Lo Duca and Milledge at the presser together?

Think they'll kiss and make up?

It'll be like Magic and Isiah in the finals all those years ago...

I remember seeing several news items about un-named Mets players giving Milledge a hard time, and speculation that Lo Duca was one of them. But, do we actually have a quote or hard report that Lo Duca was at odds with Milledge? I think more of that "know your place rookie" stuff was attributed to Billy Wagner. Where is the specific link to an article attributing Lo Duca?

like Shak and Kobe ...

Smith and Dale ...

Speaking of Pavano, if he rejects the Yanks minor league offer, could he be another Bowden cheap reclamation project? (I hear he's kind of a jerk too. Would fit right in.)

"I remember seeing several news items about un-named Mets players giving Milledge a hard time, and speculation that Lo Duca was one of them. But, do we actually have a quote or hard report that Lo Duca was at odds with Milledge? I think more of that "know your place rookie" stuff was attributed to Billy Wagner. Where is the specific link to an article attributing Lo Duca?"

See, this is something that would have been good to have seen addressed in Boswell's column this morning. But instead he just handed the whole column over to guest writer Tom Glavine, a man full of insight but apparently not on this topic. Since this supposed rift between LoDuca and Milledge has been talked about a lot in the Nats blogosphere lately, it would be nice if one of the supposedly professional baseball writers in DC addressed it and let us know if there is actually any substance to it, wouldn't it? After all, Tom Glavine unfortunately won't be in the Nats clubhouse this season to file columns for us to read. Couldn't Boswell have done a little more reportorial legwork here before he went all ga-ga over the leadership that LoDuca will be providing in exchange for the Nats' $5 million?

This always happens... end up tail-ending a dead thread... from the previous:

If the Nats could solve their injury problem with their pitchers, and get six innings out of the starters, they'd have a pretty formidable rotation. In fact, they're in a pretty good situation because the players that are likely to be 6, 7 and 8th starters will have options left... so if things go south with the big club, they don't have to make terrible roster moves to fix it.

They're almost certainly not going to improve their pitching situation through trade or free agency this year. The only advantage to signing Livo would be that you'd get 200 innings out of him, provided you're not down 5-0 after two. On the other hand, he's colorful, and fun to watch, and he can hit.

On a different topic, interesting that in Boz's column today, Nick Johnson told the Nats yesterday that he expects to be 100 percent coming into spring training.

419 + 1 wrote:

" Since this supposed rift between LoDuca and Milledge has been talked about a lot in the Nats blogosphere lately, it would be nice if one of the supposedly professional baseball writers in DC addressed it and let us know if there is actually any substance to it, wouldn't it? "

I don't know that I would call what has been reported as a 'rift'. It sounded more to me like it was veterans (in a much more pressure-filled clubhouse) putting a rookie in his place. Not that I condone that sort of thing... but I haven't seen any indication that it was an ongoing thing. Plus, the dynamic in the Nats clubhouse will be very different than the Mets, and the organization's goals and philosophy is different... so I wouldn't assume, or even expect, that putting Milledge and Lo Duca in the same clubhouse would have anything like the same effect. In fact, it might be just the opposite, since it is likely that they'll know each other better than either of them will know the rest of the Nats players.

As for the point that 419 + 1 was making, I think we'd all like to see more in-depth coverage... and that insight into the happenings in the clubhouse is part of that. I think there is a wrong way to do it, and the subject matter makes doing it well difficult... as I mentioned in a previous thread... if that coverage became a gossip column, or even headed in that direction, I think it would not be interesting or productive.

The breadth of the coverage is likely to be linked to the interest of the audience... when more readers show up here (or buy the paper, heaven forbid) looking for Nats coverage, it'll be there.

I'd guess that since Lo Duca has a reputation as a hard nosed clubhouse leader, that he would have been the one to put Milledge in his place if needed. Couldn't really care less, myself. If I want gossip, I'll read People magazine. Or a New York paper's sports page.

