Post by Cheryl Nichols, Contributor to Nats News Network

Our very own Dmitri Young, NL's 2007 Comeback Player of the Year, will be featured in an MLB Network Original Documentary on Monday, March 2 at 9pm.
We Are Young: A Baseball Family is a story of brothers Dmitri and Delmon Young who both overcame personal struggles to persevere in the Major Leagues. MLB Network's first-ever original film from MLB Productions.

MLB Network will also air Josh Hamilton: Resurrecting the Deam, tonight, February 27 at 9pm.

Excerpt from MLB Network Press Release:

We Are Young: A Baseball Family, the first-ever original film by MLB Productions, chronicles a seven-year period of MLB players and brothers Dmitri and Delmon Young, and their demanding father, Larry, who helped guide them into the Major Leagues. The film documents Dmitri, currently on the Washington Nationals, who makes the All-Star team in 2003, watches with joy as his brother is selected as the number one pick in the Draft that same year, but then begins to battle alcoholism and is released by the Detroit Tigers in 2005. Soon after, Dmitri comes close to death due to an undiagnosed case of diabetes, and then bounces back to make the All-Star team in 2007 and become the National League’s 2007 Comeback Player of the Year. We Are Young: A Baseball Family also chronicles the controversy that has surrounded Delmon—the first overall pick in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft—ever since his 50-game suspension for flipping a bat in at an umpire during a Minor League game. Delmon would learn a valuable lesson, and eventually is called up to the Major Leagues in the fall of 2005, where he would make an immediate impact with Tampa. After finishing second in the American League Rookie of the Year honors the next season, Delmon was traded to the Twins. Monday will mark the television debut for the 96-minute film, which was selected for inclusion in the first annual U.S. Sports Film Festival, held in Philadelphia last October.

Posted by Cheryl Nichols, Contributor to Nats News Network

Thought I would do a light-hearted post for a Friday morning. Disclosure - I'll tell you right now that I have never been a big fan of mascots and think that they are pretty silly, however, know that kids like them (and a few adults I suppose).

A few roster moves are not the only changes for the Nationals in the off-season. Even Screech is getting a makeover!

As most of you know, the mascot for the Washington Nationals is an eagle named "Screech" that hatched on April 17, 2005 at RFK stadium.

Photo from www.nationals.com

Most fans would agree that Screech could be described as "a bit overweight" (eating all of the fried food at the ballpark cannot be helping). I am hoping that Screech trimmed down in the off-season so that he can be a little more competitive with the slim and fit Oriole bird dance-off.

Screech has been seen recently working out. He joined fellow DC eagles (Capitals "Slapshot" and United "Talon") and several other regional mascots at Penguins v. Capitals game on Friday, February 20. to play a little hockey at the mascot hockey game between second and third periods. Let's hope that Screech looks a little more like "Slapshot" than the Philadelphia Eagle "Swoop" (who was rightly booed off the ice!)

All Photos (c) Cheryl Nichols, unless otherwise noted

EVENT INFORMATION:

WHO: "Screech" and Narrated by Nationals in-game host Clint with members of Nat Pack
WHAT: Unveiling of "Screech" new look; meet-and greet with fans; slideshow featuring “Screech” through the years
WHEN: Monday, March 2, 2009, 12- 1 pm
WHERE: ESPN Zone, 555 12th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

“Screech” will make a variety of appearances in the month leading up to start of the 2009 Nationals season to show off his fresh-feathered look.

A couple of quick links for you this evening to get away from the gnashing of teeth and rendering of garments around here today...

Stan Kasten discussed the situation in the Dominican Republic this afternoon. Chico at Nationals Journal has the transcript.

The money shot came in the Q&A after the briefing:

Q: You said as far as you're concerned this closes the book on the team's side. Does that mean you do not anticipate any more firings or removals of team employees?

Well, related to the Dominican, I think it closes the book on Jose and the Jose Rijo complex and all of that. And that's all I want to talk about today. As I said to you the other day, I am supporting and continue to support everyone who works for the Nationals, and that's not lip service.

In other news, Greg from Philly Sports Post contacted me out of the blue about answering some questions about our local nine today for a preview post he did on NL East opponents. You can find that here, if you're interested. Nothin' I haven't said before, but he did pin me down for a record prediction, so come October we can revisit it and see if I'm a genius or an idiot.

Response to "A Nats320 Editorial":

I realize that getting into a war of words may be a silly thing to do, but since you are just about the only blogger in the Natsophere that censors his comments for content, and since you will not publish any comment that I try to leave on one of your posts, I wished to respond to your post this morning about "spreading wildfire", since my blog is obviously one of those that you're calling out.

Twisted metaphors aside, I have a couple of critiques of your ideas. Since you yourself said that "A healthy give and take over whether Jim Bowden should remain with Our Washington Nationals is worth discussing", let's discuss!

