NATIONALS DOLE OUT OVER $16 MILLION IN CONTRACTS

"We are the talk of the industry." Nats GM Mike Rizzo on signing his top five draft picks.

As the midnight deadline to sign 2011 amateur draft picks approached, the Washington Nationals still had not announced the signing of any of their top four draft picks.  But mere moments after the deadline passed, various national sources revealed what most Nats fans hoped would be the outcome: that the Nationals did indeed sign all four of their top draft picks, making the Nats' 2011 draft class one of the most impressive in recent memory.

The Nationals added 3B Anthony Rendon (four year Major League deal with club option, $7.2 million), RHP Alex Meyer ($2.0 million bonus), OF Brian Goodwin ($3.0 million bonus) and LHP Matt Purke (four year Major League deal at roughly $4.0 million).  Nats GM Mike Rizzo indicated the four would all report to the Nats training facility in Viera, FL to assess their fitness and conditioning before assigning them to a minor league affiliate.

For biographies of the players, please check out our profile of Rendon here, Meyer and Goodwin here and Purke here.

Earlier in the evening, the Nats signed fourth round pick Kylin Turnbull, a 6'4" left-handed pitcher from Santa Barbara (CA) CC.  Turnbull is described as a big, projectable lefty with a low-90s fastball.  He also features a slider and splitter that "have potential", according to one scouting service.  He was committed to the University of Oregon, but signed with the Nats for $325,000, just $100,000 more than the MLB slot recommendation.

Rizzo spoke openly about his pleasure in getting the top four draft picks under contract.  "It feels great.  Our scouting staff worked extremely hard to identify the talent.  It's often a difficult time-consuming, grinding process to get them signed.  But we have to thank our ownership for allowing me, and Roy Clark, to be very aggressive in this draft, to go after and sign some of the top talent in all of amateur baseball.  And for us to land what we believe are four first-round picks and pay them accordingly is a testament to the commitment of winning here in Washington."

"As far as number of quality impact players this is probably the first draft that I've ever been associated with that we can really look back at this thing and figure out that we did get four players that we had first-round numbers on coming into the draft."

The Nats gave both Rendon and Purke Major League deals, meaning they'll be assigned to the 40-man roster and receive an invitation to big league spring training next season.  For Rendon it was a formality, as he is expected to make the jump very quickly as an accomplished fielder and the top bat in college baseball last season.  For Purke, who could very well have been one of the top five picks in next year's draft had he failed to sign, the big league contract was further incentive to come to a deal.

"I've never done two Major League deals in the same draft," Rizzo said.  "I've only done a handful of Major League deals in all the drafts I've ever been associated with. But we felt that these two players are close to the big leagues.  They're extreme talents, and for us to fit them in and get them done we felt that the Major League contract was the way to go."

Rizzo was effusive in his praise for his new cadre of prospects.  "We see all these guys as fast-track -- they're college players, so we feel good about their developmental curve.  Their ceilings are enormous, their talents are enormous and we're happy to have them in the fold."

"We're the talk of the industry right now," Rizzo said.  "Before we signed these players we had a minor league system that the needle was heading north in a big, big way, and this just solidifies us as one of the great scouting and player development organizations in baseball.  We feel really good about ourselves tonight."

Both Rendon and Purke had injury issues last season, but were cleared by Nats team doctors.  Purke even consented to an MRI arthogram, an enhanced procedure where dye is injected into the joint for a better evaluation.  Rendon  not only was examined by Nats doctors, but cleared by noted shoulder specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum in California.

"This is my 27th year in the draft, and I have never -- it's the best draft I've ever been a part of," Nats Scouting Director Roy Clark said after the announcements.  "I think this is huge day in the franchise history of the Washington Nationals."

Rizzo indicated that the team was "very, very close" with Purke after visiting with him over the weekend at his home in Houston, but with the other three players things came right down to the last minute.  "Close. Right down to the buzzer," Rizzo described it.  Rizzo described the anxiety level about signing all four players as, "High.  It was high anxiety."

