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September 21 A FEW MINOR CHANGES...When the Lerner family purchased the Nationals in May, Stan Kasten made the announcement that developing a much improved minor league system would be one of their first priorities in producing a winning product. Now as we approach the end of the 2006 season, there are changes happening down on the farm. Our deep South clubs; Savannah & New Orleans will be departing to be replaced with teams that are much closer in Maryland and Ohio. It has also been reported that the Vermont Lake Monsters might be leaving for new parents soon. The Potomac Nationals have signed a new agreement to the year 2010 to remain affiliates of Washington. The new farm system is shaping up like this so far (click the logos to visit their website):
September 16 ALFONSO SORIANO IS:40 / 40
 Congratulations to Alfonso Soriano...for thrilling the fans of Washington and becoming the face of the franchise in 2006. While playing at home in front of the faithful, Soriano joined the exclusive club of players who have obtained 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases within a season. Only the fourth player in Major League history to ever accomplish the feat. Alfonso's name will be entered in the record books along with Jose Conseco, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. It was reported during the game that his uniform will be shipped immediately to Cooperstown to be added to the Baseball Hall of Fame - proudly displayed for all eternity with the words Nationals across the front and the letters "DC" on the shoulder.
Now to rain on the parade. I would like to bring attention to the 800-pound gorilla sitting in the living room: will Alfonso Soriano remain a Washington National next year or won't he? Those who wish to remain in a fantasy can stop reading now. Having Soriano here was a boost for Nationals marketing. No one can deny the excitement and joy Washington fans have had watching him play with his jovial personality and infectious smile. He's most certainly brought fans to the stadium. More effectively however...he's marketed himself to go somewhere else.
I wrote in an earlier blog about Jim Bowden making a huge blunder by not making a trade at the deadline. The negotiation advantage has now swung completely to Soriano's agent. Now that Soriano is officially a 40-40 man, his market value is hotter than molten lava. Attention Major League Baseball: Fonzie's just hit the powerball and it's time to pony-up the dough.
The Lerners have two options - either pay-up to the tune of $15-18 million per season over 6 years with a no-trade clause, or lose him to a large market club such as New York, Boston or Los Angeles. And those of you who might take comfort in draft pick compensation think again. The collective bargaining agreement is due to expire on December 15, 2006. Many questions have been posed by bloggers and sports writers on whether there will be an elimination of the compensation rule. If that becomes reality, it would surely make Jim Bowden's failure complete. September 13 THE STATE OF NATIONAL DEFENSE: NATIONALS PAUSE FOR A TEAM PHOTO IN THE LOCKER ROOM AT COORS FIELD
Have you ever witnessed anything so embarassing as last Saturday's game in Denver? I've been watching professional baseball for a pretty long while, ever since I was a kid in the late 70s to be exact. And I can never remember anything as pathetic as what took place during the Colorado series. Though we lost on Thursday too, the Follies started on Friday:
WE WERE TIED in the bottom of the 8th. Wagner pitches against Jamey Carroll who fights his way to a full count: two Rockies at first and second. Carroll hits a chopper that bounces off the top of Wagner's glove..dribbling over to Lopez...who then fumbles with it like a blind man. Meanwhile...the runner from 2nd runs around 3rd and sneaks into home plate. By this time Lopez had the ball but then drops it behind his back - so everybody's safe.
 THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR THE NATS DEFENSE!
THEN - the next Rockies batter chops the ball toward right field - to which Nick makes a really good catch...unfortunately as Nick is running towards first base...so is Ryan Wagner, because he forgot to cover first...in fact he's running FULL SPEED LIKE A RETARD AT THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS, and crashes face first into NJ. So the Rockies decide to make a break for home plate again - Still daized from the collision, Nick throws like a girl to home causing the ball to bounce past Brian Schneider. Now here comes the Jamey Carrol from 2nd to take 3rd! Everybody's safe again! Carroll scores with the next Rockies batter who lines a hit into left field.  Absolutely comical if it wasn't from a major league ball club. 