First, you decreed that the "Gonzalez/Lugo situation is completely different from The Federal Investigation involving the skimming of money". Really? I thought the $1.4 million signing bonus to a player whose next biggest offer was half that amount was what triggered the investigation with regards to the Nationals. I guess I have it wrong, along with ESPN.com, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, CBS Sports, USA Today and all the rest.

I think maybe what you meant to say was that the fact that he lied about his age and identity was different than the bonus-skimming investigation. Both situations are equally damning and damaging to the organization and the man that presided over the negotiations, General Manager Jim Bowden.

Apparently Bowden's track record as a lousy GM and the general lack of respect among his peers isn't reason enough for the Lerners to fire him. Nor is it enough for you to call for his ouster, which is your opinion and you're entitled to it. So we'll just wait to see if the FBI has evidence that he was involved in the scheme. The franchise will be left waiting too, handcuffed with a General Manager that has been chopped off at the knees, muzzled in the press, and neutered of any decision-making responsibility.

I suppose you'll say I'm reading too much into the fact that Mike Rizzo and Mark Scialabba are the Nats officials in the Dominican today straightening out the mess as evidence that Jim Bowden is already out of the loop in decision-making.

You made a big deal about letting "the investigation play out--before this Spreading Wildfire burns Our Washington Nationals to the ground". My opinion is that every day that Jim Bowden is still employed with the team is another day of damage to the long-term future to the organization. It's another day of a team without a General Manager, another day that this franchise twists in the wind, another day that decisions aren't made, another day that every other organization in MLB doesn't know who is in charge, another day that the media and fans mock and ridicule the franchise.

If you love the Washington Nationals so much, how can you sit idly by and defend the person that is currently bringing so much public scorn and ridicule upon it, and leaving it in such a weakened state?

Your implication that those that are calling for Bowden's head are doing "irrecoverable damage" and that the organization "may be forced into doing something drastic--like revamping their entire Baseball Operations--without regard to the long term future of Our Franchise" is simply, in a word, ludicrous.

If you think for one minute what I say, or what Fire Jim Bowden says, or Federal Baseball or Nats Farm Authority, or Hendo's Hutch or OMG or Nationals Enquirer or We've Got Heart or Nationals Journal (WP) or Nationals Chatter (WT), anyone else in the Natosphere, or, yes, even YOU; if you even think for one second they're taking our opinions into account when deciding the long-term future of the franchise, then man, do I have some news for you.

The only thing the Lerner family cares about is making and spending money. If the team is successful on the field as a result of it, all the better.

The only thing Stan Kasten cares about is making the Washington Nationals franchise the best that it can be under the parameters he has to work with. I honestly believe Stan when he said the only thing he wants to do is make this franchise one of the models of the industry. His legacy is counting on it.

If you think the Lerners and Mr. Kasten will be "forced into doing something drastic"--your words--because of PUBLIC OPINION or the words of a handful of semi-connected internet writers, and not because of the facts in the matter, then I really don't know how to answer that. It's that type of self-indulgent narcissism that give bloggers a bad name.

I invite you, or anyone, to reply in the comments section.

Best,

Dave Nichols

Nats News Network

P.S. I apologize in advance to any of my Natosphere brethren or sisthren if their inclusion (or exclusion) in my rant is found objectionable.

The opinion expressed in the above editorial is the sole opinion of the writer, and not meant to imply the opinion of any other person, blog, or organization.

In a very brief article, John Perrotto of BP confirms whispers we've been hearing for about 48 hours now: The Nats are considering ousting GM Jim Bowden and replacing him with Toronto Ass't GM Tony LaCava.

MLBTradeRumors.com had it up today too, giving props to Federal Baseball and Fire Jim Bowden for their leg work in making the information available yesterday. Nats Farm Authority posted some information about a few GM candidates, LaCava included.

I think the best line I've read about the possibility of the switch came from FJB, talking to the Natoshpere's new favorite nationally syndicated internet writer, Keith Law, who said (through FJB),

"going from Jim Bowden to Tony LaCava would be like going from Austin Kearns to Albert Pujols."

This information makes one wonder if the time Stan Kasten was spending in Toronto this off-season was interviewing for a job, or doing the interviewing?

MLB Network will feature the Washington Nationals on Saturday, February 28 at 8pm on "30 CLUBS IN 30 DAYS."

Each night the show features an in-depth look at all of the 2009 teams featuring player, coach and GM interviews; expert analysis on personnel and other decisions for the upcoming regular season.

Brian over at Nationals Farm Authority, one of the best blogs we have in the Natosphere, has a comprehensive interview with Keith Law, former Toronto Blue Jays executive and former writer for Baseball Prospectus. He currently is a blogger/columnist for ESPN.com.