Rizzo might have been suffering from high anxiety right down to the deadline, but the Nationals ownership gave Rizzo the ammunition to be aggressive with the draft picks and even more aggressive signing the players.  As with any draft scenario, only time will tell if the money was well spent.  But you don't give yourself the option of evaluating the players if you don't bring them under contract.  In this instance, the Nationals scored big time last night.

Rendon was the undisputed "best college bat" with gold glove caliber defense at third base.  Alex Meyer is a 6'9" fireballer with a devastating slider.  Brian Goodwin is a five-tool outfielder that some scouts said could have been a top-five pick next year.  And Matt Purke, the lefty that "fell" to the third round due to signability issues and tendinitis in his shoulder his sophomore year, could turn out to be the best of all of them.

Time will tell.  Rizzo and the Lerners bought that time last night.

"I've been in the post-season a lot the last few years, and that's what it's all about.  That's what you play for."

""You finally get to free agency, you have a chance to do something special for yourself and for your family. There's a lot of things that go into it."

--Jayson Werth, at his introductory press conference.

(D.Nichols/Nats News Network)

The obligatory handshakes and jersey presentation were there.  The Lerner family was fully represented in the front row and repeatedly acknowledged.  All the local TV, cable, print and Internet media were there as well.  And as normal as this press conference seemed to be, something unusual happened.

A bit of news actually leaked out.

Today, the Washington Nationals presented outfielder Jayson Werth to the media and fans of the team.  But among all the "Bull Durham" quotes Werth offered about being happy to be here, wanting stability for his family, and looking to build a championship-caliber team, something he said, probably as an after-thought, sparked renewed interest in evaluating his massive contract.

"You finally get to free agency, you have a chance to do something special for yourself and for your family. There's a lot of things that go into it," Werth said. "The years were important to me. The chance to come to a city, guaranteed to be here for a long time, the no-trade was a big deal for me. I have a chance to set my family up for years to come here."

GM Mike Rizzo not only gave a 32-year old player one of the richest contracts in the history of the game, and certainly THE longest and richest this organization has ever known, he also gave him a full no-trade clause to come here.

"I'd rather not have a no-trade clause, because it's another impediment to roster construction; I would term it that way," Rizzo told reporters after the grip and grin was over.   "A no-trade clause gives the players more control. That's why we're reluctant to do it. It's something that, for an elite free agent like this, I thought I would relent on it, because we had to do it to get the player."

(D.Nichols/Nats News Network)

Several times during the live telecast, and repeated afterward to the beat reporters, Werth described how the years of the contract were important to him and his family, that the security of a long-term deal was one of his motivating factors in choosing a team in his free agent year. 

In fact, I asked him in the locker room after things calmed down why he chose to come to building organization, rather than a contender, when he could have gone anywhere.

"I didn't have the opportunity to go anywhere," he explained.  He cited several reasons he chose D.C., including the Lerner family's "vision" of the organization and the chance to "help build an organization and mold young talented players". 

But he finished:  "The length of contract, obviously, to get a sense of normalcy, I guess you could say, being in a city for a long period of time.  Being able to set up family, my kids, and just get things the way I wanted them."

"I've played my whole life for this situation.  It's my life's work, my blood sweat and tears, since I was four-years old playing tee ball.  A lot of things going into this decision, more than most people would think."

Good for him to be able to provide for his family in the most financially secure way possible.

(D.Nichols/Nats News Network)

But on the field, things just got a whole lot more interesting.  He's no longer a complementary piece to a championship-caliber club.  He's the man.  Whether he likes it or not.  He'll be under contract long after Ryan Zimmerman becomes a free agent.  Heck, he'll still have a couple years left when Stephen Strasburg becomes a free agent.

And the contract is untradeable.

Rizzo and Werth are now joined at the hip.  This was Rizzo's signature deal, the one he'll be judged on the rest of his career.  Asked how he responds to the critics of the deal when they say the later years of this contract will be an albatross, both on the field and in the checkbook, Rizzo said, "I don't answer 'em.  I sleep like a baby knowing we got Jayson Werth."

