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REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:Is it too soon to call a Nats v. O's WS?
Fios wrote:REDEEMEDSKIN wrote:Is it too soon to call a Nats v. O's WS?
Yes, waaaaaaaay too soon ... I just can't see the O's winning the East.
Okaaaaaay....
NEW YORK -- Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly was suspended 10 days by Major League Baseball on Friday for having pine tar on his glove during a game against the Nationals.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia and Nationals manager Frank Robinson were suspended for one game apiece and fined an undisclosed amount. The two managers screamed at each other after Robinson had umpires inspect Donnelly's glove for a foreign substance in the top of the seventh inning during the Nationals' 6-3 victory Tuesday.
Donnelly was ejected without throwing a pitch, and Scioscia then came face-to-face with Robinson. Both benches emptied and several players pushed and shoved each other.
Donnelly appealed the suspension and will play until his case is heard. Robinson has also appealed his suspension and his case will be heard on Monday.
Scioscia was scheduled to serve his suspension Friday night when the Angels hosted the Marlins.
welch wrote:I saw last night's game on the Mets broadcast, Healey and Hernadez, I think, calling the game. (I miss Bob Murphy).
They were grudging, but minimally respectful of what the team has acomplished. Didn't want to mention that the Nats are in first place. Praised Loaiza's pitching, but otherwise had nothing.
They even seemed to complain that RFK is too big, even though it hasn't grown an inch since it was opened as DC Stadium, and has always been a same-principle-better-design cousin to Shea.
Comments that no one hits home runs, but no mention of Frank Howard, Mike Epstein, or Ken McMullen.
Good news (for me): tonight's game should be televised as well.
*
What a thrill to see the swirly 'W', and the upper deck outfield.
Did anyone notice that before Loaiza handed the ball to Frank Robinson, they shook hands?
Nats Seek to Acquire Rockies' Wilson
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 9, 2005; Page E07
PHILADELPHIA, July 8 -- The Washington Nationals are involved in serious discussions with the Colorado Rockies about a deal that would bring outfielder Preston Wilson to Washington, several sources said Friday. The Nationals would part with right-hander Zach Day and minor league outfielder J.J. Davis, though any deal hinges on how much of Wilson's $12.5 million salary Washington would pay.
One club source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations are ongoing, said the Nationals would be willing to pay $2.5 million for the remainder of the season. Another source said the Rockies are continuing to shop Wilson, hoping to find a suitor who will pay more money. Wilson becomes a free agent at the end of the season.
Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden, who was attending his grandmother's funeral Friday and didn't travel with the team to Citizens Bank Park, was unavailable to comment.
Bowden, who believes the first-place Nationals need more power, has inquired about Wilson since spring training but has turned down potential deals before, including one involving outfielder Ryan Church. Though Bowden repeatedly has said his priorities are "pitching, pitching, pitching," the deal for Day and Davis could make sense for both clubs.
Through Thursday, Wilson was hitting .258 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI in 256 at-bats. Though there are concerns about his knees and his high strikeout rate, the Nationals are convinced he is healthy and could play center field, moving Brad Wilkerson to left and making the bench much deeper, with Church and Marlon Byrd as fourth and fifth outfielders.
Also, if first baseman Nick Johnson -- on the disabled list with a bruised heel -- continues to have health problems, as he has throughout his career, Wilkerson could play first base and the Church-Byrd platoon could return to left. Johnson is scheduled to come off the disabled list after the all-star break.
Wilkerson said before Friday's game in Philadelphia he would welcome playing left.
"I think it would be a big help," Wilkerson said. "Center field takes a lot out of you. You're running around a lot more. . . . As long as we can stay healthy enough to do that, I think it'd be great for me."