Law is candid, engaging and comprehensive in his opinions he shared with Brian, and Brian asked all the right questions. If you're reading my blog, then you definitely want to take the 10 minutes to click on the link above and read this interview.

It should be mandatory reading for some of the Nats' less-nuanced fans as well, as Law's opinions take the candy-coating off the public relations the Nats themselves and MLB.com provide and gives a more honest, critical assessment of some of the players in the organization that tend to get overhyped.

Congrats to Brian on a fantastic interview.

Team President Stan Kasten made comments to the media today about the bonus-skimming investigation, the team's involvement, and GM Jim Bowden's involvement.

According to the transcript, it was a strange exchange of questions and non- and partial answers from Kasten.

The highlight was Kasten's refusal to simply declare his support for Bowden.

Question: Stan—how much do you support Jim (Bowden)?

Kasten: “Listen, I support everyone who works for The Washington Nationals—all the time—Period. But we are not going to talk about things that are going on away from here that I have no control of. I told you, I am going to allow the process to play out. We are going to let the chips fall where they may. We are going to look at things honestly and deal with them as is appropriate. Having said that, I am doing all the things that I can to speed the process up. There are many things going on that I cannot talk about. I hope to very soon.”

Until a decision is finally made about Bowden's status, it will be they ONLY story surrounding the Washington Nationals until opening day. If Bowden makes it that far, he's solid for the season I'm afraid.

Kasten's remarks about the soap opena not being a distraction is disingenuous. Of course it's a distraction. They sent home Bowden's confidante, Jose Rijo. The man causing all this controversy, Bowden, isn't allowed to talk about it. And when Kasten does talk about it, all he'll say is that he'll say something more at an unspecified date, hoping to make it to opening day so that the few beat reporters will be tied up with games too much to devote any time to following the real story.

Of course, having last year's opening day starter signed, not show up to camp, and released was a distraction too. Hmm, I wonder who was in charge of that fiasco? Oh well, yet another Jim Bowden blunder that he apparently won't be held accountable for.

Bullet Point Style!

• The Nats released Odalis Perez this morning. Apparently the team has tried to contact him and his agent several times over the last couple of days and since yesterday was the mandatory reporting date and he was still a no-show, he basically forced the Nats' hand. So, Odalis gets what he wanted, a release from the $850K contract had he made the team. Bon chance, mon ami, finding employment.
  
  
• Meathook took one off the left hand in BP yesterday. He was having X-rays taken today to see if anything was broken. For now, he's listed as day-to-day. But then again, aren't we all?
  
  
• Daniel Cabrera becomes the latest player to turn his back on his country, deciding not to play for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming WBC. This comes just a couple of days after Roger Bernadina and Shairon Martis both withdrew their names for consideration as well.
  
  
• RHP Jorge Sosa still is not in camp due to visa problems. MLB.com is reporting that manager Manny Acta has spoken with Sosa's agent and he should be in camp by Wednesday at the latest, according to the report. Sosa could be a very important piece of Acta's bullpen this season.
  
  
• The big news around the Nats, however, still centers around GM Jim Bowden, and the bonus-skimming scandal that dooms his tenure. SI.com reported Sunday night that Bowden is now under investigation all the way back to 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds. A scout, Jorge Oquendo, is alleged to be a link between Bowden and David Wilder, former Chicago White Sox Director of Player Personnel, who was dismissed for allegedly taking money earmarked for player signing bonuses. Oquendo worked under Bowden in 1994 and from 2000-2003 and for Wilder in Chicago.

When do the Nats say "enough" with regard to Bowden? His track record as a losing GM, coupled with the embarrassing and unprofessional (dreadlock wig, segway riding, firing players over talk radio) and downright illegal (drunk driving, FBI investigations for bonus-skimming) at some point has to trigger something with the Lerners that says, "Hey, maybe we should find someone else to guide this team."

The sooner, the better.

Jose Rijo, Special Assistant to General Manager Jim Bowden, has taken a leave of absence from the team.

According to team President Stan Kasten, "With all the questions swirling and all the work being done still on this matter, we felt it would be a good time [for Rijo] to be away from here."

Rijo said that he felt like a distraction to the team, and added that his mother was battling liver cancer. "I had better ways to make use of my time."

I don't want to make light of any of this situation. There is a lot of information that is still yet to be uncovered. But if the team (or Rijo) is using his mother's situation to make Rijo invisible during the ongoing investigation, it would be an absolute crime. If Rijo's mother is that ill, what the hell was the "Special Assistant to the General Manager" doing at spring training to begin with? It's not like he's a coach on the field or anything.

Look, here's the thing: Rijo's fingerprints are all over this thing. The kid was discovered at his camp. His childhood friend trained him. He recommended the player to Bowden. And then the Nats threw $1.5 million away. Then the FB-freakin-I and MLB officials investigated the whole shooting match.