NATS DEFENSE TAKES THE FIELD! Unbelievably, the next night on Saturday was even worse with a record-setting SIX errors being commited. A see-saw battle where both teams left much to be desired, but the bottom of the 7th became an educational film for Little Leaguers on how NOT to play. With the "Rivera who is not Mariano" on the mound. Melvin Dorta started the show with an error grounded up the middle, which allowed a baserunner to third. Following that, "Rivera who is not Mariano" made a great play for a comebacker - only to throw it towards the Beer Man in Section 112 allowing the baserunner to score. After the ball kicked around the 3rd base wall a little bit, Z-Man was able to recover it and promptly beaned it between Brad Hawpe's number 11. Field Goal!
JON RAUCH LEASHED With the horrorshow in Colorado over with...it is hopeful that the Nats can move on and put the past behind them. Fortunately...they are playing the Diamondbacks. A team that they have a history of performing well against - so far so good as they have taken two of the series as of today. September 05 WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH RAMON ORTIZ?!
I have to be honest. I missed most of this amazing game. I work at night and was asleep all the way to the 8th inning. But as I awoke, I knew that the Nats were playing a day game at RFK so I flipped on my stereo first thing before getting out of bed. I was still attempting to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and clear the cobwebs when I heard Charlie go crazy about some guy named Ortiz hitting a solo home run. "Ortiz?" I thought to myself..."since when did Charlie do play-by-play for the Red Sox?!? Then it hit me...he was talking about RAMON Ortiz! And he's working on pitching a no-hitter into the 9th inning against Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals!
I got tickets at the beginning of the year to attend the get-away game on Wednesday. But I doubt it will be anything as spectacular as Labor Day in Washington at RFK Stadium. Even during a losing season, there are highlights such as these for us to hold on-to, as small sucesses in a down year. September 03 DON'T FRET, THE END IS NIGH...One more month to go for this most disappointing season. As we approach the first week of September it seems like there isn't much to be upbeat about. In fact, a lot of my fellow Nats bloggers have packed it in and can't wait for the off-season which is sure to provide plenty of excitement all in itself. If you are a Redskin fan like me - it appears that the football season is also running a serious danger of being very depressing as well. Well just so long as we beat Dallas! <heavy sigh>
Just when I thought that Nick Johnson was actually going to make an entire season without getting hurt...wham! Jeff Francoeur spoils that. After Francoeur's comments last year ("The Nationals are nothing more than Expos in a different uniform") and his much unappreciated performance hitting homers against our pitchers...I'm really starting to develop a hatred for this man. Some people have suggested that Francouer threw a shoulder at Nick intentionally - but I dismiss this allegation, it would take an amount of courage and bravado that everybody knows is impossible for anybody with a French name.
 And poor Alex Escobar. Man, this guy needs to start getting superstitious and tuck a lucky rabbit's foot in his jock or something. He is a walking jinx! The kid was signed in 1995 by the Mets as an amateur free agent at the young age of 16 years old...he was talented and the Mets were super excited about him - he was rated #18 of all prospects in 2001 by Baseball America ahead of Alfonso Soriano and Albert Pujols. Starting in 1999, he missed most of the first half of the year with stress fractures involving two of his lumbar vertebrae, then underwent season-ending surgery to repair the labrum (a thin layer of collagen seated between the humerus bone in the upper arm and the depression where the humerus fits) in his left shoulder.
 In December 2001, he was traded by the Mets (along with four other players) to the Cleveland Indians as a key part of the high-profile Roberto Alomar deal. Then during a spring training game in March 2002 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton, FL, Escobar wrecked his left knee making a spectacular catch and crashing into the outfield wall. Tests revealed a complete tear in the anterior cruciate ligament and a strain to the medial collateral ligament. His first season with the Indians was over before it had even begun. Escobar missed all of the 2002 season after the knee surgery, and then made it back to the major leagues for 28 games with Cleveland in 2003.
