Sunday Inbox, various notes

To start out, here's the inbox:

With Guzman struggling defensively at shortstop, is there any chance he could be the Nationals' second baseman next year? The guy is a hitting machine, and I would love to keep his bat in the lineup.
-- Rich R., Slingerlands, N.Y.

I could see it happening, but there is no way for us to see how Guz could make the transition unless we actually tried it out. I'd say the chances of this happening are low (mainly because I think they'll deal him at the deadline), but wouldn't be shocked if it happened.

Is Dunn in the team's long-term plans?
-- Yu-Hung Su, Chiayi, Taiwan

Ladson says no, but I have a feeling he is. The Nats need a more interesting icon than Zimmerman (unfortunately, he is very boring) and it appears that Nats fans are more accepting of his shortcomings because he is worth so much offensively. No matter what the team may say about wanting to be better defensively, he is in the long-term plan until he is dealt in my eyes.

Is there any timetable for the return of Lastings Milledge and Roger Bernadina?
-- Ray U., Washington

From Ladson: "Milledge is playing in the Gulf Coast League after breaking his right hand more than a month ago. However, I don't see him playing in the big leagues for the Nationals, because many in the organization believe he is not an impact player.

As far as Bernadina goes, he still is recovering from a left ankle injury, and the Nationals are hoping he will be playing in Major Leagues by September."

I disagree with Ladson-I bet Milledge will be up soon after he returns because that will be a chance for them to deal Willingham while his value is high.

Can the Nationals do something about Austin Kearns and Ronnie Belliard when it comes to the low batting averages?
-- Shelton A., Silver Spring, Md.

Besides being patient, I don't really think so. Like Ladson said, Eckstein will work on it with them, but there's no guarantee it will work.

Do you think the Nats should re-sign Nick Johnson? He arguably is the most consistent player on the team.
-- Ted P., Alexandria, Va.

The Nats should trade Johnson at the deadline and then sign him in the offseason, as he will be no higher than a type B free agent (since he didn't play enough last year).

I'm a big Elijah Dukes fan, but I want to know how the Nationals feel about him?

-- Eric S., Washington

He's not a center fielder and his baseball IQ is not all there yet, but he will be a stud in RF for years to come if he can continue to behave.

Would you say Pedro Martinez is a good fit for this rotation? Someone with his kind of resume could help out a lot.
-- Philip G., Brandywine, Md.

I campaigned hard for the Nats to sign him a while ago, but every day he sits in free agency he makes less and less sense. They've found some nice young pitchers that need time in the majors. Maybe it could happen if he wants to take an offer to build up his value over the offseason in late August or early September when the young guns need to be shut down for innings totals but not now.

Some other thoughts:

J.D. Martin does deserve a shot. He'll hopefully get one when the Nats start to shut down the rookies toward the end of the year.

Craig Stammen will stay in the rotation while Shairon Martis will be sent to AAA. It's the correct move in my opinion, with age being the deciding factor. Let Martis learn to make adjustments in AAA and let Stammen pitch for his future in the majors.

I'm torn on the Langerhans-for-Morse (or as Ladson says, "Mores") swap. Morse makes more sense for the Nats, but Langerhans was one of my favorites and could have been our Nyjer Morgan defensively without us having to move Milledge. But since the organization obviously wasn't doing anything with Langerhans (heck, they called up Corey Patterson before him!), it's good to get a guy who is still young-ish, has had moderate offensive success in the majors, and can be a passable shortstop if they decide to move Guzman. But for the record, I wish they didn't have to deal Langerhans.

Buster Olney reports (via MLBTR, since I don't have insider) that the Nats are trying to get rid of their "dysfunctional players" such as Milledge. Not a bad idea at an appropriate time, but I don't support moving him when his value is at it's lowest.

Thoughts on a couple of things

Now that I've got a minute (quite literally A minute...I SHOULD be studying for finals), I'll go over a few transactions the Nats have made lately:

Released RHP Jesus Colome

Can't say I'm heartbroken over this move. Yea, his ERA+ was 102, indicating he was an average pitcher. I don't disagree with that. Over the span of the year, he was average...but he was also one of the most inconsistent pitchers I've ever seen. Generally speaking, a starting pitcher's inconsistancies tend to balance themselves out over the span of 200 innings in a year. I'm not so sure that the same case can be made for relief pitchers. Colome gave up 2 or more earned runs in 15% of his appearances (9 out of 61). There are a lot better ways to spend $1 mil than on Jesus Colome. I would, however, bring him back with a minor league deal.

Signed UTIL Wee Willie Harris to a 2 year, $3 mil extension

Great move. If this works out like it should, just hope this doesn't convince Bowden that he should get back to doing this on a regular basis. Resigning Da Meat Hook, Belliard, etc. after reclamation projects was bad enough. But, back to Wee Willie-$1.5 mil for the 6th best LF in baseball (and fan favorite) is a darn good deal. I have a feeling he'll go from being the 6th best LF to being a top 10 2B, though. Great move nonetheless.

Non-tendering RHP Tim Redding

I have mixed emotions on this one.