The White Sox have already fired scouts that were involved in the bonus-skimming investigation, just to cut ties with them, though no charges were filed. Why won't the Nats do the same thing? They continue to be the laughingstock of the league, finding themselves in these types of situations, and then do nothing to exacerbate or distance themselves from the problem.

I'm all for due process, but the longer this soap opera spirals out of control the more damage it's doing to the organization.

The Washington Nationals came to terms yesterday with the remaining players that had not signed contracts for the 2009 season, including Face of the Franchise (tm) Ryan Zimmerman.

Zimmerman signed a one-year, $3.325 million deal, with incentives that could push the deal to $3.5 million, first reported by Chico at Nationals Journal.

Zim's one-year deal was not the long-term contract many Nats fans have been clamoring for, but does avoid a trip to the arbitration table, where the two sides would have had to argue the merits and deficiencies of the most important piece to the building puzzle that makes up the Nats roster as of today.

There is a wealth of opinion about the situation from my blogging brethren, and among Nats fans in general, but from my perspective, and apparently from the parties involved, there was no over-arching need to get the long-term contract done at this point. Both parties think they can still win the game they are playing. And it's funny, because both sides need Zimmerman to have a good, healthy year to make that happen.

The team obviously wants to have Zimmerman be part of this franchise for many, many years to come, but at a price that is reasonable and responsible. Zim missed a good chunk of last year due to the shoulder injury he suffered against the Orioles. The team needs to see a healthy Zim spraying line drives and diving around at third with impunity to be able to make the call on committing $8-$10 million a year on their biggest investment.

Zim and his representatives see the Markakis, Longoria and Pedroia deals and, reasonably, think that Zim belongs in that category as well, if not a notch above that. If the player goes out and has that .285/.385/.515 year with 30 homers and 100 RBIs that has been promised since the day he was drafted, well...the Markakis deal (6 years, $66 million) is just the starting point.

But if Ryan gives the Nats the quality stats but not quite deliver on the counting stats (say, 24 homers and 85 RBIs), or if he missed significant time to injury, then the team's prudence should pay off with a deal more in the range they are looking for.

I cracked open my brand-spanking new Baseball Prospectus last night, and Zim's comparables through his age 24 season are instructive as to the type of player he is. Three of his top four comps were Eric Chavez, Larry Parrish and Bob Horner. All three were pretty good-to-terrific players, when they were healthy. Chavez' rookie season wasn't as good as Zim's, but you couldn't ask for a better forecast for Ryan than Eric Chavez.

Here's a guy that for the first seven years of his career would hit .280/.350/.510, with 26-to-34 homers and right around 100 RBIs, plus play a gold-glove quality defense at third base. If Zimmerman could put up Chavez numbers, I think all parties would be ecstatic. It's no wonder the A's decided Chavez would be the one of their young All-Stars to give the long term deal to. Remember, they let Giambi and Tejada walk, and signed Chavez to the multi-year deal.

What happened? He hurt his back in his age 27 year, and has never been the same player since.

Parrish is an interesting study. Undrafted, he signed as an amateur free agent and was in the big leagues--full time--in three years. He was third in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1975 as a 21-year old, but his development stalled a bit due to some nagging injuries in his year 23 and 24 seasons. Sound like anyone you know? Then he got healthy and had his career year at age 25 (.307/.357/.551, 30-82, 4th in MVP ballots).

What happened? In his next nine seasons, he only had three years where he played more than 145 games. He was an All-Star at age 33 (33 HRs and 100 RBIs) and finished with 256 homers, but couldn't stay healthy enough to put him in the elite class of players.

Which brings us to Bob Horner, one of my all-time favorite players. Rookie of the Year at age 20. Three 30 homer seasons before he was 25. Struck out like he was a singles hitter, not a slugger.

What happened? Had an injury filled age 23 season, limiting him to 79 games. Bounced back the next year to hit 32 homers and 97 RBIs in his lone All-Star season, figuring the injury was past him. He never played a full season again and was done by age 30.

It's a dangerous game of chicken the two sides are playing. Both sides want Zimmerman healthy. Both want him productive. Both want him to sign a long term deal. But both both sides also want to be able to set the parameters of the deal. Who wins this dangerous game will determine those parameters, and the future of the Face of the Franchise (tm).

Last night's article on SI.com revealing "Nationals Prospect Falsified Identity" is yet another black eye to the Washington Nationals franchise that just can't get out of their own way.

Not even a full week has gone by since the signing of Adam Dunn that the team gets this bombshell. It's not A-Rod big, but in the grand scheme of things it's plenty disappointing, on so many levels.

SI.com writer Melissa Segura figured it out. Why couldn't Jim Bowden, Jose Rijo and Jose Baez (the Nats Director of Ops in the D.R.)? The cynic will point toward the ridiculously high signing bonus the Nats extended to the player and his buscon, Basilio Vizcaino.