 Then another significant injury in 2004, this time a stress fracture in Escobar’s right foot, would lead to another surgery and an untimely end to yet another disappointing season. Escobar struggled at the plate for the Indians in 2004, batting just .211 in 152 major league at-bats in 46 games.
Escobar was designated for assignment on August 8, 2004, released four days later and was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox on August 16th. He would never play for the White Sox and was traded to Nationals on February 13, 2005 in exchange for minor leaguer Jerry Owens. Escobar reported to spring training with the Nationals in 2005 and tried to play through his foot injury, but the screws surgically placed in his right foot were “backing out” and rubbing against tendons, causing Escobar ongoing pain in his foot and forcing him to sit out another entire season after another surgery to remove the screws and more rehabilitation.
Now he's out for the rest of the season for a tear in his right labrum. After all the injuries in his past...it will be very hard for Alex to get to the major league level again. No clubs are going to want to take a chance on him...except of course, in it's current state, the Washington Nationals. A WEEKEND WITH THE OLD SENATORS...I spent the last week in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; better known as the "Twin Cities". Of course I made sure that I was able to watch a couple of ball games while in town with the club that USED to be the original Washington Senators - version 1 (the second team was the one that moved to Texas). It was a great series between the Twins and the White Sox...division rivals and both are neck & neck for the AL Wild Card race. Twins won Friday...the ChiSox on Saturday. John Garland for the White Sox was freaking amazing Saturday evening.
Anybody who is aware of Washington Baseball history...the Minnesota Twins is the original ball club that started in Washington D.C. This is the same team that brought us the great Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin, Joe Cronin, Ossie Bluege, Joe Judge, Cecil Travis & Early Wynn. Check out my RFK Hall of Stars column on the right for more information about these great men of Washington baseball.
  CLARK GRIFFITH: KING OF THE GUNGANS
One cold day...a day that will live in INFAMY! (ok maybe that's a little over the top...but heck with it!) Clark Griffith's nephew: Calvin Griffith, packed up his uncle's legacy and moved Washington's historic baseball team to Minneapolis-St. Paul. He rarely if ever came back to Washington - however he did come back in October of 1999, 'cause he's buried here (in a private location no doubt).
All that aside, the twin cities was a really nice laid back metropolis that still appears to be growing. The MetroDome as a venue is not the best of ballparks I have been to - but as domes go, it's really not bad. The climate is controlled and the seats are wide enough. The concessions are ample and there is a wide variety of cold beers. Plenty of transit options and the light rail stop is right across the street.
CLICK PICTURES BELOW FOR LARGER IMAGES MELTDOWN SAVE THE CHAIRS: THEY NEED YOUR HELP!
I'm sure you have all heard about it by now. Damian Jackson had a fight with an inanimate object in the locker room prior to yesterday's game. And it appears from what I've read that seating devices were not the only things being thrown around either...apparently the environment inside the Nats clubhouse featured many words that would not be appropriate for young ears. I cannot for the life of me understand what could be frustrating DJ so much? For that matter...I can't remember anything Mr. Jackson has done to make me feel one way or another?! Why again are you here? Oh that's right as a pinch runner, certainly couldn't be for your bat - please Damian don't make me laugh.
Then after a wonderful performance by Tony Armas against the one of the most potent lineups in the league - Jon "the WOOKIE" Rauch served up some biscuits & gravy for Michael Tucker who promptly homered and sent the game into the trash heap. So what does our Hall of Fame PLAYER (not manager) do? Blames the entire game on bad pitch location - cleverly implicating Brian Schneider without blaming Brian Schneider. The finger pointing runs unabated as Brian tells reporters that Rauch missed a pitch that stayed up against Tucker and that was the reason they lost. But this was before some unsuspecting sports reporter asked if Brian's offensive numbers were suffering because he was hurt.