Great column by Boz today. Especially the stuff from Glavine; that gives me a much better feeling about Lo Duca than I would have had otherwise. I guess if Glavine can live with Lo Duca's defensive deficiencies, so can I.

"The breadth of the coverage is likely to be linked to the interest of the audience... when more readers show up here (or buy the paper, heaven forbid) looking for Nats coverage, it'll be there."

It's a chicken-and-egg thing, really. Will readers quit buying the print Post because they don't cover the Nationals, or will the Post refuse to cover the Nationals adequately because not enough peole are reading it? I'm not optimistic. I believe you're out of town, aren't you, Wigi? Well then, you wouldn't have noticed how the Post has become The Redskins News every Monday morning this year, with above-the-nameplate headline on A1, game story also on A1 above the fold, and up to seven count 'em seven reporters and columnists filing copy in the Sports section about the previous day's game. I guess no one wants to read about the Redskins, though, since the other day Donald Graham announced that the Washington Post Co. is no longer primarily a media company, they're an educational services company, because that's where the majority of their revenue comes from. So if the Redskins can't save the Post, I doubt that the Nats can. But it would be nice if they decided to return to their roots before their inevitable demise and started actually covering the local baseball team, wouldn't it?

Does anyone have any information about a trade package that involves Chad Cordero and others to Baltimore for Brian Roberts?

Dude, we're bloggers. Anybody in the world could get on this thing and make a bunch of crap up, including the Lo Duca, Milledge story.

In fact, the ONLY place we've heard this story is here. Nobody on this blog has bothered to verify the story either and we've still managed to blow it all up out of proportion as if it WERE true and as if it were the Watergate of the Mets.

And even if it IS true? It's a bunch of vets bringing down a rookie's ego a couple notches. It's not very nice, not very encouraging, not very welcoming, and not something I'd like to hear about in our clubhouse. But c'mon. It's not the scandal of the century and just because we can't stop talking about it, it doesn't automatically give it the journalistic weight for Boz to do an expose on it, for crying out loud, much less vilify him for ignoring it.

more importantly...

Ross Detwiler, lhp Born: March 6, 1986 • B-T: R-L • Ht: 6-5 • Wt: 185
Drafted: Missouri State, 2007 (1st round) • Signed by: Ryan Fox
Background: After a star turn with Team USA in 2006, Detwiler showed dominant stuff but was plagued by poor run support as a junior at Missouri State, going 4-5, 2.22 with 110 strikeouts and 38 walks in 89 innings. The Nationals made him the highest-drafted player in school history, taking him sixth overall and giving him a $2.15 million bonus. He made a Washington cameo in just his 10th professional appearance, making him the first 2006 draftee to reach the majors.

Strengths: Detwiler's arm is electric. His four-seam fastball sits at 90-93 mph and touches 95-96, and his two-seamer has darting armside run. His hard-breaking spike curveball is a second plus offering that can reach 83 mph. His high-70s changeup can be a third plus pitch at times, with very good arm speed and late fade.

Weaknesses: His frame always will be wiry, but Detwiler needs to add strength to endure a major league season. He throws strikes but is still learning to command the zone with his fastball and refine his changeup. He throws across his body somewhat despite easy arm action and a mostly sound delivery.

The Future: With a chance for three above-average pitches, Detwiler has a chance to be a legitimate ace. He figures to start 2008 in Double-A but could force his way to the big leagues for good by the second half.

and just as important...

Collin Balester, rhp Born: June 6, 1986 • B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-5 • Wt: 190
Drafted: HS--Huntington Bach, Calif., 2004 (4th round) • Signed by: Tony Arango
Background: Balester has moved quickly through the system since the Nationals drafted the free-spirited former surfer, and once again he was young for his level in 2007. He pitched well enough in Double-A to warrant a second-half promotion to Triple-A Columbus and held his own without dominating.