What does Rizzo know about Werth that 120 years of baseball history doesn't?  History says a player in his mid-30's declines, and rarely does a position player get to his late 30's to prove people wrong.  But Werth got a seven-year deal worth $126 million.  To make matters worse, it's back-ended, so it'll be even more damaging than the contract average of $18 million per season during the last few years of the contract, which pays Werth until he's 39-years old.

Rizzo's answer: 

"This is the package that we were looking for going into the off-season. We wanted to get better skilled players that play both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively. We've got a guy here who can hit 30-plus home runs, drive in 100 runs, play Gold Glove defense, steal you 20 bases, lead in the clubhouse and be a middle-of-the-lineup hitter. The bigger the game, the better he's played in his career. He's playoff-battle tested. And he brings an edge to the ballclub.

I've seen it oh too many times with the Phillies. That's the type of guy we want. And I think that's what separated him as far as those elite free-agent candidates we were looking at: His skill-set fit with what Jim [Riggleman] and I are looking to do with the ballclub. But also his makeup, his persona and just the way he plays on a superstar-skill level and still plays like a guy that's not afraid to get his jersey dirty and would run through a wall for you."

Never mind that Werth has hit more than 30 home runs just once in his career and has never driven in 100 runs, even hitting behind Chase Utley and Ryan Howard the last three years in Philadelphia.  Nor has he won a Gold Glove.  But Rizzo sees it in him.

 

Well, he better do all that now, because Rizzo has staked his reputation on this one.  If it works out, and the Nats are competing for division titles in the near future with Werth manning right field (or center, or left, depending on a multitude of options), we can all pat Rizzo on the back and say "Job well done."

 

But if Jayson Werth's career takes a normal path of decline and degrade through his mid to late-thirties, and ends up being an albatross around Rizzo's neck, don't say nobody didn't warn you.

 

Look, Werth is a terrific player.  He's got some pop, speed and plays pretty good defense.  But he was the third -- or fourth -- best option on a championship-caliber club.  He's not going to come in here and be Superman.  He's just not that player, as much as Rizzo is trying to make him sound like he is.  And they just bought his declining years at an exorbitant price.

 

It's entirely possible that just when the Nats are getting good -- really good when Strasburg and Zimmermann and Harper and Desmond and Espinosa and Norris are all hitting their prime -- Jayson Werth will be broken down and washed out.  And the Nats will still be paying him better than $18 million per year.

 

Werth is an upgrade at one position on the field for the next couple of years.  What happens after that, and whether this club is contending or not is something no one -- not even Mike Rizzo -- knows.  But he spent a lot of the Lerner's money to try to find out.

Werth shares a smile with his representitive, Scott Boras (D.Nichols/Nats News Network)

FYI:  If you want a more complete re-cap of the Q&A session, check out Mark Zuckerman at Nats Insider, or catch the video at MASNSports.com.

So that’s it.

Adam Dunn is officially no longer property of the Washington Nationals, having signed a four year, $56 million dollar contract with the Chicago White Sox.

As I've written many times in the last several months, it was never about Dunn's defense.  Kenny Williams, GM of the American League White Sox, gave Dunn his fourth year.  That's all this was ever about.  To pretend like defense was a factor -- on either side in the negotiation -- was nothing more than a smoke screen.

GM Mike Rizzo and the Lerner family simply decided they had a threshold for what they would offer Dunn in terms of money -- and years -- and essentially told him to go out and find someone to beat the offer. 

Williams happily did.

The Nationals will get the White Sox first round pick in 2011's amateur draft (No. 23 overall) and a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds (to be determined based on other free agent signings). 

That makes former scout Rizzo very happy. 

Whether Rizzo can turn those two picks into more productive players than what he might have been offered at last season's trade deadline won't be known for three-to-five years.  By that point, Dunn will either be on his way to Cooperstown or he'll be at the tail end of a good, but not great, career.

The big question now is:  Where do the Nats go from here?

Most of the fall, the media has speculated that if the Nats let Dunn walk they would quickly turn to free agent Carlos Pena, he of the .196 batting average in 2010. It’s a logical place to go.  As recently as 2009, Pena hit 39 homers and drove in over 100 and played credible (if not overrated) defense.  But last year saw a significant downturn in his statistics – and it wasn’t pretty.