Pros of getting rid of him: Clearing space for young guys, saving $, not much upside.

Cons of getting rid of him: OMG NO STARTING PITCHING DEPTH!!!!!!

I'm leaning toward liking this move, or at least agreeing with it. You know what you're getting with Redding: roughly 180 innings of 5-ish ERA ball. I think we can get something similar out of guys from our system, though, and not just the obvious names...I'm talking minor league FA's. This move really opens a door for J.D. Martin (and to a lesser extent, Preston Larrison) to challenge for a spot in Spring Training and I have a sneaking suspicion he'll end up on the Opening Day roster. There's my fearless prediction.

Signing a million guys to minor league deals

Here's the list:

Freddie Bynum

Brad Eldred^

Joel Guzman

Pete Orr*^

Matt Whitney^

Ryan Langerhans*^

Jorge Padilla*

Mike Vento

Bobby Brownlie*

Preston Larrison

J.D. Martin^

Ryan Wagner*^

Justin Jones*

*=With the Nats organization last year

^=moves we already knew about

Beyond the Box Score gave "one line descriptions" of all of these guys: 

"Bynum is a speed burner capable of playing decent defense in the corners. Eldred spent 2008 in the Chicago White Sox organization. Guzman went from top prospect to AAA filler within three years. Orr, Langerhans, Vento, Jones and Padilla are re-signings. Langerhans will almost certainly have zero shot at breaking into the Nationals outfield. Whitney is a former Rule 5 pick of the  Nats from Cleveland's system and martin as well as Larrison are former Indians as well."

NFA classified the Guzman signing as "A nice gamble for a team that can afford to give it a shot."

FJB hates the Guzman signing, and I can't help but disagree. The guy is being signed to play in AAA for the shot to back up Ryan Zimmerman. His OBP numbers used to be a lot better. Maybe there's something in his swing Eckstein will point out that will allow him to make better adjustments, or maybe someone in our organization can help him learn better bat control and pitch selection. While this is unlikely, he's not blocking anyone and his contract is just a minor league deal. I seriously don't see downside in this signing.

In attempts to continue the delay on the minor league FA post...

Here's your Monday Mailbag!

With the acquisition of Josh Willingham and rumors swirling about the Nats wanting Carlos Gonzalez, I can't help but notice that the team has a lot of outfielders. What do they plan on doing with all of them?
-- Pat R., Oakton, Va.

Well...most teams carry 5 outfielders. Either Pena or Kearns will be moved by Opening Day I bet. I'd rather hold on to all 5 (Pena, Kearns, Dukes, Willingham and Milledge). All of them spent time on the DL in 2008 (Milledge played 138 games, Willingham played 102, Kearns played 86, Dukes played 81 and Pena played 64. That's a total of 471, whereas 3 outfielders multiplied by 162 starts a year equals 486, so that might not even be enough depth! Resign Willie and Langerhans!

How do you think Scott Olsen will impact the clubhouse dynamic? He's not known for his cool.
-- Unidentifed Nats fan, Washington, D.C.

FishStripes, a Marlins blog, has (on at least 3 different occasion) stated Scott Olsen has been given an unfair shake in the media, saying things like: 

"There are too many comments by his present and former teammates to lead one to believe he his a jerk," (Feb 2008)

"Scott isn't a bad person and actually he is a good kid, warts and all. Just try to find one of the off-season meet the players functions where he isn't there.  Olsen made more fan appreciation and charity events scheduled by the team than any other player last season.  That alone doesn't qualify you for good kid status, but his teammates state emphatically that he is, and they should know,"  (Aug 2007) 

(About Gondeee of Talking Chop, a Braves blog, and the following comment he made: I always thought Olsen was considered a hot-head. I remember clashes between him and Joe Girardi when he managed the Marlins -- kind of a strange personality to add to the Braves clubhouse.) 

"I like Gondeee, he is a good guy, he knows the Braves and he knows baseball, but he knows absolutely nothing about Scott Olsen. Olsen is an excellent teammate and anyone on the Marlins will tell you the same.  He is not a "hot-head", contrary to what has been written in the past.  But the point of all of this is not to call Gondeee out, I mean really, how could he know. It is just to bring out the recurring theme that is being said about Olsen by the sports writers and the baseball bloggers.  And actually, Gondeee treated with more dignity than most. Now, I'm not trying to sell Olsen, heck, I want him back.  It is just that I think he is getting an unfair shake in the press." (Nov 2008)

Now I don't know if Craig from FishStripes has some sort of man-crush on Olsen, but he pretty emphatically defended him back there. It's only one viewpoint, but until the guy screws up as a member of the Washington Nationals, I will give him the benefit of the doubt, and so should all of you.

Do the Nats have a legitimate chance at landing Mark Teixeira, or is it just talk? 
-- Chris E., Glendale, Calif.

If they put up the money, they have a legitimate chance. Here was my reasoning that I posted on the comments of MLBTR.com back on Nov 9: "The Nats have some decent up-and-coming prospects. Nothing too amazing, but they could be able to hit .500 this season with him if the right players get healthy and the young guys improve. Tex could go down in history as the guy who turned the Nats from a loser to a winner. Or he could go down in history as the guy who played first base for the Yankees after Jason Giambi." I know it won't necessarily work out that way, but I'd like to think the Nats would be a better fit for him than most teams.