Strengths: The long-limbed Balester is growing into his frame, and he maintained 90-93 mph fastball velocity, touching 94 regularly and reaching 96 at the Futures Game. His curveball is often an above-average pitch at 77-81 with hard downward break.

Weaknesses: Balester excels at pitching to contact, but he needs to get better at putting hitters away, particularly with his swing-and-miss curveball. He tends to throw his changeup too hard at 85-87 mph, and he's better off using it in the low 80s to get more sink and separation from his fastball. He needs to command his fastball down in the strike zone more consistently.

The Future: A potential middle-of-the-rotation starter with a ceiling as a No. 2, Balester isn't far from breaking into the majors. Barring a standout spring, he'll open 2008 back in Triple-A, but he could be in Washington by midseason.

This from the SD Tribune's version of the NJ (humorous stuff and nice things to say about Sheinin as well as Bowden, Greene, etc...):

"I posted on the subject of Jim Bowden's fascination with Padres shortstop Khalil Greene a few days ago, but figured I would do it again after reading musings from old friend David Sheinin, a baseball writer for the Washington Post. Sheinin's heard that Bowden's Nationals admire Greene more than a little.

Be sure to read Sheinin's work. He is must-read for all baseball lovers. And he's one of the most talented people I know -- the Pavarotti of sportswriters, I call him. The lad can really sing. When he worked for the San Diego Union as an intern, we'd go to the Gaslamp District, and Sheinin sheepishly would take the stage and blow everyone away with these booming, operatic riffs. I'm waiting for the day that he leaves the pressbox so he can sing God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch. I'd take him over that guy who sings at Yankee Stadium every October.

Anyway, onto Bowden, the hyperkinetic, P.T. Barnum-like General Manager of the Nationals. He is one of the more colorful characters in baseball. He's liable to say just about anything, and he's renowned for pitching goofy deals to his fellow GMs. The Padres got a good laugh out of Bowden's antics two months ago, when he left a message for GM Kevin Towers. "Kevin," Bowden said, "I've got a deal for Khalil Greene that will make you Executive of the Year." Click. Nothing came of the pitch, other than a few chuckles, but there's no question that Greene is a player Bowden greatly admires. And so do the Pades, particularly Manager Bud Black. A week ago, a Padres scout asked the Nationals about pitcher Jon Rauch, who isn't in the same galaxy of value as Greene. I'm told that it was routine conversation. Give Bowden credit. He's always brainstorming, and sometime's today's farfetched pitch becomes tomorrow's reality."

oh yea. a year from now all our attitudes will have been corrected...

Chris Marrero, of/1b Born: July 2, 1988 • B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-3 • Wt: 210
Drafted: HS--Opa Locka, Fla., 2006 (1st round) • Signed by: Tony Arango
Background: As a junior at Monsignor Pace High in Opa Locka, Fla., Marrero established himself as the best high school position prospect for the 2006 draft. But a hamstring injury during his senior year caused Marrero to overcompensate by opening up his front hip and pulling off the ball, making his swing look deceptively long and causing him to wave over the top of breaking balls. He wasn't even the best player on his state championship team, as that distinction fell to Adrian Cardenas, who's now starring in the Phillies system. Nationals scouts surmised that Marrero would return to form if they could fix his stride, and he reinforced their belief that his senior struggles were a fluke by putting on a monstrous pre-draft power display in a workout at RFK Stadium. Washington stole him with the 15th overall pick and signed him for $1.625 million. After the draft, he worked on the mechanical adjustments and began to make progress before viral meningitis cut short his debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He was completely healthy by the spring and began his first full professional season at low Class A Hagerstown, where his power exploded with 11 homers in May. After a promotion to high Class A Potomac, Marrero tired down the stretch but rallied in the final two weeks after choking up a bit on the bat.

