{"id":3476,"date":"2011-12-25T10:35:49","date_gmt":"2011-12-25T14:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=3476"},"modified":"2012-08-23T11:01:13","modified_gmt":"2012-08-23T15:01:13","slug":"nats-off-season-news-items-wrap-up-122511-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=3476","title":{"rendered":"Nats Off-season News Items Wrap-up 12\/25\/11 edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_3532\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/gonzalezgio-122211-unknown-via-cbssports.com_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3532\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3532\" title=\"109238919TH003_LOS_ANGELES_\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/gonzalezgio-122211-unknown-via-cbssports.com_-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/gonzalezgio-122211-unknown-via-cbssports.com_-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/gonzalezgio-122211-unknown-via-cbssports.com_.jpg 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3532\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Welcome to Washington Mr. Gonzalez.  Photo by Thearon W. Henderson\/Getty Images via cbssports.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This is your semi-weekly\/periodic wrap-up of Nats and other baseball news that caught my eye.\u00a0 No better time than today to publish, since there&#8217;s not much else going on Christmas day.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Nationals In General<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bus Leagues Baseball profiles <strong>Matthew Purke<\/strong>, with a <a href=\"http:\/\/busleaguesbaseball.com\/2011\/12\/prospect-a-z-day-16-matt-purke\/\">nice scouting report<\/a> and recap of his journey to the Nats franchise.<\/li>\n<li>Nice little bench move here: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnwashington.com\/blog\/nationals-talk\/post\/Nats-claim-infielder-from-Phillies?blockID=616750&amp;feedID=6358\">Nats claimed<\/a> infielder <strong>Carlos Rivera<\/strong> from Philadelphia&#8217;s waivers and stuck him on the 40-man.\u00a0\u00a0 He theoretically can play both SS and 3b, though reports are that his SS defense is suspect.\u00a0 I&#8217;m not going to nit pick moves like this and the <strong>Mike Cameron<\/strong> signing; our farm system kind of has a gap in terms of player development from the last Bowden draft years, so we are missing these roster-augmentation players that otherwise would be filled from within.\u00a0 Soon though with the college-heavy drafts of the past couple years we should have all the spare parts we need sitting in AAA so that we&#8217;re not signing mid 30&#8217;s utility players and claiming mediocre players.<\/li>\n<li>Welcome to 2012&#8217;s version of <strong>Jerry Hairston<\/strong>; <strong>Mark DeRosa<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/msn.foxsports.com\/mlb\/story\/Mark-DeRosa-to-sign-with-Washington-Nationals-source-says-122111\">to sign with the Nats<\/a> and be our super utility guy.\u00a0 Can&#8217;t argue with the move; he fills a need, is willing to be a bench player, and can play a bunch of positions.<\/li>\n<li>Congrats to ex Nat <strong>Jason Marquis<\/strong>, who <a href=\"http:\/\/msn.foxsports.com\/mlb\/story\/Jason-Marquis-close-to-signing-with-Minnesota-Twins-source-says-122111\">looks to sign a deal with Minnesota<\/a>.\u00a0 I&#8217;m glad he&#8217;s landed on his feet after a freak fractured tibia just after we traded him last year.<\/li>\n<li>Obviously the big news this cycle is the <strong>Gio Gonzalez<\/strong> move.\u00a0 Frequent readers here saw a very healthy discussion in the past week in this space.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll post some reaction links here not posted elsewhere: <strong>Buster Olney<\/strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"http:\/\/insider.espn.go.com\/mlb\/blog\/_\/name\/olney_buster\/id\/7383199\/washington-nationals-getting-lined-mlb\">blog<\/a> (the take away for me is how badly Oakland&#8217;s fans seem to be reacting), <strong>Jim Bowden<\/strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"http:\/\/insider.espn.go.com\/blog\/the-gms-office\/post?id=3004\">video reaction<\/a> and his description <a href=\"http:\/\/insider.espn.go.com\/blog\/the-gms-office\/post?id=3007\">how the deal went down<\/a> (the interesting takeaway being how the 2nd player thrown into the deal from Oakland&#8217;s side turning the tide).\u00a0 <strong>Keith Law<\/strong> values our prospects highly and says <a href=\"http:\/\/insider.espn.go.com\/mlb\/blog\/_\/name\/law_keith\/id\/7380907\/oakland-athletics-get-quality-quantity-gio-gonzalez\">we overpaid<\/a>.\u00a0 Another prospect-heavy analyst <strong>John Sickels<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.minorleagueball.com\/2011\/12\/22\/2656256\/prospects-gio-gonzalez-trade-oakland-athletics-washington-nationals-cole-peacock-milone-norris\">analyzes our outgoing prospects<\/a> (surprisingly Sickels says the A&#8217;s got &#8220;fair value&#8221; instead of calling it a loss for the Nats as Law did).