Remember, the Nats signed the shortstop in 2006 with a $1.4 million signing bonus, twice what the next highest bidder offered. Also remember, all the negotiations for the other teams in the bidding process were handled by an agent, except the Nats offer, which was coordinated by Vizcaino, a childhood friend of Rijo and protege of Baez.

The deal originally sparked the federal investigation of the Nats organization for bonus money skimming, and with these latest allegations, expect even more scrutiny from the FBI and MLB's own investigation department.

And just when you started feeling good about NatsTown (TM), yet another shoe drops. Doesn't someone need to be held accountable for this?

I go away for a weekend, and all hell breaks loose?

First, Odalis Perez isn't happy with the contract his agent negotiated with the team? Know what? So what. Hey "O", if you're not happy with $850,000, or whatever it is, you can sit at home. Just like Manny and many others.

Second, the Racing Presidents on Long Island? Seriously? I know it's President's Day, but I don't care. These are OUR mascots. Not the Islanders'. It would be gimmicky enough if it were at a Caps game, and I LIKE the Caps! But trotting OUR Presidents up to Uniondale to skate between periods at an Islanders-Penguins game? I just don't get it.

Were Nats sales reps up there trying to sell seats in the right field bleachers too?

Ugh. Can't wait to get back.

MASN announced today that between their coverage of the Nats and Orioles this season, they'll have a game on in HD every day of the season. That can only be considered good news to the HD viewing public. In addition, they are partnering with DC 50 to simulcast Sunaday afternoon games over-the-air, while still broadcasting the games on cable, something previous over-the-air partners were not able to accomodate.

The Nationals play 105 games on MASN HD, 95 games on MASN and 67 games on MASN2, with the big MASN HD launch on April 1.

MASN spokesperson Todd Webster also stressed the new pre- and post-game shows from the stadium and expanded coverage of the team on MASNSports.com.

Here are highights from the press release today:

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - MASN, the local leader in live sports entertainment and the television home of the Nationals and Orioles, announced its 2009 baseball schedule which includes 210 high-definition game broadcasts.

With expanded high def coverage, the network will televise at least one game in HD every day throughout the season. Each team will have more than 100 games on MASN's new dedicated HD channel, MASN HD, which launches on April 1st.

The Nationals will have 95 live games on MASN and an additional 67 on MASN2. Washington DC-area viewers will also be able to watch 20 selected Sunday afternoon games on MASN's new over-the-air partner, DC50. The new multiyear partnership with DC50 allows WDCW to simulcast 20 Sunday afternoon Nationals games over-the-air.

Nats Xtra, MASN's exclusive pre and post game show, will also air on DC50 immediately before and after each game. Pre and post-game shows, Nats Xtra and O's Xtra, will be be hosted on location from the ballpark for every home game of both clubs.

In addition, MASN will introduce other production enhancements for the 2009 season, including new cameras that will bring fans closer to the action. The network will utilize an X-Mo camera, a new high-speed HD camera, that shoots more than 300 frames per second for crystal clear replays of the biggest moments on the field.

"The best local source for coverage of the national pastime, MASN will again bring every available game of both the Nationals and Orioles into millions of households throughout our seven-state region," said MASN spokesman Todd Webster. "MASN's production enhancements, high speed camera, and in-game features will bring a whole new look to the broadcasts in 2009 as MASN offers HD every day. With the best talent team in baseball, special in-game features, and a 210 game HD package, MASN provides unmatched access to the Nationals and Orioles."

MASN-Nats Spring Training games:

Friday, March 6, 1:00 p.m. - Nationals @ Orioles

Wednesday, March 18, 7:00 p.m. - Marlins @ Nationals

Wednesday, March 25, 7:00 p.m. - Braves @ Nationals

Saturday, April 4, 6:00 p.m. - Orioles @ Nationals (HD)

If you'd like to read the article I wrote about yesterday's press conference with fellow DC Sports Box writer Anthony Amobi, please head over to Nationals Welcome Slugger Adam Dunn to Washington.

There was plenty of good material that came out of the press conference and the series of interviews in the clubhouse afterwards. You might have already read some of the good stuff from Dan Steinberg's blog yesterday afternoon. But yep, that's me he's referring to in the first sentence. Hangin' with Steinz, Boz and Howie. Good times, indeed.

The best thing that came out of the whole parade for me was talking to Manager Manny Acta in the clubhouse. He really gets it, and it's refreshing to hear him say, "You win ballgames by scoring more runs than the other team, and you score more runs when you have more people on base."

The press conference started with Mark Lerner gushing about what Dunn means to the team and the organization, hyping him as "the power hitter we've been missing since...Frank Howard." I guess Lerner doesn't count Alfonso Soriano. Regardless, his point is well taken. Dunn is a classic slugger in the mold of Hondo, if not Reggie Jackson and Harmon Killebrew, as Boz is fond of saying these days.