Now that Emilio Bonifacio has been traded to the Marlins for Olsen and Willingham, do you think trading Jon Rauch to the D-backs for Bonifacio was a good trade? The Rauch trade never sat well with me, and I think this confirms the Nationals lost out in the deal. 
-- Will R., Rose Haven, Md.

I went back and forth on the deal for a while, but in the end, I don't think it was a good deal. I do think that the deal was salvaged by the Olsen deal. My initial (documented) opinion was kinda non-commital: "My first reaction is that we got a decent player in a position of need. I think we could have gotten more for Rauch (perhaps another low-level prospect), but if this was Rauch's market, I'm happy. I heard rumors of Reid Brignac for Rauch, which would have made me happier, but this is fine." I went back on July 30th and changed my mind: "I tried to rationalize it for a while, but it simply wasn't a great trade for the Nats. Now that being said it could end up being a win for the team, but Rauch is worth more than Bonifacio. They should have (and definitely could have) gotten more than Emilio." One note-Nats Journal commenters ended up voting 61% to 39% in favor of the trade. I know I originally voted in favor. Would be interesting to see Chico run a new poll over there.

I agree with you that the Nats should play the kids. But is there any indication they will? They have a lot of young outfielders and now they have more. No matter how good they are, I don't see a place for Roger Bernadina, Leonard Davis or Justin Maxwell. 
-- Garry F., Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Canadian math: Bernadina+Davis+Maxwell>Milledge+Dukes

Uhhh. I think not. Maxwell's always hurt, Davis hasn't proved much above AA so far and Bernadina was awful his first time around in the majors (and only decent his second time there). If we were talking someone of Burgess' talent level that was ready, I would agree. But none of these guys project as starting ML outfielders in my opinion.

What are your thoughts on the new jerseys? Will they amount to more wins in 2009? 
-- Michael S., Mount Airy, Md.

I like the new road uniforms, am semi-indifferent to the Curly W red ones, but dislike the DC/patriotic ones. I am definitely patriotic, but there's way too much going on there.

As for more wins-does anyone feel like crunching some numbers to see if there is any correlation between getting new uniforms and getting more wins? It would be a coincidence, but an interesting coincidence in my opinion.

Mailbag

The one thing I'll consistently do this offseason-answer the mailbag questions!

Who do you think will be the starting second baseman between Anderson Hernandez and Emilio Bonifacio in 2009?
-- Ray U., Shrewsbury, Mass.

No love for Belliard? Here's my fearless prediction: Bonifacio does not start the 2009 season in the majors.

Shouldn't Roger Bernadina be considered as an option for center field in 2009?
-- Luis H., San Juan, P.R.

No matter what Ladson says about Bernadina's 'swagger' his second time around, he's still not an improvement over Dukes (or Milledge for that matter). He, like Bonifacio, can still benefit from additional time in AAA and should start the season there (barring an excellent Spring Training out of either).

I get the impression you are not convinced Elijah Dukes is a solid citizen. He is one of our only hitting threats. I want his bat in the lineup next season.
-- Rich R., Slingerlands, N.Y.

I don't see how going one year without threatening someone's life makes you a solid citizen. He is still not a solid citizen, but he is a darn good ballplayer.

Why wasn't Larry Broadway called up last September? Does he have a future in the Majors?
-- Daniel C., Key West, Fla.

As Ladson said, Broadway doesn't hit home runs. Ladson's sure he'll be a major league player...I'm not so sure. First basemen who can hit .266/.352/.427 in AAA aren't hard to come across.

Why did the Nats send Ryan Langerhans to the Minor Leagues? He seemed to have so much to offer.
-- James W., Warrenton, Va.

Because they can. While Langerhans is valuable in many ways, he still lacks major production with the bat (I say major because, while he does have good patience and power numbers, he still has huge holes in his swing and overall offensive game). His glove is valuable and he will be a National at some point this year...but he passed through waivers, so retrospectively, it was a good move.

Since the Nationals are looking for a veteran left-handed power hitter, what about signing Ken Griffey Jr.?
-- Nick K., McLean, Va.

Maybe as a coach, but Griffey is old, average offensively (.249/.353/.424 this year) and has lost a step in the outfield.

Is there anything to hang our hats on as far as going from worst to first in just one year? I realize this is speculation, but how likely is it that Washington will catch lightning in a bottle?
-- Brian Y., Takoma Park, Md.

No. Where we stand right now, we don't have the hitting, pitching or leadership to put up a winning record in 2009. Maybe with a few key free agents we can compete in 2010, but I'm going the pessimistic route and telling you not to get your hopes up.

I thought Boone was a good reserve. Could he still be with the Nationals for the 2009 season?
-- Megan, G., McLean, Va.

He could stick, but do we really want him back? .241/.299/.384 is pretty terrible. Even Larry Broadway could do that.