\u00a0 Here&#8217;s <strong>Tim Brown<\/strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/mlb\/news?slug=ti-brown_athletics_nationals_trade_gio_gonzalez_122211\">reaction<\/a>, plus <strong>Ken Rosenthal<\/strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"http:\/\/msn.foxsports.com\/mlb\/story\/Gio-Gonzalez-Washington-Nationals-Oakland-As-trade-122211\">original report<\/a>.\u00a0 Lastly, fangraph&#8217;s <strong>David Fung<\/strong> graphically analyzes projected WARs and determines that we gave up nearly <a href=\"http:\/\/www.beyondtheboxscore.com\/2011\/12\/22\/2656099\/a-graphic-look-at-gio-vs-prospects\">twice the value<\/a> in future production, which involves quite a leap of trust that all four of these guys pan out to their potential.\u00a0 Lastly, here&#8217;s Baseball Prospectus&#8217; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballprospectus.com\/article.php?articleid=15728\">take on both sides<\/a>; not nearly as glowing for the 4 prospects gained as I thought they would be.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Free Agents\/Player Transaction News<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Roy Oswalt<\/strong> is considering <a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnwashington.com\/blog\/nationals-talk\/post\/Oswalt-will-now-accept-one-year-deal?blockID=615902&amp;feedID=6358\">one-year deals<\/a>, immediately bringing nearly every MLB team into the discussions.\u00a0 I&#8217;d love to have him on the Nats but suspect that he may end up in a situation that makes it easier for him to get one more relatively lucrative FA contract.\u00a0 I.e., an easier division that&#8217;s closer to home.\u00a0 Imagine him in San Diego against weaker NL west teams.\u00a0 With the Gonzalez signing though, my guess is that we&#8217;re out of the FA pitcher race.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/insider.espn.go.com\/mlb\/blog\/_\/name\/olney_buster\/id\/7379098\/the-yu-darvish-rumors-were-unfounded-mlb\">Interesting take<\/a> on the <strong>Yu Darvish<\/strong> bidding results and the Toronto loss from <strong>Buster Olney<\/strong> (insider only), intimating that all the talk about the Toronto interest was overblown.<\/li>\n<li>Great points by <strong>David Schoenfeld<\/strong> on espn, pointing out another similar article on Grantland, talking about the &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/blog\/sweetspot\/post\/_\/id\/19437\/prospect-mania-is-it-out-of-control\">Prospect Mania<\/a>&#8221; that has become the norm in baseball over the past 10 years.\u00a0 Ironically, this same issue was seen in our Gonzalez deal; are our prospects really that good, or are we over-valuing them and their potential?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>General Baseball News<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>College Baseball Newspaper announces its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.collegebaseballdaily.com\/2011\/12\/20\/collegiate-baseball-newspaper-releases-2012-preseason-all-americans\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CollegeBaseballDaily+%28College+Baseball+Daily%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader\">pre-season Collegiate All American team<\/a>.\u00a0 From first glance, Florida looks really strong (4 guys on the first team, another four on the 2nd team, wow).\u00a0 South Carolina returns two all-american starters, virtually guaranteeing weekend series wins all year.\u00a0 Finally Texas has 2 first team, 3 second teamers just in its rotation.\u00a0 Too early to predict Florida versus Texas in the Omaha final in June 2012?<\/li>\n<li>George Washington, a lesser Div-1 baseball program that has given the Nats some later-round org players in recent years, is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.collegebaseballdaily.com\/2011\/12\/20\/george-washington-renovations-to-barcroft-park-underway\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CollegeBaseballDaily+%28College+Baseball+Daily%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader\">renovating Barcroft park<\/a> in South Arlington, where they play their home games.\u00a0 They&#8217;re putting in artificial turf, nicer facilities and a nicer snack bar.\u00a0 Nice.\u00a0 It was already a nice place to see good collegiate baseball; now it should be this much better.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/sports\/brewers\/former-brewers-minor-leaguer-had-drug-test-reversed-r53gh35-135902123.html\">Documentation\/Actual testimony<\/a> from a player who won an appeal of his PED positive test.\u00a0 Latest rumor I read about <strong>Ryan Braun<\/strong> is that he was taking something for an STD.\u00a0 I can&#8217;t find a link so perhaps its just that; a ridiculous rumor.