In all baseball history the four players whom Dunn's stats mimic most closely through age 28 are Jackson, Killebrew, Jose Canseco and Darryl Strawberry. Dunn leads them all in homers, runs and walks. Will Dunn have a long healthy career like the first two and end someday with 600 homers, 1,500 runs and RBI and 1,800 walks? Or will he fade fast like the other two?

Next to speak was President Stan Kasten, who kept his remarks quick, mostly to praise the work of Dunn's agents and to hype the (still) overpriced right field bleacher seats at Nats Park. Still, Mr. Kasten made the claim that the team has "more optimism, more excitement and more anticipation for the coming season," than any season before. I guess he's forgotten about opening day last season. Maybe visions of homers flying over the Nats bullpen has his memory foggy.

Our favorite General Manager then took to the podium. To be completely open, I've done my fair share of bashing and baiting Mr. Bowden. Maybe not as much as my good friend Steven, but maybe even he and JimBow are seeing more eye-to-eye these days. But as far as Dunn goes, he's finally got a player that lives up to even his incredible amount of over-hype.

Dunn has posted a .381 career on-base percentage en route to 201 doubles, 278 home runs, 672 RBI, 797 walks and a .518 slugging percentage in 1131 games spanning eight big league seasons with Cincinnati and Arizona.

So then Acta took the podium, and with all his charm and self-assuredness, said point blank, before anyone could ask the question,

"At the end of spring training we'll decide what is going to be best for the Washington Nationals. He's going to have an opportunity to play first, play left field in spring training. It's still open and we appreciate that he's willing to do that. By the end of camp we're going to do what's best for the Nationals to win."

Manny knows that his batting order is better with Dunn and Nick Johnson both in it. He knows that the deal the Nats made for Josh Willingham was in anticipation of acquiring Mark Teixeira. He knows that an outfield of Dunn-Milledge-Dukes with Willingham providing depth for the lefty bats of Dunn and Johnson, and being a capable replacement in either slot is the strongest team alignment he can provide.

And if Austin Kearns can return to resemble the player Bowden traded for in the first place? You've got the makings of a real team. Anyone else remember Felipe Lopez and Paul LoDuca in left field last year?

So the last man to speak was the big guy himself, Adam Dunn. He said all the right things, was personable and easy-going, a man who was comfortable in knowing exactly who he was and what he was bringing to the team. Dunn is no prospect. He is no project. He is a major league baseball player, and a pretty darn effective one, at least with his bat. And if you believed him today, his knee surgery after the 2007 season is now fully healed and, according to him, his "best days are ahead of [him]."

The Nats hope that his best days are ahead of him. But if he can simply reproduce his numbers from the last five years, I don't think anyone is going to complain.

Adam Dunn was announced to the Wsahignton media today at Nationals Park. I'll have a lot more to detail to report very soon, but for now I'll leave you with the press release and a family photo.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS SIGN FREE-AGENT SLUGGER ADAM DUNN TO TWO-YEAR DEAL

The Washington Nationals today signed first baseman/outfielder Adam Dunn to a two-year contact. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.

With Dunn—who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 275 lbs.—the Nationals add a rare combination of imposing physical stature and offensive output.

“With the multi-year signing of Adam Dunn, the middle of our lineup is significantly bolstered by his bat, which has traditionally rendered a high on-base percentage, 40 homers and 100-plus RBI,” said Bowden.

Thanks largely to five consecutive 40-homer, 100-walk seasons, Dunn has posted a .381 career on-base percentage en route to 201 doubles, 278 home runs, 672 RBI, 797 walks and a .518 slugging percentage in 1131 games spanning eight big league seasons with Cincinnati and Arizona.

Last season, Dunn tallied 23 doubles, 40 home runs, 100 RBI and a .386 on-base percentage for the Reds and Diamondbacks. Despite being dealt to Arizona for the final six weeks of last season, Dunn paced the Reds with 32 homers last year, the sixth consecutive season he accomplished the feat.

Dunn’s 278 career long balls capped the season ranked 27th among active players, but among those yet to reach their 30th birthday, Dunn ranks second behind only Albert Pujols (319). With 249, Aramis Ramirez ranks a distant third among current twenty-somethings.

Dunn led baseball with 122 walks last season and has ranked among the NL’s top six each of the last four campaigns. Dunn has never averaged fewer than 4.00 pitches per plate appearance in a single season.

His career average of 4.25 pitches per plate appearance ranks second in baseball among active players who have played 1000 or more games. Only Bobby Abreu (4.30) has been more selective.

Dunn was a National League All-Star in 2002, his first complete big league campaign. In addition to his 26 home runs that season, he posted 128 walks, which were the most in big league history recorded by a player under the age of 23.