 JON RAUCH UNLEASHED
Now parents grab your children and cover their ears and escape the tirade: "I'm not BLEEPing hurt. I'm sick of people telling me I'm BLEEP ing hurt." (Getting up walking away from reporters) "I'm done with BLEEPing people saying I'm BLEEP. People keep saying I'm BLEEPing hurt! I'm sick of that BLEEP!" (yells something and throws a chair).
It appears to me that a combination of a losing season and the fact that familiar faces are now leaving the team are starting to wear on the team emotions. As I stated in the blog entry before this one. Livan will be sorely missed in the locker room, and more will be packing their bags...leaving orphans without their mommas at RFK. This is the birthing pangs of a new era...as the team struggles for a new nucleus the process will be painful. I'm afraid the rest of this season will be a struggle for both the fans and the players...the good news is - it will get better. EISLER LIVAN HERNANDEZRemember last year? The run to first place up to a month after the all-star break? Winning those nail-biting one run contests game after game after game? Those were the days of dominant Nationals pitching: Livan Hernandez, John Patterson, Esteban Loaiza, Tony Armas and Drese / Ohka / Day. Backed-up in the bullpen with Hector Corrasco, Gary Majewski, Luis Ayala and Chad Cordero. These were the days of low-scoring pitching matches with a terrible offense. We couldn't score to save our lives. This year we can see the alternate universe...where the offense is explosive and the pitching (to refrain from better terms) leaves much to be desired.
 HERNANDEZ STRIKES OUT 7 IN SAN DIEGO
But in San Diego August 6th, we were treated to a glimpse of yesteryear by our old horse Livan Hernandez. Inning after inning, like an old soldier returning to battle...LiVANN danced, mystified and confused the Padres. Swing! - strike 3. Whoosh! - strike 3. Can I help you? No just lookin' - strike 3. Six scoreless innings, seven strikeouts and one mistake, which cost him the game. 2005 returns for one day in Southern California.
Eisler Livan Hernandez was born in the province of Villa Clara, Cuba February 20, 1975. He is the half-brother of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez who is now currently playing for the New York Mets. While living in Cuba at the age of 19 he was making $6 a month and had only one shirt to play in. Livan credits his mother who with meager means took care of both him and Orlando. He says his mother taught him to be the man he is today and he never wants to forget where he came from and the struggle it took to get where he is today.
 LIVAN HERNANDEZ WINS 1997 WORLD SERIES
Livan's bid for freedom began one day in September of 1995 in Monterrey Mexico. At midnight across the street from the Cuban team hotel, famed sports agent Joe Cubas waited as young shy Livan Hernandez hesitantly made the decision to defect from Communist Cuba. The decision apparently almost cost him his life, but not in a way you may have guessed...a speeding car narrowly missed him as he crossed the street. In the days that followed, Hernandez travelled to Mexico City, Venezuela, and Costa Rica where he signed with the Florida Marlins and began his rich long career with Major League Baseball. Two years and twenty pounds later he was a World Champion. That same night before the game after living in exile for two years, he was able to hug his mother in a very emotional reuninion.
 FAREWELL SOON?
Livan Hernandez is one of the most down-to-earth, jovial players in the game today. If you have ever had the chance to talk to him in his broken English you will understand. He is known almost every game to strike-up conversation with fans sitting near the on-deck circle. His contagious smile and love for the game shines out and he is a favorite among youngsters. There's been much talk about trading Livan, and I'm sure that's probably inevitable...but for the time being, I'm going to enjoy having the big teddy bear from Cuba in a Nationals Uniform.
NOTE: Three hours after I posted this blog: News broke that Livan Hernandez had been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for two pitching prospects. So long Livan, we'll miss you.