The trade wouldn't take away anybody from the Nationals' current roster, though it would further deplete the pitching. Day, who broke his right arm after being struck by a comebacker off the bat of Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. on May 24, is on a minor league rehabilitation assignment with Class AA Harrisburg but appears nearly ready to return. He went just 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA in Washington this season, and felt Manager Frank Robinson lost confidence in him. Still, he has an effective sinker, a pitch that could be attractive to the Rockies, who play at homer-friendly Coors Field.
Davis, who began the season with the Nationals but hit .227 with seven strikeouts in 26 at-bats, likely would become a fourth outfielder with the Rockies. He is a tremendous fastball hitter, but has struggled with breaking pitches. Since being sent to Class AAA New Orleans on May 8, he is hitting .282 with 12 homers.
Because the deal wasn't complete Friday night, Nationals officials were working on creative ways to get Wilson, including a three-way deal that could involve Day going to the Chicago White Sox, who would in turn ship prospects and money to Colorado.
at spacious RFK Stadium, which has yielded the fewest home runs in the majors.
Nationals Near Deal for P. Wilson, Eye Stanton
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 13, 2005; Page E04
The Washington Nationals awaited word last night on their potential deal for Colorado Rockies outfielder Preston Wilson, with club officials hoping they could complete the transaction in time to get Wilson to Milwaukee tomorrow for the first game following the all-star break. Meantime, the Nationals showed serious interest in left-handed reliever Mike Stanton, discarded by the New York Yankees, and he could be added to a tiring bullpen for the stretch run.
The hitch in the Wilson deal, a source said yesterday, remains the amount of money the Rockies would like the Nationals to pay on Wilson's contract. The amount is likely to be between $2 million to $2.5 million, the source said, but the clubs were discussing how best to structure the financial part of the deal. The Chicago Cubs also are pursuing Wilson.
The Nationals would send to Colorado pitcher Zach Day, who still is valued by some in the organization despite his 6.75 ERA this season, and minor league outfielder J.J. Davis, who began the season on the Washington roster.
Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden covets Wilson for his power potential. Hitting in the thin air at Denver's Coors Field, Wilson hit .258 with 15 homers and 47 RBI prior to the all-star break, with 10 of the homers and 34 of the RBI coming at home. He also has 77 strikeouts in 267 at-bats, ninth in the National League.
In parts of nine seasons with the New York Mets, Florida Marlins and Rockies, Wilson has hit .265 with 161 homers. His best year was 2003, his first in Colorado, when he homered 36 times and drove in 141 runs.
The Nationals likely would move Wilson to center field and -- in the short term -- Brad Wilkerson to first base, until starting first baseman Nick Johnson recovers from a badly bruised heel bone. When Johnson returns, Wilkerson would move to left field, and outfielders Ryan Church and Marlon Byrd -- who had been platooning in left before Church suffered a shoulder injury on June 22 -- would become key reserves.
Stanton, 38, was designated for assignment by the Yankees on June 30 after posting a 7.07 ERA in 28 appearances this season. In the past, he was a key member of the dominant Yankees bullpen, a lefty specialist who helped set up closer Mariano Rivera.
The Nationals, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals and the Florida Marlins, appear interested in Stanton because of his history as a proven left-hander with a 17-year career. The Nationals have only one lefty on their staff, veteran reliever Joey Eischen, and Stanton could add depth. Stanton likely would pitch almost exclusively to left-handed hitters, who hit .176 against him this season with the Yankees. Right-handed hitters posted a .478 average.
Should the Nationals successfully sign Stanton today, he could be available for the first game against Milwaukee. The Nationals likely will activate Church from the disabled list for that game. The club plans to place both second baseman Junior Spivey -- who broke the radius bone in his right forearm last weekend -- and infielder Tony Blanco, who is suffering from vertigo-like symptoms -- on the disabled list, moves that would clear room for Church and, possibly, Stanton.
Nats Trade for Rockies' Wilson
Day, Davis Sent to Colorado; Club Also Picks Up Left-Hander Stanton
By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 14, 2005; Page E01
The Washington Nationals, leading the National League East but last in baseball in runs scored, made a trade yesterday to try to produce more offense, acquiring outfielder Preston Wilson from the Colorado Rockies in a move that had been on the table for two weeks but wasn't completed until financial details were worked out last night.