Originally selected in the second round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft out of New Caney (TX) High, Dunn was a prized high-school quarterback who accepted an athletic scholarship from the University of Texas before announcing his intentions to play professional baseball on a full-time basis.

According to multiple sources, the Washington Nationals jumped into the deep end of the free agent pool for the first time since the Lerners family took over ownership, signing LF/1B Adam Dunn to a two-year, $20 million contract. The terms are being reported by TomVerducci of SI.com.

Dunn, 29, gives the Nats a presence in their batting lineup not felt since Alfonso Soriano left after the 2006 season via free agency.

For the last five seasons, Dunn has hit over 40 home runs, and driven in over 100 in four of the five. While the knock on Dunn has been his historic strikeout rate and low batting average, his lifetime .381 on-base percentage shows that the big guy knows how not to make outs. He's the perfect example of the "three true outcomes" player: one who hits home runs, walks,or strikes out.

Dunn has played mostly left field in his eight-year career, with a sprinkling of games at first base. Where he fits into the Nats plans defensively is still a bit of a question mark. Dunn is not the greatest of defenders, but various defensive metrics disagree on just how below average his glove is at either position.

Washington has a glut of outfielders, with Josh Willingham, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Willie Harris and Wily Mo Pena all on the 40-man roster. They also have youngsters Justin Maxwell, Roger Bernadina, and Leonard Davis, their minor league player of the year, all reporting to camp next week.

In addition, the Nats hope that oft-injured first baseman Nick Johnson will be healthy enough to play this season, adding a second high on-base batter to the middle of the lineup.

Should Johnson be able to play, Dunn should be able to stay in his preferred position of left field, perhaps moving Willingham to right and Dukes to center field to compete with Milledge. Manager Manny Acta will have his hands full during spring training trying to figure his best outfield alignment, but don't be surprised if GM Jim Bowden still has a trade up his sleeve to move an outfielder--or Johnson perhaps.

Last month the Nats were talking with the Oakland A's about a swap of first basemen, with Washington sending Johnson and receiving Daric Barton, a carbon copy of Johnson but seven years younger. But if the A's feel like they can compete this year, they might prefer the veteran Johnson over the untested second-year player.

Regardless of how the playing time shakes out, there's no argument that this deal makes the Nats stronger across the board. And the two-year deal gives some stability to the situation for the Nats, and Dunn the chance at another big pay day in just two seasons.

Just as importantly, it give the fans and season ticket holders confidence that the ownership group is invested in the product on the field. The Nats minor league system has undergone a major re-vamping in the last several seasons, with several of the minor league teams securing division championships.

But the record of the Major League team has dropped each year the Lerners have owned the team, culminating in the 102-loss season last year. The fan base, especially season ticket holders, has eroded this off-season, but this move should signal to fans that the Nats--specifically the ownership group--have finally realized that the folks coming out to brand-new, publicly funded Nationals Park came out to see Major League baseball, and as such are now making steps to provide a Major League experience on the field.

According to a report in Nationals Journal, and seen elsewhere on the internets, your Washington Nationals have a preliminary agreement with "middle of the order left-handed bat" Adam Dunn, formerly of the Cincinnati Bowd-oops-Reds.

Dunn was a 1998 second round pick of the Reds, also run by Jim Bowden.

Dunn, a career .247/.381/.518 hitter with 278 home runs, adds a presence to this line-up that it hasn't seen since Alfonso Soriano turned into two draft picks after the 2006 season. Dunn has hit over 40 home runs in each of his last five season. In four of the five, he's also knocked in over 100 runs.

No terms have been announced as of yet.

Putting aside purely baseball aspect of this deal, the numbers will be extremely interesting once they are announced. Is it a multi-year deal? How much, if anything, did the Nats have to overpay? How much did the pull of Austin Kearns and Ryan Zimmerman have to do with negotiations?

As for the baseball side of it? Wow, where to start?

IF Nick Johnson is healthy, this team just got A LOT better. It still doesn't have a legitimate lead-off guy, but it now has a legit 3-4-5-6 in Johnson, Dunn, Zimm and Dukes. And the battle for playing time in the OF just got a lot more crowded.

If Johnson cannot revive his career, then expect Dunn at first, with an OF of Willingham-Milledge-Dukes.

It's not outside the realm of possibility that Bowden still moves an outfielder, regardless of Johnson's health. But having Dunn on the roster makes all of these scenarios easier to imagine.

Kudos to the front office once this contract gets signed. Whether it's one year or several, it was the right thing to do on so many levels.

As I type these words, Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada is appearing before a federal judge just blocks from my office to plead guilty of lying to Congress about his knowledge of and involvment with Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) in Major League baseball.

According to court documents, Tejada has entered a plea agreement with prosecutors allowing his to testify today. He is charged with lying to investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2005 about conversations he had with and about former Oakland A's teammate Adam Piatt and Piatt's PED use.