How long will it be until Ross Detwiler is in the starting rotation?
-- Andrew W., Alexandria, Va.

I can see the Nats pushing him up this September. Risky prediction, but it's just something I can see happening.

What has happened to Clint Everts?
-- Nick B., Houston

He, like 90% of high school pitchers drafted, flamed out. Watch out, Willems/Smoker/McGeary.

Are the Nationals waiting until after the World Series to interview coaching candidates?
-- Tom J., Reva, Va.

I'll let Ladson answer this one:

Oh, no. They have already contacted candidates such as former Mets manager Willie Randolph. Don Baylor could be a candidate. It's also assumed that Rick Eckstein will be the hitting coach. I also believe the Nationals will promote another coach from the Minor Leagues. Who that is, I don't know yet.

With the Padres shopping Jake Peavy, could the Nats become a serious contender to acquire him?
-- Brandon S., Easthampton, Mass.

Are you kidding? He would take up like 60% of the payroll! I'd love to see it happen (and it would help the team immensely), but it's not happening.

Okay, NOW we can panic

Inside Nova reports (via Nationals Farm Authority) that Nats top prospect 1B Chris Marrero did not sprain his ankle sliding into home plate on Wednesday. Instead, he BROKE his ankle sliding into home plate on Wednesday. Here's what the article has to say:

Potomac trainer Atsushi Toriida accompanied Marrero to see a Washington Nationals team physician in Washington D.C. on Friday.
Toriida said Marrero will have surgery, but did not know when, or where, or if it will be season-ending.
“We’re looking at at least four weeks of no activity,” Potomac manager Randy Knorr said.
Marrero would not take questions when approached in Potomac’s training room.
Baseball America ranks Marrero as the No. 1 prospect in the Washington farm system.
He was integral to Potomac’s offense during its run to win the Northern Division’s first half. He hit .250 with 11 home runs and his 38 RBI were second on the team.
This is Marrero’s first trip to the disabled list during his three-year career.
To replace Marrero, Low-A Hagerstown and South Atlantic League first baseman Bill Rhinehart was promoted to Potomac.
Rhinehart was hitting .295 with nine home runs and 56 RBI for Hagerstown.
“I’m just happy that all the work I put in has gotten me this far,” Rhinehart said. “I’m going to do what I can to help the team win."

In other news, Langerhans was outrighted to AAA to make room for Garrett Mock (who I will see pitch tonight in person...seeing the Rangers tonight will make 29 out of the 30 teams I've seen in person).

And according to the same NFA article:

-RHP Craig Stammen was promoted from Potomac to Harrisburg
-RHP Shairon Martis and LHP Tim Bittner were promoted from Harrisburg to Columbus

So we've got some good prospects being promoted from lower levels to higher ones. That Mike Stanton-for-Martis deal is looking pretty good right now, eh?

And this now puts me at 5/12 in the moves I would make if I were the GM (written at the beginning of June). Still waiting on a Kenny Lofton signing, though!

If I were GM of the Washington Nationals

First of all, I would be the youngest GM of all time. But that's not important. I'm going to avoid a long intro (I'll save my good introductions for when I actually sit down and write a feature) and cut right to the chase.

There are 25 players on the Nationals' Active Roster, for those who don't know. Out of those 25, 6 should not be: Jesus Colome, Charlie Manning, Willie Harris, Ryan Langerhans, Rob Mackowiak and Ryan Zimmerman. Before you stop reading the post, I named Zimmerman because he needs to go on the DL to get everything (meaning his shoulder) together. It would be retroactive to his last game, 5/25, so he would only have another 8 days before he could return. I will also note that Harris will stay because they need him in the utility spot until Belliard's return, which could be soon.

For those of you who can't figure out how many players are on the Nationals' 40-man roster, I wonder how any people from Philly came across my blog (it's okay, they don't know I'm making fun of them. They can't read sentences that don't include "cheesesteak," "Utley," "E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!" or "f#$%"). But in all seriousness, the capacity of 40 players has been met. For many of my proposed moves (and there are many), a corresponding move must be made. Guys like Langerhans, Sanches, Manning and O'Connor should slip through very easily. Even Johnny Estrada could make it through (but he's on the DL)

Anyways, here is what I think would be best for the Nationals:

To Washington (ML)
1B/3B/OF Kory Casto (from Columbus, already on 40-man roster)
OF Kenny Lofton (FA signing, must be added to 40-man roster)
OF Alex Escobar (from Columbus, must be added to 40-man roster)
SP Garrett Mock (from Columbus, already on 40-man roster)
RP Zech Zinicola (from Harrisburg, must be added to 40-man roster)
RP Chris Schroder (from Columbus, already on 40-man roster)

To Columbus (AAA)
OF Ryan Langerhans (from Washington)
IF/OF Rob Mackowiak (from Washington)
RP Jesus Colome (from Washington)
RP Charlie Manning (from Washington)
RP Brian Sanches (from Washington)

To 15-Day DL
3B Ryan Zimmerman (from Washington)