Wilson, who will turn 31 next Tuesday, will almost certainly join the Nationals today in Milwaukee, where Washington begins a four-game series that officially starts the second half of the season -- the series that will give a first glimpse into whether the team, in its first year in Washington, can continue its unexpected success. The Nationals will also be joined by left-hander Mike Stanton, whom they signed yesterday after he cleared waivers. Stanton, a 17-year veteran, was cut by the New York Yankees two weeks ago.
"He knows he's playing for a contract," Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden said by phone last night. "He knows to get that type of money, he's got to perform."
Bowden, who has pursued Wilson for months, has been adamant that the Nationals would target pitching prior to the July 31 trade deadline. Many times, when asked what he felt the club needed, he responded, "Pitching, pitching, pitching." He said last night that he wouldn't have given up Day -- a sinkerball specialist who went 1-2 with a 6.75 ERA for the Nationals before breaking a bone in his right wrist in May -- had he not seen another pitcher on the horizon. In this case, it was Stanton.
"Let's lay out what this deal is," Bowden said. "We protected all the organization's top prospects, and we traded a pitcher that I think is very good, but in reality, he had a 6.75 ERA for us, wasn't on the major league roster, and didn't look like he was going to help us win this year. And we signed another pitcher."
In Wilson, the Nationals get a flawed offensive player -- his 77 strikeouts are ninth in the National League -- who could provide more power to a lineup that desperately needs it. Wilson will play center field, which for now will move Brad Wilkerson to first base until Nick Johnson returns from a badly bruised heel bone that has kept him out since June 26. Wilkerson's impending move to first base could be an indication that Johnson's injury is more serious than originally thought.
"I can't put a timetable on his return," Bowden said. "With that kind of bone bruise, it's an individual thing. Everybody heals differently. No doctor can put a timetable on it. Nick has a history of healing slow, so it's up to how fast he heals."
The club's thinking is that when Johnson -- who is hitting .320 and was perhaps the club's most consistent hitter in the first half -- returns, Wilkerson will move to left field, and the platoon of rookie Ryan Church and Marlon Byrd will strengthen the bench.
"Preston Wilson is an above-average center fielder, and that's how this club wins -- pitching, speed and defense," Bowden said. "Hopefully, he can hit some three-run homers for us. He's going to strike out, and he's going to go 1 for 4 a lot. But hopefully, that 1 for 4 is with a three-run double or a home run. He's a guy who's a winning player, and he plays the game hard."
Bowden acknowledged that Wilson, who has hit .258 with 15 homers and 47 RBI this season, has been aided by playing at Colorado's Coors Field, where he has played home games since 2003. During that span, 34 of his 57 homers and 135 of his 217 RBI have come at Coors. The Nationals' home, RFK Stadium, has yielded fewer home runs this season than any other park.
Stanton, 38, will give the Nationals a 12-man pitching staff at a time when the bullpen looked overworked. He posted a 7.07 ERA in 28 appearances with the Yankees, for whom he was a key component of World Series teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Bowden said the financial risk of signing Stanton is low; he'll earn the major league minimum of $316,000, prorated. Stanton, who held left-handed hitters to a .176 average this year but allowed right-handed batters to hit .478, will join Joey Eischen as the only lefties on the staff.
"He's not a one-batter-at-a-time guy," Bowden said. "He can come in and pitch a full inning for you. We'll see."
The Nationals also activated Church -- who had been out with a shoulder injury -- from the disabled list in time for today's game. They placed second baseman Junior Spivey (broken right radius) and infielder Tony Blanco (vertigo) on the 15-day disabled list, and moved infielder Henry Mateo, who has played in just one game for the Nationals this year, to the 60-day disabled list with nagging shoulder problems.