<\/li>\n<li>Good, non-hysterical analysis of the new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/online\/draft\/news\/2012\/2612722.html\">CBA&#8217;s winners and losers<\/a> from Basball America&#8217;s <strong>J.J. Cooper <\/strong>and <strong>Jim Callis.<\/strong> Callis continues with this analysis of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseballamerica.com\/online\/prospects\/column\/2012\/2612724.html\">impact on big and small market teams<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Man, I can&#8217;t wait to see this soap opera in Spring Training; former Marlins manager says that <strong>Hanley Ramirez<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/hardballtalk.nbcsports.com\/2011\/12\/21\/ex-manager-edwin-rodriguez-says-marlins-will-have-a-tough-time-moving-hanley-ramirez-to-third-base\/\">won&#8217;t go to third easily<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/thebiglead.fantasysportsven.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/AhMmbZICEAEw83_.jpg\">Nice shirt<\/a>, <strong>Mike Napoli<\/strong>.\u00a0 (NSFW, in other words, &#8220;Not Safe for Work.&#8221;)\u00a0 Not really; you can barely see the &#8220;R-rated&#8221; part.<\/li>\n<li>I wonder why they left the field?\u00a0 A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/not\/index.php\/the-site-formerly-known-as-tiger-stadium\/\">current picture<\/a> of Detroit&#8217;s old stadium.\u00a0 We were in Detroit 3yrs ago and drove by this stadium as it was only in partial de-construction.<\/li>\n<li>LA Dodger&#8217;s plans to sell <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/baseball\/nl\/dodgers\/story\/2011-12-23\/fox-wins-bankruptcy-case\/52197280\/1?csp=34sports&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomSports-TopStories+%28Sports+-+Top+Stories%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader\">dealt a blow<\/a> by a bankrupcy judge.\u00a0 Or were they?\u00a0 I&#8217;m not entirely clear how this ruling affects anything frankly.\u00a0 As long as <strong>Frank McCourt<\/strong> is removed from the picture, I think everyone will be happy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>General News; other<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Categorize this in the &#8220;people who don&#8217;t have a sense of humor, ever&#8221; department: <strong>Pat Robertson<\/strong> found the hilarious <strong>Tim Tebow<\/strong> skit on SNL last weekend &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/msn.foxsports.com\/nfl\/story\/tim-tebow-saturday-night-live-skit-pat-robertson-calls-it-anti-christian-bigotry-122011\">disgusting<\/a>.&#8221;\u00a0 Hey Pat; I find your <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pat_robertson#Controversies_and_criticisms\">opinions<\/a> on race, discrimination, acceptance, tolerance, and your stated stances on the reasons that Hurricane Katrina, the Haitian earthquake and 9-11 happened to be &#8220;disgusting&#8221; as well.<\/li>\n<li>This link was ironic for me, in that my family just had the same discussion about what is the best Xmas movie of all time.\u00a0 <strong>Jim Caple<\/strong> presents a <a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/espn\/page2\/story\/_\/id\/7376392\/christmas-movies-page-2-unveils-64-film-bracket-determine-best-ever\">64-team bracket<\/a> for Xmas movies.\u00a0 I think the selection committee screwed over &#8220;Scrooged,&#8221; giving it only a 9 seed.\u00a0 In another bracket, its a regional winner :-).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is your semi-weekly\/periodic wrap-up of Nats and other baseball news that caught my eye.\u00a0 No better time than today to publish, since there&#8217;s not much else going on Christmas day. Nationals In General Bus Leagues Baseball profiles Matthew Purke, with a nice scouting report and recap of his journey to the Nats franchise. Nice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5,534],"tags":[17,35,363,884,624,509,391,367,385,455,42,234,507,440,628,771,590,110,312,505,166,578,626,627,297,388,623,583,300],"class_list":["post-3476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nonnatsbaseball","category-natsgeneral","category-weekly-news","tag-aj-cole","tag-brad-peacock","tag-buster-olney","tag-carlos-rivero","tag-david-fung","tag-david-schoenfield","tag-destin-hood","tag-frank-mccourt","tag-gio-gonzalez","tag-hanley-ramirez","tag-jason-marquis","tag-jerry-hairston","tag-jim-bowden","tag-jim-callis","tag-jim-caple","tag-jj-cooper","tag-john-sickels","tag-keith-law","tag-ken-rosenthal","tag-mark-derosa","tag-matthew-purke","tag-mike-cameron","tag-mike-napoli","tag-pat-robertson","tag-roy-oswalt","tag-ryan-braun","tag-tim-brown","tag-tim-tebow","tag-yu-darvish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3476"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4406,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3476\/revisions\/4406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}