Outrighted off of the 40-man roster
OF Ryan Langerhans (has been done before)
RP Jesus Colome
RP Charlie Manning
SP Mike O'Connor (has been done before, only if needed)
IF/OF Rob Mackowiak


Okay, to start the defense of some radical moves:
INFIELD
Zimmerman is hurt. He needs to go on the DL. There is no use rushing the franchise player during a season that the team is going nowhere. This is the reason for the Casto move. Boone is hitting, but he's 35 and needs a day off (and a day at 1B) here and there to keep going. Young is hitting .224. Casto didn't hit well (.130) in his stint in our Nation's Capital in 2007, but he certainly deserves another shot for 4 reasons: his age (26), his handedness (hits lefty), his batting average in AAA (.333) and the fact that he had exactly 0 AB's above AA when he made his ML debut.
Out of every 4 games,
Boone gets 2 starts at 3B and 1 at 1B.
Casto gets 2 starts at 3B.
Young gets 3 starts at 1B.
Sound fair?

OUTFIELD
With KKKKK-angerhans and MacKKKKKowiaKKKKK down and Escobar and Lofton up, the outfield would take a different shape. There is little doubt in my mind that Escobar deserves another shot at the Majors after tearing it apart in 2006 (.356/.394/.575). I'm not positive Lofton would accept the role I'm looking to put him in-mentor/4th OF, but he's been unemployed for a few months so he may bite. Someone needs to teach Lastings how to play CF, and I think Lofton can do it. With the OF hitting as poorly as it is, something needs to get in there and shake them up. I'm also willing to keep one of the KKKKK brothers up as a 5th OF/lefty off the bench and send down Dukes if playing time is an issue.

Out of every 5 games,
Milledge gets 3 starts in CF, 1 start in LF
Dukes gets 3 starts in RF
Pena gets 3 starts in LF
Lofton gets 2 starts in CF
Escobar gets 2 starts in RF and 1 in LF

If one of the KKKKK brothers stays and Dukes goes down to AAA, shift 1 of his starts to Lofton, 1 to Escobar and 1 to the remaining KKKKK brother.

PITCHING
This is where a lot of you are going to think I'm crazy. Why call up Mock when we have 5 solid starters? To be honest, we don't have 5 solid starters. We have 4 solid starters: Perez, Lannan, Redding and Bergmann. Then we have one, Shawn Hill, who scares us the night before his starts into thinking he's not pitching the next day and the night after his starts into thinking he's not pitching the next year.

It's time to turn Shawn Hill into a dominant reliever. He's got so many arm problems these days, there is no reason in my mind that we shouldn't turn him into something useful before he throws out his elbow and is out of professional baseball at 30 (see Patterson, John). Look at Hill's career splits. Over his career, he allows a .229/.286/.306 line against him for the first time opposing batters face him in a game. That inflates to .299/.364/.447 the second time around, and baloons to .282/.352/.492 for the third time around and after. Hill is ridiculously good in the first inning he pitches (.191/.248/.200 against) and pedestrian after that (opposing OPS' of .851, .806, .751, .792, .840 in innings 2-6, only 47 career PA against after 6 innings). With Jon Rauch pitching as great as he is, he's going to get dealt to a contender and we're going to need someone to step in to both the closer and set-up roles (trust me, I'm not counting out The Chief). Hill's chances of being something special are significantly better if he is converted into a reliever rather than staying as a starter.

So now that we've established Hill to the bullpen, who do we insert into the rotation? Look no further than the better of the Rizzo Diamondback Boys, Garrett Mock. His numbers are finally starting to match his good stuff (3.31 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3.5:1 K:BB ratio). He's already on the 40-man roster. Give the kid a shot.

I'm sure you know one of my call-ups, Chris Schroder. He's been up and down 3 times already this year, and is eligible to be brought up immediately assuming Zimmerman is placed on the DL (not a safe assumption in reality, however). The normal 10-day rule that states a player cannot be called up for the first 10 days after being optioned to the minors would not apply (that would coincidentally expire Monday) because Schroder would take the roster spot of a player put on the DL. Positions don't have to match (read more about the rule here) so Schroder gets the call. But he's actually getting the call to replace Brian Sanches. While Sanches has pitched decently well in his time in Washington (3.00 ERA, 6 K in 3 innings), Schroder proved with his stats last year (3.18 ERA, 15 BB, 43 K in 45 and 1/3 IP) that he can handle ML bats on a regular basis, while Sanches' 2007 stats with the Phillies (5.52 ERA, 12 BB, 9 K in 14 and 1/3 innings) proved pretty much nothing to help his case. Sanches should be an injury contingency plan, whereas Schroder should be an ML pitcher in almost all circumstances.

The other reliever who I want to call up is not a familiar face in DC. Zechry Zinicola, a 24 year old righty, was dubbed "on the fast track" for the majors until he was derailed with an average performance in AA last year (5.46 ERA in 57 and 1/3 innings). Now that he's got his walks down (2.84 per 9 innings this year as opposed to 5.62 per 9 last year), he seems to be back on the right track. With 26 K and only 19 hits allowed in his 25 and 1/3 innings split between A and AA ball this year (1.07 ERA!!), I think it's safe to say he deserves his shot in the bigs now. He replaces Colome, another guy who had control problems last year (3.68 BB/9). The difference? Colome's control problems are worse this year (5.70 BB/9, 59% of pitches thrown are strikes). Manny doesn't even trust him anymore, as Colome has thrown 1 inning in the last week. Send Colome down to rest his buttocks (sorry, couldn't resist...link is SFW, no worries) and get a handle on his live arm.