His slash line was shocking: .196/.325/.407 in 582 plate appearances. He had 28 homers and 84 RBIs in that period as well, far below his established norms the previous three years with Tampa Bay.

What was the difference? The same thing that Dunn’s detractors fear will happen to him. He’s just getting older and less reliable.

For the last four seasons, Pena’s average and OBP has decreased from each season to the next. As his power slowly erodes, he is swinging at more balls and becoming less selective at the plate. His strikeouts are not increasing; rather he’s making an alarmingly higher number of ground outs, indicating poorer contact on the balls he does connect with.

Pena has gone from making 0.41 ground ball outs per fly ball in 2009 to 0.82 in 2010. That’s right, he's doubled the number of ground out to fly outs in one season.

It’s not a good trend.

The other indicator that his swing is eroding is his line drive percentage, which has decreased each of the last four years as well, from 22% in 2007 to 17% in 2010. Pena isn’t slumping, he’s falling off the cliff, the same way Mo Vaughn, Richie Sexson, and so many other power/batting eye guys have over the 120 year history of Major League Baseball.

It was knowing that that history that GM Mike Rizzo opted to allow Adam Dunn to leave for greener pastures.

Rizzo had to determine if he thought Dunn would follow the slow path of eroding skills to the cliff of no return, or follow Jim Thome down the path to immortality. In the end, Rizzo and the Lerners determined that they could not invest that much money in a player that provided one skill: home run power.

What this does to the eroding confidence around NatsTown in the ownership and management of this franchise is yet to be seen as far as dollars in the pocket and fans in the seats.  But early voices on social media sites and message boards are speaking load and clear: the faithful are not happy.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT DUNN?

I wrote yesterday about how the Nats are on the fence with free agent first baseman Adam Dunn and how he can start entertaining offers from any club after midnight Saturday night. 

Let me say this:  I think the Nats have no intention of signing Adam Dunn, unless he fails to garner a four-year offer elsewhere and he lands in their laps much as he did two years ago, hat in hand.  If they did, he'd already be under contract and NatsTown could be worried about something else right now.  But let me add:  If Dunn really wanted to stay in D.C. as he has proclaimed all along, he could be signed already as well.

This was inevitable.  Dunn's camp knows this is his last chance to lock up a big money, mulit-year contract.  There was no way they weren't going to free agency once they learned (very early on this year) that the Nats would not go to four years under any scenario. 

And once Stephen Strasburg got hurt, the Nats' need to invest heavily in players that could be part of a contending team in 2011 went right down the drain.  Without Strasburg, the Nationals simply need too many players to compete, especially at starting pitcher.

If Strasburg had finished last season healthy, the team could have probably convinced themselves that they just needed to plug in a bona fide Major League starter in right field (coughJaysonWerthcough) and find a platoon partner for Nyjer Morgan in center (hell-o Cody Ross) and they could field a .500 team in 2011 and really compete in 2012.

Now?  They'll be patching together a pitching staff all season long, just like every year since they arrived in 2005.  It would be financially foolish to throw money at a select one or two free agents knowing that your team isn't going to compete anyway.  They'd be better off looking for younger, cheaper talent that can grow with the the rest of the core players in the franchise.

Because with the state of the team right now, the Nats would have to re-sign Dunn, AND sign Cliff Lee and Jayson Werth just to have that shot at being a .500 team in 2011.  Then, next off-season they'll have to pay or replace Josh Willingham and Nyjer Morgan and probably bring in another pitcher to truly be a contending team.

So watch this off-season as the Nats bring in another innings-eating starting pitcher and Carlos Pena (or Aubrey Huff) to play first base.  Maybe they'll upgrade a couple spots on the bench.  But if they don't spend the money it would take to re-sign Dunn in the first place and pocket it instead, don't say I didn't warn you.

NEW THIRD BASE COACH HIRED

The Nats brought in Bo Porter, fromerly Arizona Diamondbacks bench coach, as their new third base coach, replacing Pat Listach at the position.  Listach left the Nats to take the bench coach job with the Chicago Cubs.