Strengths: Marrero's best tool is his well above-average power to all fields. He has a quiet, line-drive stroke, and he's strong enough to hit the ball over the fence from foul pole to foul pole. His swing has tremendous leverage, and his balance and bat speed allow him to square up balls on the barrel consistently. His approach was very mature for a 19-year-old in high Class A, not only because of his willingness to use the opposite field but also because of his ability to make adjustments. He drew more walks and chased fewer pitches in his time at Potomac. Marrero also has an above-average arm. His work ethic receives rave reviews from Nationals personnel.

Weaknesses: Despite his arm strength, Marrero isn't a good outfielder, thanks largely to his below-average speed. Washington decided to move him to first base in instructional league. He showed good aptitude for the position, with sufficient lateral range, quick reactions and decent hands. He still needs to get comfortable at first base and work on receiving throws from infielders and picking balls in the dirt. Offensively, Marrero has all the tools but requires more at-bats to learn how to hit advanced pitching

The Future: Marrero has a chance to start 2008 as a 19-year-old at Double-A Harrisburg, though he could return to Potomac and move up quickly. He's not far from big league ready as a hitter, and how fast he learns first base could determine how soon he reaches Washington. That could happen as early as the second half of 2008, and by 2009 he figures to be a fixture in the middle of the big league lineup. His massive power gives him a chance to be a star.

all of the above courtesy of baseball america, of course.

Damnit Wigi, if you're going to post my thoughts, at least have the courtesy to wait until AFTER I post so I don't look like a dope repeating what you said.

Honestly, I probably deserved it. At least he didn't text me a picture of a gun.

That's our JimBo!

It was Billy Wagner - and no one else, who "told the rookie to learn his place"....not Lo Duca, or any other Met.

Lo Duca is liked by his team mates, and has a talent for taking the blame for stuff. The media jumps on him every chance they get, "anti-hispanic comments", making him a racist, that his hispanic team mates thought were harmless (He said the english speaking players had an easier time being interviewed...thus making him look like the Klan.....etc.), when an announcer kept saying "WHAT?" during an interview with a teammate who didn't speak english. Hardly a racist remark.

:D

OK, he screwed a chick at a bar who was all over him, who was of legal age, but lied and said she was older, etc...and, she bragged about banging him, and he ended up divorced from his playboy bunny wife...and suddenly he's portrayed as a pedaphile because she was younger than he was...so he's no saint, but really, if she's old enough to drink, she's old enough to dink.

A bad idea maybe, but legal.

:D

All in all, I like the guy...he plays hard, he plays smart, and Flores will be lucky to soak up anything he provides...even if its to stay away from horny b-tches in random bars, and to never speak about an issue that a reporter can twist into a story, let alone what pitches to call in what situations, etc.

"...but really, if she's old enough to drink, she's old enough to dink."

Except that she wasn't old enough to drink...

I worry more about people stealing second than Lo Duca stealing barely-legals' hearts.

Given how many runners the Nats allow on first and how often they rely on the double-play save, what sort of stress is this going to put on our pitchers?

"The dynamic in the Nats' clubhouse will be very different than the Mets', and the organization's goals and philosophy is different ... "

In other words - "Know your place, coot."

wow, i thought my name was stretching it in terms of incorporating Nattitude into a moniker, but that really takes the cake, CoNATStant Lurker. nice work.

A week ago, a Padres scout asked the Nationals about pitcher Jon Rauch, who isn't in the same galaxy of value as Greene. I'm told that it was routine conversation. Give Bowden credit. He's always brainstorming, and sometime's today's farfetched pitch becomes tomorrow's reality."

See Jim Bo's not the only one with wacky trade ideas. Imagine that Padres scout suggesting giving us a sub .300 OBP shortstop for a top tier relief pitcher? Insane.

I'll bet his Greene idea sounded just as wacy as hey Wayne how 'bout Majewsi, Bray and another guy for Kearns Lopez Harris and Wagner? Or hey Omar, how 'bout Church and Schneider for Milledge? Throw enough S&*^*(&^ against the wall and some will sitck.