One last point: We don't need a lefty in the pen. Why not? Because none of the lefties we have in ML or AAA can get lefty batters out! O'Connor's career OPS against while facing left-handed hitters is .732. Chico's is .854. I can't find Manning's minor league splits, but seeing him give up homers to Adrian Gonzalez and Jody Gerut makes me want him to never pitch in the Majors again (unless it's against us).

Questions:
Can Mock be consistant?
Can Lofton teach Milledge CF?
Will any of these players get claimed if waived?
When are we going to FIRE LENNY?!?!?

Let me know if you have any thoughts on the subject.

To prove that none of us know anything about baseball

The Nats beat the Diamondbacks 7-4 tonight. Among the oddities:
--Willie Harris hit the game-winning 3 run home run. Watch the video here. Fast forward to 0:28 if you want an inappropriate Elijah Dukes soundbite.
--This lineup started: 1. Harris (2B), 2. Guzman (SS), 3. Boone (3B), 4. Young (1B), 5. Milledge (CF), 6. Langerhans (RF), 7. Flores (C), 8. Mackowiak (LF), 9. Redding (P).
--Arizona starter Micah Owings has a better batting average coming in than 5 Diamondbacks starters. Washington starter Tim Redding had a better batting average coming in than 3 Nationals starters. The difference? Owings has a .297 batting average. Redding's was .188 at the beginning of the day and .167 at the end of it.
--Any lineup featuring three players the terrible trifecta of Harris (.172), Langerhans (.111) and Mackowiak (.137) should not win. Funny how 2 of those 3 (Harris and K-angerhans) batted higher in the lineup than Jesus Flores (.344). For those math majors out there, .172*2=.344. So Flores is hitting twice is well than Harris, plus 3+ times more than Langerhans. And he's still hitting 7th. He was one of 3 starters (the other being Guzman and Boone) with an average above .241 and he's batting 7th. Great lineup tonight, Manny. But you got the W so I guess nobody will doubt you.
--After 7 straight appearances without allowing a run, Ayala served up a solo shot to Chad Tracy in the 8th.
--Redding was solid, giving up 3 runs in 5 and 2/3 (1 of them was let in by Hanrahan), but he couldn't make it to the 6th yet again. He's only pitched 6 innings in 50% of his starts. If he's going to be the Nats all-star representative (highly unlikely, IMO, as Jon Rauch has it all but locked up right now), he needs to string together some quality starts, pronto.

Other news: Maxwell has an injured wrist (which is why K-angerhans got called up instead). He's out at least a month. Hope he didn't catch the injury plague from Escobar or Nicky J.

Schroder's roller coaster ride continues, plus other moves

According to Nationals Fanboy Looser (who credits NFA, who credits the Columbus Clippers for the first break):

OF Ryan Langerhans purchased by Washington
RHP Brian Sanches purchased by Washington
LHP Charlie Manning purchased by Washington
RHP Chris Schroder optioned to Columbus
LHP Matt Chico optioned to Columbus

First of all, I have to say this: stop toying with Schroder! He pitched well for us last year (3.18 ERA in 45 and 1/3 innings) and has now been up and down 3 times this year. Leave him up or leave him down.

To the players:
Langerhans definitely deserves the call. He is an excellent fielder at all 3 OF positions (something Wily Mo Pena and Lastings Milledge, and less so Elijah Dukes, aren't able to say). He's hitting .306 in 144 AB this year in AAA (although has lost some power, as he's only slugging .438...the .417 OBP is definitely encouraging, though). He was my 3rd choice last night behind Maxwell (who we're all going to assume is hurt now, because he hasn't started in 6 days) and Escobar (who we're all going to assume is hurt now, because he is Alex Escobar).

Sanches is a 29-year-old righty who spent the last four years in the Phillies system after spending his first five years in the Royals system. The 1999 second round draft pick has a little bit of experience in the majors, with a 5.75 ERA in 36 career innings over 2006-07 with the Kingdom of Phailadelphia. Sanches is ripping apart AAA bats this year, allowing a miniscule 0.98 ERA in 18.1 innings. The rest of Sanches' rate stats will really make your jaw drop: 4.41 H/9, 12.76 K/9, 8.67 K/BB. He also has 7 saves to go with his 26 strikeouts. According to NFA's initial report on Sanches (not a whole lot there), he is a "one-pitch reliever (fastball)." No word on how fast this fastball is, but it better be mid-to-high 90s if that's all he's got.