Porter was a candidate for at least one managerial position this off-season.  He has extensive experience as a third base coach, having manned the position with the Florida Marlins and the D-backs before graduating to the bench last season after their mangerial shake-up.

Porter also will coach the outfielders and base runners, and has worked with Josh Willingham when both were with the Marlins.

"Bo was at the top of the list of the people that I had in mind," Riggleman told The Washington Post's Nationals Insider. "Definitely, I think it's a great hire."

BUILDING A WINNER?

We saw with the recently concluded World Series how the San Francisco Giants caught lightning in a bottle and won on the strength of three really terrific arms (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner), a young phenom  (Buster Posey) and a few veterans contributing at the right time.  Don't think all of baseball didn't see it and want to emulate their "formula", especially the Nationals.

Bottom line though is the Giants were extremely fortunate that the cast of postion players they surrounded their young and extremely talented pitching staff with came through when needed, because other than Posey, there probably isn't a single hitter on the Giants you'd take over their counterpart on the Nationals.  And that's pretty damning.

Congratulations to them, of course.  They have the hardware and no one can take their names off this year's trophy.  But I'll be shocked if the Giants are much better than .500 next season, even with that great pitching.

SPRING TRAINING SCHEDULE SET

The Washington Nationals released their 2011 spring training schedule yesterday, some four weeks earlier than last year. Awesome, gives more time to plan for our annual trek for Florida for springtime baseball. Looking at the list of opponents though, it's hard to not to lament the Dodgers and Orioles exodus from Florida's east coast, with L.A. moving to Arizona and the O's off to Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast.

The Nats have 30 spring training games scheduled this season, against just seven teams. Worse, three of the seven are division opponents (New York Mets (seven games), Atlanta Braves (four games) and Florida (soon to be Miami) Marlins (four games)). As if it isn't bad enough we nave to sit though 19 Marlins games a year?

As a follow up to the debacle last night at Nationals Park, I wanted to offer a quick few comments on the difference between the Washington Nationals and another franchise, this time a local one:  The Washington Capitals.

There was a time when folks weren't so enthused with Ted Leonsis and the Washington Capitals.  When Ted first took over, he took the easy way out, chasing free agents and throwing money around like that would solve all the problems the franchise had. 

Many of these problems were the same facing the Nationals today:  underwhelming performance on the field, poor attendance, disenfranchised fans and worse, arenas filled with opposing team's fans.  I remember well the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, when the building was easily 75 percent Detroit Red Wings fans.  Now, that wasn't on Ted's watch, but it was emblematic of the troubles the Caps would continue to have.

Routinely through the 90's and early 2000's, games against Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Boston and even Buffalo at Verizon Center were filled with rowdy out-of-towners and transplants living in D.C., cheering on the visitors with more gusto than any front-running Phillies fan could even imagine.

But Leonsis finally got the message and in 2004 the team shed the veteran players that were bloating their payroll and playing sluggishly.  And just as important, he went to the fans and told them what his plan was for on the ice, and promised them that several years were going to be rough, but that eventually the young players and draft picks they acquired from trading off Jaromir Jagr, Robert Lang, Sergei Gonchar and Peter Bondra would lead the Capitals to a Stanley Cup of their own.

He did another thing that might have been even more critical to the success of the franchise:  he listened to his most loyal customers, the season ticket holders.  He gave them his e-mail address.  He held "town hall" meetings.  He sent out questionnaires and surveys.  He said he would be transparent in the operation of his team.

And what fans told him was that they would stick around through the tough times, but things had to improve at the arena.  They game-day experience had to be better.  They needed to feel part of something -- not visitors in their home arena.

Ted has delivered on the game-day experience in spades. He heard the fans' voices to bring back the Red, White and Blue uniforms, but made it even better, using a simple color to form the basis of his marketing.  "Rock the Red" and "Red is Caps Hockey" are more than slogans at Verizon Center.  It's a way for fans to identify themselves with the team and organization.