Just to give some perspective on Lo Duca's "terrible" throwing. I believe he threw out about 22% of the baserunners who tried to steal on him last year. That means they had a 78% success rate. Bill James believes that a 75% success rate with SBs is a net zero offensively, because an extra base is worth only about 1/3 of an extra out. Therefore running against Lo Duca last year was only slightly more efficient than not running at all. I wouldn't call that terrible.

Some of you will point out that there are a lot of catchers including my favorite, B. Schneider, who were much better. That's true. I guess my point is that WAY too much is made of the running game in general. If he calls a good game and hits, he'll contribute where it's really important.

And please for the umpteenth time, stop with the comments about the young ladies. It's his PERSONAL life. It doesn't matter. The anti-Bill Clinton blog is somewhere else.

dink, schmink, but then there's this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14353006/

To Joebleaux:

Which thoughs were you referring to? I couldn't in good conscience put your other thoughts out there!

To 419 + 1:

Yes, I am out of town... but I know how lopsided the Post's coverage of sports is... I am sure it is worse now, but it has always been lopsided... I lived in DC until I was in my mid 20's and I visit twice a year now (first series and last series)... so... I do know... and if I could, I would get the print version of the paper. That said, the reason that the Post's coverage is lopsided is because that is what the marketplace clamors for. I have worked in the media (mostly in broadcasting, but some print) and now, more than ever, the media outlets are following the marketplace rather than influencing it. Part of that is because of the influence of new media (internet, etc) and so papers and broadcasting outlets are sticking to the tried-and-true stories to hold their audiences.

The Post will never again be a market-mover when it comes to affecting the perceptions of a sports team... and they're not with the Redskins... they simply provide the content that the marketplace demands, because if they don't, people can go to any of a gazillion websites and get the information they want. The one advantage that newspapers have is that they have the resources to send people around the country to follow the teams... but as soon as there is the money for new media outlets to cover the teams, they will, too, and I am sure they already are, in some places.

What is going to change the Post's coverage of the Nats is that the Nats start winning. When more people are interested in the Nats, the stories will follow.

Things are not really that bad... if you think about it, the tools we have available to us to find out about our team are so far in advance of where they were just five years ago. All of us here on this blog have more-or-less direct access to Barry... we may not correspond with him every day, but he reads this (as does Stan, and who the heck knows who else). It isn't perfect, but even though I live in Alaska, I feel much closer to this team than I ever did to any team when I lived there... and I was a Caps season ticket holder and knew people in the orgainzation. Heck, I watch every Nats game on the Internet, if I am not there.

From the Celizic article linked above:

"If he had been nailed for DWI, there would be a flurry of criticism and pious thundering from the usual quarters, but he'd be playing ball the next day with no threat of suspension. It would be the same if he were accused of domestic abuse or cheating on his taxes, which isn't a victimless crime, since when you steal from the government, you steal from every honest taxpayer."

If he had been accused of domestic abuse, Bowden might have offered him the contract earlier...

loduca must be drinking bowden's red koolaid...

"I'm excited to be part of a team that's young and has a chance to win this division," Lo Duca said Tuesday after passing a physical to make the deal official. "The NL East is wide open."

Wigi, the Post's Ombudsman recently wrote that the paper's own research shows the Nats as their second most-followed team, after the Redskins, and ahead of the Wizards, college football teams, etc. Yet the Post hardly gives the Nats a level of coverage that matches that reader interest level.

For whatever reason, Sports Editor Emilio Garcia-Ruiz seems to view covering the Nats as an unwanted burden. His first public comments after MLB announced the Expos' relocation focused on how expensive it would be to cover a home-town baseball team. And sports editors allow publication of pieces like the Philly-centric joke of a game story.

The problem is not fan/reader interest, as the Post itself is forced to acknowledge. The problem is that the Post is unwilling to give the Nats proper coverage befitting a home-town baseball team that has already developed a significant level of fan and reader interest. We are fortunate at least to have Barry, but we deserve a lot more.