Manning is another 29-year-old who spent almost all of his seven previous years with the Yankees organization (minus some random time in 2003-04 with the Cincinnati Reds system--funny that he already pitched at Potomac and Columbus with different organizations). The southpaw also has a low ERA (1.95) and a lot of strikeouts (34 in 27 and 2/3 innings this year). His control is not quite as impeccable as Sanches' so far (13 walks to Sanches' 3), but he looks like a solid lefty option out of the pen. The knock on him has been a weak fastball (86-89 mph), which makes it tough to work with his good cutter and slider.

I'm going to withhold anything and everything about Chico except this: it's about time. It took me 9 random posts about Chico (out of my 23 total posts) to convince JimBow to send him down! That means I'm still 7 away from the Nats firing Lenny. Make that 6: FIRE LENNY!!!!!!

Kearns to the DL. Who to call up?

As I said, Kearns has been placed on the DL. He has surgery tomorrow and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Assuming whoever is called up rotates in the outfield with Milledge, Dukes and Pena, here are the pros and cons of everyone we could call up:

Kory Casto (AAA, 26 years old, player page)
Pros: On 40-man roster, 6/14 in first 4 games since return from break in hamate bone (what Zimmerman broke this offseason), "experienced," can play 1B/3B as well.
Cons: Just returned from hamate bone break, can't play CF, 7/54 in ML duty for the Nats last year.

Alex Escobar (AAA, 29 years old, player page)
Pros: Can play all OF positions, hit well in the Majors in 2006 (.356/.394/.575 in 87 AB), hitting .315 in 92 at bats in AAA this year.
Cons: Not on 40-man roster, returned from hamstring injury at the beginning of May, always injured, career .258/.328/.415 hitter, only played in 14 games last year so may not be able to catch up to ML pitching, doesn't run as fast as he used to due to knee/hamstring/leg injuries.

Ryan Langerhans (AAA, 28 years old, player page)
Pros: Excellent fielder, can play all OF positions, hitting .306 in 144 AB this year in AAA
Cons: Not on 40-man roster, you remember last year...(.198/.296/.370 in 162 AB with the Nats...adds up to a .666 OPS...coincidence? I think not), recent hamstring "tweak" (still played tonight), power numbers down this year (isolated slugging of .172 last year with the Nats, .132 this year in AAA)

Mike Daniel (AA, 23 years old, player page)
Pros: Can play all OF positions, hitting .315 in 149 AB in AA. According to NFA: good contact hitter, a little gap power, okay speed and great base-running instincts.
Cons: Not on 40-man roster, no experience above AA, not a whole lot of power, has 2 generic male first names (3 if you include his middle name, John).

Justin Maxwell (AA, 24 years old, player page)
Pros: On 40-man roster, can play all OF positions, local (Sherwood High, UMD alum), tons of potential, proved last year he can hit ML pitching (.269/.296/.500 in 26 AB), patience is way way way up this year (31 BB/27 K as opposed to 50/122 in the minors last year), fast, sexy, etc.
Cons: Not hitting for average this year (.248 in 138 AB), hasn't started since May 17 (NFA suspects either injury or being held out for a call-up), historically old for his level (could lead to some statistical inflation).

Roger Bernadina (AA, 23 years old, player page)
Pros: On 40-man roster, can play all 3 OF positions, fast, hitting .321 in 129 at bats in AA.
Cons: Career minor league line of .255/.340/.370 uninspiring, 2007 line of .259/.338/.356 also uninspiring, little power.

The Verdict: First the disclaimer: the 40-man roster stands at 38 right now, so it shouldn't be a huge deal adding someone to it at this point. I suppose that could still theoretically work against Daniel, but Langerhans and Escobar have both passed waivers at some point, so unless they tear up the majors, they'll probably be able to slip through once again.

Here's how I rank them:
1) Maxwell-Assuming he's healthy and gets semi-regular at-bats. He's our best talent and he's on the 40-man. Why not?
2) Escobar-Assuming he's healthy. Good candidate to pump up value and deal at the deadline. Would have to add to the 40-man.
3) Langerhans-We know what we'll get out of him, so I'd prefer to get more answers from the others. If his hamstring leaves him less than 90%, a definite no. Would have to add to the 40-man.
4) Casto-We don't really need another 1B/3B/corner outfielder since we have Boone, Mackowiak, Pena to cover those. He does deserve another shot in the majors, though, and is still only 26.
5) Daniel-Why start his service time and add him to the 40-man now? He needs a full season (or at least from now till the beginning of August) in AA/AAA at the very least before he's ready to face ML pitching.
6) Bernadina-Looks too much like an Endy Chavez/Nook Logan clone. But he does look like a better fielder at this point. Still too early to start his service time, he needs more than 129 at bats of .321 average to annul his .259 average last year against AA/AAA pitching.

Ideally, I'd like the Nats to send Elijah Dukes down to AAA and call up Justin Maxwell and Alex Escobar. Dukes and Maxwell both have tons of potential, so I'd like to see them flip-flopped. Escobar can spell the new outfield of Pena-Maxwell-Milledge when needed.

UPDATE-5/23, 1:25 AM
Just noticed the Harrisburg Senators (AA) are playing in Connecticut. Might be difficult to get a guy to Washington in time if they don't announce it soon (or if it doesn't leak soon). I wouldn't count out the AA guys but I'd say it's about a 5-10% better chance an AAA guy gets the call now as opposed to before.