It's important to note that at this point, Tejada isn't being charged about lying about his own PED use, though terms of his plea agreement may include further information.

Tejada faces as much as a year in jail if convicted on the misdemeanor charge of making misrepresentations to Congress. Under federal guidelines, he would probably receive a lighter sentence.

Tejada has also lied about his age, as ESPN confronted him about discrepancies in his birth certificate.

Tejada was called upon by the investigators after former teammate Rafael Palmeiro indicated that a tainted B-12 injection may have caused him to test positive for steroids. Palmeiro earlier that year testified before Congress that he had never used steroids.

During Palmeiro's appeal process, Congress also investigated the former first baseman on perjury charges, but after their investigation, no charges were filed against Palmeiro.

So let's go through the list: Barry Bonds is accused of lying to a federal grand jury--he was charged with perjury. Roger Clemens is accused of lying to Congress, he could very likely be charged with perjury. Miguel Tejada lied to Congress and is pleading guilty to the charges.

But Rafael Palmeiro was accused of lying to Congress, was investigated, and Congress found no evidence to charge him of perjury.

"We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said when he released a 44-page report. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we could not substantiate perjury."

"We have a responsibility, an obligation, to investigate it, and that's what we've done."

During the investigation, two other Orioles, identified in the report as Player A and Player B, were also given B-12 by Tejada. "The committee did find substantial inconsistencies between Mr. Tejada's account and the accounts of Players A and B," Davis said. "While these inconsistencies were curious to us, we did not pursue them."

With the evidence mounting that if you lie to Congress or a grand jury about steroids usage you will be charged and prosecuted for perjury, Congress failed to charge Rafael Palmeiro. Congress had his drug tests. They had inconsistancies in Tejada's testimony. They interviewed a dozen other people involved. Why, then, didn't they prosecute Palmeiro, like they are with Bonds, Tejada and Clemens? They believed him.

Why doesn't anyone else? Why is it so hard to believe that in April of 2005, Tejada gave Palmeiro a syringe of what Tejada claimed was vitamin B-12, and it turns out there were mere traces of stanozolol in the mix?

On May 19, 2005 MLB informed Palmeiro that he failed a PED test he took on May 4. On May 27, Palmeiro took a second test and was clean. In the span of three weeks, there was so little banned substance in his system that he tested clean.

So why is it so hard to believe Palmeiro? Congress did.

Photo by Getty Images

Over the weekend, the Nationals signed a couple of pitchers to contracts for the upcoming season on vastly different terms.

On Friday, the Nats took a pitcher that has been part of the organization since their days in Quebec Province to arbitration over $275,000. Shawn Hill became the first Major League player this winter to not be able to come to an equitable agreement with his team and face off at the arbitration table.

Hill, who earned $402,000 in 2008, was awarded the $775,000 he requested from the Nationals, who had countered with $500,000.

The process is unpleasant for all, and most teams and agents do what they can to avoid it. That the Nats braintrust felt it necessary to fight over $275,000, despite the player, is telling. Hill, for his part, took the high road.

"I was very happy, obviously," Hill told The Post. "Somewhat surprised, just knowing that the owners do have the advantage historically and they've been 60 or 65 percent in the last couple years. We were kind of going up against it. I didn't expect it to go...to the hearing, but I'm pleased with the outcome."

During an injury-plagued 2008 season, Hill went 1-5 with a 5.83 ERA in 12 starts. The 27-year-old right-hander didn't pitch after June 24 and had arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, performed by Dr. James Andrews on Sept. 5.

Then on Sunday, Washington announced that it had avoided arbitration with left hander Scott Olsen, acquired in November along with outfielder Josh Willingham (who has his own date with the arbitration panel). The two sides agreed on a one-year, $2.8 million contract. Olsen had asked for $3.5 million, while the Nats countered with $2.5.

Olsen went 8-11 with a 4.20 ERA in 2008 for the Florida Marlins.

So Olsen avoids having his new team make all kinds of disparaging remarks about his K/BB rate and BABIP-inflated ERA while Hill had to endure listening to how he's always hurt and can't make enough of an impression since he pitched injured last year.

Tough business.

Odalis Perez, 31 will return to Nationals on minor league contract and invitation to spring training.

Press Release from the Nationals:

The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms on a non-guaranteed minor-league 2009 contract with left-handed pitcher Odalis Perez. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.


Perez made 30 starts and logged 159.2 innings in 2008 during his first season with Washington. Among Nationals’ starters, his 14 quality starts and 4.34 ERA were second only to John Lannan’s (21 quality starts/ 3.91 ERA) totals. He was the Nationals’ Opening Day starter last season, thus throwing the first pitch during the inaugural regular-season game at Nationals Park. He went on to post a 2.65 ERA in 16 starts on the banks of the Anacostia. The 31-year-old is a veteran of 10 major league seasons.