419, do you have split personalities? Or do you separate the monikers in order to make discussion easier?

506, you've got me laughing out loud. But I promise you I'm not 419.

A little off topic, but i just finished watching the Bronx is Burning from netflix last week. My favorite part: When Billy was bawling out the umpire for a missed call but what he was really saying was "I need to act crazy out here because my guys are asleep. I need to light a fire under their butts and this is how I'm gonna do it. I really wanna kick dirt on you right now but I know you're gonna kick me out, so I'm not going to..." etc. etc. And the umpire just took it. Cracked me up and made me wonder if the managers could ever do that.

Anyway, I've seen most of the standard baseball movies, actually own a couple, but I'm looking for some more recommendations to put in my netflix queue. (Juan-John and natsfan1a mentioned some recently and I forgot to write them down).

"Lastings Milledge" lays the smack down on the Mets: http://www.yard-work.org/?p=782

That Lastings Milledge piece was one of the funniest pieces of petty finger-flicking I have read in a long while. I highly recommend it.

just make sure you understand the "in quotes" part of "lastings milledge" when you read it... i'm sure some won't get it.

And even that assumes that people (or newspapers) always act in their own best interest, and make the optimum choices, which is of course metacrap.

*****************
It's a chicken-and-egg thing, really. Will readers quit buying the print Post because they don't cover the Nationals, or will the Post refuse to cover the Nationals adequately because not enough people are reading it? I'm not optimistic....
Posted by: Section 419+1 | December 11, 2007 03:14 PM

"Will readers quit buying the print Post because they don't cover the Nationals, or will the Post refuse to cover the Nationals adequately because not enough people are reading it?"

Put another way, will readers quit buying the print Post because Nats beat writer Svrluga delivers the latest scoop on the Post's Nats blog -- and thus, to the dismay of Svrluga and others, diminishing interest in the $.35 edition?

Gotta confess... I like my sudoku on paper, but my news online. (And I might get over that first hangup.)

Coverage is lacking:

Since I don't often see the print edition of The Post, I don't know how it is presented in that format (though that doesn't necessarily matter, as I'll mention below). Even if the Nats are number two in fan interest, it probably isn't a close second to The Redskins, so that it is lopsided still makes sense. I don't know the numbers, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that interest in the Nats is closer in magnitude to the Caps and Wizards than the Redskins.

The reason that what happens in the print edition doesn't matter as much (and over time, matters even less) is that the format of the new media outlets for The Post -- that is, this website -- makes the teams more or less equally prominent... especially when you can customize your interface with the site to get only the stories you want. As people's access to the Post content switches to other-than-paper, the actual layout of the paper ceases to matter. As for the scope and magnitude of the coverage is concerned, it will change with the marketplace.

I know that The Post's editors may not agree with my sentiments, but as I said before... Now more than ever, media outlets are sensitive to the demands of the marketplace, and the existence of new media outlets (both The Post's and others) makes that sensitivity even more striking.

the only reason i currently get the mon-sat washington post in paper format is because there was an offer to add them to my sunday sub for something like $0.50/week. once that promo dies, i'll go back to sunday only. i just don't read the paper version enough to justify paying more than that for weekdays.

that said, i find the lack of constructive criticism in the post lacking. i see negative stuff on the stadium, and some reporting of negative issues, but i see very little constructive criticism from the columnists on the nats. i see a lot more columnist coverage of the wizards, skins, and national sports issues than i do on the nats, even during the season.

unlike some of the others here, i like a lot of the columnists at the post. i've enjoyed reading their articles for a long time (ok, not as long for wise, but he's only been here a couple of years). but it is disheartening that the nats get so little play from the columnists. even bos, who i expected to be far more active on the nationals' front.

new post

My main concern with Lo Duca concern the report that is about to be released. His name has come up many times before and while innocent until proven otherwise is anybody shocked that he exploded for all his HR's during the 2001 season and then has gone down since then. Might we be seeing a short suspension once this report comes out?

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