Monday night roundup and a must-see link!

Regarding tonight's 10-4 win over the Mets: Wow, we can beat these guys, but not the Marlins? I mean sure, Nelson Figueroa is no Johan Santana, but it's not like he's worse than Ricky Nolasco. But I digress. Tonight was odd...a pretty bad pitching outing by Odalis Perez (seriously, 11 hits allowed in 6 and 1/3 innings?) to go with his great evening at the plate (3-3, 1 run, 2 RBI, 1 sacrifice). The team had 4 doubles. Flores continues to alternate between hits and strikeouts, Guz leaves 8 men on base...and we still won by 6 over what was supposed to be the clear favorite to win the NL pennant at the beginning of the year. That's why ballgames are played on grass, not paper.

The Post has a new beat writer for the Nats, Chico Harlan. He's looked good so far, but only time will tell regarding whether or not he is Svrlugaesque.

Quick answers to the Mailbag questions:
Since Lastings Milledge hasn't been performing well enough, is there any way that the Nationals would consider signing Jim Edmonds?
-- Josh T., Chevy Chase, Md.
Are you serious? Edmonds is awful! He can't hit any more (.178/.265/.233). He was outhit by Jake Peavy by over 100 points, and Peavy isn't even a .300 hitter!! Edmonds can still catch the ball but he takes roughly eighteen years to get to it, so his defense isn't better. I mean if we want an more expensive and worse player than Milledge, Edmonds is definitely our guy. Stupid question.

What do you think of general manager Jim Bowden's strategy of signing veterans to fill out his roster -- Aaron Boone, Rob Mackowiak, Johnny Estrada and Paul Lo Duca. The Lerner ownership would have been better served by just saving its money. What is your view of this?
-- Michael L., Westport, Conn.

Boone-Good
Mackowiak-Good (Signing him was a good idea, keeping him is not)
Estrada-BAD!!!!!!!! MOST WORTHLESS PLAYER ALIVE!!!!!!!
Lo Duca-Poor...not quite bad, but I'm not feeling Jimbo on this one. Should have just let Jesus play in the Majors.

The Lerners were going to have to spend money in the offseason to keep fans from killing themselves, so this is what we got. I would have rather had them sign Boone and Mackowiak and Wil Nieves and save the money they spent on past-their-prime has-beens like Johnny Estrada and Paul Lo Duca on a contract extension for Ryan Zimmerman, because that's something the fans would actually get excited about. Not a stupid question.

Would there be negative consequences by sending Wily Mo Pena or Austin Kearns to the Minors and bringing up Ryan Langerhans? Langerhans seems to have corrected his hitting problems at Triple-A Columbus.
-- Geoff B., Las Vegas

No matter what corrections were made, Langerhans had 35 hits in 210 at bats last year. We would have to waive Wily Mo or Kearns to send them down. Learn waiver rules, please. It would make so much more sense to send down Mackowiak or Harris (inferior players to Kearns/Pena) or Dukes (options left). Stupid question.

I really enjoyed watching the rise of John Lannan from Class A Potomac to the big leagues last year, and now he is our best starter. The Nationals have a similar pitcher this year in Cory VanAllen. Have you heard any mention of him from the "think tank" about moving him up the ladder?
-- Cole J., Atlanta

Ladson's response: Oh, yes. He was already promoted to Double-A Harrisburg, and Bowden talks about him often. I would not be surprised if we saw VanAllen in the Majors by August or September.

Sounds good to me. I don't have any "think tank" connections so I'll have to defer to Ladson on this one.

You mentioned special assistant to GM Barry Larkin's stepping in to offer advice on hitting. How does hitting coach Lenny Harris feel about Larkin's presence? Is there some bad chemistry going on between the players and Harris?
-- Dean O., Winnipeg, Manitoba

It's not bad chemistry, it's the fact that Harris is not a very good hitting coach, period. Teach patience, patience, patience, the Nicky J method. Please, FIRE LENNY!!!

Considering how quickly Jason Bergmann was sent down to Columbus after pitching poorly in April, are you surprised that the Nats haven't sent Matt Chico down yet?
-- Mike G. Millersville, Md.

I'm not surprised at all, but I'm rather appalled. Bergmann>Chico. Chico needs the AAA seasoning more. Just because he pitched 31 games in the Majors last year doesn't mean he deserves a spot through thick and thin this year. Bergmann had 21 starts last year and put up a 95 ERA+ to Chico's 91. Give the guy with more pro potential another shot. That guy is Bergmann.

I recall Ryan Zimmerman's rookie season in which he had a significant number of bunt singles. Any thoughts on him trying that a couple of times to help him get out of his funk?
-- Doug C., Lubbock, Texas

Zim: please start doing this again. I miss your amazing drag bunts!!

***And here's your must-see link. A bunch of hilarious "Hardball made easy" videos with real MLB players such as Carlos Zambrano and Brad Hawpe. They're worth 10 minutes of your time (5 videos in all)