From changing the music and entertainment during the game to blocking out-of-town area codes trying to buy tickets, Leonsis has made Verizon Center a destination for Caps fans.

Tonight, for a pre-season game, Verizon Center will be packed to the rafters with crazy Caps fans Rockin' the Red.  The team sold 5,000 tickets two weeks ago at their practice facility to a rookie scrimmage with the Flyers rookies, and I counted exactly three Flyers fans in the group, and they were there with Capitals fans (oh, mixed marriages).

And forget about getting tickets to a regular season or playoff game, without paying through the nose to a few re-sellers that might have a handful of tickets.

Opposing players now count Verizon Center as one of the most difficult places to play in the league, in the ranks of storied franchises like Montreal and Toronto. 

And the hockey side of it is living up to the billing as well, staffed by competent, hard-working executives.

Despite last season's disappointment in the first round of the playoffs, the Caps are poised to contend for the Stanley Cup not just this year and next, but for the foreseeable future.  It's not just one draft they are counting on, or one player, but several years now of drafting, evaluating talent, and supplementing via trade and free agency.

Proof of that?  Both of the Caps minor league affiliates went to the playoffs last season and their top farm club, the Hershey Bears, won their league title for the second season in a row.  The system is stacked.

It's proof that if you put a quality product into the market and value your customers like they are partners in your business, you can build a large, dedicated fan base that not only buys your product, but will promote it within the market until it becomes a self-promoting community in and of itself.

Mark Lerner sits on the board of Leonsis' sports management group, Monumental Sports and Entertainment.  Nats fans can only hope that Mr. Lerner someday learns a thing or two from his business partner about Product, Customer Service and Transparency.

"That's the reason you want to come to a team like this. They know how to do it," -- Phillies starter Roy Halladay

"Kind of embarrassing when everyone in the stadium is clapping against you and you're at home," Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond.

Phillies fans -- as far as the eye can see -- revel in division title at Nationals Park.
(Photo by C. Nichols/Nats News Network)

Monday night at Nationals Park, the differences between  the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies were on full display.  It was a brutal, thorough and complete embarrassment; from the result on the field down to the omni-present Phillies fans chanting and taunting the few Nats fans in attendance.

The Phillies operate under one simple credo:  Win. 

They have all-stars at almost every position.  They signed a Cy Young Award winner to head their staff, then traded for another perennial all-star pitcher at the trade deadline.  They have homegrown superstars at first, second and shortstop (when healthy).

When the Phillies lose a player to age, injury, or free agency, the organization simply fills the gap, utilizing resources (both monetary and personnel) efficiently.

And they have a loud and dedicated (if boorish and obnoxious) fan base that fills road stadiums and generally acts as if they own the place.

The Nationals, losers for the 90th time this season, continue to send lower-round draft picks and castoffs from other organizations out in front of sparse and polite crowds, as long as the weather's nice and the Redskins aren't playing.

What homegrown players they do have generally are still too young to be considered fully-functioning major leaguers.  And they certainly don't have enough of them yet.

And the organization, despite claims of attempts at being players in high-rent free agent sweepstakes (Teixeira, Chapman), have for the most part peddled in reclamation projects and dumpster diving, hoping to polish coal into diamonds -- to expected results.

Yes, the dichotomy was certainly on display once again Monday night, as several thousand Phillies fans packed the lower bowl of Nats Park to laud their heros, as Roy Halladay threw a two-hit complete game shut out, and Philadelphia clinched a fourth consecutive N.L. East title, winning 8-0 before a soggy, pro-Philly crowd of 14,309.

The only other statistic to cite to prove the utter domination the Phillies hold over the Nationals: the Nats are 20-50 against Philadelphia the last four years.

With chants of "Let's Go Phillies!", "This Is Our House!", and finally, "We're Not Leaving!" after the players retreated to their clubhouse to celebrate with the customary champagne showers, Phillies fans left in no uncertain terms that their invasion of opening day, while more impressive in total numbers, was no fluke, and could be repeated seemingly at will.

At least the Phillies players were classy enough to stay in the clubhouse and not dignify the rabble with a curtain call in their opponent's stadium.