CLICK THE PHOTOS BELOW FOR LARGER IMAGES SO SORIANO STAYS...OK...so Alfonso Soriano remains a NATIONAL, well at least for the next two months anyway. That's great I like Alfonso, but here is my initial reaction: The trade deadline came & went and we did - NOTHING?!? Can someone look me straight in the face and say that this team isn't in need of improvement? What about Livan or Vidro...we didn't trade anybody? I may be wrong but I feel like we missed an opportunity to improve this team. I don't think they will make the commitment to re-sign Soriano to a multi-year contract next year. His asking price is going to be enormous...which would hamper the very strategy Kasten touted during the ownership handover which was to build-up the farm system. It appears that the Lerners are going to either have to open the checkbook big time or have to go to plan B.
If they decide on opening the wallet and signing Alfonso to a $80 million 5 year contract (which is the rumour of what he wants)...then in order to keep the REST of the team competitive you are going to have to change your payroll budget. Now earlier this year I was touting this...I WANT them to do this. If the Nationals become the new New York Yankees of the National League you wouldn't hear any complaints coming out of my mouth. However this is NOT the plan that Kasten laid on the table when he described the team stategy. Not only that but Major League Baseball stated that one of the reasons they chose the Lerner group as new owners of the Nationals is that they were NOT going to be inflating salaries.
 ESPN snapped this photo of Soriano's Agent; Diego Bentz at 4:00 PM July 31st
Please don't get me wrong I love Alfonso Soriano. But now Jimbo's stuck...he absolutely HAS to sign him for the long term (no doubt Soriano's agent knows this too). Worse case scenario of course is if we get Alfonso for just two more months and then he moves on to another team. In this option we would be left with two draft picks that does nothing but put a very large question mark in your head. I understand what people are saying: there were no good offers on the table, so Jim Bowden decided to stand pat...but no one believes that was his plan going into the trade deadline: Jimbo was hoping that another GM would get careless and give something of value for a two month rental. When that failed to happen, then all the sudden people are calling him a genius for not giving in. Well I'm not one of them. Now we will lose our bargaining power if Soriano doesn't sign on the dotted line for an extension. If he doesn't, we're gonna have to settle next year for what we get in the draft. Then of course all the people who are praising Bowden now will be asking for his head. KASTEN PRESSES THE RESET BUTTON... The Presidential Foot Race Turns LIVE and un-animated!
Stan Kasten literally rolls out the red carpet this weekend with the Grand ReOpening of RFK Stadium. The limitations of what you can do with a 45 year old stadium are self-evident, but even so the Lerners are going to provide a much needed face-lift to the aging venue in Southeast Washington. Starting with a themed weekend of "Painting the City Red", in which fans attending the games this weekend against Chicago will be given hats, T-shirts and rally towels.
A food court will be open on the mezzanine level featuring 5 new vendors, all from the D.C. area: Cluck University Chicken, ARs, Cantina Marina, Hard Times Cafe and Capital-Q. Added to the 500 level will be another Red, Hot & Blue and a Papa Johns...and a Kosher stand is opening on Sunday at the third base side. Some new food selections that will be available:
In addition to the new vending will be new "Fan Zone" on the 300 level which will include such features as Radar-Gun Pitching Stalls, Photo Booths, Virtual Batting Cages and an X-Box Video Game Stations.
ZIMMER MAN! The home grown rookie has become the big talk of the town lately. With two walkoff home runs and last night's walkoff single with two outs in the bottom of the 11th...his bat is definately scalding! With 58 RBIs through 87 games, Zimm leads all MLB rookies in RBIs, hits (90), doubles (25), extra base hits (38) and multi-hit games (28)! He's hit safely now in 10 straight games, batting .444 with 10 RBIs.
There's no reason in my mind why Ryan Zimmerman can't be considered for the Rookie of the Year as he has displayed excellent play not only with the bat, but his defensive range and performance has been most impressive. With the media concentrating on Alfonzo, Ryan Zimmerman is slowly becoming a force worthy of attention in his own right.
CLICK THE PHOTOS BELOW FOR LARGER IMAGES |
The next inning Jon "The Wookie" Rauch was given a dog bath by the Rockies to the tune of four runs and end the score at a very deceptive 11-8 victory.
HOLY CRAP!!! 
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