB who weren't pitchers in their playing days?

Now bullpen coach, that's an area where a former catcher could probably do the job. Indeed, Elrod Hendricks was a catcher who became the much-loved bullpen coach of the Orioles for many years until his death a few years ago.

Re Schneider's coaching prospects -- I agree that he probably can't be a pitching coach. But bench coach? Definitely.

Oh, and St. Claire is 47.

Ah, gotcha. Makes sense. Thx, folks.

"and another note. for those that are calling for the heads of proven players - why not angst over the golden boy. he strikes out entirely too much, makes too many errors. and hit in the .260s. "
theraph

I thought you were talking about Zimmerman.

What's the significance of Flores' hard times hitting in Venezuala Winter Ball?

new post up

one thing a rational person might do is give a lot of latitude for learning from mistakes for a 22-23 yr old with a lot of upside than you would to a 29-32 yr old who's supposed to have reached his potential at that point. but that's just a rational thought, probably no room for that underneath tin foil hats... ;)