Nats Park ushers and security had their hands full trying to escort their "guests" from the seating bowl, reveling in another division championship.  The fact that they secured their title on enemy soil seemed to further embolden them.

But at least Phillies fans were there, which is more than can be said for their counterparts.

It's trite to say that the Phillies have what the Nats want.  But then, it's hard to say exactly what the Nats want.  Sure, the players and coaches and General Manager want a championship of their own to celebrate.  But is the ownership really willing to do what it takes to provide the necessary talent to make that goal a reality?

They profess to have the desire to bring winning baseball to Washington, but do these powerful business-people really understand what it takes to be successful in this new business they've taken on?

Their arranged marriage partner, team President Stan Kasten, is running off after the bare minimum commitment he made to the Lerner family and to Major League Baseball.  He's not retiring, just resigning from his position with the Nationals.  Kasten has bigger fish to fry now.

They've squandered all but shreds of the original goodwill this organization enjoyed when it first moved here in 2005, when a season ticket base of 22,000-plus filled dingy, dark and depressing R.F.K. Stadium, simply because baseball was back in D.C.

Now, in a brand new stadium, the Nats can draw 22,000 only when facing a favorable opponent -- and the weather is nice.  They are literally giving tickets away -- offering four seasons tickets for the price of two -- for any new full-season ticket package for 2011.

Does the organization have any idea how disenfrachised the core fan base feels right now?  The Lerner family is local, so one has to assume a civic pride.  Anyone that calls D.C. home -- and not just the place they're currently living -- had to feel embarrassed and neglected by the franchise they so heavily have invested in Monday night..

The problem?  The majority of that fan base was at home watching on TV -- if at all -- tuned out and turned off by almost 300 losses the past three season, while thousands of Phillies fans celebrated another division title in the ballpark paid for by taxpayers of the District of Columbia.

With his college age son sitting beside him on the top ledge of the Washington Nationals dugout, curly W's adorning the wall, Nats President Stan Kasten confirmed to the media that he would be resigning, effective at the end of this season.

He said at the beginning of his statements that he would talk today about his experiences with the team, and how and why his resignation came about, but preferred not to discuss his future plans, or go into any details about where he sees the team today or the progress in the organization, outside of very broad ideas.

He promised that he would talk about those things in more detail when the season was over, but for now, he wanted to confirm the news of his resignation and then "get back to baseball."

"When I came here...in 2006, I made a commitment to stay for five years, through the end of the 2010 season.  About a year ago or so, I went to the family and told them I would not be staying beyond that five year commitment.  So what I'm here to tell you today is that I'll be leaving the Nats at the end of the season."

"Let me assure you:  This is just about me.  This has nothing to do with anybody else, or anything else, this is just about me.  What's good for me, for my family, and my own personal expectations, goals, aspirations.  Purely that, and nothing else."

"Leaving here is going to be hard.  But the decision to leave was not hard. It was just the right thing to do now."

He stressed several times that any rumors or reports that there was a rift with ownership regarding financial support for the organization were absolutely inaccurate.

"I have a great relationship with the Lerners. We had really good talks, but at the end this was clearly what I wanted to do.  They have been great.  Yes, I think they would have been really happy for me to stay, but this is the right thing."

Kasten expressed a strong feeling that he really felt ingrained in the community, and cited several prominent D.C. officials as friends.

"There's going to so much that I'm going to miss.  First of all, I love DC.  I truly do.  I love living here, I love working here.  The people that I have met here along the way have been exceptional."

"The fans have been so great to me, I interact with them every night, I walk the concourses as you know for every game. and I want to thank them for their generosity in offering advice and help -- especially when you're a guy running a team that loses as much as we have."

Kasten spoke a couple times about the idea of commitment.  "I made a commitment here, and it was really important to fulfill that commitment.  Commitments are important.  To me, I expect others to honor their commitment and I expect it of myself."

But now that he's fulfilled that commitment, "I'm mostly just excited about stuff that's going to happen in the future," though he declined several times to discuss any plans he may have for that future.

He declined to discuss whether he was relinquishing his ownership stake, but did mention that if he were to take another job in Major League Baseball it would be something that would have to be dealt with. 

He also declined to answer -- for now -- if he saw himself getting back into baseball after his exit from the Nationals.

Kasten referred questions about a replacement or strategy to the Lerner family.

When asked if things were harder than he thought they would be when he took his role with the Nats, he replied, "It's not easy, ever, to build a championship team.  You're competing against 29 other groups of really hard-working, smart, talented individuals.  That makes it hard.  But we put ourselves on a track, we continue on a real positive path, and the future is exceptionally bright."

"I feel that we accomplished some things that were real important to accomplish."

Asked what he considered his greatest accomplishment in his five-year tenure, he said, "Until we win it all we don't have any crowning achievements."  He then went on to point out the emerging minor league system, the strong front office staff, and Nationals Park as significant achievements under his watch.

On whether he thought D.C. was a "baseball town", Kasten was emphatic.  "No question about it." 

"We had 1.8 million people come to watch a team that's losing 95-105 games a year.  That's extraordinary support for a team that hasen't earned it yet.  When we get our job done, we're going to have great support."

The team distributed a statement from Managing Principal Owner Ted Lerner: 

"Stan Kasten will always be an important part of the history of the Washington Nationals. He was vital to ownership winning its bid from Major League Baseball and his agreement to serve as the team’s chief executive for the last five years has been critical to building the Washington Nationals franchise.

Over his tenure he has positioned the Nationals to become one of the most exciting franchises in baseball and we thank him for all that he has accomplished.

We certainly respect his decision to pursue other interests at the end of the regular season, but will continue to call upon him for his vast knowledge of the game, the league and the franchise. He will remain a friend and valued partner of the team and ownership group."

Screenshot courtesy MLB.com and Comcast Sportsnet.

From the Press Release:

The Washington Nationals today announced the promotion of Michael A. Rizzo to the position of Senior Vice President & General Manager.

Rizzo, a 26-year veteran of professional baseball, joined the Nationals in 2006. Since March of this year, he has served as the team’s acting General Manager. During that time, the Nationals promoted Jim Riggleman to Manager and successfully signed first round draft picks Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen. As Assistant General Manager and Vice President Baseball Operations, the Nationals entire scouting operation fell under his domain, including Major Leagues, professional scouting and international talent.

“Since Mike is one of my favorite people, this is one of the easiest and happiest announcements I’ve ever had to make,” said Stan Kasten, President of the Washington Nationals. “Mike was one of the architects of our plan to be competitive long-term and the last few months have only proven that there’s no one more capable than Mike of continuing our vision for the franchise. This move gives the team organizational continuity and demonstrates to Major League Baseball and our fans in DC that we’re committed to the strategy for building a perennial winner.”

“Without question, Mike Rizzo has proven his capabilities as a talented and effective baseball executive,” said Nationals Managing Principal Owner Theodore N. Lerner. “In every possible respect, he has earned this promotion. Mike’s professionalism during recent negotiations, his steady demeanor day-in and day-out, his intelligent, thoughtful decision making process and consistently positive attitude, make him the obvious and appropriate choice for GM. Mike Rizzo reflects and exemplifies the integrity of our franchise. This is a good day for the Washington Nationals.”

During his remarks at the press conference, Rizzo listed as priorities for the major league club acquiring a veteran starting pitcher, stabilizing an improving bullpen, and acquiring more speed and defense.

Rizzo also stated the team was not in a hurry to name a permanent field manager, saying "We'll address the manager decision after the season." He did complement interim manager Jim Riggleman, but told reporters that he wants to find the "permanent man for the job." Riggleman will be considered for the permanent position.

Team president Stan Kasten remarked that he's known for the "last couple of weeks," that Rizzo was the man for the job, and that the Strasburg signing had no impact on the decision, or the timing. Kasten joked, "Mike bailed me out on Monday," in reference to the timing of the decision.

Both men praised the Lerner family and the organization for providing the tools and resources necessary to build the Nationals into a title contending club.

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.

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.